Warframes' connection to the Void? (Heart of Deimos/The Sacrifice spoilers)

[(PSN)Unstar]

I was recently thinking of the Heart of Deimos quest: the heart is attacked and nearly fails, which results in your Warframe being weakened and you eventually controlling a Necramech.

Loid: "Tenno? Still functional? Listen carefully. Getting back to the surface is not going to be easy. I don't know how to break this to you, but your Warframe... it's barely functional. You're going to have to stay low and out of sight. I know a shortcut, but you've got to do the rest."

Father: "Alright, with the Void closing up, you're going to be too weak to help in that frame."

Father: "Alright. Not ideal, but I've cross-routed your Warframe impulse stream directly to Snake. Now she'll feel heavy but you'll get used to it. Head outside and we'll run a field test before your descent."

And the part of this that puzzles me a bit is why the Tenno's ability to use a Warframe suffers but they are still perfectly able to use a Necramech.  I'm not sure if there's anything that explains this, so I've been poking around.

I found the following statement in a codex fragment:

Warframes are unique from Dax and other Infantry, deploying dangerous and esoteric Void energy, and equipped with often mundane physical weapons.

This is from the early days of Warframe, and I can't tell whether this is meant to suggest that Warframes themselves manifest their powers using Void energy, or simply that Void energy is part of how Warframes function because (despite being unrevealed at the time) each Tenno uses Void energy to transference with their Warframe.  I can kind of see this being read either way.

The thing that feels particularly odd to me is that in The Sacrifice when Ballas is explaining what Warframes are, he doesn't mention anything about the Void being a part of them or what they do; he only mentions that the Helminth Strain transformed them.  If the Void was involved, it seems like an odd detail to leave out, especially when this explanation isn't only an in-universe explanation, but also serves as a meta explanation of Warframes to the real-world player.

All of that being the case, I can think of 3 possible explanations:

• Warframes themselves require the Void to do everything: move, use powers, maybe even breathe.
• Warframes require the Void to use their powers, but not other stuff (though this doesn't explain this event in Heart of Deimos...).
• Transference requires the Void, and a weaker transference stream isn't enough to control a Warframe well for some reason, but it is enough to control a Necramech.

Is there any solid information in the game that helps explain this, or narrows things down a bit?  Preferably with quotes and sources so they can be verified!  Thanks, Tenno!

[Prof-Dante]

My explanation is that the tenno use the void as an energy source to fuel their powers and channel this energy in Warframes they're in transference contact with to empower their already existing abilities.

for example Rhino on his own still has Rhino stomp and roar, but in order to function at full capacity it needs a tenno to imbue him with Void energy.

some Warframes have direct contact to raw Void energy like Harrow and Xaku. these are one of the most powerful.

the difference between Harrow and Xaku to me Xaku acts as a vessel for the void, while Harrow is a release valve, meant to keep the void threat from leaking and venting some of it in his powers so it doesn't overflow.

 

I could be entirely wrong by the way, but this is how I like to imagine it, and giving the Convoluted meandering plot of recent quests that ends on a whimper every time, with a dialog that feels like someone is trying to write a poem but ends babbling some nonesense he got from 14 year old kid watpad story, I couldn't care less.

[(PSN)JustJoshinEnt]

1 hour ago, (PSN)Unstar said:

I was recently thinking of the Heart of Deimos quest: the heart is attacked and nearly fails, which results in your Warframe being weakened and you eventually controlling a Necramech.

Loid: "Tenno? Still functional? Listen carefully. Getting back to the surface is not going to be easy. I don't know how to break this to you, but your Warframe... it's barely functional. You're going to have to stay low and out of sight. I know a shortcut, but you've got to do the rest."

Father: "Alright, with the Void closing up, you're going to be too weak to help in that frame."

Father: "Alright. Not ideal, but I've cross-routed your Warframe impulse stream directly to Snake. Now she'll feel heavy but you'll get used to it. Head outside and we'll run a field test before your descent."

And the part of this that puzzles me a bit is why the Tenno's ability to use a Warframe suffers but they are still perfectly able to use a Necramech.  I'm not sure if there's anything that explains this, so I've been poking around.

I found the following statement in a codex fragment:

Warframes are unique from Dax and other Infantry, deploying dangerous and esoteric Void energy, and equipped with often mundane physical weapons.

This is from the early days of Warframe, and I can't tell whether this is meant to suggest that Warframes themselves manifest their powers using Void energy, or simply that Void energy is part of how Warframes function because (despite being unrevealed at the time) each Tenno uses Void energy to transference with their Warframe.  I can kind of see this being read either way.

The thing that feels particularly odd to me is that in The Sacrifice when Ballas is explaining what Warframes are, he doesn't mention anything about the Void being a part of them or what they do; he only mentions that the Helminth Strain transformed them.  If the Void was involved, it seems like an odd detail to leave out, especially when this explanation isn't only an in-universe explanation, but also serves as a meta explanation of Warframes to the real-world player.

All of that being the case, I can think of 3 possible explanations:

• Warframes themselves require the Void to do everything: move, use powers, maybe even breathe.
• Warframes require the Void to use their powers, but not other stuff (though this doesn't explain this event in Heart of Deimos...).
• Transference requires the Void, and a weaker transference stream isn't enough to control a Warframe well for some reason, but it is enough to control a Necramech.

Is there any solid information in the game that helps explain this, or narrows things down a bit?  Preferably with quotes and sources so they can be verified!  Thanks, Tenno!

It's likely a bit of everything;

Warframes were probably, in some cases, made from early Tenno, or Void-Touched citizens, that already somewhat embodied these powers... the Infestation took over and adapted said powers.  We see text suggesting something like this in Ember Prime's codex, imo.

Warframes also use a Transference Bolt to allow the Tenno to connect via Transference.  Think of it like a Void Antennae.  When we were "closer" after the Second Dream, once we moved onto the ship physically, the Lotus said our connection to our frames would become "stronger".  Even moreso after TWW.

When the Heart begins to fail, and the Void begins to "close", our connection to that source of power weakens...  Warframes are more advanced than Necramechs, as you pointed out.

So, consider this....  If you ran your home on a generator, and that generator began to run dry....   You might not be able to run a PC, but you could probably run a simple pocket Calculator, yeah?  The PC is much more advanced and consumes much more power to run effectively...  but the Calculator runs on far less power (with far less functionality, in turn)

Necramechs are tough, but they don't do anything truly fantastical in the realm of Tenno Powers...  They're just essentially powered Exo Suits.  So, with that in mind, it was much simpler to use those because they required minimal power input from the Tenno.

That's how it all seems from this Tenno's point of view, anyways.

[TARINunit9]

13 hours ago, (PSN)Unstar said:

Heart of Deimos

It's heavily implied the Heart is a mandatory environmental component for the vast majority of Orokin-level tech. Loid specifically mentioned the Solar Rails being connected to the Heart, and those are mandatory for interplanetary travel and communication. Point is it's not just for the Warframes, it's for LOTS of things

But regarding Warframes, Ballas claims "Lua brings you strength" (Lua meaning the Zariman Children) and Excalibur Umbra is the only entity in the entire game able to damage your Child/Drifter during Void Mode, heavily implying there is some form of Void energy going through his attacks (even if it doesn't literally deal void damage)