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 3 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 3 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 [Superseded by Temple defense when the Corpus Ship tileset was remastered.]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:
- 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.
Shrine Defense
- Main article: Shrine Defense
Introduced in Update 37.0 (2024-10-02), players must keep the Infested at bay as shrine offerings are being made in order to draw out and kill the Infested Oni. Despite the name, Shrine Defense is not an endless mission and many of its mechanics differ from standard Defense.
Locations
There are a total of three tiers which determines the reward pool players have access to at each 5th wave checkpoint.
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
- Waves 1-4 consist of MOAs, Crewmen, Prod Crewmen, and Oxium Ospreys.
- Waves 5-9 consist of Shockwave MOAs, Shield Ospreys, Elite Crewmen, Detron Crewmen, Sniper Crewmen, Techs, Sapping Ospreys, and Leech Ospreys in addition to previous waves.
- Waves 10+ consist of Railgun MOAs, Fusion MOAs, Mine Ospreys, Nullifier Crewmen, Anti MOAs, and Scavenger Drones in addition to previous waves.
- On Io, Jupiter, near the end of every 5th wave, two or three Eximus Amalgam units will spawn.
- Waves 1-4 consist of Volatile Runners, Runners, Leapers, Crawlers, Nauseous Crawlers, Toxic Crawlers, Electric Crawlers, Lobber Crawlers and Chargers, along with a random mix of Ancient Healers or Ancient Disruptors.
- Waves 5-9 consist of Ancient Disruptors, Ancient Healers, Tar-Mutalist MOAs, Swarm-Mutalist MOAs and Mutalist Ospreys in addition to previous waves.
- Waves 10+ consist of Toxic Ancients, Brood Mothers, and Boilers in addition to previous waves.
- The only Infested non-boss enemies that don't appear in survival are Mutalist Ospreys.
- Waves 1-4 consist of Butchers, Flameblades, Powerfists, Lancers, and Troopers.
- Waves 5-9 consist of Heavy Gunners, Ballistas, Eviscerators, Shield Lancers, Scorches and Scorpions in addition to previous waves.
- Waves 10+ consist of Drahk Masters, Commanders, Rollers, Seekers, Bombards and Napalms in addition to previous waves.
- Waves 1-4 consist of Corrupted Lancers, Corrupted Butchers, and Corrupted Crewmen.
- Waves 5-9 consist of Orokin Drones, Corrupted Heavy Gunners, and Corrupted MOAs, in addition to previous waves.
- Waves 10+ consist of Corrupted Ancients, Corrupted Bombards and Corrupted Nullifiers, (T2, T3 and T4 only), in addition to previous waves.
Rewards
Rewards from Defense missions are offered every 3 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.
| A | B | C | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ammo Drum |
9.09% | Cryo Rounds |
8.33% | Continuity |
8.33% |
| Magazine Warp |
9.09% | Hell's Chamber |
8.33% | Master Thief |
8.33% |
| Pressure Point |
9.09% | Reflex Coil |
8.33% | Metal Auger |
8.33% |
| Trick Mag |
9.09% | Shocking Touch |
8.33% | Ravage |
8.33% |
 Lith A6 |
9.09% |  Meso A7 |
8.33% | Meso A7 |
8.33% |
| Lith G13 |
9.09% | Meso E6 |
8.33% | Meso E6 |
8.33% |
| Lith M9 |
