Theorylytics
Garuda

Garuda

Support / Healer

Death’s crimson maiden sharpens her talons. Garuda weaponizes the blood of her foes to deal high damage. Sanguine beauty complements her deadly power.

Role
Support / Healer
Aura
MaduraiMadurai
Polarities
NaramonNaramonVazarinVazarin
Mastery
0
Introduced
Update 24.0 (2018-11-08)

Stats

Type
Warframe
Category
Warframes
Mastery
0
Health
270
Shield
270
Armor
315
Energy
140
Sprint Speed
1.0
Build Cost
25,000 Credits
Build Time
72h 0m
Rush
50 Platinum

Warframe dossier

Verified 2026-07-22

Playstyle

Death’s crimson maiden sharpens her talons. Built around Dread Mirror, Blood Altar, Bloodletting.

Passive

Garuda's damage temporarily increases with each enemy she kills, to a maximum of a percentage. Slashes with her talons if no melee weapon is equipped.

When to Pick

  • You want a support / healer toolkit and Garuda’s fantasy matches the mission.
  • Your squad is missing what Garuda brings — especially Dread Mirror.
  • You already own the mods / archon shards that make Garuda’s scaling comfortable on Steel Path.

Kit Overview

  • Dread Mirror (Ability 1): Rip the life force from an enemy and use it as a shield that captures damage, this kills significantly weakened enemies instantly.
  • Blood Altar (Ability 2): Impale an enemy on an altar of talons and siphon health for Garuda and her allies.
  • Bloodletting (Ability 3): Garuda sacrifices her health to generate energy and clear Status Effects.
  • Seeking Talons (Ability 4): Charge to expand the targeting area, release to send Garuda's talons careening toward each target in area.

Abilities & Augments

Ability Priority

  1. 1
    Dread Mirror

    Rip the life force from an enemy and use it as a shield that captures damage, this kills significantly weakened enemies instantly.

  2. 2
    Blood Altar

    Impale an enemy on an altar of talons and siphon health for Garuda and her allies.

  3. 3
    Bloodletting

    Garuda sacrifices her health to generate energy and clear Status Effects.

  4. 4
    Seeking Talons

    Charge to expand the targeting area, release to send Garuda's talons careening toward each target in area.

Helminth / Subsume

  • Dread Mirror is often the Helminth sacrifice if your build never needs Ability 1 and you’d rather import a strip, buff, or survival tool.
  • Keep Blood Altar and later abilities when they define Garuda’s identity.
  • Never subsume the ability that enables the rest of the kit’s energy or survival loop.

Mod Scaling

Strength

Raises damage and effect potency across Garuda’s Strength-scaling abilities.

Duration

Extends channeled / timed effects — often comfort on Garuda if the kit leans on buffs or zones.

Range

Helps radius / targeting tools. Dump it if Garuda is mostly self-buff or exalted weapons.

Efficiency

Keeps ability uptime comfortable, especially on longer Steel Path missions.

Priority

Match the priority to your main ability — Strength or Duration first for most kits, then Efficiency, then Range.

Mission Usefulness

Mission / ContextRatingWhy
Steel Path Survival / Defense / DisruptionStrongGaruda is a dependable Steel Path support / healer: weapons do the heavy clear while Dread Mirror covers gaps. Rip the life force from an enemy and use it as a shield that captures damage, this kills significantly weakened…. Death’s crimson maiden sharpens her talons.
Mobile Defense / ExcavationExcellentCryopods and excavators are Garuda’s home turf — Dread Mirror locks or deletes the wave on the point. Rip the life force from an enemy and use it as a shield that captures damage, this kills significantly weakened…. Death’s crimson maiden sharpens her talons.
Exterminate / Capture Speed RunsSituationalUsable on speed runs, but Garuda’s support / healer kit usually wants longer objectives than a 3-minute Exterminate. Rip the life force from an enemy and use it as a shield that captures damage, this kills significantly weakened…. Death’s crimson maiden sharpens her talons.
Spy / Rescue / NightmareSituationalOnly if you already know the vaults — Garuda is not a Spy specialist and Dread Mirror won’t save a loud play. Rip the life force from an enemy and use it as a shield that captures damage, this kills significantly weakened…. Death’s crimson maiden sharpens her talons.
Open World / BountiesStrongStrong on packed bounty camps; Garuda still leans on Operator / Archwing for the empty travel stretches while Dread Mirror handles fights. Rip the life force from an enemy and use it as a shield that captures damage, this kills significantly weakened….
Long-Range Gunplay / Eidolon-Style ContentWeakGaruda wants pack clear or finishers, not pure long-range; Dread Mirror won’t save an Eidolon-style loadout. Rip the life force from an enemy and use it as a shield that captures damage, this kills significantly weakened…. Death’s crimson maiden sharpens her talons.

Crafting

Alternatives to Garuda

Not sure Garuda is right for you? Compare against other frames to find your best pull.

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Chroma
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Citrine
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Dagath
DagathSupport / HealerZenurik

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Dante
DanteSupport / HealerAura

Status duration is how your weapons scale and Dante extends that plan for free.

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