Zephyr
Zephyr builds
Tail Wind Air
Endgame4 FormaEndgameMedium confidenceSteel PathHelminthShards optional

Zephyr — Tail Wind Air

Endgame build. Nourish or Roar over Airburst. You live in the sky. Hover-guns with passive crit, Turbulence up, Tornado grouping. The dive is mobility.

Codex Checked · Compared against current game data for this update. · Update 43.5 · 5 Sept 2026 · PC · Current

Weapon platforms, hover snipers, people who want Zephyr as a flying gun

Wrong drop or mechanic?

Don’t build this yet

First Gust first

This loadout sits at Endgame. It wants Forma, Helminth, or shards you may not have. Play the Starter until those systems are open — then this page is the upgrade, not the homework.

Open First Gust

Why this build?

Endgame for Weapon platforms, hover snipers, people who want Zephyr as a flying gun

Health: Not yet — Helminth, Steel Path, or Archon Hunts still closed. Play the Starter.

Play this in Steel Path
  • Airburst is the Helminth slot on gun Zephyr. Target Fixation people keep 2 instead.
  • Passive airborne crit plus hover is a sniper platform DE already gave you.
  • Landing because you got bored turns the crit off and lets melee find you. Stay up.

Don’t use this for: ability-nuke as the damage · players without Helminth

Specialised investment for hard content

You don’t need the shards to run the loop. They are a later ceiling, not a gate.

Bring: Hover primary — Phenmor, Torid, a sniper. Passive airborne crit. Shoot from hold-1 hover. Tornado can still group for you.

Alternative if…

Instead: First GustInstead: First Gust — Star ChartInstead: Funnel Farm — Steel PathInstead: Funnel Farm — Optimised

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 0/1 · required — Subsume Nourish (Grendel) or Roar (Rhino)
  • Arcanes · recommended — 0/2 recommended
  • Shards · optional — Optional unless the card says a breakpoint

Investment: 4 Forma · Reactor · Helminth (Nourish (Grendel) or Roar (Rhino)) · 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.

Plan

Today → next → later

Inventory unknown — mark “I own this” on a few mods. Until then this is a plan, not a score of zero.

  1. TodayPlay First GustThe Starter is the loadout you can actually take into a mission tonight.
  2. NextGet Growing PowerThe Silver Grove quest
  3. After that4 FormaOne slot at a time. Rank 30 after each polarize.
  4. LaterViolet · Primary crit / electricHelminth and shards are the last rungs. They are not the Starter.
  5. FinalTail Wind AirEndgame · Endgame · 4 Forma

Farm the gap

Helminth & shards

What to put on the body

Nourish (Grendel) or Roar (Rhino) over Airburst (2)

Airburst is the dump if you are not on Target Fixation. Nourish is Viral + energy. Roar multiplies hover-guns and tornado-inherited shots. Keep Turbulence and Tail Wind.

Helminth is locked. Tick it on Progress before you subsume.

  • 2 Violet · Primary crit — Passive already wanted crit. Lean in.Archon locked
  • 1 Amber · Casting Speed — Nourish / Roar plus 3.Archon locked

Tonight

What is actually up

30 minutes, one hour, or two — matched to this loadout, not a dump of the Origin System.

  1. 30 minutes

    Farm Growing Power

    One named gap. The Silver Grove quest

  2. 60 minutes

    Growing Power, then Forma

    Finish the missing named card, then spend a Forma if a polarity is still fighting you.

  3. 120 minutes

    Subsume Nourish (Grendel) or Roar (Rhino)

    If you are logging off after this, stop at the named component. Do not start a second Forma session tired.

Who this is for

Play this build from zero

You Helminthed Airburst and you live in the sky with a real gun.

Time to a playable copy
After Nourish or Roar over 2, Jet Stream, and a hover habit.
First mission to practice in
A long hallway or an open SP Exterminate. Hover, buff, shoot.

2 button drills · 14 parts · tick the lists as you go

Before you start

0 of 3 done

Put it on the Warframe

0 of 5 done

Keep this up

Hover loop

Pocket card. Stick this on a second screen; the long version is the mission below.

  1. 1Turbulence (3).
  2. 2Nourish or Roar (2).
  3. 3Jump, hold Tail Wind (1), hover, shoot. Dash with tap-1. Dive if you need to relocate fast.
  4. 4Tornado (4) to pile for the gun. Recast 3 before it dies.

