Sirius & Orion — Astral Shell
Steel Path build. Hold-swap and stay Orion. Astral Shell is the tank. Event Horizon groups. Gravitic Slash is the melee wave. Sirius is the emergency heal.
Codex Checked · Compared against current game data for this update. · Update 43.5 · 5 Sept 2026 · PC · Current
Defense, surviving Steel Path, people who wanted a gravity tank not a jade assassin
Wrong drop or mechanic?
Why this build?
Steel Path for Defense, surviving Steel Path, people who wanted a gravity tank not a jade assassin
Health: Not yet — Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts still closed. Play the Starter.
- Orion is the shell brother. Sirius glare will not save a Defense pod. Horizon will.
- Range on Horizon is more damage than another Strength mod once the pile exists.
- You still print stars by existing. Clash is legal if a tile deserves the sky.
Don’t use this for: Star Chart only · new accounts · Capture / short missions · Exterminate speedruns
Stronger mods, Arcanes, real synergy
You don’t need the shards to run the loop. They are a later ceiling, not a gate.
Bring: Melee or shotgun — Orion wants to be in the pile Event Horizon makes. A slam melee or a pellet gun. Shell is the health bar.
Alternative if…
- Star Chart only → First Swap
- This is too much Forma / cost → First Swap — 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 · optional — Not required
- Arcanes · recommended — 0/2 recommended
- Shards · optional — Optional unless the card says a breakpoint
Investment: 4 Forma · Reactor · 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.
Your next step
Next: Celestial Clash — Optimised
Unlock Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts before this upgrade is honest.
Celestial Clash — 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 Steel ChargeInvasion / Nightwave
- After that4 FormaOne slot at a time. Rank 30 after each polarize.
- LaterAzure · Armor / healthHelminth and shards are the last rungs. They are not the Starter.
- FinalAstral ShellSteel Path · Advanced · 4 Forma
Upgrade from here
Celestial Clash — Optimised
Locked behind Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts. Tick those on Progress first.
Open Celestial Clash — OptimisedHelminth & shards
What to put on the body
- 2 Azure · Armor / health — Hull math.Archon locked
- 2 Crimson · Strength — Shell and pull.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 Steel Charge
One named gap. Invasion / Nightwave
60 minutes
Steel Charge, 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 Steel Charge
Invasion / Nightwave
Who this is for
Play this build from zero
Defense. You want a hull and a hole, not a glare.
- Time to a playable copy
- After you can hold-swap on spawn without thinking.
- First mission to practice in
- A Defense. Shell on the pod, Horizon on the lane.
2 button drills · 13 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
Hull loop
Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.
- 1Hold 2 as you load in so you are Orion with Astral Shell up. Recast Shell before it cracks.
- 2Event Horizon (hold 3) on the objective or a hallway. They fall in.
- 3Gravitic Slash (hold 1) through the ball. Repeat.
- 4Tap-swap to Sirius only for Light's Sanctuary if someone is downed in the well, then hold-swap home.
First mission — press these buttons
- 1
Hold 2 as you land
2Orion, Shell up.
You will know it worked when: The hull, not Jade motes.
- 2
Horizon the lane
3They fall in. Slash the pile.
Common mistakes
Tapping 3 on the pod
That is Sanctuary, which is fine, but you wanted a hole. Hold.
When this feels easy
- 1Range shards or Cunning DriftHorizon is a radius.
Parts checklist
0 of 13 owned. Tap How on anything you still need.
Dependencies
16 dependencies
Frame → mods → unlocks. Tick Collection and Progress. This is a decision graph, not a wiki tree.
- 1●sirius-and-orionframe
- 2○Steel Chargemod
- 3○Cunning Driftmod
- 4○Blind Ragemod
- 5○Umbral Intensifymod
- 6○Primed Continuitymod
- 7○Stretchmod
- 8○Overextendedmod
- 9○Adaptationmod
- 10○Primed Flowmod
- 11○Arcane Batteryarcane
- 12○Molt Efficiencyarcane
- 13○Azure · Armor / healthshard
- 14○Crimson · Strengthshard
- 15○Steel Pathunlock
- 16○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
- Steel Charge
missing · Invasion / Nightwave
Cunning Driftmissing · Lua Halls of Ascension
Blind Ragemissing · Run Orokin Vaults
Umbral Intensifymissing · Finish The Sacrifice
Primed Continuitymissing · Wait for Baro Ki'Teer
Stretchmissing · Enemy drops
- Adaptation
missing · Arbitration / Arbitrations
Primed Flowmissing · Baro Ki'Teer
Recommended
- Arcane Battery
missing · Duviri / trade
If Shell grants armor-like stats, this fattens the pool. Otherwise Energize.
Optional
Strength
~200–250% (Shell HP and Horizon pull)
Duration
155% so Shell stays
Range
175%+ for Horizon and Slash
Astral Shell is Orion's Iron Skin analogue — a cosmic overshield/Overguard-style hull. Event Horizon is the grouping hole. You live on hold-cast.
From the mods
Live power
Additive from max-rank Codex mods. Efficiency clamped 15–175%. Umbral set is +11% Strength per extra piece.
- Strength
- 183%
- Duration
- 155%
- Range
- 250%
- Efficiency
- 45%
- Energy
- +275%
- Capacity
- 52 / 69
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
Sirius & Orion mods
- AuraSteel ChargeInvasion / Nightwave
- ExilusCunning DriftLua Halls
- 1Blind RageOrokin Vaults
- 2Umbral IntensifyThe Sacrifice
- 3Primed ContinuityBaro
- 4StretchDrops
- 5OverextendedEvent Horizon radius is the content.Orokin Vaults
- 6AdaptationArbitrations
- 7Primed FlowBaro
| Slot | Mod | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | Steel Charge | Invasion / Nightwave | |
| Exilus | Cunning Drift | Lua Halls | |
| 1 | Blind Rage | Orokin Vaults | |
| 2 | Umbral Intensify | The Sacrifice | |
| 3 | Primed Continuity | Baro | |
| 4 | Stretch | Drops | |
| 5 | Overextended Event Horizon radius is the content. | Orokin Vaults | |
| 6 | Adaptation | Arbitrations | |
| 7 | Primed Flow | Baro |
Melee or shotgun
Orion wants to be in the pile Event Horizon makes. A slam melee or a pellet gun. Shell is the health bar.
Arcanes
Arcane Battery
If Shell grants armor-like stats, this fattens the pool. Otherwise Energize.
Duviri
Molt Efficiency
Duration while the hull holds.
Zariman
Archon shards
- 1
Azure · Armor / healthHull math.2 · Netracells - 2
Crimson · StrengthShell and pull.2 · Netracells
| # | Shard | Qty | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Azure · Armor / health Hull math. | 2 | Netracells | |
| 2 | Crimson · Strength Shell and pull. | 2 | Netracells |