Excavation

Excavation is an Endless Mission type introduced in Update 14.5 for the Operation Cryotic Front event, and formally introduced as a standard mission type in Update 14.10. This game mode tasks players with searching and then extracting various artifacts buried deep within a planet's surface. This mission is the primary source of Cryotic.

Excavation game modes appear as outdoor Tilesets on Venus, Earth, Mars, Europa, Neptune, and Pluto, including available Dark Sector nodes.

MechanicsEdit

Players will first need to locate dig sites whose positions are located on the minimap by the Lotus every 30 seconds, with a maximum of 4 potential dig sites being available. Dig sites will not spawn near a freshly-excavated area, necessitating constant relocation as the mission progresses. Once players walk within 20 meters of a dig site, an Excavator will drop in on the location and start digging. An Excavator requires 100 seconds to accomplish its task, and must be protected from enemy fire during the duration of its operation in order to receive additional rewards. However, each Excavator only has 20 seconds worth of energy when deployed, thus players will have to locate Power Cells which are carried by designated Power Carriers. Killing a Power Carrier will drop a Power Cell, and each cell adds 20 seconds worth of energy to the Extractor and restores its Shields. Holding a Power Cell will limit the player to their Secondary weapon or Melee weapon, identical to a Mobile Defense datamass, and is automatically consumed once the player walks within 5 meters of the Excavator. Extractors will only accept Power Cells if it lacks the necessary amount of energy to complete the task or if its shields are depleted.

Regardless if the Excavator is successfully defended or not, all players will receive Cryotic for every second the Excavator was active (thus awarding 100 Cryotic for a successfully-defended Excavator). Additionally, if the Excavator survives to complete its digging, all players will receive a random reward. Once at least one Excavator is defended, the mission's extraction point will be revealed, allowing players to complete the mission if they choose to. However, Alert Missions (Including Syndicate Alerts and Nightmare Alerts), Invasions and Sorties will only allow extraction after 500 units of Cryotic have been extracted.

Similar to Survival missions, the rewards for every successful excavation stack, and players can claim all artifacts that have been recovered upon extraction. Also, multiple Excavators can be active at once if desired, limited only by the squad's ability to defend them. While survival works by a reward every 5 minutes, Excavation is per extractor. With the ability to run multiple extractors simultaneously, and taking far less than 5 minutes each, Excavation missions lead to more frequent, and usually more numerous rewards.

LocationsEdit

RewardsEdit

Besides the bonus amounts of materials, experience, and mods from the increase in enemies compared to normal missions, certain rewards can be awarded at the end of the mission if the mission is a success. Mission rewards will vary depending on the level of the mission's enemies (the starting level; this tier does not scale during a mission as higher level enemies spawn) and also depends on the amount of time spent.

• Enemy level tier (in average):
  • Tier 1: Level 1 - 10
  • Tier 2: Level 11 - 20
  • Tier 3: Level 21+
  • Note: While most missions obey these enemy level tiers, there are a few exceptions, such as Valefor. Refer to the table above for a more accurate list of mission enemy level tiers.
• Drop Rotation (the rewards rotation starts again after every 4th successful extraction):
  • Rotation A: 1st, 2nd; 5th, 6th; 9th, 10th; etc.
  • Rotation B: 3rd; 7th; 11th; etc.
  • Rotation C: 4th; 8th; 12th; etc.
• The easy way to remember the Rotations is AABC with each successful excavation moving onto the next letter
• Rewards stack the longer you play.
• The Rewards for Tier 2 and 3 Excavations are identical to the rewards for Tier 2 and 3 Survival missions

