Excalibur/Umbra

“You're not supposed to be in here! You're going to ruin the surprise!”

The following article/section contains spoilers.

Excalibur Umbra
Hidden from Codex
📝 Update Infobox Data
Description
From the shadow of the long night emerges a new Excalibur.
Passive
Umbra exhibits sentience in combat without Transference control. Attacks 10% faster and deals 10% more damage while wielding swords.
Abilities
1st Ability	Slash Dash
2nd Ability	Radial Howl
3rd Ability	Radial Javelin
4th Ability	Exalted Blade
General Information
Sex	Male
Mastery Rank	0
Max Rank	30
Health	270 (370 at Rank 30)
Shields	270 (370 at Rank 30)
Armor	315
Energy	175 (225 at Rank 30)
Starting Energy	100
Sprint Speed	1
Aura Polarity
Exilus Polarity	None
Polarities
Introduced	Update 23.0 (2018-06-15)
Themes	Shadow, Swordsman
Progenitor Element	Electricity
Tactical Ability	Radial Howl
Sell Price	0
Official Drop Tables
https://www.warframe.com/droptables

CODEX

From the shadow of the long night emerges a new Excalibur.

Ferocious and untamed, Umbra’s fury is second only to his mastery of the blade.

— Introduction of Umbra

Release Date: June 15th, 2018

Excalibur Umbra is the Umbra variant of  Excalibur, sporting higher armor and energy, as well as three polarities while losing a . Unique to Umbra is his display of sentience, allowing him to fight on his own when not piloted by the Operator.

He was first released in the Chinese build of WARFRAME as  Excalibur Umbra Prime and was later added to the Global build in Update 23.0 (2018-06-15). He can be acquired through the The Sacrifice quest.

Manufacturing Requirements
10,000	1	60	1,200	1,600	Time: 10 s
					Rush: 0 Platinum 0
Market Price: N/A			Blueprints Price: N/A

Acquisition

The blueprint for Excalibur Umbra is given to players upon completing the first mission of The Sacrifice quest, and the ability to build the Warframe is granted on completing the second mission. Unlike other Warframes, Umbra requires no further components and is crafted entirely from the single blueprint. However, even after being crafted, he cannot be used until the penultimate mission. A second blueprint will not be given on replays.

At the end of the quest, players will receive Excalibur Umbra at Rank 30 with a free, pre-installed Orokin Reactor, and Warframe slot.

Lore

“You're not supposed to be in here! You're going to ruin the surprise!”

The following article/section contains spoilers. Please complete The Sacrifice quest before proceeding.

The Sacrifice

But you won't have to imagine. A lovingly cultured Infestation swarms within your blood. Your transformation has begun, reshaping you into a sacred surrogate of the unholy Tenno... A Warframe with but a Single. Burning. Memory. It is... a miracle! But all miracles require sacrifice.

—Ballas

Excalibur Umbra was originally an Orokin Dax soldier who was punished by Ballas for attempting to interfere with his betrayal. The soldier was deliberately exposed to the Infestation to become an anti-Sentient weapon, a "miracle" that requires "sacrifice", and was fitted with a unique Transference Bolt that forced him to obey Ballas's whims. He was then psychologically tortured into rote obedience by forcing him to kill his son, Isaah.

As a result of Umbra's torment, he retains most of his sentience and is capable of acting on his own without the Tenno's control, even initially rejecting the Operator's Transference and going rogue. Umbra also carries the memories of his final moments before transforming into a Warframe, which the Operator discovers to contain codes that unlock Ballas's Vitruvian recordings of the Sentient's betrayal, the creation of Warframes, and the Tenno.

Umbra is first seen in a courtyard on Earth battling his creator and his allied Sentients, but due to Transference influence he is unable to disobey Ballas, allowing him to be easily destroyed by Natah. The Operator discovers Umbra's remains on Earth, which leads them to a containment cell on Lua housing Ballas's Vitruvian, allowing the Operator to rebuild Umbra. However, Umbra immediately goes rogue and flees across the solar system, but not before the Operator taps into his memories.

--We had created monsters we couldn't control. We drugged them, tortured them, eviscerated them... We brutalized their minds... but it did not work. Until they came. And it was not their force of will - not their Void devilry - not their alien darkness... It was something else. It was that somehow, from within the derelict-horror, they had learned a way to see inside an ugly, broken thing-- And take away its pain.

—Ballas

After seeing all of Umbra's memories, the Operator reassures Umbra that they will fight Ballas together. Upon seeing this act of compassion, Umbra calms down and finally accepts the Operator's Transference. Together they battle Ballas on Earth, whose attempts to subdue Umbra prove futile when the Operator's Transference overpowers Ballas's control, allowing Umbra to wound his creator.

