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Zanuka Hunter

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Zanuka Hunter
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Captures Warframes
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Statistics
8.66%
--  ++  ++
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Level Scaling
1
500
Selected Level
EHP
657.89
––
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Miscellaneous
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Drops
 Detron Blueprint 17.65%
Scimitar Avionics Blueprint 17.65%
 Zanuka Sigil 100.00%
1x  Anti Violet Pigment 100.00%
Other Drops
 Detron Barrel 32.35%
 Detron Receiver 32.35%
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Tenno? Can you hear me? You've been a naughty little betrayer, haven't you?
For the Boss, see Zanuka.


The Zanuka Hunter, formerly known as the Harvester, is a gray-colored Zanuka proxy controlled by Alad V. During missions, it will attack one targeted Tenno until either the Tenno or Zanuka Hunter dies. It appears rarely, in a manner similar to the Stalker. Triggering a Zanuka Hunter attack requires a player to have a Death Mark, acquired by fighting against the Corpus across five Invasion missions, or it can be summoned by using a Zanuka Hunter Beacon. Active Death Marks can be seen on a player's profile.


Players who have acquired a death-mark will receive an inbox message from Alad V. The text of the message reads:

  • "Thank you for volunteering for the Zanuka Project, you will make a fine addition to my collection."

Any subsequently acquired death-marks will have a different inbox message from Alad V that instead reads:

  • "Thank you for your continued interest in the Zanuka Project. A member of our staff will assist you shortly..."


The Zanuka Hunter only spawns in Corpus missions (supporting the Grineer during invasions against Corpus is considered a Corpus mission, and any mission where Corpus invades as a faction war). The Zanuka Hunter spawn chance rises +0.5 additively with each player in the party with a death-mark.

The Zanuka Hunter's spawning is announced by flickering lights, much like the Stalker's appearance. Also, your screen will become desaturated and your Warframe will flicker with light.

Taunts[edit | edit source]

The Zanuka Hunter has most of its speech represented by Alad V. Here is the list of his phrases:

Deploying[edit | edit source]

  • "..."

During Fight[edit | edit source]

  • "Tenno? Can you hear me? You've been a naughty little betrayer, haven't you? Did you really think your support for the Grineer would go unnoticed?
  • "This is really for your own good, Tenno. Help me, help you... help me! (Laughs)"
  • "That is just the sort of behavior I just can't let go uncorrected. Otherwise, you'll never learn.

Player Captured[edit | edit source]

  • "Good job, Zanuka. This Tenno's bones will make you a fine sibling."

Zanuka Defeated[edit | edit source]

  • "Zanuka? NO! What have you monsters done to my beautiful creature? I won't forget this!"

Abilities[edit | edit source]

Zanuka Hunter's main weapon is a plasma gun, similar to a MOA's. Its fire rate is much higher than a MOA, however, and its projectiles travel very accurately and quickly. The Zanuka Hunter is also capable of deploying a Frost Bomb. Any Tenno caught in the blast radius will take damage and suffer an immediate and lasting  Cold proc, making it significantly easier for the Hunter to hit them.

The Zanuka Hunter has a huge amount of shields and health. As of Update 18.5 (2016-03-04), it is immune to all hard crowd control abilities like  Mag's  Pull or  Excalibur's  Radial Blind. However, it can still be affected by abilities similar to  Frost's  Snow Globe and  Nova's  Molecular Prime.

Should a Tenno attempt to run during combat, the Zanuka Hunter will either teleport to them or teleport the Tenno back into the same area. Alternatively, the Zanuka Hunter will catch up with them as it is very agile and can traverse through obstacles as well as a Tenno, capable of parkour feats.[1]

If the Zanuka Hunter manages to lower its target's health to a low enough point, it will pin the target down and capture it, abruptly ending the mission. The captured targets will then immediately be transferred to the Recovery mission.

Recovery Mission[edit | edit source]

Main article: Recovery

When a player is defeated and captured by the Zanuka Hunter, they will be automatically transferred to a hidden mission which requires the player to locate and collect their confiscated weapons and escape from the Zanuka Project facility in the Corpus Gas City in Jupiter.

This mission has been implemented since Hotfix 11.7.3 (2014-01-17). If the mission is failed or aborted, the player will not be able to use their captured equipment until the mission is successfully completed. See the main article for more details.

In the scenario where the quest does not automatically start, you can start it by going in your Arsenal and double clicking any captured Warframe or weapon.

