Kitguns, Zaws and Amps Explained (2026): Modular Weapons

How Warframe's build-it-yourself weapons work.

Last Updated on September 20, 2026

The short version

Kitguns, Zaws and Amps are weapons you assemble from three parts bought with open-world standing. They give no mastery until you gild them, and the first part you pick (chamber, strike or prism) decides what the weapon is. The three-digit Amp codes players quote, like 777, are just part numbers.

Researched September 19, 2026, current through Update 43.5. Every mechanic here is confirmed by two sources (the official wiki, DE patch notes, the game files); numbers we could not confirm twice are left out, not guessed.

Table of Contents

Kitguns – Fortuna, Rude Zuud, and Father (Deimos)

Part slot	What it decides	Vendor	Standing type
Chamber	Damage type(s), firing behavior, is the Mastery-tracked part	Rude Zuud (Fortuna) or Father (Deimos)	Solaris United or Entrati
Grip	Primary vs Secondary, damage/fire-rate/recoil balance (or damage/range for beam Chambers)	Rude Zuud or Father	Solaris United or Entrati
Loader	Critical Chance, Status Chance, magazine size, reload speed	Rude Zuud or Father	Solaris United or Entrati

A Kitgun is assembled from 3 part slots: Chamber (barrel – sets the weapon's damage type(s) and firing behavior, e.g. Impact/Heat vs. beam), Grip (sets whether the finished weapon is a Primary or Secondary and the balance of damage/fire-rate/recoil, or damage/range for beam Chambers), and Loader (sets Critical Chance, Status Chance, magazine size, and reload speed).
Corpus-styled Chambers/Grips/Loaders (Catchmoon, Gaze, Rattleguts, Tombfinger, and their Grips/Loaders) are bought from Rude Zuud at Fortuna using Solaris United Standing.
Infested-styled Kitgun parts (Sporelacer and Vermisplicer Chambers, plus their own Grips/Loaders) are bought from Father in the Necralisk on Deimos using Entrati Standing – added later than the original Fortuna set.
Parts are bought as Blueprints with Standing, then crafted in the Foundry (Credits + time) before assembly; assembling the finished Kitgun itself is a further, usually cheap, Credit cost.
Only the Chamber determines which weapon 'family' you are building and is the part that matters for Mastery – the same Chamber built as a Primary vs. a Secondary (via Grip choice) shares one Mastery progression track, so leveling both the Primary and Secondary version of the same Chamber does not grant extra Mastery.
Gilding requires the weapon at Rank 30 and a Standing rank of Doer with Solaris United (for Rude Zuud parts). Cost: 10 Shelter Debt-Bonds + 5,000 Standing at Rude Zuud.
Gilding unlocks: Mastery Rank gain, custom renaming, polarity/slot assignment, Orokin Catalyst compatibility, Focus Lens installation, and Arcane compatibility – and resets the weapon to Rank 0 to relevel.

Zaws – Cetus and Hok

Part slot	What it decides	Vendor	Standing type
Strike	Damage distribution, base Crit Chance/Damage, Status Chance, base speed, weapon type/animation	Hok (Cetus)	Ostron
Grip	Base attack speed, damage scaling, one-handed vs two-handed (affects Stance polarity)	Hok (Cetus)	Ostron
Link	Secondary stat modifier (damage vs speed trade-off, or crit/status skew)	Hok (Cetus)	Ostron

A Zaw is assembled from 3 part slots: Strike (the weapon head – sets damage-type distribution, base Critical Chance/Damage, Status Chance, base speed, and determines the resulting melee weapon type/animation set), Grip (the handle – sets base attack speed and overall damage scaling, and whether the weapon is one-handed or two-handed, which affects available Stance polarity), and Link (a hilt decoration – a smaller flat stat modifier, e.g. Ruhang links add damage but reduce speed, Jai links add speed but reduce damage; Vargeet-family links boost Critical Chance, Ekwana-family links boost Status Chance).
All Zaw parts are bought as Blueprints from Hok's Anvil in Cetus using Ostron Standing, then crafted at the Foundry; forging the finished Zaw itself costs 4,000 Credits.
Gilding requires the Zaw at Rank 30 and Trusted rank with the Ostrons. Cost: 2 Cetus Wisp + 5,000 Standing.
Gilding unlocks Mastery Rank gain, renaming, polarization, Focus Lens installation, and resets the weapon to Rank 0. A Zaw earns zero Mastery until it has been Gilded.
Exodia Arcanes (Exodia Brave, Valor, Might, Hunt, Contagion, Epidemic, Triumph, Force) are the Zaw-specific weapon arcanes, purchased from Hok once you reach Kin rank with the Ostrons, roughly 10,000 Standing each. Exodia Contagion and Exodia Epidemic have historically also been available through Operation: Plague Star reruns / Nakak's rotating stock rather than Hok exclusively.

