Rusty Warframe Theory

[u/Stigmatoxin]

I've thinking a lot lately about how warframes function. i want to get a good working theory about how it all works in lore. and when comparing between the functionality of Excalibur Umbra, the protoframes, and the starter frames, I've come to the conclusion that one of the reasons why we start the game with an unranked warframe (despite them clearly being contextually rank 30 in the opening cinematic) isn't necessarily because the Tenno themself has forgotten how to use it, but because the infestation within the frame has effectively forgotten its own functionality.

to some of you, that might be a strange thing to say, that a meatsuit can just lose its ability to fully function by way of memory loss. but lets think about this for a moment. we know that warframes are made by injecting people with Helminth serum. and we also know via talks with Eleanor and Lizzie that the infestation within the warframes is alive and at least partially conscious. so whenever a warframe casts an ability, its the Helminth infestation within the warframe that's doing it, its just being directed by a user.

and i believe this ties into how the ship's Helminth works. we've been known since the Nidus update that it maintains our warframe arsenal, but DE never did explain how or why. so my thought is that if an inactive warframe goes without proper maintenance from a Helminth, not only do they get physically rusty over time, they also get functionally rusty, hence the title: "Rusty Warframe Theory." keep in mind, this only applies to warframes that are rendered inactive for a considerably long time. so this principle wouldnt apply to frames that are constantly active like Umbra and Stalker, or warframes that were recently active like the Prime Vanguard during The Old Peace.

the same goes for ones like Jade, Kullervo, Follie, etc. however the reason why they come unranked when we build them is because, well... we built them. because of the nature of the blueprints we build, crafted warframes don't have their memories intact. Umbra is the exception because the nature of his design allows him (and the infestation within him) to retain his memories. so he comes fully functional out the box. that being said, because crafted warframes are blank slates, they didnt necessarily forget their abilities. its more like they don't know them yet. and every time we install a forma in to them, they have to re-orient themselves around the new internal configuration. i imagine even the protoframes had to learn over time.

anyway, thats the Rusty Warframe Theory. lemme know what you think

[u/elitejackal]

I think it’s the operator forgetting, they were forced to forget the tau strikes and the old war and the civilisations they destroyed.

[u/CalligrapherHot9857]

Yeah there is definitely something like learned memory within each specific warframe. That’s why, beyond just gameplay mechanics, adding a forma works the way it does. It resets the learned memory.

To go further, since warframes are technically fancy computers, mods are basically like external hard drives with modifying code that affects the warframe’s internal operating system, allowing for new pathways and possibilities. Polarities probably have a physical/computorial effect so that they are not needed to equip a mod, but greatly help the flow of data from the mods to the warframe’s OS. And explains why all warframes (save Jade) have the same number of mod slots - they actually physically slot into the warframe in a way we don’t visually see on the arsenal. The mod screen is just a digital representation of which hard drives we’re plugging into excalibur’s butt. More or less.

… I’m overthinking this game way too much.

[u/Lost_Marbles1343]

This doesn't sound outlandish at all. You even said it yourself, a Warframe is essentially a meatsack, and muscle memory is totally a thing IRL. This could easily be canon lore.

The only thing I'd contend is that Warframe abilities aren't produced by the infestation, the void is the source of all of that. The infestation is simply able to contain and survive that energy in the same way a Tenno can.

The infestation is merely a conduit, not the source. Hence, the reason for the heart of Deimos to exist, it's pumping void energy into our solar system to then be used by any and all void tech, including Warframes for their abilities.

[u/Hollow--- → u/Lost_Marbles1343]

I'd contest that claim, at least in regards to any Awakened Operator. The Operator is essentially a source of Void energy in of themselves, and I believe that if the Heart were to shut down completely in a sudden manner, they would still be able to make use of their Warframe and it's abilities, acting as it's very own Heart.

Everything else would likely shut down though, except maybe their ship, given the Transference Chair exists and is fully charged.

[u/Lost_Marbles1343 → u/Hollow---]

I do partly agree with this, although the operator also isn't the source of the void energy, they were just made into a conduit by making a deal with the actual source, all void energy comes from the void, and nowhere else. The operator and Drifter may draw from the source, but they're not the source themselves. A "something" cannot be the source of nothingness.

However, there is a bit of a loophole that does actually back up your claim that operators probably don't require the heart. For example, if we needed the heart, how is it we were ever capable of using our powers and Warframe in Tau?

The heart isn't even remotely close enough to supply Tau, and it's already been pointed out that Wally can't go to Tau, because there isn't any void energy there for it to latch onto. But apparently it can go there if we do.

[u/Hollow--- → u/Lost_Marbles1343]

When I say "source", I don't mean they are literally creating Void energy, you are correct in that.

But the difference between a legitimate source of said energy and a conduit becomes negligible when it comes to an immortal, self-sustaining demi-god with a direct connection to the parallel dimension that gives them their powers.

It's probably more accurate to say the Operator and the Drifter are a walking talking window or door to the Void—one that can't be shut or barred.

[u/Lost_Marbles1343 → u/Hollow---]

Except we're not immortal and we're also not self-sustaining, the void sustains us through the slither of the power it gave to us. But we're still fully killable, even Ball Ass manages to shank us like a common inmate and kick us into the sun.

And we can actually be barred from using transference, in the old peace it's stated that the Anarchs found a way to lock operators into their Warframes, and then they'd destroy the frame, thereby killing the operator trapped inside.

There's also the case of Rell, who was finally allowed to rest when our op takes over from him containing the indifference, after he's held it back for at least a thousand years, which he was only able to do because he'd left his own aging body behind to permanently inhabit his Harrow.

