Operation: Plague Star is a reoccurring event introduced Update 22.3 (2017-11-15), where players are tasked to destroy an Infested meteorite that crashes in the Plains of Eidolon, with its passengers threatening to overwhelm both Ostron and Grineer alike. On the PC build, the event originally began on November 15, 2017 and ran until November 27, 2017.
Unlike most events in WARFRAME, Operation: Plague Star is a reoccurring event, with the Infested "boil" regrowing and the Tenno are called on to cull it once more.
Plague Star Appearances[]
| Event Start | Event End | Total Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Appearance | November 15, 2017 (PC) December 1, 2017 (PS4 and XB1) [1] |
November 27, 2017 (PC) December 18, 2017 (PS4 and XB1) |
1 week, 5 days (PC) 2 weeks, 3 days (PS4 and XB1) |
| First Reappearance | April 5, 2018 (PC) [2] May 10, 2018 (PS4 and XB1) [3] |
April 17, 2018 (PC) May 22, 2018 (PS4 and XB1) |
1 week, 5 days |
| Second Reappearance | September 19, 2018 (PC) [4] November 2, 2018 (PS4 and XB1) [5] |
September 30, 2018 (PC) November 13, 2018 (PS4 and XB1) |
1 week, 4 days |
| Third Reappearance | June 14, 2019 (All Platforms) [6]* | June 26, 2019 (All Platforms)* | 1 week, 5 days |
| Fourth Reappearance | January 17, 2020 (All Platforms) [7] | January 27, 2020 (All Platforms) | 1 week, 3 days |
| Fifth Reappearance | September 8, 2021 (All Platforms) [8] | September 30, 2021 (All Platforms) | 3 weeks, 1 day |
| Sixth Reappearance | November 7, 2023 (All Platforms) [9] | November 21, 2023 (All Platforms) | 2 weeks |
*This was the first time this event happened for Nintendo Switch players, as well as the first time the event would happen at the same time with the same duration on all platforms.
Event Synopsis[]
Rally your Squad and defend the Plains of Eidolon!
A mysterious meteorite has crashed just outside of Cetus revealing a horrific boil. The boil is growing and the Ostrons have sighted Infested life forms emerging from it. We need to act now before they make their way to Cetus.
Konzu has received reports that Vay Hek possesses a toxin that can destroy the boil. But Vay Hek won’t help; he sees this infested boil as a means to rid the Plains of Cetus of the Ostrons.
We need to obtain a batch of the toxin and destroy the boil before it becomes unstoppable. Visit Konzu in Cetus to learn his plan for retrieving the toxin from Vay Hek.
What You Need To Do[]
A Grineer Thrax Toxin storage container in a cave. Note that they are non-interactible outside of the Plague Star bounty.
- For the duration of the event Konzu has a specific Plague Star Bounties where players are tasked with stealing the Toxin from the Grineer and using it on the boil. The Bounty is divided into four phases:
- First, players must raid the Grineer's Thrax Toxin storage, which is located in one of the various Caves that dot the plains. The Toxin storage unit has a rounded pyramid shape dotted with yellow lights, with orange fluid visible inside of it and a container rising and sinking on top of it. It is generally located at the far end of the cave.
- After acquiring the Thrax Toxin, players must head to a Toxin mixer, which will spawn in an Armored Vault in a given Grineer outpost. Once the Toxin is put in the mixer, players must then defend the mixer for 3 minutes from Grineer troops.
- Once the Toxin is mixed, players are instructed to head to a downed Grineer Drone which will deliver the Toxin to the boil. As with Drone Hijack missions, players must defend the drone from Grineer and Infested attackers as it travels to the boil.
- When the Drone reaches the boil, the boil responds by spawning Infested to defend itself. Here players must thin out the Infested horde while the Toxin poisons the boil, with a percentage gauge denoting their progress. The selected mission changes the difficulty of this phase:
- Tier 1 spawns only the Infested horde defending the boil.
- Tier 2 spawns a Hemocyte to defend the boil at every 25% interval to a total of 4 Hemocytes, along with the Infested horde.
