Quick Links
What Are Archon Shards?
How To Get Archon Shards
Installing Archon Shards
Coalescent Fusion And Coalescent Shards
Creating Tauforged Archon Shards
Archon Shard Effects
The Best Archon Shards
Archon Shard FAQ
Warframe's Veilbreaker update released a new endgame mechanic for players to sink their teeth into. Completing endgame Archon Hunts grant Archon Shards, a new upgrade resource which can be installed into your Warframes for major, additive stat increases.
Related
Warframe: Qorvex Complete Guide – Drops, Abilities, And Builds
Destroy your foes with radioactive lasers with the Qorvex Warframe.
Is there a Warframe you love that feels too squishy for Steel Path? You can use Archon Shards to fix that. Looking to min-max the Ability Strength of your current build? Archon Shards can help with that. This guide will cover what Archon Shards are, how to get them, what each Archon Shard does, and we'll answer some common questions surrounding this endgame upgrade system.
Updated March 31, 2024, by Charles Burgar: Dante Unbound has made some massive changes to Archon Shard acquisition. Chipper's weekly shard has moved to Bird 3's stock, Netracells had their Archon Shard drop rates practically doubled, and a new game type has been added that can also drop Archon Shards.
We've updated this guide with up-to-date information on all Archon Shard drop sources, and we've included a section that explains how to create Tauforged Archon Shards with the new Ascent Fusion system.
What Are Archon Shards?
Archon Shards are an upgrade material that can be socketed into your Warframes, granting them defensive, offensive, or utility stats. Warframes can have up to five Archon Shards installed at once, accessed through the Helminth system. You'll unlock the ability to earn and socket Archon Shards upon completing the "Veilbreaker" quest and crafting the subsequent Helminth component.
As for their overall usefulness, Archon Shards are an endgame progression system that lets you min-max your favorite Warframes by giving them stats that are otherwise difficult to obtain. For example, you can use Archon Shards to give your build more parkour velocity, a flat bonus to their armor stat, or increase your build's Ability Strength.
Return to Quick Links
How To Get Archon Shards
Archon Shards can drop from these four sources:
- Archon Hunts
- Weekly Cavia Offerings
- Netracells
- Deep Archimedea
Archon Hunts and the Cavia Syndicate offer one guaranteed Archon Shard per week. Netracells and Deep Archimedia have a chance of giving you an Archon Shard, but you can complete both activities multiple times per week. Additionally, both Archon Hunts and Netracells have a small chance of dropping a Tauforged variant, an Archon Shard that's 50% stronger than its default counterpart.
Archon Hunts
Archon Rotation
Archons and their associated shards rotate each week. Players will fight Boreal (Azure), Amar (Crimson), and Nira (Amber) on a weekly rotation. If you are looking for a certain Archon Shard, keep an eye out for which Archon is active that given week.
Unlike Sorties, Archon Hunts always lead to an Archon boss fight for the final mission, reusing the Archon bosses seen in "The New War" quest. These enemies are incredibly tough, deal immense damage, and have two phases. Completing an Archon Hunt grants one Archon Shard. The shard that drops depends on the Archon you killed:
- Azure: Boreal
- Crimson: Amar
- Amber: Nira
Additionally, Archons have a 20% chance to drop a Tauforged Shard, featuring stats that are 1.5x better than typical Archon Shards. For example, a Crimson Shard that grants 10% Ability Strength will grant 15% Ability Strength if the shard is Tauforged. Tauforged Archon Shards also have bad luck protection in this activity. If a Tauforged Shard doesn't drop, your Tauforged chance increases by 20% for each kill until a Tauforged Shard drops.
For instance, defeating Archon Amar has a 20% chance of dropping a Tauforged Archon Shard. It doesn't drop, but you now have a 40% chance of receiving a Tauforged Crimson Shard the next time Archon Amar shows up. Your drop chance is saved per crystal, encouraging players to engage with Archon Hunts each week.
