Excalibur
Excalibur builds
First Sword
Starter0–2 FormaStarterHigh confidenceStar ChartShards optional

Excalibur — First Sword

Starter build. Radial Blind, then melee. Exalted Blade can wait one forma. You picked the swordsman. Swing.

Codex Checked · Compared against current game data for this update. · Update 43.5 · 5 Sept 2026 · PC · Current

Star Chart, starter-frame Excalibur, anyone still learning 2 then 4

Wrong drop or mechanic?

Why this build?

Starter for Star Chart, starter-frame Excalibur, anyone still learning 2 then 4

Health: Inventory unknown — Mark what you own. Until then this is a recommendation, not a test you failed.

Play this in Star Chart
  • Excalibur is the tutorial swordsman and still a real melee frame. Blind is the kit until Chromatic Blade is slotted.
  • The exalted sword is a separate melee grid. Empty grid = a glowstick. Put Pressure Point on it today.
  • Umbra is a different Warframe from The Sacrifice. This page is base Excalibur. Same 4, different 2, extra sentient rage.

Don’t use this for: Steel Path endurance · level-cap content · Umbra-only Sentient rage

0 Forma, basic mods, no Helminth or shards required

You don’t need the shards to run the loop. They are a later ceiling, not a gate.

Bring: Any sword — A Skana is legal. The passive buffs swords. Open Exalted Blade's grid when you have Pressure Point — even cheap mods matter.

Instead: First Sword — Star ChartInstead: Chromatic Blade — Steel PathInstead: Chromatic Blade — OptimisedInstead: Chromatic Blade — Endgame

My test

Did this still work for you?

Your note, in this browser. Separate from Codex verification — the stamp on the card is editorial, this is yours.

Readiness

Inventory unknown

Not checked — add your collection. You have not failed a test.

  • Required mods 0/13 · required — 0/13 named
  • Forma 0/2 · required — 2 on the card. Codex does not track installed Forma.
  • Helminth · optional — Not required
  • Arcanes · recommended — 0/1 recommended
  • Shards · optional — Optional unless the card says a breakpoint

Investment: 2 Forma · Reactor · 1 shard. Typical farm ~1–2 hours. Trade if a route is vaulted.

Codex Checked · Compared against current game data for this update. · Update 43.5 · 5 Sept 2026 · PC · Current

High confidence. How strongly the Codex recommends this for its stated purpose — not a test log. Verification is separate: Codex Checked against Update 43.5.

Your next step

Open First Sword — Star Chart

The next rung on this frame is unlocked. Mark I run this, then step up.

First Sword — Star Chart

Plan

Today → next → later

Inventory unknown — mark “I own this” on a few mods. Until then this is a plan, not a score of zero.

  1. NextGet Steel ChargeInvasion / Nightwave
  2. After that0–2 FormaOne slot at a time. Rank 30 after each polarize.
  3. LaterAmber · Casting SpeedHelminth and shards are the last rungs. They are not the Starter.
  4. FinalFirst SwordStarter · Starter · 0–2 Forma

Upgrade from here

First Sword — Star Chart

Radial Blind, then melee. Exalted Blade can wait one forma. You picked the swordsman. Swing. Primed Continuity and Primed Flow are the first real upgrade — not Blind Rage.

Open First Sword — Star Chart

Helminth & shards

What to put on the body

  • 1 Amber · Casting Speed — Blind then Blade without a pause.Archon locked

Tonight

What is actually up

30 minutes, one hour, or two — matched to this loadout, not a dump of the Origin System.

  1. 30 minutes

    Farm Steel Charge

    One named gap. Invasion / Nightwave

  2. 60 minutes

    Steel Charge, then Forma

    Finish the missing named card, then spend a Forma if a polarity is still fighting you.

  3. 120 minutes

    One Archon Hunt

    If you are logging off after this, stop at the named component. Do not start a second Forma session tired.

Who this is for

Play this build from zero

You picked the swordsman at the start, or you just beat Lech Kril.

Time to a playable copy
Same hour. Intensify, Continuity, Stretch. Pressure Point on the exalted grid.
First mission to practice in
A Grineer Exterminate. You want to see Blind actually shut guns off.

