Lotus Dialogue: Invasions
The Corpus and Grineer are fighting for control of this planet. Choose one faction to represent in the conflict. Your faction will fight with you as you exterminate the enemy forces.
This mission can be repeated until one faction has completely taken control. If enough missions for the same faction are completed, they may see fit to grant you battle pay. Battle Pay can only be earned for a single faction.
Information for progress of the conflict can be found on the Star Chart. Once a faction wins enough battles, the conflict will end.
Ever since the Gradivus Dilemma, the Grineer and Corpus have occasionally launched invasions of each other's territory. When they do, each side will recruit lone Tenno to fight for them, to cripple the enemy or to fend off the invaders. All Tenno who wish to participate need only choose a side, and they will be rewarded for their services.
Invasions may break out across a Grineer- or Corpus-held planet at any time (except Earth). Invasions often start with only one or two nodes, but may spread if those battles are won by the invading faction. On each contested node, the Tenno may choose to support either the invading or defending side.
Each side will offer battle pay; the battle pay is specific to the Starchart node and will not change during the conflict. The Tenno must complete the battle three times for a specific faction to earn the battle pay; switching sides will erode any support earned, and a Tenno cannot earn both factions' battle pay. The battle will be decided by the cumulative efforts of all Tenno participating, and battle pay will only be paid out once the conflict ends. Battle pay may consist of resources, Wraith and Vandal weapon parts, Mutalist Alad V nav coordinates, or in rare cases, Orokin technology such as Forma or Orokin Catalysts. Battle pay is paid out no matter who wins the conflict.
The mission type of each battle does not depend on the underlying node, and will rotate every 15 minutes. When in battle, the Tenno will fight alongside troops of their chosen faction, against the troops of the opposing faction.
If the defending faction is victorious on a contested node, it will return to normal. If the invading faction is victorious, they will occupy the node for 24 hours, and any missions run on the node will feature them as the enemy faction. Occupying forces will also contribute towards a Construction Status meter, tracked on the World State Window, that will eventually create a Balor Fomorian or Razorback Armada to threaten one of the Tenno Relays.
If the Tenno complete 5 battles in support of the Corpus, they will be targeted for retaliation by the Grustrag Three. If the Tenno complete 5 battles in support of the Grineer, they will be targeted for retaliation by the Zanuka Hunter. Any Tenno so targeted has a chance to be attacked by the specified field boss during normal missions. Completing additional battles can earn additional "death marks".
The Infested can also launch invasions. These will spread to nearby nodes much quicker than Grineer or Corpus invasions. The Tenno can choose to support the defending faction; there is no option to side with the Infested. Infested invasions use a similar interface; Tenno must defend a node three times in order to earn battle pay. The mission types that can be seen in Infested invasions are restricted to Defence, Exterminate, Mobile Defence, or Survival. When the invasion reaches the Assassination mission of a planet, the mission will be an Assassination against Phorid. Like other invasions, the Tenno will fight alongside the troops of their supporting faction.
Although invasions may use a variety of mission types, the following dialogue lines only apply to invasions taking place on the Grineer Galleon or Corpus Ship tilesets, and only when the mission type is Exterminate (in accordance with the events that introduced invasions). In all other cases, the Lotus will use the mission dialogue normally seen.
Mission start
(Grineer) "Make sure the Grineer win this battle. Leave no Corpus functioning."
(Grineer) "You are fighting alongside the Grineer on this mission. Destroy all Corpus."
(Grineer) "You have chosen to support the Grineer in this fight. Eliminate all Corpus."
(Corpus) "Your sense of duty compels you to help The Corpus today. Destroy all Grineer forces to help maintain the balance."
(Corpus) "The situation forces you to help The Corpus in this mission. Kill all Grineer."
(Corpus) "You are fighting with The Corpus in this battle. No Grineer can be left alive."
During mission
"This aggression has upset the balance of power. We must set things right."
"Supporting the enemy feels wrong, but keeping the balance requires tough choices. "
"Picking sides is never easy. You are doing what you feel is right."
Game mode history
Invasions were introduced in Update 10.5 with the Gradivus Dilemma. During that event, Mars (which was held by the Corpus at the time) came under attack by the Grineer, with every node except War being invaded, some multiple times. Each invasion battle was an Exterminate mission on the Grineer Galleon and Corpus Ship tilesets, and 5 missions had to be completed on each node to earn battle pay. At the conclusion of the event, Mars had fully come under permanent Grineer control.
Infested invasions were introduced in Update 11 with the Hunt for Alad V. This event, like the Gradivus Dilemma, was restricted to Exterminate missions on the Corpus Ship tileset, with 5 missions required to earn battle pay from the Corpus.
Invasion missions (including Infested invasions) were added to the game permanently in Update 11.3. This also introduced the Zanuka Harvester proxy that targeted Tenno who supported the Grineer, although this was undocumented. In Update 11.5, invasions were changed to require 3 missions instead of 5 to earn battle pay. Update 11.6 added a "momentum" to invasions so that the winning faction increased its percentage unless counteracted by Tenno participation, in order to eliminate long stalemates. The Grustrag Three were added in Update 12.3, hunting Tenno who supported the Corpus.
In Update 19, invasions were given a bit of an overhaul, with the Construction Status meter added, the mission type rotating every 15 minutes, and the Wraith and Vandal weapon parts being added to the battle pay reward pools.