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Steel Path: Essential Points

  • Recommended Frames

    Pick a frame

    Frames

  • Recommended Weapons

    Pick a weapon

    Weapons

  • Essential Companions

    Pick a companion

    Companions

  • Specters

    Use specters

    Specters

  • Mods: base

    Grab / level up priority mods

    Mods

  • Acolytes

    Manage and turn threat into resources

    Acolytes

  • Youtube

    Follow a recent build in the top channels

    Youtube

The information presented here is not intended to be exhaustive: it may miss some frames, weapons, etc. That's fine, and you will mainly get the tools to adjust your knowledge to all Steel Path gameplay situations.

Use the concepts and names as keywords for your searches on wiki.warframe.com or Youtube from your favorite content creators.

What is Steel Path?

You need to understand what Steel Path is to adapt correctly:

  • "hard mode" unlocked after completing starchart missions accessible before the New War quest
  • activates in navigation to the right of the screen in the middle, once unlocked
  • enemies are reinforced:
    • +100 level, 250% health and shields (archwing +50 level)
    • MAX enemy spawn density in endless missions (survival, cascade etc) as for a 4-player max squad in normal
    • Acolyte spawns every 3-7 minutes
  • loot is improved:
    • +100% resource drop chance, +100% mod drop chance
    • acolytes drop Steel Path arcanes + Steel Essence
    • opening a relic in SP gives 1 bonus Steel Essence
    • increased drop rate of Riven slivers on Eximus (Iron Wake shop)
    • more generous token drops in their respective missions (Pathos clamps Duviri, Kullervo, Dante, Citrine, Voruna, Dagath, Jade, Koumei, Temple)

Steel Essence

Steel Essence earned gives you access to Teshin's shop:

  • relic packs
  • Kuva packs (reroll rivens)
  • weekly rotation
    • Umbra Forma blueprint
    • large Endo pack
    • large Kuva pack
    • rivens

Main sources:

  • Acolyte drops in Steel Path missions give 2 Steel Essence
    • think about stacking boosters: 1 drop booster will give 4 essence per acolyte, having a retriever mod will double to 8 per acolyte
    • doing long fissure relics increases even further the essence received per acolyte: you will get more essence doing 1 hour of survival at once than an hour of chaining Steel Path captures
  • do Steel Path incursions in your alerts (requires having selected Steel Path in navigation) for 5 essence: some are quick and there's often people participating
  • completing a Steel Path planet gives 25 essence
  • opening a relic in Steel Path gives 1 essence
  • etc...

Other Useful Points

  • Armor-strip

    Remove armor from resistant enemies

    Armor-strip

  • Operator

    Spoiler mode will have no secrets for you

    Operator

Basic Loadouts

Companion among the recommended ones, a main weapon for damage and other weapons to help your frame or main weapon: stat-stick (Argonak for daggers, Praedos for speed...), primers, or even an anti-boss weapon (acolyte/demolyst/other) and the rest for hordes of "trash-mobs".

  • Rhino + Ignis Wraith viral/fire or Tenet Cycron Fire
  • Dante + whatever you want
  • Wisp + Broken War / Guandao Prime
  • Trinity + Kuva Nukor Viral/Fire (Magnetic or Fire Valence)
  • Nova + Laetum
  • Valkyr alone or with melee of your choice
  • Kullervo + Thalys
  • etc...