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The Sacrifice Quest Walkthrough (2026): Every Stage, the Umbra Hunt and Every Choice
Ten stages, three Umbra hunts, and the only Warframe that fights on its own
Last Updated on September 12, 2026
The short answer
The Sacrifice pays Excalibur Umbra, the Skiajati and the three Umbral mods pre-installed, and it is the best quest in the game. Ten stages: the helmet in your quarters, a scanner hunt on Earth, two Memory Ciphers on Lua, then three Operator chases where you strip Umbra’s shields with Void Beam, stun him with Void Sling and Transference into his memories, before Ballas on Earth. Solo, and bring a scanner for Lith.
Reviewed September 12, 2026, current through Update 43.5. Stage names and order checked against the official wiki; this page is re-checked after every major patch.
| Quest facts | |
|---|---|
| Needs | Apostasy Prologue; Codex or Synthesis Scanner |
| Start | Start this quest in the Codex. |
| Time | 60 to 90 minutes |
| Squad | Solo |
| Pays | Excalibur Umbra; Skiajati; Excalibur Umbra blueprint; 60 Kuva |
| Opens | Excalibur Umbra and the Umbral and Sacrificial mods; Chimera Prologue and Prelude to War |
| Line | Main story |
Table of Contents
What you need first
| Requirement | Why |
|---|---|
| Apostasy Prologue | It starts where the prologue ends. |
| Codex or Synthesis Scanner | Five traces on Lith need one equipped. |
Bring
- Codex Scanner
- Synthesis Scanner
Stage by stage
- Examine Lotus's Helmet: Examine the Lotus's helmet in the Orbiter's Personal Quarters.
- Investigate Sentient Energy: Lith, Earth: Follow the waypoint, destroy the vines on the Orokin door, and use a scanner to find traces of the Warframe in the courtyard. Watch: Ensure you have a Codex Scanner or Synthesis Scanner equipped to find all five traces.
- Explore Lua: Pavlov, Lua: Solve two Orokin Memory Ciphers by matching symbol pairs and extract with the Vitruvian tablet. Watch: The game will show the symbol sequences for the ciphers; you do not need to memorize them.
- Insert Vitruvian: Insert the Vitruvian into the designated area in the Orbiter.
- Build Umbra: Build Excalibur Umbra in the Foundry.
- Equip Umbra: Attempt to equip Excalibur Umbra in the Arsenal.
- Search for Umbra: Nuovo, Ceres: Track Excalibur Umbra, stun him with Void Sling, and use Transference to access his memory. Watch: Excalibur Umbra is immune to Warframe damage; use Void Sling to stun him.
- Pursue Umbra: Triton, Neptune: Track Excalibur Umbra, shoot down his shields with Void Beam, stun him with Void Sling, and use Transference to access his memory. Watch: Excalibur Umbra's attacks can damage the Operator in Void Mode; his shields must be removed before stunning.
- Confront Umbra: Tycho, Lua: Shoot down Excalibur Umbra's shields with Void Beam, stun him with Void Sling, and use Transference to access his final memory. Watch: The Operator is alone in this mission.
- Return to Earth: Lith, Earth: Confront Ballas in the courtyard, defeat Sentients, and interact with Ballas.
Choices and what they change
- Wrath, Acceptance or Emptiness after the sync; three Ordis recording lines; three Ballas taunts. All alignment flavour, none change the ending.
Rewards
| Reward | From | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Excalibur Umbra | Confront Umbra | Arrives at rank 30 with Umbral Intensify, Fiber and Vitality installed |
| Skiajati | With Umbra | The nikana that turns you invisible on finishers |
| Excalibur Umbra blueprint | Insert Vitruvian | The blueprint stage before the hunts |
| 60 Kuva | Lua extraction | Small |
Frames in this quest
Excalibur UmbraReward| Frame | Role | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Excalibur Umbra | Reward | Fights on his own while you are in Operator mode; the only frame that does. |
Weapons in this quest
SkiajatiReward| Weapon | Why |
|---|---|
| Skiajati | Comes with Umbra. |
Tips that save runs
- Umbra is immune to Warframe damage. Operator only: Void Beam the shields off, Void Sling to stun, then Transference.
- The cipher symbols are shown on screen; match pairs, no memory test.
- Umbral mods cost a lot of capacity; Umbra ships with a Reactor, but plan Forma if you want all three plus a build.
Mistakes that waste runs
- Shooting Umbra with guns for ten minutes.
- Missing traces on Lith because no scanner was equipped.
What it unlocks
- Excalibur Umbra and the Umbral and Sacrificial mods
- Chimera Prologue and Prelude to War
Where it sits
Before it: Apostasy Prologue. After it: Chimera Prologue. The full order is on the quest hub.