Notes[edit | edit source]

  • As of Hotfix 11.5.5 (2013-12-31), the Zanuka Hunter has a chance to drop the components of the  Detron.
    • A poem left by the Hotfix notes states: "…Perhaps a Detron can be secured if a Harvester is Procured? But beware, if it’s the Detron you seek, the New Harvester is not for the weak! No one is safe." Detron Screenshot
  • The Zanuka Hunter is also considered hostile by Corpus proxies and units, suggesting that Alad V, the Zanuka Hunter's summoner, is already a Corpus outcast.
  • Like the Stalker and The Grustrag Three, the Zanuka Hunter used to have its own soundtrack.
  • The Zanuka Hunter, prior to Update 13, has its own codex entry entitled "Harvester".
    • The Zanuka Hunter's health bar labels it as Zanuka. Scanning it does not count towards Zanuka's codex scans, however.
  • The Zanuka Hunter is guaranteed to drop a Detron component, and has a doubled spawn chance.
    • The blueprint has the form of a purple orb, while the components have the form of a module.
  • During solo play, players are not immediately killed. Instead, they are downed much like in team play. It is possible to kill the Zanuka Hunter during this time with your secondary weapon, stopping it from capturing you.
    • You will still bleed out as normal when the timer reaches 0.
  • As of Update 14.0 (2014-07-18), the Zanuka Hunter appears to have an ability similar to Stalker's Dispel: the Hunter can cancel certain Warframe abilities, such as  Banish, and depending on the circumstance this will also teleport the player into close range with the Hunter.

Tips[edit | edit source]

  • The Zanuka Hunter has a 1.5% chance of spawning for marked players on Corpus missions within the first four minutes. Each additional marked player in the squad increases the chances by 0.5%. Upon spawning, one marked player will have their mark removed, much like the Grustrag Three. Running additional invasion missions for the Grineer is also a good way to find the Zanuka Hunter as the chance is doubled after getting the mail for that invasion.
  • To gain the mark, complete a set of invasion missions resulting in battle pay. You should get mail from Alad V thanking you for volunteering for the Zanuka project. You may still have the mark even if you do not get the mail.
  • Despite being immune to crowd control moves (or, at least, some of them), the Zanuka Hunter is still vulnerable to knockdown, allowing a player wielding a melee weapon with a knockdown AoE slam effect of moderate size (e.g. the  Obex) or playing Nekros and using  Soul Punch to knock down the Zanuka Hunter, shoot it for a while, then knock it down again (with the only problem being reloading). This allows for easy-to-get Detron component or blueprint, with minimal damage dealt to player (a real plus for players who: A. do not have very high-quality weapons; B. are leveling a new weapon/Warframe, or C. are going solo on a mission).
  •  Trinity's  Energy Vampire ability can stun lock the Hunter, making even a solo encounter trivial.
  •  Ivara's Sleep Arrows also work on the Hunter,  Prowl, however, does not.
  •  Ash's augment mod  Fatal Teleport will allow you to trivialize an encounter via high damage finisher attacks, just as it does when facing Zanuka during the Alad V assassination.
  •  Khora's augment mod  Pilfering Strangledome works on Zanuka Hunter even though it is not immobilized by the ability. It can make the Hunter drop two parts and/or blueprints.

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • When first introduced, it was Zanuka itself (with partner-dependent shields and Warframe abilities). Alad V's dialogue still refers to the Zanuka Hunter as such.

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Patch History[edit | edit source]

Update 37.0 (2024-10-02)

  • Fixed a long hitch/freeze that occurred whenever the player was downed into a revival state by Zanuka.
  • Fixed a rare issue where your entire Loadout would change after getting captured by Zanuka.

Hotfix 32.2.9 (2023-01-11)

  • Fixed the Zanuka Hunter not capturing you and bringing you into the recovery mission if Last Gasp is active.
    • Also reduced the length of the fade that occurs during the capture to fix Alad V’s transmission getting obscured.

Hotfix 25.3.2 (2019-07-12)

Zanuka Harvest Changes & Fixes:

Hotfix 25.1.2 (2019-06-12)

  • Fixed ability to briefly stand up / move around after being captured by Zanuka.

Update 25.1 (2019-06-05)

  • Fixed Zanuka being unable to capture Hildryn, Wisp, Revenant, Chroma, Frost, Excalibur, Inaros, Nova, Vauban, Volt, Wukong, Ash, Hydroid, Mag, Trinity, Titania and Valkyr.

See also[edit | edit source]

  •  Detron, the weapon dropped by the Zanuka Hunter.
  • Alad V, the controller of the Zanuka Hunter.
  • Zanuka, a Corpus proxy that the Zanuka Hunter is based on.
  • Zanuka Hunter Beacon, an item used to guarantee this assassin's appearance.

References[edit | edit source]