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Defend an important target against waves of enemy units. If the defense target is destroyed, the mission automatically fails. Every 5 waves choose to stay and fight or extract from the mission.
—In-Game Description

Defense is an Endless Mission type in which the players must defend the assigned primary objective or objectives from being destroyed by attacking waves of enemies. The wave will be considered cleared when all the enemies in the wave have been killed.

Every 5 waves each player will receive an option to either leave the mission individually and receive a displayed reward or to continue for more rewards against progressively harder enemies for an additional 5 waves. The mission is considered completed when players accept the offer to claim a reward and exit.

If you decide not to extract but subsequently fail to clear the next set of waves, you lose any rewards accrued for the waves already cleared, fail the mission and leave with nothing.

Defense Types

There are a total of 18 unique Defense maps for fifteen Tile Sets available.

Nine of them are mostly specific to the Grineer:

  • A: Grineer Galleon; Defend a cryopod at an elevator platform in a galleon's ventilation complex.
  • B: Grineer Asteroid, Cave; Defend a cylindrical Orokin reactor in a dark cave.
    • Under normal circumstances, only Infested units will be fought here.
  • G: Grineer Settlement, Shelter; Defend a cryopod within a metallic shelter, with entrances all around.
  • I: Grineer Shipyards; Defend a cryopod sitting on a tram in a multi-decked shipyard, the tram may move after every wave.
  • J: Grineer Forest, Shelter; Similar to the Grineer Settlement, with an open roof.
  • Grineer Sealab
    • O: Excavation Site; Defend 4 cryopods located in different corners of an Orokin excavation site.
    • R: Defend an embryonic injector within a cloning lab.
  • P: Orokin Moon; Defend a cryopod on an Orokin platform in the middle of a crater on the moon.
  • Q: Grineer Asteroid Fortress; Defend a Kuva injector in a Grineer fortress. This area has traps that can harm the player: turrets, tesla coils that electrify the floor around the injector, flamethrowers and toxic gas sprays in the corridors.

Six (and two which were removed from the game) are mostly specific to the Corpus:

  • C: Corpus Ship (Old), Cargo Bay; Defend a cryopod on a raised platform, with two main avenues of approach and 2 approaches from behind. [Superseded by Temple defense when the Corpus Ship tileset was remastered.]
  • S: Corpus Ship, Temple; Defend a cryopod on an elevator platform in the middle of a large square room. [Supersedes Cargo Bay defense.]
  • Corpus Outpost:
    • D: Ravine; Defend a cryopod out in the open, surrounded by snowy caves and cliffs.
    • E: Courtyard; Defend a cryopod in a courtyard in a frigid Corpus outpost.
    • F: Dam; Defend a cryopod in a frozen dam complex, with enemies storming across two bridges.
  • H: Corpus Gas City (Old), Deck; Defend a cryopod on the multi-level deck of a gas city ship, with enemies approaching from three ascents. [Superseded by Dynamo defense when the Corpus Gas City tileset was remastered.]
  • T: Corpus Gas City, Dynamo; Defend a cryopod on top of a lightning harvester. A console beneath the cryopod can be activated once every few minutes to electrify the cryopod platform for several seconds, dealing heavy damage to anyone standing on it. [Supersedes Deck defense.]
  • N: Corpus Ice Planet, Shipwreck; Defend a cryopod just outside of a landed shipwreck.

Two are specific to the Infested:

  • K: Orokin Derelict; Featuring walkways and man entrances towards a cryopod on at the center of a stand
  • L: Infested Ship; Defend a cryopod inside an infested Corpus ship with narrow paths towards a large room

The last one is specific to the Orokin

  • M: Orokin Void; featuring a large room with laser defenses that will instantly kill anybody, Tenno included. 4 distinct paths converge down towards the cryopod.)

When an Infestation outbreak is occurring on a defense mission, the infested use the original tile set.

The maps A, B, E, G, L, N, P, Q, R and S have the objective in the center where enemies come from every direction, while the maps C, F, H, I and T are not so open to approach and have the defense objective near the edge of the map where enemies can't spawn and thus making them often more easy to defend. Maps A and S also have a moving objective, where the elevator platform can randomly raise or lower the objective to a different position every wave.

Map D has 3 different locations where a cryopod can randomly spawn: one is in the lower area of the map, one is in the upper area of the map, and one is up on the raised platform above the upper area.

  • The lower area has 3 avenues of approach (the vast majority of enemies only come from 1 direction - this is the easiest location to defend on this map).
  • The upper area has 4 avenues of approach (enemies are more spread out among the 4 - this is generally the hardest location to defend).
  • The raised platform only has 2 avenues of approach and MOAs can jump up the side of the platform as well (the majority of enemies only come from 1 direction - this is the second easiest location to defend).

Map E also has 3 potential locations for the cryopod; either on the center platform where the two shorter bridges meet, or on either of the corners where the long bridges and center bridge meet. The center location is by far the easiest, as enemies are funneled through the short bridges. The corner areas are more challenging as enemies come from both of the bridges, including the small walkway along the long bride, climbing up from the ravine as well as flanking from the upper areas above the cryopods.

On map I the cryopod is sitting on a tram that randomly moves along a rail between 2 locations.

  • The tram usually stays in one location for multiple waves, with a chance of moving at the end of a wave. Tenno can also ride the tram while it's moving.
  • The cryopod will always spawn in the same location.

Map O has 4 cryopods located on 4 separate corners of the map. After each wave one of the four cryopods is randomly selected to become vulnerable to attack, indicated by a blue aura surrounding it, and will become the current enemy target. Players must thus move to each vulnerable Cryopod as they are marked every wave in order to defend them.

Map P has a single cryopod in the middle of a platform which collapses every 5 waves. Wave 6 has the platform collapse into an Orokin complex while Wave 11 has the platform fall into a huge moon cave. The platform does not fall any further after wave 11.

Currently there are several planet-exclusive defense maps:

  • Grineer map G is available only on Mars.
  • Corpus map T is available only on Jupiter.
  • Grineer map I is available only on Ceres.
  • Grineer map J is only available on Earth.
  • Corpus map N is only available on Europa.
  • Grineer maps O and R are only available on Uranus.
  • Grineer map P is only available on Lua.
  • Grineer map Q is only available on the Kuva Fortress.
  • Infested map K is only available on Deimos.
  • Orokin map M is only available in the Void.