9.09% | Meso F5 |
8.33% | Meso F5 |
8.33% |
| Lith N16 |
9.09% | Meso G8 |
8.33% | Meso G8 |
8.33% |
| Lith P9 |
9.09% | Meso N17 |
8.33% | Meso N17 |
8.33% |
| Lith W4 |
9.09% | Meso T7 |
8.33% | Meso T7 |
8.33% |
| Lith X1 |
9.09% | Meso V10 |
8.33% | Meso V10 |
8.33% |
 Endo x100 |
8.33% | 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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meso A7 |
14.29% | Cryo Rounds |
6.25% |  Neo A13 |
11.06% |
| Meso E6 |
14.29% | Deep Freeze |
6.25% | Neo G8 |
11.06% |
| Meso F5 |
14.29% | Fury |
6.25% | Neo L4 |
11.06% |
| Meso G8 |
14.29% | Hell's Chamber |
6.25% | Neo P7 |
11.06% |
| Meso N17 |
14.29% | North Wind |
6.25% | Neo Q1 |
11.06% |
| Meso T7 |
14.29% | Point Blank |
6.25% | Neo W2 |
11.06% |
| Meso V10 |
14.29% | Reflex Coil |
6.25% | Neo Z11 |
11.06% |
| Stormbringer |
6.25% | Metal Auger |
4.51% | ||
| Neo A13 |
6.25% | Ravage |
4.51% | ||
| Neo G8 |
6.25% | Stretch |
4.51% | ||
| Neo L4 |
6.25% | Vital Sense |
4.51% | ||
| Neo P7 |
6.25% | Endo x300 |
4.51% | ||
| Neo Q1 |
6.25% | ||||
| Neo W2 |
6.25% | ||||
| Neo Z11 |
6.25% | ||||
| 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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magazine Warp |
10% | Deep Freeze |
6.67% |  Axi A19 |
11.06% |
| Trick Mag |
10% | Hell's Chamber |
6.67% | Axi G14 |
11.06% |
| Vitality |
10% | Hornet Strike |
6.67% | Axi H8 |
11.06% |
| Neo A13 |
10% | North Wind |
6.67% | Axi O6 |
11.06% |
| Neo G8 |
10% | Reflex Coil |
6.67% | Axi S16 |
11.06% |
| Neo L4 |
10% | Shocking Touch |
6.67% | Axi S17 |
11.06% |
| Neo P7 |
10% | Streamline |
6.67% | Axi T12 |
11.06% |
| Neo Q1 |
10% | Axi A19 |
6.67% | Continuity |
2.26% |
| Neo W2 |
10% | Axi G14 |
6.67% | Convulsion |
2.26% |
| Neo Z11 |
10% | Axi H8 |
6.67% | Handspring |
2.26% |
| Axi O6 |
6.67% | Master Thief |
2.26% | ||
| Axi S16 |
6.67% | Metal Auger |
2.26% | ||
| Axi S17 |
6.67% | Ravage |
2.26% | ||
| Axi T12 |
6.67% | Split Chamber |
2.26% | ||
| Endo x200 |
6.67% | Stretch |
2.26% | ||
| Vital Sense |
2.26% | ||||
| Endo x400 |
2.26% | ||||
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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lith A6 |
13.33% | Lith W4 |
22.12% | Lith A6 |
6.67% |
| Lith G13 |
13.33% | Lith A6 |
11.06% | Lith G13 |
6.67% |
| Lith M9 |
13.33% | Lith G13 |
11.06% | Lith M9 |
6.67% |
| Lith N16 |
13.33% | Lith N16 |
11.06% | Lith N16 |
6.67% |
| Lith P9 |
13.33% | Lith P9 |
11.06% | Lith P9 |
6.67% |
| Lith W4 |
13.33% | Lith X1 |
11.06% | Lith W4 |
6.67% |
| Lith X1 |
13.33% |  Aya |
6.15% | Lith X1 |
6.67% |
| Aya |
6.67% | Meso T7 |
4.1% | Meso A7 |
6.67% |
| Meso A7 |
2.05% | Meso E6 |
6.67% | ||
| Meso E6 |
2.05% | Meso F5 |
6.67% | ||
| Meso F5 |
2.05% | Meso G8 |
6.67% | ||
| Meso G8 |
2.05% | Meso N17 |
6.67% | ||
| Meso N17 |
2.05% | Meso T7 |
6.67% | ||
| Meso V10 |
2.05% | Meso V10 |
6.67% | ||
| Aya |
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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aya |
8.29% | Neo A13 |
18.18% | Aya |
12.5% |
| Meso E6 |
6.96% | Neo G8 |
18.18% | Neo A13 |
9.68% |
| Meso F5 |
6.96% | Neo Q1 |