Rotation A		Rotation B		Rotation C
2000 Credit Cache	14.29%	Hornet Strike	7.69%	Lith C6 Relic	11.06%
2000 Credit Cache	14.29%	Incendiary Coat	7.69%	Lith D1 Relic	11.06%
2000 Credit Cache	14.29%	Intensify	7.69%	Lith D2 Relic	11.06%
2000 Credit Cache	14.29%	Parry	7.69%	Lith M5 Relic	11.06%
100 Endo	14.29%	Serration	7.69%	Lith M6 Relic	11.06%
100 Endo	14.29%	Steel Fiber	7.69%	Lith P3 Relic	11.06%
100 Endo	14.29%	Lith C6 Relic	7.69%	Lith S10 Relic	11.06%
		Lith D1 Relic	7.69%	Arrow Mutation	3.76%
		Lith D2 Relic	7.69%	Cleanse Grineer	3.76%
		Lith M5 Relic	7.69%	Pistol Ammo Mutation	3.76%
		Lith M6 Relic	7.69%	Rifle Ammo Mutation	3.76%
		Lith P3 Relic	7.69%	Shotgun Ammo Mutation	3.76%
		Lith S10 Relic	7.69%	Sniper Ammo Mutation	3.76%

Locations:

• Everest, Earth
• Kiliken, Venus
• Tikal, Earth
• Augustus, Mars

Up to date as of Update 29.1.1

Rotation A		Rotation B		Rotation C
2500 Credit Cache	16.67%	Charged Shell	7.14%	Neo A3 Relic	11.06%
2500 Credit Cache	16.67%	Fast Deflection	7.14%	Neo I2 Relic	11.06%
2500 Credit Cache	16.67%	Hornet Strike	7.14%	Neo M3 Relic	11.06%
100 Endo	16.67%	Provoked	7.14%	Neo R4 Relic	11.06%
100 Endo	16.67%	Serration	7.14%	Neo T2 Relic	11.06%
100 Endo	16.67%	Steel Fiber	7.14%	Neo T3 Relic	11.06%
		Vital Sense	7.14%	Neo Z5 Relic	11.06%
		Meso E4 Relic	7.14%	Arrow Mutation	3.76%
		Meso I1 Relic	7.14%	Cleanse Corpus	3.76%
		Meso K3 Relic	7.14%	Pistol Ammo Mutation	3.76%
		Meso N10 Relic	7.14%	Rifle Ammo Mutation	3.76%
		Meso N9 Relic	7.14%	Shotgun Ammo Mutation	3.76%
		Meso P2 Relic	7.14%	Sniper Ammo Mutation	3.76%
		Meso P3 Relic	7.14%

Locations:

• Valefor, Europa

Up to date as of Update 29.1.1

Rotation A		Rotation B		Rotation C
3000 Credit Cache	25%	Flow	6.67%	Axi A10 Relic	11.06%
3000 Credit Cache	25%	Hell's Chamber	6.67%	Axi A11 Relic	11.06%
3000 Credit Cache	25%	Hornet Strike	6.67%	Axi B3 Relic	11.06%
400 Endo	25%	Serration	6.67%	Axi B4 Relic	11.06%
		Split Chamber	6.67%	Axi C5 Relic	11.06%
		Stabilizer	6.67%	Axi T4 Relic	11.06%
		Steel Fiber	6.67%	Axi W1 Relic	11.06%
		Stretch	6.67%	Arrow Mutation	3.76%
		Neo A3 Relic	6.67%	Cleanse Infested	3.76%
		Neo I2 Relic	6.67%	Pistol Ammo Mutation	3.76%
		Neo M3 Relic	6.67%	Rifle Ammo Mutation	3.76%
		Neo R4 Relic	6.67%	Shotgun Ammo Mutation	3.76%
		Neo T2 Relic	6.67%	Sniper Ammo Mutation	3.76%
		Neo T3 Relic	6.67%
		Neo Z5 Relic	6.67%

Locations:

• Cholistan, Europa
• Despina, Neptune
• Hieracon, Pluto

Up to date as of Update 29.1.1

Excavation rewards follow a similar logic to Survival missions and draw from the same pools of possible rewards, with each excavator successfully deployed counting as a 5-minute interval. This makes Excavation missions ideal to farm Relics, since its reward rotation is quicker than a Survival rotation.

As an example of a possible reward sequence, successfully deploying four excavators in Everest, Earth, could result in players receiving a batch of 1500 credits, 80 Endo, a Lith S8 Relic, and finally an Arrow Mutation mod, in that order.