Mirror Defense

Main article: Mirror Defense

Introduced in Update 32.3 (2023-02-15), players must defend two crystals individually over a time limit, passing through a Void portal to reach the other crystal.

Locations

There are a total of three tiers which determines the reward pool players have access to at each 5th wave checkpoint.

Planet Mission Name Faction Credit Reward Addtional Credit Reward Wiki's DropTableAlias Level Tileset
Earth Lith Grineer 1,000 0 Defense1 1 - 6 Grineer Forest
Venus Tessera Corpus 1,200 0 Defense1 3 - 8 Corpus Outpost
Mercury Lares Infested 1,500 0 Defense1 6 - 11 Grineer Asteroid
Earth Coba (Dark Sector) Infested 1,500 12,000 DSDefense 6 - 16 Grineer Forest
Mars Spear Grineer 1,700 0 Defense1 8 - 13 Grineer Settlement
Venus Romula (Dark Sector) Infested 1,700 10,000 DSDefense 8 - 18 Corpus Outpost
Void Taranis Corrupted 1,900 0 VoidDefense1 10 - 15 Orokin Tower
Phobos Gulliver Corpus 1,900 0 Defense1 10 - 15 Corpus Ship
Mars Kadesh (Dark Sector) Infested 1,900 14,000 DSDefense 10 - 20 Grineer Settlement
Ceres Casta Grineer 2,100 0 Defense1 12 - 17 Grineer Shipyard
Jupiter Io Corpus 2,400 0 Defense2 15 - 20 Corpus Gas City
Deimos Hyf Infested 2,400 0 DerelictDefense 15 - 20 Orokin Derelict
Ceres Seimeni (Dark Sector) Infested 2,400 20,000 DSDefense 15 - 25 Grineer Shipyard
Europa Paimon Corpus 2,700 0 Defense2 18 - 23 Corpus Ice Planet
Jupiter Sinai (Dark Sector) Infested 2,900 14,000 DSDefense 20 - 30 Corpus Gas City
Saturn Helene Grineer 3,000 0 Defense2 21 - 26 Grineer Galleon
Venus Proxima Falling Glory Corpus 3,200 45,000 VenusProximaDefense 23 - 26 Free Space
Europa Larzac (Dark Sector) Infested 3,200 16,000 DSDefense 23 - 33 Corpus Ice Planet
Uranus Stephano Grineer 3,300 0 Defense3 24 - 29 Grineer Sealab
Neptune Proxima Arva Vector Corpus 3,400 50,000 NeptuneProximaDefense 25 - 28 Free Space
Lua Stöfler Grineer 3,400 0 Defense3 25 - 30 Orokin Moon
Europa Icefields of Riddah Corpus 3,400 0 25 - 30 Corpus Ice Planet
Neptune Proteus Corpus 3,600 0 Defense3 27 - 32 Corpus Ship
Kuva Fortress Nabuk Grineer 3,900 0 Defense3 30 - 32 Grineer Asteroid Fortress
Void Belenus Corrupted 3,900 0 VoidDefense3 30 - 35 Orokin Tower
Pluto Outer Terminus Corpus 3,900 0 Defense3 30 - 40 Corpus Outpost
Sedna Hydron Grineer 3,900 0 Defense3 30 - 40 Grineer Galleon
Eris Kala-azar Infested 3,900 0 Defense3 30 - 40 Infested Ship
Eris Akkad (Dark Sector) Infested 4,400 18,000 DSDefense 35 - 45 Infested Ship
Pluto Sechura (Dark Sector) Infested 4,400 20,000 DSDefense 35 - 45 Corpus Outpost
Sedna Sangeru (Dark Sector) Infested 4,400 16,000 DSDefense 35 - 45 Grineer Asteroid
Pluto Proxima Obol Crossing Corpus 4,800 100,000 PlutoProximaDefense 39 - 42 Free Space
Veil Proxima Arc Silver Corpus 6,000 137,500 VeilProximaDefense 51 - 55 Free Space
There are a total of 33 Defense Missions

Extraction

At the end of each round, the decision screen indicates what each individual player intends to do, with undecided players continuing to battle. It is not a vote and extraction occurs for individual players, not the group; these players will appear to disconnect. It is normally advised to decide on a leaving wave before entering the mission or alternatively shortly after it starts. If not, then everyone should leave at the same time as soon as one of the party members decides to extract.

Significant lag may prevent this option from appearing entirely for clients if the latency is from the host of the match, and the players will be forced to stay and have a host migrate. Keep this in mind if you join a match and notice an unusually high amount of latency.

Composition

Corpus

Infested

Grineer

Orokin

Rewards

Rewards from Defense missions are offered every 5 waves during the extraction prompt. If a player chooses to extract, they receive the reward for that particular wave along with rewards offered from previous extraction prompts on that mission. The order of the rotations is AABC.

  • The percentages display the chances of a particular item being received as a reward during each extraction prompt.
Main article: Defense/Rewards (edit)

A B C
Mod TT 20px Ammo Drum 9.09% Mod TT 20px Cryo Rounds 8.33% Mod TT 20px Continuity 8.33%
Mod TT 20px Magazine Warp 9.09% Mod TT 20px Hell's Chamber 8.33% Mod TT 20px Master Thief 8.33%
Mod TT 20px Pressure Point 9.09% Mod TT 20px Reflex Coil 8.33% Mod TT 20px Metal Auger 8.33%
Mod TT 20px Trick Mag 9.09% Mod TT 20px Shocking Touch 8.33% Mod TT 20px Ravage 8.33%
LithRelicIntact Lith A6 9.09% MesoRelicIntact Meso A5 8.33% MesoRelicIntact Meso A5 8.33%
LithRelicIntact Lith C11 9.09% MesoRelicIntact Meso B9 8.33% MesoRelicIntact Meso B9 8.33%
LithRelicIntact Lith G10 9.09% MesoRelicIntact Meso G6 8.33% MesoRelicIntact Meso G6 8.33%
LithRelicIntact Lith G9 9.09% MesoRelicIntact Meso H5 8.33% MesoRelicIntact Meso H5 8.33%
LithRelicIntact Lith P8 9.09% MesoRelicIntact Meso H6 8.33% MesoRelicIntact Meso H6 8.33%
LithRelicIntact Lith R5 9.09% MesoRelicIntact Meso M4 8.33% MesoRelicIntact Meso M4 8.33%
LithRelicIntact Lith T10 9.09% MesoRelicIntact Meso W3 8.33% MesoRelicIntact Meso W3 8.33%
Endo Endo x100 8.33% Endo Endo x200 8.33%

Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.

