Xaku - The best bones milk can buy

Whispers in the Walls Update: Making a note here about what this update actually does for [Xaku]. This update brings for the [Grimoire] weapon, which is an extremely strong piece of utility. Due to how it can be modded for, it is able to make up for any energy problems that you thing [Xaku] might come across with your builds. Meaning you can choose to drop Energize for any other Arcane that suits you, although personally I would recommend Molt Efficiency. It is very easy to keep your shields up as Xaku, and this will simply allow for more uptime on all of your abilities.

Echoes of Duviri Update: You may notice that I am continuing to keep this guide up to date, but there are no real changes to the build. That is is because not much with the build is changing in accordance with all the new updates. And while Echoes has added a bunch of utility to existing status effects (Puncture/Impact/Cold), [Xaku] makes no use of them. Therefore, nothing is really changing with the build, and you are still free to follow it without worrying if it's out of date. Same thing with the low investment version.

Veilbreaker Update: THE NAME OF THE GAME HAS CHANGED. With the change of how Armor Strip works, it now working off of Max Armor and not Current Armor, it means that if we swap [Energy Siphon] to [Corrosive Projection], we're able to achieve that 100% armor strip more easily. Specifically meaning we can also get rid of [Blind Rage] for a rank 2 [Augur Secrets]. MEANING. We've opened the door to 100% ENERGY EFFICIENCY.

The trade off is that our ramp up takes a bit longer now, needing a max stack Molt Augmented instead of a few stacks, but overall this gives us more casts and a healthier energy economy. Keep displayed build if you want to have quicker returns. The 0 Forma [Xaku] build will be changed though to match this update.

I will properly update the guide above when Overframe is able to allow display of Archon Shard.

9/16 Update: A few more revisions on the build. Until the site gets updated to include the addition of Archon Shards, I will be listing it down here on what Shards I would choose, and changes to the builds I would do to match the Shard choices. There will be a few options available below, so pick the variation you prefer. For a quick note, we will be considering mostly Red Archon Shards for the builds, because the increases to Ability Stats is more important to us then the increase in utility from the other shards, except for one variation which can be seen below.

I will also give a variation for Regular and Tau versions, depending on your luck. These can be located at the bottom of the guide, under Archon Shards.

Been playing [Xaku] for a long while, and every so often I go about and try to refine my build. Overall, it seems a lot of people agree with the general playstyle of [Xaku]. 200% strength, lots of range, and a bit of duration. And this is the final version of the [Xaku] build I've been working on since his release, which focuses on all those aspects, as well as gets as much survivability as you can since dodge is not the most reliable thing sadly. But, first things first, this is a very expensive build, requiring a lot of investment to get to this level of perfect bones. So, be warned.

Helminth

I would highly recommend not replacing any ability on [Xaku], even [Xata]'s Whisper.

The reasoning behind this is that (in my honest opinion) [Xata]'s Whisper is the best weapon buff ability in the game. As it is the only one that can double dip on the Faction Mods damage increase, but as well as charge the Incarnon weapons meter while they're in Incarnon form.

This allows you to keep going at 100% with some of the best weapons in the game, without ever having to take a moment to recharge. I couldn't tell you how this works though, but I get the most consistent recharge against things like Acolytes, Thraxx, and tougher enemies like that.

His other abilities are self explanatory on why you don't replace them. 2 is his main gimmick, 3 is his conversion/armor strip, and 4 is what makes his kit work.

Mods Alternatives

All mods here are of course to help push him towards the previously stated goals. But, there are few here that I would consider 'flex' slots for you to switch out.

• Primed Sure Footed - Here to [Protect] you from self stagger and knockdowns, as those will kill you the most. If you don't use AoE though, Handspring is a good alternative and will reduce the Forma by 1, but PSF is still recommended.
• Augur Reach - This is a simple one you can swap out, of which I would recommend Streamline. You exchange one gun on 2 and a few meters of range for more casts. Or you could go with something like Rolling Guard for more on demand survivability.

Arcanes

The arcane choices should be pretty self explanatory, but I will still give a brief rundown.

• Arcane Energize - Energy sustainability. If you're not running Zenurik, you will have a hard time as your abilities cost a LOT if energy.
• Molt Augmented - This is the Arcane that let me refine [Xaku] towards this. To achieve a complete 200% power strength, you simply need to kill 25 enemies, then your Armor Strip will get to 100%. Every bit after that will buff Xata's Whisper more and more, which as I stated earlier, is an extremely good weapon buff.

Weapons

Even though [Xaku]'s own guns do a lot of the damage, you're still going to need to shoot. With that said though, the options for weapons are very much open to you. As stated earlier, Faction Mods double dip on [Xata]'s Whisper, and the void damage is able to charge Incarnon weapons while they're in Incarnon form. So those weapons are very good options. The only weapons [Xaku] struggles with is Melee weapons, as by the time you start swinging, your own guns will more then likely have already killed the enemies you were attacking. Especially if they're in your reduction zone.

Solo VS Group Play

In Solo play, do whatever you want. If you've got a Faction Mod, you don't need Armor Strip in order to delete the enemies you're fighting. In groups though, your armor strip is one of the most valuable things you can add to the team. Set one up in a choke point, and your team will already be having the time of their life. No need to be standing in it or even for you to be around.

Companion

Short section, I like running Sly Vulpaphyla. It can't give you 100% dodge chance, as the interactions are weird. But I still run it for that extra bit of survivability. Add Martyr Symbiosis for a second chance, and as a way to get it into Larva mode faster for more consistent evasion chance.

Veilbreaker Update:

Archon Shards

+50% Power Strength (Five Red Shards)

Choices here, dropping Blind Rage/[Augur Secrets], and keeping [Energy Siphon]. A maxed Molt Augmented will get us up to 155%, and then the five Shards will get us to that 205%. This gives us a free Mod Slot to make use of for a few things, like [Constitution] or [Streamline]. I would not recommend [Cunning Drift], as the benefit we get from that is just too low.

+45% Power Strength (Three Red Tau Shards)

This is the one I would recommend. Very similar to the above, but now gives us two free Shard slots. These two open slots open up the door for flexibility, something [Xaku] never had access to before. Examples of what these two extra shards could give us (options considered for Tau) are; 90% Maximum Energy on Spawn. 150% Energy Orb Effectiveness. 45% Parkour Velocity. 30% Duration. 150 Energy Max. Mix this in with the free mod slot we still have, this is the best choice in my opinion.

+50%/75% Power Duration (Five Red Shards)

These options lumped together because of the minimal difference with the build. [Corrosive Projection] as your Aura, [Augur Secrets] (Rank 2 for ~82% armor strip to let Corrosive do the rest) instead of [Blind Rage]. And then your shards go towards Duration. With 5 regular shards, it gets us to 51 seconds on a cast of our The Vast Untime, and with 5 Tau shards this gets us 57 seconds of The Vast Untime. This will also boost the duration of all of our other abilities of course, so the bonuses of more duration go even higher. This variation though also cuts down on a Forma, specifically the Umbra Forma.

And that is all.

[Xaku] is an extremely powerful frame but requires a decent amount of investment to get to the levels of ultimate bone warrior. I've found much more success using him in almost all content then I have with plenty of other frames, as he can just do plenty by himself.

I hope this guide is useful, and remember.

Drink your space milk