Release Date: December 18, 2020
Concoct volatile brews of recombinant elements to dissolve, evaporate, and transmute hostile forces. Equalize the System through alchemical warfare as the eccentric scientist, Lavos, to dose his foes with serpentine venom and alter the state of combat conditions through his unorthodox experiments. Lavos's transmutation began in Update 29.6: Orphix Venom.
Acquisition
Lavos's main and component blueprints can be purchased from Father during Operation: Orphix Venom for


Drop | Chance | Expected | Nearly Guaranteed |
---|---|---|---|
Main Blueprint (Normal) |
2% | 104 – 105 C Rotations | 411 ± 114 C Rotations |
Chassis Blueprint (Normal) |
2% | ||
Neuroptics Blueprint (Normal) |
2% | ||
Systems Blueprint (Normal) |
2% | ||
Main Blueprint (Advanced) |
3% | 69 – 70 C Rotations | 272 ± 76 C Rotations |
Chassis Blueprint (Advanced) |
3% | ||
Neuroptics Blueprint (Advanced) |
3% | ||
Systems Blueprint (Advanced) |
3% | ||
Main Blueprint (Endurance) |
4% | 52 – 53 A Rotations | 203 ± 56 A Rotations |
Chassis Blueprint (Endurance) |
4% | ||
Neuroptics Blueprint (Endurance) |
4% | ||
Systems Blueprint (Endurance) |
4% |
Expected refers to total number of attempts a player can expect to need in order to receive at least one of each drop associated with the respective values.
Nearly Guaranteed refers to the total number of attempts a player needs to obtain a 99%, 99.9%, and 99.99% probability to receive at least one of each drop associated with the respective values.
For more detailed definitions and information on how these number were obtained, visit here.
Manufacturing Requirements | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() 25,000 |
![]() 1 |
![]() 1 |
![]() 1 |
![]() 3 |
Time: 72 hrs |
Rush: ![]() | |||||
![]() ![]() |
|||||
Neuroptics | |||||
![]() 15,000 |
![]() 6 |
![]() 3,750 |
![]() 750 |
![]() 2,750 |
Time: 12 hrs |
Rush: ![]() | |||||
Chassis | |||||
![]() 15,000 |
![]() 2 |
![]() 5 |
![]() 1,500 |
![]() 5,500 |
Time: 12 hrs |
Rush: ![]() | |||||
Systems | |||||
![]() 15,000 |
![]() 6 |
![]() 5,500 |
![]() 550 |
![]() 3,000 |
Time: 12 hrs |
Rush: ![]() |
Lore
Lavos served as a warden to the prison of Dabaoth-Kra on Venus containing an Archmedian named Javi, whose alchemy was feared by the Orokin as they believed it would allow the lower caste to rise up against them. During his imprisonment, Javi would draw seemingly demonic symbols and snakes in his cell, and was reportedly whispering to Lavos during his beatings.
Fearing that Javi would somehow survive the Jade Light, his sentence was overturned to cellular reversal to reduce him to biological pulp. After Lavos received the ceremonial garb to carry out the execution, he no longer beat the prisoners. Lavos realized that Javi's writings were not of demonic origin but of evolution and healing.
When the day of execution came, as Lavos raised his Cedo shotgun, Javi whispered. In response, Lavos lowered his weapon and bowed before activating his power, liquidizing Javi's flesh. The Orokin jailers cheered before realizing in horror that Lavos was not executing the alchemist, but transmuting the remains; Javi would be reborn as a serpent on Lavos's arm, while a second serpent emerged from Lavos's own flesh as a symbol of change. The new student of alchemy proceeded to massacre the Orokin jailers with a
Vial Rush.
Not one survived the fall of Dabaoth-Kra save for a floor-washer named Bekran Zaft, who lived to tell the tale.
Notes
- When Lavos wields his signature
Cedo, a
Shotgun Ammo Mutation effect is applied.
- Lavos has the second highest base armor of all Warframes, behind
Valkyr Prime.
- Lavos, along with
Hildryn, boasts the lowest base energy of all Warframes, having none at all.
- However to utilize his passive ability (by collecting energy orbs), he still technically possess a hidden energy pool of 175, which automatically drains itself in 5 seconds. The energy pool is only visible when modding inside the Simulacrum.
- Likewise his rank-up bonuses instead feature armor rather than an energy pool increase.
- Lavos is the first Warframe to modify Mod bonuses for himself, in his case Ability Duration affects his status effect durations while Ability Efficiency affects the cooldown reduction of
Transmutation Probe.
Tips
- Lavos's lack of energy makes him an ideal Warframe to use in missions where energy regeneration would be severely hampered, such as in Nightmare Mode missions with the Energy Drain modifier, or Energy Reduction Modifiers in Sorties.
- Lavos's lack of energy for abilities means that he does not suffer from energy loss caused by energy drain attacks and abilities, such as from Parasitic Eximus units and Sensor Bars.
- Conversely, due to his lack of energy, all energy interactions other than energy orbs provide no benefit for him, such as
Trinity's
Energy Vampire,
Energy Siphon,
Rage/
Hunter Adrenaline,
Quick Thinking/
Gladiator Finesse, Zenurik Focus, or
Arcane Energize.
