Review: Prisma Grinlok (U27.4.3)

Last updated: 27.4.3

The Prisma Grinlok is an MR11 Semi-Auto rifle, introduced in U24.4, and made available at the next Baro visit. With vast improvements over the base Grinlok and access to an amazing Syndicate Augment, the Prisma Grinlok is one of the best non-sniper precision rifles in the game.

Notably, this will be the first time I review a weapon variant after covering the base version.

Acquisition

The Prisma Grinlok is only available from Baro Ki'Teer, having been introduced only in his most recent visit. If they have been completely unused and do not have an Orokin Catalyst installed, they can be traded as per usual for these special weapons.

Stats 

The Prisma Grinlok has very strong stats across the board. A solid Crit Chance is backed up by a very high Crit Damage and a rather high base Damage. A decently high Slash bias (50%) is supplemented by an extremely high Status Chance, for dangerously frequent Slash procs. With very low RoF of 1.67, and a respectable Magazine Capacity and decently fast Reload Time, the Prisma Grinlok has an exceptional Reload Ratio of 7.40. The RoF is perhaps the PGrinlok's only notable weakness.

Augments

Like the regular Grinlok, the Prisma Grinlok has access to the Deadly Sequence Syndicate Augment, available from the Perrin Sequence. And even more so than with the base Grinlok, Deadly Sequence is absolutely amazing on the Prisma Grinlok.

As mentioned in the Grinlok review, +200% Crit Chance is huge, easily eclipsing Point Strike, while using up less mod capacity (only 7 points!). This combines extremely well with the Prisma Grinlok's quite respectable 21%/2.9x crit, pushing it up to 63% Crit Chance, or 94.5% alongside Point Strike.

As a Perrin Sequence Augment, Deadly Sequence also adds the Sequence Syndicate effect. Upon gaining sufficient affinity, it inflicts 1000 Radiation damage with guaranteed proc to all enemies within range, restoring a small amount of shields and increasing max shields slightly. Radiation damage and proc is generally quite useful, but the shield boost is only good on a small handful of Warframes, due to how weak shields are overall.

Builds

0-Forma:

Note that a Riven with +200% Crit Chance has been used in place of Deadly Sequence, as Warframe Builder does not yet have the Prisma Grinlok. A single V polarity, and access to Deadly Sequence, opens up a little extra space for the PGrinlok. For this example build, I've equipped for Viral, with maximum Status Chance. The PGrinlok's high Slash bias and base Status Chance allow it to inflict Slash procs with frightening regularity, and Viral pairs fantastically with it, halving enemy health. This is drastically augmented by its quite respectable crit stats.

There is plenty of space to switch the 60/60s for 90% elementals if you so desire, for more raw damage but less status. You could even look at dropping Split Chamber down to Vigilante Armaments for another 6 points of capacity, letting you slot in Shred, Hunter Munitions, Point Strike, the list continues.

Against armoured organics, a Viral + Slash build is by far the best option. The Prisma Grinlok inflicts Slash procs very frequently, which are heavily augmented by Viral procs. Against unarmoured Corpus, Viral or Toxin builds are quite effective in their own way. Viral is the most overall effective once enemy shields are down, while Toxin completely ignores shields and does major damage direct to health.


With such high Status Chance and damage-per-shot, Gas and/or Electric are solid anti-crowd options. A single proc can cripple tight groups of weaker enemies with ease. This does come at the cost of effectiveness against heavier targets however.

Against armoured Corpus, who exclusively use Alloy armour, Radiation does a great amount of direct damage, especially as many of them are also Robotic. For Infested, Corrosive as always is a great all-round option.

Recommended Setups: Viral vs everything, Radiation vs armoured Corpus, Viral or Toxin vs unarmoured Corpus, Corrosive vs Infested, Gas or Electric vs groups

Hunter Munitions 1-Forma:

An added V polarity lets you comfortably fit in a seventh mod, while still having space for a 90% elemental. In this case, the seventh mod is Hunter Munitions, combining with the Prisma Grinlok's greatly increased Crit Chance to inflict even more Slash procs. Such a build is even more effective against armoured organics, though the relative lack of direct damage is a disadvantage against other targets.

