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Warframe Shadowgrapher March Update - I was in Discord with my clan when Devstream 192 happened and the second they panned the camera to that broken Vesper Relay with the weird inky painting floating next to it I typed in all caps THIS IS GOING TO EAT MY WEEKENDS. Let me share what we know so far and what I'm personally doing before this thing drops.
I've got 4000+ hours in Warframe at this point. I've been through probably 30 major updates. Some landed smooth, some were a complete disaster on day one.
When Does This Actually Come Out
March 2026. That's all they've said.
No specific date yet. DE always does this where they announce a month and then pick the actual day like two weeks before launch. Based on how they usually schedule things I'm guessing mid-March but it could easily be early March or even late March. Who knows.
What we DO know is it's hitting all platforms at once. PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and the brand new Android version that just launched. They can't stagger it anymore because cross save is live so everyone gets it together.
What Is Shadowgrapher Actually (From What They Showed)
OK so let me try to explain this. They didn't give us full patch notes yet, but they showed enough on Devstream 192 that we can piece together the basic shape.
Quests
- Remastered Awakening
Warframes
- Follie, the Painter Warframe.
Weapons
New Adversary Weapons
- Kuva Ghoulsaw
- Tenet Quanta
- Coda Bubonico
Items
- Requiem Eterna relic.
This will retire Requiem I, Requiem II, Requiem III, Requiem IV relic; but they will still be purchasable from Palladino with Riven Sliver.
Well, finally some use of the 1000s of riven sliver that everyone has gathered. And, another task for me to rework the Requiem Relic pages. Guess we'll know more when the update drops.
Gamemodes
- New Vesper Relay game mode.
For those who don't know, Vesper Relay already exists in the game, but it isn't accessible. The relay got destroyed at an event in the early days of the game (very early). It stays like that as an acknowledgement of the event's outcome. Now they're changing that. I am excited about how they will rework and reintroduce it.
Is This A Hub Mode Or Just A Normal Node
Based on what they said this is a hub-style thing launched from the Vesper Relay. Think more like Zariman or Sanctum Anatomica where you load into a social space first and then pick your activity from there. Not just a node you click on the star chart and forget about.
That means there's probably going to be a vendor. New standing system. Maybe some new crafting resource that nobody cares about for the first week and then everyone realizes they need 500 of it.
I hope they don't make the standing grind too painful but knowing Warframe it's going to have like 5 ranks and the actually good rewards are locked behind rank 5 which takes 3 weeks to hit if you cap standing every single day. I absolutely hate this system.
Wait actually I don't know if there's standing. They didn't explicitly say standing. I'm just assuming because every hub mode since Deimos has had standing. Could be wrong.
Other Stuff Coming In This Patch
Apart from the basics, here are a few things that they confirmed that will drop with the new update:
- Visual improvements for Switch 2: They said 1080p 60 FPS on the new Switch hardware when it releases. Some general graphical polish across all platforms, tied to making the game look better for the Android launch, I think.
- Replay The Old Peace: You can replay The Old Peace quest somehow through this update. They mentioned extra Operator and Drifter customization and cosmetics tied to going back through that story.
- Vauban Heirloom: They're also dropping the Vauban Heirloom.
Are you buying the Vauban Heirloom on day one or waiting to see if it goes on discount? I usually wait because Heirlooms are expensive, and half the time I don't even use the frame that much.
Quick Prep Checklist Before This Thing Drops
Here's my actual to-do list between now and when Shadowgrapher launches in March:
- Free at least 1 Warframe slot. Free 3 or 4 weapon slots. Delete or sell stuff you never use. Do this now not on patch day.
- Farm credits and Endo while you have time. I'd aim for at least 3 to 5 million credits. Maybe 50k Endo if you can manage it. But for older players like me, they need not to worry.
- Stock up on common build resources. Ferrite, Neurodes, Polymer Bundle, Oxium. Whatever you're low on. New gear eats through those fast.
- Finish The Old Peace quest if you somehow still haven't done it. The update ties into that story somehow.
- If you care about Android at all, link your cross save account before February 18 when the mobile version launches. Don't wait until launch day.
Honestly I'm cautiously hyped for this one. The ink aesthetic looks really good from what they showed and I'm curious what weird mechanics they're hiding in that painting tileset. Just hoping the Follie farm isn't too painful and that the mode itself is actually fun to repeat.
About the Author
Vikas Bhatt
Warframe veteran with 4,000+ hours of gameplay, playing since the "Void Keys" era. With over ten years of editorial experience, he specializes in relic farming optimization and Prime acquisition strategies. Vikas's articles have been featured on multiple gaming outlets like IGN, Gamespot, Kotaku to name a few. He is also the founder of Warframe Relics.
