Nova — First Slowva
Starter build. Tap Molecular Prime. Enemies crawl. Null Star is your health bar. Cheap mods, zero drama.
Codex Checked · Compared against current game data for this update. · Update 43.5 · 5 Sept 2026 · PC · Current
Star Chart, first Nova, Defense and Mobile Defense
Wrong drop or mechanic?
Why this build?
Starter for Star Chart, first Nova, Defense and Mobile Defense
Health: Inventory unknown — Mark what you own. Until then this is a recommendation, not a test you failed.
- Slowva is how you learn Nova. Duration keeps the Prime on the map. Range makes the wave a room.
- 150% Strength is the slow cap (75%). Intensify plus Power Drift plus Growing Power is close enough for the whole Star Chart.
- Null Star is not a damage button. It is your armor. Recast before the particles run out.
Don’t use this for: Steel Path endurance · level-cap content · Capture / short missions · Exterminate speedruns
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 — Primed enemies take extra damage and explode on death. Your starter rifle is enough.
Alternative if…
- You are not sitting on a point → Taxi Window
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 0/1 · required — 1 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: 1 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 Slowva — Star Chart
The next rung on this frame is unlocked. Mark I run this, then step up.
First Slowva — 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 Growing PowerThe Silver Grove quest
- LaterAmber · Casting SpeedHelminth and shards are the last rungs. They are not the Starter.
- FinalFirst SlowvaStarter · Starter · 0–1 Forma
Upgrade from here
First Slowva — Star Chart
Tap Molecular Prime. Enemies crawl. Null Star is your health bar. Cheap mods, zero drama. Primed Continuity and Primed Flow are the first real upgrade — not Blind Rage.
Open First Slowva — Star ChartHelminth & shards
What to put on the body
- 1 Amber · Casting Speed — Prime recasts stop feeling like a cutscene.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
One Archon Hunt
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 just killed the Raptors and have never painted a tile slow.
- Time to a playable copy
- Same day. Intensify, Stretch, Continuity.
- First mission to practice in
- A Defense on Venus or Earth so you can see the Prime wave actually crawl a lane.
4 button drills · 11 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
Slow loop
Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.
- 1Null Star (1) the second you load in. Particles orbit you and chew nearby trash. Each particle is damage reduction.
- 2Tap Molecular Prime (4) as you enter a tile. The wave expands. Enemies inside it crawl.
- 3Shoot. Primed kills explode and chain the Prime to neighbors.
- 4Do not hold 4 on this config — hold is Speedva, and Star Chart Defense does not want faster spawn animations yet.
First mission — press these buttons
- 1
Cast Null Star in spawn
1Particles appear around you. Walk near a group — they peel off and hit.
You will know it worked when: Little white sparks in orbit. Your health bar is now a lie in a good way.
- 2
Tap Molecular Prime in a doorway
4A wave expands. Enemies inside it walk like they owe you money.
You will know it worked when: A ticking antimatter shimmer on their bodies.
- 3
Shoot anything primed
They take extra damage and explode. The explosion paints neighbors.
- 4
Recast stars when the orbit looks thin
1Empty orbit is 105 armor. Recast.
Common mistakes
Holding 4 by accident
Hold is Speedva. Fine later. Not on your first Defense.
When this feels easy
- 1Hit 150% StrengthPower Drift or a cheap Crimson shard. That is the 75% slow cap.
- 2Molecular FissionNext real purchase. Stars start priming for you.
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●novaframe
- 2○Growing Powermod
- 3○Power Driftmod
- 4○Intensifymod
- 5○Continuitymod
- 6○Stretchmod
- 7○Streamlinemod
- 8○Flowmod
- 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
Growing Powermissing · The Silver Grove quest
Power Driftmissing · Unlock Lua
Intensifymissing · Fight Lieutenant Lech Kril
Continuitymissing · Run low-level Defense or Survival
Stretchmissing · Enemy drops
Streamlinemissing · Enemy drops and early missions
Flowmissing · Enemy drops
Vitalitymissing · Jackal
Recommended
Arcane Energizemissing · Buy 20–40 Platinum worth
Molecular Prime is 100 energy. Skip until you can afford it.
Optional
Watch it played
YouTube for this loadout
Nova reloaded is a BLAST! - Nova Guide
Molecular Prime slowva vs speedva after the rework. Null Star DR.
Strength
~145% (Intensify + Power Drift) — 150% is the 75% slow cap
Duration
155% (Continuity + Augur Message)
Range
145% (Stretch)
Tap 4 to slow. Hold 4 to speed. Same Strength number feeds both. You want 150%.
From the mods
Live power
Additive from max-rank Codex mods. Efficiency clamped 15–175%. Umbral set is +11% Strength per extra piece.
- Strength
- 145%
- Duration
- 130%
- Range
- 145%
- Efficiency
- 130%
- Energy
- +150%
- Capacity
- 42 / 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 specters
- ExilusPower DriftOrokin Vaults / Lua
- 1IntensifyMercury / Venus rewards
- 2ContinuityEnemy drops / Saturn
- 3StretchEnemy drops
- 4StreamlineEnemy drops
- 5FlowEnemy drops
- 6VitalityEarth / drops
- 7RedirectionNova is paper. Null Star DR plus shields is the starter plan.Enemy drops
| Slot | Mod | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | Growing Power | Silver Grove specters | |
| Exilus | Power Drift | Orokin Vaults / Lua | |
| 1 | Intensify | Mercury / Venus rewards | |
| 2 | Continuity | Enemy drops / Saturn | |
| 3 | Stretch | Enemy drops | |
| 4 | Streamline | Enemy drops | |
| 5 | Flow | Enemy drops | |
| 6 | Vitality | Earth / drops | |
| 7 | Redirection Nova is paper. Null Star DR plus shields is the starter plan. | Enemy drops |
Any gun
Primed enemies take extra damage and explode on death. Your starter rifle is enough.
Arcanes
Arcane Energize
Molecular Prime is 100 energy. Skip until you can afford it.
Eidolon hunts / trade
Archon shards
- 1
Amber · Casting SpeedPrime recasts stop feeling like a cutscene.1 · Archon Hunt / EDA
| # | Shard | Qty | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amber · Casting Speed Prime recasts stop feeling like a cutscene. | 1 | Archon Hunt / EDA |