- Tier 3 has the same spawns as Tier 2, all with increased levels and The Steel Path modifiers.
- Once the gauge reaches 100%, the Bounty is completed, awarding a variable amount of Standing based on the selected mission difficulty. Players are free to remain on the Plains, return to Cetus or visit a bounty tent to undertake the mission again.
What You Need To Know[]
- Different mission tiers require different materials to start:
- Tier 1 - Plague Star has no prerequisite items to start.
- Tier 2 - Plague Star Advanced requires both an Eidolon Phylaxis and Infested Catalyst to start.
- Tier 3 - Plague Star (Steel Path) requires both an Eidolon Phylaxis and Infested Catalyst to start and the player must be eligible for The Steel Path, but yields even greater rewards.
- The blueprint for Eidolon Phylaxis is purchasable from the Operational Supply Syndicate, which is available during the event, while the blueprint for the Infested Catalyst is available from Clan Bio Lab Research.
- Throughout the duration of the event, the Infestation will spawn on the Plains of Eidolon regardless if the player is doing the Bounty or not, and will attack nearby Tenno, Grineer, and even the Eidolons during the night.
- The Infested will consist solely of Chargers, Runners, Leapers, Volatile Runners, Ancient Disruptors, Tar Mutalist MOAs, and Mutalist Ospreys carrying normal Crawlers.
- Infested Spawn Pods, much like the ones spawned by Boilers, can be found throughout the Plains, either on the Plains as is or falling from the sky.
- The boil deals 200
Toxin damage per second to any Tenno standing on or even flying close to it, so players are advised to stay away from it as much as possible.
- The damage will not affect enemies in any way, allowing them to walk on the boil without issue.
- In the event that a player does get knocked down from the boil's damage, it is recommended to use a Revive instead of someone risking a rescue, as the damage may bring the rescuer(s) down as well.
Event Rewards[]
Operational Supply Standing[]
- Main article: Operational Supply
- Base Standing is rewarded based on tier of bounty selected:
- Plague Star: 1,025
- Plague Star - Advanced: 3,200
- Plague Star (The Steel Path): 3,800
- Bonus Operation Supply standing is rewarded during the Drone escort stage by keeping the drone above 80% health.
- Plague Star: 25 Bonus
- Plague Star - Advanced: 75 Bonus
- Plague Star (The Steel Path): 100 Bonus
- Unlike most events, players can select their Operation Rewards through the Operational Supply Syndicate, which is only accessible from Nakak during Operation: Plague Star. The Syndicate has its own rank system, and players can spend the Standing gained from the Plague Star bounty on the following rewards;
| Rank & Title | Sacrifice | Benefits | Standing (Minimum to Maximum) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 3 - Champion |
10  Nistlepod
|
 20,000 3,000
|
Access to Rank 3 wares One free Rank 3 item from Operational Supply |
0 to 494,000 |
 2 - Defender |
10  Iradite
|
10,000 2,000
|
Access to Rank 2 wares One free Rank 2 item from Operational Supply |
0 to 3,000 |
 1 - Collaborator |
10  Grokdrul |
5,000 1,000
|
Access to Rank 1 wares One free Rank 1 item from Operational Supply |
0 to 2,000 |
 0 - Neutral |
- | - | Access to base wares | 0 to 1,000 |
Operational Supply Offerings[]
Hemocyte Drops[]
- On defeat, the Hemocyte may drop one of six mods of the Hunter Mod Set, which consists of the following mods:
- Additionally, the Hemocyte will also drop a Hemocyte Cystolith, which is a required component for constructing a Clan trophy.
- If a player wishes to acquire all the exclusive rewards (excluding gear items) the player will need a total, from 0, 133,500 (127,500 from rank 3) standing. This excludes items such as Fosfor and Ether Daggers as those are found elsewhere but does include the Snipetron.
