• Guide

How to get the Catalyzing Shields mod - Warframe

The Catalyzing Shields mod is your secret to a longer life.

Aidan O'Brien

December 31, 2024 3:39 AM

Digital Extremes

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The Catalyzing Shields mod in Warframe will sacrifice some of your maximum shield values in order to get access to maximum shield gating. This is an important strategy for some Warframes in the game to increase their survivability in the tougher content that makes up the end game.

How to get the Catalyzing Shields mod in Warframe

To get the Catalyzing Shields mod, you will need to complete an Orokin Vault in an Orokin Derelict mission. These can be found on Deimos nodes, excluding Hyf, Magancidium, Exequias, and the Cambion Drift. I'm going to assume a degree of familiarity around Derelict Vaults here, but for those who need it, check the full guide on the best way to run these quickly, as they can be pretty challenging if you are new to the game and don't possess knowledge of the overall mechanics. 

Why use Catalyzing Shields?

Catalyzing Shields is a good way to add survivability to caster Warframes. While you do sacrifice a lot of your actual shield value, you gain 1.33 seconds of invulnerability after those shields break. So, you will end up with Catalyzing Shields at full rank, with only 20% of your maximum shield value but a 1.33-second window of invulnerability. The trick to this build is to turn that lower overall shield value into a benefit, not a downside.

This small window of invulnerability can then be used to take advantage of a mod like Brief Respite or the Augur Set, which will convert a percentage of energy used for abilities into shield energy. Building correctly will mean that you can get your shields cracked, enjoy 1.33 seconds of invulnerability to cast an ability that will fully refill your shields due to the Brief Respite or Augur mods converting the energy used, and then have your shields fully back when the invulnerability ends, once again granting you the same safety window. 

As such, you will want a build that can turn energy spent into shields, have a good energy supply in general, and fit the Catalyzing Shields mod, which makes it pretty much perfect for spam-caster builds.

If you found this guide useful, be sure to check out our Warframe page for more helpful guides.

Aidan O'Brien

Contributing Guides Editor

Hailing from Ireland, Aidan has been conditioned by local weather conditions to survive hours at his PC grinding through whatever game is offering the lowest possible drop rates for loot. He thinks the easiest way to figure out what fans of games want to read is to just be a fan of games. You can normally find him logged into Warframe, Destiny, or a gacha game. You can reach out to him on X @scannerbarkly.