Nidus

Support / Healer

Nidus draws strength from the Infestation. It bolsters him with survivability as he deals high damage and provides crowd control. Plague your enemies.

Role: Support / Healer
Aura: Madurai
Polarities: MaduraiVazarin
Mastery: 0
Introduced: Update 19.5 (2016-12-22)

RelatedPrime VersionNidus Prime

Stats

Type: Warframe
Category: Warframes
Mastery: 0
Health: 675
Shield: 0
Armor: 350
Energy: 100
Sprint Speed: 1.0
Build Cost: 25,000 Credits
Build Time: 72h 0m
Rush: 50 Platinum

Warframe dossier

Verified 2026-07-22

Playstyle

Nidus draws strength from the Infestation. Built around Virulence, Larva, Parasitic Link.

Passive

If Nidus is killed with at least stacks stacks of Mutation, those stacks stacks are consumed; this grants several seconds of invulnerability and restores Health to some%.

When to Pick

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

Kit Overview

Virulence (Ability 1): Rupture the ground with a damaging fungal growth that steals energy from each enemy it strikes.
Larva (Ability 2): Spawn an Infested pod that erupts with tendrils, latches onto nearby enemies and pulls them in.
Parasitic Link (Ability 3): Bind to a target with parasitic link.
Ravenous (Ability 4): Gluttonous maggots swarm nearby enemies, feasting until they are hit with Virulence and burst with Infestation.

Abilities & Augments

1
Virulence →
Energy 25
Rupture the ground with a damaging fungal growth that steals energy from each enemy it strikes. For every five enemies hit, the Infestation mutates, multiplying its destructive force.
Augment
Abundant MutationOpen augment →
2
Larva →
Energy 25
Spawn an Infested pod that erupts with tendrils, latches onto nearby enemies and pulls them in. Enemies killed while held have a chance of generating a Mutation stack.
Augment
Larva BurstOpen augment →
3
Parasitic Link →
Energy 25
Bind to a target with parasitic link. When cast on an ally, both the host and Nidus have their Ability Strength and Weapon Damage increased. Linked enemies take some of the damage inflicted on Nidus.
Augment
Parasitic VitalityOpen augment →
4
Ravenous →
Energy 25
Gluttonous maggots swarm nearby enemies, feasting until they are hit with Virulence and burst with Infestation. The maggots benefit from Mutation and each enemy hit adds to the Mutation stack.
Augment
InsatiableOpen augment →

Ability Priority

1
Virulence
Rupture the ground with a damaging fungal growth that steals energy from each enemy it strikes.
2
Larva
Spawn an Infested pod that erupts with tendrils, latches onto nearby enemies and pulls them in.
3
Parasitic Link
Bind to a target with parasitic link.
4
Ravenous
Gluttonous maggots swarm nearby enemies, feasting until they are hit with Virulence and burst with Infestation.

Helminth / Subsume

Virulence is often the Helminth sacrifice if your build never needs Ability 1 and you’d rather import a strip, buff, or survival tool.
Keep Larva and later abilities when they define Nidus’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 Nidus’s Strength-scaling abilities.
Duration: Extends channeled / timed effects — often comfort on Nidus if the kit leans on buffs or zones.
Range: Helps radius / targeting tools. Dump it if Nidus 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 / Context	Rating	Why
Steel Path Survival / Defense / Disruption	Excellent	Nidus stays online in long Steel Path runs thanks to Virulence, not just raw weapon DPS. Rupture the ground with a damaging fungal growth that steals energy from each enemy it strikes. Nidus draws strength from the Infestation.
Mobile Defense / Excavation	Excellent	On Mobile Defense, Nidus’s Virulence means fewer downed cryopods and less babysitting. Rupture the ground with a damaging fungal growth that steals energy from each enemy it strikes. Nidus draws strength from the Infestation.
Exterminate / Capture Speed Runs	Situational	Usable on speed runs, but Nidus’s support / healer kit usually wants longer objectives than a 3-minute Exterminate. Rupture the ground with a damaging fungal growth that steals energy from each enemy it strikes. Nidus draws strength from the Infestation.
Spy / Rescue / Nightmare	Situational	Only if you already know the vaults — Nidus is not a Spy specialist and Virulence won’t save a loud play. Rupture the ground with a damaging fungal growth that steals energy from each enemy it strikes.
Open World / Bounties	Strong	Strong on packed bounty camps; Nidus still leans on Operator / Archwing for the empty travel stretches while Virulence handles fights. Rupture the ground with a damaging fungal growth that steals energy from each enemy it strikes. Nidus draws strength from the Infestation.
Long-Range Gunplay / Eidolon-Style Content	Weak	Nidus wants pack clear or finishers, not pure long-range; Virulence won’t save an Eidolon-style loadout. Rupture the ground with a damaging fungal growth that steals energy from each enemy it strikes. Nidus draws strength from the Infestation.