The Basmu: An Underrated Sentient Rifle in Warframe
The Basmu has always been a little slept on in Warframe. This Sentient rifle not only looks great but also fires inherent Electricity rounds that explode upon impact, dealing Heat damage. While it also features an alternative fire mode that acts as a beam weapon, that’s not what we’ll focus on today.
The Best Basmu and Dreadful Killshot Build in Warframe
The Dreadful Killshot build was introduced in the most recent Nora’s Nightwave. This build grants a damage and status chance bonus that scales with your Warframe’s health. To achieve its full potential—a maximum 360% bonus—you’ll want your Warframe’s total health to be 1350. However, even at just 600 health, you’ll match the damage bonus provided by a fully ranked Serration mod.
While you can run the Basmu with any Warframe, it’s highly recommended to use a Frame that can reach the upper health value. There’s little reason to leave additional damage on the table by running it on low-health frames.
Low-Cost Build That Carries You Through Steel Path
This build focuses on a low-cost option that only requires a single Forma, making it a very attractive choice. It can easily carry you through Steel Path without a high investment.
For the Arcane, I recommend using Primary Crux to boost ammo economy and status chance. However, feel free to use whichever Arcane you have fully ranked—be it Crux, Merciless, or Deadhead.
Recommended Mods and Their Effects
- Critical Delay: Provides a large boost to critical chance at the cost of some fire rate. If you don’t have this mod, Point Strike is a good alternative.
- Galvanized Aptitude: If unavailable, use Rifle Aptitude. This mod takes advantage of the “Gun CO” effect, which gives a multiplicative damage increase based on how many status effects an enemy has.
- Magnetic Capacity: Adds Magnetic damage—one of the best elemental types in the game—and increases magazine capacity.
- Vital Sense: Greatly improves critical damage.
- Malignant Force: Consider this as element slot one. It combines with the next slot to create Viral damage, which is one of the most valuable elemental damage types.
- Rime Rounds: Element slot two, combining with Malignant Force to form Viral damage.
- Dreadful Killshot: Grants a 20% damage and status chance buff for every 75 points of your Warframe’s health, capping at 360%.
- Galvanized Chamber: Provides multishot, effectively firing additional rounds per shot. If you don’t have this mod, use Split Chamber instead.
This weapon build does rely on outside Corrosive damage priming to handle heavily armored enemies, so consider using a secondary weapon or companion that provides Corrosive procs. A well-built Diriga or Hound Sentinel can work wonders in this role.
Outsourcing Viral Damage for Flexibility
One of the most interesting aspects of this build is the ability to outsource Viral damage. If you have the Nourish mod as a Helminth option, you can swap the Viral elemental mods with Corrosive or even Blast (if your loadout excels at grouping enemies). Feel free to tailor this to your preferred elemental combinations.
Recommended Warframe Pairings
- Frost: While my Frost build doesn’t quite hit the full health cap, it still benefits greatly from the Dreadful Killshot mod. With full armor strip on his fourth ability and Nourish subsumed for Viral application, it’s been very effective in Void Cascades.
Why This Build Is Worth Trying
What makes this weapon and mod combo particularly appealing is its synergy with players who prefer a health-tank playstyle—often newer players—and the fact that it requires only one Forma, making it a very economical option.
While the Basmu won’t compete with meta weapons at level cap or in the deepest endgame, it doesn’t need to. It offers a low-investment, scalable weapon that performs well into Steel Path for those looking for a budget-friendly build.
Summary
– The Basmu is a stylish Sentient rifle with Electricity and Heat damage.
– The Dreadful Killshot mod boosts damage and status chance based on Warframe health, capping at 360%.
– A minimal investment build using Critical Delay, Galvanized Aptitude, Magnetic Capacity, and Viral elemental combos can carry you through Steel Path.
– Corrosive priming is recommended via a secondary weapon or companion.
– The build is flexible, allowing substitutes for Viral damage.
– Ideal for health tank Warframes and newer players needing an efficient, economical setup.
Try out this Basmu build for a fun, scalable weapon that can carry you through some of Warframe’s toughest challenges!
https://www.shacknews.com/article/146794/best-basmu-build-warframe
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