Grendel
Grendel builds
Keep Nourish
Endgame4 FormaEndgameMedium confidenceSteel PathHelminthShards optional

Grendel — Keep Nourish

Endgame build. Roar or Eclipse over Pulverize. Nourish stays. You are the best Viral / energy battery in the game, on purpose, with guns.

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

Incarnons, melee, squad energy, people who picked Grendel for 2

Wrong drop or mechanic?

Don’t build this yet

First Course first

This loadout sits at Endgame. It wants Forma, Helminth, or shards you may not have. Play the Starter until those systems are open — then this page is the upgrade, not the homework.

Open First Course

Why this build?

Endgame for Incarnons, melee, squad energy, people who picked Grendel for 2

Health: Not yet — Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts still closed. Play the Starter.

Play this in Steel Path
  • This is the config that exists because Nourish is the best buff in the game. You do not subsume it off Grendel to put it on someone else — you play Grendel.
  • Pulverize is the cheapest dump. Feast still feeds armor. 2 never leaves.
  • Squad energy is a side effect. You will get thanked in chat and it will feel illegal.

Don’t use this for: ability-nuke as the damage · players without Helminth

Specialised investment for hard content

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

Bring: The actual gun / melee — Incarnon primary or a heavy melee. Nourish Viral is the status. Roar is the faction multiplier. Feast is still how you stack armor.

Alternative if…

Instead: First CourseInstead: First Course — Star ChartInstead: Meatball — Steel PathInstead: Meatball — Optimised

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 0/1 · required — Subsume Roar (Rhino) or Eclipse (Mirage)
  • Arcanes · recommended — 0/2 recommended
  • Shards · optional — Optional unless the card says a breakpoint

Investment: 4 Forma · Reactor · Helminth (Roar (Rhino) or Eclipse (Mirage)) · 2 shards · 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.

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. TodayPlay First CourseThe Starter is the loadout you can actually take into a mission tonight.
  2. NextGet Growing PowerThe Silver Grove quest
  3. After that4 FormaOne slot at a time. Rank 30 after each polarize.
  4. LaterCrimson · StrengthHelminth and shards are the last rungs. They are not the Starter.
  5. FinalKeep NourishEndgame · Endgame · 4 Forma

Farm the gap

Helminth & shards

What to put on the body

Roar (Rhino) or Eclipse (Mirage) over Pulverize (3)

You will not be a ball. Nourish is the reason Grendel is a Helminth god — so keep it on him. Roar/Eclipse over 3 is the gun multiplier. Never replace 2.

Helminth is locked. Tick it on Progress before you subsume.

  • 3 Crimson · Strength — Nourish and Roar numbers.Archon locked
  • 2 Violet · Primary crit / electric — The gun is the nuke.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 Growing Power

    One named gap. The Silver Grove quest

  2. 60 minutes

    Growing Power, then Forma

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

  3. 120 minutes

    Subsume Roar (Rhino) or Eclipse (Mirage)

    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 Grendel because Nourish is the best buff in the game and you want guns.

Time to a playable copy
After Roar or Eclipse over Pulverize. Nourish still on 2.
First mission to practice in
A long SP mission with the Incarnon you actually like.

2 button drills · 14 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

Buff loop

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

  1. 1Feast (1) a few bodies so the armor passive and Hearty are on.
  2. 2Nourish (2). Roar or Eclipse (3). Recast 2 before it dies.
  3. 3Shoot. Energy orbs are disgusting. Viral is on every hit.
  4. 4Regurgitate (4) a snack at an armored clump if you still want a strip spit.

First mission — press these buttons

  1. 1

    Snack, Nourish, Roar

    2

    Viral, energy, faction damage. Recast 2 like a religion.

  2. 2

    Shoot. Feast if armor passive dropped

    Empty gut, Hearty falls off, you are squishier.

Common mistakes

  • Helminthing Nourish 'because I already have it on Helminth'

    That is the opposite of the point of this config. Keep 2.

When this feels easy

  1. 1Violet primary shardsThe gun is the build.

Parts checklist

0 of 14 owned. Tap How on anything you still need.

