Review: Exergis (U24.2.6)

The Exergis is a new MR8 shotgun, released in U24.2 alongside the Profit Taker Heist. it is similar to the Tigris Prime in several ways, including very high base Damage and high Status Chance, but tiny magazine. It is very powerful, though also has many flaws that limit its overall lethality.

Acquisition

The Exergis blueprint can be acquired directly from the Market. Notably however, it requires Repeller Systems, which are a rather rare drop from Profit Taker bounties.

Stats

Off the bat, we see that the Exergis has an exceptionally high 36% base Status Chance, allowing it to reach 100% Status Chance with just three 60/60 mods. It backs this up with the highest base Damage of all non-Archwing weapons, of which Slash is its highest component. In contrast, it has terrible crit.

Notably, the Exergis has a Magazine Capacity of just 1, with a Reload Time of 1.6 seconds. This nullifies its otherwise rather fast RoF.

The Exergis is a projectile weapon, firing only 3 pellets at base. As a shotgun, it also has damage falloff, though this occurs at 30-60 metres, much further than usual.

Augments

None, it's a brand new weapon.

Builds

0-Forma:

The Exergis has only one innate D polarity, which is frankly useless unless you have a D polarity Riven. Three 60/60 mods have been slotted in to reach 100% Status Chance, in this case going for Viral + Electric, primarily targeting armoured enemies. Viral synergises perfectly with the Exergis' high Slash bias, halving enemy health for massive Slash procs to eat through more quickly. Electric has been chosen over Heat as the extra element, as I like the extra bit of AoE that it offers. It also does extra damage against Corpus Robotics, who are relatively less damaged by Viral + Slash. Neither is particularly enticing however, and is primarily included only to reach 100% Status Chance.

Against Infested, a Corrosive + Heat build hits everything super-effectively, with the innate Radiation helping to mitigate the auras of Ancients, though Viral + Electric/Heat will kill just about anything Infested with ease anyway. Against armoured Corpus robots, going for Radiation + Cold/Toxin will greatly increase direct damage while still doing major damage to most other enemies.

Despite firing only 3 pellets, the Exergis still greatly benefits from reaching 100% Status Chance. With two 60/60 mods for an Arsenal Status Chance of 79.2%, the Exergis' per-pellet Status Chance is still only about 40.8%. In my testing, the third 60/60 mod is absolutely worth it to bring that up to 100%, drastically improving time-to-kill against armoured enemies.

I personally consider Ammo Stock mandatory on the Exergis. At Rank 4, it doubles the Exergis' magazine to 2, allowing for quick follow-up shots, and greatly improving usability against crowds. Upgrading it to Rank 5 is not necessary, as it gives no extra benefit and consumes another mod point. Similarly, I consider +Reload Speed to be mandatory on the Exergis, as I feel it is far too slow otherwise. Tactical Pump has been slotted in for a simple, no-nonsense +Reload Speed. Chilling Reload is an option that increases Reload Speed, as well as adding some Cold damage, however this extra Cold damage will reduce the number of Slash procs inflicted.

Recommended Setups: Viral + Heat/Electric vs most enemies. Consider Corrosive + Heat vs Infested, Radiation + Cold/Toxin vs armoured Corpus.

General Purpose 1-Forma:

A V polarity replacing the innate D allows you to slot in Primed Point Blank. I've also switched Tactical Pump for Seeking Fury, as I like the extra Punch Through. Tactical Pump/Chilling Reload are still solid options however, as are Sweeping Serration for higher Slash bias, and Vigilante Armaments for overall improved power and status.

Recommended Setups: see above.

General Purpose 3-Forma:

Another added V and a - polarities let you comfortably use all eight mod slots. Again I've opted for Seeking Fury, but Sweeping Serration, Chilling Reload and Tactical Pump are all good options as well. Notably, the latter two would not require the third Forma.