Bounty Rewards[]
| Rewards | |
|---|---|
 Augur Message |
25% |
 Endo x300 |
25% |
 Kuva x100 |
23.86% |
 Naramon Lens |
14.77% |
 Axi A18 |
1.14% |
| Axi G11 |
1.14% |
| Axi O6 |
1.14% |
 Lith G10 |
1.14% |
| Lith G12 |
1.14% |
| Lith P9 |
1.14% |
 Meso F5 |
1.14% |
 Neo G7 |
1.14% |
| Neo M5 |
1.14% |
| Neo Z11 |
1.14% |
Locations:
- Plains of Eidolon/Cetus, Earth during Plague Star event
Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.
| Rewards | |
|---|---|
 Revenant Chassis Blueprint |
14.04% |
| Vigilante Pursuit |
14.04% |
 Cetus Wisp |
14.04% |
| Augur Message |
12.87% |
| Endo x300 |
12.87% |
| Kuva x100 |
12.28% |
| Naramon Lens |
7.6% |
| Axi A18 |
0.58% |
| Axi B6 |
0.58% |
| Axi G11 |
0.58% |
| Axi L6 |
0.58% |
| Axi O6 |
0.58% |
| Axi S16 |
0.58% |
| Lith C12 |
0.58% |
| Lith G10 |
0.58% |
| Lith G12 |
0.58% |
| Lith N15 |
0.58% |
| Lith P9 |
0.58% |
| Meso F5 |
0.58% |
| Meso H7 |
0.58% |
| Meso N17 |
0.58% |
| Meso V9 |
0.58% |
| Neo A13 |
0.58% |
| Neo B9 |
0.58% |
| Neo G7 |
0.58% |
| Neo M5 |
0.58% |
| Neo P7 |
0.58% |
| Neo Z11 |
0.58% |
Locations:
- Plains of Eidolon/Cetus, Earth during Plague Star event
Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.
| Rewards | |
|---|---|
| Gladiator Finesse |
36.91% |
| Revenant Chassis Blueprint |
16.11% |
| Vigilante Pursuit |
16.11% |
| Cetus Wisp |
16.11% |
| Axi A18 |
0.67% |
| Axi G11 |
0.67% |
| Axi L6 |
0.67% |
| Axi O6 |
0.67% |
| Axi S16 |
0.67% |
| Axi S17 |
0.67% |
| Lith A6 |
0.67% |
| Lith C12 |
0.67% |
| Lith N15 |
0.67% |
| Lith W4 |
0.67% |
| Meso A7 |
0.67% |
| Meso H7 |
0.67% |
| Meso N17 |
0.67% |
| Meso V9 |
0.67% |
| Meso V9 |
0.67% |
| Meso W4 |
0.67% |
| Neo A13 |
0.67% |
| Neo B9 |
0.67% |
| Neo E4 |
0.67% |
| Neo G7 |
0.67% |
| Neo M5 |
0.67% |
| Neo P7 |
0.67% |
Locations:
- Plains of Eidolon/Cetus, Earth during Plague Star event
Drop tables outdated? Readers can update Module:DropTables/data and cross reference with official drop tables on https://www.warframe.com/droptables.
Trivia[]
- This event was first teased as a meteor crossing the sky over the Plains of Eidolon after Update 22.2 (2017-11-01), and officially announced during Devstream 100 on November 3, 2017, with the meteoroid crashing into the Plains at 3pm EST in the middle of the Devstream.
- The event was supposed to start shortly after it crashed into the Plains, but various issues led to the event being delayed until November 15, 2017.
- The meteoroid was instantly visible in the Plains after the official announcement. Players that were on the Plains during the event could see it after leaving to Cetus and re-entering.
- As of Update 30.7 (2021-09-08), this event has the most opposing factions present in one mission: the Tenno, the Grineer, the Infested, and, at night time, the Sentients and Vasca Kavats.
- The Steel Path will also spawn an Acolyte every few minutes, bringing the total number of factions to six.
- During the last phase of the bounty, the Lotus may tell the player that the toxin has caused the boil to undergo peristalsis, which is a one-way muscular contraction/relaxation wave commonly associated with the digestive tract.
Media[]
Patch History[]
Hotfix 34.0.8 (2023-11-09)
- Updated the Eidolon Phylaxis and Infested Catalyst descriptions to inform players on where they can be acquired when Chatlinked.
