Build-A-Zaw Workshop [Update 22.18.0]

A detailed guide chock-full of references on Strikes, Grips, Links, Exodia Arcanes and many builds to help find the right Zaw for you. Arguably the best weapons in the game at the moment, you're missing out if you haven't put the effort into forging one by now.

Intro

Once again surprised with the lack of documentation here, a clanmate and I have taken it upon ourselves to help clarify and streamline the process of crafting your personal Zaw. Melee weapons have always been the best weapons in the game (if you have the mods) and adding modular options to the weapon class has only cemented them into that spot further.
In almost every case, a Zaw is statistically superior to the other weapons of its type. Add the fact that every Strike has a 3-star Riven Disposition and can equip unique Arcane Enhancements, and your primary and secondary are sure to collect some dust. Though the grind to construct a Zaw may seem daunting, it absolutely is worth the effort to make your own.

This guide is here to help you find your perfect combination of Strike, Grip and Link. Keep this page[semlar.com] open as you read through to help you find your ideal Zaw.

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Hok's Anvil

A blacksmith selling his wares in exchange for Ostron standing. Here you will purchase and assemble your Zaw parts.

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Speaking to Hok allows you to:

• Exchange Ostron standing for Strikes, Grips, Links and Exodia Arcanes.
  
• Preview Zaw builds.
  
• Gild your Zaws for stat boosts once they reach level 30. (Strikes do not grant Mastery until the Amp has been gilded and leveled to 30 again.)
  
• Donate Zaws you no longer need in exchange for Ostron standing.
  
• Rename Zaws and non-Zaw weapons for a 15p fee.
  
• Purchase a pre-built Zaw with Platinum consisting of random parts that are shuffled daily. (This can include parts exclusive to Operation: Plague Star.)

Strikes

The first and most important part of your Zaw. Helps determine the weapon and damage types.

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	Name	Type	Damage	Speed	Critical Chance	Status Chance
	Balla	Dagger / Staff	68 Base 5% 60% 35%	+0.083	18%	18%
	Cyath	Machete / Polearm	72 Base 20% 5% 75%	+0.000	18%	18%
	Dehtat	Rapier / Polearm	68 Base 10% 50% 40%	+0.083	18%	18%
	Kronsh	Machete / Polearm	86 Base 70% 30%	-0.067	18%	18%
	Mewan	Sword / Polearm	86 Base 25% 35% 40%	-0.067	18%	18%
	Ooltha	Sword / Staff	72 Base 10% 40% 50%	+0.000	18%	18%
	Plague Keewar*	Scythe / Staff	79 Base 28% 14% 33% 25%	-0.033	18%	22%
	Plague Kripath*	Rapier / Polearm	70 Base 14% 36% 21% 29%	+0.033	22%	18%
	Sepfahn**	Nikana / Staff	72 Base 10% 25% 65%	+0.000	20%	20%
	Rabvee**	Machete / Hammer	86 Base 60% 5% 35%	-0.067	18%	18%
	Dokrahm**	Scythe / Heavy Blade	68 Base 15% 35% 50%	+0.083	18%	18%

* = Only purchasable from Nakak during Operation: Plague Star.
** = Added with Beasts of the Sanctuary.

Grips

The second part of your Zaw, determining a variety of stats as well as influencing the weapon type.

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	Name	Type	Damage	Speed
	Peye	Sword / Machete / Rapier / Dagger / Scythe / Nikana	-4	1.000
	Plague Akwin*	Sword / Machete / Rapier / Dagger / Scythe / Nikana	-2	0.950
	Laka	Sword / Machete / Rapier / Dagger / Scythe / Nikana	+0	0.917
	Kwath	Sword / Machete / Rapier / Dagger / Scythe / Nikana	+14	0.850
	Seekalla	Staff / Polearm / Heavy Blade / Hammer	-4	1.000
	Jayap	Staff / Polearm / Heavy Blade / Hammer	+0	0.917
	Plague Bokwin*	Staff / Polearm / Heavy Blade / Hammer	+7	0.883
	Kroostra	Staff / Polearm / Heavy Blade / Hammer	+14	0.850
	Shtung**	Staff / Polearm / Heavy Blade / Hammer	+28	0.784
	Korb**	Sword / Machete / Dagger / Rapier / Scythe / Nikana	+28	0.784

* = Only purchasable from Nakak during Operation: Plague Star.
** = Added with Beasts of the Sanctuary.

Links

The final piece to add to your Zaw. Determines an overwhelming variety of stats.

