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Warframe's Sisters of Parvos update has introduced Corpus Liches to the game, giving players two types of Liches to fight. Both types of Liches have powerful rewards, including the likes of the Kuva Nukor, Tenet Tetra, and even new companions.
Related: Warframe: A Complete Guide To Railjack
Like most systems in Warframe, Liches are a fairly intimidating system at first glance. Defeating a Lich requires a new set of Mods, a Railjack, and quite a bit of patience. But with enough understanding and the right build, you can comfortably farm Liches to get your hands on some of Warframe's best weapons and Ephemeras. This guide will give an overview of the Lich system, covering everything from creating a Lich to the rewards you can expect.
What Are Liches?
Liches are player-created bosses that possess some of the strongest weapons in Warframe. A Lich is a personal nemesis, carving a portion of the Star Chart for themselves. Any loot obtained from their sector will be partially stolen, which can only be reclaimed upon defeating your Lich. Defeating a Lich will require a Parazon modded with a new Mod type: Requiem Mods. We'll cover all of these systems in-depth throughout this guide. For those starting out, you only need to know three things:
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You create your own Lich.
- It's not a random assassination boss like the Stalker.
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Defeating a Lich requires Requiem Mods and a Railjack.
- Requiem Mods are obtained from Reqiuem Relics (explained in the "Requiem Mods" section).
- You need a Railjack for the final fight against your Lich, so be sure you have one built.
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Liches can either be slain or converted.
- Slain Liches give you their weapon.
- Converted Liches can defend your Railjack and spawn during any mission as an ally.
There are also two types of Liches in Warframe: Kuva Liches and Sister Liches. Each Lich type has a unique pool of rewards and is created differently.
Kuva Liches (Grineer Liches)
These Grineer Liches are infused with Kuva, a resource frequently used to reroll Riven Mods. Defeating a Grineer Lich will grant a small bundle of Kuva, a Kuva weapon (if killed), and some Liches grant a unique Ephemera themed around Warframe's various damage types.
Sister of Parvos Liches (Corpus Liches)
Corpus Liches, known as "Sisters," are focused heavily on profit and utilizing machines to do their work. Defeating a Sister of Parvos will grant a large bundle of Credits, a Tenet weapon (if killed), a modular companion known as a Hound, and some Sisters grant an Ephemera when defeated. Sister Ephemeras are also themed around damage types, although they are visually different from Kuva Lich Ephemeras.
Why Farm Liches?
Liches are your main source for Kuva and Tenet weapons, a series of weapons that contain some of the best guns and melee weapons in the game. Each type of Lich has a rather large pool of weapons they can spawn with, so you'll want to be creating and defeating Liches constantly to collect all of these weapons.
Kuva And Tenet Weapons
Each Kuva and Tenet weapon provides up to 4,000 Mastery points and can reach level 40. Like the Paracesis, you'll need to apply Forma to the weapon to raise its level cap. Each Forma raises its level cap by two, maxing out at level 40 after five Forma have been installed.
Related: Warframe: Galvanized Mods And Weapon Arcane Guide
All Kuva and Tenet weapons also come with a progenitor bonus—a boost to the weapon's base damage that's focused on a certain damage type (including elements that weapon typically doesn't come with, such as Heat). This bonus grants 25-60% bonus damage. Values under 60% can be raised by infusing Kuva or Tenet weapons into each other. We'll cover how to create a specific progenitor bonus in the next section.
Why Farm Kuva Liches?
Kuva Liches grant a notable amount of Kuva, Kuva weapons, and a unique set of Ephemeras. Some Kuva weapons, such as the Kuva Nukor, are the best in their respective archetype. The Kuva gains from slaying Kuva Liches isn't enough to overthrow T5 Kuva Survivals or Kuva Floods, but fighting a Lich is a nice supplement to your Kuva income.
| Resource | Weapons | Misc. |
|---|---|---|
| Kuva | Kuva weapons (19 total) | Ephemeras
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Some notable Kuva weapons include the Kuva Nukor, Kuva Bramma, Kuva Zarr, and Kuva Chakkhurr. Check out our Kuva Lich weapon tier list to see which ones are worth your time farming for.
Why Farm Sisters Of Parvos?
Corpus Liches grant Credits instead of Kuva. That isn't as appealing since The Index exists, but Sisters also grant modular companions named Hounds. These companions have some powerful precept Mods, including the ability to steal Exilus modifiers.
| Resource | Weapons | Misc. |
|---|---|---|
| Credits | Tenet weapons (8 from Sisters, 4 from Ergo) | Hounds
Ephemeras
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A few good Tenet weapons from Parvos Sisters include the Tenet Tetra, Tenet Envoy, Tenet Spirex, and Tenet Cycron. We have a Tenet weapon tier list for those that are interested in how these weapons fare against each other and the current meta.
