Nova — Charged Particle
Steel Path build. Antimatter Drop is a snowball you shoot. Dump a magazine into the ball, steer it, delete a hallway.
Codex Checked · Compared against current game data for this update. · Update 43.5 · 5 Sept 2026 · PC · Current
Bosses, Demolysts, people who like a second fireball
Wrong drop or mechanic?
Why this build?
Steel Path for Bosses, Demolysts, people who like a second fireball
Health: Not yet — Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts still closed. Play the Starter.
- Drop is the original Nova nuke. It still deletes single threats when you actually charge it.
- Uncharged Drop is a sad spark. The gun is the ability.
- Wormhole is the Helminth slot here. You are not taxied. You are a cannon.
Don’t use this for: players without Helminth · ability-nuke as the damage
Stronger mods, Arcanes, real synergy
You don’t need the shards to run the loop. They are a later ceiling, not a gate.
Bring: Hitscan / high fire-rate primary — You are charging the Drop by shooting it. A fast rifle or a shotgun dump is the battery. Antimatter Absorb (augment) lets the ball eat enemy fire too.
Alternative if…
- You don’t have Helminth yet → First Slowva
- Star Chart only → First Slowva
- This is too much Forma / cost → First Slowva — 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 0/1 · required — Subsume Nourish (Grendel) or Roar (Rhino)
- Arcanes · recommended — 0/2 recommended
- Shards · optional — Optional unless the card says a breakpoint
Investment: 4 Forma · Reactor · Helminth (Nourish (Grendel) or Roar (Rhino)) · 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.
Your next step
Next: Hold To Sprint — Optimised
Unlock Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts before this upgrade is honest.
Hold To Sprint — 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.
- LaterCrimson · StrengthHelminth and shards are the last rungs. They are not the Starter.
- FinalCharged ParticleSteel Path · Advanced · 3–4 Forma
Upgrade from here
Hold To Sprint — Optimised
Locked behind Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts. Tick those on Progress first.
Open Hold To Sprint — OptimisedFarm the gap
- Nova augments — Molecular Fission · Neutron Star · Escape Velocity · Antimatter Absorb
Helminth & shards
What to put on the body
Nourish (Grendel) or Roar (Rhino) over Wormhole (3)
Wormhole is the dump slot on a Drop config. Nourish is Viral plus energy. Roar multiplies the ball and your gun.
Helminth is locked. Tick it on Progress before you subsume.
- 2–3 Crimson · Strength — Bigger ball, harder Prime.Archon locked
- 1 Amber · Casting Speed — Launch, shoot, launch.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 Nourish (Grendel) or Roar (Rhino)
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
You want to steer a bomb.
- Time to a playable copy
- After a Wormhole subsume and a gun that dumps a mag fast.
- First mission to practice in
- A boss or a Disruption Demolyst. One target you can charge into.
3 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
Charge loop
Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.
- 1Null Star (1). Tap Prime (4) so the room is slow and vulnerable.
- 2Antimatter Drop (2). Look at the glowing ball. Empty a magazine into it.
- 3Steer with the reticle. Touch a packed hallway. Blast status is guaranteed.
- 4Nourish or Roar (3) before the next ball if you subsumed.
First mission — press these buttons
- 1
Prime the room
4Tap 4.
- 2
Launch Drop and dump the mag
22, then shoot YOUR particle, not the enemy.
You will know it worked when: The ball brightens as it eats bullets.
- 3
Steer into the pack
Reticle is the rudder. Contact detonates.
Common mistakes
Shooting past the ball
You are the battery. Hit your own particle.
When this feels easy
- 1Antimatter AbsorbEnemy fire charges it too. Nice on Defense.
