Oro

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

The following article/section contains spoilers.

For the Assassination-mission of the same name, see Earth#Missions.

Oro
Oro from a defeated Warframe in Conclave

Oro is the binding force for an enemy who like the Tenno can survive death.

—Teshin

The Oro is an orb released upon death of a Tenno in Conclave's Annihilation and Team Annihilation mode. As Teshin describes it, it prevents any living being who possesses it from dying.

Lore

Currently, not much is known about Oro, only that it is a property intrinsic to all Tenno, and it is also stated by Teshin that there are enemies who possess the same power. It is mentioned by name in Conclave's Annihilation mode, in which one must annihilate the Oro of an enemy in order to truly confirm their death, and its in-game purpose outside the game mode yet remains unknown. The Zariman's Reliquary Drive is located in a zone named "Oro Works", possibly indicating a link to Reliquaries or the Void. Albrecht Entrati's grimoire notes that Oro is a manifestation of a complex consciousness, and thus animals do not have Oro.

Speculation

“Orokin secrets cannot remain secret forever! Start talking!”

The following article/section is conjecture. Content is subjected to change/removal as the game progresses. Please do not use this article for critical in-game information.

It is believed by some that Oro is only possessed by those who have been exposed to the Void, seemingly due to Oro's connection to the Tenno (whose power is drawn from the Void). However, this is unlikely, given Teshin's purpose of training the Tenno to face the Sentients, who are poisoned by void exposure, and the lack of evidence of any enemies that Teshin is concerned with having a connection to the Void, whether they might be Oro wielding or not.

Although it's described to grant the ability of resurrection to a degree, it is not an all-powerful ability that grants them invincibility, or even immortality against aging. There is a case where a Tenno is capable of death due to lack of a body to reside in, as seen in Rell's death in Chains of Harrow, as well as being expected by Lotus to be susceptible to old age due to lack of access to the Long Dream.

Since the Revive system is mentioned in-game outside the conclave, in the Hidden Messages quest, Oro perhaps may even be a property built into Warframes, given that Warframe revives are a common occurrence.

The Archons seen in The New War quest are capable of resurrection using the power of their Archon Shard. These shards function as a source of anti-entropic radiation that, besides the Sentients, can be used by synthetic lifeforms such as Warframes. These shards may be a modernized concept that essentially replaces the original idea of the Oro.

Media

What We Know Warframe Lore - Oro, Kuva, and the Arcane

Warning: The majority of this video's content is speculation.

Trivia

• There is a node on Earth called Oro, which is the assassination of Councilor Vay Hek, and a node on the Zariman 10-0 called Oro Works, which is a Void Armageddon node. However, these are simply names for mission nodes and have not been confirmed to be related to the resurrection ability of Oro. The common name may simply be a coincidence, such as the common "Thrax" between Thrax Centurion/Legatus units and the Thrax Toxin.
• "Oro" is Italian and Spanish for "gold", a prominent motif among the Orokin. In addition, Oro may be contraction of, or a reference to, Ouroborous, the snake that bites its tail. The symbol of the Ouroborous is typically used to represent an eternal cycle, such as reincarnation in some religions.
• The Creative Director of the game, Steve Sinclair, describes the Oro as something "which represents the resurrection ability of Tenno and other enemies that Teshin is most concerned with".