Warframe's Hespar: Mastering the First Heavy Scythe in 2025

As a dedicated Tenno operating in the Origin System, I've witnessed countless weapons come and go, but few have made an entrance quite like the Hespar. Released as Warframe's pioneering Heavy Scythe, this colossal armament masterfully bridges the gap between the traditional reaper's scythe and a devastating greatsword. While its sweeping arcs might lack the blinding speed of lighter scythes, the trade-off is undeniable: earth-shattering force and an almost comical base range of 2.8 meters. If the thought of cleaving through entire squads of Grineer, Corpus, or Infested with a single, satisfying swing appeals to you, the Hespar demands your attention. Its lack of overt gimmicks is overshadowed by formidable base stats and a powerful stance, Galeforce Dawn, making it a versatile contender as either a reliable daily driver or a specialized heavy attack powerhouse. Let's delve into acquiring this beast, understanding its raw power, and exploring potent builds to unleash its full potential in the current year.\n\n\n\n### Acquiring the Hespar: Zariman Endeavors\n\nForget the markets of Fortuna or Cetus; the path to forging the Hespar leads directly to the enigmatic Zariman Ten Zero. Gaining access requires completion of the pivotal "Angels of the Zariman" quest. Once aboard the drifting relic, Tenno must engage in its high-tier activities to gather the necessary components. The grind is real, but oh, the reward is worth every moment spent amidst the Void manifestations. Here's the breakdown:\n\n Blueprint: Awarded as a potential reward from Tier 4 Bounties. Keep running those rotations!\n Handle: Drops exclusively from Void Cascade, specifically upon reaching Rotation C. Persistence is key here.\n Blade: Found within Void Armageddon, also requiring completion of Rotation C for a chance at the drop.\n\nOnce you've triumphantly gathered all three components, the crafting process awaits you at your Foundry:\n\n| Component/Resource | Quantity |\n| :------------------------ | :----------- |\n| Hespar Blueprint | 1 |\n| Hespar Handle | 1 |\n| Hespar Blade | 1 |\n| Thrax Plasm | 50 |\n| Credits | 15,000 |\n| Build Time | 12 Hours |\n\n\n\n### Decoding the Hespar's Raw Power: Stats & Playstyle\n\nThe stats reveal why the Hespar stands out. As Warframe's inaugural Heavy Scythe, it brings a unique blend of reach and damage potential to the melee arsenal. Its swings are deliberate but wide, perfect for crowd control, and the Galeforce Dawn stance enhances this further with attacks that naturally flow into area-of-effect slams. Crucially, this stance provides numerous guaranteed Slash procs through both its neutral combo and, significantly, its heavy attacks – a feature that heavily influences build strategies.\n\nLet's examine the raw numbers that define this weapon:\n\n\n\n| Stat Category | Value |\n| :--------------------- | :------------------------ |\n| Base Damage | Total: 280 |\n| | - Impact: 112 |\n| | - Puncture: 33.6 |\n| | - Slash: 134.4 💥 |\n| Follow Through | 40% |\n| Attack Speed | 1.0 |\n| Critical Chance | 24% ⚔️ |\n| Critical Multiplier| 2.2x |\n| Status Chance | 28% 🔥 |\n| Weapon Type | Heavy Scythe |\n| Range | 2.8m |\n| Mastery Requirement| MR 12 |\n\nThe absence of unique weapon-specific gimmicks means its strength lies purely in these solid fundamentals and the flexibility offered by the Galeforce Dawn stance. You truly have two main paths: embrace the heavy attack for massive Slash bleeds, or focus on sustained light attacks for general mayhem.\n\n### Unleashing Potential: Hespar Builds for 2025\n\nThe Hespar shines brightest when tailored to a specific combat rhythm. Here are two effective builds, catering to different investment levels and playstyles – both perfectly viable in the current meta.\n\n#### 🔧 The Zero-Forma Spammer (Light Attack Focus)\n\nPerfect for newcomers to the Hespar or those conserving Forma, this build emphasizes rapid, critical-focused light attacks. The Galeforce Dawn stance's inherent status application synergizes beautifully here.\n\n\n\n Core Concept: Maximize critical chance and damage for sustained light attack spam, leveraging Condition Overload (CO).