How to unlock Helminth in Warframe

To unlock the Helminth ability system in Warframe, reach Mastery Rank 8 and Entrati Rank 3, then obtain the Helminth Segment blueprint from Son in the Necralisk on Deimos. Build the segment and install it in your Orbiter's Helminth room. Opening that room to remove a cyst is a separate interaction; the crafted segment unlocks ability customisation.

This route covers the system introduced with Heart of Deimos on 25 August 2020, including the revised Entrati rank-up requirements from The Old Peace on 10 December 2025. Follow it on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch and Switch 2. Start with the base Helminth Segment, even when your immediate aim is fitting Archon Shards.

Finish Heart of Deimos and reach Mastery Rank 8

Begin Heart of Deimos from the Codex or Quests menu after receiving Loid's message, then finish the quest. Completion opens full access to the Cambion Drift's Bounties and the Necralisk's activities. Use that hub for the Entrati progression below, rather than looking for the segment as a reward attached to the quest's final mission.

Check your account's Mastery Rank before working towards the purchase. You need Mastery Rank 8; levelling an individual Warframe to rank 30 fills a different progression track. On PC, our Mastery Rank test and retry instructions explain how to advance the account rank when you have earned the required points.

Raise the Entrati to Rank 3

Take Bounties from Mother to earn Mother Tokens, then redeem tokens for Entrati Standing with Grandmother. You can collect more tokens than your daily Standing allowance, so keep the excess for later redemption. Manage your Entrati rank with Mother and check each rank-up's requested items before exchanging away your supplies.

For the Rank 3 promotion, bring three Sly Vulpaphyla Tags, three Vizier Predasite Tags, one Son Token and one Mother Token, alongside the required Standing. These replaced the older Common Avichaea and Medjay Predasite tag requirements. Once Rank 3 is reached, visit Son, the family's conservation vendor, and obtain the blueprint named Helminth Segment. Keep enough Standing available for the purchase after ranking up.

Build the base Helminth Segment

Use this checklist for the base segment's Foundry recipe. Keep the animal-tag names separate: the Purple Velocipod Tags needed here are different from the Vulpaphyla and Predasite tags used for your Entrati promotion.

For Velocipod conservation, use a Tranq Rifle on the creatures roaming the Cambion Drift. Check that the tags you collect are Purple Velocipod Tags before leaving. Once you have the recipe's materials, start the build and allow 24 hours. Claim the finished segment, return to the Helminth room in your Orbiter and install it there.

If the room still offers only cyst removal, check the base segment's build and installation before spending more resources. Owning the blueprint is the start of the process; you still need to claim the finished item and install it. Use the recipe name above to distinguish it from a later upgrade.

Check which Helminth function you have unlocked

After installation, use the Equipment pause menu's Helminth Infirmary fast travel to return. The ability system lets you feed resources to create Secretions for customisation. Take care with Subsume: it permanently consumes the selected base Warframe. Infusing an ability is reversible, so distinguish changing a loadout from sacrificing a Warframe before confirming either action.

If you are holding a Helminth Archon Shard Segment from Veilbreaker, install the base Helminth Segment first. The Archon Shard upgrade depends on it. Son's Helminth Invigoration Segment is another separate upgrade, used for temporary weekly buffs. Check the full item name whenever you return to a blueprint: the base segment opens ability customisation, while those additional segments add their own functions.