Build it if you already own one from a Lich kill, since the 23% crit and 31% status line on a 70-round auto rifle costs nothing beyond the hunt. Riven disposition is a low 1.05, and newer Kuva and Tenet primaries out-damage it at extreme Steel Path levels.
Kuva Karak inherits a random 25 to 60 percent bonus to one of seven elemental types from its Lich, plus an innate 0.2m punch through. Duplicates can be Valence Fused at the Lich console to push that bonus toward the 60 percent cap.
Kuva Karak is the boosted, Lich-exclusive version of the Karak assault rifle, and it still matters in 2026 because it is one of the few automatic rifles with a genuinely hybrid crit and status line that costs nothing beyond the Lich hunt to acquire.
How to get the Kuva Karak
- Reach Mastery Rank 13 (equip requirement) and generate a Kuva Lich by killing Thrall enemies on Grineer-controlled tiles, or by having a Larvling spawn and stabbing it with a Parazon and letting it flee.
- Confront the resulting Lich. If it is not already carrying a Karak Kuva, kill it without mercy to force a new randomized Lich to spawn, and repeat until one spawns wielding a Karak Kuva; the weapon it carries cannot be chosen directly.
- Run Murmur missions (or Requiem missions) to learn the Lich’s three correct Requiem Mod weaknesses.
- Execute the correct Requiem sequence in a Parazon finisher to vanquish the Lich. On the vanquish, the Kuva Karak is added straight to your Foundry, ready to build for credits with no relic farming required.
- Optional: repeat the Lich process to pull duplicate Karak Kuvas with different progenitor elements, then Valence Fuse a spare copy into your main one for a stat and elemental-bonus boost.
A Lich still carrying an unclaimed Karak Kuva can be traded to another player through the Dojo’s Crimson Branch before you vanquish it; once it’s your weapon it can’t be traded directly, so extra copies are best spent on Valence Fusion rather than held for resale.
Stats
| Class | Primary |
|---|---|
| Mastery Rank | 13 |
| Trigger | AUTO |
| Noise | Alarming |
| Fire Rate | 11.67 |
| Accuracy | 80 |
| Magazine | 70 |
| Reload | 1.7 s |
| Critical Chance | 23% |
| Critical Multiplier | 2.1x |
| Status Chance | 31% |
| Riven Disposition | (1.05) |
| Damage | 23 total |
|---|---|
| Impact | 7.1 |
| Puncture | 6.2 |
| Slash | 9.7 |
Riven disposition sits at 1.05, one of the lower ratings in the Karak family, so it is only worth chasing on a cheap roll or if you already own one, not worth overpaying platinum for.
Builds
With 23% crit at a 2.1x multiplier next to 31% status, Kuva Karak is a genuine hybrid, so push multishot hard and run Cold plus Toxin for Viral to strip health while status procs chip away. Crit mods still help for the occasional red crit, but status uptime carries most of the damage at higher levels.
14Serration
Rifle
15Split Chamber
Rifle
9Point Strike
Rifle
9Vital SenseRifle
9Hunter MunitionsSET: PRIMARY
16Primed Cryo Rounds
Rifle
7Malignant ForceRifle
16Primed ShredRifle| Mod | Why it’s here |
|---|---|
| Serration | Flat base damage floor that every point of crit and status damage scales off of. |
| Split Chamber | Multishot gives more pellets per trigger pull, meaning more independent rolls at both the 23% crit and 31% status chances. |
| Point Strike | Pushes the 23% base crit chance up enough that occasional red crits under a buff actually matter. |
| Vital Sense | Stacks crit damage on top of the already-solid 2.1x base multiplier for bigger crit hits. |
| Hunter Munitions | Adds a chance on critical hits to trigger bonus Slash procs, playing directly into the weapon’s slash-leaning 9.7 base damage. |
| Primed Cryo Rounds | Supplies the Cold half of a Cold plus Toxin Viral combo to strip enemy health at range. |
| Malignant Force | Supplies the Toxin half of the Viral combo and adds extra status chance on top of the weapon’s 31% base. |
| Primed Shred | Stacks additional punch through onto the weapon’s innate 0.2m and boosts fire rate and reload for sustained hybrid DPS. |
Primary Merciless is the top pick for a crit-leaning build, granting a big temporary multishot boost after crits that stacks with Split Chamber, while Primary Deadhead is a cheaper, more forgiving alternative that scales off headshot kills instead.
Reviewed September 2026.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- 31% base status chance supports consistent proc uptime without heavy investment
- 23% crit chance with a 2.1x multiplier keeps crit scaling viable as a secondary layer
- 70-round magazine and fast fire rate suit sustained fire over precision bursts
- Innate 0.2m punch through plus a free progenitor elemental bonus baked into every copy
- Free to build once earned, with no relic farming or credits-heavy grind
Cons
- Low 1.05 riven disposition makes riven investment poor value compared to higher-disposition weapons
- Acquisition is RNG-gated behind killing Kuva Liches until one spawns carrying this specific weapon
- Outclassed at extreme Steel Path levels by newer Kuva and Tenet primaries
- No Incarnon path exists for Kuva-tier weapons, so its power ceiling stays fixed
Kuva Karak is for players who already have a Lich up or want a no-cost hybrid crit and status rifle for early to mid Steel Path, not for anyone hunting a fresh Lich purely for the highest damage ceiling.