Soulframe Adds Wolf Mounts, New Boss and Ben Starr as Villain at TennoCon 2026
Digital Extremes used its annual TennoCon Devstream on July 11 to confirm that mounts, a new boss fight and a fishing minigame are all coming to Soulframe, alongside the reveal of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 star Ben Starr as the game’s newest antagonist. According to the official Digital Extremes press release, additional reveals included a sneak peek at the Warsongs Fable quest featuring Ben Starr as an antagonist named Tempest Bayor, a new fishing mini-game, the Vadagar Pact showcasing a new corrupted progression path, the Mendicant Reinbreaker boss fight, and confirmation that mounts are coming to Soulframe Preludes this year.
Ben Starr’s Tempest Bayor Joins the Invading Ode Forces
Starr, fresh off playing Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Clive Rosfield in Final Fantasy XVI, now voices and performs Tempest Bayor, one of Soulframe’s central villains. WCCFTech reports that Bayor is a rare red-armed Envoy aligned with the invading Ode forces, accompanied by a raven companion; his motivations remain unclear, though the Empress of Eldveil, portrayed by Jennifer English, appears to know more than she’s letting on.
English, best known to players as Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3 and Maelle in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, makes her first in-game appearance as the Empress of Eldveil in the sequence. Bayor headlines the new Warsongs Fable quest, which Digital Extremes says is arriving this fall, and WCCFTech notes that during the Q&A segment of the presentation, developers confirmed there are already plans to keep Starr’s character involved in Soulframe beyond just the Warsongs quest, without elaborating further.
Creative Director Geoff Crookes framed the darker turn thematically, saying: “Our approach to storytelling in Soulframe has focused a lot on redemption, with uplifting character arcs built around salvation and not necessarily the destruction of the human body and soul. Life has many paths toward redemption, though, and with the Warsongs Fable we’re attempting to explore a smidge of that contrast.”
Wolf Mounts Are Finally Coming to Preludes This Fall
Chief among the reveals for existing Preludes players is the long-requested mount system. Digital Extremes confirmed in its release that Soulframe Preludes players will soon be able to test out the first highly anticipated mount system later this year. Sportskeeda, reporting live from the Devstream, added more specifics on timing, noting that mounts are coming sometime this fall, potentially mid-October, but there will be a new interim Preludes update before that to introduce some early pup-bonding activities.
PCGamesN’s hands-on impressions from the showcase floor confirmed the wolf will be rideable in the near term, writing plainly that after years of waiting, we’re finally getting mounts — yes, you’ll be able to ride the big wolf. Players will first need to raise the wolf pup they adopt during the Orengall storyline before it can be summoned as a full mount, and Digital Extremes has said a dedicated bonding track, including simply petting the animal outside of missions, will precede the traversal system’s full rollout.
Mendicant Reinbreaker Boss and Grandfather Doyen’s Fishing Minigame
Away from the story reveals, a new boss encounter tied to the invading Ode forces, the Mendicant Reinbreaker, is already live in Soulframe Preludes. Per the official rundown, players must break a bucking rampage of the Ode forces’ latest boss encounter and defeat the mounted menace, freeing his indentured steed for the potential chance to befriend it in the future.
Digital Extremes also added a lifestyle activity built around narrative rather than pure mechanics: a new fishing gathering activity with Grandfather Doyen, woven directly into the game’s narrative while expanding Alca’s worldbuilding. It joins a growing list of quieter side activities the studio has layered onto the open-world fantasy RPG since Preludes launched.
Vadagar Pact Lets Envoys Wield Corruption Against the Ode
The Devstream’s biggest systemic addition was the Vadagar Pact, a darker, corrupted counterpart to Soulframe’s existing Virtue paths. PCGamesN describes it as a darker, inverted version of Soulframe’s existing Virtues — Courage, Spirit, and Grace — tapping into Wrath, Doom, and Death instead, allowing players to wield the magic that’s corrupting the Omen Beasts. Digital Extremes CEO Steve Sinclair described the intent behind the path, telling press it would let players “become the monsters that The Ode are creating and use that against them.”
In practice, the Vadagar Pact grants offensive tools built around corrupted Ichor, letting Envoys wield the power of the corrupting Ichor with the new Vadagar Pact to toss exploding boomerangs, call forth ensnaring tendrils, or summon a stampede of corrosive steeds that leave behind murky pools in their wake. It’s a notable tonal shift for a game that Digital Extremes has consistently pitched around themes of nature and restoration rather than destruction.
How to Get Into Soulframe Preludes Right Now
As with previous TennoCons, Digital Extremes reopened Preludes access to everyone for the weekend. The studio confirmed that players who sign up for Soulframe Preludes on the official website by July 12 at 11:59 p.m. ET will receive instant access to the current build, rather than waiting on the usual weekly raffle invites. For Kiwi and Australian players, that Eastern Time deadline lands mid-afternoon on July 13 locally, so anyone keen to try Preludes, fight the Mendicant Reinbreaker or start raising a wolf pup ahead of the mount rollout should register well before then.
Once the open window closes, latecomers can still register but will need to wait for periodic raffle invites rather than getting guaranteed entry. Digital Extremes has still not committed to a full release date or launch window for Soulframe, keeping the fantasy action RPG in its extended early-access Preludes phase while it builds out mounts, fishing and the new Vadagar content ahead of a wider PC launch.
Read also: Warframe’s Tau Expansion Sends Tenno Beyond the Origin System This Year
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