Nova — Hold To Sprint
Steel Path build. Hold Molecular Prime. Enemies sprint into the objective. Farm rotations finish faster. Same 150% Strength cap as Slowva. This is the peak you can run the day Steel Path unlocks — galvanized / arcanes, no Helminth.
Codex Checked · Compared against current game data for this update. · Update 43.5 · 5 Sept 2026 · PC · Current
Steel Path Star Chart, Circuit, first Archon. Helminth is the next card.
Wrong drop or mechanic?
Why this build?
Steel Path for Steel Path Star Chart, Circuit, first Archon. Helminth is the next card.
Health: Not yet — Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts still closed. Play the Starter.
- Old Speedva was negative Strength. That is gone. Tap/hold on one loadout is the 2024–2026 Nova.
- 75% speed cap is 150% Strength, same as the slow cap. Do not dump Strength to 'make them faster' — it makes them slower than the cap.
- Her passive: sped-up kills drop energy orbs, slowed kills drop health orbs. Equilibrium turns both into a battery.
Don’t use this for: Capture / short missions · Exterminate speedruns · timed Exterminate as the damage · sitting Defense
Stronger mods, Arcanes, real synergy
You don’t need the shards to run the loop. They are a later ceiling, not a gate.
Bring: AoE primary — You are not the DPS. You are the spawn accelerator. A status primer or a Kuva weapon is plenty.
Alternative if…
- Star Chart only → First Slowva
- This is too much Forma / cost → First Slowva — Star Chart
- You wanted to fight, not farm → Neutron Gun
- 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 0/4 · required — 4 on the card. Codex does not track installed Forma.
- Helminth · optional — Not required
- Arcanes · recommended — 0/2 recommended
- Shards · optional — Optional unless the card says a breakpoint
Investment: 4 Forma · Reactor · 1 shard · 2 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 Brief RespiteThe Index / Nightwave
- 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.
- FinalHold To Sprint — Steel PathSteel 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 — OptimisedHelminth & shards
What to put on the body
- 1 Crimson · Strength — Pay Overextended back so you still cap speed at 75%.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 Brief Respite
One named gap. The Index / Nightwave
60 minutes
Brief Respite, 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 Brief Respite
The Index / Nightwave
Who this is for
Play this build from zero
You know tap-slow. You want Defense waves to finish before the coffee cools.
- Time to a playable copy
- After Continuity and Stretch are ranked. 150% Strength still required.
- First mission to practice in
- A dark-sector Defense or Hydron-style XP farm.
3 button drills · 12 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
Speed loop
Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.
- 1Null Star (1) for DR.
- 2HOLD Molecular Prime (4). The wave paints the tile. Enemies inside it sprint.
- 3Stand on the objective. Let the squad farm the rush. Recast before the Prime falls off.
- 4If a Defense wave is actually scary, TAP 4 instead. You did not swap configs — you swapped the button.
First mission — press these buttons
- 1
Stars on
11 in spawn.
- 2
Hold 4 as the wave spawns
4Enemies sprint at the pod. Your squad's AoE has more targets per second.
You will know it worked when: They are fast. The Prime shimmer is the same — the button was hold.
- 3
Tap 4 if a wave actually hurts
Same loadout. You did not swap configs.
Common mistakes
Bringing Speedva to a Spy
Faster guards see you sooner. Tap-slow for stealth tiles.
When this feels easy
- 1Do not Overextended below 150% StrengthPay it back with Intensify or shards. Below cap they are not actually max-speed.
- 2EquilibriumSped kills drop energy orbs. That is her passive doing work.
Parts checklist
0 of 12 owned. Tap How on anything you still need.
Dependencies
15 dependencies
Frame → mods → unlocks. Tick Collection and Progress. This is a decision graph, not a wiki tree.
- 1●novaframe
- 2○Brief Respitemod
- 3○Cunning Driftmod
- 4○Intensifymod
- 5○Primed Continuitymod
- 6○Stretchmod
- 7○Overextendedmod
- 8○Streamlinemod
- 9○Primed Flowmod
- 10○Equilibriummod
- 11○Molt Efficiencyarcane
- 12○Arcane Energizearcane
- 13○Crimson · Strengthshard
- 14○Steel Pathunlock
- 15○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
- Brief Respite
missing · The Index / Nightwave
Cunning Driftmissing · Lua Halls of Ascension
Intensifymissing · Fight Lieutenant Lech Kril
Primed Continuitymissing · Wait for Baro Ki'Teer
Stretchmissing · Enemy drops
Overextendedmissing · Orokin Vaults
Wave size. Pay Strength back with Intensify / shards so you still hit 150%.
Streamlinemissing · Enemy drops and early missions
Primed Flowmissing · Baro Ki'Teer
- Equilibrium
missing · The New Strange / drops
Sped-up kills drop energy orbs. Slowed kills drop health orbs. Her passive feeds both.
Recommended
- Molt Efficiency
missing · Zariman
Duration while shielded. The Prime wave is a duration object. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Arcane Energizemissing · Buy 20–40 Platinum worth
Hold-cast Prime is still 100 energy. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Optional
Crimson · Strengthmissing · Netracells / Archon Hunt / Bird 3
Pay Overextended back so you still cap speed at 75%.
Strength
150%+ (the 75% speed cap lives here — Overextended-only Speedva is dead)
Duration
180%+ so the wave keeps expanding
Range
175%+
Tap and hold are the same build now. Strength maxes slow AND speed. Recast with hold.
From the mods
Live power
Additive from max-rank Codex mods. Efficiency clamped 15–175%. Umbral set is +11% Strength per extra piece.
- Strength
- 70%
- Duration
- 155%
- Range
- 250%
- Efficiency
- 130%
- 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
- AuraBrief RespiteThe Index / Nightwave
- ExilusCunning DriftLua Halls
- 1IntensifyMercury / Venus
- 2Primed ContinuityBaro Ki'Teer
- 3StretchEnemy drops
- 4OverextendedWave size. Pay Strength back with Intensify / shards so you still hit 150%.Orokin Vaults
- 5StreamlineEnemy drops
- 6Primed FlowBaro / relics
- 7EquilibriumSped-up kills drop energy orbs. Slowed kills drop health orbs. Her passive feeds both.The New Strange
| Slot | Mod | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | Brief Respite | The Index / Nightwave | |
| Exilus | Cunning Drift | Lua Halls | |
| 1 | Intensify | Mercury / Venus | |
| 2 | Primed Continuity | Baro Ki'Teer | |
| 3 | Stretch | Enemy drops | |
| 4 | Overextended Wave size. Pay Strength back with Intensify / shards so you still hit 150%. | Orokin Vaults | |
| 5 | Streamline | Enemy drops | |
| 6 | Primed Flow | Baro / relics | |
| 7 | Equilibrium Sped-up kills drop energy orbs. Slowed kills drop health orbs. Her passive feeds both. | The New Strange |
AoE primary
You are not the DPS. You are the spawn accelerator. A status primer or a Kuva weapon is plenty.
Arcanes
Molt Efficiency
Duration while shielded. The Prime wave is a duration object. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Zariman bounties
Arcane Energize
Hold-cast Prime is still 100 energy. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Eidolon / trade
Archon shards
- 1Crimson · StrengthPay Overextended back so you still cap speed at 75%.1 · Netracells
| # | Shard | Qty | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crimson · Strength Pay Overextended back so you still cap speed at 75%. | 1 | Netracells |