The Desert Skate is a Wild/Neutral creature native to Mars that resides in Grineer Settlements.

These skates can burrow freely through the sandy ground of the settlements, surfacing to attack and swarm players in groups. They are able to fling bolt-like projectiles from their tails when buried underground.

Skates are generally hostile toward both the Grineer and the Tenno, so skirmishes between Grineer troops and Skates can often be observed.

The Skates seem to be heavily armored on their back, but have a soft and vulnerable underbelly. It is best to attack when they flip up when resurfacing thus exposing their weakness.

Since they are hostile towards all factions, they can alert the whole level even if the enemies have not spotted the player, making stealth runs impossible to achieve. They are not considered as targets in Exterminate missions.

Variants

A variant of the Desert Skate appears in the Shifting Sands Tactical Alert. Affected by an unusually large deposit of Cryotic below Phobos, the Skate gains a vivid crimson backside and azure splotches across its underbelly and face, which resembles Cryotic.

Notes

Desert Skates are immune to Nyx Chaos Kubrows.

Kubrows. Desert Skates are not affected by Vauban Bastille

Desert Skates are not affected by Mag Pull

It is never strictly necessary to kill Desert Skates, even in Extermination missions. Because these enemies are fairly difficult to destroy, pose relatively little acute danger, provide little in the way of loot or affinity, and help distract the Grineer, many Tenno simply run past them (or jump over them) without fighting them.

Desert Skates can block movement even if they're buried, which can result in the Tenno being trapped.

Desert Skates cannot be affected by Nekros Shadows Of The Dead

Trivia

Desert Skates are the first natural wildlife to be added to the game.

Physically, Desert Skates closely resemble large stingrays, but with the legs of a scorpion.

Skates are an actual ocean-dwelling animal related to rays, and by extension, sharks.

Media



A Desert Skate surfacing

Skates fling thorns when half buried

A dead Skate

A Grineer battling a Skate







A close up of the Desert Skate's "face"

Desert Skate Codex

A burrowed Desert Skate in the Simulacrum, notice the sandy effects when there is no sand

Desert Skate's spikes on Decoy 1 of 12 Add photo

Strangely, these variants only seem to surface once a Drilling Extractor has landed, suggesting it may be disturbed by the Extractor itself or attracted to Cryotic as a new food source. Once the Extractor has finished or been destroyed, the Skates eventually disperse and disappear under the sands.