Gauss — Thermal Paradox
Steel Path build. Tap Cold, hold Heat. Redline at 100% battery lets Heat Sunder strip armor off Cold targets. Thermal Transfer paints the element onto guns. This is the peak you can run the day Steel Path unlocks — galvanized / arcanes, no Helminth.
Codex Checked · Compared against current game data for this update. · Update 43.5 · 5 Sept 2026 · PC · Current
Steel Path Star Chart, Circuit, first Archon. Helminth is the next card.
Wrong drop or mechanic?
Why this build?
Steel Path for Steel Path Star Chart, Circuit, first Archon. Helminth is the next card.
Health: Not yet — Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts still closed. Play the Starter.
- Thermal Sunder plus Redline battery is Gauss's caster identity. Mach Rush is the reload.
- Thermal Transfer is the augment that makes 3 a squad buff, not just a nuke.
- Empty battery Heat-Sunders are sad. Fill, then hold 3.
Don’t use this for: Star Chart only · loadouts that need Helminth · sitting Defense
Stronger mods, Arcanes, real synergy
You don’t need the shards to run the loop. They are a later ceiling, not a gate.
Bring: Heat or Cold guns (inherit) — Thermal Transfer adds the element you just Sundered as bonus damage on weapons. Heat weapons plus hold-3, or Cold weapons plus tap-3. Blast if you mix.
Alternative if…
- Star Chart only → First Battery
- This is too much Forma / cost → First Battery — Star Chart
- You wanted the ability loop, not guns → First Battery
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 0/9 · required — 0/9 named
- Forma 0/4 · required — 4 on the card. Codex does not track installed Forma.
- Helminth · optional — Not required
- Arcanes · recommended — 0/2 recommended
- Shards · optional — Optional unless the card says a breakpoint
Investment: 4 Forma · Reactor · 1 shard · 3 specialised mods. Typical farm ~4–6 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
Medium confidence. A solid recommendation with more situational dependencies. Confidence is not verification. Verification is separate: Codex Checked against Update 43.5.
Your next step
Next: Thermal Paradox — Optimised
Unlock Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts before this upgrade is honest.
Thermal Paradox — OptimisedPlan
Today → next → later
Inventory unknown — mark “I own this” on a few mods. Until then this is a plan, not a score of zero.
- NextGet Growing PowerThe Silver Grove quest
- After that3–4 FormaOne slot at a time. Rank 30 after each polarize.
- LaterAmber · Casting SpeedHelminth and shards are the last rungs. They are not the Starter.
- FinalThermal Paradox — Steel PathSteel Path · Advanced · 3–4 Forma
Upgrade from here
Thermal Paradox — Optimised
Locked behind Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts. Tick those on Progress first.
Open Thermal Paradox — OptimisedFarm the gap
- Gauss augments — Thermal Transfer · Mach Crash · Kinetic Friction
Helminth & shards
What to put on the body
- 1 Amber · Casting Speed — Sunder is a fire rate. Redline helps; shards help more on the first casts.Archon locked
Tonight
What is actually up
30 minutes, one hour, or two — matched to this loadout, not a dump of the Origin System.
30 minutes
Farm Growing Power
One named gap. The Silver Grove quest
60 minutes
Growing Power, then Forma
Finish the missing named card, then spend a Forma if a polarity is still fighting you.
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.
- Farm Growing Power
The Silver Grove quest
Who this is for
Play this build from zero
Steel Path. You own Thermal Transfer and you will tap then hold.
- Time to a playable copy
- After Thermal Transfer and a Range/Strength stack.
- First mission to practice in
- SP Exterminate. You want packs for Sunder radius.
3 button drills · 12 parts · tick the lists as you go
Before you start
0 of 3 done
Put it on the Warframe
0 of 4 done
Keep this up
Sunder loop
Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.
- 1Kinetic Plating (2). Redline (4). Mach Rush (1) until the battery is slammed to 100%.
- 2Tap Thermal Sunder (3) — Cold, battery up, they freeze.
- 3Hold 3 — Heat, battery down a chunk, armor strip if Redline battery was full, Blast if they still had Cold.
- 4Mach Rush again to refill. Transfer is now on the guns. Shoot or Sunder again.
First mission — press these buttons
- 1
Slam the battery
1Rush through the pack until the bar is full. Redline should already be on.
- 2
Tap 3, then hold 3
3Cold, then Heat. Blast. Armor should vanish if you were at 100%.
You will know it worked when: Frozen, then ignited. Yellow armor gone.
- 3
Guns now have Transfer
Shoot anything that lived. Recast Rush to refill what Heat spent.
