Previous Gloom Excalibur Umbra | Steel Path Guide: https://overframe.gg/build/466981/

This build increases my base strength to 192%, conditional strength to 277%, and it's possible to achieve 387% strength. This allows me to destroy Steel Path mobs in a single hit. It's as if I were playing against a regular level 1 enemy from the regular Star Chart. My umbra blade has at least two statuses, either Corrosive and Heat or Radiation and Toxin. Through Nourish I gain Viral and Archon Continuity gives me Corrosive on Toxin, together it's overkill.

This is the corresponding Excalibur Umbra Blade Guide: https://overframe.gg/build/467279/ It has two builds inside it one is Corrosive + Heat, and the other is Radiation + Toxin + Corrosive with [Archon Continuity]. If you don't have Nourish for the Viral, then the best blade to use is Viral Heat in general. It also contains both [Healing Return] and [Berserker Fury] to restore health in Steel Path.

I am undying on Steel Path because of Slash Dash, [Adaptation], Umbra [Vitality], Umbra Fiber, [Berserker Fury], and [Healing Return]. So, you too shouldn't be dying unless you are going for those crazy level 9999 endurance runs. This build can do endurance runs as well, but you'll need to use an Aura forma for [Brief Respite] for shield gating with a Decaying Dragon Key and a [Rolling Guard] instead of [Adaptation] for its short invulnerability.

This build needs two forma, I used a V and D Forma but a V and = will work too.

You can ignore the essay below, it's just an unnecessary breakdown of this guide.

Here are the 3 Steps to enhancing your Ability Strength:

1. Use either Madurai or Zenurik focus school, then use either Chained Sling Strength for 40% bonus Strength for 20 seconds or Hardened Wellspring for +20% Strength for those inside it.
2. Use [Growing Power] by applying a status effect with one of your weapons for 25% strength for 6 seconds.
3. Cast [Exalted Blade] and melee the world.
4. Kill 250 enemies to max Molt Augmented to obtain 60% strength and repeat steps 1 to 3.
5. You now know the secret steps to a 317% strength [Exalted Blade], and a 158% status chance [Exalted Blade].

Note: 317% strength with 158% status chance so long as you retain the [Exalted Blade], cast with Madurai. If you cast it with Zenurik then it's 297% strength with a 149% status chance. If you using a different school then it's the original 277% strength with a 140% status chance. This bonus strength and status chance permanently affect your [Exalted Blade] so long as you retrain it, therefore I use [Flow] for an easier time. Additional ways of gaining bonus strength are using [Nidus] Specters, [Power Drain], Pax Bolt, and maps double strength buffs. If you use these then you can enhance it even further but this has diminishing returns the closer you get to a 200% status chance. Overall, you only need 189% strength to achieve a 100% status chance in your Exalted Blade.

Min-Max: I would highly suggest you use an Arcane Strike or Arcane Avenger instead of Molt Augmented if you are not going to obtain 250 kills in a mission. In casual Steel Path matches, Arcane Strike is the best both visually and in sustain. Arcane Strike provides faster attack speed and therefore DPS, as well as providing more healing through [Healing Return]. If you have 5 Crimson shards, then the Arcane Avenger is better in both Average Hit damage and DPS. Arcane Avenger increases the critical chance to near 100% which is great if you have 5 Critical Melee Damage shards equipped, otherwise, it's inferior to Arcane Strike. Also, if 3 or more of them are Tau then it becomes better than using Arcane [Fury]. Molt Augmented is inferior to Arcane Avenger, Arcane [Fury], and Arcane Strike if you are not using Nourish and [Furious Javelin] actively. Somewhere after ~200 kills the damage can get very high with [Furious Javelin] making it far superior in overall damage. My tip is that you jump as you cast Radial Javelin because you'll target more enemies with it as you travel forward in mid-air. Even without min-maxing this build is effective either way, this is just a friendly reminder :)

FAQ:

What emissive color should I use for my Chromatic Blade?

• I typically use Heat colors for this because it increases Heat procs and that deals a lot of damage against armored targets. So, the emissive color should normally be Heat or perhaps Toxin, it depends on whether you are fighting armored targets or shielded targets. Red, magenta, brown, orange, and bright yellow hues make Heat. Optional: I typically switch the emissive to Toxin for the Corpus since the damage bypasses shields entirely, and the higher Toxin DOT damage gets further amplified by Viral. Green, lime, teal, and dark yellow hues make Toxin. Also, it's okay if you leave your emissive color on Toxin, Heat, or Electric instead of switching them as it won't be too self-sabotaging on casual Steel Path. Never use Cold, it makes Viral which is already provided by Nourish, or Blast which is the worst damage type in warframe.

Why do you not use Steel Charge?