18.18% | Neo G8 |
9.68% |
| Meso G8 |
6.96% | Neo L4 |
9.09% | Neo L4 |
9.68% |
| Meso N17 |
6.96% | Neo P7 |
9.09% | Neo P7 |
9.68% |
| Meso T7 |
6.96% | Neo W2 |
9.09% | Neo Q1 |
9.68% |
| Meso V10 |
6.96% | Neo Z11 |
9.09% | Neo W2 |
9.68% |
| Neo A13 |
6.96% | Aya |
9.09% | Neo Z11 |
9.68% |
| Neo G8 |
6.96% | Axi A19 |
2.82% | ||
| Neo L4 |
6.96% | Axi G14 |
2.82% | ||
| Neo P7 |
6.96% | Axi H8 |
2.82% | ||
| Neo Q1 |
6.96% | Axi O6 |
2.82% | ||
| Neo W2 |
6.96% | Axi S16 |
2.82% | ||
| Neo Z11 |
6.96% | Axi S17 |
2.82% | ||
| Meso A7 |
1.29% | Axi T12 |
2.82% | ||
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 x250 |
22.22% | Endo x250 |
77.44% |  Forma Blueprint |
22.56% |
| Lith A6 |
11.11% |  Mutalist Alad V Nav Coordinate |
22.56% | Meso A7 |
11.06% |
| Lith G13 |
11.11% | Meso E6 |
11.06% | ||
| Lith M9 |
11.11% | Meso F5 |
11.06% | ||
| Lith N16 |
11.11% | Meso G8 |
11.06% | ||
| Lith P9 |
11.11% | Meso N17 |
11.06% | ||
| Lith W4 |
11.11% | Meso T7 |
11.06% | ||
| Lith X1 |
11.11% | Meso V10 |
11.06% | ||
Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.
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 x100 |
26.67% | Endo x100 |
35.29% | Endo x150 |
42.11% |
 Lavan Engines Mk I |
20% | Lavan Plating Mk I |
17.65% | Vidar Plating Mk I |
15.79% |
| Lavan Reactor Mk I |
20% | Lavan Shield Array Mk I |
17.65% | Vidar Reactor Mk I |
15.79% |
 Ash Systems Blueprint |
13.33% | Vidar Engines Mk I |
17.65% | Vidar Shield Array Mk I |
15.79% |
| Lith G13 |
6.67% | Lith M9 |
5.88% | Lith A6 |
5.26% |
| Lith P9 |
6.67% | Lith N16 |
5.88% | Lith W4 |
5.26% |
| Lith X1 |
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 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endo x200 |
26.67% | Endo x200 |
27.91% | Endo x450 |
29.79% |
| Lavan Engines Mk II |
20% | Lavan Plating Mk II |
13.95% | Vidar Reactor Mk II |
17.02% |
| Lavan Reactor Mk II |
20% | Lavan Shield Array Mk II |
13.95% | Vidar Plating Mk II |
12.77% |
 Ash Neuroptics Blueprint |
13.33% | Vidar Engines Mk II |
13.95% | Vidar Shield Array Mk II |
12.77% |
| Meso E6 |
6.67% | Nautilus Blueprint |
4.65% | Nautilus Blueprint |
4.26% |
| Meso F5 |
6.67% |  Nautilus Carapace |
4.65% | Nautilus Carapace |
4.26% |
| Meso T7 |
6.67% | Nautilus Cerebrum |
4.65% | Nautilus Cerebrum |
4.26% |
| Nautilus Systems |
4.65% | Nautilus Systems |
4.26% | ||
| Meso A7 |
4.65% | Meso G8 |
4.26% | ||
| Meso N17 |
4.65% | Meso V10 |
4.26% | ||
 Riven Sliver |
2.33% | Riven Sliver x2 |
2.13% | ||
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 x300 |
26.67% | Endo x300 |
30.3% | Endo x450 |
43.9% |
| Lavan Engines Mk III |
20% | Lavan Plating Mk III |
18.18% | Vidar Plating Mk III |
14.63% |
| Lavan Reactor Mk III |
20% | Lavan Shield Array Mk III |
18.18% | Vidar Reactor Mk III |
14.63% |
| Ash Chassis Blueprint |
13.33% | Vidar Engines Mk III |
18.18% | Vidar Shield Array Mk III |
14.63% |
| Neo G8 |
6.67% | Neo L4 |
6.06% | Neo A13 |
4.88% |
| Neo W2 |
6.67% | Neo P7 |
6.06% | Neo Q1 |
4.88% |
| Neo Z11 |
6.67% | Riven Sliver |
3.03% | Riven Sliver x2 |
2.44% |
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 x400 |
42.86% | Endo x400 |
34.29% | Endo x600 |
34.29% |
| Vidar Engines Mk III |
21.43% | Vidar Plating Mk III |
17.14% | Zetki Plating Mk III |
17.14% |
| Vidar Reactor Mk III |
21.43% | Vidar Shield Array Mk III |
17.14% | Zetki Reactor Mk III |
17.14% |
| Axi O6 |
5.71% | Zetki Engines Mk III |
17.14% | Zetki Shield Array Mk III |
17.14% |
| Axi G14 |
4.29% | Axi S16 |
5.71% | Axi A19 |
5.71% |
| Axi H8 |
4.29% | Axi S17 |
5.71% | Axi T12 |
5.71% |
| Riven Sliver x3 |
2.86% | 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:
- 15 Waves: Icefields of Riddah (Grendel Chassis Locator)
- 10 Waves: Syndicate, Void Raider, Nightmare Mode, Sortie, Alert
- 5 Waves: Invasion, Kuva Lich Controlled Territory
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. Mirror Defense defense objects are exempted from effects that heal, give shields, or give health. They can receive damage reduction effects as outlined in the table below.
Note that Eidolon Lures are not static and are 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 source | Normal effect | Effect on all types of static defendable objects (Cryopods, Excavators, etc) |
|---|---|---|
 Gara's Mending Splinters |
15 HP/sec for each active splinter | Same as normal |
 Hildryn's  Haven |
500 Max Shields 80% faster Shield recharge |
Same as normal |
 Protea's  Grenade Fan |
500 Shield restore on attach 50 Shield restore per second |
Same as normal |
 Trinity's  Blessing |
Up to 100% HP and Shield restore | Heal for 500 over 5 seconds, can’t stack |
Trinity's  Well of Life |
100 HP/sec + 1% life steal | 100 HP/sec, no life steal |
 Equinox's  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 |
 Vazarin's  Protective Sling |
5 seconds invulnerability 60% Heal over 5 seconds |
No invulnerability Heal for 500 over 5 seconds, can’t stack |
 Khora's  Venari |
Heal for 50 HP/sec | Same as normal |
 Hydroid's Rousing Plunder |
Heals allies for 50 HP | Heal for up to 500 over 5 seconds |
 Harrow's  Penance |
Heals allies for a % of damage dealt | Heals are capped up to 50 per second. |
 Oberon's  Renewal |
125 burst heal 50 HP/sec |
Same as normal |
 Garuda's  Blood Altar |
Heals by % of missing health/second | No effect |
 Nidus'  Ravenous |
Heal allies standing on it for 20 HP/sec | Same as normal |
 Wisp's  Reservoirs (Vitality mote) |
Increase max hp by 300 and heal for 30 HP/sec | Same as normal |
 Volt's Capacitance |
Grants shields based on 3% of damage dealt | Capped at 250 shields, no overshields |
 Titania's passive |
4 HP/sec for 20 Seconds | Same as normal |
 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 |
| Rejuvenation |
Heal 3 HP/sec | Same as normal |
 Arcane Pulse |
60% chance to heal for 150 HP when picking up a health orb with a 15 sec cooldown | Same as normal |
 Citrine's passive |
5 - 25 HP/sec while in Affinity range | Same as normal (based on player testing) |
 Jade's  Light's Judgment |
Heal 8% HP/sec | Heal 75 HP/sec |
| Damage Reduction Sources | Normal effect | Effect on all types of static Defendable objects (Cryopods, Excavators, etc) |
|---|---|---|
| Trinity's Blessing |
50% Damage Reduction | Capped at 50% Damage Reduction |
 Mirage's Total Eclipse |
Grants 75% Damage Reduction to allies | Capped at 50% Damage Reduction |
Titania's  Tribute (Thorns buff) |
50% damage redirected to enemies | No effect |
Gara's  Splinter Storm |
70% Damage Reduction | Capped at 50% Damage Reduction |
 Ember's Immolated Radiance |
50% of Immolate's Damage Reduction applies to allies | Capped at 45% Damage Reduction |
 Baruuk's  Desolate Hands |
90% Damage Reduction | Capped at 50% Damage Reduction |
| Harrow's Warding Thurible |
40% Damage Reduction | Capped at 50% Damage Reduction |
 Nezha's  Warding Halo |
Absorbs 90% of damage | Capped at 50% Damage Reduction |
Citrine's  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.
- 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
Equinox's Maim, Mirage's Explosive Legerdemain, Saryn's Spores, or Volt's Discharge are effective at clearing out the entire map of enemies.- Because Defense relies on kills to progress waves, abilities that Slow or immobilize enemies, such as Nova's Molecular Prime or Wisp's Reservoirs Shock Motes, can slow progress.
- Abilities that speed up enemy action speed such as Nova's Molecular Prime (hold cast by default) allows enemy waves to come out faster.
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
Participants: iizoell1029, wink46, lefthandshoot, 41rd13
Patch History
Update 37.0 (2024-10-02)
- Improved lighting in certain Grineer Sealab Defense tiles.
- Jade’s Light’s Judgement now can heal Defense targets!
- Defense targets will be healed 75 Health per second when within range of Light Judgement.
- Fixed Jade Light applying ramped-up damage to the Kuva Injector in the Nabuk Defense mission in the Kuva Fortress.
- All other Defense targets received this treatment as of 36.0.8, but clearly the Worm Queen missed the memo!
Hotfix 36.1.5 (2024-09-03)
- Fixed Defense Wave counter remaining at “1” in the UI throughout the mission.
Hotfix 36.1.4 (2024-08-28)
- Fixed casting Vauban’s Tesla Nervos on a moving Defense target/platform causing the ability not to work and its sound FX to layer at painful levels (think marbles clanking together at 100 km/h).
Update 36.0 (2024-06-18)
- Defense missions will no longer be unnecessarily extended whenever enemies are affected by Nyx’s “Mind Control” or Garuda’s “Blood Altar.” Instead, they’ll work similarly to Revenant’s Thralls, where invulnerable enemies don’t count towards the remaining enemy tally required to progress to the next wave.
Hotfix 35.5.8 (2024-04-24)
- Fixed the Arbiters of Hexis Operative in Defense missions falling into the player spawn elevator and becoming invulnerable in the Grineer Shipyards tileset.
- Now when they enter this area they will be teleported out.
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.
- Defense
- 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)
- Fixed Corpus Shield Ospreys spawned by the Skaut “Kahl Beacon” Air Support halting Defense mission progress until they despawn. As reported here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Warframe/comments/ykuci2/a_small_issue/
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!