Complete Warframe: Icebind Game Mode Guide

The Icebind is Warframe's newest 6-player activity, where you complete randomized objectives with difficulty modifiers. Unlike most mission activities, the Icebind features Cryobells that contain a random mission, planet, enemy faction, and modifiers that restrict certain loadouts. This activity offers plenty of valuable rewards, from Archon Shards to Riven mods and the new Riven Splicer item. To help you prepare, this guide covers all the mechanics in The Icebind.

How To Unlock Icebind

To access the game mode, complete the Angels of the Zariman quest and the Whispers in the Walls quest. After that, you must unlock either Elite Deep Archimedea or Elite Temporal Archimedea by reaching Rank 5 with the Cavia or the Hex.

Icebind Restrictions

This game mode has a base set of restrictions that apply to every mission before you enter. The following are:

No Duplicate Warframes:
- The Squad may not have more than one of each Warframe.
Empowered Enemies:
- Enemy Health, Shields, and Armor increased by 200%, plus 100% per squad member, up to a maximum of 800%. Increased chance of Eximus.
Restricted Respawns:
- Self-revives are not allowed.
- LastGasp's drain begins 2 seconds earlier with each use.
- The bleedout timer reduces by 5 seconds with each revive, down to a minimum of 5 seconds.
  - Nokko's Vital Decay activates only 2 times, after which he enters bleedout on subsequent downs.
- After a Tenno has bled out, a Tombstone will appear where they died. Reviving that Tenno requires at least 3 surviving Tenno to temporarily sacrifice their maximum Health.
  - If fewer than 3 Tenno are alive, all surviving players must sacrifice.
  - After 3 minutes of being dead, you will not obtain any Frozen Keys the squad acquires from completing objectives while you are dead.
Restricted Consumables:
- Team Bonus Consumables have a 3-minute cooldown.
Fatigued Companions:
- Companion recovery timers are increased by 100%.
Stunted Shields:
- Invulnerability duration from a full Shield Gate is reduced by 50%.

Cryobells

Cryobells are your keys to starting an Icebind run and can be obtained from the pillar in Yuvan Peak; you get 3 per week. Each Cryobell has a random mission, planet, faction, and modifiers that affect both you and the entire team.

Note: Public matchmaking will not be available for this game mode.

To start a run, go to Cephalon Melica in Yuvan Peak and select “Ring the Cryobell.' From here, you can invite other players to join your party with their own Cryobells. You and your party can vote on which Cryobell to use.

Icebind Mission Mechanics

At its core, an Icebind mission will still have main mission mode types such as Mobile Defense, Survival, Disruption, and Excavation. However, enemies in a mission will be at Level 999+ and have an increased chance to spawn as an Eximus unit.

Side objectives will also appear during an Icebind run, with a total of 5 per run. Each time your team completes a side objective, everyone gains a Frozen Key, which you use to open reward chests at the end of every run. However, if the team fails a side objective, the main mission will fail as well. These can only be triggered when a majority of the team are near the objective site.

Side Objective Types

The following side objectives will always appear in every Icebind run:

Side Objective	Mechanic
Lockbox	Collect Ciphers from fallen enemies and bring them to the Lockbox to unlock it.
Cryothermia	Neutralize a Cryo Core by holding it while it deals escalating damage to the holder's Health.
Indomitable Ice	Charge ice crystals with concentrated team fire.
Entropy Orb	Gather around the orb and avoid its damaging pulses.
Signal Chain	Connect a beam of energy between two points using your Warframes.

Mission Binds

Mission Bind	Effect
Entropic Overload	Using abilities spawns Entropic Crystals on you and triggers Entropic Overload, causing enemies to self-revive as Leech Eximus and hostile Entropic Wisps appear. Getting hit by a Wisp causes stacked crystals to explode. Destroying Entropic Crystals and Wisps will decrease saturation
Stone Soldiers	Enemies are hard as stone and hit even harder. Surprise attacks are the best way to exploit weak points in their stony flesh. You will also face hostile Tomb Guardians.
Miasmic Militia	Enemies take damage slowly but are immune to Toxin, Gas, Viral, and Corrosive status effects. On death, they release a Gas cloud.
Thin Boundary	Void Tears rip into reality, growing with nearby ability use. Tears inflict Void Shackles, reducing ability stats and weapon combo durations, while draining energy, health, and Incarnon weapon energy.
Inferno	Heat Status on players or enemies feeds the Inferno, drawing in Arson Eximus, Heat-empowered enemies, and damaging anyone near active Heat sources. Avoid inflicting Heat Status and killing hostile Heat sources to starve the Inferno.

Icebind Rewards

Once the main mission objective is complete, all players will be teleported to Melica's Observatory, where three Crested Frozen Chests and many smaller Frozen Chests will appear. Completing a run regularly grants one Crested Frozen Key, while completing a side objective grants one Frozen Key.

Here are the rewards that drop from the Crested Frozen Chest: