Loid (not to be confused with the construct of the same name) is a member of the Cavia syndicate in the Sanctum Anatomica under the Necralisk on Deimos. During the Orokin era, he was Albrecht Entrati's faithful assistant, companion, and partner. After being revived from cryosleep, he aids Tenno in fulfilling the Kalymos Sequence, a plan put in place by Albrecht long ago.
Idle quotes
"Now that you're here, Tenno, let's put you to work."
"Please, remember to hand in any Voca you encounter. For analysis."
"Dignity. Dignity at all times."
"Samples over here, if you please!"
"Tenno! Our work goes on!"
"One must make the best of things."
"I may be at risk of succumbing to optimism."
(if the Tenno is rank Colleague) "We've had a few… setbacks. But we are going to crack on."
(if the Tenno is rank Colleague) "Come on. Let's at least pretend this mess can still work."
(if the Tenno is rank Colleague) "Tenno. Welcome to the bloody circus."
Greeting the Tenno
(if the Tenno has just completed Whispers in the Walls) "You've met the animals? The catastrophe Albrecht's saddled me with? Well? Any ideas? [pause, sigh] Their roles were intended to be filled by qualified personnel. People. Instead, we have… this. It's bad comedy. They're imprinted with whatever information they need to function, and an understanding of our current state of affairs – including Albrecht's absence. They were sent into the Void using a bell of the same design that Albrecht initially used. The Void got in, somehow. Again. [sigh] One of the animals was lost, and the rest came back… like that. We placed them in stasis pending a proper examination. For them, the disaster, intelligence, and selfhood all occurred only hours ago. They're psychological shrapnel and they're all we've got. [sigh] See what you can do with them. I simply do not have the time."
"Ah, Tenno. [long pause] I forget what one is meant to do with company."
"I was trained to assist Archimedians, not warriors or animals, but I shall do my best."
"I have a small battery of tasks to complete, and once they are done, I shall repeat them."
"I'm never alone down here, Tenno. It's always watching from behind the walls. Flattering, I suppose."
"I wouldn't bother going mad, Tenno. It may be dreadfully tempting, but it really does not help."
"'Tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all.'"
"And how may this relic make himself useful to you today?"
"Welcome, once again, to the chaotic waltz that is my life."
"The backroom boys have been beavering away in your absence. Slow progress is still progress."
(if the Tenno has just reached rank Illuminate) "When the grandchildren were still very small, Kalymos fell sick. I did what I could, but there seemed to be no hope. Albrecht took Kalymos away, out of our sight. He told us she was recovering, and mustn't be disturbed. And one bright morning, Kalymos came running up to greet us, all better. I often wondered if he simply cloned her, and the original had died. If he did, he never gave any sign of it. So far as Albrecht was concerned, Kalymos was Kalymos. I'm glad the Cavia made it, Tenno. I couldn't help Kalymos. But we saved them, didn't we?"
(if the Tenno is rank Illuminate) "If enough people bang their heads on the same brick wall long enough, it will fall down."
(if the Tenno is rank Illuminate) "When what was left of my Albrecht came crawling back from the Void, I swore I would take care of him forever. I will be honoured to do the same for you."
(if the Tenno is rank Illuminate) "I do wish my Albrecht could have met you."
(if the Tenno is rank Illuminate) "I am going to see him again, one day, Tenno. It is decided."
(if the Tenno is rank Illuminate) "Fibonacci cheats at komi, you know. He thinks I haven't noticed. Inferior human brain, and all that."
(if the Tenno is rank Illuminate) "I talk and talk of changing the past, but Tagfer has swallowed his own unthinkable grief for the sake of our common survival. That creature is a better man than I."
(if the Tenno is rank Illuminate) "What news of the family, Tenno? I miss them all so very, very much."
(if the Tenno is rank Illuminate) "I helped chart mankind's path to the stars, and now I am half zookeeper, half shopkeeper. How perverse fate can be."
(if the Tenno is rank Illuminate) "It's wonderful to see you, Tenno."
Exchanging Voca for Cavia Standing
"Ah, a fresh opportunity to continue my Albrecht's work!"
"The debris of monstrousness. Let us learn from it."
"Remain of stalwart mind, Tenno, even in the face of madness."
"I know what it must have cost you to bring me these."
"To do what you do would vex my sanity, Tenno."
Exiting Voca exchange without exchanging
"Oh. No matter, I suppose."
"Yes, I'm sure we've all got better things to do."
"Maybe I'll just take another little nap?"
Exiting Voca exchange after exchange
"Research keeps the Cavia busy, and that keeps them off my back."
"This ought to keep the group cohesive for a little longer…."
"We appreciate it, Tenno."
Browsing Voca trading or Arcane dissolution
"My Albrecht did his best to prepare the stockrooms for your arrival."
"Be patient with me, Tenno. I am still adjusting to this era."
"I hear his voice sometimes, when I walk these halls alone. Quiet, entreating. Insistent."
"So much of what we do resembles magic. No wonder we found demons in the forbidden spaces."
"'Arcanes'. The very name smacks of sorcery. Asking for trouble, in my view."
"Sometimes I wonder how much of this Albrecht saw coming. And then I try not to think about it."
"I'm quite content down here, I assure you. A chap has to have his space."
"We truly have accumulated a bewildering quantity of… stuff."
Upon buying a Voca or Arcane pack
"Splendid."
"Will there be anything else, Tenno?"
"There we are, then."
Exiting Voca trading or Arcane wares without purchase
"Oh, I'll just pop off and find something to dust, shall I?"
"I'll just put this all back, then."
"Very good, Tenno."
Arcane Dissolution
"Say the word, and I shall break your Arcanes down into Vosfor."
"Make your selection, and the Vosfor shall flow."
"Good condition. Shouldn't take long to dissolve."
(if the Tenno has no Arcanes) "Ah. It would appear that you have neglected to bring the Arcanes."
(if the Tenno has no Arcanes) "I would be delighted to dissolve your Arcanes for you, if you had any."
(if the Tenno has no Arcanes) "Oh, it's always so awkward when you fancy a spot of Arcane Dissolution, but then you realise you've left all your Arcanes at home."
Upon dissolving Arcanes
(single Arcane) "Your Vosfor, Tenno."
(single Arcane) "And here's the yield."
(single Arcane) "Dissolved, as requested."
(multiple Arcanes) "A wealth of Vosfor, and all of it yours."
(multiple Arcanes) "Ah. A splendid result."
(multiple Arcanes) "Out with the old, eh, Tenno?"
Research Dante
(when the Tenno opens store for the first time) "I cannot lie, Tenno. I have always felt nervous in the presence of warframes. The Orokin twisted people into weapons, and I have seen first-hand the bloody and well-deserved consequences of that act. Dante, though? In his company, I felt no such anxiety. He was warm. Earnest. Literate! A fellow seeker. To know that he perished in these very halls while I slept… is a bitterness to me."
"Put me to work, Tenno. Drusus has his debts to pay, and I have mine."
"Very well. Let's rake up the past."
"Time to turn another page of Dante's folio?"
"Let's see what we can recover."
"To work!"
"What have you discovered?"
"What you have gathered… may be of use."
(if the Tenno idles) "The Drusus I knew was a genius. A quick, bright-eyed man with a taste for fancy waistcoats. I wonder if he even remembers those days now. Or cares to."
(if the Tenno idles) "Drusus never seems to distinguish between the deeds of the warframes and of the Tenno who presumably operated them. He credits them all with autonomy and dignity. I imagine Dante is responsible for that."
(if the Tenno idles) "Parvos Granum stole from the Entrati. He boasted of it. All that Albrecht had freely given, all he had sacrificed, was not enough! Can you blame me for despising the man?"
(if the Tenno idles) "Granum made the mistake of robbing the same place twice. It's easy to trip up a man blinded by greed."
(if the Tenno idles) "Dante's works on ancient Earth archaeology were some of the finest in their field. Many back then refused to accept a mere warframe could have written them."
(if the Tenno idles) "Dante shared the Entrati fascination with bones. I was content to let him explore our old burial vaults and ossuaries, but his request to examine my own replicated skull was a step too far. Otherwise, his manners were impeccable."
(if the Tenno idles) "Warframes cannot speak, as a rule. Their creator decided they should only scream, or roar, or howl. Dante spoke through his writing, and his voice was beautiful."
(if the Tenno idles) "I discovered a forgotten work by Archimedian Otak on crystallography deep in the archives. He was the first to anticipate the unique properties of Argon. We owe him so much. At least… what remains of him… is happy."
(if the Tenno idles) "The Orokin found conventional books offensive. Primitive. They clung to their precious Ayatans and sneered at our grand libraries. [chuckles] Oh, how we loved to offend the Orokin, Albrecht and I. And how secure our primitive libraries proved while their Towers burned."
(if the Tenno idles) "I remember when we learned of the warframe insurrections. Their madness, savage and sudden, justifying all the Orokin fear. All their heroic deeds were forgotten in an instant. Those like Dante, who had yet to succumb, became fugitives. To shelter them meant death – or glassing."
