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For his Assassin, see Zanuka Hunter.
For his Infested counterpart, see Mutalist Alad V.
And now, let me show you the future!
—Alad V


Alad V was a high ranking Corpus member, seated on the Corpus Board of Directors and the head of Grineer Relations. He is the most recurring Corpus boss in terms of his involvements with various Events.

Originally the creator of the ambitious Zanuka Project, an initiative to create advanced robotics by using Warframe components, its eventual failure saw him removed from the Board of Directors and replaced with his longtime rival, Frohd Bek. He would later form unlikely alliances with his enemies, namely the Infested, the Tenno, and even the Sentients, to produce new schemes or ensure his survival while on the run from his former Corpus backers and the Stalker's Acolytes.

On the Star Chart, Alad V is first encountered on Themisto, Jupiter as a Corpus boss, where he is accompanied by his robotic pet and guardian, Zanuka, which he built from parts of Warframes that he captured. Upon completion of this assassination mission, the player will receive ValkyrIcon272 Valkyr component blueprints. He also has a high drop rate for Neural Sensors.


Lore[]

Due to the nature of the Star Chart progression being altered in Update 19.0 (2016-11-11), some of the lore orders listed here may not match the current game's order. This section lists the last known order before the order of the story was altered.

General[]

Alad V was a member of the Corpus Board of Directors and the head of Grineer Relations. In spite of his position, Alad showed a particular contempt towards the Grineer (whom he refers to as 'dogs') and to a lesser extent, the Tenno. Over the course of his career, Alad would develop an obsession with the Tenno and (later on) the Infested and the Sentient, believing that he could harness their power for his own benefit.

Operation Sling-Stone[]

During one set of negotiations, the Twin Queens demanded that Alad reduce the price of some materials after several stockpiles were discovered, threatening to unleash a Fomorian-class 'supership' if he refused. Alad decided this was a bluff, unaware that these Fomorian ships did exist. When he realized his mistake, he turned to the Tenno for assistance.

Although the Lotus did not want to play any part in the conflict, the threat of Grineer power expanding convinced her to reconsider Alad's plea. This resulted in Operation Sling-Stone, where the Tenno would sabotage the Fomorians' reactors by corrupting them with Infested material. Eventually the last of these ships fell and the Grineer withdrew, although Alad dispatched scouts to Pluto in response to rumors of surviving ships.

Operation: Arid Fear[]

Ultimately, the Queens agreed to Alad's initial contract, but decided to pay more than what he asked for in exchange for his assistance; the Grineer had several unknown settlements that they wanted to hide from the Tenno. Knowing that the Tenno are aware of their methods via their capture missions, Alad decided to send his scouts and navigators to The Void, in the hopes of hiding the information as long as he could. Despite this, the Lotus discovered his covert operations (in what became Operation: Arid Fear) and sent the Tenno to hunt down his scouts. Despite Alad's best efforts, the Tenno recovered the information and were able to find the settlements' planet (which was originally Phobos at the time the event took place, but has presumably been retconned to Mars in Update 19.0 (2016-11-11)).

The Gradivus Dilemma[]

Later on, Alad would focus his resources on the Zanuka Project, after discovering a cache of unawakened Warframes near Sedna. Upon hearing this, General Sargas Ruk of the Grineer ordered Alad to hand the cache over, on the grounds that they were found in Grineer territory. Alad responded by setting up a defensive force on Mars in order to repel the inevitable offensive that would follow his refusal. Enraged, Ruk demanded that all Corpus territory would be handed over to the Grineer, or else there would be swift consequences.

This information was picked up by the Lotus, who was unwilling to sway the Tenno towards either side. Instead, she left the Tenno with two options; support the Grineer to rescue the sleeping Tenno, at the cost of the Grineer gaining more control, or support the Corpus to drive off the Grineer, sacrificing their fellow Tenno in the process. The ensuing conflict would later be known as The Gradivus Dilemma.

After several skirmishes, the Board of Directors decided to stop bankrolling Alad due to the resources that were being wasted, resulting in a Grineer victory. The Board also stopped the funding of the Zanuka Project, forcing Alad to continue his project without their assistance. He subsequently set up research facilities on Jupiter.

