Technologies

Warframe’s The Old Peace Expansion Revealed: A Perilous Trip to Tau Unfolds Soon

The Tenno are traveling the cosmos to end up in a different star system — and getting their hands on some sweet new gear along the way.

Warframe’s last few updates have been a narrative tour de force through time and space, weaving together disparate threads from the far-flung past of the year 1999 and the fairytale void-dimension of Duviri.

Core to these expansions is the conflict with the Eldritch threat known only as the Indifference. As it comes closer to piercing the veil of our reality and escaping the void, it’s up to the Tenno to navigate lost memories — rediscovering forgotten allies, a peace that was doomed to fail and a path to a star system beyond our own.

Warframe’s The Old Peace expansion gives us our first real look at Tau, introduces a frame that follows closely on Oraxia’s heels and expands players’ arsenals with a familiar Prime Warframe and new Operator abilities.

At this year’s TennoCon convention, studio Digital Extremes outlined what’s coming in the next year of Warframe, including its next expansion landing in the coming months and the big plans for next year.

Here’s everything you need to know about the next chapter of Warframe — as we once more delve into the past to prepare for future battles.

Read more: How Warframe Balances Bleakness With Quirky Foes to Stay True to Its Universe

What is Tau? Traveling to Warframe’s promised land

For Warframe lore junkies, the upcoming opportunity to actually see the long-teased Tau for the first time is a mind-boggling prospect. This is the star system that the Orokin Empire created the Sentients to colonize. It’s the very place that the Zariman Ten Zero was en route to before its accident created the Tenno, the void-powered player characters.

The turbulent rise and fall of the current major factions can be attributed to a greedy superpower wanting to get its paws on the resources in this star system, making it arguably one of the most important set pieces in the Warframe universe. And now we’re getting our eyes on it for the first time in the game’s 10-year history.

Note that players won’t actually get to properly explore Tau until 2026 — most of the system’s mysteries will remain intact for now, with players grappling with the past as they run and gun across a single planetary moon.

In the lead-up to Tau, The Old Peace will be the next expansion — another time-bending adventure, as the Tenno use funky void powers (and sensory deprivation tanks) to explore repressed memories.

Though the new narrative doesn’t necessarily retcon anything we know about the old war between the Orokin and the Sentients, it does call into question how much we truly know about that time period. The Tenno, Orokin and Sentients all made it to Tau and at one point established a tenuous peace — you’ll even find out about a forgotten childhood best friend, a Sentient named Adis.

The Old Peace will surely be a tragic tale, because we know this story ends in bloodshed. Even if the Tenno enforce the peace by cutting down Orokin Dax warriors who are currently violating the agreement, war will inevitably break out and history will run its course. Although we won’t be able to make a difference on Tau’s moon of Perita, there are hidden truths to uncover — ones that will help us prepare for the approaching war with the Indifference.

The Devil’s Triad: An Orokin story that introduces visually stunning zealots

The Old Peace introduces three characters who might as well be the physical embodiment of Catholic guilt. I love decking my Warframes out to look a bit medieval, so this gothic squad is right up my alley.

The Devil’s Triad is a group of Orokin enforcers — religious zealots and confessors — who seem to be involved in some way with Albrecht Entrati, the scientist who made first contact with the Indifference, created the Warframes and hid in the 1999 time loop.

Father Lyon Allard and Marie Leroux are new protoframe variants of Harrow and Wisp, expanding on the concept introduced with the Drifter’s Hex allies. Their colleague has been fully consumed by the Infestation’s steelskin, becoming the next Warframe: The devil Uriel.

These characters match the darker vibe of The Old Peace — their striking visuals call to mind the religious zealotry of the Warhammer’s Inquisitors, and they fit right in with Harrow’s original lore as Rell’s Warframe protector in the Red Veil faction.

Caliban Prime, focus system upgrades and more

A mental traipse through Tau reveals old Tenno powers born anew. A temporary alliance with the Sentients created hybrid technologies lost to time — but now we’ll have the chance to bring them back to the present.

The next Warframe to get the prime treatment will be Caliban — which slots perfectly into the lore for the upcoming expansion. Prime Warframes are more powerful versions of the biomechanical suits that were created in the heyday of the Orokin Empire, and Caliban is the amalgamation of the Infestation and Sentient technology.

It only makes sense that Caliban Prime is the product of the titular old peace, and so the recently reworked ally-summoning frame will get its chance to shine in your arsenal very soon.

The other big change to Warframe’s power scaling won’t come in the form of traditional weaponry. The Tenno’s void powers are getting upgrades, as players who are fully invested in the five core focus schools (Operator skill trees) will soon be able to wield powerful ultimate abilities. Though there aren’t many details yet about what the Tauron focus expansion will look like in practice, developer Digital Extremes has promised to elaborate on the feature in future Devstreams.

Other big TennoCon announcements that will shape the way you interact with your Warframes and weaponry throughout the rest of the year include a long-awaited Oberon Warframe rework, a new mod-related story quest that teaches new players how to properly ramp up their power, and special skins for Valkyr and Lavos.