A B C
MesoRelicIntact Meso A5 14.29% Mod TT 20px Cryo Rounds 6.25% NeoRelicIntact Neo A11 11.06%
MesoRelicIntact Meso B9 14.29% Mod TT 20px Deep Freeze 6.25% NeoRelicIntact Neo F3 11.06%
MesoRelicIntact Meso G6 14.29% Mod TT 20px Fury 6.25% NeoRelicIntact Neo K6 11.06%
MesoRelicIntact Meso H5 14.29% Mod TT 20px Hell's Chamber 6.25% NeoRelicIntact Neo K7 11.06%
MesoRelicIntact Meso H6 14.29% Mod TT 20px North Wind 6.25% NeoRelicIntact Neo S18 11.06%
MesoRelicIntact Meso M4 14.29% Mod TT 20px Point Blank 6.25% NeoRelicIntact Neo W1 11.06%
MesoRelicIntact Meso W3 14.29% Mod TT 20px Reflex Coil 6.25% NeoRelicIntact Neo Z10 11.06%
Mod TT 20px Stormbringer 6.25% Mod TT 20px Metal Auger 4.51%
NeoRelicIntact Neo A11 6.25% Mod TT 20px Ravage 4.51%
NeoRelicIntact Neo F3 6.25% Mod TT 20px Stretch 4.51%
NeoRelicIntact Neo K6 6.25% Mod TT 20px Vital Sense 4.51%
NeoRelicIntact Neo K7 6.25% Endo Endo x300 4.51%
NeoRelicIntact Neo S18 6.25%
NeoRelicIntact Neo W1 6.25%
NeoRelicIntact Neo Z10 6.25%
Endo Endo x150 6.25%

Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.

A B C
Mod TT 20px Magazine Warp 10% Mod TT 20px Deep Freeze 6.67% AxiRelicIntact Axi A17 11.06%
Mod TT 20px Trick Mag 10% Mod TT 20px Hell's Chamber 6.67% AxiRelicIntact Axi A18 11.06%
Mod TT 20px Vitality 10% Mod TT 20px Hornet Strike 6.67% AxiRelicIntact Axi B7 11.06%
NeoRelicIntact Neo A11 10% Mod TT 20px North Wind 6.67% AxiRelicIntact Axi D5 11.06%
NeoRelicIntact Neo F3 10% Mod TT 20px Reflex Coil 6.67% AxiRelicIntact Axi G11 11.06%
NeoRelicIntact Neo K6 10% Mod TT 20px Shocking Touch 6.67% AxiRelicIntact Axi L6 11.06%
NeoRelicIntact Neo K7 10% Mod TT 20px Streamline 6.67% AxiRelicIntact Axi P6 11.06%
NeoRelicIntact Neo S18 10% AxiRelicIntact Axi A17 6.67% Mod TT 20px Continuity 2.26%
NeoRelicIntact Neo W1 10% AxiRelicIntact Axi A18 6.67% Mod TT 20px Convulsion 2.26%
NeoRelicIntact Neo Z10 10% AxiRelicIntact Axi B7 6.67% Mod TT 20px Handspring 2.26%
AxiRelicIntact Axi D5 6.67% Mod TT 20px Master Thief 2.26%
AxiRelicIntact Axi G11 6.67% Mod TT 20px Metal Auger 2.26%
AxiRelicIntact Axi L6 6.67% Mod TT 20px Ravage 2.26%
AxiRelicIntact Axi P6 6.67% Mod TT 20px Split Chamber 2.26%
Endo Endo x200 6.67% Mod TT 20px Stretch 2.26%
Mod TT 20px Vital Sense 2.26%
Endo Endo x400 2.26%

Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.

A B C
LithRelicIntact Lith A6 13.33% LithRelicIntact Lith C11 22.12% LithRelicIntact Lith A6 6.67%
LithRelicIntact Lith C11 13.33% LithRelicIntact Lith A6 11.06% LithRelicIntact Lith C11 6.67%
LithRelicIntact Lith G10 13.33% LithRelicIntact Lith G10 11.06% LithRelicIntact Lith G10 6.67%
LithRelicIntact Lith G9 13.33% LithRelicIntact Lith G9 11.06% LithRelicIntact Lith G9 6.67%
LithRelicIntact Lith P8 13.33% LithRelicIntact Lith P8 11.06% LithRelicIntact Lith P8 6.67%
LithRelicIntact Lith R5 13.33% LithRelicIntact Lith R5 11.06% LithRelicIntact Lith R5 6.67%
LithRelicIntact Lith T10 13.33% Aya Aya 6.15% LithRelicIntact Lith T10 6.67%
Aya Aya 6.67% MesoRelicIntact Meso A5 4.1% MesoRelicIntact Meso A5 6.67%
MesoRelicIntact Meso B9 2.05% MesoRelicIntact Meso B9 6.67%
MesoRelicIntact Meso G6 2.05% MesoRelicIntact Meso G6 6.67%
MesoRelicIntact Meso H5 2.05% MesoRelicIntact Meso H5 6.67%
MesoRelicIntact Meso H6 2.05% MesoRelicIntact Meso H6 6.67%
MesoRelicIntact Meso M4 2.05% MesoRelicIntact Meso M4 6.67%
MesoRelicIntact Meso W3 2.05% MesoRelicIntact Meso W3 6.67%
Aya Aya 6.67%

Locations:

Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.