Dark Sector ExcavationEdit

These Excavation missions have a higher level range than the planet they're found on, but yield greater Affinity and Credits due to the inherent bonuses of Dark Sectors.

Healing Interactions With ExcavatorsEdit

Main article: Defense Objects

Only static defense objects can be healed or receive damage reduction from other sources in accordance with the tables below:

Healing and Shield Restoration Sources

Healing source	Normal effect	Effect on all types of static defendable objects (Cryopods, Excavators, etc)
Gara's  Mending Splinters	3 HP per 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	?
Trinity's Blessing	Up to 100% HP and Shield restore	Heal for 500 over 5 seconds, can’t stack
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 Dash	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  Curative Undertow	Heals 30% hp every 1.5 secs when ally stands on it	Heal for 100 per 1.5 sec
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 health per sec	Same as normal
Garuda's Blood Altar	Heals by % of missing health/second	No effect
Inaros' Scarab Swarm	Heals for damage dealt by Swarm Projectile divided by allies in range.	Same as normal
Nidus' Ravenous	Heal allies standing on it for 20 HP per second	Same as normal
Wisp's Reservoirs (Vitality mote)	Increase max hp by 300 and heal for 30 HP per second	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 per Second 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 per 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

Damage Reduction Sources

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 Immolates Damage reduction applies to allies	Capped at 45% Damage Reduction
Baruuk's Desolate Hands	80% 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

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

NotesEdit

• On their own Excavators cannot regenerate health but can replenish their shields. An Excavator's shields can also be replenished by delivering a Power Cell to it or using Warframe powers like Mag's Shield Polarize.
• Gara can use her Splinter Storm to give up to 50% damage reduction to any excavator and is also able to reset the timer of the ability with Mass Vitrify.
• Lost Excavator health can be restored by using a Warframe equipped with the  Rejuvenation Aura.
• Khora can directly heal an Excavator by using Venari's Heal posture while having it in the reticle.
• Lost Excavator health can also be restored by using Protective Dash in the Vazarin Focus tree. Prior to Update 27.4, this previously made the Excavator invulnerable for a short time as well, but now heals flat HP/second.
• Power cells can be more easily picked up by keeping your Use control (default X ) held down while running over one (or standing under one as it falls to the ground). As with datamasses, they can be dropped by switching to your primary weapon.
• Excavation is the one of the few missions from which Cryotic can be reliably acquired.
  • While Cryotic is also a cache reward in Bounty, Hive and Uranus Sabotage missions, gathering this resource in those missions is not nearly as efficient as in Excavation.
• 4 Power Cells are enough to complete one excavation.
• During a Void Fissure on an Excavation mission, fissures will appear and spawn enemies even when an excavator is not powered, or has not been placed. Squads with players who are low on Reactant may wish to temporarily halt excavator progress until they have enough to open their relic. No extraction is provided for void fissure excavation unless one full 100 Cryotic excavation is completed.

BugsEdit

• Sometimes when a host migration occurs, Power Carriers will stop spawning and the ones that were already spawned in the area will not drop a power cell when killed. However, any Power Cells left on the ground before the migration occurs will remain.
• The excavator's hitbox is larger than the size of the excavator itself. This can be seen if the player attempts to shoot an enemy near the excavator as the shots will not hit the enemy because the excavators' hitbox is in front of them.
• Despite being a machine, the Excavator has flesh-type health.
• Attempting to pick up an energy cell immediately after climbing up will cause a player to fall out of the map.
• After approaching an excavation zone the excavator may not spawn. This can always be fixed by eliminating existing enemies in the map.
• Picking up a powercell while equipped with a dual-wield secondary weapon will force single-wield animations, even after dropping the powercell. This causes both weapons to clip since single-wield animations have both hands together, among other graphical problems. No effect on gameplay.
• Occasionally the dig site's location will not be marked on the mini-map, causing the dig site to not activate.
• Any players who join after the mission has started (even if an extractor has not been started) will not receive any reward (besides cryotic) for a full extractor.
• Power Carriers may stop spawning making it impossible to proceed. Allowing enemies to destroy one of your Extractors should fix this and trigger Power Carriers to appear again.

