Argon Crystal

Argon Crystal
Untradeable
📝 Update Infobox Data
Description
Void based radioactive resource that decays every day it is out of the Void. This resource can be found in the Void.
General Information
Type	Resource
Rarity	Rare
Drop Amount	1-1x
Helminth Secretions	Bile (3)
Sell Price	Cannot Sell
Introduced	Update 13.0 (2014-04-09)
Vendor Sources
Official Drop Tables
https://www.warframe.com/droptables

Void based radioactive resource that decays every day it is out of the Void.

—In-Game Description

Argon Crystals are a rare resource that drops in the Orokin Void tileset, Isolation Vault Bonus stage and from certain Assassination targets. Unlike other resources, Argon Crystals decay after a period of time. After this period the resources will disappear from the user's inventory and must be re-acquired if needed. 

The timer points towards midnight UTC +0 time indefinitely.

Farming Locations

These are based on opinions and may not be 100% true. These should be viewed as advice for finding the resource until better facts are proven.

Target	Planet	Name	Type	Level	Tile Set
	Void	Teshub	Exterminate	10 - 15	Orokin Tower
	Void	Hepit	Capture	10 - 15	Orokin Tower
	Void	Ani	Survival	20 - 25	Orokin Tower
	Void	Stribog	Sabotage	20 - 25	Orokin Tower
	Void	Ukko	Capture	30 - 35	Orokin Tower
	Void	Oxomoco	Exterminate	30 - 35	Orokin Tower
	Void	Mot	Survival	40 - 45	Orokin Tower
	Void	Marduk	Sabotage	40 - 45	Orokin Tower

Drop Locations

Mission Drop Tables

Mission Type	Source	Rotations or Drop Table	Chance	Quantity	Avg. per roll	Star Chart Nodes
Annihilation	Annihilation (Conclave)	B	0.25%	1	0.0025	Annihilation, Saturn
Cephalon Capture	Cephalon Capture (Conclave)	B	0.25%	1	0.0025	Cephalon Capture, Saturn
Exterminate	Kuva Fortress Exterminate Resource Caches	C	3.67%	1	0.0367	Dakata, Kuva Fortress
Exterminate	Lua Exterminate Resource Caches	C	10.82%	1	0.1082	Plato, Lua
Exterminate	Jupiter Exterminate Resource Caches	C	1%	1	0.01	Carpo, Jupiter
Lunaro	Lunaro (Conclave)	B	0.25%	1	0.0025	Lunaro Arena, Saturn
Sabotage	Tier 4 Void Sabotage Resource Caches	C	4.42%	1	0.0442	Marduk, Void
Sabotage	Tier 1 Reactor Sabotage	C	0.67%	1	0.0067	Ishtar, Venus Terminus, Mercury Gradivus, Mars
Sabotage	Orokin Derelict Resource Caches	C	19.36%	1	0.1936	Formido, Deimos
Sabotage	Tier 2 Void Sabotage Resource Caches	C	3.67%	1	0.0367	Stribog, Void
Sabotage	Tier 3 Reactor Sabotage	C	3.67%	1	0.0367	Rusalka, Sedna Cypress, Pluto
Sabotage	Tier 2 Reactor Sabotage	C	1%	1	0.01	Ker, Ceres Thon, Ceres Adrastea, Jupiter Calypso, Saturn
Sabotage	Orokin Derelict Resource Caches	C	3.76%	2	0.0752	Formido, Deimos
Team Annihilation	Team Annihilation (Conclave)	B	0.25%	1	0.0025	Team Annihilation, Saturn
Weekly Conclave Challenge Reward	Weekly Conclave Challenge Reward	B	12.5%	10	1.25	Complete all weekly Conclave challenges to get this reward in your in-game inbox: Match Won: Win 6 matches of any game type. Match Complete: Complete 20 matches of any game type. Conditioning: Complete 10 Daily Challenges.

Enemy Drop Tables

Enemy	Drop Table Chance	Item Chance	Chance	Expected Kills	Quantity	Avg. per roll attempt
Corrupted Vor	100%	50%	50%	2	1	0.5

Sourced from the official drop table repository. See Module:DropTables/data to edit on the wiki.