Assuming you're unlucky, it'll take 15 weeks to guarantee that you receive a Tauforged Archon Shard of each type.
If you're uncertain about the drop rate of a Tauforged Archon Shard, you can check your Archon Hunt tab in the Star Chart at any time. The percentage beside the Archon Shard denotes the chance of receiving a Tauforged Archon Shard upon completing that week's Archon Hunt.
Weekly Cavia Offering
Upon reaching Rank 5 with the Cavia, you can purchase an Archon Shard from Bird 3 in the Sanctum Automica on Deimos. This area is unlocked upon completing the "Whispers in the Walls" quest. Purchasing a shard costs 30,000 Cavia Standing. You may only purchase one Archon Shard per week. These shards are never Tauforged.
Netracells
Another source of Archon Shards is the Netracell activity. Upon completing the "Whispers in the Walls" quest, players can speak with Tagfer in the Sanctum Anatomica on Deimos to start a Netracell mission. Just like Archon Hunts, Netracells are fairly difficult and contain many difficulty modifiers, all of which we cover in our Netracell guide.
Completing a Netracell mission has a moderate chance of dropping an Archon Shard; it's not guaranteed like Archon Hunts. Both normal and Tauforged variants can drop from Netracells, but Tauforged Shards are rare. Exact drop chances are listed below:
All drop table values were derived from the Warframe PC Drops website.
Archon Shard | Drop Chance Normal | Drop Chance Tauforged |
|---|---|---|
Amber | 17.5% | 4.17% |
Azure | 17.5% | 4.17% |
Crimson | 17.5% | 4.17% |
In total, you have a 65% chance of earning an Archon Shard from a successful Netracell run. Up to five Netracells may be looted per week.
Deep Archimedia
To start a Deep Archimedia run, you must sacrifice two Netracell keys. Rewards only drop from your first Deep Archimedia clear of the week.
Deep Archimedia is a multi-stage endgame activity that acts similarly to Sorties. Each week, the Cavia Syndicate will require you to complete a three-mission gauntlet using the same loadout. Restrictions and difficulty modifiers are offered before you begin the run. The more difficult you make the Deep Archimedia gauntlet, the more likely you'll receive Archon Shards and Legendary Arcanes as your reward.
Return to Quick Links
Related
Warframe: A Complete Guide To Focus 3.0
Learn how Focus works, what all five schools do, and more with this in-depth guide.
Installing Archon Shards
Installing an Archon Shard requires a crafted Helminth Archon Shard Segment. The blueprint for this component is given to you upon completing the "Veilbreaker" quest. It costs the following materials to craft:
Helminth Archon Shard Segment | |
|---|---|
2 Entrati Lanthorn | 10 Devolved Namalon |
5 Sporulate Sac | 50 Thrax Plasm |
Crafting Cost: 50,000 Credits | Crafting Time: 24 Hours |
You can find these components on Deimos or on the Zariman tileset. Upon crafting the segment, install it in your Helminth chair to unlock the Archon Shard system.
In the Helminth menu, select on the "Archon Shard" tab at the top-left of the UI. This will showcase your Warframe's current Archon Shard slots. Select one of the slots to install an Archon Shard. All owned Archon Shards are visible at the top-right of the menu.
Socketing an Archon Shard will reveal multiple boons, each one tied to the color of Archon Shard you're installing. Select one of the stats to finish the installation. The Archon Shard's bonus stats will thereafter affect all of your Warframe's configurations until uninstalled.
Uninstalling Archon Shards
From the Archon Shard tab, select any Archon Shard that's installed in your Warframe. You'll be able to uninstall the selected shard for 30% Bile resources from your Helminth. The refunded shard can then be used on any Warframe you desire. You may do this as often as you like, so long as enough Bile is stored in your Helminth.