- Eidolon Phylaxis: Nakak's Operational Supply in Cetus
- Infested Catalyst: Bio Lab in Clan Dojo
- Fixed Infested not spawning in Stage 4 of Plague Star Bounties following a host migration.
- Fixed cases of slow Infested spawns around the Boil in Stage 4 of Plague Star due to enemies elsewhere on the Plains contributing to the spawn cap.
- Improved Drone pathing during Stage 3 of Plague Star, hopefully reducing cases of the Drone becoming stuck.
- Improved waypoint pathing inside a Plains of Eidolon cave.
- Fixed the Plague Star Drone being unable to move in certain cases when going through Nova’s Wormhole, resulting in players being unable to progress the Bounty.
- Fixed players who have not unlocked The Steel Path being able to play The Steel Path Plague Star Bounty if an eligible squadmate selects it.
- Fixed Grineer enemies sometimes just standing around during Stage 2 of Plague Star bounties.
Hotfix 34.0.7 (2023-11-02)
- PLAGUE STAR HAS RETURNED!
Like a fetid and pus-filled comet across the sky, Operation: Plague Star has returned! The Infested Boil now taking hold of the Plains of Eidolon must be destroyed. Save the people of Cetus and restore the beauty of the Plains now until November 21 at 11 AM ET.
Plague Star 2023 Qol Changes:
It's been a few years since Vay Hek’s favorite surgery simulator graced the Origin System, so we wanted to make a few updates to streamline the difficulty curve and improve the experience of the event.
Players can now choose the difficulty by selecting one of three Bounties offered by Konzu in Cetus: Standard, Advanced, and The Steel Path. These bounties have been tweaked to reflect the scaling difficulty of previous Plague Star appearances.
Most notably, Plague Star no longer requires you to mix the Toxin during the Mission itself, meaning you are no longer required to manually contribute Infested Catalyst and Eidolon Phylaxis from your Gear Wheel. These items will now be automatically applied to the mission upon beginning the Advanced and Steel Path Bounties.
Whether this is your first time playing Plague Star or requiring a refresher, read on to learn how to thwart Vay Hek’s plans and tackle the blemish in the Plains!
HOW TO PLAY
Speak with Konzu in Cetus (Earth) and select one of the three Plague Star Bounties. Complete the stages to earn rewards and Operational Supply Standing.
NOTE: In order to play the Advanced and Steel Path Bounties, all players in the Squad must have both an Eidolon Phylaxis and Infested Catalyst in their inventory. Successfully completing these Bounties will consume one of each.
Plague Star
Enemy Levels: 15-25
Operational Supply Standing: 1,025
The standard Plague Star experience, no Eidolon Phylaxis or Infested Catalyst required. Complete the Bounty stages to steal Vay Hek’s Thrax Toxin, mix it, and deliver the poison to the Infested Boil. Outlive the hoards of Infested summoned from the Boil while the poison takes effect and reap the rewards from cleansing The Plains of Eidolon.
Plague Star - Advanced
Enemy Levels: 55-65
Operational Supply Standing: 3,200
Players must have Eidolon Phylaxis and Infested Catalyst in their Inventories to start this Bounty.
Increased difficulty version of the standard experience with higher enemy levels and spawn rates. For those who had played the Operation in prior years, the difficulty is similar to mixing 4 Eidolon Phylaxis and 4 Infested Catalysts (the maximum amount). Unlike the standard Bounty, delivering the Toxin to the Boil summons the Hemocyte - a gnarly three-headed Infested creature. It must be defeated 4 times to allow the poison to take successfully.
Plague Star (The Steel Path)
Enemy Levels: 100-110
Operational Supply Standing: 3,800
Players must have Eidolon Phylaxis and Infested Catalyst in their Inventories to start this Bounty.
Greater difficulty and greater Rewards await those Tenno on the Steel Path who seek the ultimate Plague Star challenge. Take on the same stages as the Advanced Bounty with Steel Path modifiers applied. Increased Kuva and Endo amounts are also rewarded in the Bounty Stage rewards.
Bonus Operational Supply Standing:
Players can earn additional Operational Supply Standing during the Drone escort stage of all of the above Bounties by keeping it above 80% Health.
