Kaithes are Cool
Every open world in Warframe has its own type of vehicle, a way of getting around these larger landscapes. Cetus has stolen Dargyns and Archwing, The Orb Vallis has K-Drives and Deimos has K-Drives in the form of massive dragonflies. Technically Necramechs too, but they are not that fast, they’re massive, slow powerhouses. Duviri on the other hand has horses. And these horses are pretty cool.
Kaithes are the way everyone gets around on Duviri, aside from walking around on foot, or being randomly teleported into combat. If you wander around Duviri, you can occasionally see stables for Kaithes. Kaithes are clearly important. One of the first things you do in Duviri, after you’ve escaped the opening area and avoid getting murdered again, is that you pick up a Kaithe of your own. Well, you steal a Kaith from a random Dax soldier and that becomes your horse and your means of escape. Afterwards, you can instantly summon your own Kaithe by pressing the 1 key. As Drifter of course.
What’s also cool about Kaithes is that they can fly. Like, right off the bat. You do need flight to get around. Not only do you need them for Orowyrms, which fly around high in the sky, but you need Kaithes to fly across the islands, because they’re not that well connected together. And the flying is actually pretty damn cool. It’s way more impressive than Archwings are.
Thankfully, you can unlock Kaithes for other open worlds, it’s the 9th intrinsic for Kaithe riding though. Like all good things in Warframe, the best bits are locked behind a grind. But at least intrinsics for Drifter are less grindy than the original intrinsics for Railjacks. Those are still insanely grinding, way more than intrinisics on Duviri. There’s also multiple ways of earning intrinsics for Drifter.
What makes Kaithes really cool is that they seem to have some weight to them. K-Drives and Archwings are generally pretty weightless, because they hover above the ground, using some sort of electromagnetism or anti-gravity power source. Archwings are weightless pretty much all the time, not just in open worlds, but in Archwing and Railjack missions as well. Of course they are, they’re designed for open space. K-Drives on the other hand are generally floaty and need to be so you can do grinds and various tricks.
On the other hand though, Kaithes are large and heavy and their movements have actual force about them. You can really feel the energy as you charge into battle, not just on solid ground, but in the air as well. Sure, they seem to be slower than K-Drives and are obviously slower than Archwings, but you feel strong and powerful as you gallop across the landscape, then suddenly sprout a pair of wings and kick yourself into the air. It’s very powerful. As riding a massive skeletal horse should be.
Honestly I didn’t expect that Kaithes would be so fun. It’s nice just riding one around. And honestly I can’t wait to use them in other open worlds.