Return to Quick Links
Coalescent Fusion And Coalescent Shards
You can create three unique types of Archon Shards through Coalescent Fusion, an Archon Transmutation system introduced in the Whispers in the Walls update. To unlock this feature, you must purchase the Helminth Coalescent Segment from Bird 3 in the Sanctum Anatomica on Deimos. You must be Rank 2 with the Cavia Syndicate to purchase this blueprint. Crafting it requires the following:
Helminth Coalescent Segment | |
|---|---|
50 Stela | 5 Echo Voca |
5 Entrati Lanthorn | 25 Necracoil |
Crafting Cost: 50,000 Credits | Crafting Time: 24 Hours |
Creating Coalescent Shards
Once installed, make your way to the Helminth chair and select the "Archon Shards" tab. You will see a shard icon above the right-most Archon Shard socket named "Coalescent Fusion." Select this button to bring up the fusion menu.
You may fuse two Archon Shards together to create a new Coalescent Shard, featuring entirely new modifiers not present on either base shard. Doing so requires two Archon Shards and 50 Stela, a resource acquired from Sanctum Anatomica activities. You cannot split a Coalescent Shardback into its original Archon Shards once it's been created.
Tauforged Coalescent Shards
You may create Tauforged variants of Coalescent Shards by transmuting two base Tauforged Archon Shards during the Coalescent Fusion process. Both shards must be Tauforged for this to work.
There are three types of Coalescent Shards:
- Emerald: Azure + Amber
- Topaz: Crimson + Amber
- Violet: Crimson + Azure
Each Coalescent Shard features four modifiers, from five, most of which offer buffs for certain elemental damage types. These Coalescent Shards are best used for highly specialized builds. Exact values for each shard may be found in the "Archon Shard Effects" section.
Return to Quick Links
Creating Tauforged Archon Shards
The Coalescent Fusion segment also allows you to create Tauforged Archon Shards out of spare shards you own. From the Archon Shard menu, select the "Ascent Fusion" button next to the right-most Archon Shard slot. This will open a menu where you can socket three Archon Shards to merge into one Tauforged Shard. All three shards must be of the same color to create a Tauforged variant.
Creating a Tauforged Archon Shard also costs 100 Stela, a resource you can find in Cavia missions. There's no limit to how many Tauforged Archon Shards you can create this way.
Return to Quick Links
Archon Shard Effects
Archon Shard values are marked with either a [+] or [x]. [+] means the stat is additive, and [x] means the stat is multiplicative.
Unless otherwise stated, Archon Shard modifiers are unaffected by mods and Arcanes.
Azure Archon Shard Stats
Azure Archon Shard | ||
|---|---|---|
Effect | Standard Increase | Tauforged Increase |
Health | [+] 150 | [+] 225 |
Shield Capacity | [+] 150 | [+] 225 |
Energy Max | [+] 50 | [+] 75 |
Armor | [+] 150 | [+] 225 |
Health Regeneration | [+] 5/s | [+] 7.5/s |
Crimson Archon Shard Stats
Crimson Archon Shard | ||
|---|---|---|
Effect | Standard Increase | Tauforged Increase |
*Melee Critical Damage | [x] 25% | [x] 37.5% |
*Primary Status Chance | [x] 25% | [x] 37.5% |
*Secondary Critical Chance | [x] 25% | [x] 37.5% |
Ability Strength | [+] 10% | [+] 15% |
Ability Duration | [+] 10% | [+] 15% |
*Multiplied by base stats. Additive with mod bonuses.
