For the weapon variant, see Kuva (Variant).
For the enemy, see Kuva Lich.
Kuva is a special resource that can be collected with the help of Operator Void abilities from Kuva Siphons, which appear on planets near the ever-moving Kuva Fortress.
In addition to its use as a crafting material, Kuva is used to cycle Riven Mods.
Due to the circumstances through which the Kuva Fortress itself is discovered, accessing Kuva Siphon and Kuva Flood missions is only possible after completing The War Within quest. These missions can be found on nodes marked with a Kuva symbol, which appear on planets currently being orbited by the Kuva Fortress.
Lore
Fragments
In Cephalon Ordis' fragments, it is revealed that one of the Orokin executors, Ballas, offered Ordan Karris a red vial, calling it an opportunity "to be one of us". This was later presumed to be a Kuva vial, wherein it was possibly used on the Beast of Bones, as an eternal punishment to become a Cephalon slave, rather than a status ascension.
While the fragments contained within them are not directly involved with the quest itself, the Glass Shards involved in the Saya's Vigil quest reveal that during the last days of the Orokin Empire, the Unum used some of her "Temple Kuva" in an effort to locate a monstrous Sentient, which would terrorize her tower and her people by night but retreat and hide during the day. The Unum instructed her people to feed the Kuva to the local wildlife, connecting her consciousness with them and allowing her to find the Sentient.
This proved to be a double-edged sword, however, as the Sentient discovered that Kuva could restore its ability to reproduce, increasing the intensity of its attacks even further. This necessitated 
Gara, the lone Tenno defender of the Unum, to sacrifice her life, carrying a bomb that devastated the Sentient even as she was killed. Even to this day, long after the war, the Unum's consciousness still resides in the Plains' wildlife, allowing her to keep an eye on the Grineer troops, and she still gives her Temple Kuva for the Ostrons to use.
The War Within
Kuva is also involved in The War Within quest, wherein the Elder Queen of the Grineer holds a Kuva Scepter, a symbol of Orokin dominion used to command their Dax soldiers, of which Teshin is one. Kuva is also used to perform Continuity, the Orokin ritual of transferring the consciousness of a dying Orokin to a new body.
The exact nature of Kuva is a mystery yet to be revealed. From how Teshin describes it, it likely has properties that extend life up until Continuity is needed, and it may have also contributed to the Orokin's pride and authoritative mistreatment of their political subordinates, hence playing a role in their downfall. It also has other properties; it is mentioned by Teshin that the Kuva Guardian's weapon, 
Kesheg, is imbued with Kuva which supposedly makes them immune to Warframe powers. This is also alluded to in the braids surrounding the Queens' throne: they are immune to all attacks except for the Operator's Void Beam, suggesting they were also made with Kuva.
Another possible property of the Kuva can be seen within the Kuva Scepter, which is used by the Elder Queen to knock the Operator out of their Warframe and preventing further Transference. This suggests that Kuva has the ability to interfere or limit Transference to a certain extent.
Kuva Lich
Following the defeat of the Elder Queen, the Worm Queen infuses her chosen soldiers with Kuva, referred by them as the "old blood", transforming them into a Kuva Lich. These enhanced super soldiers are drastically more powerful, able to fight on equal footing with a Warframe and are seemingly rendered all but immortal.
For a Warframe to combat the Lich, the Requiem Mods installed in their Parazon are used to create a unique passphrase, or Requiem Sequence, to permanently sever the Lich's Continuity. This allows the Warframe to take down a Lich for good, or purify their Kuva and convert them into a loyal ally.
Acquiring Kuva
- The primary method for acquiring Kuva is through Kuva Siphon missions, of which there are two types available: the regular Kuva Siphon (mission level 25-35) and the Kuva Flood (mission level 80-100). Successfully destroying one Kuva Siphon will grant around
550-700, while the Kuva Flood will award 1100-1400. - Kuva can be acquired in 100 or 300 units by doing Cetus Bounties, and 500 units from Fortuna Bounties.
- Sorties have a chance to award 6,000 at completion.
- Kuva Survival on Taveuni, Kuva Fortress rewards 200 for converting a Life Support Capsule into a Kuva Harvester and then defending it.
- Disruption on Tamu, Kuva Fortress awards 100 for Tier A, 200 for Tier B, and 350 for Tier C. In addition, Demolisher units drop 50 when killed.
- Nightwave awards 20,000 or 10,000 at certain ranks. Exact specifics may change with each new season.
- 10,000 can be purchased as a Nightwave Cred Offering for Template:Wc.
- 10,000 can be purchased for 25 Vitus Essence from the Arbitrations Vendor in the Arbiters of Hexis room of any relay.
- Downing a Kuva Larvling rewards 100.
- Requiem Relics Have a chance to drop 1200.
- Using the Parazon on a Rank 1, 2, 3 and 4 Kuva Lich will respectively drop 150, 200, 250 and 300.
- 10,000 can be purchased for 15 Steel Essence from Teshin in the Conclave room of any relay.
Blueprints Requiring Kuva
| Blueprints | Type | Quantity (Research) |
|---|---|---|
| Bleeding Body Ephemera | Cosmetic | 10,000 |
 Excalibur Umbra |
Warframe | 60 |
 Garuda |
Warframe | 3,500 |
 Harrow |
Warframe | 2,000 |
| Kesheg |
Melee | 1,400 (400) |
 Nidus |
Warframe | 2,000 |
 Octavia Systems |
Component | 2,000 |
 Orvius |
Melee | 4,000 |
 Tatsu |
Melee | 1,200 |
 Twin Rogga |
Secondary | 1,600 |
 Zarr |
Primary | 1,800 |
| Total | 29,460(+400) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Research |  x1  x3  x10  x30  x100
| ||||||||
Last updated: Update 24.0 (2018-11-08)
Notes
Kuva's codex entry.
- Kuva gain is affected by Resource Boosters and Smeeta Kavat's Charm.
- This does not apply to the mission rewards from Kuva Fortress Disruption, but does apply to the Kuva dropped by Demolishers and Kuva Liches.
- During Kuva Siphon missions, Kuva clouds can be captured with the Operator's Script error: The function "Proc" does not exist. abilities, which includes Void Beam, Void Blast and Void Dash.
- Kuva has its own Codex entry, requiring 3 scans, though it does not contain any meaningful information.
Trivia
- Kuva has possible meanings in two languages:
- In Marathi, it means a well or a cavity in which is fixed the mast of a vessel.
- In Sanskrit, it means a flower or a lotus.
- Both languages use the same Devanagari spelling, कुवा (kuva).
- Kuva also means 'picture' in Finnish.
- Kuva means 'to subdue', 'to suppress' in Sweden. Probably this is the proper origin of it's name because when Kuva was first introduced, it served to command Dax soldiers and take over the Yuvan's mind during Continuity ritual.
