The Bubonico is a new MR13 Infested Arm-Cannon, released in U29.5 in Deimos: Arcana. With two distinct and equally potent firing modes, it is a novel, versatile, all-round fun and very effective Shotgun.
Acquisition
The Bubonico's blueprint can be researched and acquired from a Clan's Infested Lab.
Stats
The Bubonico's Primary Fire is quite well rounded. 25%/2.3x Crit is among the best of all Shotguns, providing for quite good direct damage. A Status Chance of 9.3% is much better than it initially appears thanks to the base 7 pellets, lower than a fair number of Shotguns but still very much usable. A base Damage leaning towards Slash, with a small amount of innate Toxin, is quite good.
1.9 metres of innate Punch-Through is quite a lot, and is more than enough to penetrate most enemies and objects. Like with the other Arm-Cannon, the Shedu, the Bubonico has a recharging magazine. It begins recharging 0.5 seconds after firing, and regenerates 16.875 rounds per second, for a maximum Reload Time of 0.5 + 1.6 = 2.1 seconds. With a Fire Rate of 3.83, this gives it a very respectable Reload Ratio of 3.36.
Unlike conventional Shotguns, which just fire their pellets in a conical spread, the Bubonico's pellets seem to travel in semi-random paths in a set spread width. This can make it a little frustrating to keep rounds on target at mid range.
As a Shotgun, the Bubonico's Primary Fire suffers from Damage Fall-Off as well, starting at 19 metres, and maxing out at 50% damage loss at 41 metres. This is fairly lenient by Shotgun standards.
On the other hand, its Alternate Fire is very much Status focused, with an amazing base 57%. It also has a very high Crit Multiplier of 3.5x, though sadly an abysmal Crit Chance of just 3%. The Alternate Fire launches explosive rounds in 3-shot bursts, each shot consuming 3 ammo at a time. Notably, though they deal almost no direct-hit damage, their radial explosion deals pure Viral in a fairly large 7 metre radius. These explosions have a Damage Fall-Off of up to 50%.
Even with a slightly slower Fire Rate, consuming 3 ammo-per-shot gives Alternate Fire a much worse Reload Ratio of just 1.27. Naturally, Alternate Fire can inflict self-stagger/knockdown if you are caught in the blast radius. The projectiles fired by Alternate Fire are relatively slow, and also suffer from projectile drop.
Augments
None.
Builds
0-Forma Basic Crit:
With a single native - polarity, a basic Crit build is possible, but you will have to forgo at least one of the Primed mods (Primed Point Blank, Primed Ravage). This above build uses both basic versions of said mods, which allows enough space for two 90% elementals. Switching one to a 60/60 allows enough space for one Primed mod, provided the other elemental has a - polarity.
0-Forma Primed Crit:
The Bubonico's native Toxin on its Primary Fire allows you to potentially forgo one elemental mod to fit in both Primed mods. This gives Primary Fire more damage, but is particularly detrimental for Alternate Fire, which is Status-focused and benefits from Crit much less.
0-Forma Status:
Alternatively, you might considering forgoing Crit to start with, and focusing on elements and Status. Surprisingly, this still gives the Bubonico decent direct damage on its Primary Fire (though will fall far behind on headshots), and is far more effective with its Alternate Fire. Blaze in particular is a very large damage boost as it adds both Heat as well as base Damage.
The traditional default element of Viral is always a decent option. For the Bubonico however, Corrosive is worth serious consideration as well. The Bubonico's Alt Fire already deals pure Viral damage with extremely high Status Chance. Corrosive has great multipliers and a fantastic anti-armour proc, and synergises magnificently with Viral. Viral + Corrosive is also normally an impossible combo. Adding Heat into this setup is also very effective, as its proc is affected by both Viral and Corrosive procs. In particular, Corrosive + Heat has great multipliers against almost every Infested unit, particularly the Deimos Infested, many of whom are immune to Viral procs.