\n Essential Mods:\n * Condition Overload (CO): Mandatory. Galeforce Dawn and the base status chance easily apply multiple statuses, granting HUGE damage multipliers. 3-4 statuses are common, making CO incredibly potent.\n * Blood Rush: Scales critical chance dramatically with your melee combo counter. Essential for turning that 24% into red crit territory.\n * Berserker's Fury: Critical hits grant a massive attack speed boost. This transforms the Hespar from slow powerhouse to a surprisingly fluid blender.\n * Amalgam Organ Shatter: Boosts critical damage and significantly improves heavy attack wind-up speed (a nice bonus even in a light attack build).\n * Galvanized Steel (Galvanized True Steel): Provides a solid base critical chance boost and further scaling on kill.\n Flex Slots:\n * Elemental Combo: Choose based on faction (e.g., Corrosive for Grineer/Corrupted, Viral for general use with Slash procs).\n * Reach/Primed Reach: Further extends your already impressive range.\n * Attack Speed (e.g., Quickening): If Berserker isn't enough, or for initial ramp-up.\n * Weeping Wounds: Can further boost status chance for even more reliable CO procs.\n\nThis build is surprisingly effective right out of the gate (zero Forma needed!) and excels in Star Chart and early Steel Path content. It leverages the Hespar's innate strengths without excessive investment.\n\n#### 💥 The Steel Path Slasher (Heavy Attack Focus)\n\nFor Tenno seeking to dominate the highest levels of Steel Path or simply revel in massive, screen-clearing heavy attacks, this 4-Forma build is the answer. It capitalizes on the Hespar's heavy attack properties and Galeforce Dawn's forced Slash procs.\n\n\n\n Core Concept: Maximize single heavy attack damage and ensure those attacks inflict devastating Slash bleeds. Focuses on combo efficiency and raw damage/critical multipliers.\n Essential Mods:\n * Sacrificial Steel & Sacrificial Pressure: The Sacrificial set provides superior base damage and critical chance scaling compared to standard mods, perfect for big, single hits. Condition Overload is less reliable here.\n * Corrupt Charge: The linchpin. Forces your combo counter to start at 2x, instantly doubling your heavy attack damage without needing to build combo first. Absolutely vital for a heavy attack spam playstyle.\n * Amalgam Organ Shatter: Remains crucial for boosting critical damage and, importantly, makes charging heavy attacks significantly faster.\n * Killing Blow: Directly boosts Heavy Attack damage. Essential for maximizing the impact of each swing.\n * Primed Reach: Ensures your heavy attacks, with their wide arcs, connect with as many enemies as possible. Range is king.\n Flex Slots:\n * Elemental Combo: Viral is often the top choice here, as it amplifies the damage of the forced Slash procs from the heavy attacks.\n * (Primed) Smite Mods: For maximum faction-specific heavy attack damage.\n * Focus Energy: Provides a dual stat element (Electric) and initial combo efficiency, though Corrupt Charge handles the main combo needs.\n * Gladiator Might:* Offers more critical damage if you have the space.\n\nThis build transforms the Hespar into a true heavy attack monster. Charge, unleash, and watch enemies melt under the weight of multiplied damage and catastrophic Slash bleeds. It requires investment (4 Forma, typically 3 V polarities) but pays dividends in high-level annihilation.\n\n### Conclusion: A Worthy Addition to the Arsenal\n\nIn 2025, the Hespar remains a testament to the effectiveness of combining solid fundamentals with a unique weapon class. Its journey from the Zariman's challenging Rotations to the Foundry is a grind, but forging this Heavy Scythe unlocks a uniquely satisfying melee experience. Whether you prefer the relentless rhythm of light attack spam amplified by Condition Overload and Blood Rush, or the devastating punctuation of Corrupt Charge-powered heavy attacks unleashing torrents of Slash, the Hespar delivers. It might lack flashy gimmicks, but its raw power, incredible reach, and the flow of the Galeforce Dawn stance make it a deeply rewarding weapon to master. As a Tenno constantly refining my loadout, I find the Hespar consistently earns its place – a true scythe of legend cleaving its path through the ever-evolving battlefields of the Origin System.