How to find a Progenitor in Warframe

Without a Progenitor, you can never get your hands on some of Warframe’s most powerful, destructive weapons. They can be tricky to pin down, but fortunately, I own most of the weapons in question and can explain how you can find one of these tricky enemies.

Where to find a Progenitor in Warframe

To interact at all with Warframe’s Nemesis (Kuva Lich/Sister) system, you must first turn a Progenitor into a Kuva Lich (Grineer) or Sister of Parvo (Corpus). This is done by ‘killing’ a Progenitor and stabbing him with your Parazon. The next time this Progenitor appears, he will have a name, a staple Element (based on the Warframe you used to kill it), and a serious attitude for you to adjust. More importantly, though, successfully killing this empowered Progenitor will yield a powerful weapon with bonus Elemental damage tied to the Element the Lich/Sister was.

Now, where exactly can you find a Progenitor to begin this process? Despite how difficult they seem to find, they are quite easy to cast out of the shadows. I’ll break down the process for both the Grineer and Corpus.

Grineer Progenitor – Kuva Larvling

To spawn a Kuva Larvling, you must first have completed The War Within main quest. Afterward, any Grineer mission that spawns level 20 or higher enemies will have a chance to spawn a Kuva Larvling. During any normal Grineer mission, if your screen begins to flash, you must slay 10 enemies within one minute for a guaranteed appearance of a Kuva Larvling. I’ve found Capture Missions on the Grineer Asteroid tileset the easiest mission type for spawning Kuva Larvlings, as you will have a near-infinite source of enemies coming after you even after you’ve completed the objective.

Once one has spawned for you, slay it and stab it with your Parazon to turn it into a Kuva Lich.

Corpus Progenitor – Candidate

Corpus Candidates are a bit more difficult to summon only because their requirements are a bit more strict. To spawn a Candidate, you must use a Zenith Granum Crown on any Corpus Ship mission and then reach Rank 1 rewards during the challenge. Kill the Corpus Treasurers that spawn to obtain Zenith Crowns. You must then use the Crown on a Gold Hand Tribute statue. Additionally, you must have completed The War Within and Call of the Temperstarii questlines before one can spawn for you.

If you’ve managed to get this far, then the process for dealing with a Candidate is the same as with the Kuva Larvling. Slay it and stab it with your Parazon to turn it into a Sister of Parvo.

What is a Progenitor Warframe?

The last piece of the puzzle is the Warframe you use to kill a Kuva Larvling or Candidate. As I mentioned, the Element the resulting Kuva Lich or Sister of Parvo will have depends entirely on which Warframe you used to slay it, thus a Progenitor Warframe. If you’re looking for a specific element from one of the weapons a Lich or Sister drops, ensure to kill their premature forms with the correct Warframe.

• Heat – Chroma, Ember, Inaros, Jade, Kullervo, Nezha, Protea, Vauban, Wisp
• Electricity – Banshee, Caliban, Excalibur, Gyre, Limbo, Nova, Valkyr, Volt
• Cold – Frost, Gara, Hildryn, Koumei, Revenant, Styanax, Titania, Trinity
• Impact – Baruuk, Dante, Gauss, Grendel, Rhino, Sevaogth, Wukong, Zephyr
• Toxin – Atalas, Dagath, Ivara, Khora, Nekros, Nidus, Oberon, Saryn
• Magnetic – Citrine, Harrow, Hydroid, Lavos, Mag, Mesa, Xaku, Yareli
• Radiation – Ash, Equinox, Garuda, Loki, Mirage, Nyx, Octavia, Qorvex, Voruna