A B C
Aya Aya 8.29% NeoRelicIntact Neo A11 18.18% Aya Aya 12.5%
MesoRelicIntact Meso A5 6.96% NeoRelicIntact Neo K7 18.18% NeoRelicIntact Neo A11 9.68%
MesoRelicIntact Meso B9 6.96% NeoRelicIntact Neo Z10 18.18% NeoRelicIntact Neo F3 9.68%
MesoRelicIntact Meso H5 6.96% NeoRelicIntact Neo F3 9.09% NeoRelicIntact Neo K6 9.68%
MesoRelicIntact Meso H6 6.96% NeoRelicIntact Neo K6 9.09% NeoRelicIntact Neo K7 9.68%
MesoRelicIntact Meso M4 6.96% NeoRelicIntact Neo S18 9.09% NeoRelicIntact Neo S18 9.68%
MesoRelicIntact Meso W3 6.96% NeoRelicIntact Neo W1 9.09% NeoRelicIntact Neo W1 9.68%
NeoRelicIntact Neo A11 6.96% Aya Aya 9.09% NeoRelicIntact Neo Z10 9.68%
NeoRelicIntact Neo F3 6.96% AxiRelicIntact Axi A17 2.82%
NeoRelicIntact Neo K6 6.96% AxiRelicIntact Axi A18 2.82%
NeoRelicIntact Neo K7 6.96% AxiRelicIntact Axi B7 2.82%
NeoRelicIntact Neo S18 6.96% AxiRelicIntact Axi D5 2.82%
NeoRelicIntact Neo W1 6.96% AxiRelicIntact Axi G11 2.82%
NeoRelicIntact Neo Z10 6.96% AxiRelicIntact Axi L6 2.82%
MesoRelicIntact Meso G6 1.29% AxiRelicIntact Axi P6 2.82%

Locations:

Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.

A B C
Endo Endo x250 22.22% Endo Endo x250 77.44% Forma Forma Blueprint 22.56%
LithRelicIntact Lith A6 11.11% MutalistAladVNavCoordinate Mutalist Alad V Nav Coordinate 22.56% MesoRelicIntact Meso A5 11.06%
LithRelicIntact Lith C11 11.11% MesoRelicIntact Meso B9 11.06%
LithRelicIntact Lith G10 11.11% MesoRelicIntact Meso G6 11.06%
LithRelicIntact Lith G9 11.11% MesoRelicIntact Meso H5 11.06%
LithRelicIntact Lith P8 11.11% MesoRelicIntact Meso H6 11.06%
LithRelicIntact Lith R5 11.11% MesoRelicIntact Meso M4 11.06%
LithRelicIntact Lith T10 11.11% MesoRelicIntact Meso W3 11.06%

Locations:

Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.

A B C
Mod TT 20px Ammo Drum 7.37% Mod TT 20px Blunderbuss 8.43% Mod TT 20px Heated Charge 7.59%
Mod TT 20px Fast Hands 7.37% Mod TT 20px No Return 8.43% Mod TT 20px Hellfire 7.59%
Mod TT 20px Rush 7.37% Mod TT 20px Pistol Gambit 8.43% MesoRelicIntact Meso A5 7.59%
Mod TT 20px Fast Deflection 6.9% Mod TT 20px Point Strike 8.43% MesoRelicIntact Meso B9 7.59%
Mod TT 20px Magazine Warp 6.9% Mod TT 20px Pressure Point 8.43% MesoRelicIntact Meso G6 7.59%
Mod TT 20px Trick Mag 6.9% Mod TT 20px Ravage 8.43% MesoRelicIntact Meso H5 7.59%
Mod TT 20px Vitality 6.9% Mod TT 20px Speed Trigger 8.43% MesoRelicIntact Meso H6 7.59%
LithRelicIntact Lith A6 6.9% Mod TT 20px Target Cracker 8.43% MesoRelicIntact Meso M4 7.59%
LithRelicIntact Lith C11 6.9% Mod TT 20px Vital Sense 8.43% MesoRelicIntact Meso W3 7.59%
LithRelicIntact Lith G10 6.9% Mod TT 20px Fast Hands 1.58% Endo Endo x80 7.59%
LithRelicIntact Lith G9 6.9% Mod TT 20px Hornet Strike 1.58% Mod TT 20px Barrel Diffusion 1.84%
LithRelicIntact Lith P8 6.9% Mod TT 20px Metal Auger 1.58% Mod TT 20px Intensify 1.84%
LithRelicIntact Lith R5 6.9% Mod TT 20px Piercing Hit 1.58% Mod TT 20px Molten Impact 1.84%
LithRelicIntact Lith T10 6.9% Mod TT 20px Point Blank 1.58% Mod TT 20px Streamline 1.84%
Mod TT 20px Pressure Point 1.01% Mod TT 20px Reflex Coil 1.58% NeoRelicIntact Neo A11 1.84%
Mod TT 20px True Punishment 1.01% Mod TT 20px Serration 1.58% NeoRelicIntact Neo F3 1.84%
MesoRelicIntact Meso A5 1.58% NeoRelicIntact Neo K6 1.84%
MesoRelicIntact Meso B9 1.58% NeoRelicIntact Neo K7 1.84%
MesoRelicIntact Meso G6 1.58% NeoRelicIntact Neo S18 1.84%
MesoRelicIntact Meso H5 1.58% NeoRelicIntact Neo W1 1.84%
MesoRelicIntact Meso H6 1.58% NeoRelicIntact Neo Z10 1.84%
MesoRelicIntact Meso M4 1.58% Endo Endo x80 1.84%
MesoRelicIntact Meso W3 1.58% Mod TT 20px Enduring Strike 0.4%
Mod TT 20px Fury 0.67% Mod TT 20px Life Strike 0.4%
Mod TT 20px Quickening 0.67% Mod TT 20px Quickening 0.4%
Mod TT 20px True Punishment 0.67% Mod TT 20px Thunderbolt 0.4%
Mod TT 20px True Punishment 0.4%

Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.

A B C
Endo Endo x100 26.67% Endo Endo x100 35.29% Endo Endo x150 42.11%
Blueprint2 Lavan Engines Mk I 20% Blueprint2 Lavan Plating Mk I 17.65% Blueprint2 Vidar Plating Mk I 15.79%
Blueprint2 Lavan Reactor Mk I 20% Blueprint2 Lavan Shield Array Mk I 17.65% Blueprint2 Vidar Reactor Mk I 15.79%
Systems Ash Systems Blueprint 13.33% Blueprint2 Vidar Engines Mk I 17.65% Blueprint2 Vidar Shield Array Mk I 15.79%
LithRelicIntact Lith G10 6.67% LithRelicIntact Lith R5 5.88% LithRelicIntact Lith A6 5.26%
LithRelicIntact Lith G9 6.67% LithRelicIntact Lith T10 5.88% LithRelicIntact Lith C11 5.26%
LithRelicIntact Lith P8 6.67%

Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.