Creating A Lich
Kuva and Sister Liches are created differently, so we'll be dividing this section into multiple parts. Before you delve into creating a Lich, it's important you understand how the progenitor bonus works.
A Lich's Progenitor
All Liches, both Kuva and Sisters, have a progenitor. A progenitor is the Warframe that converted a Grineer or Corpus unit into a Lich, infusing that Lich with a specific damage type and ability. The Warframe that created your Lich will determine the bonus damage type their weapon will receive, along with what type of Ephemera they can spawn with. A weapon's progenitor damage type is calculated as base damage, grants a damage bonus between 25-60%, and any progenitor damage that's elemental is applied last for the purposes of combined elemental damage (i.e. Corrosive, Viral, etc.).
Note: You don't have to use the progenitor frame at all once a Lich is created; it only influences the damage type bonus your Lich's gun will receive.
For a list of Warframes and their respective progenitor damage type, consult the table below. This table is up to date as of Update 30.5.
| Impact | Cold | Electricity | Heat | Toxin | Magnetic | Radiation |
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Credit to the Warframe Fandom Wiki for the above information and table images.
Creating A Kuva Lich
- Prerequisites: Complete "The War Within" quest
Creating a Kuva Lich will require you to kill a Kuva Larvling, a unique Grineer enemy that spawns in any level 20+ Grineer mission on the Star Chart. All of the nodes on Sedna and Saturn, excluding Dark Sectors, work for this.
Larvlings have a similar spawn system to Infested Juggernauts. When the lights in the mission start to flicker yellow, you have one minute to kill as many Grineer as possible. Killing enough enemies will cause a Larvling to spawn, which will then be marked on your HUD. Reducing the Larvling's HP to zero will cause it to kneel.
Walking near the Larvling will showcase two things:
- A Kuva weapon
- A Parazon finisher prompt
Performing a Parazon finisher on a Kuva Larvling will turn it into a Lich, wielding the weapon presented above the Larvling's head. If the Larvling has a weapon you don't want, ignore it and head to extraction. Repeat this process until the Larvling has a weapon you want. Finish the Larvling, then head to evac to get an unpleasant greeting from your new Kuva Lich.
The Warframe that finishes the Larvling will be tagged as its progenitor, influencing the damage type bonus on the Lich's Kuva weapon. See our table in the above section to see which Warframes grant which progenitor buff.
Creating A Sister Of Parvos
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Prerequisites:
- Complete "The War Within" quest
- Complete the "Call of the Tempestarii" quest
- Own one Zenith Granum Crown
Creating a Sister of Parvos requires that you own at least one Zenith Granum Crown, a currency obtained by defeating a Corpus Treasurer on any Corpus Ship tileset that's level 31+ (Neptune or Pluto).
Related: Warframe: A Complete Guide On Riven Mods
Now that you have a Zenith Crown, make your way to Hydra, Pluto. This is a high-level Capture mission that's fairly quick to complete. When you spawn in, capture the target, then keep your eyes out for a room with a golden hand statue. Interact with the hand when no enemies are nearby. Deposit your Zenith Granum Crown into the golden hand. This will spawn you in the Granum Void. You only need to reach Rank 1 to spawn a Sister Candidate, meaning you don't need to full-clear the arena. If you're struggling with this part, bring the Xoris to insta-kill Errant Specters.
With the Granum Void complete, a Sister Candidate can now spawn. Just like Larvlings, the Candidate will appear on your HUD with a red icon once it spawns. Bring the enemy to zero HP, then get near the Candidate. You'll see two things:
- A Tenet weapon
- A Parazon Finisher prompt
If the weapon is what you want your Lich to wield, execute a finisher on the Candidate to create a Sister of Parvos Lich. It'll taunt you when you return to your Orbiter. If it's not what you want, make your way to extraction and repeat this process.
Note: A Corpus Treasurer will spawn shortly after you down a Candidate, refunding your Zenith Granum Crown when slain. Be sure to kill the Treasurer before you evac so you can repeat this process in the future.
How To Defeat A Lich
Liches are immortal enemies that can't be slain through conventional methods. Defeating a Lich is a lengthy process that consists of multiple steps:
- Find Requiem Mods: These are found from Requiem Relics, obtained by completing Kuva Siphons and Floods throughout the Star Chart.
- Uncover Your Lich's Weakness: Complete nodes owned by your Lich to encounter unique enemies. Finish them to gain "Murmur" progress, revealing a Lich's weakness.
- Confront Your Lich: When your Lich gets angry, it can spawn during a mission in its sector. Use the Requiem Mods on your Parazon to perform a finisher, permanently weakening it.