Amps – Quills (Cetus) and Vox Solaris / Little Duck (Fortuna)

Part slot	What it decides	Vendor (series)	Grants Mastery?
Prism	Primary fire mode/Void Beam behavior	Quills (series 1-4) / Vox Solaris (series 5-7)	Yes – the only Mastery-tracked part
Scaffold	Secondary/alt-fire ability	Quills (series 1-4) / Vox Solaris (series 5-7)	No
Brace	Passive buffs to both fire modes (commonly Crit Chance)	Quills (series 1-4) / Vox Solaris (series 5-7)	No

An Amp is the Operator/Drifter's Void weapon, assembled from 3 part slots: Prism (primary fire – the only part that grants Mastery, and the part most players mean when they say '7' or '1' in the naming convention), Scaffold (secondary/alt-fire, e.g. Mouse 3 or right thumbstick), and Brace (passive buffs applied to both fire modes, most commonly valued for its Critical Chance contribution).
The Quills (Cetus) sell the first four component 'series': Mote, Observer, Adherent, and Instrument ranks unlock series 1-4 parts. Vox Solaris (Fortuna, via Little Duck) sell series 5-7 at Agent, Hand, and Instrument ranks.
Parts are bought as Blueprints with Standing (Quills or Vox Solaris standing depending on series) and crafted in the Foundry before assembly.
Gilding requires the Amp at Rank 30 plus Adherent rank with the Quills (for Quills parts) or Hand rank with Vox Solaris (for Vox Solaris parts). Cost: 5,000 Standing to the relevant syndicate.
Gilding unlocks Mastery Rank gain, custom renaming (24-character limit), color customization, Focus Lens installation, and Arcane slot compatibility, and resets the Amp to Rank 0.
Mastery is tied specifically to the Prism: only a Gilded Amp grants Mastery, and once a given Prism has been leveled to 30 while Gilded once, building further Amps with that same Prism will not grant additional Mastery – so players rotate Prisms (up to 9 total: 4 from Quills, 3 from Vox Solaris, plus later additions) rather than rebuilding the same Prism repeatedly.
The 'x-y-z' community numbering convention (e.g. 777, 177, 347) is NOT an in-game label – it refers to the unlock-order series number of each part: first digit = Prism series, second digit = Scaffold series, third digit = Brace series, each digit 1-7 (or higher with newer additions), with 'X' used as a wildcard for 'any part of that type'. The numbers do not indicate power level – a 'series 7' part is not automatically stronger than a 'series 1' part; e.g. '177' commonly refers to Raplak Prism + Propa Scaffold + Certus Brace, while '777' refers to Klamora Prism + Propa Scaffold + Certus Brace, per community shorthand.

Kitguns: Primary vs Secondary

Whether a given Chamber becomes a Primary or a Secondary weapon is decided entirely by which Grip you attach – most Chambers can be built as either, producing a visually different weapon with different base fire-rate/recoil/range numbers appropriate to that weapon class.
Because Mastery is tracked per-Chamber (not per finished weapon), building both the Primary and Secondary version of the same Chamber is a valid way to get two very different playstyles out of one Standing investment, but it will not double your Mastery gain.

Popular builds (only where two sources agree)

Amp: the '777' combination (Klamora Prism + Propa Scaffold + Certus Brace) is repeatedly cited across guide sites as a strong general/Eidolon-hunting Amp, valued for high burst damage plus the Certus Brace's Critical Chance bonus; some guides instead recommend swapping the Prism to Raplak or Shwaak for players who find Klamora's playstyle too risky, while keeping the Propa Scaffold + Certus Brace combination constant – the Scaffold+Brace pairing is the part that shows up consistently across sources.
Kitgun: Catchmoon and Tombfinger are consistently named as the two strongest Chamber picks across guide sources – Catchmoon for close-range crowd control (shorter range), Tombfinger for AoE/armor-stripping via explosive projectiles (slower projectile travel time). Rattleguts and Gaze are separately, consistently recommended specifically for armor-strip/status builds.
Zaw strike/grip/link 'best build' combinations found during this research (e.g. Ooltha + Seekalla grip + Ekwana Jai link) appeared in only a single source during this research pass and could not be corroborated by a second independent source in the time available – listed in uncertain rather than asserted as a popular build here.

