A major Warframe update, "Deadlock Protocol," was released today, overhauling the visuals of the early areas, re-working bosses, adding new playable Warframes, unlockable goodies, and more.

The biggest part of the update is a new visual style for the Corpus ship area. Because the game uses procedurally generated levels, the tilesets used in the Corpus ships have been in the game since launch in 2012. They often felt like a mishmash of gray corridors, so in the new update all the corridors have been given a new paint job. Corpus ships are more colorful and visually interesting, with shrines and statues of the Corpus elite. Digital Extremes also hints at "new dangers."

Jackal boxes have also been powered up and are part of an ongoing in-game event. For the first seven days after the update, players will be able to go on jackal sorties and take on a more challenging level 100 version of the boss. As a preview of how this new boss fight will play out, a new Jackal-specific trailer has been released.

The last major content update comes in the form of a new Warframe, Protea. It can throw cluster grenades, turrets, and a dispensary for teammates. Protea's biggest trick, however, is her Temporal Anchor, which records her movements. When she takes damage, goes down, or de-anchors herself, the anchor rewinds the protea's actions, returning damage to the enemy and replenishing ammo, shields, and health.

While the above jackal trailer showcases Protea's actions, her own trailer explains her abilities in more detail.

In addition, a number of new cosmetics, weapons, armor packs, and dojo decorations will be added as part of the Deadlock Protocol update. For more information on these, please visit the Warframe blog.

Warframe is a game that I always install but am too scared to actually play. The early areas are starting to look a little more appealing, and Protea looks like a lot of fun, so I might give it another shot.

Deadlock Protocol updates begin today.