Nekros — First Corpse
Starter build. Desecrate every body. Range is loot. Terrify is a panic run-away. Shadows can wait.
Codex Checked · Compared against current game data for this update. · Update 43.5 · 5 Sept 2026 · PC · Current
Star Chart farms, first Nekros, anyone who heard 'loot frame' and crafted him
Wrong drop or mechanic?
Why this build?
Starter for Star Chart farms, first Nekros, anyone who heard 'loot frame' and crafted him
Health: Inventory unknown — Mark what you own. Until then this is a recommendation, not a test you failed.
- Desecrate is Nekros. Range, corpses, proximity. That is the starter lesson.
- Energy-Desecrate is a tax. Despoil (next identity config) pays with health instead.
- You are a loot frame, not a Steel Path DPS. Bring a squad that kills.
Don’t use this for: Steel Path endurance · level-cap content · timed Exterminate as the damage
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 gun — You kill, then Desecrate. The gun just has to produce corpses. A room-clearer means more bodies per cast.
Alternative if…
- You wanted to fight, not farm → Run and Strip
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 0/2 · 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 Corpse — Star Chart
The next rung on this frame is unlocked. Mark I run this, then step up.
First Corpse — Star ChartPlan
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 that0–2 FormaOne slot at a time. Rank 30 after each polarize.
- LaterAmber · Casting SpeedHelminth and shards are the last rungs. They are not the Starter.
- FinalFirst CorpseStarter · Starter · 0–2 Forma
Upgrade from here
First Corpse — Star Chart
Desecrate every body. Range is loot. Terrify is a panic run-away. Shadows can wait. Primed Continuity and Primed Flow are the first real upgrade — not Blind Rage.
Open First Corpse — Star ChartHelminth & shards
What to put on the body
- 1 Amber · Casting Speed — Pulse corpses faster.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
You just beat Lephantis and were told you are a loot frame.
- Time to a playable copy
- Same day. Stretch and Streamline. A gun that produces corpses.
- First mission to practice in
- A dark-sector Survival or any Exterminate with a lootable faction.
2 button drills · 11 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
Corpse loop
Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.
- 1Kill a pack. Walk onto the bodies. Desecrate (3). Extra loot rolls. Some corpses get a second chance.
- 2Terrify (2) if the pack is shooting you — they run. Useful panic, not a loot button.
- 3Soul Punch (1) is a ragdoll. Shadows of the Dead (4) waits until you have a corpse history and Health Conversion.
- 4Do not stand across the tile and press 3. Range is a radius around Nekros, not a room nuke.
First mission — press these buttons
- 1
Kill a pack, walk onto them
3Press 3. You should see extra loot pops and maybe health orbs.
You will know it worked when: A second drop pulse. Orbs. Extra mods.
- 2
Terrify if they shoot you
22. They run. Then go back to the pile.
Common mistakes
Pressing 3 from spawn
Radius around you. Walk to the dead.
When this feels easy
- 1DespoilRed Veil / Perrin. Next config. Stops the energy tax.
- 2OverextendedRange is loot. Strength is not.
Parts checklist
0 of 11 owned. Tap How on anything you still need.
Dependencies
13 dependencies
Frame → mods → unlocks. Tick Collection and Progress. This is a decision graph, not a wiki tree.
- 1●nekrosframe
- 2○Steel Chargemod
- 3○Cunning Driftmod
- 4○Stretchmod
- 5○Augur Reachmod
- 6○Streamlinemod
- 7○Flowmod
- 8○Continuitymod
- 9○Vitalitymod
- 10○Redirectionmod
- 11○Arcane Energizearcane
- 12○Amber · Casting Speedshard
- 13○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
Stretchmissing · Enemy drops
- Augur Reach
missing · Cetus bounties
Streamlinemissing · Enemy drops and early missions
Flowmissing · Enemy drops
Continuitymissing · Run low-level Defense or Survival
Vitalitymissing · Jackal
- Redirection
missing · Drops
Recommended
Arcane Energizemissing · Buy 20–40 Platinum worth
Desecrate costs energy per corpse. Skip until Despoil.
Optional
Watch it played
YouTube for this loadout
How to Nekros - Still works in 2026
Desecrate, Despoil, Shadows. The loot frame that still prints in 2026.
Strength
~100–130%
Duration
100%
Range
175%+ (Stretch, Augur Reach)
Desecrate is a Range pulse around you. Strength does almost nothing to the loot roll. Stand near the bodies.
From the mods
Live power
Additive from max-rank Codex mods. Efficiency clamped 15–175%. Umbral set is +11% Strength per extra piece.
- Strength
- 100%
- Duration
- 130%
- Range
- 190%
- Efficiency
- 130%
- Energy
- +150%
- Capacity
- 40 / 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
Nekros mods
- AuraSteel ChargeInvasion / Nightwave
- ExilusCunning DriftLua Halls
- 1StretchEnemy drops
- 2Augur ReachCetus bounties
- 3StreamlineEnemy drops
- 4FlowEnemy drops
- 5ContinuityEnemy drops
- 6VitalityEarth / drops
- 7RedirectionEnemy drops
| Slot | Mod | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | Steel Charge | Invasion / Nightwave | |
| Exilus | Cunning Drift | Lua Halls | |
| 1 | Stretch | Enemy drops | |
| 2 | Augur Reach | Cetus bounties | |
| 3 | Streamline | Enemy drops | |
| 4 | Flow | Enemy drops | |
| 5 | Continuity | Enemy drops | |
| 6 | Vitality | Earth / drops | |
| 7 | Redirection | Enemy drops |
Any gun
You kill, then Desecrate. The gun just has to produce corpses. A room-clearer means more bodies per cast.
Arcanes
Arcane Energize
Desecrate costs energy per corpse. Skip until Despoil.
Eidolon / trade
Archon shards
- 1
Amber · Casting SpeedPulse corpses faster.1 · Archon Hunt
| # | Shard | Qty | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amber · Casting Speed Pulse corpses faster. | 1 | Archon Hunt |