Vanguard Merit
Prerequisite
Vanguard Merits are only awarded after completing the first mission of the "Welcome to the Vanguard" story arc, Join the Vanguard, from Levantera in the Rikti War Zone. If you haven't the Member of the Vanguard badge, no Vanguard Merits will drop, no matter how many Riktis you defeat, or how many missions you complete.
You are now a member of Vanguard and can earn Merits for defeating Rikti.
Overview
A Vanguard Merit is a special salvage awarded for completion of tasks or defeat of Rikti in the Rikti War Zone as well as Rikti spawned from portals as part of the Rikti World Invasion event. It can be used at Vanguard Crafting Tables which are specialist invention workbenches in the Vanguard Compound for various items. It triggers an orange (rare) "Salvage Received" message upon award.
The Vanguard Merit is different to most other salvage items, in that it cannot be traded to other players, offered for sale at the Consignment House/Black Market or sold to a store contact/quartermaster.
You can find out how many Vanguard Merits you currently have by pulling up the Salvage window and scrolling to right to view the Special tab. The maximum you can carry is 9999 merits.