A B C
Endo Endo x200 26.67% Endo Endo x200 27.91% Endo Endo x450 29.79%
Blueprint2 Lavan Engines Mk II 20% Blueprint2 Lavan Plating Mk II 13.95% Blueprint2 Vidar Reactor Mk II 17.02%
Blueprint2 Lavan Reactor Mk II 20% Blueprint2 Lavan Shield Array Mk II 13.95% Blueprint2 Vidar Plating Mk II 12.77%
Helmet Ash Neuroptics Blueprint 13.33% Blueprint2 Vidar Engines Mk II 13.95% Blueprint2 Vidar Shield Array Mk II 12.77%
MesoRelicIntact Meso A5 6.67% Blueprint2 Nautilus Blueprint 4.65% Blueprint2 Nautilus Blueprint 4.26%
MesoRelicIntact Meso H6 6.67% Chassis Nautilus Carapace 4.65% Chassis Nautilus Carapace 4.26%
MesoRelicIntact Meso M4 6.67% Helmet Nautilus Cerebrum 4.65% Helmet Nautilus Cerebrum 4.26%
Systems Nautilus Systems 4.65% Systems Nautilus Systems 4.26%
MesoRelicIntact Meso G6 4.65% MesoRelicIntact Meso B9 4.26%
MesoRelicIntact Meso H5 4.65% MesoRelicIntact Meso W3 4.26%
RivenSliver Riven Sliver 2.33% RivenSliver Riven Sliver x2 2.13%

Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.

A B C
Endo Endo x300 26.67% Endo Endo x300 30.3% Endo Endo x450 43.9%
Blueprint2 Lavan Engines Mk III 20% Blueprint2 Lavan Plating Mk III 18.18% Blueprint2 Vidar Plating Mk III 14.63%
Blueprint2 Lavan Reactor Mk III 20% Blueprint2 Lavan Shield Array Mk III 18.18% Blueprint2 Vidar Reactor Mk III 14.63%
Chassis Ash Chassis Blueprint 13.33% Blueprint2 Vidar Engines Mk III 18.18% Blueprint2 Vidar Shield Array Mk III 14.63%
NeoRelicIntact Neo F3 4.35% NeoRelicIntact Neo K6 6.06% NeoRelicIntact Neo A11 4.88%
NeoRelicIntact Neo W1 4.35% NeoRelicIntact Neo S18 6.06% NeoRelicIntact Neo K7 4.88%
NeoRelicIntact Neo Z10 4.35% RivenSliver Riven Sliver 3.03% RivenSliver Riven Sliver x2 2.44%

Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.

A B C
Endo Endo x400 42.86% Endo Endo x400 34.29% Endo Endo x600 34.29%
Blueprint2 Vidar Engines Mk III 21.43% Blueprint2 Vidar Plating Mk III 17.14% Blueprint2 Zetki Plating Mk III 17.14%
Blueprint2 Vidar Reactor Mk III 21.43% Blueprint2 Vidar Shield Array Mk III 17.14% Blueprint2 Zetki Reactor Mk III 17.14%
AxiRelicIntact Axi D5 5.71% Blueprint2 Zetki Engines Mk III 17.14% Blueprint2 Zetki Shield Array Mk III 17.14%
AxiRelicIntact Axi A18 4.29% AxiRelicIntact Axi B7 5.71% AxiRelicIntact Axi A17 5.71%
AxiRelicIntact Axi G11 4.29% AxiRelicIntact Axi P6 5.71% AxiRelicIntact Axi L6 5.71%
RivenSliver Riven Sliver x3 2.86% RivenSliver Riven Sliver x3 2.86%

Locations:

Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.

Dark Sector Defense

Defense missions that take place in Dark Sectors always involve the Infested. These Defense missions have a higher level range (and thus, higher difficulty) than the planet they're found on, but give out larger quantities of experience, including the experience bonuses inherent in Dark Sectors, and have a chance to reward melee mods which cannot be obtained outside of Dark Sectors.

Wave Defense

Wave Defense is a variation of the normal Defense rules, commonly found in Nightmare Mode, Invasions, and previously Alerts. Instead of starting at wave 1 and counting up until the players extract or leave, the waves start at a predetermined number and count down to 1, after which the mission ends automatically. There are no mission rewards until all waves are completed. This mission type was first introduced in the Artifact Defense Event.

The following Defense variants, organized by the number of waves, operate by Wave Defense rules:

Healing Interactions With Defense Objects

Only static defense objects can be healed or receive damage reduction from other sources in accordance with the tables below. Note that the Eidolon Lure is not static and is exempt from the rules in the table below.

Healing over time only takes effect when the defense object's natural health regeneration is active; taking damage from enemies briefly disables both the natural regeneration and external regeneration effects for a few seconds.