Almost every armoured Corpus unit uses Alloy armour, which is extremely weak to Radiation damage, making it a very strong option against such targets. Alternatively Corrosive + Heat procs remains extremely effective against such enemies, though do not have the same direct damage. Against unarmoured Corpus, both Magnetic and Toxin, separately and together are very effective. Viral + Magnetic and Viral + Toxin are both otherwise impossible combos that will tear through unarmoured Corpus units effortlessly. Magnetic obliterates their Shields, with Viral greatly weakening their Health. Toxin ignores Shields entirely, striking at their Health which is weakened by Viral.
Recommended Setups: Viral/Corrosive (+ Heat) vs everything, Corrosive + Heat vs Infested, Radiation (+Toxin) or Corrosive + Heat vs armoured Corpus, Magnetic and/or Toxin vs unarmoured Corpus
1-Forma Primed Crit:
One added V polarity allows you to comfortably fit both Primed mods alongside two elementals, provided at least one is a 60/60. Again, this will benefit Primary Fire much more than Alternate Fire.
Recommended Setups: see above.
2-Forma:
Another V polarity and you can fit in a seventh mod, like the extremely powerful Blaze as pictured. Notably, at this point you can start considering three-element combos alongside the Crit mods, rather than instead of them.
Besides the aforementioned triple-elements, one other notable combo is Viral + Hunter Munitions. It greatly increases the number of Slash procs inflicted by Primary Fire, which can eat through even heavily armoured enemies quite quickly. This of course comes at the cost of less up-front direct damage, and is much weaker against anything Status-immune.
Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Viral + HM vs armoured enemies
4-Forma:
Another couple of V polarities and you can look at filling out your eighth mod slot as well. Vigilante Armaments is a no-fuss, Multishot increase which is always nice. A (Primed) Cleanse mod can be a very large damage multiplier, especially for damage-over-time procs like Slash and Heat. If you find the Bubonico to fire too slowly, Shotgun Spazz is worth considering for the last slot. It greatly increases your damage output, at the cost of needing to break to reload much more frequently.
Laser Sight and Shrapnel Shot are solid options to consider. They both offer Primary Fire more damage than Vigilante Armaments in the same slot. Laser Sight notably offers more Crit Chance than Blunderbuss, so you could potentially even run it instead, with the Bubonico's many pellets making it trivial to trigger. Motus Setup is another conditional mod, instead increasing both Crit and Status Chances.
For the Exilus slot, there are a few options. Vigilante Supplies contributes to the Vigilante mod set bonus, but its ammo mutation effect is pointless. Fatal Acceleration increases Projectile Speed, as well as Damage Fall-Off ranges, which is very useful. Narrow Barrel significantly tightens pellet spread, which is great for concentrating Primary Fire on single targets.
Recommended Setups: see above.
My Builds
Because of the Alternate Fire's innate Viral, my go-to build is instead Corrosive + Heat. Not only does this provide the otherwise impossible (and extremely powerful) Viral + Corrosive combo, but it also allows use of Primed Charged Shell for some extra damage.
Of course, depending on the enemy, going for just Viral + Heat may be more effective depending on the targets.
Combat Use and Summary
The Bubonico's Primary Fire is quite well rounded, and effective against most targets. It has fairly high Fire Rate for a Shotgun, with reasonable spread and Punch Through making it reasonably effective against tightly clustered enemies. Its high Crit lends to very high direct damage output, which is excellent for tearing through unarmoured and Status-immune enemies.
With decent Status Chance for a Shotgun, it also inflicts a reasonable number of Status procs, notably being quite capable of natural Slash procs. It is very much capable of stacking up Viral/Corrosive/Heat procs on heavily armoured enemies. This coupled with its fairly high DPS allows it to work through heavily armoured enemies quite well. That said, weakening such enemies with Alternate Fire first is more efficient.
Hunter Munitions can also be used to really crank up Primary Fire's Slash proc output, tearing through Status-vulnerable armoured enemies with ease.
