Nova — Neutron Gun
Endgame build. Molecular Fission primes with Null Stars. Neutron Star pops the cloud. Your gun does the rest.
Codex Checked · Compared against current game data for this update. · Update 43.5 · 5 Sept 2026 · PC · Current
Steel Path weapons-platform, mobile tiles, people who hate standing in a Prime wave
Wrong drop or mechanic?
Don’t build this yet
First Slowva 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 SlowvaWhy this build?
Endgame for Steel Path weapons-platform, mobile tiles, people who hate standing in a Prime wave
Health: Not yet — Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts still closed. Play the Starter.
- Molecular Fission is the 2026 Nova identity for people who move. Prime without waiting on the wave.
- Null Star DR is why she lives without Adaptation. Duration is a survivability stat.
- Drop is gone. Your magazine replaced it.
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: Incarnon / status primary — Torid, Phenmor, Laetum, any incarnon. Primed enemies take bonus damage. Crepuscular is optional — you are not invisible.
Alternative if…
- You don’t have Helminth yet → First Slowva
- Star Chart only → First Slowva
- New account or low investment → First Slowva
- This is too much Forma / cost → Hold To Sprint — 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 0/5 · required — 5 on the card. Codex does not track installed Forma.
- Helminth 0/1 · required — Subsume Eclipse (Mirage) or Roar (Rhino)
- Arcanes · recommended — 0/2 recommended
- Shards · optional — Optional unless the card says a breakpoint
Investment: 5 Forma · Reactor · Helminth (Eclipse (Mirage) or Roar (Rhino)) · 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 SlowvaThe Starter is the loadout you can actually take into a mission tonight.
- NextGet Growing PowerThe Silver Grove quest
- After that4–5 FormaOne slot at a time. Rank 30 after each polarize.
- LaterCrimson · DurationHelminth and shards are the last rungs. They are not the Starter.
- FinalNeutron GunEndgame · Endgame · 4–5 Forma
Farm the gap
- Nova augments — Molecular Fission · Neutron Star · Escape Velocity · Antimatter Absorb
Helminth & shards
What to put on the body
Eclipse (Mirage) or Roar (Rhino) over Antimatter Drop (2)
You will not steer a ball. Eclipse while Null Star is up is a huge gun multiplier. Roar if the squad wants the buff.
Helminth is locked. Tick it on Progress before you subsume.
- 2 Crimson · Duration — Keep 18 particles without stacking three Duration mods.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.
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 Eclipse (Mirage) 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
Steel Path. You own Molecular Fission and a real gun.
- Time to a playable copy
- After Fission is bought and Drop is subsumed.
- First mission to practice in
- A Steel Path Exterminate. You want to keep moving.
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
Star loop
Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.
- 1Null Star (1). Wait until the orbit is fat. That is 90% DR.
- 2Eclipse or Roar (2).
- 3Walk into a pack. Stars seek, Fission primes, kills refund stars. Tap Prime (4) only when the tile is bigger than seek range.
- 4Neutron Star (if slotted over Rolling Guard on a second config) dumps the cloud as a Blast bomb. Recast 1 immediately.
First mission — press these buttons
- 1
Stack stars to 18
1Fat orbit. 90% DR. Do not walk in with three particles.
- 2
Eclipse or Roar
22. Shoot.
- 3
Let Fission work
Stars that seek apply Prime. Kills refund stars. Recast 1 only if the orbit thins.
Common mistakes
Recasting 4 every room out of habit
Fission is doing that. Save 100 energy for when the tile is bigger than seek range.
When this feels easy
- 1Duration shardsParticle count is Duration. Two Crimson Duration shards free a mod slot.