Healing and Shield Restoration Sources
Healing source Normal effect Effect on all types of static defendable objects (Cryopods, Excavators, etc)
GaraIcon272 Gara's Mod TT 20px Mending Splinters 15 HP/sec for each active splinter Same as normal
HildrynIcon272 Hildryn's Haven130xWhite Haven 500 Max Shields
80% faster Shield recharge
Same as normal
ProteaIcon272 Protea's GrenadeFan130xWhite Grenade Fan 500 Shield restore on attach
50 Shield restore per second
Same as normal
TrinityIcon272 Trinity's Blessing130xWhite Blessing Up to 100% HP and Shield restore Heal for 500 over 5 seconds, can’t stack
TrinityIcon272 Trinity's WellOfLife130xWhite Well of Life 100 HP/sec + 1% life steal 100 HP/sec, no life steal
EquinoxIcon272 Equinox's MendMaim130xWhite Mend & Maim (Mend) 25 Shields for each enemy killed
Burst heal based on how much damage was dealt
Shields per enemy killed and heal for 500 over 5 seconds, can’t stack
FocusLensVazarin b Vazarin's FocusProtectiveSling Protective Sling 5 seconds invulnerability
60% Heal over 5 seconds
No invulnerability
Heal for 500 over 5 seconds, can’t stack
KhoraIcon272 Khora's Venari130xWhite Venari Heal for 50 HP/sec Same as normal
HydroidIcon272 Hydroid's Mod TT 20px Curative Undertow Heals 30% hp every 1.5 secs when ally stands on it Heal for 100 per 1.5 sec
HarrowIcon272 Harrow's Penance130xWhite Penance Heals allies for a % of damage dealt Heals are capped up to 50 per second.
OberonIcon272 Oberon's Renewal130xWhite Renewal 125 burst heal
50 HP/sec
Same as normal
GarudaIcon272 Garuda's BloodAltar130xWhite Blood Altar Heals by % of missing health/second No effect
InarosIcon272 Inaros' ScarabSwarm130xWhite Scarab Swarm Heals for damage dealt by Swarm Projectile divided by allies in range. Same as normal
NidusIcon272 Nidus' Ravenous130xWhite Ravenous Heal allies standing on it for 20 HP/sec Same as normal
WispIcon272 Wisp's Reservoirs130xWhite Reservoirs (Vitality mote) Increase max hp by 300 and heal for 30 HP/sec Same as normal
VoltIcon272 Volt's Mod TT 20px Capacitance Grants shields based on 3% of damage dealt Capped at 250 shields, no overshields
TitaniaIcon272 Titania's passive 4 HP/sec for 20 Seconds Same as normal
SanctiMagistar Sancti Magistar Heals for damage dealt in an AoE Heal for up to 500 over 5 seconds, can’t stack with other players. Going from a burst to Heal over Time.
Ancient Healer Specter Heal for 100 HP every 20 seconds Same as normal
Mod TT 20px Rejuvenation Heal 3 HP/sec Same as normal
ArcanePulse Arcane Pulse 60% chance to heal for 150 HP when picking up a health orb with a 15 sec cooldown Same as normal
CitrineIcon272 Citrine's passive 5 - 25 HP/sec while in Affinity range Same as normal (based on player testing)
Damage Reduction Sources
Damage Reduction Sources Normal effect Effect on all types of static Defendable objects (Cryopods, Excavators, etc)
TrinityIcon272 Trinity's Blessing130xWhite Blessing 50% Damage reduction Capped at 50% Damage Reduction
MirageIcon272 Mirage's Mod TT 20px Total Eclipse Grants 75% Damage reduction to allies Capped at 50% Damage Reduction
TitaniaIcon272 Titania's Tribute130xWhite Tribute (Thorns buff) 50% damage redirected to enemies No effect
GaraIcon272 Gara's SplinterStorm130xWhite Splinter Storm 70% Damage reduction Capped at 50% Damage Reduction
EmberIcon272 Ember's Mod TT 20px Immolated Radiance 50% of Immolates Damage reduction applies to allies Capped at 45% Damage Reduction
BaruukIcon272 Baruuk's DesolateHands130xWhite Desolate Hands 80% Damage reduction Capped at 50% Damage Reduction
HarrowIcon272 Harrow's Mod TT 20px Warding Thurible 40% Damage Reduction Capped at 50% Damage Reduction
NezhaIcon272 Nezha's WardingHalo130xWhite Warding Halo Absorbs 90% of damage Capped at 50% Damage Reduction
CitrineIcon272 Citrine's PreservingShell130xWhite Preserving Shell 25 - 90% Damage Reduction No effect (based on player testing)

Source: https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1189247-warframe-revised-railjack-revisited-part-1-update-274/

Notes

  • Defense missions are considered some of the best missions for mod farming due to the unlimited amount of enemies and the ability to easily leave after each 5 rounds.
  • As of Update 9.0 (2013-07-13), enemies will now swarm the pod or reactor much more aggressively, with more enemies running up to the defense objective and attempting to destroy it. Also due to update 9, enemies will increase in level with each wave faster than before.
CBring
  • The first wave will start when one of the players have reached the activation "ring" around the objective, or when 3 minutes have passed. Players are free to loot all the resources around the map before activating the first wave by stepping into the ring.
  • As of Update 9.7 (2013-08-30), enemies can jump onto boxes and ledges, including many "safe zones" (such as the platform on the bottom right of the picture) making it even harder to avoid damage.
  • Update 9.7 also made it possible for enemies to walk onto and across the large railbox (top left of the picture) providing another (and quicker) way for enemies to reach the pod, and that pathway is more difficult to defend.
  • As of Update 12.0 (2014-02-05), the being inside any cryopods has changed from a human to a humanoid wearing a gold and black suit, similar to the color scheme of primes.

Tips

Bugs

  • There is a bug where you will click to exit the defense mission, but you will stay in the mission without a HUD, and sometimes not being able to move or chat at all. Dying will not bring back the HUD and you will not be able to revive. The only way to leave the mission is to force close the game using Alt + F4 or through a process manager.
  • Having the chat window open and active while in the process of choosing between 'Extract' or 'Battle' will result in the typing player ending the mission as if they chose 'Extract', even if they chose 'Battle' explicitly.
  • A test mod card labeled "Ancient Retribution" may show up as a reward, although it cannot actually be rewarded and claiming the card may crash the game or cause instabilities afterwards. The card is used by Digital Extremes for testing and does not actually represent a real mod now or in the future.[1]
    DE Test Card Bug
  • Infested Leapers have a tendency to leap into the Warframe Cryopod which the player/s is/are supposed to be defending in the Dark Sector Defense nodes where the defendable object is a Warframe Cryopod. They will leap straight through the Cryopod and end up in the middle of it and will proceed to swipe at the center of the Cryopod, often spinning around the center of the Cryopod and taking no direct damage simply from being there. It has been tested on multiple levels that Leapers which end up in the center of the Cryopod seem to take more damage from Primary and Pistol weapons than they otherwise would.
  • Many Defense mission tilesets can spawn enemies that end up getting caught inside walls or other terrain, and need to be killed with an AoE weapon or ability to continue the mission.

