For standard Defense, see Defense.

Shrine Defense is a Mission type. Players must safeguard Ostrons from Infested as they prepare offerings for Koumei.

Access to this mission requires completion of Saya's Vigil and Once Awake quests. Players must talk to Saya in Cetus who will introduce them to Koumei's Shrine where the mission can be initiated.

Despite the name, it is not an endless mission and its mechanics largely differ from standard Defense.

General[]

Saya is haunted by dreams of Cetus under siege from the sea: the Infested rise and attack while Councilor Vay Hek gloats. They are a haunting vision of things to come — a Fate Dream, sent from Koumei, who offers to help you assist in defending the Ostrons...

Infested enemies are emerging from the ocean and advancing on the Ostrons. You must collect Fate Pearls for Koumei and defend the village at all costs! You may be in for a challenging fight with the Infested Oni, but by offering tribute to Koumei you can wield her powerful dice rolls for yourself and bring peace back to Cetus.

Infested horrors lie dormant beneath the muck of Cetus' shores. The sudden threat of their awakening prompts the re-emergence of the Dice-Maiden, Koumei, who offers a chance to ensure they sleep forever and spare the Ostrons an Infested doom.

Mechanics[]

Unlike standard Defense, the objective that is being protected does not have a health bar and thus the mission does not have a failure state.

To begin the mission, acquire a Koumei's Offering. Players must keep Infested at bay from two Ostron dwellings as the villagers prepare additional offerings every 30 seconds, but the timer is paused when Infested enemies are within the offering's radius. The offerings can be delivered to Koumei's Shrine which produces Health Orbs and a variety of buffs.

Once 5 offerings have been delivered to the shrine, players must kill Infested equal to 30 times the number of squad members (up to 120) to spawn the Infested Oni boss.

The Infested Oni has two health bars. Once the first bar is depleted, it becomes invulnerable and players must provide 2 more offerings to the shrine, after which the Oni can be defeated for good and complete the mission.

Shrine Blessing[]

Once an offering is brought the shrine, Koumei will cast her dice, granting a random buff for 30 seconds.

Buffs can be acquired simultaneously by delivering multiple offerings. Rerolling a buff while active will also refresh its duration.

Icon	Buff	Effect
1	Lyre-Worm's Feast	Squad becomes Invulnerable for 30 seconds.
2	Twin Kavats	Squad gains Life Steal effect for 30 seconds.
3	Ripples on the Deep	Squad gains Critical Chance buff for 30 seconds.
4	The Virtues	Squad gains Heat Damage buff for 30 seconds.
5	Stars of Perfection	Squad gains Sprint Speed and Parkour Velocity buffs for 30 seconds.
6	Eidolon's Jaws	Squad gains Reload Rate and Fire Rate buffs for 30 seconds.

Locations[]

Rewards[]

The Infested Oni drops 14-18 Fate Pearl (20-24 on The Steel Path, unaffected by Resource Boosters), which can be traded to Koumei's Shrine in Cetus for the blueprints and components for Koumei, Higasa, and Amanata, and Koumei's Prex Card. Players who have unlocked Steel Path can also purchase the weapon augment mods Higasa Serration and Amanata Pressure.

Completion also awards 800 Standing Ostron Standing.

Locations:

Notes[]

The Infested Oni is immune to most Warframe abilities and Viral status effect, and can only receive a maximum of 4 status effects of each type. In The Steel Path, it also possesses Damage Attenuation which drastically increases its durability.
Shortly after the Infested Oni loses its first health bar, it will burrow into the ground and surface again near Koumei's Shrine (a functional teleport).

Tips[]

All enemies are Infested Deimos which are vulnerable to Blast and Gas damage, but resist Viral.
When farming for Fate Pearl, The Steel Path is notably less time efficient due to the increased enemy durability, despite the additional Fate Pearls and the Acolyte's Steel Essence.
During the later section of the Extermination stage, grab the offerings but don't bring them to the shrine. After the objective to remove the Oni's invulnerability appears, insert them to reduce travel times.

Media[]

Patch History[]

Hotfix 37.0.2 (2024-10-03)

Fixed matchmaking issues when attempting to start a Steel Path Shrine Defense mission from the Star Chart “Saya’s Visions” node.
- Due to the amount of people playing on the node, the matchmaking requests were likely to time out with people filling open slots in the squads before you. This would cause the “Unable to join” popup to occur on most attempts to start the mission.
You can now access the Steel Path Saya’s Visions node from the Star Chart without having to complete a Steel Path Plains of Eidolon Bounty first.
- We saw reports of players having the node locked on the Star Chart and at Koumei’s Shrine despite having both the Steel Path and normal mission unlocked. This was due to the not-so-obvious requirement to complete a PoE Steel Path Bounty to fully unlock the Steel Path. So we’ve removed that requirement to make the Shrine Defense mission much more easily accessible!
Fixed the Lyre-Worm’s Feast Blessing (invulnerable for 30 seconds) in Shrine Defense missions negating Wisp’s Motes buffs.
Fixed the description for the Life Steal buff in Shrine Defense mission appearing as a file path.
Fixed Extraction timer appearing in Shrine Defense missions when playing with a Squad.
Fixed crash in the Shrine Defense mission during the extermination wave.
Fixed script error in the offering preparation timer in Shrine Defense mission.

Hotfix 37.0.1 (2024-10-02)

Made mix adjustments to the Infested Oni’s vocals.
Fixed Fate Pearls earned from Shrine Defense missions being affected by Resource Boosters.
- Similar to other special resource rewards (Vestigial Motes, etc.), these are not intended to be affected by Resource Boosters – the additional Fate Pearls you earned during this time are yours to keep! Be sure to say hi to Koumei for me at her Shrine next time you visit the shop.
Fixed the wrong popup message (“Acquiring Targets” instead of “Joining Session”) when attempting to join a squad in a Shrine Defense mission.
Fixed script error when picking up Offering in Shrine Defense mission.
Fixed script error in Fate Pearls shop.
Fixed script error with Infested Oni in Shrine Defense mission.

Update 37.0 (2024-10-02)