The Sisters of Parvos update in Warframe has introduced Corpus Liches, a wealth of new weapons, an additional Warframe, and enhancements for Primary and Secondary weapons. To assist players in transitioning between Normal and Steel Path difficulties, Digital Extremes has rolled out new mods and arcanes designed to empower gamers tackling the toughest challenges in the game.
Galvanized mods represent a new type of mod that significantly enhances existing mods, offering double the potency of their standard versions. However, to fully harness their capabilities, players must achieve a few kills first. These weapons can also equip Arcanes that provide substantial boosts to damage or utility, enabling players to replace mods like Serration or Point Blank with a bane mod or an extra elemental effect. We’ll explore how to acquire these powerful mods and arcanes.
Updated January 19, 2024, by Charles Burgar: Recently, Galvanized mods have expanded to include three new options for melee weapons. This guide has been updated to incorporate these additions and improve its readability.
What Are Galvanized Mods?
Galvanized mods, introduced with the Sisters of Parvos update, are more potent variants of basic mods that greatly amplify damage or enhance user experience. These mods are available for primary, secondary, and melee weapons.
Each Galvanized mod features two components: an initial bonus and a special effect triggered by getting kills. Players need to score kills while using the weapon in order to build up the mod’s stacks. At maximum stacks, these mods become 2-3 times more powerful than their standard equivalents.
Unlike other kill-based mods, Galvanized mods only lose one stack at a time. For instance, if you have four stacks of Galvanized Diffusion and 20 seconds go by, you will only lose a single stack, not all four.
In terms of value, they are equivalent to Rare Mods. Each Galvanized mod consists of ten ranks, and upgrading one to the maximum rank requires the following materials:
- 30,690 Endo
- 1,482,327 Credits
Note: Mods with similar names do not stack with their Galvanized versions. For example, you cannot equip both Barrel Diffusion and Galvanized Diffusion on one weapon.
How to Obtain Galvanized Mods
All Galvanized Mods can be acquired from the Arbitration Honors vendor, located in the Arbiters of Hexis syndicate room within any Relay. Each Galvanized Mod costs 20 Vitus Essence.
Unlocking Arbitrations
To earn Vitus Essence, players must participate in Arbitration missions and take down Arbitration Drones. These missions become available once all standard Star Chart nodes have been completed—Railjack and Steel Path nodes are not necessary.
You will need a total of 240 Vitus Essence to purchase all 12 Galvanized mods.
Farming for Vitus Essence
Most players should aim to complete the first four rotations in a mission (A, A, B, and C) before exiting. Each rotation offers a 7% chance to reward three Vitus Essence, so a player can expect to snag one of these bundles after a few runs, making it a low-risk farming strategy.
For efficient resource farming, it’s best to wait until Arbitration is Excavation mode, which is known to be the fastest type. In this mode, players receive rewards after successfully excavating twice. Warframes like Nekros, Khora, Nova, and Frost can help speed up the mission and enhance loot drops. Players do not need to use only those Warframes, but each provides utility or adds damage, making the mission smoother. Watch out for Arbitration Drones, as they are immune to ability damage.
Don’t forget to equip a Resource Booster; it doubles the amount of Vitus Essence received from defeated drones. Additionally, Smeeta Kavats are highly recommended since they can potentially double all resources received for two minutes—or even longer with the Tek Enhance Mod installed.
All Galvanized Mods
There are 12 Galvanized mods in total, mostly designed for primary and secondary weapons. Below is a comprehensive table of each mod.
Mod Name | Mod Cost (Polarity) | Description |
---|---|---|
Galvanized Savvy (Shotgun) | 12 (D) | +80% Status Chance. On kill: +40% Damage per Status Type affecting the target for 20s. Stacks up to 2x. |
Galvanized Acceleration (Shotgun, Exilus) | 12 (V) | +30% Projectile Speed/ Beam Length. On kill: +30% Projectile Speed/ Beam Length for 10s. Stacks up to 2x. |
Galvanized Hell (Shotgun) | 16 (V) | +110% Multishot. On kill: +30% Multishot for 20s. Stacks up to 4x. |
Galvanized Aptitude (Rifle) | 12 (D) | +80% Status Chance. On kill: +40% Damage per Status Type affecting the target for 20s. Stacks up to 2x. |
Galvanized Chamber (Rifle) | 16 (V) | +80% Multishot. On kill: +30% Multishot for 20s. Stacks up to 5x. |
Galvanized Scope (Rifle) | 12 (V) | On Headshot: +120% Critical Chance when aiming for 12s. On Headshot Kill: +40% Critical Chance when aiming for 12s. Stacks up to 5x. |
Galvanized Crosshairs (Pistol) | 12 (V) | On Headshot: +120% Critical Chance when aiming for 12s. On Headshot Kill: +40% Critical Chance when aiming for 12s. Stacks up to 5x. |
Galvanized Shot (Pistol) | 12 (D) | +80% Status Chance. On kill: +40% Damage per Status Type affecting the target for 20s. Stacks up to 2x. |
Galvanized Diffusion (Pistol) | 14 (V) | +110% Multishot. On kill: +30% Multishot for 20s. Stacks up to 4x. |
Galvanized Reflex (Melee) | 12 (V) | +50% heavy attack efficiency. On Melee Kill: +20 initial combo for 20s. Stacks up to 4x. |
Galvanized Elementalist (Melee) | 12 (D) | +80% status damage. On Melee Kill: +30% status chance for 20s. Stacks up to 4x. |
Galvanized Steel (Melee) | 12 (V) | +110% critical chance (2x for heavy attacks). On Melee Kill: +30% critical damage for 20s. Stacks up to 4x. |
Primary and Secondary Weapon Arcanes
The Sisters of Parvos update also introduced Primary and Secondary Arcanes, providing a considerable boost to base damage after fulfilling specific kill conditions. You will likely earn your first set of weapon Arcanes by defeating Acolytes, bosses that appear in Steel Path missions.