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○Molecular Fissionaugment
- 5○Blind Ragemod
- 6○Primed Continuitymod
- 7○Narrow Mindedmod
- 8○Umbral Intensifymod
- 9○Primed Flowmod
- 10○Rolling Guardmod
- 11○Molt Augmentedarcane
- 12○Arcane Precisionarcane
- 13○Crimson · Durationshard
- 14○Violet · Primary crit / electricshard
- 15○Eclipsehelminth
- 16○Roar (Rhino)helminth
- 17○Helminth · Eclipse (Mirage) 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
- Molecular Fission
missing · Cephalon Suda / Steel Meridian · 25,000
Null Stars apply Molecular Prime. Kills refund particles. You stop recasting 4 every hallway.
Blind Ragemissing · Run Orokin Vaults
Primed Continuitymissing · Wait for Baro Ki'Teer
Umbral Intensifymissing · Finish The Sacrifice
Primed Flowmissing · Baro Ki'Teer
- Eclipse
missing · Helminth
You will not steer a ball. Eclipse while Null Star is up is a huge gun multiplier. Roar if the squad wants the buff.
Roar (Rhino)missing · Own Rhino
You will not steer a ball. Eclipse while Null Star is up is a huge gun multiplier. Roar if the squad wants the buff.
Recommended
Optional
Crimson · Durationmissing · Same Crimson faucet
Keep 18 particles without stacking three Duration mods.
Watch it played
YouTube for this loadout
This NOVA is the MOST FUN I've had in a while in Warframe!
Molecular Prime after the rework. Speedva plus nuke synergies.
Helminth
Subsume Eclipse (Mirage) or Roar (Rhino) over Antimatter Drop (2)
You will not steer a ball. Eclipse while Null Star is up is a huge gun multiplier. Roar if the squad wants the buff.
Strength
~180–220% (Prime cap plus Eclipse/Roar)
Duration
180%+ so Null Star holds 18 particles (90% DR cap)
Range
175% seek radius
18 Null Star particles = 90% DR. Molecular Fission recasts particles on primed kills.
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
- +275%
- Capacity
- 54 / 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
Nova mods
- AuraGrowing PowerSilver Grove
- ExilusPower DriftVaults / Lua
- 1Molecular FissionNull Stars apply Molecular Prime. Kills refund particles. You stop recasting 4 every hallway.Cephalon Suda / Steel Meridian · 25k
- 2Blind RageOrokin Vaults
- 3Primed ContinuityBaro
- 4Narrow MindedParticle count is Duration. 90% DR needs ~18 stars.Orokin Vaults
- 5Umbral IntensifyThe Sacrifice
- 6Primed FlowBaro
- 7Rolling GuardStatus cleanse when a particle gap leaves you naked.Arbitrations
| Slot | Mod | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | Growing Power | Silver Grove | |
| Exilus | Power Drift | Vaults / Lua | |
| 1 | Molecular Fission Null Stars apply Molecular Prime. Kills refund particles. You stop recasting 4 every hallway. | Cephalon Suda / Steel Meridian · 25k | |
| 2 | Blind Rage | Orokin Vaults | |
| 3 | Primed Continuity | Baro | |
| 4 | Narrow Minded Particle count is Duration. 90% DR needs ~18 stars. | Orokin Vaults | |
| 5 | Umbral Intensify | The Sacrifice | |
| 6 | Primed Flow | Baro | |
| 7 | Rolling Guard Status cleanse when a particle gap leaves you naked. | Arbitrations |
Incarnon / status primary
Torid, Phenmor, Laetum, any incarnon. Primed enemies take bonus damage. Crepuscular is optional — you are not invisible.
Arcanes
Molt Augmented
Strength for Eclipse/Roar and Prime.
Zariman
Arcane Precision
Secondary variant. Arcane Rage for primaries.
Eidolon / trade
Archon shards
- 1Crimson · DurationKeep 18 particles without stacking three Duration mods.2 · Netracells
- 2Violet · Primary crit / electricThe gun is the nuke.2 · Elite Temporal Archimedea
| # | Shard | Qty | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crimson · Duration Keep 18 particles without stacking three Duration mods. | 2 | Netracells | |
| 2 | Violet · Primary crit / electric The gun is the nuke. | 2 | Elite Temporal Archimedea |