How to Get Void Traces in Warframe — Relic Refinement & Best Farm
Relic Refinement Tiers & Costs
| Tier | Void Traces Cost | Rare Drop Chance | Uncommon Drop Chance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intact | Intact | 0 (base) | 2% | 11% |
| Exceptional | Exceptional | 25 traces | 4% | 13% |
| Flawless | Flawless | 50 traces | 6% | 17% |
| Radiant | Radiant | 100 traces | 10% | 20% |
What Are Void Traces and Why Do They Matter?
Void Traces are a special resource earned exclusively through Void Fissure missions. They represent corrupted energy collected from the Void and are used in the Void Relic Refinement process — upgrading your Relics to higher tiers that provide better chances at rare Prime drops. Without Void Traces, you are limited to running Intact Relics with only a 2% chance at the gold-tier rare reward.
The economics of Void Traces are straightforward but important: a Radiant Relic (100 traces invested) gives a 5× improvement in rare drop probability over an Intact Relic. In a squad of 4 players all running Radiant Relics for the same item, you will see the rare drop appear in the reward selection roughly 34% of the time — far better than the near-zero odds of four Intact Relics.
Void Traces are also used to trade Relics you no longer need through the Void Relic Pack rewards. Managing your trace supply carefully — spending only on Relics containing items you actively want — maximizes the return on each farming session.
How to Farm Void Traces in Fissure Missions
Void Traces are collected by killing Corrupted enemies (marked with a glowing fissure symbol) that appear during any active Void Fissure mission. Each corrupted enemy drops 1–3 Reactant. After collecting 10 Reactant during the mission, your Relic cracks and at the end of the mission you earn Void Traces — typically 6–15 per run depending on excess Reactant collected beyond the initial 10.
Fissure missions rotate every few hours and are available across all mission types: Capture, Survival, Defense, Extermination, Excavation, and more. Capture Fissures are the fastest per run (under 2 minutes) but yield fewer total traces per hour due to the low Reactant density. Survival Fissures run longer but generate more total Void Traces because you have extended time to collect Reactant and crack multiple Relics.
For pure Void Trace farming, run Capture Fissures back-to-back. For combined Relic cracking efficiency (getting Prime rewards and building traces simultaneously), run Survival Fissures in squads of 4, each bringing Radiant Relics for the same target item.
Void Trace Cap and Mastery Rank Bonuses
- Base Void Trace cap: 100 traces. This is the maximum for MR 0 players.
- Each Mastery Rank adds 50 additional capacity: MR 1 = 150, MR 5 = 350, MR 10 = 600.
- MR 30 maximum cap: 1,600 Void Traces — enough to Radiant-refine 16 Relics without farming.
- When at cap, any additional Void Traces earned are lost — spend them before running more Fissures.
- Best practice: refine a batch of Relics before each Fissure session to avoid hitting the cap mid-run.
- Traces do not decay, but new traces earned after hitting the cap are simply discarded with no warning.
Radiant Relic Strategy for Rare Primes
The most efficient way to farm a specific rare Prime item is coordinating in a squad where all 4 players bring Radiant versions of the same Relic. With 4 Radiant Relics in the squad, each player's drop pool has a 10% rare chance — and at the end of the mission, all four reward selections are visible to each player. This means you get 4 chances to see the rare reward, roughly a 34% mission-level chance of the rare appearing in your choices.
Recruit for Radiant Relic runs in the in-game Recruiting chat or through the Warframe subreddit's weekly trading thread. List the specific Relic and refinement tier. Well-organized Radiant Relic squads can target specific vaulted Prime parts and collect them within 5–15 runs rather than the 50+ it would take with Intact Relics.
For items that are not vaulted and are in active rotation, Flawless Relics (50 traces) offer a more economical balance. Save your full 100-trace Radiant investment for vaulted or high-demand items where every rare proc is worth significantly more Platinum.
Frequently asked questions
What is the fastest Fissure mission type for Void Traces?
Capture Fissures are the fastest individual runs but yield fewer traces per hour because the mission ends quickly and there are fewer Corrupted enemies to kill for Reactant. Survival Fissures run longer and allow multiple Relic cracks per mission (one per 5 minutes), generating more total traces per hour for dedicated farmers.
Can I increase my Void Trace cap?
The cap increases automatically with your Mastery Rank — each MR level adds 50 trace capacity. There are no other methods to increase the cap beyond ranking up. The maximum cap is 1,600 traces at MR 30.
Should I always use Radiant Relics?
Not always. Radiant Relics cost 100 traces each, which is significant. Use Radiant only when targeting specific vaulted or high-value rare drops. For common or cheap items, Intact or Flawless Relics are more trace-efficient. The extra cost is justified only when the rare item is worth more Platinum than the traces spent to acquire it.
Can Void Traces be traded to other players?
No. Void Traces are account-bound and cannot be traded. They can only be earned through Fissure missions and spent at the Void Relic Refinement station.
What happens if I do not collect 10 Reactant in a Fissure mission?
If you fail to collect all 10 Reactant before the mission ends, your Relic does not crack and you earn no Prime rewards or Void Traces for that run. Always prioritize Reactant collection, especially in mobile missions like Capture where the Corrupted enemies can be sparse.
Sources & verification
Continue this guide path
- ›Warframe Resource Farming Guide — Best Locations for Common & Rare MaterialsWarframe requires dozens of different resources for crafting. This guide maps every key resource to its best farming location and method, from common Nano Spores to rare Orokin Cells.
- ›Warframe Mastery Rank Guide — How to Level Up Fast & MR BenefitsMastery Rank reflects your cumulative experience across all Warframes, weapons, and companions. This guide explains how to level it fast, what MR unlocks at each tier, and the best XP farms.
- ›How to Farm Platinum in Warframe — Trading Relics, Mods & Prime PartsPlatinum is Warframe's premium currency, but you can earn it for free by trading Prime parts, Rivens, and rare mods with other players. Here is exactly how to do it.
- ›Warframe Beginner's Guide — Starting Warframes, Star Chart & First HoursEverything new Tenno need to know: choosing your starter Warframe, navigating the Star Chart, understanding mission types, and what to prioritize in your first hours of Warframe.