To revive a teammate in Active Matter, go to them and use your bound “use” key: if they are downed in pain shock, that assists them back to their feet, and if they are already dead, you revive them through their mindvault, which costs Active Matter from your inventory. Since the August 2026 update you can revive any Operative this way, not just your squad, and a dead player can send a help request so others know to come.
This guide covers both kinds of revive, what they cost, how help requests and the map markers work, how mindvault hacking, safe containers and beacons change the decision, and the rules that block a revive. It reflects Active Matter on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S (our platforms guide covers every version) as of update 0.4.0.215 (November 2, 2026), verified against official patch notes. The notes tie reviving to the “use” key without naming a default for each platform, so follow the on-screen prompt, and check or rebind it in the controls settings, which update 0.4.0.192 split into Controller and Mouse tabs.
How to Revive a Teammate, Step by Step
- Make the area safe first. Whoever downed your teammate may still be close, and a revive leaves you exposed.
- If they are downed (pain shock), assist them. Go to them and use the revive prompt. If you have to break off, the aid timer keeps its progress.
- If they are dead, use their mindvault. Their consciousness sits in a mindvault; interact with it and pay the Active Matter cost the prompt shows.
- Carry enough Active Matter. The price rises with every revive, so a squad that keeps going down needs more each time.
- If you are the one who died, send a help request so other players can find you, spectate your squad, or respawn at a beacon.
Downed: Helping a Player in Pain Shock
An Operative can drop into pain shock before dying, a state the patch notes also call “downed.” While they are in shock, another player can assist them back up. Update 0.3.0.119 reworked this in May 2026:
- Anyone can help. You can assist “any player that is in shock, not just players in your squad.”
- Progress is not lost. If you have to stop, the aid timer keeps its progress, which the notes say is meant “to speed up that downed player’s overall recovery.”
- It gets faster. Assistance speeds up “the longer a player remains in shock.”
The downed player sees a notification when someone is helping them, added in June 2026. Shock length is not the same for everyone: the “Pain Shock” chronogene and the “Reaper” Body Sleeve both change shock time, per the patch notes.
Dead: Reviving Through the Mindvault
When an Operative dies, their consciousness sits in a mindvault, the developer’s term in its August 17 Q and A. A squadmate uses that mindvault to bring them back; an October 2025 bug fix describes exactly that, fixing a case where “a squadmate’s Mindvault” disappeared “when used, instead of bringing that squadmate back.”
It costs Active Matter. Update 0.1.0.174 raised the Active Matter costs of reviving a teammate to “10, 50, 150, up from 5, 10 and 15,” and the price climbs with each revive: update 0.4.0.173 fixed a bug where “the cost of reviving a squadmate failed to update dynamically with the number of revivals.” Costs may have moved since that 2025 patch, so trust the game: update 0.4.0.50 “Displayed the cost of reviving another player in the revive prompt.”
Keep some Active Matter in your pockets for this. If you refine everything back at base, our guide on how to sell items explains what the Refiner pays for it.
Mindvault Hacking and Second Chances
A dead Operative’s mindvault can also be hacked, and that changes the revive math:
- A hacked mindvault is not the end. Enemies can hack a dead Operative’s mindvault for Active Matter and a dog tag, but the developer confirmed Operatives can still be resurrected afterward: “We aim to give players a second chance within the same raid.”
- You can hack your ally’s vault first. The “250 Shades of Liberty” update let an ally or the owner hack a mindvault “to gather active matter, with faster hacking in those cases,” so your squad, not the enemy, collects it.
For what those dog tags from hacked mindvaults are worth, see how to get Monolith Tokens.
Help Requests and Reviving Strangers
The August 27 “250 Shades of Liberty” update made two big changes: it “Enabled the ability to revive any Operative, not just allies,” and “Enabled the ability to send a help request to other players upon death so they can revive you.”
The help request, also called the SOS signal, has since been toned down: update 0.4.0.55 made the signal show “on the map as an area; the exact target location is only shown after the signal is accepted.” Once you accept one, the marker appears on your map and compass, and update 0.4.0.78 added it to the Smartwatch HUD’s round compass too.
Answering a stranger’s SOS is a gamble in Open Raids. Whoever killed them may still be nearby, and the revive costs your own Active Matter. Our guide to PvE, PvP and the price explains which modes put other players in your raid. Update 0.4.0.132 added revivals you performed to your Raid Archive, so the game at least keeps score.
Safe Containers and Beacons
Two pieces of gear change whether a revive is worth it:
- Safe containers. Normally a safe container evacuates its contents when you die. Since the July changes, you can choose not to activate it the moment you go down. Per the developer’s explanation: “If they repel the attack and revive you, you’ll get all your gear back, Safe Containers included.” If your squad is wiped, the enemy takes everything.
- Beacons. Beacons, listed in the game’s editions as Beacon (respawn) and Tactical beacon, sit in their own inventory slot and activate automatically when you die, letting you respawn instead of waiting for a revive. You can pick up a placed beacon and move it; if you never placed one, you respawn at your raid’s original spawn point. The developer’s July post also announced Enhanced Respawn Beacons, with which “a fallen Operative will respawn with Agency-issued rental gear,” and update 0.4.0.156 fixed tactical beacons so those items are actually in your inventory. Update 0.4.0.73 made beacon activation audio play from the body, “alerting the killer to potential retaliation.”
If nobody can reach you, the options are to spectate your squad, respawn at a beacon, or leave the raid; the Gigastructure update also added a Self-Terminate option in raids.
When a Revive Fails
A few restrictions block revives outright. Update 0.4.0.122 “Prevented players transformed into monsters from reviving other players,” and the same patch disabled using items in monster form. Revive bugs have also been patched as recently as October: update 0.4.0.192 fixed reviving with the bound “use” key, and update 0.4.0.173 fixed the cost not rising between revives. If a mindvault takes your Active Matter without a result, report it through Gaijin support.
Every other Active Matter guide is on the Active Matter hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you revive a teammate in Active Matter? Go to them and use the revive prompt on your bound “use” key. If they are downed in pain shock, that assists them up. If they are dead, use their mindvault and pay the Active Matter cost shown in the prompt.
What button revives in Active Matter? The bound “use” key, per the patch notes, which do not list a default for each platform. Follow the on-screen prompt, or check the controls settings.
How much does a revive cost? As of an October 2025 patch the costs were 10, 50 and 150 Active Matter, and the price climbs with each revive. The current cost appears in the revive prompt.
What is a mindvault in Active Matter? Where a dead Operative’s consciousness sits, per the developer. Squadmates use it to revive them, and enemies or allies can hack it for Active Matter.
Can you revive players who are not in your squad? Yes. Since August 2026 you can revive any Operative, and you can also assist any player in pain shock.
Can you be revived after an enemy hacks your mindvault? Yes. The developer confirmed resurrection still works after a hack, to give players “a second chance within the same raid.”
What is the SOS signal? A help request a dead player can send. Others see a rough area on the map, and the exact spot appears only after someone accepts it.
What does a resurrection beacon do? A beacon respawns you automatically when you die, at the spot where you placed it (or at your raid’s original spawn point if you never placed it), instead of waiting for a teammate. Tactical beacons bring you back with random rental gear.