The Unholy Trinity: Uriel’s Demon Mechanics

With the arrival of Update 41: The Old Peace, Digital Extremes has introduced Uriel, the 63rd Warframe. Unlike traditional summoners: Uriel’s kit is built around three distinct demonic entities that unlock as you rank him up. These imps are not just cosmetic: they are the engine for his entire gameplay loop.

  • Catenach: Unlocked via his first ability: Infernalis. This demon chains enemies together: causing them to share damage.
  • Gulphagor: Unlocked with his second ability: Remedium. It targets high-priority foes: pinning them down and forcing them to drop health orbs.
  • Vythelas: Unlocked through his third ability: Demonium. This summon creates runes from fallen enemies that buff weapon fire rate and add heat damage.

The real power of Uriel lies in his Brimstone gauge. Every interaction your demons have with enemies charges this meter. Once full: you can cast his fourth ability to ignite a massive area with corrosive flames. This makes Uriel a hybrid between a “weapon platform” and a “nuke frame”: rewarding players who manage their summons’ positioning rather than just spamming energy.

Community Verdict: Agency and AI Issues

The Warframe community on Reddit and the official forums has met Uriel with a mix of excitement and mechanical critique. The most common praise focuses on his visual design and the synergy within his kit. Many players appreciate that Uriel feels like a “complete” character where every ability has a purpose. The 15 percent fire damage buff from Vythelas: for instance: is already being used in Steel Path builds to turn crit weapons into room-clearers.

However: the “minion AI” remains a major point of contention.

  • Lack of Agency: Top-voted threads on Reddit highlight that players cannot manually direct their demons. In fast-paced missions: the demons often lag behind or target irrelevant enemies: making it difficult to charge the Brimstone meter reliably.
  • The Boss Problem: Critics point out that Uriel struggles in boss fights without “adds” (minor enemies). Since his energy sustain and gauge charging rely on kills or demon interactions: he can feel powerless in isolated 1v1 encounters.
  • Backtracking for Runes: The Vythelas runes spawn at the location of a kill: often behind the player. Many users are calling for a “vacuum” mechanic to pull these buffs toward the Warframe to maintain combat flow.

Patch 41 Technical Shifts and Arcanes

Beyond the frame itself: Patch 41 introduced the Ascendant Penance arcane. This item allows abilities to cost zero energy: instead consuming 200 percent of the energy cost in health. This has turned Uriel into a “health tank” meta-staple: as his second ability: Remedium: provides a reliable way to heal both himself and his demons.

The update also debuted the Vinquibus: the game’s first Bayonet weapon class. This hybrid primary-melee tool allows players to maintain Uriel’s fire-aura momentum while switching between long-range shots and close-quarters stabs. While there are some bugs involving the Vinquibus’ sugatra offsets: the general consensus is that it is the perfect thematic companion for a “devil” build.