Suspicious Shipments

Lotus' Transmission about Suspicious Shipments.

Suspicious Shipments was a limited series of Alert missions that were added in Hotfix 13.5.1 (2014-05-30) that ran from May 30, 2014 to June 2, 2014, revolving around Alad V's return as he ships an uncertain object in heavy security.

Synopsis

The Lotus detects an unusual amount of Corpus vessels that are traveling outside their normal shipping routes. Upon investigating these highly secured ships, the Tenno discovers that Alad V is researching the Infestation, remarking the Corpus' ban on Infested biotechnology. Reconciling his shortcomings in his Zanuka Project, Alad explores forbidden knowledge in hopes of getting the attention of the Corpus Board of Directors and be subsequently promoted for reaching new heights in the name of profit. Soon, Alad will conceive the Mutalist strain that he sought for, albeit with horrible consequences.

Gameplay

Suspicious Shipments by default is an Exterminate mission in the Corpus Ship tileset, with the targets ranging around 180 to 260 enemies. This mission has an unnaturally high rate of enemy spawns along with large numbers of Anti MOAs and Techs, exceeding that of even Pluto. Although enemies have shields and health appropriate for level 15-25, they deal much higher damage than their level would suggest, similar in value to Nightmare Mode, which when combined with the higher density of enemy groups makes these missions very difficult without end-game loadouts.

Occasionally, players will come across doors equipped with an "Advanced Locking Mechanism" requiring the Lotus to remotely open the lock. During this time, a short timer will appear which requires the players to defend themselves from enemy attack until Lotus has unlocked the door.

Infested units also have a chance to appear, either as a small number of strays, or completely replacing the Corpus presence for the rest of the mission.

The rewards during the event on PC, chronologically from bottom to top.

Each alert gave players a chance to earn a new reward, which included:

• 150,000 Credits 150,000; 175,000 Credits 175,000; 200,000 Credits 200,000
• x1
• x4
• x300
• Rare  Fusion Core x10
• Cosmic Specter
•  Forma
•  Forma Blueprint
•  Orokin Reactor
•  Orokin Reactor Blueprint
•  Orokin Catalyst
•  Orokin Catalyst Blueprint

Plot

Alad V, with a slightly infested collar piece.

Lotus' transmission signaling the end of the event, alluding to the Operation Breeding Grounds event.

Alad V Returns

During the mission the players will receive several transmissions from Alad V revealing that he had survived the Tenno retaliation for the Zanuka Project and that the titular Suspicious Shipments are part of his new scheme.

Biotics Enterprise

As players exterminate the enemies, Alad V comments that he disagrees with the Corpus forbidding Infested Biotechnology, and instead thinks of it as the "future". True to his claim, you will come across an Infested lab where Corpus individuals, and occasionally a Zanuka/Zanuka Hunter-like robot, are being held in glass cells while being deliberately exposed to the Technocyte Virus.

According to Devstream 30, the Corpus and robot individuals deliberately exposed with the Technocyte Viruses will become a new wave of Infested units.

There is speculation around the manufactured Infested being a medium for the upcoming reworked boss, J3-Golem, or for the new Infested enemy that won the Enemies Of The Tenno: Infested contest; the Juggernaut.

The aftermath of this event result in Alad V's experiments creating a more virulent strain of Infestation capable of infesting non-organic matter like ships and robotic proxies, leading to Operation Breeding Grounds and later Operation: Mutalist Incursions.

Tips

• It is recommended that a player be very well-prepared before starting this mission, as the sheer number of enemies along with their increased attack power can make this mission very difficult.  Mag or  Volt will come in handy, as their powers are naturally suited to taking on large numbers of Corpus enemies.
  •  Nyx is also very useful to take enemies out from attacking you into attacking each other instead, letting you fire at them with less resistance. The higher damage output of enemies compared to their health also means they have a better chance of killing each other.
  •  Trinity with  Link and  Reflection (as long as the melee weapon is equipped and used for blocking) will cause the enemies to kill themselves with all the reflected damage. Use  Blessing and  Energy Vampire as necessary.
  •  Zephyr's  Turbulence renders most of the Corpus projectiles useless for its duration. This might not protect teammates reliably, however, and won't be useful against the Infestation, but is a good tactic for soloing these missions, matched with a high damage area weapon like  Amprex.
  •  Nova is also useful, especially being able to deal massive chain damage for grouped enemies. This is especially the case with the  Stretch mod as it allows most small rooms to be within Nova's ability radius.
• Equipping an explosive weapon such as  Ogris or  Penta can make the mission easier, since it is great for crowd control of both Corpus and Infested.
• It is recommended that you bring along a good melee weapon which is modded against Infested, as there is a chance that they may take over the mission overall.
• Hacking MOA Cabinet Spawners is not recommended, as the Shockwave MOAs that are produced are spawned normally at that level, and thus go down extremely quickly from the more powerful enemies. Nonetheless, they can still be used to create distractions.

Trivia

• Alad V will confront the player about accusations involving his death (when defeating him on Jupiter) and dispels them as rumors and exaggerations. However, it is noted that while he is contacting the player, there is Infested tissue on his neck controller he uses to control Zanuka.
  • It can be speculated that Alad V has been Infested, and perhaps being influenced by the lure of immortality. This is proven with the outcome of the "Patient Zero" quest
  • It is also possible that he has instead found a way to use the Technocyte Virus to heal himself, and is using to his benefit, possibly in the development of advanced bio-weapons.
• Alad V is still intent on using the Tenno for his experiments; when commenting about his new interest in biotics and how the Corpus board disapproves, he states that "...I think they are the future. Your future, Tenno".
• Alad V has a very deep interest in biotics, even going as far as diverting his precious Zanuka project into a means of studying the Infested on Corpus/Tenno Hybrid technology. 
• Three variants of the Infested Containment Lab can be encountered on each alert: One with all of the tanks in working condition; one featuring a broken central containment tank, surrounded by growing biomass and MOA Cabinet Spawners; and one featuring three containment tanks with one of the smaller tanks shattered and its assumed occupant missing. It appears that the containment chambers are failing, possibly exposing very large ships filled with countless Corpus to the Infested. 
• Suspicious Shipments mark the first appearance of the Infested Ship tileset, though limited only to the aforementioned Infested Containment Lab. The full tileset (along with the Lab) makes its proper debut in Operation Breeding Grounds.

Notes

• The Twitter alert labeled the Cosmic Specter reward as its source-name, "Platinum Specter".
• The Stalker and Zanuka Hunter can appear in this mission, and will receive the same damage buff as the rest of the enemies in the alert, making them more difficult to combat.
• Like "Gift Of The Lotus" Alerts, Suspicious Shipments are open to every player, even if the node in which the alert takes place has yet to be unlocked by the player.

Bugs

• Sometimes there may be more enemies present than the amount shown in the remaining enemies counter, even when the counter displays all enemies have been killed, this is due to the infested not counting towards the objective when they spawn in small numbers. This can also occur if the last enemy is killed before or during the unlocking of an advanced door, as the level can spawn enemies during said phase.

Media

• Crewman in Infested tank
• Crewman in Infested tank
• Crewman in Tank
• Crewmen turned into a Crawler in Infested tank
• A Zanuka Model in Infested tank
• A Zanuka Model in Infested tank
• One of Alad V's messages to the Tenno. Note the Infested growth on his collar.
• Broken Infested Tank
• Two Corpus Techs still present despite a completed kill counter. Click to expand.
• Another one of Alad's messages. This only appears once you reach the Infested Containment cells.

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Warframe - Suspicious Shipment Tiny Event