Review: Fortuna Primary Kitguns (29.2.0)

Secondary Kitguns were originally released in Fortuna in U24. As the playerbase began to experiment with them, much like with Zaws on release, we found them to be generally top-tier, or even best-in-class for the most part. Some time later in U28, we were given the ability to create Primary Kitguns as well. They use the same Chambers and Loaders as Secondary Kitguns, but with new Grips. These new Grips largely correspond stat-wise to the existing Secondary Grips.

 

The Tremor has the highest Damage/lowest Fire Rate, Steadyslam increased Damage/low Fire Rate, Shrewd reduced Damage/higher Fire Rate, and Brash lowest Damage, highest Fire Rate. In the case of the Gaze beam weapon, Fire Rate is constant, and Grips affect Beam Range instead.

Like when the Secondary Kitguns came out, I'll be going through each Chamber, how it compares to what is already out there, and how I personally would recommend building it. Unfortunately, Semlar's Kitgun builder has not yet been updated for Primaries, however the Wiki page does have a full table of all the builds. Again, all stats will be based off of Gilded version, which consume 5000 Fortuna standing and 10 Shelter Bonds.

Catchmoon

Projectile Type and Base Stats

On release, the Catchmoon Secondary quickly became one of the most popular Secondaries in the game, thanks to a combination of a large projectile and quite good damage when built for Crit. It was hit with a nerf reducing its damage fall-off ranges, however the more recent introduction of the Weapon Exilus slot, use of Lethal Momentum (+Projectile Speed) largely mitigates this. The Catchmoon Primary uses the same sort of projectile, a small wave of plasma with innate body Punch-Through. However, its projectiles are significantly smaller than the Secondary version.

The Primary Catchmoon has solid base Crit/Status Chances of 21% each. It is Full-Auto, a notable distinction from the Semi-Auto Secondary, with RoF ranging from 3 to 5.67. However, it has the same small Mag Capacity range of just 5-13 rounds. The Catchmoon has a limited range of 40 metres, with damage fall-off starting at 20 metres, and ending at a measly 5.84% damage at maximum range. It has quite heavy recoil-per-shot.

Role and Competitors

Like its Secondary counterpart, the Primary Catchmoon is chiefly a crowd clearing weapon, however it is much worse at this role. The Catchmoon uses Shotgun mods, which has by far the worst Crit mods currently. It does much less damage-per-shot for higher Fire Rate than the equivalent Secondary version, yet has the same Mag Capacity. The aforementioned smaller projectile also hinders its capabilities. The main advantage the Primary Catchmoon has is its ability to use Hunter Munitions, which again is hindered by the Shotgun +Crit Chance mod (Blunderbuss) being the worst of its type.

Looking at other crowd-clearing Primaries, there are much nicer options to use that are as or more powerful. Weapons like the Ignis Wraith, Acceltra, and Amprex have comparable or superior AoE capabilities, while having at least one of: higher damage output, superior Reload Ratio, superior Status capabilities, better use of Hunter Munitions. Additionally, the Catchmoon does not get the default 2x headshot multiplier where these weapons do. Of course, there is also the slow-firing Arca Plasmor, which cannot be set up to deal anywhere near as much damage, but has an enormous projectile that the Primary Catchmoon can only watch in envy.

My Build

My Primary Catchmoon uses the Tremor Grip and Splat Loader. Pretty standard Crit build, with Hunter Munitions for anti-armour. Pax Seeker triggers frequently as the Catchmoon lands headshots very easily. Though I like to use Pax Charge for most Kitguns, its recharge speed for the Catchmoon is extremely slow and generally not worth using.

I think the Primary Catchmoon is best, or at least least-worst, when built for maximum damage-per-shot. It does not have the volume of fire to be a particularly good Status weapon, and sacrifices a significant amount of damage potential to do so. Building for Crit at least gives it good damage for clearing out weaker enemies, and opens up the potential for Hunter Munitions, which can deal reasonable damage to heavily armoured enemies.

 

With such small Mag Capacities, building for damage-per-shot is the only way to retain any semblance of Reload Ratio. Even with the slowest grip, the Tremor, I find myself spending a lot of time reloading the Catchmoon.

