Hydroid — Drowned Slow
Endgame build. Gloom over Tempest Barrage. Plunder strip plus a slow aura. You become a sticky pirate tank.
Codex Checked · Compared against current game data for this update. · Update 43.5 · 5 Sept 2026 · PC · Current
Solo Steel Path, Eximus rooms, people who want Hydroid to stand in the puddle and live
Wrong drop or mechanic?
Don’t build this yet
First Tide 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 TideWhy this build?
Endgame for Solo Steel Path, Eximus rooms, people who want Hydroid to stand in the puddle and live
Health: Not yet — Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts still closed. Play the Starter.
- Gloom is the Helminth tank button. Hydroid already wanted to stand in a room.
- You lose Viral Tempest. A companion primer or Nourish on a different config pays that back.
- This is solo comfort, not the fastest strip. Take Corrosive Corsair to a coordinated squad.
Don’t use this for: Star Chart only · new accounts · 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: Gun with lifesteal synergy — Gloom leeches from any damage you deal inside the aura. Beam weapons and Tentacle Swarm both feed it.
Alternative if…
- You don’t have Helminth yet → First Tide
- Star Chart only → First Tide
- New account or low investment → First Tide
- This is too much Forma / cost → Corrosive Corsair — 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 Gloom (Sevagoth)
- Arcanes · recommended — 0/2 recommended
- Shards · optional — Optional unless the card says a breakpoint
Investment: 4 Forma · Reactor · Helminth (Gloom (Sevagoth)) · 2 shards · 4 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.
- TodayPlay First TideThe Starter is the loadout you can actually take into a mission tonight.
- NextGet Growing PowerThe Silver Grove quest
- After that4 FormaOne slot at a time. Rank 30 after each polarize.
- LaterCrimson · StrengthHelminth and shards are the last rungs. They are not the Starter.
- FinalDrowned SlowEndgame · Endgame · 4 Forma
Helminth & shards
What to put on the body
Gloom (Sevagoth) over Tempest Barrage (1)
You give up the rain. Gloom slows the room and leeches health off every shot and tentacle tick. Viral Tempest is the cost — bring a primer.
Helminth is locked. Tick it on Progress before you subsume.
- 2–3 Crimson · Strength — Gloom cap plus Plunder.Archon locked
- 1 Amber · Casting Speed — Gloom on, Plunder on.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
Subsume Gloom (Sevagoth)
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
Solo Steel Path. You have Sevagoth subsumed.
- Time to a playable copy
- After injecting Gloom over Tempest Barrage.
- First mission to practice in
- SP Survival. You should feel the slow and the leech.
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 4 done
Keep this up
Gloom loop
Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.
- 1Gloom (1). The room thickens. You are the puddle.
- 2Plunder (3) so you are armored and your shots are Corrosive.
- 3Shoot. Gloom leeches. Tentacle Swarm (4) if you want extra ticks inside the slow.
- 4Tidal Surge (2) if you kept it — dash out of a bad angle, Gloom still hums.
First mission — press these buttons
- 1
Gloom on
1Walk into a pack, press 1. Everything thickens.
- 2
Plunder, then shoot
3Leech plus Corrosive. You should not be dying.
Common mistakes
Letting Gloom drop
It is a channel with a drain. Recast. Efficiency and Flow matter.
When this feels easy
- 1Hit 200% StrengthGloom slow caps around there. Shards if Blind Rage is not enough.
Parts checklist
0 of 14 owned. Tap How on anything you still need.
Dependencies
18 dependencies
Frame → mods → unlocks. Tick Collection and Progress. This is a decision graph, not a wiki tree.
- 1●hydroidframe
- 2○Growing Powermod
- 3○Cunning Driftmod
- 4○Blind Ragemod
- 5○Umbral Intensifymod
- 6○Primed Continuitymod
- 7○Stretchmod
- 8○Primed Flowmod
- 9○Equilibriummod
- 10○Rolling Guardmod
- 11○Arcane Blessingarcane
- 12○Molt Augmentedarcane
- 13○Crimson · Strengthshard
- 14○Amber · Casting Speedshard
- 15○Gloomhelminth
- 16○Helminth · Gloom (Sevagoth)unlock
- 17○Steel Pathunlock
- 18○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
Blind Ragemissing · Run Orokin Vaults
Umbral Intensifymissing · Finish The Sacrifice
Primed Continuitymissing · Wait for Baro Ki'Teer
Stretchmissing · Enemy drops
Primed Flowmissing · Baro Ki'Teer
- Equilibrium
missing · The New Strange / drops
- Rolling Guard
missing · Arbitrations
- Gloom
missing · Helminth
You give up the rain. Gloom slows the room and leeches health off every shot and tentacle tick. Viral Tempest is the cost — bring a primer.
Recommended
Optional
Helminth
Subsume Gloom (Sevagoth) over Tempest Barrage (1)
You give up the rain. Gloom slows the room and leeches health off every shot and tentacle tick. Viral Tempest is the cost — bring a primer.
Strength
~200%+ so Gloom hits the slow cap (~95% at 200%)
Duration
155%+
Range
145–175% so Gloom is a room
200% Strength is the Gloom breakpoint. Extra Strength still fattens Plunder.
From the mods
Live power
Additive from max-rank Codex mods. Efficiency clamped 15–175%. Umbral set is +11% Strength per extra piece.
- Strength
- 243%
- Duration
- 155%
- Range
- 160%
- Efficiency
- 45%
- Energy
- +275%
- Capacity
- 53 / 67
1 Umbral piece
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
Hydroid mods
- AuraGrowing PowerSilver Grove
- ExilusCunning DriftLua Halls
- 1Blind RageOrokin Vaults
- 2Umbral IntensifyThe Sacrifice
- 3Primed ContinuityBaro Ki'Teer
- 4StretchEnemy drops
- 5Primed FlowBaro / relics
- 6EquilibriumThe New Strange
- 7Rolling GuardArbitrations
| Slot | Mod | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | Growing Power | Silver Grove | |
| Exilus | Cunning Drift | Lua Halls | |
| 1 | Blind Rage | Orokin Vaults | |
| 2 | Umbral Intensify | The Sacrifice | |
| 3 | Primed Continuity | Baro Ki'Teer | |
| 4 | Stretch | Enemy drops | |
| 5 | Primed Flow | Baro / relics | |
| 6 | Equilibrium | The New Strange | |
| 7 | Rolling Guard | Arbitrations |
Gun with lifesteal synergy
Gloom leeches from any damage you deal inside the aura. Beam weapons and Tentacle Swarm both feed it.
Arcanes
Arcane Blessing
Health pile for Gloom to refill.
Duviri / trade
Molt Augmented
Strength for slow cap and Plunder.
Zariman
Archon shards
- 1
Crimson · StrengthGloom cap plus Plunder.2–3 · Netracells - 2
Amber · Casting SpeedGloom on, Plunder on.1 · EDA
| # | Shard | Qty | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crimson · Strength Gloom cap plus Plunder. | 2–3 | Netracells | |
| 2 | Amber · Casting Speed Gloom on, Plunder on. | 1 | EDA |