What the Nataruk is
The Nataruk is Hunhow’s gift, a bow carved from the bones of his kin and given to the Drifter at the end of The New War. Its stats (below, from the warframe-items dataset) are unusual for a quest reward: 900 base damage, a crit/status hybrid (20% crit at 1.8×, 50% status), and four Madurai polarity slots. The wiki’s own description spells out its trick — shots can be charged and held, and releasing just before full charge gives maximum effect. That is the whole identity of the weapon.
Base stats
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| Total damage | 900 per shot (Puncture 648 / Slash 252) |
| Damage type | Puncture 648 / Slash 252 |
| Critical chance | 20% at 1.8× multiplier |
| Status chance | 50% |
| Fire rate | 0.667 (charge) |
| Reload | 0.05s |
| Multishot | 1 |
| Mastery | MR0 (no requirement) |
| Riven disposition | 1.20x — dispositions are retired, so every weapon uses the same value |
| Noise | Alarming |
| Trigger | Charge |
| Introduced | Update 31.0 (The New War) |
The numbers that matter are the 900 base and the 50% status. A bow that already hits that hard, with no Mastery gate, is a rare thing — and the charge mechanic is what makes it comfortable to use.
The no-penalty charge mechanic
Most charge weapons punish you: hold too long and you lose the perfect-release bonus, or the shot auto-fires at a penalty. The Nataruk does not do that. You can hold the charge as long as you like, and releasing just before full charge delivers the maximum effect. In practice this means you charge, line up, and release when you are ready — no timing tax. That removes the single biggest reason players avoid charge bows, and it is the feature most Nataruk searches are actually about.
How you get it
The Nataruk is a quest reward from The New War — there is no Market purchase, no farm, no Foundry build. Finish the quest and Hunhow hands it to you. Because it has no Mastery requirement, a player who reaches and clears The New War on a fresh account walks away with a top-tier bow. For context on where The New War sits in the story (and what you must clear before it, like the Railjack and an Amp), the main quest order guide lays out the sequence.
Building the Nataruk
It is a crit/status hybrid, so you can lean either way, but the common loadout is:
- Serration (bows take rifle damage mods) for the base floor — the 900 becomes much higher.
- Split Arrow — bow multishot, the single biggest damage-per-slot on a bow.
- Pointed Arrow + Hammer Shot — crit damage and crit chance to exploit the 1.8×.
- A 60/60 element (Heat/Cold/Toxin) so the 50% status spreads a combined proc; the Puncture/Slash base already carries some slash bleed.
- Vile Acceleration or a charge-speed mod so the 0.667 draw feels snappier.
Because the weapon is already strong, the build is about amplifying, not fixing. The mods guide explains how crit and dual-stat tiers slot together if you want to theorycraft.
Where it shines
- Story progression: a 900-damage MR0 bow carries you through mid-game content the moment you have it.
- Sentient and armor fights: the Slash component brings bleed, strong against health and armored mixes.
- Steel Path: the crit/status hybrid scales, and the comfortable charge means you keep firing under pressure.
It is less ideal as a rapid-spread primer (it is a single-arrow bow), but as a bread-and-butter damage bow it stays relevant.
Comparisons with other bows
- Daikyu / Dread / Lenz / Paris: each has a niche, but none combines “no-penalty charge” with “MR0 usable” and “900 base.” The Nataruk’s comfort is its edge.
- Other The New War rewards: the Nataruk is widely considered the standout weapon reward from that quest.
Pick the Nataruk when you want a hard-hitting bow without the charge-timing tax other bows impose.
Steel Path and high-level usage
At high Steel Path the Nataruk holds because both crit and status scale — there is no flat-damage cliff the way there is on some weapons. Slot an Archon Shard for a weak spot (Crimson for strength-adjacent perks, or Amber for energy economy) per the Archon Shards guide; pair it with a strong secondary for crowds. For ranking among primaries, the best weapons list puts it in context, and Steel Path covers where the bow’s comfort earns its slot.
A concrete build loadout
If you want to skip the theory, here is the loadout most players land on, using mods you can name and find:
- Serration — bows take rifle damage mods, and the 900 climbs fast.
- Split Arrow — bow multishot, the single biggest damage-per-slot on a bow.
- Pointed Arrow + Hammer Shot — crit damage and crit chance for the 1.8×.
- Vile Acceleration — charge speed so the 0.667 draw feels snappier.
- A 60/60 element (Heat’s Hellfire, Cold’s Cryo Rounds, Toxin’s Infected Clip) so the 50% status spreads a combined proc.
The bow is already strong, so the build amplifies rather than fixes. The mods guide explains how crit and dual-stat tiers slot together.
Element combos
- Health (late game): Cold + Heat → Viral.
- Armor: Toxin + Heat → Corrosive.
- Shields (Corpus): Cold + Electricity → Magnetic.
Common mistakes
- Panicking about the charge — there is no penalty for holding; release just before full charge when you are ready.
- Assuming MR0 means weak — it is one of the strongest early weapons in the game.
- Skipping multishot — Split Arrow is the single biggest damage boost on a bow and should almost always be slotted.
The four Madurai polarities
The Nataruk ships with four Madurai polarity slots. That matters for Forma: if you ever Forma it, matching Madurai-polarity mods (or leaning on the Madurai focus school’s bonuses) keeps capacity clean. For most players the built-in polarities are enough to fit a full build without any Forma, which is unusual for a weapon this strong — normally a top-tier bow would demand several Forma to fit everything. Treat the polarities as free capacity and mod it like the endgame bow it is.