Hystrix

Heat, cold, electricity, or toxin: choose an element and launch a flurry of deadly quills. Built as a secondary / flexible option for squad clear and mission pressure.

Signature

Khora’s signature weapon — expect a small bonus when used by that Warframe. Khora →

When to Pick

• You want a Pistol that fits a secondary / flexible play pattern.
• Your loadout needs what Hystrix does well — check Mission Usefulness below before investing Forma.
• You’re ready to Catalyze / Forma it if you plan to main it on Steel Path.

• Poison Quill

  Impact 2.2 · Slash 2.9 · Puncture 31

  Projectile · Crit 24% / 2.2× · Status 10% · Fire Rate 7 · Projectile 80

• Fire Quill

  Impact 2.4 · Slash 3.2 · Puncture 34.4

  Projectile · Crit 24% / 2.2× · Status 10% · Fire Rate 7 · Projectile 80

• Electric Quill

  Impact 2.4 · Slash 3.2 · Puncture 34.4

  Projectile · Crit 24% / 2.2× · Status 10% · Fire Rate 7 · Projectile 80

• Ice Quill

  Impact 2.2 · Slash 2.9 · Puncture 31

  Projectile · Crit 24% / 2.2× · Status 10% · Fire Rate 7 · Projectile 80

• Poison Quill (Projectile): Impact 2.2, Slash 2.9, Puncture 31.0.
• Fire Quill (Projectile): Impact 2.4, Slash 3.2, Puncture 34.4.
• Electric Quill (Projectile): Impact 2.4, Slash 3.2, Puncture 34.4.

Permanent investments on this weapon copy — separate from the Prime variant.

• Orokin CatalystCapacity

  Doubles mod capacity so endgame builds fit.

  Usually the first permanent upgrade on a weapon you plan to main.

• FormaPolarity

  Adds or changes polarities so matching mods cost half capacity.

  expect multiple Forma for a hungry config.

• Exilus Weapon AdapterSlot

  Unlocks utility options (Exilus on guns; melee focuses on stance polarity + utility mods).

  Install when you need ammo, handling, or QoL without sacrificing damage slots.

• Secondary Arcane AdapterArcane

  Lets you install a weapon arcane for a strong passive bonus.

  Worth it once the base mod config is already solid.

• Riven ModRiven

  Unique rolled mod. Disposition 1.2.

  Chase clean desirable stats; skip awkward negatives on low-disposition weapons.

• Hystrix PrimeVariant

  The primed version — stronger stats and usually better polarities.

  Upgrade path when relics/parts are available.

Common building blocks for this gun — not a full ranked build, just the mods you’ll see most often.

• Galvanized Diffusion

  Multishot

  Secondary multishot backbone.

• Primed Pistol Gambit / Pistol Gambit

  Crit Chance

  Crit chance for secondary crit suites.

• Primed Target Cracker / Target Cracker

  Crit Damage

  Crit damage pair for Gambit.

• Galvanized Shot

  Status Damage

  Status-scaling secondary damage.

• Hornet Strike

  Base Damage

  Flat secondary damage foundation.

• Elemental dual-stats

  Elemental

  Viral + Heat remains a safe default.

• Secondary Deadhead / Merciless (Arcane)

  Arcane

  Primary-style weapon arcanes on primed secondary builds.

• Pistol Ammo Mutation

  QoL

  Ammo economy for high fire-rate pistols.

Multishot

Usually the highest value damage slot — more projectiles, more procs, more clear.

Critical

Stack crit chance/damage when the weapon’s crit stats justify a crit suite.

Elemental

Faction/elemental lines for Steel Path; Viral+Heat is a safe default on many guns.

Fire Rate

Fire rate raises DPS but burns ammo — pair with reload/ammo economy when needed.

Check the How to Get table for blueprint / part drop sources.