Amber Archon Shard Stats
Amber Archon Shard | ||
|---|---|---|
Effect | Standard Increase | Tauforged Increase |
Maximum Energy Is Filled On Spawn | [+] 30% | [+] 45% |
Effectiveness On Health Orbs | [+] 100% | [+] 150% |
Effectiveness On Energy Orbs | [+] 50% | [+] 75% |
Casting Speed | [+] 25% | [+] 37.5% |
Parkour Velocity | [+] 15% | [+] 22.5% |
Emerald Archon Shard
Emerald Archon Shard | ||
|---|---|---|
Effect | Standard Increase | Tauforged Increase |
Toxin Status Effects Deal More Damage | [x] 30% | [x] 45% |
Recover HP When Dealing Toxin Status Damage | [+] 2HP | [+] 3HP |
Ability Damage On Corrosive Enemies | [x] 10% | [x] 15% |
Corrosive Status Cap | [+] 2 | [+] 3 |
Topaz Archon Shard
Topaz Archon Shard | ||
|---|---|---|
Effect | Standard Increase | Tauforged Increase |
HP Recovery Per Enemy Killed With Blast | [+] 1HP Max 300 HP | [+] 2HP Max 450 HP |
Shield Regeneration On Blast Status | [+] 5 Shields | [+] 8 Shields |
*Secondary Critical Chance On Heat Kill | [x] 1% per kill, 50% cap. | [x] 1.5% per kill, 75% cap. |
Ability Damage on Radiation Enemies | [x] 10% | [x] 15% |
*Multiplied by base stats. Additive with mod bonuses.
Violet Archon Shard
Violet Archon Shard | ||
|---|---|---|
Effect | Standard Increase | Tauforged Increase |
Ability Damage On Electricity Enemies | [x] 10% | [x] 15% |
*Primary Electricity Damage | [+] 30% Added Electricity Damage [+] 10% per Azure, Crimson, or Violet Shard | [+] 45% Added Electricity Damage [+] 15% per Azure, Crimson, or Violet Shard |
**Melee Critical Damage | [x] 25% Default [x] 50% if Energy Max is over 500 | [x] 37.5% Default [x] 75% if Energy Max is over 500 |
Equilibrium | [+] 20% Energy from Health Orbs [+] 20% Health from Energy Orbs | [+] 30% Energy from Health Orbs [+] 30% Health from Energy Orbs |
*Works identically to an elemental mod.
**Multiplied by base stats. Additive with mod bonuses.
Return to Quick Links
The Best Archon Shards
Despite the vast array of Archon Shard options, your best upgrade options are quite simple:
- Azure: Spec for Armor or Health.
- Energy Max is also an option for Warframes with minuscule Energy pools.
- Crimson: Spec for Ability Strength or Duration.
- Amber: Spec for Cast Speed or Parkour Velocity.
- Emerald: Spec for Corrosive Stacks.
- Topaz: Spec for Shield on Blast status or Secondary Critical Chance on Heat kill.
- Violet: Spec for Equilibrium or Ability Damage on Electric Targets.
The rest of your options are either too niche or not useful for most Warframe builds in the game. Like most things in Warframe, it's possible to use any buff you desire and do quite well, so ultimately pick what you value the most.
Just because you aren't using the most min-max options doesn't mean your Archon Shards are being wasted, far from it. But for those wondering why these are the best, let's explain why each option is good or mediocre.
Azure Archon Shards
Effect | When To Use |
|---|---|
Health | Equip if Armor > Health by 300+ |
Shield Capacity | Hildryn builds to increase her Energy Max |
Armor | Equip if Armor < Health by 300+ |
Energy Max | Use on Warframes with small Energy pools with limited mod space |
Health Regeneration | Apply to shield-focused Warframes to mitigate chip damage |
Health and Armor rating have a major impact on your Warframe's effective health pool (EHP). Your armor affects damage taken to your health by the following formula:
DR = (Armor) / (Armor + 300)
Your damage resistance is then multiplied by any damage your HP receives. For example, if you take 500 damage and have 300 Armor, you'll have 50% damage resistance (300 armor divided by 600), reducing your taken damage to 250. DR has diminishing returns from this formula, but balancing your HP and armor is critical to maximizing your EHP.
So what's better: Health Shards or Armor Shards? If your total health is 300 points higher than your armor, spec for Armor Shards. Use Health Shards in all other circ*mstances. YouTuber TheKengineer has an excellent video that covers the exact math for this if you're interested.