What to do, in order

Pick a system based on what you're missing: a strong flexible Secondary (Kitgun), a strong flexible melee (Zaw), or a stronger Operator for Eidolon/Void content (Amp).
Grind the relevant Standing (Solaris United/Entrati for Kitguns, Ostron for Zaws, Quills/Vox Solaris for Amps) to the vendor rank that sells the parts you want.
Buy the three part Blueprints, craft them in the Foundry, then assemble the finished weapon (a small Credit cost).
Level the weapon to Rank 30, then Gild it at the vendor as soon as you hit the required Standing rank – this is the step that actually turns on Mastery, Catalyst/Forma compatibility, and Arcane slots.
Relevel the Gilded weapon, then treat it exactly like a normal weapon from the Weapon Upgrades page: Catalyst, Forma, and finally its dedicated Arcane family (Pax/Exodia/Virtuos/Magus).
Only chase a specific numbered Amp combo (like 777) or a specific popular Kitgun/Zaw build once you know what role you're building for – the 'best' combination depends on playstyle, not a single universal answer.

What players get wrong

What people think	What is true
Leveling an ungilded Kitgun, Zaw, or Amp gives Mastery Rank like a normal weapon.	None of the three systems grant any Mastery until the weapon has been Gilded. You can level an ungilded modular weapon to Rank 30 repeatedly and gain zero Mastery from it.
Building the Primary and Secondary version of the same Kitgun Chamber doubles your Mastery gain.	Mastery is tracked per Chamber, not per finished weapon – the Primary and Secondary variants share one progression track.
The '777' or '177' Amp numbers are official in-game names or indicate power tiers.	They are purely a community shorthand for unlock-order series numbers (Prism-Scaffold-Brace); a higher number does not mean a stronger part.
Only the Prism, Scaffold, and Brace matter for Amp power, and any combination works the same.	Only the Prism grants Mastery, and once a specific Prism is leveled to 30 on a Gilded Amp, rebuilding it again grants no further Mastery – deliberate Prism rotation matters if you're chasing Mastery.
Kitgun parts all come from one vendor.	Corpus-styled Kitgun parts come from Rude Zuud at Fortuna (Solaris United Standing); Infested-styled parts come from Father on Deimos (Entrati Standing) – these are two separate Standing grinds.
Gilding just makes the weapon look nicer.	Gilding is a hard functional gate: it is required before the weapon can earn Mastery, be renamed, take a Catalyst, take Forma polarities, equip a Focus Lens, or hold an Arcane.
Pax, Exodia, Virtuos, and Magus arcanes are interchangeable with normal weapon Arcanes (Merciless, Deadhead, etc.) and use the same slot.	They are separate arcane families tied specifically to modular weapon systems (Kitgun/Zaw/Amp) and their own arcane slot on those weapons – they are not the same pool as the Primary/Secondary/Melee weapon Arcanes covered on the Weapon Upgrades page.
A Zaw's Link only matters cosmetically.	The Link is a real stat slot – Ruhang-family links trade speed for damage, Jai-family links trade damage for speed, and Vargeet/Ekwana variants specifically skew Critical Chance or Status Chance, meaningfully changing the weapon's playstyle.

Glossary

Term	Meaning
Gilding	The finishing process (Standing + a special currency) that unlocks Mastery Rank gain, renaming, polarization, Catalyst/Forma compatibility, and Arcane slots on a modular weapon; resets it to Rank 0.
Chamber	The Kitgun part (barrel) that sets damage type and firing behavior; the only Kitgun part tracked for Mastery.
Grip	Kitgun: sets Primary/Secondary class and damage/fire-rate/recoil balance. Zaw: sets attack speed, damage scaling, and one-/two-handed status.
Loader	The Kitgun part that sets Critical Chance, Status Chance, magazine size, and reload speed.
Strike	The Zaw part (weapon head) that sets damage distribution, base Crit/Status, base speed, and the resulting weapon type.
Link	The Zaw part (hilt decoration) that applies a secondary stat trade-off, e.g. speed vs damage or crit vs status skew.
Prism	The Amp part that determines primary fire behavior; the only Amp part that grants Mastery.
Scaffold	The Amp part that determines secondary/alt-fire behavior.
Brace	The Amp part that applies passive buffs to both Amp fire modes, commonly valued for Critical Chance.
x-y-z numbering (e.g. 777)	Community shorthand for an Amp's Prism-Scaffold-Brace combination by unlock-order series number; not an official in-game term and not a power indicator.
Pax Arcanes	Kitgun-specific weapon arcanes sold by Rude Zuud at Old Mate rank with Solaris United.
Exodia Arcanes	Zaw-specific weapon arcanes sold by Hok at Kin rank with the Ostrons.