Dependencies

19 dependencies

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

  1. 1●grendelframe
  2. 2○Growing Powermod
  3. 3○Power Driftmod
  4. 4○Hearty Nourishmentaugment
  5. 5○Blind Ragemod
  6. 6○Umbral Intensifymod
  7. 7○Primed Continuitymod
  8. 8○Narrow Mindedmod
  9. 9○Equilibriummod
  10. 10○Adaptationmod
  11. 11○Molt Efficiencyarcane
  12. 12○Arcane Precisionarcane
  13. 13○Crimson · Strengthshard
  14. 14○Violet · Primary crit / electricshard
  15. 15○Roar (Rhino)helminth
  16. 16○Eclipsehelminth
  17. 17○Helminth · Roar (Rhino) or Eclipse (Mirage)unlock
  18. 18○Steel Pathunlock
  19. 19○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 Power

    missing · The Silver Grove quest

  • Power Drift

    missing · Unlock Lua

  • Hearty Nourishment

    missing · Steel Meridian / New Loka · 25,000

    Nourish plus guts grants status immunity. Optional but this is the tank-platform version.

  • Blind Rage

    missing · Run Orokin Vaults

  • Umbral Intensify

    missing · Finish The Sacrifice

  • Primed Continuity

    missing · Wait for Baro Ki'Teer

  • Narrow Minded

    missing · Orokin Vaults

    Nourish lasts. You live in it.

  • Equilibrium

    missing · The New Strange / drops

  • Adaptation

    missing · Arbitration / Arbitrations

  • Roar (Rhino)

    missing · Own Rhino

    You will not be a ball. Nourish is the reason Grendel is a Helminth god — so keep it on him. Roar/Eclipse over 3 is the gun multiplier. Never replace 2.

  • Eclipse

    missing · Helminth

    You will not be a ball. Nourish is the reason Grendel is a Helminth god — so keep it on him. Roar/Eclipse over 3 is the gun multiplier. Never replace 2.

Recommended

Optional

Helminth

Subsume Roar (Rhino) or Eclipse (Mirage) over Pulverize (3)

You will not be a ball. Nourish is the reason Grendel is a Helminth god — so keep it on him. Roar/Eclipse over 3 is the gun multiplier. Never replace 2.

Strength

~220%+ Nourish and Roar

Duration

180%+ Nourish uptime

Range

145% Feast

Duration is the buff. Strength is Viral damage and energy multiplier. Hearty Nourishment if you want status immunity while guts are full.

From the mods

Live power

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

Strength
258%
Duration
254%
Range
34%
Efficiency
45%
Energy
base
Capacity
54 / 67

1 Umbral piece

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
12% × 2.00
Status
26%
Fire rate
9.58
Multishot
1.00
Avg hit
39
Arsenal DPS
376

Toggle common mods

Grendel mods

  • AuraGrowing PowerSilver Grove specters
  • ExilusPower DriftOrokin Vaults / Lua
  • 1Hearty NourishmentNourish plus guts grants status immunity. Optional but this is the tank-platform version.Steel Meridian / New Loka · 25k
  • 2Blind RageOrokin Vaults
  • 3Umbral IntensifyThe Sacrifice
  • 4Primed ContinuityBaro Ki'Teer
  • 5Narrow MindedNourish lasts. You live in it.Orokin Vaults
  • 6EquilibriumThe New Strange
  • 7AdaptationArbitrations

The actual gun / melee

Incarnon primary or a heavy melee. Nourish Viral is the status. Roar is the faction multiplier. Feast is still how you stack armor.

Arcanes

Molt Efficiency

Nourish uptime.

Zariman

Arcane Precision

Secondary. Arcane Rage for primaries.

Eidolon / trade

Archon shards

  • 1Crimson · StrengthNourish and Roar numbers.3 · Netracells
  • 2Violet · Primary crit / electricThe gun is the nuke.2 · Elite Temporal Archimedea
FarmAll builds
Lotus emblemWARFRAMEWarframeGodBuilds

Not affiliated with Digital Extremes Ltd.

No login required to use the Codex. Collection, bookmarks and tests stay in this browser. Connecting a public Warframe profile is optional and never takes a Warframe password.

Press ? for shortcuts. · Sitemap · Security · Privacy · Connector · XML · robots.txt