Notes

• Excalibur Umbra, compared to  Excalibur:
  • Higher Armor (300 vs. 225)
  • Higher Energy (150/225 vs. 100/150)
  • Different Polarities ( vs. )
  • Different Aura Polarity ( vs. None)
• Excalibur Umbra, compared to  Excalibur Prime:
  • Different Polarities ( vs. )
• Umbra, along with the  Skiajati, will be obtained by the player already fully ranked. All the Mastery Rank points that would normally be granted from ranking up Warframe and weapon will be automatically received upon acquiring them.
  • Due to their unique nature both are also unable to be sold from the inventory.
• Excalibur Umbra comes with three mod slots polarized with the unique Umbra polarity. He also comes with 3 Umbral Mods:  Umbral Intensify,  Umbral Fiber, and  Umbral Vitality fusioned to rank 5 out of 10. His  Skiajati Nikana and Exalted Umbra Blade each have two polarity slots and come with  Sacrificial Pressure and  Sacrificial Steel equipped.
• In place of  Radial Blind, Umbra has  Radial Howl, which not only blinds enemies, but also removes any active damage resistances from Sentient units and Shadow Stalker within range.
• Unlike other Warframes, Excalibur Umbra's sentience allows him to remain active after using Transference, supporting the Operator with abilities and equipped weapons. However, Umbra can be damaged, and will stop moving once all of his health is depleted.
  • Excalibur Umbra is incapable of using Arch-guns when in autonomous mode, as transferring out with the Operator will make him switch back to using his primary weapon.

Trivia

• Umbra is the Latin word for "shadow".
• Excalibur Umbra is the first Umbra variant of a Warframe to be released in WARFRAME.
• Excalibur Umbra is the only quest Warframe that cannot be purchased from the Market or be sold.
• Excalibur Umbra's agile and noble animations are the only animations that are able to be used on other Warframes without prior purchase.
• According to its Codex entry, the Skiajati, Umbra's signature weapon, is a  Nikana "grafted" from Umbra's flesh.
• In the Chinese build, Excalibur Umbra originated as part of their Founder's pack exclusive, as Excalibur Umbra Prime, gameplay-wise identical to Excalibur Prime. The pack also included the  Nikana Prime and the  Spira Prime, as well as the Gauvan Prime Sekhara, a shoulder accessory obtainable only through that Founder pack.
• Upon release, Excalibur Umbra had the passive ability of Prime Warframes to gain energy from Orokin Void Death Orbs, as an erroneous leftover from his data origins as Excalibur Umbra Prime. This was later removed in Hotfix 23.0.3 (2018-06-19).
• Umbra utilizes a different sword design for his  Exalted Blade, which is named Exalted Umbra Blade. The stats for both weapons, however, are identical.
• Upon completion of The Sacrifice quest, players will receive an Excalibur Umbra-exclusive Excalibur Umbra Sunder Helmet in their inbox, which is a battle-damaged version of the regular Umbra helmet.
• Excalibur Umbra is the first Warframe confirmed to originally be a "human being". He is also the first frame to have had his face exposed due to damage to his helmet.
  • Ballas confirms that Warframes are created from human subjects as Infested-hybrids cultivated by the Helminth.
• When interacting with Baro Ki'Teer, Baro will treat Umbra as he would be any other non-Prime frame.
• Umbra's scarf and torso lining, along with his Orokin ornaments, remain visible when other Excalibur skins are equipped, similar to the Prime details of Prime Warframes when using TennoGen skins. Hotfix 25.4.1 (2019-07-24) added a "Toggle Prime Details" option, which removes his scarf, torso lining and ornaments on other skins when toggled on.
• Looking closely, Shadow Stalker uses a unique variant of Excalibur Umbra's body, which lacks the Orokin ornaments and Umbra's signature scarf, along with a different loincloth design.
• In the "The Sacrifice" teaser of TennoCon 2017, Umbra wielded a regular Nikana on the Orokin Moon tileset.
• It was revealed at TennoCon 2018's Sound Panel that Excalibur Umbra's howls were voiced by [DE]Steve Sinclair, Game Director of Warframe.

Media

• Umbra on official The Sacrifice info page header.
• Umbra's introduction picture on The Sacrifice info page.
• Launcher (English Version)
• Dax Umbra and his son

1/4

Warframe - The Sacrifice Teaser

Warframe The Sacrifice 'Umbra' E3 Trailer

The Sacrifice "Umbra" E3 2018

WARFRAME - Excalibur Umbra Spoilers

External Links

• Umbra Warframes Megathread