Punch Through 1-Forma:

If Slash procs are not a concern, Shred is also a great extra mod to slot in. Its Punch Through is a great help against groups of enemies, as is the bonus Fire Rate.

Recommended Setups: Viral + HM vs Grineer, Corrupted, otherwise see above.

Raw Damage 2-Forma:

Yet another added V polarity gives you even more options. In this example build, Shred has been slotted alongside two 90% elementals, for a lot more direct damage, at the cost of lower Status Chance. If Shred is not desired, a - polarity could be used instead, and Shred's slot could be used by something like Point Strike or Vigilante Armaments.

Hunter Munitions 2-Forma:

Naturally, a Hunter Munitions build also fits and functions very well. Point Strike pushes the Prisma Grinlok's Crit Chance to just below 95%, for even more Slash procs from Hunter Munitions.

Punch Through 2-Forma:

Note that even with Deadly Sequence already installed, the Prisma Grinlok will gain more damage from equipping Point Strike, than it will from Vigilante Armaments. That said, VA is still a very solid eighth mod choice if you're going for raw damage.

Therre are a few other options for that last mod slot yet to be mentioned. Naturally, a third element can be installed, notably for powerful combos like Viral + Heat. Bladed Rounds is a strong Crit boost. If you desire a larger RoF boost, Vile Acceleration is a solid option.

There aren't any standout options for the Exilus slot, besides of course Vigilante Supplies for the Vigilante mod set bonus.

Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Viral + Heat vs everything, Viral + Electric vs unarmoured Corpus, Corrosive + Heat vs Infested

My Builds:

Nothing overly special about my primary Viral build. My Riven puts the Prisma Grinlok just above 100% Crit Chance, and replaces Point Strike. Malignant Force + Primed Cryo Rounds gives very high Viral damage, while also increasing Status Chance for those lovely Slash procs. This build is the best against organics, both armoured and unarmoured.

This Corrosive build is best against Infested.

This Radiation build is best against armoured robotics, and other Alloy armoured enemies who are less vulnerable to Slash procs and Viral damage.

Combat Use and Summary

As a slow-firing rifle with high crit, Slash bias and Status Chance, the Prisma Grinlok is most effective against fewer, heavier targets. Armoured enemies are bled to death with a mountain of Slash procs, while unarmoured enemies take heavy damage from its high crit and overall damage-per-shot.

Where the Prisma Grinlok is weakest is against groups, naturally. With no innate AoE or Punch Through, and a very slow RoF, it relies on added Punch Through, Deadly Sequence's Syndicate effect, and Gas or Electric procs to deal with groups. Each of these has their own limitations or downsides - Punch Through relies on having enemies directly behind one another, the Sequence Syndicate effect occurs at best every 30 seconds, and a Gas/Electric build does poor direct damage especially against heavily armoured enemies.


With great accuracy and minimal recoil, the Prisma Grinlok is great at long range combat. With low RoF and high damage output, while also using the extremely common Rifle ammo, it is also extremely ammo efficient and very easy to keep topped up. It is quite well suited to the open worlds.


The Prisma Grinlok is a vast improvement over the base Grinlok, with a number of very relevant and powerful stat increases. As it stands, it is one of the best precision rifles currently in game, capable of dealing with most enemies with the right build. However, it has retained one key flaw of the base Grinlok, its horrendously slow RoF, which greatly limits its abilities against groups. Due to having a great Augment mod but also a horribly slow RoF, the Prisma Grinlok is a rifle that, even more so than most other weapons, would really like more than eight mod slots. If you're after a hard hitting rifle that isn't a sniper, and don't mind a slower RoF, I strongly recommend getting your hands on a Prisma Grinlok. It is quite powerful, and besides its slow RoF, handles very well in combat.