Gaze

Projectile Type and Base Stats

The Primary Gaze is a beam weapon with a set Fire Rate of 8, which thanks to being a beam weapon consumes ammo at 6 per second. Upon impact with a solid object, or at the end of its range, it produces a 3 metre radius AoE, similar to the Glaxion Vandal. This is in contrast to the Secondary Gaze's chaining mechanic. It has a variable range of 16-30 metres depending on Grip, with shorter range having higher damage. The Gazes have the highest Crit/Status Chances of all Chambers, at 25% base each. The Primary version deals pure Radiation damage. Its Mag Capacity is quite low for a Beam weapon, ranging from just 23 up to 51.

Role and Competitors

Unfortunately for the Gaze, there are a number of other very powerful beam Primaries offering stiff competition. The Ignis Wraith and Amprex are both significantly more effective against crowds, the former due to its innate Punch Through and the latter due to its significant chaining effect. Both are also strong weapons in their own right, with the IgnisW being Heat-based and leaning towards Status (a perfect combination), while the Amprex is Crit-focused and deals a lot more direct damage. The Gaze can exceed both for pure damage output with a max Crit Loader, but then has to take on another competitor: the Synapse.

The Synapse is even more Crit-heavy than a Splat/Killstream Gaze, has a much better Reload Ratio thanks to its strictly larger Mag Capacity, and deals innate Corrosive damage. Though the Gaze can definitely compete with it for raw damage, is superior in Status Chance and better against groups, the Synapse's innate Corrosive damage is an advantage that cannot be ignored.

 

The Glaxion Vandal is worth a mention, as it is the only standard beam Primary that exactly shares the Gaze's beam behaviour. The GlaxionV is Status-focused, dealing pure Cold damage, and again has a much better Reload Ratio. A Status built Gaze can match its Status Chance, at the cost of Crit Multiplier, while a more balanced Gaze will still inflict Status procs constantly, and deal much more direct damage than the Glaxion Vandal.

Though it is largely outclassed for crowd clearing, the Gaze can be built into a very strong single-target beam weapon, and it competes reasonably well with most existing beam Primaries for damage output.

My Build

With the changes to Status Procs in U27.2.2, I lean more heavily towards Crit than Status. This is especially the case for Primaries, which have access to the Crit-focused Hunter Munitions. Even with the max Crit Loaders however, the Gaze retains a very respectable Status Chance thanks to its great base stats. That said, it is also quite potent with a higher-than-minimum Status Chance, readily stacking up powerful Heat or Toxin procs when modded for it.

In terms of Grip, for the Gaze it is purely a matter of Range vs Damage, which is largely to personal preference. It ranges from 16-30 metres, with corresponding base Damage of 37 to 29.

Rattleguts

Projectile Type and Base Stats

The Rattleguts is a conventional hitscan Full-Auto. It has the lowest base Crit and Status Chances of the four Chambers, with reasonable capacity ranging from 29 up to 83 depending on Loader. As with all other Kitguns, the Grips trade Fire Rate and Base Damage, though for the Rattleguts in particular

Role and Competitors

The Rattleguts is a generic Full-Auto Rifle, and has to face very stiff competition as such. On the Crit side of things, the Baza Prime, Telos Boltor and Prisma Gorgon are all very strong, though a max-Crit Rattleguts can hold its own. Leaning towards Hybrid or pure Status is even worse, with a plethora of top-notch weapons like the Kuva Karak, Supra Vandal, Kuva Hind (in Full-Auto) and Prisma Grakata. All of these weapons easily match or outclass any similar Rattleguts.

In my opinion, the only Rattleguts that is not vastly outclassed is a max-Crit one, and even then its main defining feature is access to the Pax Arcanes.

My Build

I actually have two Rattleguts Primaries built, one with maximum damage-per-shot and one with maximum RoF. The former has a much higher Sustained DPS, however also far higher recoil-per-shot, which can mess with accuracy a little. The base Damage - Fire Rate differences between the Grips are a little wonky, resulting in the slowest and fastest (Tremor and Brash) having noticeably higher Burst DPS than the other two. As such, I'd recommend going for either extreme, to your preference.

As mentioned previously, if you want a Primary Rattleguts to seriously invest into, a high/max-Crit one is pretty much the only one that will not be immediately outclassed by existing weapons.