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	Name	Damage Bonus	Speed Chance	Critical Chance	Status Bonus
	Ruhang	+14	-0.067	N/A	N/A
	Jai	-4	+0.083	N/A	N/A
	Ruhang II	+28	-0.133	N/A	N/A
	Jai II	-8	+0.167	N/A	N/A
	Vargeet Ruhang	+14	-0.067	7.0%	-4.0%
	Ekwana Ruhang	+14	-0.067	-4.0%	7.0%
	Vargeet Jai	-4	+0.083	7.0%	-4.0%
	Ekwana Jai	-4	+0.083	-4.0%	7.0%
	Vargeet II Ruhang	+14	-0.067	14.0%	-8.0%
	Ekwana II Ruhang	+14	-0.067	-8.0%	14.0%
	Vargeet II Jai	-4	+0.083	14.0%	-8.0%
	Ekwana II Jai	-4	+0.083	-8.0%	14.0%
	Vargeet Ruhang II	+28	-0.133	7.0%	-4.0%
	Ekwana Ruhang II	+28	-0.133	-4.0%	7.0%
	Vargeet Jai II	-8	+0.167	7.0%	-4.0
	Ekwana Jai II	-8	+0.167	-4.0%	7.0%

Arcanes

Arcane Enhancements exclusively for Zaws made available from Hok after reaching the rank of Kin with the Ostrons.

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	Exodia Arcanes	Criteria	Chance	Effect	Duration/Range
	Brave	CHANNEL KILL	100%	1.25 / 2.50 / 3.75 / 5.00 Increased energy regen	1 / 2 / 3 / 4 Seconds
	Valor	CRITICAL HIT	5% / 10% / 15% / 20%	50% / 100% / 150% / 200% Increased channeling damage	3 / 6 / 9 / 12 Seconds
	Might	FINISHER	12.5% / 25% / 37.5% / 50%	7.5% / 15% / 22.5% / 30% Lifesteal	2 / 4 / 6 / 8 Seconds
	Triumph	STATUS EFFECT	5% / 10% / 15% / 20%	50% / 100% / 150% / 200% Increased Channeling damage	3 / 6 / 9 / 12 Seconds
	Hunt	SLAM ATTACK	20% / 30% / 40% / 50%	Pull in nearby enemies	6m / 8m / 10m / 12m
	Force	STATUS EFFECT	5% / 10% / 15% / 20%	Burst for 80% / 100% / 120% / 150% weapon damage	5m / 6m / 7m / 8m
	Contagion*	AIR ATTACK	100%	100% / 200% / 300% / 400% projectile damage after 30m Only procs after a bullet/double jump.	Determined by gravity.
	Epidemic*	SLAM ATTACK	100%	Projects damaging wave that suspends enemies in the air, dealing Viral damage up to 33m away. Only procs after a bullet/double jump.	1s / 2s / 3s / 4s

* = Only purchasable from Nakak during Operation: Plague Star.

Recommended Builds Pt. 1

Combinations of Strike, Grip and Link and suggested mod loadouts. Builds marked with * are best-in-class and can not (currently) be statistically surpassed by any other weapon of its type. Stats presented are after Gilding. Mix and match for yourself here.[semlar.com]

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Sliita
Mods
Type	Sword
Strike	Ooltha
Grip	Laka
Link	Vargeet Ruhang
Arcane	Exodia Valor
Comparison	Krohkur
Notes	Extremely reliant on keeping your combo multiplier up, but is thankfully offset by a stance with wide sweeps and generous movement. Berserker is your designated mod to replace in the event you obtain a riven for Ooltha.

Parang*
Mods
Type	Machete
Strike	Cyath
Grip	Peye
Link	Ekwana II Jai
Arcane	Exodia Valor
Comparison	Gazal Machete
Notes	A fast slash status-based weapon. Buzz Kill is your designated mod to replace in the event you obtain a riven for Cyath.

Carranza
Mods
Type	Rapier
Strike	Dehtat
Grip	Kwath
Link	Vargeet II Jai
Arcane	Exodia Valor
Comparison	Destreza
Notes	Another slash proc weapon due to Vulpine Mask having three combos with two guaranteed slash procs minimum. It will destroy any one target. Gladiator Might is your designated mod to replace in the event you obtain a riven for Dehtat.

Pesh-kabz*
Mods
Type	Dagger
Strike	Balla
Grip	Laka
Link	Ekwana II Jai
Arcane	Exodia Might
Comparison	Rakta Dark Dagger
Notes	Very fast combos with multiple viral and slash procs despite it's 35% chance, but like any dagger will mainly rely on Covert Lethality. Doing so makes it the best candidate for wearing Exodia Might, healing you on Finishers. Drifting Contact is your designated mod to replace in the event you obtain a riven for Balla.

