How to Get Hornet Strike in Warframe (2026): Where It Drops, Stats and Is It Worth It
Last Updated on September 14, 2026
Hornet Strike is a uncommon pistol (secondary) mod: Increases the base damage of secondary weapons by 220% at max rank. Every new account gets it free: The Teacher quest (Vor's Prize before 2025) puts it in your inbox, so nobody farms it. It is the first mod on every pistol; nothing else scales a secondary this much.
Reviewed September 13, 2026, current through Update 43.5. Stats are max rank from the live game data, drop chances from the official drop tables; this page is re-checked after every major patch.
| Mod facts | |
|---|---|
| Slot | Pistol (secondary) |
| Rarity | Uncommon |
| Polarity | Madurai (V) |
| Drain at max rank | 14 (rank 10) |
| At max rank | +220% Damage |
| Fastest route | Every new account gets it free: The Teacher quest (Vor’s Prize before 2025) puts it in your inbox, so nobody farms it. |
| On our builds | 63 of 242 weapon pages |
The card
Tap it to unfold the full card at max rank.
Pistol
Where it drops
Official drop table, best chance first.
| Where | Chance | Rarity |
|---|---|---|
| Earth/Cetus (Level 5 – 15 Cetus Bounty), Rot B | 30.56% | Uncommon |
| Mercury/Suisei (Spy), Rot C | 8.6% | Rare |
| Venus/Vesper (Spy), Rot C | 8.6% | Rare |
| Venus/Unda (Spy), Rot C | 8.6% | Rare |
| Earth/Cambria (Spy), Rot C | 8.6% | Rare |
| Mars/Arval (Spy), Rot C | 8.6% | Rare |
| Ceres/Hapke (Spy), Rot C | 8.6% | Rare |
| Phobos/Grildrig (Spy), Rot C | 8.6% | Rare |
| Phobos/Shklovsky (Spy), Rot C | 8.6% | Rare |
| Mercury/Apollodorus (Survival), Rot B | 7.69% | Rare |
| Venus/V Prime (Survival), Rot B | 7.69% | Rare |
| Venus/Malva (Survival), Rot B | 7.69% | Rare |
Every other way to get it
| Source | How | Chance |
|---|---|---|
| The Teacher quest | Inbox reward on completion | 100% |
| Spy missions, rotation C | Early planets | 8.6% |
Weapons we put it on
Hornet Strike is in the recommended build on these guides; the tile opens the full build with every mod card.
Afuris PrimeBuild
Akarius PrimeBuild
Akbolto PrimeBuild
Akbronco PrimeBuild
Akjagara PrimeBuild
Aklex PrimeBuild
Akmagnus PrimeBuild
Aksomati PrimeBuild
Akstiletto PrimeBuild
Akvasto PrimeBuild
AthodaiBuild
Athodai PrimeBuildTips that save runs
- Any secondary weapon without Arcanes like Secondary Merciless, Secondary Deadhead, or Secondary Dexterity.
- Elemental damage mods on secondary weapons.
- Critical chance and critical damage mods on secondary weapons.
- Hornet Strike damage is applied before other damage types.
- Other damage-increasing mods benefit from Hornet Strike's effect.
Mistakes that waste runs
- Players might underestimate its impact on elemental damage calculations.
- Players might replace it with Galvanized Shot on all secondary weapons, even those not status-weighted.
- Players might not prioritize maxing it out early for secondary weapon builds.
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