The Hunt For Alad V[]

Following the Dilemma, the Tenno discovered that Alad had a captured Warframe he was experimenting on as part of the Project. Alad's former colleague Frohd Bek was tracking him down in response to the massive debts he had accrued during the Dilemma (though Bek had his own reasons, namely fearing that Alad could gain more power in the Board should the Zanuka Project prove successful). In response, Alad diverted the Infested to Frohd's ships, overwhelming them in the process and slowing down Frohd's progress.

Frohd Bek decided to cut a deal with the Tenno: eliminate the Infested from his ships so he could locate Alad, then offer said location to the Tenno. Despite the Lotus' initial distrust, she ultimately agreed to Frohd's terms, and the ensuing hunt for Alad V ultimately proved successful. Although he was able to construct a working Zanuka prototype by the time he was found, the Tenno defeated him and rescued the Warframe from his clutches. Despite this, Alad continues to work on the Project and occasionally sends out Zanuka Hunters to search for more "donors".

Suspicious Shipments[]

After a long period of inactivity, the Lotus discovered several Corpus ships that were traveling well outside usual shipping routes. These ships were heavily armored, and used several measures to keep themselves hidden from prying eyes. Suspicious about their purpose, the Lotus sent the Tenno to investigate these ships and their mysterious cargo.

The Tenno discovered that many of these ships contained samples of Infested tissue, heavily guarded by Corpus platoons, though some of these ships had suffered containment breaches and had been overrun with the Infested. Alad contacted the Tenno during their investigations, explaining that he disagreed with the Corpus ban on Infested Biotechnology, and had decided to focus his resources on this forbidden line of research.

Operation Breeding Grounds[]

The Lotus learned that Alad's experiments had allowed the Infestation to evolve, allowing it to infect and corrupt inorganic beings. Lotus also discovered that Alad had also developed Infested Hives as a means of directing the spread of the Infested; these hives could corrupt new ships or colonies almost immediately.

After hearing word of a massive Infestation outbreak near Eris, Lotus ordered the Tenno to intercept the Infested ships and destroy the hives in order to halt the outbreak, fearing that the newly evolved strain would quickly overrun the System if left unchecked.

Although the Tenno succeeded in stopping the outbreak, Alad sent out one last message that mocked the Tenno's efforts, claiming that their actions had only left Alad with the hardiest, most vicious strains at his disposal.

Operation: Mutalist Incursions[]

With the evolved Infested at his disposal, Alad unveiled his plan to unleash a new "Mutalist Empire," infecting Tenno, Grineer, and Corpus alike in an attempt to unify and subordinate them. At this point the Lotus believed that the Infestation had corrupted Alad's mind, describing him as the Infestation itself. During this time, Mutalist Incursions would periodically surface across the Origin System, and the Tenno were tasked to purge them with the help of the Corpus and the Grineer.

Although the valiant and combined effort of the three factions quickly pushed the Mutalist Infestation back to Eris, they ultimately failed to fully exterminate the new breeds, which remained a permanent threat to the system.

Patient Zero[]

In the midst of the Mutalist Incursions, the Lotus also directed the Tenno to once again locate Alad - who at this point had hybridized himself with Infested tissue - and destroy his research labs. During their searches, Alad contacted the Tenno and revealed that he had another Warframe in his possession, planning to infuse it with Infested tissue. As the search continued, the Infested Warframe - the epitome of Alad V's Mutalist experiments - was finally revealed and the Lotus instructed the Tenno to put it out of its misery.

Despite the destruction of his experiments, Alad expressed no grudge towards the Tenno and instead announced merely his "disappointment", remarking that this could have been a chance for them to redeem their past "mistakes". Eventually, Alad was located once again and defeated.

Operation: Tubemen of Regor[]

After a long period of inactivity, it was revealed the work of Grineer researcher Tyl Regor had attracted Alad's attention. Alad, regretting his involvement with the Infestation, sent a message to the Lotus, asking for the Tenno to obtain samples of Tyl Regor's research before sabotaging his labs in the hopes of finding a cure for himself. The Corpus aristocrat Nef Anyo, however, saw this plea to the Lotus as a threat to his new position on the Corpus Board and immediately broadcast his alternate proposition for the Tenno: to destroy Tyl Regor's lab outright and prevent Alad V from possibly developing a cure for himself.