- Standard: 25 bonus Standing
- Advanced: 75 Bonus Standing
- Steel Path: 100 Bonus Standing
UPDATE 11/7/2023 6:20pm ET:
We have rebalanced the Plague Star Standing earned per stage for all three modes to address players starting and aborting Stage 1 after completing it. It's clear that the event is not meant to be played this way, and it also has a knockoff effect on those who public matchmake and end up in a squad with someone doing that strategy. Fundamentally, it comes down to this strategy being unhealthy for the game, and we feel must be addressed promptly. We also recognize that each Stage differs in its "time cost" and have changed the values respectively.
The new Standing per stage is as follows:
Plague Star - Standard
Stage 1 - 50
Stage 2 - 300
Stage 3 - 100
Stage 4 - 575
Total Operational Supply Standing: 1,025 (was 1,000)
Plague Star - Advanced
Stage 1 - 200
Stage 2 - 1000
Stage 3 - 300
Stage 4 - 1700
Total Operational Supply Standing: 3,200 (was 3,050)
Plague Star - Steel Path
Stage 1 - 200
Stage 2 - 1100
Stage 3 - 400
Stage 4 - 2100
Total Operational Supply Standing: 3,800 (was 3,650)
Bonus Operational Supply Standing:
Standard: 25
Advanced: 75
Steel Path: 100
Bonus Operational Supply Standing is lower but overall, players receive slightly more overall Standing than before.
Plague Star FAQ:
"Why can't I equip Eidolon Phylaxis/Infested Catalyst to my Gear Wheel?"
We have changed it so that as long as you have it in your inventory, you no longer need to equip it to your Gear Wheel. It'll automatically apply to the mission - gone are the days where you need to manually add it to the mixer.
Update 31.5 (2022-04-27)
- Updated Plague Star Icon and Icon colors to be more legible when the event is running (no plans currently).
Hotfix 30.7.3 (2021-09-10)
- Fixed Infested enemy spawns in Plague Star fleeing to Cetus when attempting to play the Bounty back to back.
Hotfix 30.7.2 (2021-09-09)
- Fixed an extremely precise Loki Switch Teleport on the Plague Star Escort Drone resulting in ability to skip most of the third Bounty stage wherein players were sending the Drone off-navigation into a Sniper Tower as an exploit.
Update 30.7 (2021-09-08)
- PLAGUE STAR
Plague Star has returned and runs from Sept 8 at 2pm ET to Sept 30 at 2pm ET, Tenno!
https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1279837-plague-star-2021-september-8-at-2-pm-et-sept-30-at-2-pm-et-all-platforms/
EVENT REWARDS
- NEW: Ghoulsaw & Butcher’s Revelry Stance!
- Changes:
- Hemocyte is now immune to looting abilities that often didn’t fully work due to how quickly the body despawns (Hydroid's Tentacle Swarm with Pilfering Swarm, Nekros' Desecrate etc).
- With the re-run of Plague Star, we are adding Nidus Prime’s Relics as in-world drops from the Hemocyte. This change was brought forth with this in mind, and the acquisition rate of this new Prime that could be influenced with loot abilities which is not a precedent we wish to set. With up to 4 Hemocytes that can spawn in the final stage it felt especially important to make this change.
- Fixes:
- Fixed ability to ride on top of the Plague Star Infested boil with K-Drives (and other similar vehicles) which resulted in taking no damage.
- We have made the following fixes for Plague Star:
- We fixed an issue where the Plague Star Bounty drone would automatically start without being hacked once the player was in its proximity.
- Fixed an issue where Nakak was talking to herself silently after you looked at the Offerings page
Hotfix 30.6.1 (2021-08-10)
- While not currently applicable, we felt it important to note that we’ve made improvements towards Drone pathing in Plague Star that resulted in the Drone becoming stuck, or stopping short of the Infested Boil. While this logic does carry over to the normal Drone escort mission in the Plains of Eidolon, there are some distinct differences due to the specific path it takes in each scenario.
Update 25.7 (2019-08-29)
- Better optimized pathing for the Plague Star Drone for next Operation re-run.
