Review: Kuva Nukor (U27.3.15)

The Kuva Nukor is an MR13 Beam Secondary. With an insanely high Status Chance, Crit Multiplier and the ability to chain between enemies, it is a very powerful weapon and among the best Secondaries in the game.

Acquisition

Another Kuva weapon, another "Make a Lich with this weapon and Vanquish them".

Stats

The Kuva Nukor follows in the footsteps of the regular Nukor - a great pure Radiation Status weapon, with extremely high Crit Multiplier but low Crit Chance. 50% Status Chance and 5x Crit Multiplier are among the highest of any weapon in the game. With a rather large Mag Capacity of 77, and consuming ammo at only 5 per second as a beam weapon, it also has an extremely good Reload Ratio of 7.7.

The Kuva Nukor has a limited range of 29 metres, which is reasonable by beam weapon standards.

Notably, the Kuva Nukor chains from its primary target to up to 4 other nearby targets. Each subsequent chained target takes reduced damage.
Additionally, in a feature unique to the Nukor family, enemies hit by the (Kuva) Nukor will have the affected body part enlarged. This does not affect hitboxes in any way, it is purely cosmetic.

Augments

None.

Builds

NOTE: These builds do not include the Kuva Lich damage bonus, which is an additional multiplier of 1.25x to 1.6x.

0-Forma:

Another weapon with no innate polarities, initially the Kuva Nukor is easiest to build for just Damage, Multishot and some elements. Personally, I wasn't a fan of using the regular Crit mods, as I found them to be too inconsistent. Augur Pact is a filler mod, that can be switched for another 60/60 elemental, or dropped entirely if you need the space for 90% elementals.

As per usual, Viral is my recommended go-to element. Some extra Heat is extremely powerful alongside Viral. This combination tears through almost anything that is Status-vulnerable. Corrosive + Heat deals great direct damage to most Infested units, and it is also quite good against armoured enemies like Corpus Bursas. An alternative against unarmoured Corpus is Viral + Electric, which hits all of their health types super-effectively. Pure Toxin is also a strong option against them.

Recommended Setups: Viral (+ Heat) vs everything, Corrosive (+ Heat) vs armour, Infested, Viral (+ Electric) or Toxin vs unarmoured Corpus

Primed Crit 2-Forma:

Two added V polarities, coupled with the extra capacity, allows easy fitting of both Primed Crit mods. Although the Kuva Nukor's Crit Chance is quite low, its best-in-game Crit Multiplier makes Crit worth building for provided you have the Primed Crit mods - having just the regular Crit mods is not as much worth it.

Recommended Setups: see above.

Primed Heated Charge 3-Forma:

Another added V polarity and the further increased capacity allows the use of almost any eighth mod - in this case I've slotted in Primed Heated Charge. It is a big damage boost, and Heat is a fantastic element to have on a Status weapon like the Kuva Nukor. You can of course use another elemental mod, whether a 90% for another element, or potentially even another 60/60 since >100% Status Chance is now useful.

There are several other solid options to consider, depending on your goals and available mods.

Seeker for some Punch Through gives absurd anti-crowd capabilities, since each target hit with the main beam will chain to nearby targets, including other targets hit by the main beam. This may be overkill alongside the innate chaining mechanic though, and you may favour something that gives better single-target damage.

Magnum Force is a powerful damage boost with a negligible downside, only behind PHC and the Primed Expel mods for direct damage increase. An alternative if you're going for damage as well as maximum procs is Anemic Agility, though this eats ammo much more quickly. Augur Pact and Hydraulic Crosshairs are weaker damage boosts that are easier to fit in.

Ruinous Extension increases range by 8 metres, which can be a nice boost.

There aren't many good options for the Exilus slot. Ammo Mutation is worth considering as the KNukor only has 210 spare ammo, which can be used up pretty quickly. Sadly +Projectile Speed does not increase beam range. Recoil is non-existent.

Recommended Setups: see above.

My Builds

Primary build is Viral + Heat, shreds through most things easily.

I trried out a Corrosive + Heat build as well, but against most targets Viral won out.

Kuva Lich Bonus

There are a couple of options to consider. As usual, Toxin is a solid option, as Corrosive, Viral and pure Toxin are all good elements. Magnetic is decent to add, as it does not interfere with combos and is really useful against Corpus. Heat is a very strong option. It is a decent damage type and really strong proc that will be stacked up rapidly by the Kuva Nukor's massive Status Chance. Additionally, it allows the amazing Viral + Heat combination with just two elemental mods, leaving the last mod slot free for something else if desired.