What about the rest of our Azure Shard options? Here's why they aren't great:
Shield Capacity | Shield builds will typically use Redirection or Catalyzing Shields to maximize their Shield-Gate uptime. These shards offer too little value compared to those options. |
|---|---|
Energy Max | Primed Flow is objectively better. Warframes with 150 Energy Max (a low base value for most Rank 30 Warframes) receive +277.5 max Energy with this single mod. You'd need an entire set of Azure Shards to match a single mod. |
HP Regen | HP builds rely on much faster sources of regeneration, typically life steal from abilities like Sevagoth's Gloom. Passive regeneration isn't bad, but it doesn't solve survivability issues either—at least when your regeneration rate is this low. |
read more
Crimson Archon Shards
Effect | When To Use |
|---|---|
Melee Critical Damage | Use with melee stat-stick builds (Khora, Atlas, etc.) |
Primary Status Chance | Never use this |
Secondary Critical Chance | Never use this |
Ability Strength | Always a good option |
Ability Duration | Always a good option |
Crimson Shards are absurdly powerful and easily the best Archon Shard type you can use. Every upgrade is good, yet we recommend Ability Strength and Ability Duration above all else. That's because the weapon stat bonuses are additive with mods.
For example the melee critical damage bonus stacks with the Organ Shatter mod, providing 115% more critical damage in total (from 90%). Since it doesn't buff base stats on the weapon, you need to consider the opportunity cost of these Archon Shards with respect to the mods you're using. Matching Organ Shatter will require three or four Crimson Shards.
The same argument can be made with Ability Strength and Duration, so why are we recommending those instead? Because Rivens exist. If you desperately need critical multiplier for your stat-stick build, find a weapon with a high Riven disposition and get a critical multiplier Rivens.
That makes static benefits have varying degrees of value depending on the player. Ability Duration and Strength are always useful, allowing you to replace mods in your build outright with enough Crimson Shards. Strength can be useful for hitting armor strip breakpoints for certain abilities, and Ability Duration is typically harder to come across.
For specifics on why each weapon buff isn't ideal:
Melee Critical Multiplier | Rivens exist. If your Warframe has over 500 Energy, Topaz Shards are objectively stronger. Otherwise, only use this for stat-stick builds on Warframes like Khora and Atlas. |
|---|---|
Secondary Critical Chance | Secondaries have great critical chance mods, including Primed Pistol Gambit and Creeping Bullseye. Not even five Crimson Shards match how strong those mods are. |
Primary Status Chance | Meta Warframe weapons are critical/status hybrids, utilizing status procs to debuff the target with Viral and Heat. Most weapons don't need more status chance to achieve this. |
read more
Amber Archon Shards
Effect | When To Use |
|---|---|
Maximum Energy Is Filled On Spawn | Sanctuary Onslaught farming, decent option otherwise |
Effectiveness On Health Orbs | Never use this |
Effectiveness On Energy Orbs | Energy-hungry Warframes that use channeled abilities (Ember, Equinox, etc.) |
Casting Speed | Always a good option |
Parkour Velocity | Always a good option |
There's only one outlier here: Effectiveness on Health Orbs. There's a use case with Lavos to increase the strength of Universal Orbs, but even Lavos could benefit more from other Archon Shard buffs. Your other four options are fantastic, although some of these buffs are quite niche.
The two best options are Casting Speed and Parkour Velocity. Casting speed is criminally underrated, allowing you to weave abilities more fluidly during combat to set up combos or keep your Warframe alive. More importantly, two Casting Speed Shards match the effectiveness of Natural Talent, freeing up a mod slot for Warframes like Harrow.
Parkour Velocity is a pure quality-of-life improvement that makes map traversal a little easier. This affects bullet jumping and rolling, so every Warframe in the game will benefit from this. We recommend using one Tauforged Azure Shard for Parkour Velocity, provided you have one to spare. Stacking this effect multiple times is unnecessary unless you have a serious need for speed.