As both sides offered the locations of Regor's labs, the Lotus refused to sway the Tenno into a specific choice, and it was ultimately up to them to decide which of the two was the lesser evil. In the end, Alad V proved victorious in the PC and XB1 builds of the game, whereas Nef Anyo was triumphant in the PS4 build.

The Second Dream[]

AladVPortrait d
“You're not supposed to be in here! You're going to ruin the surprise!”
The following article/section contains spoilers.

Alad V, whose Infestation had significantly receded compared to his last encounter with the Tenno, offered his assistance in locating the Sentient Hunhow's remains, in exchange for a future "favor". He remained in contact with the Lotus as the Tenno pursued the Stalker to the Void and expressed a desire to dissect a Sentient Battalyst once one was encountered.

Alad makes clear his amazement when it is revealed that the Lotus had hidden the Orokin-era Moon, Lua, deep in the Void, to protect the Tenno "heart" from the Sentients. Alad, remembering his own experiments with dissecting Warframes, wonders why this heart is not in their chest, suggesting that he had some slight awareness of Warframes not being what they seem. During the conflict, Hunhow addresses the meddlesome Alad as "Orokin" on several occasions (likely due to a tendency to refer to any human from the Origin system as Orokin due to an impartiality to factions in his hatred) ultimately threatening to kill him. This forces Alad to flee, but not before reminding the Lotus about his favor.

Operation: Shadow Debt[]

Calling in the favor he obtained during The Second Dream, Alad requests the Tenno's assistance in locating and hunting down the Acolytes deployed to hunt him down. He instructs the Tenno to break into Corpus and Grineer systems to collect security data, and from there uses said data to locate the Acolytes for the Tenno to hunt down.

Once most of the Acolytes were defeated, Alad found out that there was one more Acolyte heading his way. Fearing that this last Acolyte was possibly the strongest out of the group, he asked the Tenno to defend him directly. After the Tenno protected Alad from the Acolytes, he gave the Tenno the rewards he had promised, asking them not to tell anyone about their deal.

The Index[]

Alad V is known to have worked closely with Loan Reclamation Division of The Index, and despite his involuntary retirement due to his body being taken over by the Infestation, some still say that Nako Xol and Ved Xol of the said division still undertake his assignment acting on his behalf. A Zanuka-like proxy, Lockjaw, which was delivered as payment for services rendered only serves to strengthen this suspicion.

Wolf of Saturn Six[]

Preluding to The Jovian Concord, Alad V received Grineer inmates from Gharn, the Warden of the Grineer Max-Pen Saturn Six that was previously undisclosed and named for being "some six leagues deep in the gas". The pen's model prisoner, the Wolf of Saturn Six, discovered this trafficking of his fellow inmates and broke out, but instead of fleeing he hacked into the Corpus communications network on Jupiter and sent them a demand to "DELIVER GHARN".

Alad V replied "GHARN IS YOURS", drawing the Wolf out only to imprison him again as an experiment for his Amalgam project, with him and his pack becoming infused with Sentient hybridization, and then sent him to hunt down the Tenno. However, the Wolf broke free from Alad's control and shortly thereafter disappeared.

Nightwave Fourth Diorama[]

The message read: GHARN IS YOURS. An anonymous gift. I know what this looks like. But the Wolf's too cold for revenge. The Grineer appoint Wardens for life. The Wolf had no choice but to shorten the term. Not payback, just 'never again'. But it was too easy. Days like these, an easy meal means you're taking someone's bait. Alad V's. The devil in a Corpus cloak. Got the Wolf in an all-new prison, baby. Only this one's not made of bars, it's made of chemicals... hmmm...guess we all know someone like that. The whole lot has been transformed into these 'Amalgam Dogs'... his words. Hybridized, juiced on some Sentient strain. No nice way to put it. I think the pack is coming after you, Dreamers.

Nightwave Fifth Diorama[]

Passing by that Mercury Junction... shimmering hot, tonight. Word on the grid is the devil's got his due... hmm. Should have known. We saw the signs, didn't we? Sure. The Wolf got tough... tougher. But more than that, the Wolf got smart. Got a pack together. Worked the Corpus crypto. He's his own man now. Leavin' no more tracks. Is this the end? Dreamers, I hope so... but if I were you, I'd keep an ear out... 'cause one of these days you just might hear that howl come round your shoulder. This is Nora Night, signing off. Stay deadly, Dreamers.