- Repeat: Repeat this process two more times to kill your Lich. The final confrontation will be a Railjack mission.
Throughout your Lich hunt, you'll notice that certain sectors of the Star Chart are covered in either a red (Kuva Lich) or blue (Sister) mist. These mists denote which territory your Lich owns. Completing missions in a Lich's territory allow Thralls (Kuva Liches) or Hounds (Sisters) to spawn. Mercy killing them with your Parazon will grant Murmur progress, revealing which Requiem Mod your Lich is weak to. Completing missions in Lich territory also imposes a loot tax. Your Lich will steal resources and Credits from you, which you can only get back by either killing or converting your Lich.
Requiem Mods And Relics
All Liches can only be weakened by Requiem Mods, a unique type of Mod that goes in your Parazon. Liches are weak to a specific sequence of Requiem Mods, the order of which you learn through Murmurs (more on that later). Every Requiem Mod has three charges that are consumed upon a successful finisher on a Lich. Once all three charges are used, the Requiem Mod can no longer be used. This makes farming for duplicate Requiem Mods a necessity if you're going to farm this system.
Requiem Mods are obtained by decrypting Requiem Relics, a fifth tier of Relic that is obtained from Kuva Siphons and Floods. Each Requiem Relic can drop one of two Requiem Mods, both of which have an uncommon drop rate.
There are nine types of Requiem Mods:
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| Requiem Mod | Drop Source |
|---|---|
| Fass | Requiem III Relic |
| Jahu | Requiem II Relic |
| Khra | Requiem IV Relic |
| Lohk | Requiem I Relic |
| Netra | Requiem IV Relic |
| Oull | 25% drop chance from fleeing Liches after a successful finisher |
| Ris | Requiem III Relic |
| Vome | Requiem II Relic |
| Xata | Requiem I Relic |
Oull is unique in that it always counts as a success, matching its effect to whatever the Lich is weak to. You can only have one Oull mod equipped at a time. Intelligent use of this Requiem Mod can cut down on the Lich grind tremendously.
Murmurs
You could theoretically kill a Lich through nothing but guesswork, but those that aren't extremely lucky will be brute-forcing their Lich for hours on end. This is where Murmurs come in.
Related: Warframe: A Complete Guide To Railjack Intrinsics
Murmurs reveal which Requiem Mods your Lich is weak to. You can generate progress towards a Murmur by visiting a node controlled by your Lich. These areas will spawn either Thralls (Kuva) or Hounds (Sisters). Landing a Parazon finisher on these enemies will grant progress towards your next Murmur, eventually revealing one of three mods your Lich is weak to. The more of these enemies you finish, the faster your Murmur progress will be.
It's important to note that Murmurs only reveal the Mods your Lich is weak to, not the order.
Confronting Your Lich
Hunting down a Lich's minions is quite an insult and angers your Lich. Liches go through five stages of anger:
- Indifferent
- Annoyed
- Fuming
- Furious
- Enraged
The angrier your Lich is, the more likely they'll invade during a mission. Only one Lich can invade your team at a time. When a Lich decides to invade, it'll have three segments of health you'll need to work through. Removing one bar of HP will stun the Lich temporarily, giving you a chance to use a Parazon finisher. The success of this finisher is determined by your Requiem Mods. If you have the right Requiem Mod in the right order, the Lich will be damaged and flee. If you fail, the Lich will rank up and flee, becoming more powerful during your next confrontation.
Once you've removed all three HP bars on a Lich, it'll retreat to its capital ship. This will unlock a final mission that requires a Railjack to start. This is a typical Empyrean mission, except the main objective tasks you with defeating your Lich once and for all. Bring a Warframe with good survivability and high-damage weapons, as your Lich is going to be absurdly tanky at this point. Lower its HP to zero one more time to leave it open to one last finisher.
Convert Or Vanquish
A Lich that has been defeated in their own capital ship can be dealt with in one of two ways:
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Convert: You spare the Lich, turning it into a potential ally that can spawn in any mission. It can also be recruited as a Defender Crew member for your Railjack.
- Liches can only be Defenders for a Railjack.
- Converted Liches can also be traded once with other players.
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Vanquish: You bring an end to your Lich's life, obtaining its Kuva/Tenet weapon. Sister Liches also grant a Hound companion when slain.
- Kuva and Tenet weapons can be obtained from your Foundry. You do not have to meet their MR requirements to wield them.
Regardless of choice, you'll obtain your Lich's stolen loot and Ephemera (if it has one). You can now Mercy kill a Kuva Larvling or Candidate to create another Lich, repeating the process once again.
If you decide to farm Kuva and Sister Liches, check out our weapon tiers lists below: