Junction Guardians are Warframe Specters that block access to new planets, serving as mandatory solo challenges before progressing through the Star Chart.
Each guardian represents a specific Warframe and uses its abilities along with preset weapons, making every Junction encounter slightly different.
Defeating them is required to unlock the next system, granting access to new missions, resources, and progression milestones.
All Junction Guardians and Their Locations
The following is a list of all the Junction Guardians, as well as the Junctions they can be found in, along with the weapons that they use.
Volt Specter
- Junction: Venus
- Weapons: Magnus, Heat Sword
Rhino Specter
- Junction: Mercury
- Weapons: Soma, Dual Raza
Loki Specter
- Junction: Mars
- Weapons: Burston, Boltace
Mag Specter
- Junction: Phobos
- Weapons: Hikou, Tipedo
Trinity Specter
- Junction: Ceres
- Weapons: Paris, Cadus
Valkyr Specter
- Junction: Jupiter
- Weapons: Afuris, Anku
Nova Specter
- Junction: Europa
- Weapons: Kunai, Ether Daggers
Ember Specter
- Junction: Saturn
- Weapons: Magnus, Heat Sword
Equinox Specter
- Junction: Uranus
- Weapons: Boltor, Shaku
Frost Specter
- Junction: Neptune
- Weapons: Tigris, Sibear
Excalibur Specter
- Junction: Pluto
- Weapons: Braton Vandal, Dual Skana
Mesa Specter
- Junction: Eris
- Weapons: Regulators, Redeemer
Saryn Specter
- Junction: Sedna
- Weapons: Komorex, Karyst
How To Challenge Junction Guardians?
To challenge a Junction Guardian, first select the junction you want to complete, which will teleport you to the area where the Specter awaits.
Once inside the facility, approach the terminal and interact with it to initiate the fight, removing any barriers and signaling the start of combat.
This process is repeated for each junction, with a different Specter guarding each one, ensuring that every encounter offers a unique challenge.
How to Defeat Junction Guardians?
Once you select a junction and arrive, make your way to the nearby terminal, and you may interact with it to confront the specter.
This will remove the barrier blocking your path and allow you to proceed to where the Junction Guardian will be waiting for you.
Just as you would with almost any other enemy, fighting the Junction Guardian can be done by simply attacking it and will require no further phases.
Keep in mind that Specters may use different weapons and abilities, so make sure you be careful when facing them and make sure you are well-equipped.
Continue attacking the Junction Guardian (Specter) until all its health has been depleted, and proceed with extracting from the Junction.
Junction Guardians Weaknesses
Junction Guardians share the same weaknesses that Warframes have, which include different weaknesses and resistances based on their type of armor.
Flesh
- Weak Against: Slash, Gas, Viral
- Strong Against: Impact, Gas
Shield
- Weak Against: Impact, Cold, Magnetic
- Strong Against: Puncture, Radiation
Ferrite Armor
- Weak Against: Puncture, Corrosive
- Strong Against: Slash, Blast
Junction Guardians Drops
Defeating a Junction Guardian does not directly provide any drops or rewards, but instead, completing the set of tasks for each Junction will reward you.
The rewards for each Junction can be viewed when you are checking the Junction, and the same goes for the objectives that need to be completed.
Tips
- Upgrade your mods before attempting a Junction, as properly ranked damage and survivability mods make these one-on-one fights significantly easier.
- Use crowd control or burst damage abilities early, since Specters can aggressively use Warframe powers and quickly overwhelm unprepared players.
- Stay mobile and avoid standing still, especially against Specters like Mesa or Excalibur that can deal heavy damage in short bursts.
- Focus on eliminating their shields first with Magnetic or Impact damage, then switch to stronger health-targeting damage types to finish the fight faster.
Verdict
Junction Guardians are designed as skill checks that test your build quality and understanding of basic combat mechanics before advancing further.
While they can feel difficult for newer players, they become much easier once you improve your mods and learn how Specter abilities function.
Overall, these encounters are short, direct duels that mark clear progression milestones as you move from one planetary system to the next.