Hotfix 25.1.3 (2019-06-14)
- Reintroduced.
- More back-end fixes for Plague Star.
Hotfix 23.8.2 (2018-09-19)
- Reintroduced.
Update 22.20 (2018-05-17)
- Fixed Dargyns being able to spawn in cave systems during Plague Star.
Update 22.18 (2018-04-20)
- Fixed Host migrating while fighting the Hemocyte causing bonus Affinity to be lost for using Infested Catalysts and Eidolon Phylaxis.
Hotfix 22.17.3 (2018-04-11)
- Improved balance between Vomvalyst and Infested enemy spawns during the Plague Star occurrence at night.
- Lephantis and Hemocyte healthbar will now move to the appropriate heads when they are being aimed at.
Hotfix 22.17.2 (2018-04-10)
- Fixed some behavior issues for the Hemocyte that was causing it to frequently turn on the spot.
Hotfix 22.17.1 (2018-04-05)
- Reintroduced.
- Fixed Ember’s Fireblast unintentionally melting Lephantis/Hemocyte heads like a popsicle in July when cast directly on top of them.
Update 22.4 (2017-11-23)
- Improved the pathing of the hijacked Drone in the Plains. This also fixes issues where the Drone would become stuck on its way to the Boil in Operation: Plague Star.
Hotfix 22.3.5 (2017-11-20)
- Fixed the Mixer Vault door remaining closed if you already opened the Mixer Vault before getting the Toxin.
- Fixed leaving the Mixer Defense objective area resulting in breaking the Mixer.
- Fixed the Plague Star Ancient Infested head of Lephantis snapping to an extreme angle prior to aiming.
- Fixed an incorrect objective waypoint if the Toxin Dispenser in Stage 1 was activated too early.
- Fixes towards a script error when Lephantis spawns.
Hotfix 22.3.4 (2017-11-16)
- Decreased the Operational Supply Standing requirements to their intended values and updated the Sacrifice requirements. New Standing requirements:
- Rank 1 = 1000 Standing.
- Rank 2 = 3000 Standing.
- Rank 3 = 6000 Standing.
- Refunded the component portion of Operational Supply Sacrifices. New Sacrifice requirements:
- The 2x Neurodes Sacrifice to Collaborator has been replaced with 10x Grokdrul.
- The Forma Sacrifice to Defender has been replaced with 10x Iradite.
- The Mutagen Sample Sacrifice to Champion has been replaced with 10x Nistlebrush.
- Fixes towards the Plague Star Bounty failing on Stage 2.
- Fixes towards the hijacked Drone getting stuck while navigating to the boil.
- Fixed Infested drop pods spawning far away or on top of the boil.
- Fixed the Infested Catalyst not being Chat linkable for those that own it.
Hotfix 22.3.3 (2017-11-16)
- Konzu now explains that rewards are at Nakak for the Operation.
Hotfix 22.3.2 (2017-11-15)
- Removed “Clear Remaining..” stage of the Operation.
- Increased likelihood of encountering Infested in the Plains.
- Reduced chance to receive Lens from Operation Bounty.
- Fixed another common crash during the Operation.
- Fixed console being invisible for Clients in the Operation.
- Fixed Infested pods in the Operation not showing VFX when destroyed.
- Fixed a script error that could occur for clients during the Operation.
- Fixed Infested Scream FX now showing for Clients.
Update 22.3 (2017-11-15)
- Introduced.
References[]
- ↑ https://forums.warframe.com/topic/876895-live-pc-operation-plague-star/
- ↑ https://forums.warframe.com/topic/941681-pcoperation-plague-star-meteorite-spotted-on-the-plains-of-eidolon/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/PlayWarframe/status/994646035447336960
- ↑ https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1010351-pc-operation-plague-star-returns/
- ↑ https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1024127-operation-plague-star-returns-on-ps4-xb1/
- ↑ https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1102892-operation-plague-star-on-all-platforms/
- ↑ https://forums.warframe.com/topic/1162521-operation-plague-star-on-all-platforms/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/PlayWarframe/status/1431324001939431427
- ↑ https://www.warframe.com/news/plague-star-is-back