Can Helios Use a Synthesis Scanner

If you've spent time playing Warframe, you've likely asked yourself: can Helios use a Synthesis Scanner? It's one of the most common questions new and returning players bring to forums and communities, and the answer has a few important nuances worth understanding. Helios is the robotic sentinel companion renowned for its scanning capabilities, and pairing it correctly with the right scanner tool can dramatically speed up your in-game research progress. Whether you're grinding Simaris standing or completing a Synthesis target, understanding how Helios interacts with the Synthesis Scanner is essential knowledge for any dedicated Tenno.

This guide breaks down exactly how Helios functions with the Synthesis Scanner, what precepts you need equipped, the limitations involved, and how to maximize your scanning efficiency in every mission type. We'll also compare Helios scanning against manual methods so you can decide which approach fits your playstyle best.

What Is the Synthesis Scanner?

The Synthesis Scanner is a specialized scanning device available in Warframe, obtainable through Cephalon Simaris located in the Relay. Unlike the standard Codex Scanner — which catalogs enemy data in your in-game database — the Synthesis Scanner serves a far more specific purpose: it contributes to Simaris's ongoing research by synthesizing biological and mechanical lifeforms. Each successful synthesis earns you Simaris Standing, the currency used to purchase unique mods, arcanes, and cosmetics from his offerings.

The scanner has limited charges and must be refilled either by purchasing more from Simaris or using the Synthesis Scanner Converter, an arcane that gives you a chance to convert Codex Scanner charges into Synthesis Scanner charges. Managing your charges efficiently becomes a real concern during extended farming sessions.

Synthesis Scanner vs. Codex Scanner

At a surface level, both scanners seem to do the same thing — you aim at an enemy and scan them. However, the differences are meaningful. The Codex Scanner fills your Codex with enemy data, revealing weaknesses, resistances, and lore entries. The Synthesis Scanner, on the other hand, contributes directly to Simaris Standing and is the only scanner that can synthesize designated Synthesis Targets. Synthesis Targets are special marked versions of specific enemies that Simaris assigns to you daily, and they require multiple scan points distributed across their body before they count as synthesized.

It's worth noting that the Synthesis Scanner also functions as a Codex Scanner — any enemy you scan with it will also have its Codex entry filled. This makes it strictly superior to the Codex Scanner for players who want to accomplish both goals simultaneously. If you're curious about how scanners function as input devices from a hardware standpoint, our article on whether a scanner is input or output gives a solid grounding in the underlying technology concept.

Simaris Standing and Why It Matters

Simaris Standing is capped daily based on your Mastery Rank and resets each day. This makes efficient scanning critical — you want to maximize your standing gains per mission rather than spending time manually hunting every scannable enemy. This is precisely where Helios becomes invaluable. Simaris's store contains several exclusive mods that are only obtainable through standing, including Targeting Receptor (an augment for Helios itself), Hunter Command for the Kavat, and various valuable arcanes. Players focused on completing their collections will find themselves spending a lot of time accumulating Simaris Standing.

Can Helios Use a Synthesis Scanner? The Full Answer

Yes — can Helios use a Synthesis Scanner? The answer is yes, but with an important condition. Helios will use whatever scanner you have equipped in your gear wheel, and it will prioritize the Synthesis Scanner over the Codex Scanner if both are present. This means that if you equip the Synthesis Scanner in your gear and have Helios's scanning precept equipped, every enemy Helios scans will contribute Synthesis Standing rather than simply filling your Codex. This is one of the most powerful passive farming tools in the entire game.

The key caveat is that Warframe has updated this mechanic several times over the years, and the current implementation does allow Helios to use Synthesis Scanner charges. Each scan Helios performs consumes one charge from your Synthesis Scanner supply, just as if you had scanned that enemy manually. This means you need to keep a healthy stock of charges to benefit from Helios's passive scanning during longer missions.