Tombfinger

Projectile Type and Base Stats

The Tombfinger is probably the most different between its Primary and Secondary versions. The Secondary version deals high damage-per-shot, with a small explosive radius. The Primary version fires very similar rounds when Uncharged, but when fully Charged...

...fires a powerful round with a much larger explosive radius. This Charged shot deals far more damage than Uncharged shots.

Role and Competition

Due to the massive difference in base Damages, Charged shots are far, far more effective than Uncharged shots. The latter is mainly useful for cleaning up weaker or critically-damaged enemies, due to its much faster Fire Rate. Charged shots, though requiring Charge Time, are very powerful and quite precise, making the Tombfinger a fairly effective precision Rifle. Though its Projectile nature can make landing headshots more difficult, it is extremely rewarding when successful, dealing immense damage to the victim. The 6.2 metre explosive radius on Charged shots is also very effective at crowd clearing, easily killing most of the weaker enemies in Warframe.

 

The Primary Tombfinger is unusual in that it is effective as both a precision Rifle, as well as a powerful explosive weapon. Most slower firing weapons lean towards one or the other - high explosive weapons like the Kuva Ogris and Kuva Bramma are lacking in precision, while more precise AoE weapons like the Opticor (Vandal) and Kuva Chakkhurr have a much smaller explosion radius.

Probably the most similar Primary would be the Stahlta's Alternate Fire, which is exceedingly slow but absurdly powerful, with reasonable precision. In comparison, a Primary Tombfinger is far weaker, but much faster firing and far more ammo efficient. The two also both have a weaker firing mode well suited to cleaning up, the Stahlta's Full-Auto Primary Fire and the Tombfinger's quick Uncharged shots.

My Builds

Like with the Rattleguts, I've actually built two Tombfinger Primaries as well. One uses the fastest Brash grip, while the other uses the slowest Tremor grip. Both use the Killstream Loader for max Crit and faster Reload Time. As can be seen here, while the Tremor Charge Time is nearly triple that of the Brash, its Charged Shot total base Damage is only 35% higher. As a result, the Brash has a much higher DPS, when using comparable builds. The other two grips follow a similar pattern - a small loss of base Damage for significantly reduced Charge Time. As such, I only recommend using the Brash Grip for a Tombfinger Primary.

Given its relatively slow RoF, even on Uncharged shots, I strongly recommend maximising Crit on the Primary Tombfinger. A Crit-focused Tombfinger can deal very high damage-per-shot, easily competitive with other hard-hitting Rifles like the Kuva Chakkhurr or even some Snipers at low combo. It retains all this while also having a large explosive radius and a very comfortable Reload Ratio. In such a build, Hunter Munitions is naturally extremely strong against anything heavily armoured and Status-vulnerable, with its raw damage wiping away most other enemies you might come across.

Conclusion

In my opinion, the Primary Tombfinger is the only one of the four that effectively and competitively fills a distinct niche. It combines the firepower of a precision Rifle with the crowd clearing of a high explosive weapon, into a single, rather powerful Primary.

• The Primary Gaze has very strong base stats, and can compete or exceed most Beam Primaries for single-target damage output, but has nowhere near the crowd-clearing potential of its competitors, and is not massively far ahead in damage potential.
• The Primary Rattleguts can compete as a Crit-focused Rifle, but faces immense and extremely varied competition from many very strong weapons.
• The Primary Catchmoon suffers both from the sins of the incredibly overused Secondary Catchmoon, as well as the vastly inferior Shotgun mods, to largely fail to fill any particular niche very well. It is neither especially good against crowds, nor particularly powerful against single targets.

Of the four, the only one I would recommend building (outside of Mastery) is the Primary Tombfinger. Not only does it fill a niche in Primary weapons, but it is also sufficiently distinct from its Secondary version to be worth building both. The Primary Gaze is strong, as is the Secondary Gaze, but both suffer from being rather unexceptional and unexciting. Both the Primary and Secondary Rattleguts face incredibly stiff competition, and neither has an especially solid and distinct niche that other weapons cannot also fill. The Secondary Catchmoon remains a great crowd-clearing Secondary, while the Primary Catchmoon largely fails to be at all impactful.