My Builds:

I don't particularly enjoy using the Exergis, so this is as far as I got. The slightly more optimal version of this build would have Ammo Stock at Rank 4 and Tactical Pump at max Rank. I've put in Seeking Fury for the extra Punch Through reliability and small reload boost. I often find that 0.5 metre Punch Through is not enough, especially against the larger-bodied Infested units.

Combat Use and Summary

The Exergis is a weapon best used against single heavies. It deals very high damage-per-shot, allowing it to blast through unarmoured heavies quite easily. With fairly high Slash bias and being 100% status capable, it can also inflict rather large Slash procs, which eat through armoured heavies quite quickly. However, the Exergis' low pellet count makes Slash proccing a little less reliable than ideal.

Naturally, with a tiny magazine and very little AoE, the Exergis has severe troubles against groups. The innate Punch Through does help, depending on the enemy, as does the weapon's spread. However, due to its low pellet count, I've found the spread to actually be rather inconsistent. All too often I would take a shot at an enemy a little further away, well within spread range, only for most, if not all of the pellets to miss them entirely.

The Exergis has pretty heavy recoil, though this isn't a large problem. Its projectile nature and damage fall-off also further reduces its effectiveness at long range.

Overall, the Exergis is a decent heavy-killer. It does a lot of damage, and can proc Slash with reasonable reliability, giving it good firepower against armoured enemies. Especially now that the Tigris Prime is Vaulted, there are few, if any, weapons that contend with the Exergis for its role. However, it is very poor against groups, and struggles to kill multiple enemies in a timely fashion. If you're looking for a primary that can destroy one or two priority targets, the Exergis is definitely worth a look.

Scores

Vs Trash Mobs: 0.5/5 - Relies entirely on Punch Through and spread to handle groups of enemies, due to constant, lengthy reloading.
Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 4.5/5 - Massive damage per shot allows the Exergis to obliterate unarmoured heavies in just a few shots.
Vs Armoured Heavies without Hunter Munitions: 4/5 - Capable of 100% Status Chance, with reasonably high Slash damage, the Exergis can inflict large Slash procs on armoured enemies. It is let down a little by low pellet count, which can result in inflicting fewer Slash procs than desired.
Vs Armoured Heavies with Hunter Munitions: NA/5 - The Exergis has pretty poor crit.

Vs Variants

None.

Competitors

The Exergis' main competitor is the Tigris Prime - another high power, tiny magazine status shotgun. No other shotguns can contend for raw firepower or Slash proccing ability. The Exergis has a slightly higher base Damage and a faster Reload, but the Tigris Prime has much higher Slash bias, more pellets, and of course 2 rounds in a mag instead of 1. I've personally found the Tigris Prime to be a little more effective overall. They both kill unarmoured enemies pretty much instantly, but the Tigris Prime's higher Slash bias and pellet count make it a much more consistent Slash proc machine, giving it the edge against armoured enemies. The extra shot is also very useful, especially against groups.

Rivens

As standard for a new weapon, the Exergis has a neutral 3/5 (1) Riven disposition. I think it is relatively fair, given the Exergis is extremely powerful and certainly needs no help in that regard.

One of the great advantages that a Riven offers the Exergis is that a +Status Chance roll could replace one or even two of the 60/60 mods, resulting in even higher Slash bias and more build versatility. Damage and Multishot are naturally great stats to have as well. A Riven is also a great way to add in some +Mag Capacity, Reload Speed or Punch Through. +Slash helps Slash bias a lot. +Projectile Flight Speed can help with longer ranged shots.

Given that the Exergis spends far more time reloading than shooting, -Max Ammo is a decent negative to have. -Crit Chance/Damage are both also quite usable since the Exergis has terrible base crit stats. -Faction Damage to a faction you're not worried about (e.g. Infested) can be a nice roll. -Fire Rate is also not a problem given the Exergis' base RoF is excessively high anyway. Similarly, +Recoil is not much of a problem either. -Puncture/Impact are both great, not sacrificing much damage and improving Slash bias.