• [Steel Charge] only affects Slash Dash and [Exalted Blade], but [Growing Power] affects all the abilities. Slash Dash gains a bit of additional damage, Nourish gains more Viral Damage and energy sustain, [Furious Javelin] gains more Multiplicative Melee Damage, and [Exalted Blade] gains both 25% extra damage and additional status chance. Overall, [Growing Power] just does so much more compared to [Steel Charge] in this particular case, but if you lack both Nourish and or Furious Javelin then Steel Charge base bonus damage is better.

I am getting knocked down too much

• [Primed Sure Footed] is arguably better if you are using explosive weapons; it will take one additional Forma though.

Why are you using Furious Javelin instead of an Ability Strenght mod?

• [Furious Javelin] provides Multiplicative damage instead of Additive ones such as [Steel Charge], [Blind Rage], or Arcane [Fury]. if you hit even 1 enemy it becomes marginally better than using [Blind Rage]. If you hit more than 5 enemies then the difference will become apparent to the naked eye, therefore it's stronger than equipping another strength mod or melee damage arcane. The base range is 25m which is still quite comfortable to use, and if you hit multiple enemies it will slice even the toughest enemies in one hit.

Won't I run out of energy?

• No, there are no energy problems because I have Nourish and Primed Flow. The best energy reduction I can achieve is 175% through maximized efficiency. I have at least 240%-350% energy gain through Nourish, so a single energy orb restores all my missing energy. It's a bit strange to get used to at first, but you must use Nourish constantly and watch for energy orbs, as they substitute for any missing efficiency. My problem is usually how I use all this excess energy, therefore I casually spam Slash Dash and use Radial Javelin as appropriate.

I don't have Nourish

• Replacing [Primed Flow] with [Fleeting Expertise] should solve your energy problems provided you have [Continuity] for the Duration as well. If you are experiencing energy issues, then use Zenurik instead. Focus on farming Grendel in the meantime, and use a Viral Heat Blade in the meantime.

I don't have Archon Continuity

• [Archon Continuity] is to gain the Corrosive status on Toxin. So, If you don't have [Archon Continuity] but have Nourish, then it's crucial to switch [Molten Impact] with [Primed Fever Strike] to obtain Corrosive + Heat. In the meantime, complete new [War] and farm Kahl missions. His camp gives archon shards too. Once you have it, you can obtain Corrosive on your Radiation Toxin blade.

Which Shards should I use?

• I suggest 5 Crimson Archon Shards, all in Melee Critical Damage as it will boost the DPS more than any ability-strength shard. Critical Damage is also multiplicative, and it will provide even more damage with a [Furious Javelin] Equipped. Eventually, you'll unlock Cavia once you complete the Whispers in the walls quest gaining the option to fuse archon shards. Once your rank 2 with Cavia, you can fuse shards into Violet Archon shards, Topaz shards, and Emeral shards. By then the best combo is 3 Violet shards in 25/37.5% critical damage which doubles if max energy is over 500 as well as 2 regular Emeral Archon shards to increase the max stacks of Corrosion to 14. With 14 stacks of corrosion, you can perform a full armor strip making it very good on bosses and any enemy, basically.

What Warframe should I aim to build?

• This build will allow you to complete the entirety of the Steel Path without problems but you'll need to spam melee (E or scroll wheel). If you want to become lazier, then there are some brain-dead Warframes you should aim to obtain. I'll rank them for you from best to worst: [Revenant Prime] (He can take down any tough enemy such as in Assassination, or Disruption), [Saryn Prime] (She can easily get the most kills in any killing mission such as in Extermination, or Survival), [Mesa Prime] (She is a cheat for any open world or defense mission), [Wukong Prime] (He is swift at Spy, Capture, and Rescue), [Hildryn Prime] (She is the best at Hijak, Archwing and Railjack missions), [Khora Prime] (She is the best for solo gameplay, and she can solo Interception), and [Nekros Prime] (He is the best for Loot Farming, his kit is very well rounded). In theory, any warframe with a full armor strip equipped with Nourish will perform very well too. For example [Styanax], Nekros, Mag, Ember, Hildryn, Oberon, Frost, etc.

Thank you for reading so far, and have a nice day :)

Panzer build: https://overframe.gg/build/526287/
Or
Smeeta build: https://overframe.gg/build/468132/ should also translate into Adarza.

Updated Guide: I changed [Blind Rage] into [Furious Javelin]. Also, I changed [Steel Charge] to [Growing Power], and Arcane Strike to Molt Augmented because of [Furious Javelin] swaying me. You can try the previous build and find what you prefer, both work well but I found this latest build a bit more comfortable to play.

Disclaimer: [Excalibur Umbra] passive Sentience removes passive buffs like Nourish or [Furious Javelin] when switching to Operator mode. Therefore, some players play with the regular [Excalibur] over Umbra to avoid that inconvenience and many build their [Excalibur] identically to Umbra. I have tried it, the less energy and armor are noticeable but not very harmful overall, so you can proceed to do that if you have additional umbra forma for the Operator QOL. Operator use becomes more relevant as you progress to the level cap, therefore I labeled this as a Steel Path build not an Endurance one. I am currently waiting for DE to patch that bug. Hopefully...