Grendel — Meatball
Steel Path build. Nourish up, Feast a crowd, Pulverize. You are a Viral bowling ball that heals while it rolls. Catapult if you want to fly. 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.
- Pulverize is Grendel's joke that still clears Steel Path when Nourish is up and the gut is full.
- You keep Nourish. The ball without Viral and energy is a sad hamster wheel.
- Catapult is optional. Blind Rage is not.
Don’t use this for: Star Chart only · loadouts that need Helminth · solo level-cap
Stronger mods, Arcanes, real synergy
You don’t need the shards to run the loop. They are a later ceiling, not a gate.
Bring: Guns optional — The ball is the weapon. A primer before you roll is comfort. Nourish Viral is already on the slams.
Alternative if…
- Star Chart only → First Course
- This is too much Forma / cost → First Course — Star Chart
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 · 2 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: Meatball — Optimised
Unlock Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts before this upgrade is honest.
Meatball — 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 Steel ChargeInvasion / Nightwave
- After that3–4 FormaOne slot at a time. Rank 30 after each polarize.
- LaterCrimson · StrengthHelminth and shards are the last rungs. They are not the Starter.
- FinalMeatball — Steel PathSteel Path · Advanced · 3–4 Forma
Upgrade from here
Meatball — Optimised
Locked behind Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts. Tick those on Progress first.
Open Meatball — OptimisedFarm the gap
- Grendel augments — Gourmand · Hearty Nourishment · Catapult · Gastro
Helminth & shards
What to put on the body
- 1 Crimson · Strength — Ball and Nourish.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 Steel Charge
One named gap. Invasion / Nightwave
60 minutes
Steel Charge, 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 Steel Charge
Invasion / Nightwave
Who this is for
Play this build from zero
Steel Path. You want to be the ball and Nourish is up.
- Time to a playable copy
- After a Strength/Range stack. Catapult optional.
- First mission to practice in
- SP Exterminate. Full gut before you roll.
2 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
Ball loop
Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.
- 1Feast (1) until the gut is noisy. Nourish (2).
- 2Pulverize (3). Roll. Jump to slam. Catapult launches you if slotted.
- 3If the gut empties, drop the ball (3 again), Feast, recast.
- 4Regurgitate (4) only if you need a strip spit. This config usually doesn't.
First mission — press these buttons
- 1
Fill the gut, Nourish, then 3
3You are a ball. Roll through them. Jump for a shockwave.
You will know it worked when: A giant meat sphere. People flying.
- 2
If the gut empties, hop out and eat
Empty ball is a sad ball.
Common mistakes
Ball without Nourish
No Viral, no energy, no heal. 2 first.
When this feels easy
- 1Strength shardsSlam numbers and Nourish.
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●grendelframe
- 2○Steel Chargemod
- 3○Cunning Driftmod
- 4○Catapultaugment
- 5○Blind Ragemod
- 6○Intensifymod
- 7○Primed Continuitymod
- 8○Stretchmod
- 9○Overextendedmod
- 10○Equilibriummod
- 11○Arcane Persistencearcane
- 12○Molt Augmentedarcane
- 13○Crimson · Strengthshard
- 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
- Steel Charge
missing · Invasion / Nightwave
Cunning Driftmissing · Lua Halls of Ascension
- Catapult
missing · Steel Meridian / New Loka · 25,000
Pulverize jump becomes a aimed launch. Optional but it's the fun one.
Blind Ragemissing · Run Orokin Vaults
Intensifymissing · Fight Lieutenant Lech Kril
Primed Continuitymissing · Wait for Baro Ki'Teer
Stretchmissing · Enemy drops
Overextendedmissing · Orokin Vaults
- Equilibrium
missing · The New Strange / drops
Recommended
Arcane Persistencemissing · Finish The Old Peace
At 700+ armor, incoming damage caps at 500/s. Azure armor shards or Health Conversion to the breakpoint. Pair with a heal (Grace, kit heal, or Gloom). Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Molt Augmentedmissing · Unlock the Zariman
Strength as you flatten people. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Optional
Strength
~220–280% ball damage and Nourish
Duration
155%+ Nourish
Range
175%+ Feast vacuum and slam radius
Guts armor and ball size/damage like being full. Jump-slam in Pulverize is the shockwave. Keep Nourish up the whole roll.
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
- base
- Capacity
- 49 / 69
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
Grendel mods
- AuraSteel ChargeInvasion / Nightwave
- ExilusCunning DriftLua Halls
- 1CatapultPulverize jump becomes a aimed launch. Optional but it's the fun one.Steel Meridian / New Loka · 25k
- 2Blind RageOrokin Vaults
- 3IntensifyMercury / Venus
- 4Primed ContinuityBaro Ki'Teer
- 5StretchEnemy drops
- 6OverextendedOrokin Vaults
- 7EquilibriumThe New Strange
| Slot | Mod | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | Steel Charge | Invasion / Nightwave | |
| Exilus | Cunning Drift | Lua Halls | |
| 1 | Catapult Pulverize jump becomes a aimed launch. Optional but it's the fun one. | Steel Meridian / New Loka · 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 | Equilibrium | The New Strange |
Guns optional
The ball is the weapon. A primer before you roll is comfort. Nourish Viral is already on the slams.
Arcanes
Arcane Persistence
At 700+ armor, incoming damage caps at 500/s. Azure armor shards or Health Conversion to the breakpoint. Pair with a heal (Grace, kit heal, or Gloom). Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Roathe, La Cathédrale · 5 Maphica (The Descendia)
Molt Augmented
Strength as you flatten people. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Zariman
Archon shards
- 1
Crimson · StrengthBall and Nourish.1 · Netracells
| # | Shard | Qty | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crimson · Strength Ball and Nourish. | 1 | Netracells |