Starfield: Shattered Space - How to Obtain Vortex Shards and Cysts

image of shattered space
Credit: Bethesda

image of shattered space
Credit: Bethesda

Shattered Space added a new city, a star system, and several moons to explore in Starfield. Within these new locations, players will have to help House Va'ruun solve the mystery surrounding the Vortex and the horrors that came with it.

To help you in your journey, new weapons and grenades have been added to Shattered Space. One of these new additions is the explosive Vortex Grenades which have different effects depending on how you crafted it. These powerful grenades require specific ingredients that are only obtainable in the DLC, namely Vortex Shards and Cysts. This guide will help you easily obtain these valuable ingredients for your next Vortex Grenade.

What Are Vortex Shards and How To Obtain Them?

image of vortex phantom
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Credit: Bethesda

Vortex Shards are ingredients that are obtained from Vortex Phantom enemies. These enemies are encountered fairly early in the game, right after you board the Oracle during the mission What Remains. These enemies are humanoid and wield guns. Vortex Phantoms would sometimes throw grenades as well, so starting the quest line at level 35 is recommended.

Once killed, Vortex Phantoms will revert to normal spacer form and you will be able to loot their bodies. They would sometimes have weapons and armors from them but most of the time they will have at least one Vortex Shard in their inventory.

image of vortex shard
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Credit: Bethesda

What Are Vortex Cysts and Where to Get Them?

Vortex Cysts are dropped by new enemies called Vortex Horrors. These are creatures that also come from the Vortex, similar to Vortex Phantoms, and can have different variations. Vortex Horrors drop different Vortex Cysts along with some Vortex Shards. You will have to kill different types of Vortex Horrors to be able to obtain all types of Vortex Cysts needed to craft different Vortex Grenades.

image of vortex cyst
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Credit: Bethesda

Vortex Horrors can be found almost anywhere in Va'ruun'kai but do not spawn as often as Vortex Phantoms. These enemies can be initially encountered when doing main quests such as the Conflict in Conviction mission. After your initial encounter with these Vortex Horrors, be prepared to face more as the subsequent quests will pit you again against these monsters.

There you have it, the quickest way to farm these Vortex Shards and Cysts around Starfield: Shattered Space. To stay updated about the latest Starfield guides, be sure to subscribe and follow Gfinity Esports.