The Jovian Concord[]

Main article: Fragments/Partnership

Alad V returned to work for the Corpus back on Jupiter, although due to the failure of the Zanuka Project and the Mutalist Incursion incident, along with Nef Anyo's Orb Vallis terraforming project winning the favor of Board of Director Frohd Bek, Alad's reputation has since severely diminished. He was approached by an old acquaintance, Regus, who offered him never-before-seen Old War tech. Alad immediately jumped the chance and begun investing, quickly signing a contract that Regus immediately agreed to despite Alad's attempts at manipulating loopholes. However, he soon came to realize something was very wrong when Regus flashed at him with an inhuman smile.

Alad realized too late that the Regus that approached him was actually a Sentient Mimic; to his horror, he had entered an unwitting partnership with the enemy. Alad's attempts to defy submission instantly met in failure; he had no choice but to comply with the Amalgam project and create soldiers for the Sentients, or the Ropalolyst would raze his gas city and his Corpus rivals would execute him for treason.

The Amalgam program turned out to be a success. As per agreements, the identities of his partners would be kept confidential, instating a strict no-fly zone on their craft. All while Alad V told to himself, "Life is Profit."

In addition to creating the Amalgams, Alad V also works to receive combat data against the Warframes and sends it over to his partners. However, his boasting about his "exciting new product line" is merely a facade, even encouraging and expressing gratitude to the Tenno when they fight the Ropalolyst.

The New War[]

Look outside! We'll all about to be under new management! Now do your part or I'll find a more forward-thinking replacement.
—Alad V

After the Sentients begin to invade the Origin System, the Corpus form an unlikely alliance with the Tenno and Grineer against a common enemy, with Alad V participating in the Veil Proxima. He orders Veso to fix the ship's command overrides so he can stand down fire control, occassionally getting the Corpus Tech's name wrong. Alad V soon reveals that they are about to be "under new management", with Veso questioning his intentions to betray the Corpus Board of Directors.

After engaging all overrides, a Murex attempts to dock, with Alad V claiming to have formed a "peaceful and profitable" deal with the Sentients. Veso, enraged at Alad's betrayal, reengaged fire control and interrupted Alad V's speech, ordering to fire into the heart of the Murex. The destruction of the Sentient ship causes a shockwave that severely damages the Corpus ship, leaving Alad V's fate unknown.

Behavior[]

Alad V himself appears as a man in a metallic blue robe, with a disc-shaped controller around his neck which powers Zanuka.

He has no offensive capabilities, and will simply attempt to run around the arena and stay away from the Tenno while Zanuka does the dirty work. He does however have a few defensive capabilities to help himself survive.

  • Electric Shield: Akin to VoltIcon272 Volt's ElectricShield130xWhite Electric Shield, he can summon a white energy shield to block bullets from afar.
  • Flame Pulse: When a player is close enough to Alad, he will summon a fire burst around himself to knock the Tenno away. It has little to no recharge time, meaning attempts to do close-quarters attacks are futile and can always be defended against.
  • Blinding Beam: A lightning bolt strikes from his hand and connects to a target Tenno. After a second, the target will be blinded for a few seconds as the entire screen flashes white.

Strategy[]

Alad V cannot be taken down until Zanuka is slain first. However, its shields have innate damage reduction and therefore are extremely durable, but will vanish once Alad V's own shields are depleted. Avoid using DmgToxinSmall64 Toxin damage against Alad, as it ignores shields.

In the event Alad V's health is depleted before Zanuka is killed, he will collapse in a state similar to bleedout, and Zanuka will immediately rush to his aid and bring him back on his feet, restoring a portion of his shields. Although Zanuka becomes an easier target when attempting to rescue Alad, it may be easier to ignore Alad after his shields are down and attack Zanuka until it is destroyed.