(if the Tenno idles) "The Gods of writing were always Gods of magic, too. Demons and ideas, both bound up in books. Impossible to bind forever, mind you. No matter how many locks and chains you fasten a book up with, someone will always prise it back open. That's the frightening thing about ideas, you see. They want to get out."
(if the Tenno idles) "Have you ever seen the oldest human art on the walls of the oldest caves, Tenno? It haunts me. Those images of weird, hybrid entities, antler-horned, beast-bodied, privy to an ill-understood magic. I wonder if Ballas truly understood what he was creating."
(if the Tenno idles) "'Old shapes of song that do not die shall haunt the halls of memory.'"
(if the Tenno idles) "Our adversary seeks to muddy our recollection of true history. We will need reliable chroniclers more than ever."
Bidding farewell
"Company is always welcome, down here."
"All satisfactory, I trust?"
"I wait upon your pleasure."
"Our service is but a shadow of yours."
"To better times ahead."
Mission control
Loid acts as mission control for the following mission types:
- Disruption (Armatus, Deimos)
- Mirror Defence (Munio, Deimos)
He also has dialogue if the Tenno attempts to hack a terminal and summon their Necramech during missions in Albrecht's Laboratories.
While hacking
"Convince the system to let you in and I'll send your personal Necramech to a dispenser."
"Recalibrate the console to recognise you, and your Necramech will be with you in seconds."
"Preparing your Necramech. Waiting for you to unlock the transit path."
"Necramech almost ready to deploy. This next part is down to you."
Hack successful
"Excellent. Your Necramech is on the way. I wager you're due for some… fun?"
"Your Necramech is en route to you even as we speak. I look forward to the ensuing mayhem."
"Your Necramech will be waiting at the designated dispenser. You may fire when ready."
"Additional firepower authorised. If the Murmur are capable of regret, make them feel it."
"Collect your Necramech from the dispenser at your convenience. Give them hell."
"Your Necramech will be waiting at the designated dispenser. You may fire when ready."
Hack failed
"Ah. Not to worry. Maybe next time."
"These consoles are so dreadfully finicky."
[sigh] "I'm afraid the Necramech will have to wait."
When the Tenno reaches rank Researcher with the Cavia, Loid will send them an inbox message informing them of the Coalescent Fusion segment for the Helminth (which is then available for purchase).
Inbox message:
Pursuant to the study of Archon ShardsTenno,
As I adjust to the era in which I have awakened, I note with alarm the reappearance of 'Archons', a foe we have not seen since the Sentient War.
Several Archon Shards were retrieved from the battlefields. The Orokin demanded Albrecht Entrati explore the potential inherent in them, a task he immediately delegated to me.
The Necraloid has shown me some examples of Kermerros' work with Shards. Impressive. I believe I can improve upon it, however.
You may acquire the relevant Segment from the Cavia at your convenience.
—Loid
Loid is introduced in the Whispers in the Walls quest, along with the Cavia. He is mentioned in the dialogue of Fibonacci, Tagfer, Bird 3, the Necraloid, and Drusus Leverian, as well as in Albrecht's Notes. The Necraloid construct in the Necralisk (often referred to as "Loid"), is a copy of his mind made by Albrecht Entrati.
“‘Old shapes of song that do not die shall haunt the halls of memory.'”
This idle dialogue from the Research Dante screen is a quotation from the 1890 fantasy novel “The World’s Desire”, written in collaboration by H. Rider Haggard and Andrew Lang. The quote is taken from the poetic prelude to the novel’s first book, imitating the invocations (typically of gods or muses) that often open pieces of classical literature.
In the context of Warframe, the title of the source suggests Parvos Granum and his philosophy of “desire” – appropriate, as Granum is directly involved in the events of the Dante Unbound update. The novel itself is Victorian a sequel to Homer’s Odyssey, considering the further and final voyages of Odysseus himself; this may be a parallel to Dante’s own passage from the world, as revealed in the “hidden” final Leverian entry connected to his Prex Card.
Incidentally, “The World’s Desire” has been highlighted by cultural critic Wayne Koestenbaum for its position in the history of masculine collaborative fiction in his book “Double Talk: The Erotics of Male Literary Collaboration”. I found this interesting given the focus on writing, collaboration and relationships between men that can be found in Dante Unbound and the Whispers in the Walls update cycle in general – with a general highlighting of the bonds between Albrecht, Loid, Dante and Drusus (even the adversarial, metaphorical “fatherhood” Ballas and Parvos share of Protea, given the contemporaneous Protea Prime trailer).
Fantastic analysis and context, thank you!