Scores

Vs Trash Mobs: 2/5 - a far larger magazine gives the Prisma Grinlok a leg-up against the regular Grinlok. It can also utilise a Gas build slightly more effectively, due to its slightly higher Status Chance. However, it still suffers from the horrendously slow RoF, and lack of innate Punch Through or AoE. A Gas/Electric build also sacrifices a significant amount of direct damage, especially against armoured enemies.
Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 4/5 - higher crit stats give the Prisma Grinlok a very respectable Burst DPS, making it fairly effective against unarmoured heavies with a lot of health.
Vs Armoured Heavies without Hunter Munitions: 4/5 - a better Slash bias makes the Prisma Grinlok even more reliable at inflicting Slash procs. This combines very well with improved crit, for overall higher damage output but also much more lethal Slash procs. As far as precision rifles go, the Prisma Grinlok is quite effective against armoured enemies.
Vs Armoured Heavies with Hunter Munitions: 4.5/5 - the better crit also gives the Prisma Grinlok even better utilisation of Hunter Munitions. With a constant barrage of Slash procs, it is capable of reducing most armoured enemies to a bloody corpse.

Vs Variants

The MR11 Prisma Grinlok is vastly superior to the MR7 Grinlok. Importantly, it has much higher crit, a much larger magazine, and higher Slash bias. This gives it more firepower and effectiveness against essentially all groups of targets, as I described earlier. I have not noticed any loss in accuracy.

Competitors

Of the other precision rifles currently in Warframe, very few compare to the Prisma Grinlok's mix of raw power and Slash inflicting ability. It is largely superior to the other Semi-Auto Rifles, with the notable exception of the newer Kuva Chakkhurr.

The Kuva Chakkhurr is even slower firing, however fires explosive projectiles which deal great damage in a small area. Oddly, the explosion also has a solid amount of Slash, allowing it to inflict a surprising number of Slash procs even without Hunter Munitions. The KChakkhurr easily wins out in damage-per-shot, with insane Crit and much higher base Damage. The PGrinlok however has a much larger Mag Capacity and significantly shorter Reload Time. Both are formidable and very capable weapons.

Looking a bit more widely, there are several other precision rifles worth noting, though all are significantly different to the PGrinlok. The Sybaris Prime is also very powerful and quite capable of inflicting Slash procs, though not as reliably without Hunter Munitions. The Tiberon Prime's Burst-Fire and Semi-Auto deal more direct damage with their higher Crit, but are much less capable of inflicting Status procs. The Kuva Hind's Semi-Auto is also a Crit-focused firing mode, however its Burst-Fire and Full-Auto are both Slash-focused and very Status capable.

Rivens

The Prisma Grinlok has a relatively high 4/5 (1.245) Riven Disposition, while the base Grinlok is slightly higher (1.3). I personally feel that a slight drop would not be undeserved, given the PGrinlok's firepower, though it is not very popular.

As usual, Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are great stats to have. Again, I personally favour CC + MS for the improved consistency and procs. +Slash can be good for even higher Slash bias, for even more frequent Slash procs. A desirable element can be useful to save a mod slot, which the Prisma Grinlok greatly appreciates. +Fire Rate is a great help, making the PGrinlok much faster and more capable against groups. Similarly, +Punch Through is also a big help against groups.

-Impact/Puncture are both solid negatives, increasing the bias of Slash and whatever elementals, without majorly reducing damage output. -Faction Damage to a less threatening faction (e.g. Infested) can be a solid negative. -Mag Capacity in a smaller amount can be quite alright for the Prisma Grinlok, which has an extremely large magazine and a great Reload Ratio. -Ammo Max is fantastic for the very ammo-efficient PGrinlok. -Flight Speed has no effect. Like with Mag Capacity, -Reload Speed can be alright because of how good the PGrinlok's base Reload Ratio is. +Recoil can be alright, depending what your intended engagement ranges are and how well you compensate for recoil. -Zoom is useful if you intend to primarily fight in close quarters.