Trivia[]

  • Alad V is voiced by [DE]Skree, who also voices Captain Vor, General Sargas Ruk, and Shik Tal.
  • Alad V's name is spoken as "Alad Vee" and not "Alad the Fifth" as it would normally be interpreted.
  • Alad V has a continued and deep interest in biotics in general and perhaps possesses high knowledge in biology. This is shown by him being the first person to manipulate Warframes (to create Zanuka) and commanding the Infested (and evolving them).
  • Alad V is the character most involved in the lore of Warframe Era, totaling seven events, one special alert and two quests of exposure, making him the most ubiquitous character in Warframe lore-wise.
  • Alad V favors diplomacy and bribery over fighting, using his skills in linguistics to gain profits and defeat opponents, and uses his robotic pet as a primary means of fighting when the need arises (from Livestream 14).
    • His diplomacy skills seem to be sorely lacking, as evidenced from most interactions with even the Tenno that sided with Corpus in the Gradivus Dilemma event. Boasting about what he will do to captured Tenno cryopods, saying Tenno have no eyes for unknown reasons, and also talking about how much it pains him to give rewards to Tenno that supported his cause.
  • Alad V believes the Tenno do not have eyes. This could be a reason to the Zanuka Project, as Alad V has minimal knowledge about the nature of the Tenno and wishes to do research, not even knowing that the Tenno control their Warframes remotely, rather than from inside the suits.
    • This might also hint at the relationship between the Tenno and their Warframes. Other characters such as Captain Vor also hint at a similar conclusion in their respective dialogues.
    • This might also actually be an insult, having "no eyes" may mean not "seeing" the scheme of things.
    • Ironically, save Vor and allies of the Tenno, Alad V expresses the strongest interest in the Tenno.
  • Despite the animosity between the Corpus and the Tenno, Alad V still treats them as potential business partners, as evidenced by his dialogue in the Gradivus Dilemma.
  • The fan base considers his slogan to be "Profit numbs the feeling."
  • He has created a forum account on the Warframe forums to argue with General Sargas Ruk: Alad V
  • A leaked trailer was released in the forums as the showcase for the PS4. Though the original trailer was released a short time after.
  • In the PS4 trailer, the letters on Alad V's neckpiece translate to "ALADV GREG", most likely a humorous reference to level designer Scott McGregor.
Aladvprofit

The letters on the shoulder plates which translate to "ALADV GREG"

  • When downed, Alad will refer to Zanuka as a female. This might be in a literal sense or simply calling it "her" shows his affection toward it, like any other pet.
  • The following depicted abilities on the "Profit" trailer are known to be false and do not apply completely to Zanuka's actual boss fight:
    • AntimatterDrop130xWhite Antimatter Drop is used outside of its normal circumstance. Normally, Zanuka will only use it when rushing to revive Alad.
    • RhinoStomp130xWhite Rhino Stomp did not cause a time-stopping effect as it normally should.
    • Dispel causes stagger in actuality rather than knockdown as shown in the trailer.
  • It seems that Alad V was to be replaced by Darvo as the new chairman of the Corpus Board, the main aristocratic leadership on Corpus politics. His ranking was known on the Profit trailer as he makes a transaction among his fellow Corpus leadership through the Zanuka Project, although, this has changed as one of the chairmen from the board called Alad V an impeachment, specifically Frohd Bek, who is the actual father of Darvo, which resulted in The Hunt For Alad V. Exiled, his seat from the board is thus left empty as Darvo has shown disdain for Bek's ambition.
  • So far the only humanoid Corpus bosses are Alad V and The Sergeant.
  • Zanuka and Mesa are the first, and currently only, evidence of any faction other than the Orokin or Sentient having any success manipulating Warframes. The game has made mention of both the Corpus and the Grineer being unsuccessful trying to utilize their power in the past.
  • If one looks closely, the arc-like beams on Zanuka's head seems similar to the Corrupted / Frost PrimeIcon272 Frost Prime headpieces.
  • A NekrosIcon272 Nekros can create a Zanuka Shadow with ShadowsOfTheDead130xWhite Shadows of the Dead if the Nekros is the Frame to strike the killing blow. If this occurs, it will primarily use its missiles. This is the only known case of a boss that can be made into a Shadow.
  • Due to the similarities between the term and his name, Alad V has acquired the derogatory nickname "Salad V" in some areas of the Warframe community. This has also carried over to his Mutalist incarnation. Also, his "collar" has often been compared to a toilet seat.
  • Alad V's controller for Zanuka looks like a Middle English ruff, which was worn during the Elizabethan and Jacobean periods.
  • ValkyrIcon272 Valkyr Gersemi skin, which is meant to show Valkyr before Alad's experiments on her, has almost exactly the same coloring as the Zanuka that Alad controls, hinting that the outer layers of Valkyr's Warframe were literally stripped and grafted onto the Zanuka.
  • The forearm restraints on ValkyrIcon272 Valkyr might be inspired by the forearm gilding/gauntlets present on Valkyr Prime.
AladVPortrait d
“You're not supposed to be in here! You're going to ruin the surprise!”
The following article/section contains spoilers.
Spoilers
  • In his appearance in The Second Dream, Alad is shown to be fully cured, though with a scarred face, from his Infestation.
    • The scar is still on his face when he speaks while playing a Disruption mission, and during the Ropalolyst boss fight.
  • In The Second Dream quest, Alad was addressed as Orokin by the Sentient Hunhow. This could be a misinterpretation on Hunhow's part, however; due to him being sealed in a tomb for thousands of years he could be unaware of the existence of other factions aside from the Orokin and the Tenno. However, Cephalon Fragment entries indicate that some members of the Corpus leadership claim to be direct descendants of Orokin heritage. Hunhow's statement might suggest that this is in fact true.

