Nyx — First Bolts
Starter build. Psychic Bolts strip armor and shields. Chaos makes the room fight itself. Absorb is the panic button.
Codex Checked · Compared against current game data for this update. · Update 43.5 · 5 Sept 2026 · PC · Current
Star Chart, first Nyx, learning the 2024 rework kit
Wrong drop or mechanic?
Why this build?
Starter for Star Chart, first Nyx, learning the 2024 rework kit
Health: Inventory unknown — Mark what you own. Until then this is a recommendation, not a test you failed.
- Psychic Bolts are 2026 Nyx. Full armor and shield strip at 125% Strength. That is one Intensify.
- Chaos is crowd control and a crit aura for your guns via the passive.
- Mind Control waits. Absorb waits. Learn 2 and 3 first.
Don’t use this for: Steel Path endurance · level-cap content
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 — Bolts strip. Your rifle finishes. A status primer is luxury, not required.
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 Bolts — Star Chart
The next rung on this frame is unlocked. Mark I run this, then step up.
First Bolts — 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
- 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 BoltsStarter · Starter · 0–2 Forma
Upgrade from here
First Bolts — Star Chart
Psychic Bolts strip armor and shields. Chaos makes the room fight itself. Absorb is the panic button. Primed Continuity and Primed Flow are the first real upgrade — not Blind Rage.
Open First Bolts — Star ChartHelminth & shards
What to put on the body
- 1 Amber · Casting Speed — Bolts and Chaos on tempo.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 beat Phorid and think Nyx is still the 2014 Absorb statue.
- Time to a playable copy
- Same day. Intensify hits the strip breakpoint with Growing Power or Power Drift.
- First mission to practice in
- A Grineer Exterminate so you can see armor bars vanish.
3 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
Bolt loop
Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.
- 1Psychic Bolts (2) at a pack. Six seekers strip armor and shields, then hand a chunk of that defense to you.
- 2Chaos (3) when the room is too loud. They shoot each other. Your passive stacks crit per confused enemy.
- 3Mind Control (1) a heavy if you want a pet. Starter can ignore it.
- 4Absorb (4) is the panic bubble. Do not sit in it for a whole Defense on this config.
First mission — press these buttons
- 1
Look at a pack, press 2
2Six bolts fly. Armor and shield bars drop. You gain a little stolen defense.
You will know it worked when: Yellow seekers. Naked Grineer.
- 2
Chaos if they still shoot you
33. They pick a new hobby.
- 3
Shoot the naked ones
That is the loop. Recast Bolts only when the strip timer dies.
Common mistakes
Recasting Bolts every two seconds
You just cancelled the strip. Let it sit. Kills spread extra bolts.
When this feels easy
- 1Confirm 125% StrengthAbility screen. If you are under, add Power Drift or Growing Power.
- 2Nourish subsumeMind Control is the dump. Next config.
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●nyxframe
- 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
25% Strength. Hits the 125% full-strip line with Intensify.
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
Optional
Strength
~130% (Intensify + Power Drift) — full strip is 125%
Duration
155% (Continuity)
Range
145% (Stretch) for Chaos
Psychic Bolts do not scale with Range. Strength is the strip. Duration is how long they stay naked.
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
Nyx mods
- AuraGrowing Power25% Strength. Hits the 125% full-strip line with Intensify.Silver Grove specters
- ExilusPower DriftOrokin Vaults / Lua
- 1IntensifyMercury / Venus rewards
- 2ContinuityEnemy drops
- 3StretchEnemy drops
- 4StreamlineEnemy drops
- 5FlowEnemy drops
- 6VitalityEarth / drops
- 7RedirectionBolts steal shields. Redirection gives them a bucket to land in.Enemy drops
| Slot | Mod | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | Growing Power 25% Strength. Hits the 125% full-strip line with Intensify. | Silver Grove specters | |
| Exilus | Power Drift | Orokin Vaults / Lua | |
| 1 | Intensify | Mercury / Venus rewards | |
| 2 | Continuity | Enemy drops | |
| 3 | Stretch | Enemy drops | |
| 4 | Streamline | Enemy drops | |
| 5 | Flow | Enemy drops | |
| 6 | Vitality | Earth / drops | |
| 7 | Redirection Bolts steal shields. Redirection gives them a bucket to land in. | Enemy drops |
Any gun
Bolts strip. Your rifle finishes. A status primer is luxury, not required.
Arcanes
Arcane Energize
Bolts cost 50. Skip until you can afford it.
Eidolon / trade
Archon shards
- 1
Amber · Casting SpeedBolts and Chaos on tempo.1 · Archon Hunt
| # | Shard | Qty | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amber · Casting Speed Bolts and Chaos on tempo. | 1 | Archon Hunt |