The Old Peace expansion will launch later in 2025, with continual content updates slated to come out in the following months. Tau is set to become the key story driver for Warframe next year, so this will become an important expansion to familiarize yourself with postrelease.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for the Friday, Aug. 22, Domino-Shaped Puzzle

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Aug. 22. It’s an odd one, shaped like a domino to mark the new NYT dominos game, Pips.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s Mini Crossword is a doubled-up crossword puzzle, shaped like a domino. That must be the Times celebrating their new dominos puzzle, Pips, which I have yet to try. Need answers for today’s very unusual Mini Crossword? Read on. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Places to store shovels and leaf blowers
Answer: SHEDS

5A clue: Coating for Babybel cheese
Answer: WAX

6A clue: «___ vs. Predator» (2004 sci-fi film)
Answer: ALIEN

8A clue: Streaming glitch
Answer: LAG

9A clue: Docking spots
Answer: PIERS

10A clue: Feature of a Southern accent
Answer: TWANG

14A clue: Sweet potato lookalike
Answer: YAM

15A clue: Top-notch, informally
Answer: PRIMO

17A clue: Greenskeeper’s roll of grass
Answer: SOD

18A clue: Campfire remnants
Answer: ASHES

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Nickname for the Florida Gators football stadium, with «the»
Answer: SWAMP

2D clue: «2001: A Space Odyssey» villain
Answer: HAL

3D clue: Cast out from a country
Answer: EXILE

4D clue: «Uptown Funk» and «Downtown,» for two
Answer: SONGS

7D clue: «Can I bend your ___ for a second?»
Answer: EAR

10D clue: Like an ambitious, competitive personality
Answer: TYPEA

11D clue: Simple-to-play card game for two
Answer: WAR

12D clue: Simple-living sect
Answer: AMISH

13D clue: Shop owner’s stock
Answer: GOODS

16D clue: Barkeep on «The Simpsons»
Answer: MOE

Technologies

11 Tips for Getting Started in Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater

From cutscene tips to early item grabs, here’s my advice for getting started with the remake of one of my personal favorite Metal Gear games.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is the best way to play one of the greatest Metal Gear games of all time. However, like most Hideo Kojima games, the Metal Gear Solid series features unique gameplay and mechanics. Whether you’re a veteran fan of the series or experiencing Snake Eater for the very first time, the new modes and gameplay tweaks will be sure to satisfy you.

Here are 11 tips to keep in mind when jumping into Metal Gear Solid Delta.

Pause cutscenes if you need to

Hideo Kojima’s games are known for their long cutscenes, and Snake Eater is no different. The majority of your first few hours will feature very minimal gameplay. And while the cutscenes are exciting and bizarre, you can pause them to take a break without risking skipping them entirely. Pause any cutscene by hitting the menu button and if you want to skip, you’ll see the option for that, too. It’s also worth mentioning that you can hit the same button to pause lengthy radio conversations as well.

Swap camo often

Snake Eater can be played like a run-and-gun shooter, but a stealthy approach is generally better, and utilizing your various outfits and facepaint will maximize your evasiveness. Make sure to change your appearance often to match your surroundings. And to make swapping even quicker, hold up on the D-pad to access a quick change menu.

Keep an eye on camo percentage

The game will give you a higher stealth rating the better you blend in, so make sure to watch your camo percentage. As you move around the environment, a percentage at the bottom will show you how hidden you are. The higher the number, the less likely an enemy will spot you. Bonus tip: There’s a trophy you can unlock if you bring your camouflage over 90%.

Call your team often

Throughout the game you’ll unlock more and more allies to call and chat with on the radio. These conversations can range from hints on how to proceed to how you save your game. Calling teammates often will give you bonus dialogue about events that you just witnessed or played through. They’ll even offer fun anecdotes or just chat with Snake.

Be aware of time paradoxes

Snake Eater is a prequel entry in the Metal Gear Solid franchise. This means that you can’t deviate too far from the main story because it would mess with events that take place in MGS 1 and 2. If you do, you can create literal Time Paradoxes resulting in game over screens and humorous lectures from your team.

One such example is killing Ocelot after meeting him for the first time. To proceed, you need to leave him unconscious on the ground — stabbing him with your knife will disrupt the canon. However, you can stab him anyway if you want a trophy.

Keep an eye out for R1 prompts in cutscenes

Snake Eater has unique cutscenes where at specific moments, you can swap camera angles to see what Snake is looking at. You’ll miss out on important visuals while the game just shows your character looking into binoculars, for example. When you see the R1 icon show up in the screen’s corner, make sure to hit it. However, do keep in mind that this game is a product of an older era and sometimes you’ll realize Snake is just staring at a woman’s chest.

You can change settings to drag bodies easier

Hiding bodies is important to keep alert levels down. You can lift and drag someone by holding down the Square button, but doing so can be kind of annoying. In the settings menu you can select to change carrying from a button hold to a simple button press. This gives you back your right thumb in order to regain camera control while dragging someone out of sight.

Use silencers, but recognize when you don’t need them

Trust me on this, stealth is your friend in this game. It’s harder to pull off, but worth it. This means silencers are quite important for avoiding gun fights and staying hidden. However, silencers can wear down and won’t last forever. To avoid overusing them, remove the silencers anytime you engage in a big gun fight or boss battle. If the enemy already knows you’re there, there’s no point wasting the silencer.

Grab the thermal goggles early

One of the most useful pieces of equipment is the thermal goggles. It allows you to see enemies through walls and will help spot bosses during big fights. They can be collected pretty early in the game too. The second time you reach the destroyed base that housed Sokolov, check in the locker in his room.

Don’t miss the early machine gun

If you’re wanting to take the loud route through the game, there’s a machine gun stashed away quite early in Snake Eater. At the first bridge you encounter, where the game has you use a beehive to scare off an enemy, the gun is located in a small cave underneath. You can reach it by crossing the bridge and then circling around the ledge to the left. You need to grab the gun the first time you get to the bridge, though. The next time the gun will be gone and you’ll only find ammo.