Common mistakes
Hold-3 at 20% battery
No strip, sad Heat. Fill first.
When this feels easy
- 1Casting speed shardsSunder spam is a rhythm game.
- 2Ice StormCold stacks feed Strength.
Parts checklist
0 of 12 owned. Tap How on anything you still need.
Dependencies
15 dependencies
Frame → mods → unlocks. Tick Collection and Progress. This is a decision graph, not a wiki tree.
- 1●gaussframe
- 2○Growing Powermod
- 3○Cunning Driftmod
- 4○Thermal Transferaugment
- 5○Blind Ragemod
- 6○Intensifymod
- 7○Primed Continuitymod
- 8○Stretchmod
- 9○Overextendedmod
- 10○Primed Flowmod
- 11○Molt Augmentedarcane
- 12○Arcane Ice Stormarcane
- 13○Amber · Casting Speedshard
- 14○Steel Pathunlock
- 15○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
Growing Powermissing · The Silver Grove quest
Cunning Driftmissing · Lua Halls of Ascension
- Thermal Transfer
missing · Arbiters of Hexis / The Perrin Sequence · 25,000
Sunder gives squad weapons bonus Heat or Cold (or both). This is the 2026 augment.
Blind Ragemissing · Run Orokin Vaults
Intensifymissing · Fight Lieutenant Lech Kril
Primed Continuitymissing · Wait for Baro Ki'Teer
Stretchmissing · Enemy drops
Overextendedmissing · Orokin Vaults
Primed Flowmissing · Baro Ki'Teer
Recommended
Molt Augmentedmissing · Unlock the Zariman
Strength as you kill. Sunder and Transfer both scale. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
- Arcane Ice Storm
missing · 1999 / trade
Cold Sunder stacks feed Strength/Duration. Very Gauss. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Optional
Amber · Casting Speedmissing · Earn Amber shards
Sunder is a fire rate. Redline helps; shards help more on the first casts.
Strength
~200–250% Sunder damage and Transfer bonus
Duration
155%+ Redline and Transfer
Range
175%+ Sunder radius
Tap 3 Cold (fills battery). Hold 3 Heat (drains battery). Mix on the same target for Blast. At 100% battery during Redline, Heat on a Cold-primed enemy strips armor.
From the mods
Live power
Additive from max-rank Codex mods. Efficiency clamped 15–175%. Umbral set is +11% Strength per extra piece.
- Strength
- 169%
- Duration
- 155%
- Range
- 250%
- Efficiency
- 45%
- Energy
- +275%
- Capacity
- 49 / 67
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
- 12% × 2.00
- Status
- 26%
- Fire rate
- 9.58
- Multishot
- 1.00
- Avg hit
- 39
- Arsenal DPS
- 376
Toggle common mods
Gauss mods
- AuraGrowing PowerSilver Grove specters
- ExilusCunning DriftLua Halls
- 1Thermal TransferSunder gives squad weapons bonus Heat or Cold (or both). This is the 2026 augment.Arbiters of Hexis / The Perrin Sequence · 25k
- 2Blind RageOrokin Vaults
- 3IntensifyMercury / Venus
- 4Primed ContinuityBaro Ki'Teer
- 5StretchEnemy drops
- 6OverextendedOrokin Vaults
- 7Primed FlowBaro / relics
| Slot | Mod | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | Growing Power | Silver Grove specters | |
| Exilus | Cunning Drift | Lua Halls | |
| 1 | Thermal Transfer Sunder gives squad weapons bonus Heat or Cold (or both). This is the 2026 augment. | Arbiters of Hexis / The Perrin Sequence · 25k | |
| 2 | Blind Rage | Orokin Vaults | |
| 3 | Intensify | Mercury / Venus | |
| 4 | Primed Continuity | Baro Ki'Teer | |
| 5 | Stretch | Enemy drops | |
| 6 | Overextended | Orokin Vaults | |
| 7 | Primed Flow | Baro / relics |
Heat or Cold guns (inherit)
Thermal Transfer adds the element you just Sundered as bonus damage on weapons. Heat weapons plus hold-3, or Cold weapons plus tap-3. Blast if you mix.
Arcanes
Molt Augmented
Strength as you kill. Sunder and Transfer both scale. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Zariman
Arcane Ice Storm
Cold Sunder stacks feed Strength/Duration. Very Gauss. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
1999 / trade
Archon shards
- 1Amber · Casting SpeedSunder is a fire rate. Redline helps; shards help more on the first casts.1 · EDA
| # | Shard | Qty | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amber · Casting Speed Sunder is a fire rate. Redline helps; shards help more on the first casts. | 1 | EDA |