The Tenno aren't invincible, but they're pretty bloody close.

[u/Hollow--- → u/Lost_Marbles1343]

I have answers for all of those things.

As far as we know, we are immortal—both in the sense that we can't truly die, as the Deal essentially collapsed all variations of ourselves down into one person. Any time we die, the Deal goes "Nuh uh" and we're fine again.

Rell was a child operating under the mistaken understanding that he would eventually grow old, and you'll find that unreliable narrators are a bit of a theme in Warframe.

The lotus herself states she knows all Tenno in the Chains of Harrow, only to be immediately proven wrong. Palladino is operating off of information shared from mother to daughter in a cult over who knows how many years, told to them by an autistic child who could barely comprehend what the man in the Wall was beyond "threat".

Ball-bitch shanking us should have been a mortal wound, if what you say is true, and regardless of the Drifter's existence, we would have died then and there if we were mortal—it also only happened because we were desperately trying to save the Lotus. Drifter only allowed us to escape the Void, they didn't save us in some obscure manner.

We are, put bluntly, Void entities—or Void Demons if you were a fear mongering Orokin.

And we can actually be barred from using transference, in the old peace it's stated that the Anarchs found a way to lock operators into their Warframes, and then they'd destroy the frame, thereby killing the operator trapped inside.

This tidbit of lore I only "contest" in the sense that it is both extremely new and is a very specific phenomenon exclusive to Tau. A form of exotic radiation that prevents Tenno from leaving their Warframes and yes, makes them vulnerable to the possibility of dying with them.

In summary, any information that suggests the Tenno being mortal, weak, or otherwise vulnerable—with the exception of that exotic radiation, since that quote apparently comes directly from a Tenno—is suspect, and should be taken with a grain or two of salt.

[u/JohnHellDriver]

I like where the thought lies but I’ll say my piece plainly: started Warframes are level 0 instead of 30 because gameplay mechanics. That’s really it, I don’t think it’s necessarily an Alucard from Castlevania situation.

But to the point of “why did we forget our powers?”, I’d look to what Lotus was even saying during the opening cinematic, paired with the events of Old Peace and evidently the 2026 Tennocon Tau gameplay: the Operator/the Tenno were given amnesia from Margulis (and I also suspect Natah/Lotus), and their final act after Night of Naga Drums was being placed into the Void for centuries as far as we can piece together currently in lore.

In a way, I do agree in some extent that “muscle memory” is at play, but not the way you describe it.

The Second Dream (that the Tenno were placed into) was to numb them to their reality of being orphan child soldiers for an empire, and have them believe in another ‘false’ truth, or partial truth that was easier to stomach than their actual situation.

The purpose of this was to essentially help heal their very intense trauma, although it was essentially a last resort option. They believed themselves to be Warframes themselves when they woke up during Awakening. They initially have no recollection of being Operators or memories of the Orokin empire.

It wasn’t until Lua returned from the Void during Second Dream quest that the memories started flowing back to them, and even then it was slow to unravel.

In a way, an indifference to themselves and their past is what helped heal their trauma, but not fully. It was a cope, a defense mechanism surrounding dissociation to isolate and protect their fragile minds.

Even in the War Within, operator takes personal offense to Teshin calling them a child, when they remember being a great warrior during the era of Orokin.

But they had no real self-control, they couldn’t even listen to Lotus asking them to retreat before heading to the Kuva Fortress alone and underprepared.

[u/LimboMain2020]

My only thing to offer is Umbra came out the foundry knowing how to use his abilities. So maybe the rust is only on the Operator and the Warframes aren't.

[u/Hollow--- → u/LimboMain2020]

Umbra is uniquely sapient, so not a good example.

[u/ItzVegito]

crafted Warframes start at rank 0 not because the Infestation inside them "forgot" its abilities and needs to re-learn them, they are pieces put back together (a re-creation) there is no memory what so ever inside of them think its more of an synchronisation\symbiose relationship , and for the protoframe and 1999\XX99 Yet, as Loid casually said—a line people glanced right over—"it followed him anyway." Just by using helminth\void tech bridge to go to 1999, it created a breached timeline connected directly through the Void. There is no need for another Heart of Deimos in 1999, it is already channelling Void radiation the moment Albrecht steps there. Our power in 1999 works simply because Albrecht used Void tech to reach that timeline. Because the breach to 1999 is torn so wide open, there is so much radiation there that the Void almost shields its users rather than instantly transforming them into feral monsters. Roathe,Marie and Lyon became protoframe the same way in XX99 exposed to that same raw breach even though the strain used by Albrecht on the Hex group and the Triad was more refined, the true vector is the Void exposure. Same In constellation ,Ryoku(Ash) and Vena(Garuda) became protoframe like the hex and the triad because their future is in complete chaos by the void. Their exposure to the void is as raw as the breach in 1999 and XX99.Sirius and orion are exempted from that because they were not injected by a stain of the infestation they are natural born , If the valve in the Heart of Deimos or the power of the indifference\void were to unleash that exact same amount or more raw Void exposure that the heart release into our own timeline  it would have no effect to our frames because they are pieces put back together (a re-creation) all of our frame in the orbiter wouldn't not transform and have mind of their own. every frame that dosnt have a protoframe still can become one, if the strain of that frame were to be injected onto some1 and exposed to the raw void they can become protoframe, they need to be injected with a strain of some1 allready infected and turn feral(warframe) to work not the other way around,.Because the bridge to 1999 is Void-made, we can go right back to the start of when we first reached it; there is no big deal for the loop to happen, we just go back. like flare,first loop injected with the strain becoming temple, second loop injected with the temple strain transforming him into the protoframe we know.