As for the other options:
Maximum Energy | It gets reset with each Sanctuary Onslaught wave, making this a great pick for Volt or Saryn. Beyond that, this isn't needed. |
|---|---|
Energy Orb Effectiveness | Most Warframes use Zenurik or spec for Ability Efficiency. Warframes that rely on Energy Orbs to keep their channeled abilities active can greatly benefit from this buff. |
read more
Return to Quick Links
Emerald Archon Shards
Effect | When To Use |
|---|---|
Toxin Status Effect Damage | Saryn builds that use Toxic Lash |
Recover HP From Toxin Status Damage | Never use this |
Ability Damage On Corrosive Enemies | Hydroid builds, or any build that uses Tempest Barrage |
Corrosive Status Cap | Always a good option |
The big standout with Topaz Shards is the Corrosive Status Cap modifier, increasing the number of Corrosive procs you can inflict onto a target by +2. Two Emerald Shards are enough to make Corrosive fully strip enemy armor, making this an S-tier pick for Warframes that bias weapon usage like Gauss and Mesa.
Your other three options are far more niche, however. Toxin Status Effect Damage is a solid modifier for Saryn players that use Toxic Lash frequently, but most other Warframe builds will struggle to get any real use out of this. The same is also true for HP Recovery on Toxin Status Damage.
Builds that can inflict rapid Corrosive status effects should also consider using Ability Damage on Corrosive Enemies. This modifier is multiplicative and greatly improves the DPS of Warframes like Hydroid. Warframes that use status primers or subsume Hydroid's Tempest Barrage ability (and use its augment) can also get some use out of this effect.
As for the niche picks:
Toxin Status Effect Damage | It's only useful on Saryn since Toxic Lash counts as a second weapon hit. The status ailment itself deals mediocre damage without major investment. |
|---|---|
HP Recovery on Toxin Status Damage | HP Regeneration from Azure Shards is generally better. If you need survivability buffs, Topaz Shards have better options. |
read more
Return to Quick Links
Topaz Archon Shards
Effect | When To Use |
|---|---|
HP Recovery Per Enemy Killed With Blast | Never use this |
Shield Regeneration on Blast Status | Never use this |
Secondary Critical Chance on Heat Kill | Always a good option |
Ability Damage on Radiation Enemies | Qorvex builds, or any build that uses Breach Surge |
Fans of secondary weapons should consider Secondary Critical Chance on Heat Kill. Kills grant multiplicative critical chance, the same as a critical mod. The critical chance cap does scale with duplicate shards, so this can be a solid choice for gun-focused builds.
Shield Regeneration on Blast Status sounds strong on paper, yet the nerf it received in January of 2024 has made it an extremely niche pick. This effect no longer works while your Shield Gate invulnerability timer is active. It now works similar to Caliban's Lethal Progency, preventing the effect from triggering until your shields begin to passively regenerate.
This effect can proc on any source of Blast damage, including companions, but the lack of a Shield Gate refresh makes it tough to recommend over other survivability options.
As for your other options:
Ability Damage on Radiation Enemies | It's a good option on Qorvex since he applies Radiation, but it's otherwise a niche pick. Warframes that subsume Wisp's Breach Surge can get some use out of this effect. |
|---|---|
HP Recovery Per Enemy Killed From Blast | Modding your weapons for Blast damage puts you at a significant disadvantage in most content. The HP recovery is quite high when it's fully stacked, but the loss in damage from using Blast just isn't worth it. |
read more
Return to Quick Links
Violet Archon Shards
Effect | When To Use |
|---|---|
Ability Damage on Electricity Enemies | Gyre builds, or any build that uses status primers |
Primary Electricity Damage | Weapon builds that use Corrosive, Radiation, or Electricity |
Melee Critical Damage | Equip if Energy Max > 500 |
Equilibrium | Always a good option |
Violet Shards can give you a weaker version of the Equilibrium mod, granting Energy Orbs from HP Orbs and vice versa. This also allows you to pick up Health and Energy Orbs while either resource is full, useful for triggering certain mods and Arcane effects. Modifiers to HP/Energy Orbs have no impact on this Equilibrium effect.