Media

Patch History

Update 35.0 (2023-12-13)

  • Fixed enemies having trouble climbing up the stairs in the Grineer Forest Defense tileset.
  • Fixed enemies falling through the map in the Helene, Saturn Defense mission.

Hotfix 33.0.13 (2023-05-26)

  • Fixed Grineer enemies no longer engaging with players or the Defense objective in Defense missions after they run to cover.

Hotfix 32.3.1 (2023-02-15)

  • Fixed Script error related to Revenant's Mesmer Skin sharing charges with Defense targets.

Update 32.3 (2023-02-15)

NEW MARS NODE: TYANA PASS (MIRROR DEFENSE)

Forever crystallized by the Warframe Citrine, Belric and Rania reside at either end of a tunnel etched through the Void. Apart but eternally intertwined, their preserved bodies maintain this perplexing link between Mars and Venus. But the Void draws in many curious and dangerous minds to it, threatening the very entities holding it together. TYANA PASS on Mars is the access point, travel to it and defend the remains of Belric and Rania.

How To Unlock Node: Complete the Heart of Deimos Quest.

What To Expect:

The fundamentals of this MIRROR DEFENSE are the same as your typical Defense mission: protect a Defense Target against an onslaught of enemies seeking to destroy it, but with a twist. In order to successfully complete a round of Mirror Defense, you are required to protect RANIA’S CRYSTAL remains that reside on Mars, and then proceed through the Void Tunnel to Venus (with the return of the nostalgic Xini tile!) to defend BELRIC’S CRYSTAL on the other side.

Their resting places are not self-regenerating, so additional protection from the Grineer and Corpus threat can be earned by collecting CITRINE’S REMNANTS -- vestiges of her act to crystalize the two lovers. Use your parkour skills to pick up the required 50x of her Remnants, and you’ll replenish Health and grant Overshields at full Health to the Crystal you are currently defending. Doing so also awakens the PRISMATIC WARD, a weapon remnant of their protector Citrine that hovers above the Belric and Rania Crystals and blasts enemies targeted by your weapons with prismatic force.

Citrine’s Remnants pick-ups are shared squad-wide, so squadmates can safely divide and conquer objectives as a team! You can continue to collect Remnants after Reinforcing your Crystal to earn more rewards for your entire squad. Keep an ear out for a soft ringing if you can’t see the tell-tale sparkle, or utilize Loot Detector mods to see where and when they spawn! Killing foes will encourage more of Citrine’s Remnants to be revealed.

In lieu of Defense Waves, players must protect both Crystals for 2 1/2 minutes each to complete one rotation (i.e. 5 minutes total of active Defense). Doing so earns you a guaranteed reward of Belric and Rania Fragments*, in addition to rewards from the mission drop table.

*We’ll go into more detail about this New Resource and how it is used further below!

This node is also available on the Steel Path.

Rotation Rewards:

  • Citrine’s Main and Components Blueprints
  • Steflos Blueprint, Barrel, Receiver, & Stock
  • Corufell Blueprint, Barrel, Receiver, & Handle
  • New Arcanes: *Stats are shown at Rank 5
    • Arcane Steadfast (Warframe) - On Ability Cast: 20% chance the next three abilities will not cost energy.
    • Arcane Double Back (Warframe) - Gain +25% damage resistance for 4s per Dodge, Double Jump and Bullet Jump. Stacks up to 3x.
    • Primary Plated Round (Primary) - On reload: Deal increased damage per round loaded based on max magazine size. Lasts for 10s.
    • Secondary Encumber (Secondary) - On Status Effect: +24% chance to trigger a second random Status Effect.
    • Secondary Kinship (Secondary) - While Buffing Ally Warframes +20% Critical Chance per buff.

Visit the official public drop tables for more information. Note that Mirror Defense will not apply to the ‘Defense’ Nightwave Act as its Waves are different from a typical defense mission, and would take far longer than a regular Defense mission to complete.

New Resources: Belric & Rania Fragments

Bits of the past, fragments of the crystal masses in which Belric and Rania reside. There are two ways to earn these new resources via the Mirror Defense mission:

1. Guaranteed rotation reward: Successfully defending both Belric and Rania counts as one round and will reward 5x Belric Fragments and 5x Rania Fragments.

2. Collecting Citrine’s Remnants: Collecting the required amount of Citrine’s Remnants in Mirror Defense earns you either 5x Belric or Rania Fragments (alternating back and forth) and 7 on the Steel Path version of the node.

Players can continue to collect Citrine’s Remnants even if they’ve completed this objective for their current wave of Mirror Defense! These new resources can be traded at Otak in the Necralisk on Deimos for the Mirror Defense rotation rewards listed above, and for additional goods such as Critrine’s Prex Card and the Citrine’s Last Wish Factory Captura Scene!

New Codex Entries:
Scanning the Crystalized Belric and Rania Defense Targets in Mirror Defense will unlock new Codex Entries for an additional lore nugget. Upon unlocking the Belric Crystal and Rania Crystal in the Codex, they can be found in the ‘Objects’ category.

General Changes:
  • Changed some mission types to display information related to your mission success in the end of mission screen. This change applies to the following mission types:
    • Defense
      • Previously a small icon would display which wave you reached for these missions. This icon wasn’t always clear in terms of what it indicated, and it appeared in rewards despite not being one. Adding this information to the top of the end of mission screen should make this more clear.
  • Changed how Enemies throw grenades to ensure they don’t get embedded inside Defense targets.

Hotfix 32.2.6 (2022-12-14)

  • Fixed crash that could occur when a player leaves your Squad from a Defense mission with a different Glyph selected.

Update 32.2 (2022-11-30)

  • Fixed a crash that would rarely occur when attempting to extract from a Defense mission on Earth.

Hotfix 32.1.4 (2022-11-09)

  • Fixed instances where NPC Defense targets were being called “Hostage” instead of “Operative” when downed (including Chipper in Archon Hunts).

Hotfix 32.1.2 (2022-11-04)

Update 30.7 (2021-09-08)

  • Fixed a crash that could occur if a Client player aborted after a Host migration in a Defense mission.

Update 30.5 (2021-07-06)

  • Fixed objects floating outside the Defense pod in the Stephano, Uranus Defense mission.
  • Fixed an issue where the endless Defense checkpoint wouldn’t clear between missions.
  • Fixed a few nooks missing collisions in the Corpus Gas City Defense missions.

