Warframe’s Exploiter Orb boss fight is an intricate one, and can become somewhat frenetic at times. This guide will show you how to utilize its weaknesses and defeat it with relative ease in several stages.
This boss battle takes place on Deck 12 on Orb Vallis and requires four players to begin. The initial phase involves destroying Orb vents.
Phase 1
Exploiter Orb is one of the new bosses to be found in Warframe’s Orb Vallis region and must be destroyed to unlock Hildryn Warframe blueprints, as well as gain some Orb Vallis reputation.
When hunting an Orb, head northeast of Harindi Crater to Deck 12, an abandoned station. You will use Diluted Thermia from Operation: Buried Debts mission on its console to call down its presence; once it does so, a cutscene will play that prompts players to board its overheated Orb and fire shots against its engine until enough damage has been dealt to cause enough destruction.
At first, Exploiter Orb is surrounded by Coolant Raknoids which will drop Coolant Cells upon death that can instantly be converted to Thermia Canisters by pitting them into an operator’s second ability. These canisters will speed up her heat gauge; alternatively players may simply shoot at her body vents that release hot gases – destroying several will trigger the next stage.
Once the fight reaches the second phase, the Exploiter Orb will have unfrozen two of her vents and become more susceptible to fire damage. She still summons Mite Raknoids as she repeatedly hits the ground, creating an avalanche of ice that can proc Cold. To assist during this phase of battle, choose an invisibility Warframe such as Loki or Ivara for invisibility purposes while choosing one with high damage output or survival mods may help.
At various points in the fight, players can also expect her to launch mortars from her belly-mounted turret. These mortars can hit any Tenno within range and appear as large red circles on the ground. She will occasionally slam her body to the ground disorienting players and inflicting set damage amounts; she may also use her hull flamethrower against nearby Tenno before smashing her head with an impact similar to Ropalolyst boss; however this only occurs if her heat gauge hits 45% or above.
Phase 2
The second phase of the fight becomes increasingly frantic as Exploiter Orb attacks the Tenno from multiple directions, using her hull flamethrower and mortar cannon. It’s crucial that players monitor Exploiter Orb’s heat gauge located on the player HUD to monitor her overheat level; once reached, she becomes vulnerable and open for attack by Exploiter Orb.
Destroying her exposed vents is key to moving to the next stage. Every time she moves, her turret belly reveals four vents; shooting rocks that maintain her footing reveals one and exposes it for fire; once destroyed, the Orb Mother will freeze up her remaining vents, rendering them impassible until she retreats back into Deck 12 center.
Once she returns to the center, she’ll begin overheating again, necessitating players to use Thermia Canisters to destroy any frozen vents remaining. To do this, players need to pick up multiple canisters and press heavy attack to throw them at these vents while still airborne; this should melt the ice covering them faster while also decreasing how many canisters are required for destruction.
An invisible Warframe like Loki or Ivara will be useful here, along with melee attacks from far away to hit targets quickly with melee attacks. Survival mods may also prove essential as the battle will likely be fast-paced.
At the conclusion of this phase, Orb Mother will move back into the center of the room and drop Coolant Raknoids for players to defeat before she slams herself against the ground and causes an avalanche that can trigger Cold. Beating Exploiter Orb will yield components for Hildryn Warframe along with additional Orb Vallis resources and standing apex rewards – this multi-stage boss fight requires careful coordination among player team.
Phase 3
Exploiter Orb will enter an especially frenetic phase during this fight, attacking you frantically from all directions with her hull flamethrower, mortar cannons and Coolant Raknoids as reinforcements. Your goal should be to overheat her until her heat gauge reaches 100%, rendering her susceptible to attack; you can do this by squashing Raknoids that rush in or collecting and throwing Coolant Canisters (which will become Thermia Fractures when thrown).
In this phase, Warframe power should be the centerpiece. An optimal Warframe to utilize in terms of damage output would include Saryn builds with self-heal capabilities or tanky Warframes with high armor – or powerful melee weapons like Inaros which is especially adept at picking off Coolant Raknoids from distance while still dealing heavy damage – are all excellent choices.
At the same time, players must remain wary of an impeding vortex surrounding Exploiter Orb which blocks bullets, projectiles, and some Warframe abilities from entering. Furthermore, this vortex will emit four icicle projectiles which constantly home in on and damage players until they leave its confines.
Once the Overheat Gauge reaches 100%, an Orb will begin to disintegrate and explode, disarming her outer armor and leaving her vulnerable for attack from within by pressing Interact on HUD. When this phase has completed, its core will be reduced and another begins.
This phase is relatively straightforward and does not require as much coordination, though it can still take some time. Players should pick up any Thermia Fractures near the Orb and throw them towards her in order to accelerate her Overheat Gauge as quickly as possible; canisters can be collected midair and thrown towards her as an alternate method. Once overheated, players will be able to remove pieces of her exoskeleton to reveal weak points which can then be exploited with well-placed shots from Warframes.
Phase 4
The Exploiter Orb boss fight is mechanically more challenging than previous stages, as its final phase requires players to cause Mother Orb to overheat until she becomes vulnerable to attack. To accomplish this goal, players need to jump onto her while it overheats and keep shooting its engine until enough damage has been dealt to it.
Once the Orb begins overheating, a new UI widget will appear on the player’s HUD indicating its temperature. The aim is to get it overheated enough so it becomes vulnerable to attack; however, this process usually happens slowly as its target keeps using its hull flamethrower and mortar cannon while calling Coolant Raknoids to counter Tenno efforts.
At this stage of the fight, Tenno should opt for a Warframe with strong defenses or self-heal capability – an Saryn with Defensive Build is ideal but any warframe equipped with a strong shield may do as well.
As well as attacking, it’s vital for players to shoot down the rocks the Exploiter Orb relies upon to maintain its footing during this phase of combat. Once one rock has been shot down, fire can reach one of four vents on Mother Orb’s body for the first time; only destroy one as this allows her to ice up all other three vents, effectively making herself invulnerable for this phase.
At this point, players will need to kill any Coolant Raknoids that come within reach of the Orb. Doing this is crucial as these Coolant Raknoids could kill or slow its overheating by eating away at its energy stores. Furthermore, players should keep an eye out for Thermia Fractures that may spawn and instantly fill a canister when thrown on it – once multiple canisters have been filled they can be used against an Overheated Orb to speed up its overheating!