Blueprints Requiring Argon Crystals

Click to view the Blueprints requiring Argon Crystals

Blueprints	Type	Quantity (Research)
Akzani	Secondary	2
Amprex	Primary	3
Angstrum	Secondary	2
Arca Titron	Melee	2
Atlas Chassis	Component	2
Atlas Prime Systems	Component	2
Atomos	Secondary	2
Atterax	Melee	2
Aura Forma	Enhancement	1
Banshee Prime Systems	Component	2
Bishamo Cuirass	Cosmetic	5
Bubonico	Primary	3
Chroma Prime Systems	Component	2
Chroma Systems	Component	2
Cobra & Crane	Melee	2
Corvas	Arch-Gun	2
Destreza	Melee	2
Diriga	Sentinel	2
Dragon Nikana	Melee	1
Dual Keres	Melee	2
Endura	Melee	2
Equinox Prime Systems	Component	2
Exergis	Primary	2
Exilus Warframe Adapter	Enhancement	1
Fluctus	Arch-Gun	2
Fulmin	Primary	2
Galvacord	Melee	2
Gammacor	Secondary	2
Garuda Prime Neuroptics	Component	2
Gauss Neuroptics	Component	1
Gazal Machete	Melee	2
Greater Lens	Enhancement	1
Grendel Neuroptics	Component	2
Halikar	Melee	2
Harpak	Primary	2
Hildryn Neuroptics	Component	1
Hydroid Chassis	Component	2
Hydroid Ketos Helmet	Cosmetic	1
Hydroid Neuroptics	Component	2
Hydroid Prime Chassis	Component	2
Ignis Wraith	Primary	3
Inaros Prime Neuroptics	Component	2
Inaros Systems	Component	2
Incubator Power Core	Component	1
Ivara Neuroptics	Component	2
Ivara Prime Neuroptics	Component	2
Ivara Systems	Component	1
Karyst	Melee	1
Kavat Incubator Upgrade Segment	Orbiter Segment	1
Knell	Secondary	2
Kohm	Primary	2
Kronen	Melee	2
Landing Craft Foundry Segment	Orbiter Segment	1
Lavos Chassis	Component	2
Limbo Chassis	Component	1
Limbo Prime Chassis	Component	2
Loki Enigma Helmet	Cosmetic	1
Mantis Engines	Component	3
Masseter	Melee	2
Mesa Prime Neuroptics	Component	2
Mesa Systems	Component	1
Mirage	Warframe	1
Mirage Prime Systems	Component	2
Nami Solo	Melee	2
Nekros Prime Chassis	Component	2
Nezha Chassis	Component	1
Nezha Neuroptics	Component	1
Nezha Prime Neuroptics	Component	2
Nikana	Melee	3 (1)
Ninkondi	Melee	2
Nova Slipstream Helmet	Cosmetic	1
Nutrio Incubator Upgrade Segment	Orbiter Segment	1
Oberon Prime Systems	Component	2
Octavia Prime Chassis	Component	2
Ohma	Melee	2
Pandero	Secondary	2
Personal Quarters Segment	Orbiter Segment	1
Phantasma	Primary	2
Plinx	Secondary	2
Potent Pherliac Pod x50	Gear	3
Pulmonars	Melee	2
Quatz	Secondary	2
Railjack Tail Section	Component	1
Redeemer	Melee	2
Rubico	Primary	2
Scimitar Engines	Component	3
Sevagoth Systems	Component	2
Styanax Neuroptics	Component	2
Simulor	Primary	1
Sonicor	Secondary	2
Stance Forma	Enhancement	1
Stradavar	Primary	2
Tatsu	Melee	2
Titania Prime Neuroptics	Component	2
Tonkor	Primary	2
Trinity Prime Chassis	Component	2
Trumna Receiver	Component	1
Twin Rogga	Secondary	2
Valkyr Prime Chassis	Component	2
Vauban Prime Chassis	Component	2
Volnus	Melee	2
Wisp Chassis	Component	1
Wukong Prime Chassis	Component	2
Wukong Systems	Component	2
Xaku Kintsu Helmet	Cosmetic	1
Xiphos Engines	Component	3
Zephyr Prime Systems	Component	2
Nidus Prime Neuroptics	Component	2
Gara Prime Neuroptics	Component	2
Harrow Prime Neuroptics	Component	2
Zhuge	Primary	2
Afentis	Primary	2
Hildryn Prime Neuroptics	Component	2
Citrine Neuroptics	Component	2
Baruuk Prime Systems	Component	2
Revenant Prime Neuroptics	Component	2
Khora Prime Neuroptics	Component	2
Gyre Systems	Component	2
Yareli Neuroptics	Component	2
Parallax Engines	Component	2

Total	222 (+1)
Research	x1   x3   x10   x30   x100

Last updated: Update 30.0 (2021-04-13)

Gathering Tips

These are based on trial and error and may not be completely true. These should be viewed as advice for finding the materials until better facts are proven.

• Argon Crystals can be found in Argon Pegmatite deposits. They can also drop from containers, lockers, and enemies.
  •  Thief's Wit,  Master Thief, and a Kubrow or Kavat with  Scavenge can help in finding containers that may contain Argon Crystals. Using a Sentinel with  Spare Parts can also help with gathering Argon Crystals.
  • It should be noted that using  Scavenge is a slow process due to having to wait for your kubrow to start/complete the animation sequence.
• Bringing a Smeeta Kavat with  Charm into Void maps has a chance at giving you one or multiple Argon Crystals when it triggers.
• Bringing a  Nekros with  Desecrate can improve your chances of finding Argon Crystals, particularly with weapons that deal a majority of their damage as slash (Desecrate counts each severed part as a separate entity).
• Bringing a  Hydroid with the  Pilfering Swarm augmentation or  Khora with the  Pilfering Strangledome augmentation can improve your chances of finding Argon Crystals.
• Bringing an  Ivara with  Prowl can improve your chances of finding Argon Crystals.
• Bringing a  Limbo with  Cataclysm modded for maximum range can destroy all containers in a room by quickly activating and deactivating the ability, making it easier to pick up Argon Crystals without specifically looking for them.
  • Alternatively, a  Xaku with  The Vast Untime modded for maximum range can also break containers easily, even outside of the room the containers might be in.
• The Jordas Golem on Eris is a good place to find Argon as well. Just break the containers in and around the boss area.
• The Weekly Ayatan Sculpture Mission from Maroo's Bazaar is a good place to find Argon Crystals but only if it is a Void map and not a Derelict map.
• Exterminate, Capture, and Sabotage missions are generally the best nodes to explore for Argon Crystals on inside the Void, as the objectives are easy, and allow unrestricted access to the entire tileset upon completion. Additionally, the increased volume of enemies that spawn in these mission types will grant more chances to acquire crystals from killing said enemies.
• Bringing a Warframe such as  Ember,  Nova,  Hydroid or any other with an AOE damage skill will allow you to break containers behind closed/locked walls and triggered container capsules found in some void tiles.  Vacuum equipped on pets will also collect those resources through walls.
• Bringing a Weapon with large AoE such as a variety of explosive weapons (particularly those capable of equipping either  Primed Fulmination or  Primed Firestorm, or the  Ignis/ Ignis Wraith fitted with punch through will allow one to rapidly clear rooms of any containers.
• Void Defense missions may average one crystal every 5 rounds, making them a slow but sure way of acquiring them if one doesn't feel like exploring.
• A drop chance booster or blessing can improve the drop rate of Argon Crystals.
• Completing the third phase of an Isolation Vault bounty has a chance of yielding Argon Crystals, among other resources.

Decaying Mechanics

November 16, 2020 0:00:00 UTCTime until Argon Crystal decays:
    1D-1DD hh mm ssfull

Each Argon Crystal in a Tenno's inventory is either stable or decaying at any given time; beyond this, the age of a single crystal does not matter.

• "A full 24 hours from when you acquire it and then when GMT 00:00 hits, is when it’s considered in its decaying period."
• Having the countdown started on one Argon Crystal, then obtaining another does not reset the countdown for the former.

Each day at GMT 00:00, two things happen:

1. The quantity of decaying Argon Crystals (the ones older than today) is cut in half and rounded down (in other words, performing an integer division by two)
2. All stable Argon Crystals (the ones you collected on that day) shift to the decaying state

For example:

• 11 crystals are collected on day 1. They are all stable.
• GMT 00:00 hits, and all 11 crystals are decaying. Their quantity remains unchanged.
• 10 crystals are collected on day 2. The Tenno now has 21 crystals (11 from day 1 + 10 from day 2).
• GMT 00:00 hits. The 11 decaying crystals decay to 5 (11/2 = 5.5 ≈ 5 rounded down). The 10 additional crystals are now in the decaying state. The Tenno currently has 15 crystals (5 + 10).
• GMT 00:00 hits again without the Tenno collecting any other crystals. All 15 crystals decay to a total of 7 (5/2 = 2.5 ≈ 2 + 10/2).

As a table:

Day #	New Crystals Collected	Argon Crystal State	Inventory Total	Calculation
1	11	11 stable	11	—
2	10	11 decaying, 10 stable	21	= 11 (from day 1) + 10 (from day 2)
3	0	15 decaying	15	= 11/2 + 10 = (round down) 5.5 + 10 = 5 + 10 = 15
4	0	7 decaying	7	= 5/2 + 10/2 = (round down) 2.5 + 5 = 2 + 5 = 7

Notes

• Corrupted Vor will always drop either an Orokin Cell or an Argon Crystal. Chances seem to be equal for both.
• Currently, Argon Crystals are not available for purchase in the Market.
• Unlike other resources, Argon Crystals cannot be refunded when an item is canceled in the Foundry.

Trivia

• Argon (symbol: Ar) is the 18th element in the periodic table. Its properties in-game are wildly different from those demonstrated in real life. It's likely these unusual properties are caused by the physics-defying nature of the Void.
  • It is a noble gas whose most commonly occurring isotope on Earth, ⁴⁰Ar, is stable and does not undergo radioactive decay as the Argon Crystal does. Argon has a number of unstable isotopes that do decay, though none of their half-lives match up with the Argon Crystal's rate of decay.
  • Argon is a gas at room temperature, and does not form crystalline solids until reaching −189.4 °C (−308.9 °F). Solid argon does sublimate in real life, but as a physical property rather than a radioactive one sublimation doesn't resemble the half-life pattern of radioactive decay.
  • Argon is the third-most abundant gas on Earth, so presumably, it is also abundant in the Void, or it was introduced into it by the Orokin towers.
• Reflecting a real-world use of argon, argon crystals may not be used directly in the manufacture of items in the foundry, but instead, provide a perfectly unreactive atmosphere for the creation of extremely fine-tuned equipment.
• This is the first, and so far only resource that has the ability to degrade over time.
• Due to a DDoS Attack on Warframe's PC Servers on April 15, 2014, Argon Crystals didn't decay until servers stabilized – although their countdown remained active. This lasted until Hotfix 13.1.2 (2014-04-25) was launched, as the servers had fully recovered by that time.
• Previously, Argon Crystals would drop from Infestation Outbreaks (particularly from Phorid), and was considered a much more efficient way to collect them. This bug was removed (albeit undocumented in the patch notes) in Hotfix 14.7.4 (2014-09-20).
• Argon Crystals were used to irradiate Infested Pherliac Pods during The Jordas Precept quest, making them more potent. This alludes to the idea that Argon Crystals have enhancing properties.
• Previously, there was a rare bug that caused argon crystals to multiply in the players inventory instead of decaying. This has since been patched.

Media

Pickup

Deposit

Best Argon Crystal Farm Warframe Argon Crystal Farming Guide

Warframe Argon Crystal Farming Guide 2021

Patch History

Update 36.0 (2024-06-18)

• Argon Crystals are now automatically waypointed when dropped by enemies or resource containers in-mission.