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●novaframe
- 2○Growing Powermod
- 3○Power Driftmod
- 4○Blind Ragemod
- 5○Intensifymod
- 6○Primed Continuitymod
- 7○Stretchmod
- 8○Streamlinemod
- 9○Primed Flowmod
- 10○Antimatter Absorbaugment
- 11○Molt Augmentedarcane
- 12○Arcane Energizearcane
- 13○Crimson · Strengthshard
- 14○Amber · Casting Speedshard
- 15○Nourishhelminth
- 16○Roar (Rhino)helminth
- 17○Helminth · Nourish (Grendel) or Roar (Rhino)unlock
- 18○Steel Pathunlock
- 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 Powermissing · The Silver Grove quest
Power Driftmissing · Unlock Lua
Blind Ragemissing · Run Orokin Vaults
Intensifymissing · Fight Lieutenant Lech Kril
Primed Continuitymissing · Wait for Baro Ki'Teer
Stretchmissing · Enemy drops
Streamlinemissing · Enemy drops and early missions
Primed Flowmissing · Baro Ki'Teer
- Antimatter Absorb
missing · Cephalon Suda / Steel Meridian · 25,000
The ball eats incoming fire and grows. Optional — skip if you always dump the mag yourself.
- Nourish
missing · Helminth
Wormhole is the dump slot on a Drop config. Nourish is Viral plus energy. Roar multiplies the ball and your gun.
Roar (Rhino)missing · Own Rhino
Wormhole is the dump slot on a Drop config. Nourish is Viral plus energy. Roar multiplies the ball and your gun.
Recommended
Optional
Helminth
Subsume Nourish (Grendel) or Roar (Rhino) over Wormhole (3)
Wormhole is the dump slot on a Drop config. Nourish is Viral plus energy. Roar multiplies the ball and your gun.
Strength
~200%+ (Drop damage and Prime slow)
Duration
155%
Range
145% (Drop detonation radius)
Shoot the particle to charge it. Steering is your reticle. It detonates on contact.
From the mods
Live power
Additive from max-rank Codex mods. Efficiency clamped 15–175%. Umbral set is +11% Strength per extra piece.
- Strength
- 244%
- Duration
- 155%
- Range
- 145%
- Efficiency
- 75%
- Energy
- +275%
- Capacity
- 48 / 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
Nova mods
- AuraGrowing PowerSilver Grove
- ExilusPower DriftVaults / Lua
- 1Blind RageOrokin Vaults
- 2IntensifyDrops
- 3Primed ContinuityBaro
- 4StretchDrops
- 5StreamlineDrops
- 6Primed FlowBaro
- 7Antimatter AbsorbThe ball eats incoming fire and grows. Optional — skip if you always dump the mag yourself.Cephalon Suda / Steel Meridian · 25k
| Slot | Mod | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | Growing Power | Silver Grove | |
| Exilus | Power Drift | Vaults / Lua | |
| 1 | Blind Rage | Orokin Vaults | |
| 2 | Intensify | Drops | |
| 3 | Primed Continuity | Baro | |
| 4 | Stretch | Drops | |
| 5 | Streamline | Drops | |
| 6 | Primed Flow | Baro | |
| 7 | Antimatter Absorb The ball eats incoming fire and grows. Optional — skip if you always dump the mag yourself. | Cephalon Suda / Steel Meridian · 25k |
Hitscan / high fire-rate primary
You are charging the Drop by shooting it. A fast rifle or a shotgun dump is the battery. Antimatter Absorb (augment) lets the ball eat enemy fire too.
Arcanes
Molt Augmented
Strength stacks. Drop and Prime both scale.
Zariman
Arcane Energize
Drop is 50, Prime is 100. You will recast both.
Eidolon
Archon shards
- 1
Crimson · StrengthBigger ball, harder Prime.2–3 · Netracells - 2
Amber · Casting SpeedLaunch, shoot, launch.1 · EDA
| # | Shard | Qty | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crimson · Strength Bigger ball, harder Prime. | 2–3 | Netracells | |
| 2 | Amber · Casting Speed Launch, shoot, launch. | 1 | EDA |