The Helios Precept Requirement

Helios doesn't scan enemies by default — it requires a specific precept mod to do so. The precept is called Investigator, and it must be equipped in one of Helios's two precept mod slots. When Investigator is active, Helios will automatically attempt to scan any enemy that enters its range and doesn't yet have a complete Codex entry. This is where the Synthesis Scanner interaction becomes particularly powerful: because Helios is passively scanning as you move through missions, it can rack up significant Simaris Standing over the course of a single Survival or Defense run without you lifting a finger.

The second precept slot is typically used for Deconstructor, which is Helios's unique weapon that automatically attacks nearby enemies. The two precepts work independently, so Helios can simultaneously be scanning enemies and attacking them — a dual-role performance that makes it one of the most utility-focused sentinels in the game.

Equipped Scanner Priority

Scanner priority is a crucial concept to understand. If you have both a Codex Scanner and a Synthesis Scanner in your gear wheel, Helios will use the Synthesis Scanner first. Once your Synthesis Scanner charges are depleted, Helios will fall back to the Codex Scanner. This failsafe behavior means you won't lose scanning progress mid-mission just because you ran out of Synthesis charges — Helios will continue filling Codex entries, even if it's no longer contributing to Simaris Standing. Planning your charge supply before entering a long mission is a good habit to develop.

Setting Up Helios for Synthesis Scanning

Getting the most out of Helios as a Synthesis farming tool requires a bit of setup beyond simply equipping the sentinel. The configuration process is straightforward but involves several interconnected steps that all need to be correct for Helios to reliably use your Synthesis Scanner.

Precept Slot Configuration

Begin in your Arsenal by navigating to your Helios's mod configuration. Ensure that the Investigator precept is equipped — without it, Helios will not scan at all, regardless of what's in your gear wheel. Rank up Investigator as high as possible to increase Helios's scan range, which directly determines how many enemies it can reach before they move out of proximity. A maxed Investigator has a generous scan radius that covers most encounter distances in standard missions.

Next, open your gear wheel and confirm that your Synthesis Scanner is added to an accessible slot. You don't need to manually use it during the mission — Helios draws from it automatically — but it does need to be present in your loadout. Visit Cephalon Simaris in any Relay before your mission to top up your charges if you're running low.

Scanner Charges and Replenishment

Synthesis Scanner charges are purchased from Simaris using credits, not Standing. Each bundle provides a fixed number of charges, and they stack without limit. During missions where Helios is actively scanning, charge consumption can be surprisingly fast — particularly in enemy-dense mission types like Defense or Survival where hundreds of units may spawn over a lengthy session. Stocking up before a dedicated farming session is advisable.

The Synthesis Scanner Augment, also purchasable from Simaris using Standing, adds a radar-like pinging effect to your Synthesis Scanner that reveals the location of Synthesis Targets on the minimap. This augment is primarily useful when you're hunting your daily Synthesis Targets manually, but it doesn't affect Helios's behavior. Helios scans based on proximity and Codex completion status, not on Synthesis Target designation.

Much like understanding the nuances of scanner functionality in other contexts — such as reading data types with Scanner class methods for integers — getting Helios's scanning setup right is about knowing the correct inputs and configurations from the start.

Helios vs. Manual Scanning: A Comparison

Once you understand that Helios can indeed use the Synthesis Scanner, the logical next question is: should you rely on Helios, or is manual scanning better? The answer depends on what you're trying to accomplish.

Speed and Convenience

For general Simaris Standing farming, Helios is almost always the superior choice. It operates passively, scans multiple enemies simultaneously as you move through a level, and requires zero effort on your part beyond the initial setup. This frees you to focus on combat, objective completion, or resource collection while Helios handles all the scanning in the background. The passive nature of the system means you're essentially earning Simaris Standing as a bonus on top of whatever else you're farming.

Synthesis Target Limitations

This is the most important limitation to understand: Helios cannot complete Synthesis Targets for you. Synthesis Targets require you to manually scan specific glowing points on their body in a defined sequence. These targets are special, marked variants of enemies that only appear when Simaris has assigned them as your daily task, and the scanning mechanic for them is entirely different from standard scanning. Helios will scan Synthesis Targets as regular enemies (consuming charges and earning Standing), but it will not trigger the special multi-point synthesis sequence that actually completes your daily assignment.

