Invasion

Invasion is a mission type that allows players to team up together with the Corpus or the Grineer to work against the opposing factions, as a faction invades a specific mission sector. It was first introduced in The Gradivus Dilemma and officially added to the game in . The Infested also are able to invade, although players cannot side with them.

Mechanics
Invasion Missions are essentially a modified version of regular ones where both opposing factions are presented on a battlefield. During the mission the player is aided by the faction they sided with (i.e. siding with the Grineer will give you Elite Lancers and Heavy Gunners allies, among others) as they attack the enemy.

In Corpus and Grineer invasions, the mission type for a particular node changes every 15 minutes. Possible mission types are Exterminate, Capture, Defense, Rescue, Interception, Sabotage, and Spy. Rescue missions will start the execution timer upon entering the prison tile, similar to Sorties. Sabotage mode involves destroying a reactor core located on the enemy ship, with only one coolant cell, unlike regular Sabotages that use Reactor Sabotage for Grineer Galleon and Corpus Ship tilesets. Spy missions feature a single data vault located on the enemy side of the map.

Any ongoing invasions are listed in the Operations window, with the Invasions tab located between the Alert and Syndicate mission tabs. Alternatively, players may select planets with the symbol of the attacking faction to view the contested sectors. Both sides offer payment for supporting them in contested locations. Selecting a conflict location will present a choice of sides and their respective battle pay, including rare Blueprints, Resources, and parts to Wraith and Vandal weapons.

You will need to commit to a single side to earn battle pay by completing 3 missions, with switching sides eroding your rating with the opposition and denying players either reward. Bear in mind that completing more than the required amount of missions will not increase or improve the reward by any means. Players will receive the battle pay of the faction they sided with regardless if they won the invasion or not.

The attacking faction is represented on the left, with a percent of capture. The faction being attacked is represented on the right. Once either side reaches 100%, the invasion ends and the node returns to its regular mission type.

If the player is ambushed by any Assassin or Syndicate Death Squad during an Invasion mission, allied NPCs will aid the player in fending them off, even if they are from the same faction (The Grineer will attack The Grustrag Three, for example).

Infestation Outbreaks
Infested missions were largely cleared from their Solar Map locations in  and replaced with Operations using the Invasion mission mechanic. During these, the faction being invaded will assist you in dealing with the Infested threat. Unlike standard Invasions, Infestation Outbreaks spread between sectors much faster than Grineer or Corpus invasions, and can often see an entire planet covered with Infested missions fairly quickly.

Infested Invasions will always inherit the sector's mission type if the preexisting sector was Exterminate, Defense, Mobile Defense, or Survival. If the contested sector mission type was not one of those, the game will decide randomly out of those 4. Assassination mission types use Phorid as the assassination target, and will appear over the planet's standard Assassination mission.

Tile Sets
Invasions on Corpus Ship and Grineer Galleon tilesets feature unique map tiles that connect the two opposing vessels of each side, serving as a transitional tile from one map tile into the other, i.e. changing from Grineer Galleon to Corpus Ship and vice versa. Each invasion sector has its own variant of these connecting tiles, which does not change for missions performed on that tile until the invasion ends.

Variant A features a large asteroid mining base connecting the two ships, with plenty of open space and side paths for large engagements. This tile features an energy field that blocks the main path that must be dispelled by hacking a nearby control console. Alternately, there are hidden paths accessible only by parkour that allows players to bypass the field completely.

Variant B features a direct connection between vessels by a Grineer boarding tunnel, leading to a heavily damaged Corpus room.

Variant C is encountered when siding with the Corpus on certain invasions, which features an access tunnel that periodically pulses with energy that can damage player shields. This tunnel exits into the outside of the Corpus Ship that is exposed to space, draining player shields the longer they stay. This then leads to a large glowing portal which transports the players directly into the barracks complex of the opposing Grineer Galleon.

Finally, Variant D is encountered on the same sectors as Variant C, but when siding with Grineer instead, involving a large room with massive cannons firing boarding pods. Players can board an empty pod and initiate the launch sequence by activating the control console inside; this closes the pod, which after a few seconds is fired directly at the opposing Corpus Ship. After the transition, players can exit the pod into the Corpus Ship via a breach made on its hull.

Note that both Variant C and Variant D prevent backtracking into the allied ship as both their transition areas only allow one-way travel.

The Gradivus Dilemma featured an additional variant featuring an asteroid cave connecting the two ships, which has been implemented in standard invasion missions with the Grineer Asteroid tileset as the main tileset.

Infestation outbreaks on Corpus Ships also feature a unique transitional tile, which takes place on a large shuttlebay with an equally large glowing portal at the end, that transports players into another ship. These missions also feature a unique starting tile, which holds a secret room inside an elevator shaft.

Aftermath
Once a victor for a sector has been decided, the player will receive their reward in the inbox regardless who won the sector. However, the player will attract the attention of either the Zanuka Hunter or The Grustrag Three depending on who he or she sided with in Grineer/Corpus invasions (The Zanuka Hunter will attack players who supported the Grineer and vice versa) and may be ambushed during a later mission. Players may also get the Stalker's attention by defeating Phorid.

Also, the winning faction will occupy the targeted node for 24 hours and will eventually contribute towards a Construction Status, which is a "toll" that will be taken by the players at a later time for supporting one of them. If the winning faction is Grineer, the construction will be contributed towards a Balor Fomorian. But if the winning faction is Corpus, the construction will be contributed towards a Razorback Armada. Each will appear near a targeted Relay once the Construction is complete, and the Lotus will warn all Tenno about the threat via Inbox message. This message also includes an item blueprint required to access the specific node, for either the Fomorian Disruptor or the Razorback Cipher.

Rewards

 * 1 - 3 Fieldrons
 * 1 - 3 Detonite Injectors
 * 1 - 2 Mutagen Masses
 * Mutalist Alad V Coordinates
 * Event exclusive weapons parts:
 * Karak Wraith
 * Latron Wraith
 * Strun Wraith
 * Wraith Twin Vipers
 * Sheev
 * Dera Vandal
 * Snipetron Vandal
 * Orokin Catalyst Blueprint
 * Orokin Reactor Blueprint
 * Forma Blueprint
 * Exilus Adapter Blueprint

Trivia

 * If Phorid invades, it will list Phorid as the 'Faction', not the 'Target'. It is also called Phorid Manifestation.
 * The diorama for Corpus invasions contains a graphical error; Flux Rifles can be seen firing as if they were Dera rifles.
 * If the player is playing an unaffected node on a planet that is under siege, the invading enemy can appear in the mission. This does not affect the goal of the mission.
 * Prior to, the faction that won a contested node would take over that node until another invasion overthrew them, effectively replacing the previous faction owner as a result. This may have been changed to avoid disrupting mod drops on a planetary scale – one infamous case had all of Europa taken over by the Grineer.
 * Invasions are a good time to codex scan the faction you are sided with, as they will hold still while not attacking.
 * Invasions also seem to have a higher chance to spawn Rare containers, and Ayatan Sculptures. Many users reported finding rare containers and sculptures especially on invasions.

Bugs

 * The Grineer Breach Pod tile is prone to bugs due to moving parts, especially when playing as a group, most likely due to synchronization errors. Often the players' pod won't load into the launcher. There is no discernible player-made cause for this.
 * If the last mission to receive battle pay is completed after the invasion node returns to normal, you will not receive the battle pay.
 * If an Infested invasion occurs on a Crossfire mission, the Infested will appear as Orokin in the factions section.
 * On rare occasions you will receive the reward from an invasion that you have only ran one mission for.

Patch History
Invasion