Hotfix 29.10.4 (2021-03-23)

  • Fixed Defense alarm repeating playback on each Defense wave. Defense alarm sound will now only play when the Defense objective is activated the first time.

Update 29.10 (2021-03-19)

  • Fixed using enemy control abilities on enemies that spawn units preventing the next wave in Defense missions from starting.

Update 28.3 (2020-08-12)

  • The Defense alarm will now sound at the start of every Wave in Orokin Defense missions.
  • Fixed Defense mover objectives (Gulliver on Phobos & Hydron on Sedna) affected by Limbo’s Rift continue to take damage regardless of Rift status.

Hotfix 28.2.1 (2020-08-01)

  • Fixed an issue where Defense Targets on moving platforms would not move with the platform if a Host migration occurred while it was not in the default position.

Update 28.1 (2020-07-08)

  • Fixed broken Defense objectives in Corpus Ship missions after a Treasurer spawns and the squad migrates.
  • Fixed enemies in the Corpus Ship Defense tileset sometimes getting stuck on door frames.

Update 28.0 (2020-06-11)

  • Fixes towards Defense missions breaking due to an inability to terminate enemies that have been changed to Ally status (Nyx Mind Control, Revenant Enthrall, etc), thus inability to complete the Defense Wave.
  • Fixed Clients not seeing the dynamic Damage effects when the Defense Target's Health gets lower in tiles where the Target moves.

Hotfix 27.3.7 (2020-03-31)

  • Fixed areas disappearing when viewed from long distances in the Hydron Defense tileset.

Hotfix 27.1.2 (2020-02-18)

  • Fixed cases of the Defense target getting stuck in an infinite falling loop in the Sedna Adaro Sortie Defense mission.

Update 27.1 (2020-02-04)

  • Fixed an issue where the Defense target's head would float above the cryopod in Defense missions, exposing it to the many dangers of the environment and also the dangers of not having your head connected to your body.

Hotfix 27.0.12 (2020-01-23)

  • Defense Waves will now complete if NPCs are downed (but not dead), except for the final Wave, where all NPCs must be taken care of.

Update 25.7 (2019-08-29)

  • Defense used to use the base node for enemy count scaling, now difficulty properly scales alongside current enemy level - meaning that the higher the enemy level, the more simultaneous enemies you’ll have to face!
  • New players can now join Defense missions until the second Wave instead of the fourth Wave to guarantee enough time to collect Reactant during Void Fissure missions.
  • Fixed a loss of functionality when using a controller and spamming Y as the round timer runs out in endless missions (Defense).
  • Fixed issues with Nova escaping certain maps for easy-mode Defense.

Hotfix 25.3.2 (2019-07-12)

  • Fixed enemies not spawning after a Host Migration in the Grineer Shipyard Defense tileset.
  • Fixed Cryopod alignment in the Gas City Defense tileset.

Hotfix 25.2.3 (2019-06-25)

  • Fixed overly aggressive optimizations that could lead to graphical popping of certain meshes in the Void Defense tileset.

Hotfix 25.0.8 (2019-05-31)

  • Fixed Ivara’s Cloak arrow functioning on Defense objectives, leaving enemies unable to find it.

Update: Specters of the Rail 0.0 (2016-07-08)

  • Added a new 'Wave Cleared' sound for Defense missions.

Update 17.0 (2015-07-31)

  • Waves will now start with weaker enemies, progressing to support units and ending with heavy and Eximus units to make the end of the wave more intense.
  • The number of enemies attacking the player has been increased for early-waves and decreased for later-waves; this should not only improve performance on systems but brings the duration of a 20-wave Defense Mission closer to 25-30 minutes.
  • The progression of enemy types in all defense missions has been tuned.
  • For more information these changes, please see our Developer Workshop here: https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/495562-defense-experiments/

Update 16.9 (2015-06-17)

  • Players joining an Defense Mission mid-progress will now only be able to join before the start of the 4th enemy wave- after then the mission is considered 'objective complete'.

Update 15.0 (2014-10-24)

  • Defense and Interception Mission rewards now stack! This removes the "inventory checkpoints" every 5 waves in Defense -- it's all or nothing now. The Reward Rotation for Defense and Interception has also been changed (to be like Survival) as Stacking Rewards is now in place. The Rewards now rotate through the reward tiers.

Update 14.0 (2014-07-18)

  • Added Eximus/Leader spawn scaling to Defense missions.

Update 12.0 (2014-02-05)

  • Void Defense missions are now Endless, they no longer have a set number of waves to complete.
  • Replaced “Naked Nick” with a tinted Tenno Prisoner for the casket defense mode.

Update 11.6 (2014-01-08)

  • Changed enemy scaling for Endless Defense missions at high levels (now wave 100 enemies should be around level 200 instead of 8000).

Update 11.1 (2013-11-27)

  • New Corpus Survival and Defense squads using new U11 enemy types.

Update 11.0 (2013-11-20)

  • Time between Defense waves has been reduced to 6 seconds

Update 9.5 (2013-08-09)

  • All Objectives in Endless Defense now scale to the mission's enemy level - higher end defense should now be slightly more tolerable for solo play or squads without Frost. Does not scale with additional enemy scaling per wave.

Update 9.4 (2013-08-02)

  • Defense missions now begin when the pod/core is reached, meaning idlers do not determine when mission begins. One player must reach the defense target for the first Wave to start

Update 9.0 (2013-07-13)

  • Enemies will storm the defense targets, which makes them much more aggressive towards it.

Update 8.1 (2013-06-07)

  • Defense mission reward tables have been reviewed and changed. Reward tables are now split between factions. Fusion cores have now been added to the drop tables.

Hotfix 7.8.1 (2013-04-24)

  • Inventory Checkpoint for Endless Defense added. Reaching every fifth wave (5, 10, 15…) locks in rewards earned to that point.

Update 7.2 (2013-03-22)

  • Enemy variety now changes as players progress through waves of Endless Defense
  • Ciphers should no longer appear as rewards when completing high level waves of Endless Defense

Update 7.0 (2013-03-18)

  • Endless Defense - a new defense mission type. Survive longer for escalating rewards!

References

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