For Synthesis Targets, you must switch to manual scanning. Equip your Synthesis Scanner, locate the target using the augment's radar ping, and carefully scan each of the glowing blue markers on the target's body. This is the one scanning task where Helios provides no shortcut, and it remains a manual process regardless of how you configure your sentinel. This is also somewhat analogous to how scanner room upgrades in Subnautica have stacking rules that govern what the scanner can and cannot automate.

Maximizing Your Scanning Efficiency

With the core mechanics established, there are several strategies and mod configurations that can push your Helios scanning setup to peak efficiency.

Scanner Augment Mods

The Investigator precept has a purchasable augment called Targeting Receptor, available from Simaris's store. When equipped, this augment causes Helios to prioritize scanning enemies that you're aiming at or near, which can help direct its scanning behavior in chaotic situations. While not strictly necessary for passive farming, it does help ensure Helios focuses on new enemies rather than rescanning already-catalogued ones in environments where you're circling back through the same areas.

For Helios's durability — which matters because a dead sentinel stops scanning — consider equipping mods that boost shield capacity and shield recharge rate. Helios has relatively low base health, and in high-level content it can be frequently downed, which interrupts its scanning. Some players run a brief respawn timer with the Regen precept to keep Helios operational throughout longer missions, though this does consume a precept slot that could otherwise be used for Deconstructor.

Best Mission Types for Helios Scanning

Not all mission types are created equal for passive scanning. The best mission types for maximizing Helios's Synthesis Scanner output are those that feature high enemy density and extended duration:

Survival missions are generally considered the gold standard for Helios scanning. Enemy spawn rates scale continuously with time, meaning more enemies appear the longer you stay. In a 20-minute Survival run with Helios active and Synthesis Scanner equipped, you can earn a substantial chunk of your daily Simaris Standing cap without any dedicated effort. Defense missions are similarly efficient, with predictable wave-based spawning that keeps a steady stream of new enemies flowing within scan range. Interception missions also work well due to their open map designs and consistent enemy presence across multiple capture points.

Avoid low-enemy-density missions like Capture or Exterminate for dedicated scanning runs — the enemy count is too limited to make meaningful use of Helios's passive scanning. Spy missions are also poor choices due to their stealth-focused design and sparse enemy placement.

Common Issues and Troubleshooting

Even with correct setup, players occasionally encounter situations where Helios doesn't seem to be scanning as expected. Most of these issues have straightforward explanations.

Helios Not Scanning Enemies

If Helios has stopped scanning entirely, the first thing to check is whether it is alive. A downed or dead sentinel cannot perform any actions, including scanning. Sentinels respawn after a cooldown period if they have the Regen mod equipped, but without it they remain inactive for the rest of the mission. The second check is whether your Investigator precept is properly installed and in the correct slot — Helios's scanning behavior is entirely dependent on this precept being active.

Another common cause is that all nearby enemies already have complete Codex entries. Helios only scans enemies that still have incomplete entries in your Codex. Once your Codex is fully populated for a given faction, Helios will stop scanning those enemies — even if you have Synthesis Scanner equipped, there are no new scans to register. This typically happens only to veteran players with extensively filled Codexes.

Synthesis Targets Not Counting

As discussed earlier, Helios cannot complete Synthesis Targets. If you're finding that a Synthesis Target is present in your mission but isn't being registered as synthesized, you need to manually scan it. Look for the glowing blue scan points distributed around the target's body — usually three to five points — and scan each one sequentially with your manually held Synthesis Scanner. Only this specific process triggers synthesis completion for your daily assignment.

If you're having trouble locating the scan points, the Synthesis Scanner Augment from Simaris will display a pinging effect that highlights them through walls and terrain. This augment is genuinely useful for players who regularly complete their daily Synthesis assignments and is worth picking up with early Simaris Standing.