Further updates have added even more Arcanes, including those for melee weapons. These enhancements give players the ability to use Arcanes on all types of weapons.
How to Obtain Primary and Secondary Arcanes
Most damage-focused weapon Arcanes drop from Acolytes in Steel Path content. Acolytes guarantee a 100% drop rate for Arcanes, but to craft a Rank 5 version of any Arcane, you need 21 copies of it.
Weapon Arcanes can also be retrieved as rewards in the Duviri Circuit, specific Deimos missions, and Warframe 1999 activities.
Weapon Arcane Adapters
Before using Weapon Arcanes, players must install a Weapon Arcane Adapter on their weapons. These adapters come in two types: Primary and Secondary. You can buy Weapon Arcane Adapters from Teshin for 15 Steel Essence each, a special resource linked to the Steel Path. These adapters are always available in Teshin’s stock of "Steel Path Honors."
Like Exilus Adapters, Weapon Arcane Adapters are single-use items. Each weapon you frequently use requires its own adapter, so be cautious before applying one.
Unlocking Steel Path
Steel Path acts as a sort of New Game Plus for Warframe’s Star Chart. To access it, complete all nodes in the Star Chart and then speak to Teshin to unlock the Steel Path mode. Players can activate this game mode from the right-hand menu within the Star Chart.
While in Steel Path mode, enemies become much tougher and more challenging. These missions also increase the chances that Acolytes will appear, and both resources and mods have double chances of dropping from defeated foes.
Farming Steel Essence
Your prime source of Steel Essence will be Steel Path Incursions, which are daily missions that reward five Steel Essence for completion. You only need to unlock the mode to access these missions. Completing all five incursions nets you a total of 25 Steel Essence, which is almost enough for two Adapters.
Aside from daily missions, your only other option for farming Steel Essence is to defeat Acolytes that spawn during Steel Path endurance missions. For endurance farming, it’s best to play as Khora or another loot-focused Warframe like Nekros, and bring a Smeeta Kavat to maximize your potential drops. Don’t forget to equip a Resource Booster if you can. When Acolytes spawn, eliminate them while aiming to survive as long as possible. This strategy is currently the most viable one.
Weapon Arcane Examples
Eliminating Acolyte bosses in Steel Path content yields a variety of weapon Arcanes to choose from. For mid-game players, below are six specific Arcanes that can greatly enhance weapon damage, making it easier to conquer the Steel Path content and Duviri Circuit.
Arcane Name | On Kill Effect (Rank 5) | Passive Buffs (Rank 5) |
---|---|---|
Primary Merciless | +30% Damage for 4s. Stacks up to 12x. | +30% Reload Speed, +100% Ammo Maximum |
Primary Deadhead | +60% Damage for 24s. Stacks up to 3x. | +30% to Headshot Multiplier, -50% Weapon Recoil |
Primary Dexterity | +60% Damage for 20s. Stacks up to 6x. | +7.5s Combo Duration, +60% Holster Speed |
Secondary Merciless | +30% Damage for 4s. Stacks up to 12x. | +30% Reload Speed, +100% Ammo Maximum |
Secondary Deadhead | +60% Damage for 24s. Stacks up to 3x. | +30% to Headshot Multiplier, -50% Weapon Recoil |
Secondary Dexterity | +60% Damage for 20s. Stacks up to 6x. | +7.5s Combo Duration, +60% Holster Speed |
Note: Arcanes only lose one stack of their effect when their duration ends. For example, if you drop from six stacks of Primary Dexterity to five after 20 seconds, you only lose one stack.
Now that you have a clearer understanding of how to acquire Galvanized mods and weapon Arcanes, you’re well-equipped to tackle the game’s most challenging content.