- Conversely, due to his lack of energy, all energy interactions other than energy orbs provide no benefit for him, such as
Trivia
- Lavos is the 45th unique Warframe to be released.
- Lavos was conceptualized by Digital Extremes concept artist Nikita Leshakov, alluded to have sketched the first concept art during his lunch break.
- Lavos was first revealed during Tennocon 2020's Art of Warframe Panel alongside Wraithe. His name was announced in Home Devstream 7, and his abilities were finally revealed in Home Devstream 10.
- Lavos was featured in a fashion-frame showcase video made by [DE]Megan for reaching the final donation goal in the Quest to Conquer Cancer campaign.[1]
- Lavos' visual design incorporates serpents wrapped around his arms and alchemical vials containing volatile mixtures that fuel his Warframe abilities.
- Lavos' serpents are likely references to the Caduceus and Ouroboros. During idle animations, the serpents will perch their heads up from Lavos' arms, as well as slither and move around on his body.
- Lavos' vials on his shoulders are separate attachments called Lavos Shoulder Guards that are customizable in his Appearance options.
- His vials initially contained a silver liquid solution that resembles quicksilver[2], later adopting the Warframe's energy colours.
- While in motion, his vials will have 'jiggle physics' and the liquid inside flows around. Liquid swishing sounds can be heard when Lavos is moving.
- Lavos' default helmet displays signs of acid burns on one side of the hat, as a memento of his previous experiments gone awry. This change was added during development to prevent the helmet from blocking the player's aiming camera.
- According to [DE]Pablo, the name Lavos took inspiration from Antoine Lavoisier, a French chemist.
- "Lavos" is probably related to the Latin verb lavo, lavare "to wash", and may be a reference to the alchemical process of ablutio (washing or purification).
- Lavos is the second Warframe that does not use energy for any abilities, after
Hildryn.
References
Passive
Purifying himself from all ailments, Lavos cleanses all active negative Status Effects and gains status immunity for 10 seconds upon collecting an Energy or Universal Orb. Lavos can only collect a single Energy or Universal Orb every 5 seconds.
- Passive values is not affected by Mods.
- Buff duration is renewed to full upon collecting a new orb.
- Valence Block buff icon and timer are shown beside Lavos' shield and health indicators.
- While activated, three serpent-like energy particle effects encircle Lavos' body.
- If Lavos is injured with missing health, Universal Orbs are collectible to heal him with no cooldown period in between.
- When Lavos' Companion is equipped with
Synth Fiber, all nearby Health, Energy and Universal Orbs will be collected, bypassing Lavos' innate orb pickup cooldown entirely.
Stats and Modding[edit | edit source]
Lavos has no energy capacity and his abilities do not use any resource to activate. Instead, each of his abilities are free to cast with a cooldown in between uses. The Ability Efficiency stat will instead affect the cooldown reduction effect from
Transmutation Probe.
- Mods which convert energy spent on abilities to shields, such as
Brief Respite or the Augur Mod Set, do not replenish shields.
- Because Lavos can still pick up energy orbs, mods or arcanes that benefit from picking up energy, such as
Equilibrium,
Energy Conversion, and
Arcane Energize, still function.
- Subsumed abilities injected into Lavos via the Helminth system will cost 0 energy, but instead incur a 10 second cooldown after cast and disable the elemental imbuement hold-function (see below) associated with the ability button.
- On non-recastable abilities (e.g.
Roar), the cooldown begins after the ability's duration expires, unless modded with an augment that allows it to be recastable (e.g.
Piercing Roar).
- On non-recastable abilities (e.g.
The Ability Duration stat will also affect the Status Duration stat uniquely innate to Lavos, which extends or shortens the duration of all status effects created by Lavos using his weapons and abilities.
Lavos also possesses a Rank Up Bonus on his Armor stat, yielding +50% at Warframe Rank 30.
Elemental Imbuement[edit | edit source]
Experiment and unleash volatile mixtures of the deadly elements. Hold down one of the four ability buttons (default 1 ,2 ,3 ,4 ) to imbue a Primary Elemental damage type ( Toxin,
Cold,
Electricity, and
Heat respectively) into the mixing vial displayed above Lavos' ability icons. Imbuement has no cost nor cooldown between uses.
- Elemental imbuement is available by default to Lavos at Warframe Rank 0 without requiring his abilities to be fully unlocked.
- Primary Elements are shown in the four smaller diamond-shaped icons below the mixing vial. When an ability button is held down, its diamond icon is briefly highlighted until the element is mixed in.
- Combine with a different element to produce a Secondary Elemental damage type:
Blast (2 +4 ),
Corrosive (1 +3 ),
Gas (1 +4 ),
Magnetic (2 +3 ),
Radiation (3 +4 ), and
Viral (1 +2 ).
- Inputs can be in any order, or the hotkeys can be held down together to instantly produce a Secondary Elemental damage type.
- The Imbued Primary or Secondary Element is shown in the vial with a colorcoded emblem and plays a unique sound effect upon mixing.
- With an element in the mixing vial, Lavos' next ability cast drains the vial to add the Primary or Secondary Elemental damage type, onto the chosen ability dealing an extra instance of damage and status proc.
- The same Primary Elemental damage type can be imbued onto an ability that already inflicts that damage type (e.g.
Ophidian Bite imbued with
Toxin,
Vial Rush imbued with
Cold, etc) to double the damage and status proc.
- Imbued Primary Elemental damage types do not merge with the ability's innate damage type.
- Non-damaging status effects inflicted by all of Lavos' abilities (
Cold,
Blast,
Corrosive,
Magnetic,
Radiation, and
Viral) will proc 3 stacks in a single application of elemental status.
- Lavos' mixing vial is only cleared of its elemental contents upon imbuing an ability.
- Elements can be imbued even if Lavos cannot use the ability.
- The same Primary Elemental damage type can be imbued onto an ability that already inflicts that damage type (e.g.
- Imbuement is only available from Lavos' original abilities, therefore a subsumed ability replacement from the Helminth system will disable the associated element on the ability button.
- Imbuement also cannot be applied onto subsumed abilities.
Abilities
![]() |
![]() COOLDOWN: 8 s KEY 1 |
Ophidian Bite Lash out with a toxic serpentine strike, consuming the target to heal Lavos. Hold to imbue the next ability cast with ![]() |
Strength:500 / 650 / 800 / 1,000 (![]() 500 / 650 / 800 / 1,000 (imbued elemental damage) 7.5 / 10 / 12 / 15 % (damage to health conversion) |
Duration:N/A | |||
Range:8 m | |||
Misc:100° (cone angle) 100% (status chance) 100% (Melee Finisher vulnerability) |
![]() |
![]() COOLDOWN: 5 s KEY 2 |
Vial Rush Dash forward, crashing through enemies and leaving an icy trail of broken vials. Hold to imbue the next ability cast with ![]() |
Strength:100 / 150 / 200 / 250 /s (![]() 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 /s (imbued elemental damage per second) |
Duration:4 / 6 / 7 / 8 s (residue duration) | |||
Range:30 m (charge distance) 14 / 17 / 20 / 24 (vial charges) 4 / 5 / 7 / 9 m (explosion radius) | |||
Misc:2 m (residue radius)![]() 3 ( ![]() |
![]() |
![]() COOLDOWN: 10 s KEY 3 |
Transmutation Probe Launch a probe that converts Health and Energy Orbs into Universal Orbs that provide both, and ammo pickups into Universal Ammo Pickups. The probe shocks enemies in close proximity. Each electrocuted foe reduces other ability cooldowns by one second. Hold to imbue the next ability cast with ![]() |
Strength:100 / 150 / 200 / 250 /s (![]() 100 / 150 / 200 / 250 /s (imbued elemental damage per second) |
Duration:N/A | |||
Range:3 / 4 / 5 / 6 m | |||
Efficiency:1 s (Cooldown Reduction per enemy shocked) | |||
Misc:15 m/s (probe speed) 3 s (probe duration) ![]() 25 HP/EP (Universal Orb restore) 10 % (Universal Ammo restore) |
![]() |
![]() COOLDOWN: 30 s KEY 4 |
Catalyze Catalyst Probes erupt from Lavos and douse combatants in a fiery gel. Damage is doubled for each element afflicting an enemy. Hold to imbue the next ability cast with ![]()
|
Strength:1,000 / 1,500 / 1,750 / 2,000 (![]() 1,000 / 1,500 / 1,750 / 2,000 (imbued elemental damage) |
Duration:N/A | |||
Range:5 m/s (probe speed) 15 / 18 / 20 / 25 m (maximum distance) | |||
Misc:9 (number of probes) 5 s (travel time) 5 m (gel mist reach) ![]() 100 % (damage increase per status effect) |
Strength Mods | Duration Mods | Range Mods |
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- Fixed being able to continue firing your weapon while casting Lavos’ Transmutation Probe.
- ‘Invert Tap/Hold Abilities’ option now lets you control the setting for each valid Warframe.
- Numerous Warframes Abilities new and old have been given the ‘Tap/Hold’ functionality to do varying actions. Feedback showed that having the option to Invert the ‘Tap/Hold’ across the board to all valid Warframes was not ideal, as some Ability default functionalities are preferred. Upon selecting the ‘Invert Tap/Hold Abilities’ in the Options menu, you'll be met with a new screen allowing you to pick and choose which valid Warframes this applies to!
- Fixed Infusing Lavos' Vial Rush to another Warframe not allowing it to inflict any Damage/Status.
- Fixed a script error when casting Lavos’ Transmutation Probe.
- Increased the vertical reach of Lavos’ Catalyze to better hit enemies above and below his casting height.
- Fixed lower-ranks of Transmutation Probe having longer Durations
- Fixed multiple Lavos’ overriding selected elements when imbuing.
- Fixed a crash related to Lavos’ passive.
- Introduced.
Warframes | ||
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Upcoming | ||
Wraithe | ||
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