Vauban — Artillery Officer
Steel Path build. Photon Repeater plus Photon Strike. Drop the beacon, laser the Bastille pile, double damage on Overguard. This is the 2026 Vauban nuke. 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.
- Photon Strike deals double to Overguard. That is why Vauban still has a nuke job in 2026.
- Bastille first, laser second. A beacon on an empty tile is a very expensive flashlight.
- Tesla Nervos is cute. It is not 300% Strength Photon.
Don’t use this for: Star Chart only · loadouts that need Helminth
Stronger mods, Arcanes, real synergy
You don’t need the shards to run the loop. They are a later ceiling, not a gate.
Bring: Beacon, then gun — Photon Strike is the nuke. A primer on the vortex pile still helps. You do not need an exalted.
Alternative if…
- Star Chart only → First Bastille
- This is too much Forma / cost → First Bastille — 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 · 1 shard · 3 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: Artillery Officer — Optimised
Unlock Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts before this upgrade is honest.
Artillery Officer — 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 Growing PowerThe Silver Grove quest
- 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.
- FinalArtillery Officer — Steel PathSteel Path · Advanced · 3–4 Forma
Upgrade from here
Artillery Officer — Optimised
Locked behind Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts. Tick those on Progress first.
Open Artillery Officer — OptimisedFarm the gap
- Vauban augments — Photon Repeater · Tesla Bank · Repelling Bastille
Helminth & shards
What to put on the body
- 1 Crimson · Strength — Photon numbers and Bastille strip.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
Steel Path Overguard is laughing at your rifle. You own Photon Repeater.
- Time to a playable copy
- After Photon Repeater and a Tesla subsume.
- First mission to practice in
- SP Exterminate with Eximus. You want Overguard bars to vanish.
2 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
Laser loop
Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.
- 1Bastille (4) the pack so they cannot walk out of the laser.
- 2Photon Strike (3) the middle. Repeater recasts into the same beacon.
- 3Nourish or Roar (1) on the timer.
- 4Hold 4 if stragglers need a vortex instead of a lift.
First mission — press these buttons
- 1
Cage, then beacon
34 the clump. 3 in the middle. Recast 3 into the same beacon if Repeater is on.
You will know it worked when: A targeting beacon, then a column of light. Overguard should chunk twice.
- 2
Do not laser an empty tile
If they walked out, Bastille again.
Common mistakes
Helminthing Bastille
Then you are a slow Ember with a beacon. Keep 4.
When this feels easy
- 1Casting speed shardsRepeater is fire rate.
- 2Molt AugmentedStrength for both strip and laser.
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●vaubanframe
- 2○Growing Powermod
- 3○Power Driftmod
- 4○Photon Repeateraugment
- 5○Blind Ragemod
- 6○Intensifymod
- 7○Stretchmod
- 8○Primed Continuitymod
- 9○Primed Flowmod
- 10○Rolling Guardmod
- 11○Molt Augmentedarcane
- 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
Growing Powermissing · The Silver Grove quest
Power Driftmissing · Unlock Lua
- Photon Repeater
missing · Perrin Sequence / Steel Meridian · 25,000 standing
Recast Photon Strike on an existing beacon for extra strikes. The nuke augment.
Blind Ragemissing · Run Orokin Vaults
Intensifymissing · Fight Lieutenant Lech Kril
Stretchmissing · Enemy drops
Primed Continuitymissing · Wait for Baro Ki'Teer
Primed Flowmissing · Baro Ki'Teer
- Rolling Guard
missing · Arbitrations
Recommended
Molt Augmentedmissing · Unlock the Zariman
Strength stacks. Photon and strip both scale. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Arcane Energizemissing · Buy 20–40 Platinum worth
Repeater is an energy hobby. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Optional
Strength
~250–300%
Duration
155%
Range
145–175%
Strength is Photon damage and Bastille strip. Repeater lets you recast 3 into the same beacon for extra hits.
From the mods
Live power
Additive from max-rank Codex mods. Efficiency clamped 15–175%. Umbral set is +11% Strength per extra piece.
- Strength
- 244%
- Duration
- 155%
- Range
- 145%
- Efficiency
- 45%
- Energy
- +275%
- Capacity
- 49 / 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
Vauban mods
- AuraGrowing PowerSilver Grove
- ExilusPower DriftVaults / Lua
- 1Photon RepeaterRecast Photon Strike on an existing beacon for extra strikes. The nuke augment.Perrin Sequence / Steel Meridian · 25k
- 2Blind RageOrokin Vaults
- 3IntensifyMercury / Venus
- 4StretchDrops
- 5Primed ContinuityBaro
- 6Primed FlowBaro
- 7Rolling GuardArbitrations
| Slot | Mod | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aura | Growing Power | Silver Grove | |
| Exilus | Power Drift | Vaults / Lua | |
| 1 | Photon Repeater Recast Photon Strike on an existing beacon for extra strikes. The nuke augment. | Perrin Sequence / Steel Meridian · 25k | |
| 2 | Blind Rage | Orokin Vaults | |
| 3 | Intensify | Mercury / Venus | |
| 4 | Stretch | Drops | |
| 5 | Primed Continuity | Baro | |
| 6 | Primed Flow | Baro | |
| 7 | Rolling Guard | Arbitrations |
Beacon, then gun
Photon Strike is the nuke. A primer on the vortex pile still helps. You do not need an exalted.
Arcanes
Molt Augmented
Strength stacks. Photon and strip both scale. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Zariman
Arcane Energize
Repeater is an energy hobby. Rank 0 is legal. Rank 3 is the Steel Path version.
Eidolon / trade
Archon shards
- 1
Crimson · StrengthPhoton numbers and Bastille strip.1 · Netracells
| # | Shard | Qty | Source | How |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Crimson · Strength Photon numbers and Bastille strip. | 1 | Netracells |