2 button drills · 15 parts · tick the lists as you go

Before you start

0 of 3 done

Put it on the Warframe

0 of 5 done

Keep this up

Blind-swing loop

Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.

  1. 1Radial Blind (2) a room. They hold their faces. Finishers open. You are not tanky — they just cannot shoot you.
  2. 2Slash Dash (1) through a line if you want to travel. It uses Exalted Slash now, not the old tickle.
  3. 3Exalted Blade (4) when the cheap fist — sword — grid has Pressure Point. Waves shoot from swings. Blind first.
  4. 4Radial Javelin (3) is a panic poke. Fine on Star Chart. Helminth bait later.

First mission — press these buttons

  1. 1

    Flash a room

    2

    2. They hold their heads. Walk up and melee.

    You will know it worked when: Hands on faces. Guns quiet.

  2. 2

    Draw the glowstick

    4

    4. Swing. A wave flies. This is the gun.

Common mistakes

  • Pressing 4 with no sword mods

    Glowstick tickles. Pressure Point today.

When this feels easy

  1. 1Chromatic BladeThe real purchase. Next config.
  2. 2Then forma the swordBlood Rush through primed elementals.

Parts checklist

0 of 15 owned. Tap How on anything you still need.

Dependencies

17 dependencies

Frame → mods → unlocks. Tick Collection and Progress. This is a decision graph, not a wiki tree.

  1. 1●excaliburframe
  2. 2○Steel Chargemod
  3. 3○Power Driftmod
  4. 4○Intensifymod
  5. 5○Continuitymod
  6. 6○Stretchmod
  7. 7○Streamlinemod
  8. 8○Flowmod
  9. 9○Vitalitymod
  10. 10○Steel Fibermod
  11. 11○Pressure Pointmod
  12. 12○True Steelmod
  13. 13○Organ Shattermod
  14. 14○Fever Strikemod
  15. 15○Arcane Furyarcane
  16. 16○Amber · Casting Speedshard
  17. 17○Archon Hunts (shards optional)unlock

Depends on

What this loadout needs

Required is a gate. Recommended is a ceiling. Optional is a later farm — don’t stall the card for it.

Required

Recommended

  • Arcane Fury

    missing · Eidolon / trade

    Melee damage. Skip until you have it.

Optional

Watch it played

YouTube for this loadout

All videos
The kitMHBlacky · Mar 2025

Warframe FINALLY made Excalibur META!

Exalted Blade after the 2025 buff. Chromatic Blade and Influence — skip pre-buff 'Excalibur is bad' videos.

Play in WatchYouTube

Strength

~145%

Duration

155% Blind

Range

145% Blind radius

Blind is the survive button. Strength is Exalted later. Duration keeps them flashing.

From the mods

Live power

Additive from max-rank Codex mods. Efficiency clamped 15–175%. Umbral set is +11% Strength per extra piece.

Strength
145%
Duration
130%
Range
145%
Efficiency
130%
Energy
+150%
Capacity
43 / 69

Open slots

Weapon HUD

Arsenal numbers

Base × damage mods × crit expectation × fire rate × multishot. No faction, no quantization. Galvanized kill stacks are a slider, not assumed.

Damage
35
Crit
26% × 3.80
Status
26%
Fire rate
9.58
Multishot
1.00
Avg hit
61
Arsenal DPS
583

Toggle common mods

Excalibur mods

  • AuraSteel ChargeInvasion / Nightwave
  • ExilusPower DriftOrokin Vaults / Lua
  • 1IntensifyMercury / Venus
  • 2ContinuityDrops
  • 3StretchDrops
  • 4StreamlineDrops
  • 5FlowDrops
  • 6VitalityDrops
  • 7Steel Fiber240 armor is a real seed. Cheap.Drops

Any sword

  • 1Pressure PointEnemy drops
  • 2True SteelEnemy drops
  • 3Organ ShatterEnemy drops
  • 4Fever StrikeEnemy drops

Arcanes

Arcane Fury

Melee damage. Skip until you have it.

Eidolon / trade

Archon shards

  • 1Amber · Casting SpeedBlind then Blade without a pause.1 · Archon Hunt
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