Recommended Builds Pt. 2

Naginata*
Mods
Type	Staff
Strike	Ooltha
Grip	Seekalla
Link	Ekwana Jai
Arcane	Exodia Valor
Comparison	Bo Prime
Notes	A staff focusing on large bleed procs from crits with quick multi-hit attacks. The stance is used for its forward combo, the right-click combo being for AoE and movement. Buzz Kill is your designated mod to replace in the event you obtain a riven for Ooltha.

Laesio
Mods
Type	Polearm
Strike	Cyath
Grip	Jayap
Link	Ekwana II Ruhang
Arcane	Exodia Triumph
Comparison	Lesion
Notes	Essentially Lesion but still a bit too far off without a godly Riven roll. Primed Fury or North Wind are your designated mods to replace in the event you obtain a riven for Cyath.

Plague Langxian*
Mods
Type	Polearm
Strike	Plague Kripath
Grip	Plague Bokwin
Link	Ekwana II Ruhang
Arcane	Exodia Epidemic
Comparison	Guandao
Notes	A personal favorite. This Zaw is all about utility and is essentially a swiss army knife. Since forging it, I've used it so much I actually feel terrible my dozens of other Rivens have collected dust since. Great status, innate Viral, spin-to-winning through each room, absolutely absurd range and the Arcane is an 0-cost energy Rhino Stomp that you can spam if you're ever in a tight spot for some reason. My trusty tool for Focus farming. If you can secure a Riven with +Range, I urge you to slot it in place of Buzz Kill.

F.A.Q.

A section to be updated over time as questions are asked in the comments and more content needs to be clarified. Please ignore for the time being.

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Q: Can you get MR from Zaws?

A: An assembled Zaw must be leveled to 30, gilded, and leveled to 30 again before obtaining Mastery from the Strike.

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Q: Are there modular options for primary and secondary weapons like Zaws are to melee weapons?

A: Soon.[clips.twitch.tv]

Need a clan?

Need a group to help farm resources to make the Zaw you want? Maybe you're new and just need some help in the game or access to clan research.

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Tenno on the Moon is a relaxed and casual clan that recruits active and friendly players. We were founded on the primary goal to ensure Warframe never feels like a job to players. Only by working together can we combat the grind, generally awful trading community and other aspects of poor game design. With over 250 members, our emphasis on remaining casual doesn't stop us from obtaining a spot in the top 100 leaderboard scores during clan events.
There are only two rules to keep in mind. One being that 30 days of inactivity gets you kicked for space unless a higher-up is notified you're taking a break. The second being that you're generally friendly if you plan on using the clan chat tab.
Our official forum clan can be found here[forums.warframe.com]. If you'd like to join, please join this page or leave a comment below and make sure you are not already in another clan so an invitation can be sent.

We also run an Alliance for any smaller, likeminded clans. While they serve little purpose at the moment, it's a good idea to join one in the event Dark Sectors return and any other bonuses the Kingpin system will offer. The Towers That B want you to be apart of our clan family.
Our official forum alliance can be found here[forums.warframe.com]. If you'd like to join, please request an invitation to this page and leave a comment below with your in-game name for further discussion.

Credits

Look forward to this guide being updated any time more content is added to Zaws. I love documenting these sorts of things so I hope at least a few of you got some use out of it. I'm always planning on creating more guides for my favorite games, so feel free to subscribe if that might interest you for whatever reason.

And a HUGE thank you to PlayMyTrapCard for fleshing out the majority of the Builds section.

Thank you for using our guide! Check out below for more!

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1300119774
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1435876898
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1405217379

[Barltonn FightGSR!]

Hey i'm interested in joining the clan. My IGN in BoxBox20

[ReimuTheMiko]

It keeps saying I can't forge the Zaw in the menu.

[jay]

Hey! I'm interested in joining the clan. My IGN is MyExtraChromosome.

[jasonotaku098]

Hi i kinda suck at making zaws, iam looking for a heavyblade combination that can handle higher lv enemies if u know any i would really appreciate it

[Kinnex]

Thank you, missed it in the intro.

[( : )]

all zaws have a disposition of 3 (neutral) so i dont think its worth adding that info to each strike individually. it is made note of in the intro

[Kinnex]

Would it be possible to also ad Riven Dispositions to the guide?

Sadly, I do not see them listed on the wiki: http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Riven_Mods#Melee

[yellow]

My zaw isn't very good. I want a rapier Zaw, but all the good ones are super far in to the grind.

[白夜。]

nice

[TheGrimCorsair]

It'll be a good day when Maiming Strike's crit chance is no longer multiplied by Blood Rush.