Bugs[]

  • Zanuka has been known to disappear while being kited through the ducts leading up to the arena. When this occurs, Alad V is vulnerable to being killed.
  • Sometimes when downed, Zanuka will revive him, but he gets stuck in a shield and cannot be damaged except using the slam attack of a melee weapon.
  • Sometimes when Alad V is downed, Zanuka will revive him, but he will get stuck inside of walls and/or the floor and take no damage regardless of attacks.
  • If Zanuka is pushed out of the map, defeating Alad V will not be possible. It seems that Zanuka is still alive beneath the map if you push it off (tested with SoulPunch130xWhite Soul Punch and Kestrel Kestrel). Zanuka eventually appears near Alad V and revives him.
  • There's a chance that the blind effect employed by Alad V can get stuck on a character; this bug is fixed via revival.
  • Zanuka can be locked down for an infinite duration (or until it dies) with TrinityIcon272 Trinity's WellOfLife130xWhite Well of Life. EnergyVampire130xWhite Energy Vampire can then be used to cause damage to Zanuka while also replenishing the energy of Warframes close by.
  • There appears to be a bug where Alad V can be killed when using a fast enough melee weapon, e.g. Obex Obex. In these cases, if Alad is repeatedly downed in close combat, he will eventually be killed outright. Even if Zanuka is still alive at this point, Lotus will respond with the objective completed message and direct you to extraction. Zanuka can still be killed at this point.
  • If a NekrosIcon272 Nekros uses ShadowsOfTheDead130xWhite Shadows of the Dead to revive Zanuka and then kills Alad V, the shadow Zanuka will still revive Alad V when he dies.
  • Alad V can possibly bleed out if Zanuka is kept from reviving him long enough (achievable with Nyx's Chaos ability).
  • Sometimes Alad V and Zanuka may appear T-posing when encountered, making them easy to defeat in a few hits. This glitch can be spotted of his health bar has already appeared when the mission just started.

Patch History[]

Hotfix 31.5.7 (2022-05-06)

  • Fixed a script error related to Alad V's Blinding Beam ability.

Update 31.5 (2022-04-27)

  • Fixed Alad V transmission appearing as Mutalist Alad V during Second Dream quest.

Update 25.1 (2019-06-05)

  • Monitors now show 'Stand By' and glitchy screen transmissions upon Alad V's death in the Gas City tileset.

Update 24.4 (2019-03-08)

  • If Alad V is killed before his taunt transmissions finish, the transmissions will now be cut off by his death cry.

Update 11.1 (2013-11-27)

  • Increased Single Player level cap. Zanuka scaling matches Alad's. AI minions spawn a little less frequently.
  • Added some jump actions on the exterior catwalks for Zanuka to get back to the main platform.
  • Alad V can no longer be pushed/pulled/bounced.

Update 11.0 (2013-11-20)

  • New Boss: Alad V & Zanuka (Corpus).
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