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Warframe can be a hard game once you unlock the Steel Path difficulty, and it’s only fair to gravitate towards some of the easiest ways to become powerful. One of the simplest and most accessible ways to do this is through the Eclipse ability which you can put in any Warframe’s ability pool. It’s a massive boost in both survivability and damage, and we’ll explain why with our Warframe Eclipse guide along with how to use this ability.
How Does Eclipse Work
The official description for Eclipse is as follows:
- “Standing in light, Mirage (or any Warframe) deals heavy damage, while the shadows make Mirage difficult to track and even harder to hurt.”
The description is a little vague and lacks technicalities. At max rank, Eclipse on Mirage lets you deal a default of 200 percent maximum damage bonus if you stand in natural light (sunlight or moonlight) while giving 75 percent maximum damage reduction if you’re standing in the shadows or in areas devoid of natural light.
You can only have one or the other, not both buffs at the same time. This depends heavily on the current map as some mission areas in Warframe are basked in natural light while others are underground or indoors. Moreover, the damage bonus (but not the damage reduction) is affected by Ability Strength and can go as high as 800 percent.
It’s also worth noting that this percentage is proportional to the intensity of light or shadow. For example, if the light source isn’t as strong, you might not receive the full default 200 percent damage bonus; or if the shadow isn’t that dark, you won’t get the full default 75 percent damage reduction. Light source intensity matters a lot for Eclipse.
This will change later as the developers are still experimenting with a rework and they might make Eclipse a toggle Ability that no longer depends on light source.
Eclipse’s Damage Buff is Huge
Most players want Eclipse for its damage bonus. A 200+ percent damage bonus is huge, but it only applies to weapons and not Warframe Abilities. Still, it’s a game-changing buff especially when paired with Kuva, Tenet, or Incarnon weapons
So as much as possible, try to stay in the light while using Eclipse as the damage reduction aspect is somewhat negligible.
How to Get Eclipse on All Your Warframes
Originally, Eclipse was only available to Mirage, a Warframe that specializes in illusions and crowd control. However, thanks to the Helminth module and update, you can now extract Mirage’s Eclipse and transfer it to other Warframes (this will replace one of the abilities). Here’s a step-by-step on how to get Eclipse.
- Finish the Heart of Deimos quest.
- Rank up to Rank 3 – Associate in the Entrati Syndicate.
- Go to Son and purchase the Helminth Segment blueprint.
- Craft the Helminth Segment and then place it on Helminth in your Orbiter ship.
- Feed a non-prime Mirage to Helminth to extract Eclipse (you can do this by equipping Mirage and heading to Helminth).
- You now have a subsumed Eclipse, which you can put on any Warframe.
Note that a subsumed Eclipse gives a lower damage bonus compared to how Mirage uses it, but it can still go astonishingly high depending on your Ability Strength.