MediaEdit

• Scanner. No longer exists as of Update 16.
• Excavator.

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Patch HistoryEdit

Hotfix 29.0.8

• Fixed certain Excavation spawns not scaling in level with the rest of the enemies.

Update 29.0

• Fixed script error after host migration in an Excavation mission that could result in the mission not progressing.

Hotfix 28.3.1

• Fixed script error after Host migration in an Excavation mission that could result in the mission not progressing.

Hotfix 27.5.6.1

• Fixed a script error that could occur when joining an Excavation mission in progress.

Hotfix 27.4.1

• Fixed a script error that could break the Excavation HUD.

Hotfix 27.3.11

• Fixed a script error with Excavator missions.

Update 27.2

Excavation Health/Shield Scaling Changes

Excavation missions have had the same property since launch: all Excavators have 500 Shield, 2500 Health no matter the mission level. As of our coming PC mainline update, both Health and Shields will scale following the same formula as Mobile Defense Terminals. Shield Regeneration of Excavators will be a percent of health vs. flat value to deal with scaling shields.

Why: This change will bring Excavation in line with existing mission types that have scaling properties after several years of having flat values. True to our initial goal of fixing inconsistencies, we are making these mission objectives scale in a consistent manner to other mission objectives.

Update 25.7

• Excavation 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!
• Fixed auto-dropping the Excavation Power Cell when picking up Primary Ammo with only a Primary weapon equipped.
• Fixed towards enemies pursuing the cold, dead corpses of players in Excavation missions.

Update 25.0

• Non-Endless Survival/Excavation/etc missions (i.e. Alerts, Sorties, Syndicate dailies, etc) now disable individual extraction as it leads to unnecessary Host migrations

Update 24.4

Individual Extraction - Non-Wave Endless!

You are now able to extract from Survival, Excavation, and Defection missions independent of your squad.

• Once the 'mission complete' interval is met, players can head to extraction any time they choose (i.e 5 minutes for Survival).
• Any player at extraction triggers a countdown timer.
• If all players leave the extraction zone, the countdown timer is cancelled.
• When the timer is up, the extraction ship arrives and any players in the extraction zone leave.
• Anyone still playing can extract later any time they choose.

Update 22.15

• Excavation UI displays 'Power: FULL' when the Excavator no longer needs more Power Cells to run to completion.
• All Lotus transmissions will appear on the right side of the screen as to not obscure the Excavation UI.
• Added a subtle blue Shield charge FX (similar to Warframe Shield charge FX) to the Excavator when its Shields are recharged by a Power Cell.

Update 22.14

Excavation Objective UI Changes

In the simplest of terms, UI for Excavation missions has been cleaned up and simplified!

• Endless Excavation missions now display ‘Digs Completed’ instead of ‘Total Cryotic Excavated’. The number of ‘Digs Completed’ is what counts towards the tiered Rewards in the Endless modes, and this change saves you some mental math!
  • You can still see the total Cryotic Excavated on the Mission Progress screen.

Hotfix 22.13.4

Invasion Changes

With the precedent already set from Fissure missions for rewarding per normal endless cycle, Invasions felt strenuous due to their lengthy mission completion requirements. Considering there are other “faster” mission types available to get your reward and get out, it was time to cut back a bit on the way 'endless' variants work within the system. As a result, the following mission completion requirements have been scaled back:

• Excavation from 1000 Cryotic to 500 Cryotic.

Update 16.0

Excavation Mission Changes

• The Excavation scanner has been removed from the Mission instead giving 3 dig sites at once.
• Dig sites will appear in an order that gives players a reasonable tour through the map starting at the closest dig site.
• Added a small ramp-up to the spawns so that players don't get jumped right away when entering the Mission.

Update 14.5

• Introduced in Operation: Cryotic Front.

See alsoEdit

• Operation Cryotic Front, which introduced this mission type.