Melee Critical Damage is also an objective upgrade over Crimson Shards if your Energy Max is over 500. Nearly every Warframe can hit this value by using Primed Flow. If you're just shy of that number, Azure Archon Shards can make up the difference. Melee Warframes like Khora, Atlas, and Valkyr will greatly benefit from this shard.
For the last two modifiers:
Ability Damage on Electricity Enemies | This is an S-tier pick for Gyre, but most other Warframe builds seldom use Electricity by itself unless it's modded onto a status primer. |
|---|---|
Primary Electricity Damage | A Warframe that uses many Crimson and Violet Shards can get 90%+ Electricity damage, freeing up a mod slot for your Primary. It's a decent choice, but there are usually better options. |
read more
Return to Quick Links
Archon Shard FAQ
Can You Trade Archon Shards?
No, you cannot trade Archon Shards with other players.
Is There A Limit To How Many Archon Shards I Can Install On My Warframe?
You may only have five Archon Shards installed on a Warframe at a time. All five shards may be Tauforged. If you hit the Archon Shard cap and want to make changes, you may uninstall Archon Shards from your Warframe for the cost of 30% Bile from your Helminth.
Do Tauforged Shards Have Drop Protection?
The Archon Hunt activity has drop protection, but other game modes do not. The Citrine's Last Wish update added drop protection for all Archon Shard types, granting a stacking chance of receiving a Tauforged crystal each week if it doesn't drop.
This drop chance is scaled per shard, meaning that this drop protection only affects a specific type of Archon Shard. This encourages players to complete all weekly Archon Hunts to maximize their Tauforged drops across all three shard types. For more information on this system, see the "Tauforged Archon Shard" subsection near the start of this guide. Bear in mind that drop protection is not present for Netracells and Deep Archimedia.
Can Bird 3 Sell Tauforged Archon Shards?
No, he cannot. Bird 3 only sells standard Azure, Amber, and Crimson Archon Shards.
Why Does Chipper No Longer Sell Archon Shards?
Chipper's stock no longer includes Archon Shards as of Update 35.5. Many Warframe players disliked farming Kahl missions each week, so Digital Extremes moved Chipper's weekly shard to Bird 3's stock instead. Chipper still sells Archon Mods, Styanax components, and Veilbreaker-themed cosmetics.
The Archon Fights Are Incredibly Tough. How Can I Make Them Easier?
You want to spec your weapons for Radiation damage, multishot, and critical damage. Damage attenuation—an aggressive form of damage resistance—is tied to every Archon fight in Warframe, flooring your damage if the game detects you're dealing too much damage in a short timeframe.
Your best way of bypassing this is to damage the Archon with consistent damage, preferably criticals. Archons do adapt their DR to multishot and critical damage now, but the DR ceiling from this has been greatly reduced since its original release. Since the Archons are all weak to Radiation, that's what we recommend using.
As for weapons that melt the Archons quickly:
- Knell Prime: It deals massive damage and has infinite ammo if you can land the occasional headshot.
- Glaive Prime: A similar concept to the Kuva Hek, achieve a max combo multiplier and detonate the Glaive on the Archon.
- Laetum: The Incarnon form's bonus damage seems to ignore damage attenuation, making this a phenomenal pick if you can charge the alt-fire before the fight starts.
Do Archon Shards Have A Level Requirement?
No, there isn't a Helminth requirement for using Archon Shards, but there's technically an MR requirement. The only prerequisites are a crafted Helminth Segment (which has an MR8 requirement) and the completion of the "Veilbreaker" quest. Your Helminth does not need any upgrades to install Archon Shards in your Warframes.
Once I Merge Two Archon Shards Together, Can I Split Them?
No. Once you create a Coalescent Shard, the Archon Shards will be fused together permanently. Be sure the Coalescent Shard is a good fit for your build before making one, especially if you're using Tauforged Shards.
Return to Quick Links
Next
Warframe: Whispers In The Walls Quest Walkthrough
Assist Loid with fulfilling the Kalymos Sequence with this in-depth quest walkthrough.