First mission — press these buttons

  1. 1

    Umbrella, buff, hover

    1

    3, 2, hold 1. Shoot. Dash with tap-1 if the angle is wrong.

  2. 2

    Tornado if they spread

    4

    4. Keep hovering. Recast 3.

Common mistakes

  • Landing because hover felt slow

    Jet Stream exists. Recast 3. Stay up.

When this feels easy

  1. 1Violet primary shardsThe gun is the build.

Parts checklist

0 of 14 owned. Tap How on anything you still need.

Dependencies

19 dependencies

Frame → mods → unlocks. Tick Collection and Progress. This is a decision graph, not a wiki tree.

  1. 1●zephyrframe
  2. 2○Growing Powermod
  3. 3○Aerodynamicmod
  4. 4○Jet Streamaugment
  5. 5○Narrow Mindedmod
  6. 6○Primed Continuitymod
  7. 7○Blind Ragemod
  8. 8○Umbral Intensifymod
  9. 9○Primed Flowmod
  10. 10○Rolling Guardmod
  11. 11○Arcane Ragearcane
  12. 12○Molt Efficiencyarcane
  13. 13○Violet · Primary crit / electricshard
  14. 14○Amber · Casting Speedshard
  15. 15○Nourishhelminth
  16. 16○Roar (Rhino)helminth
  17. 17○Helminth · Nourish (Grendel) or Roar (Rhino)unlock
  18. 18○Steel Pathunlock
  19. 19○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 Power

    missing · The Silver Grove quest

  • Aerodynamic

    missing · The Index / Nightwave

    Airborne DR and glide. You live here.

  • Jet Stream

    missing · Red Veil / The Perrin Sequence · 25,000 standing

  • Narrow Minded

    missing · Orokin Vaults

  • Primed Continuity

    missing · Wait for Baro Ki'Teer

  • Blind Rage

    missing · Run Orokin Vaults

  • Umbral Intensify

    missing · Finish The Sacrifice

  • Primed Flow

    missing · Baro Ki'Teer

  • Rolling Guard

    missing · Arbitrations

  • Nourish

    missing · Helminth

    Airburst is the dump if you are not on Target Fixation. Nourish is Viral + energy. Roar multiplies hover-guns and tornado-inherited shots. Keep Turbulence and Tail Wind.

  • Roar (Rhino)

    missing · Own Rhino

    Airburst is the dump if you are not on Target Fixation. Nourish is Viral + energy. Roar multiplies hover-guns and tornado-inherited shots. Keep Turbulence and Tail Wind.

Recommended

  • Arcane Rage

    missing · Eidolon / trade

    Primary damage on headshot. Hover headshots are easy.

  • Molt Efficiency

    missing · Zariman

    Duration on 3.

Optional

Helminth

Subsume Nourish (Grendel) or Roar (Rhino) over Airburst (2)

Airburst is the dump if you are not on Target Fixation. Nourish is Viral + energy. Roar multiplies hover-guns and tornado-inherited shots. Keep Turbulence and Tail Wind.

Strength

~220% for Roar / Nourish

Duration

200%+ Turbulence and hover comfort

Range

145–175%

You live in the air. Duration on 3 is survival. Tail Wind hold is hover, tap is dash / dive.

From the mods

Live power

Additive from max-rank Codex mods. Efficiency clamped 15–175%. Umbral set is +11% Strength per extra piece.

Strength
243%
Duration
254%
Range
34%
Efficiency
45%
Energy
+275%
Capacity
49 / 74

1 Umbral piece

Open slots

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

Zephyr mods

  • AuraGrowing PowerSilver Grove
  • ExilusAerodynamicAirborne DR and glide. You live here.The Index / Nightwave
  • 1Jet StreamRed Veil / Perrin · 25k
  • 2Narrow MindedOrokin Vaults
  • 3Primed ContinuityBaro
  • 4Blind RageOrokin Vaults
  • 5Umbral IntensifyThe Sacrifice
  • 6Primed FlowBaro
  • 7Rolling GuardArbitrations

Hover primary

Phenmor, Torid, a sniper. Passive airborne crit. Shoot from hold-1 hover. Tornado can still group for you.

Arcanes

Arcane Rage

Primary damage on headshot. Hover headshots are easy.

Eidolon / trade

Molt Efficiency

Duration on 3.

Zariman

Archon shards

  • 1Violet · Primary critPassive already wanted crit. Lean in.2 · Elite Temporal Archimedea
  • 2Amber · Casting SpeedNourish / Roar plus 3.1 · EDA
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