Combat Use and Summary

With its chaining mechanic, the Kuva Nukor is very effective against groups. It can kill large numbers of weaker enemies quickly and efficiently, and its excellent Reload Ratio gives it very little downtime. Thanks to exceptional Status Chance, it is also extremely effective against armoured enemies. Though it has no Slash damage to take advantage of, Viral/Corrosive + Heat is an extremely potent combination that greatly benefits from being stacked up. The massive multiplier from Viral, coupled with the increasingly stacking DoT of Heat procs is extremely effective against all enemies.

The Kuva Nukor is least effective against unarmoured enemies with a lot of health, especially if they are Status-immune. Its direct damage output is not spectacular, partly because its Crit Chance is quite low, which makes it somewhat inconsistent.


As its Crit Multiplier is so high, the Kuva Nukor pairs extremely well with equipment that additively boosts Crit Chance (e.g. Arcane Avenger, Harrow, Adarza Kavat). A limited range of 29 metres can be frustrating at times, but is enough for most combat in Warframe, and can be easily mitigated by Warframe's great movement system.
An absurd 50% base Status Chance also lends well to pairing the KNukor with a Condition Overload melee, as a quick burst can easily inflict all of the elements installed on it.

I personally find its low Crit Chance to be rather annoying, as it can make kill times very inconsistent. One or two Crits can cripple or just kill many enemies, but there is a very real chance of no Crits occuring, thus requiring much longer sustained fire.


Overall, the Kuva Nukor is a very strong Secondary. An insane Crit Multiplier and Status Chance allow it can tackle most enemies in the game quite comfortably, even in large numbers thanks to its chaining mechanic. As a beam weapon, it is reasonably ammo efficient, and its limited range is quite manageable at 29 metres. Naturally, it is weakest against Status-immune enemies, of which the most notable are Sentients. If you're looking for a good Status and/or Beam Secondary, a Condition Overload primer, or even just an all-round good Secondary, the Kuva Nukor is a great option to pursue.

Scores

Vs Trash Mobs: 5/5 - Decent damage output, a chaining mechanic and great Reload Ratio all make the Kuva Nukor exceptional against groups of weak enemies.
Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 3/5 - Lackluster direct damage, notably with a frustratingly low Crit Chance, is the Kuva Nukor's biggest weakness. Naturally, it is still quite formdiable against anything vulnerable to Status, but anything Status immune neutralises its primary strengths.
Vs Armoured Heavies: 5/5 - Incredible Status capabilities, coupled with the occasional extremely powerful Crit, allows the Kuva Nukor to wear down armoured enemies quite effectively. Maximum Viral stacks augmenting ever-increasing Heat Procs is especially potent.

Vs Variants

The MR13 Kuva Nukor is a massive upgrade over the MR4 Nukor. It has a higher base damage (factoring in Lich Bonus), almost double the Status Chance, more than double the Crit Chance (which is still quite low), an even higher Crit Damage, and a larger Mag Capacity. Additionally, the KNukor can chain to multiple enemies, where the regular Nukor is a single-target weapon.

Competitors

The only other Beam Secondaries that have multi-targeting effects are the Atomos, Ocucor, and Gaze Kitguns; the latter two are hilariously outclassed by the Kuva Nukor. It compares quite favourably to most other Beam Secondaries, the only one of any competition being a Gaze Kitgun.

A Gaze Kitgun chains to two other enemies, has innate Punch Through, and has the highest base Crit/Status combo of any Kitgun chamber. When built for Crit, even with the weakest Grip it will match a 60% bonus KNukor for direct damage, and otherwise far surpass it. In exchange, naturally it will have a much lower Status Chance. It cannot match the KNukor's base 50% Status Chance, and will lose out in direct damage trying to do so.

Overall, a Crit-built Gaze Kitgun can deal much more direct damage than a Kuva Nukor, however the KNukor is far better at inflicting Status procs and dealing with groups, regardless of Gaze build. Both are very powerful weapons.

Rivens

The Kuva Nukor has a 2/5 (0.8) Riven Disposition, which I expect to continue dropping. It is quite powerful and popular, and absolutely does not need any Riven help.

+Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are no brainers. +Elemental Damage is a solid damage boost, or can help to save a mod slot. +Fire Rate is a big boost to damage and status output, but could compromise ammo efficiency. +Punch Through allows the Kuva Nukor to tear through large groups even more effortlessly.

-Faction Damage against a weaker faction (ie Infested or Corpus) can be manageable, and of course has no effect against other factions. -Mag Capacity/Reload Speed can be quite manageable as the (Kuva) Nukor has a great Reload Ratio. -Max Ammo in a smaller amount can be manageable, especially if offset by Ammo Case/Mutation/etc. -Projectile Speed has no effect. +Recoil has no effect. -Zoom is great, as the (Kuva) Nukor is only usable in close quarters anyway.