Alternate Fire's high Status explosive rounds are naturally highly effective against groups. They explode in a fairly large 7 metre radius, with reasonable Fire Rate for an explosive, and deal enough damage to take down weaker enemies easily. Additionally, their innate Viral damage and extremely high Status Chance result in any survivors being inflicted with a plethora of procs. This is especially potent against heavily armoured enemies, as a Corrosive + Heat build can drastically reduce their defences, and greatly increase the damage they take.
Unarmoured and particularly Status-immune enemies are naturally most resistant to Alternate Fire, as its direct damage output is very low compared to Primary Fire.
Getting the most out of the Bubonico really requires leveraging both of its firing modes. Alternate Fire clears out groups of weaker enemies quite easily, and rapidly stacks up Status procs on any survivors. Primary Fire, with its much higher direct damage, can then easily mop up weakened survivors.
Running additive +Crit Chance equipment like an Adarza Kavat or Arcane Avenger can be greatly beneficial for Alternate Fire. Its Crit Multiplier is very high, and if you build the Bubonico for Crit (which Primary Fire wants), is pushed even higher. Such additive +Crit Chance equipment allows you to bypass Alternate Fire's low base Crit Chance, drastically increasing its damage output.
A self-recharging magazine makes the Bubonico ideal for longer missions, as ammo is a non-issue.
As you would expect from a Shotgun, the Bubonico is not particularly good at long range. Its Primary Fire spread is fairly wide, fires projectiles with travel time and its Damage Fall-Off at long range further reduces damage output. Alternate Fire, though it retains its full damage, fires extremely slow projectiles that are extremely difficult to land at long range.
The Bubonico's other biggest weaknesses is its sheer size - even with maximum Field of View, it occupies a lot of the screen, particularly in the middle. This can make it quite annoying to handle.
Overall, the Bubonico is a strong and very capable Shotgun. It is well-rounded and has no significant weaknesses except at long range, as is fitting of a Shotgun. It possesses two distinct and potent firing modes with great stats, allowing it to take on almost any enemy. If you care at all about Shotguns, I strongly recommend investing in a Bubonico. Though it is very strange looking, it is undeniably extremely powerful and versatile. I'd argue that it is probably the best overall Shotgun in the game currently, and easily among the best Primaries.
Scores
Vs Trash Mobs: 5/5 - Both firing modes are adept at clearing out crowds. Alternate Fire is more efficient with its highly explosive rounds, however Primary Fire is no slouch with its spread and innate Punch Through.
Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 4.5/5 - Very high Crit and overall direct damage allows Primary Fire to eat through unarmoured or Status-immune enemies very quickly. Its main weakness is the set, relatively wide spread of its pellets, which makes it more difficult to maximise headshots.
Vs Armoured Heavies without Hunter Munitions: 4.5/5 - Alternate Fire excels at stacking up Status procs, notably with its innate Viral allowing for the extremely powerful (and otherwise impossible) Viral + Corrosive + Heat combo. Once enemies are weakened with procs, Primary Fire can easily mop up with its higher direct damage.
Vs Armoured Heavies with Hunter Munitions: 5/5 - HM gives Primary Fire a significant boost in inflicting Slash procs, which when combined with Viral procs can tear through heavily armoured enemies very quickly. Alternate Fire does not really benefit, but remains extremely useful for its innate Viral procs.
Vs Variants
None.
Competitors
With two very solid but also very different firing modes, the Bubonico very few direct competitors. The
Corinth (Prime) is the most similar, but I feel it is still worth considering each firing mode separately.
Primary Fire is a somewhat conventional Crit-focused Shotgun, of which there are several direct comparisons, most notably the Vaykor Hek and Corinth Prime. These two are both slower firing, but deal more damage-per-shot and have similar Status Chance-per-pellet. For overall DPS, the three come out fairly close, with the VHek creeping ahead. The Bubonico of course holds the advantage in Fire Rate and innate Punch Through, allowing you to forgo a Punch Through mod. It also has the best Slash bias of the three, resulting in by far the most natural Slash procs.
Alternate Fire is a Status-focused explosive. Again there are a few reasonable Shotgun comparisons, notably the Astilla, the Phantasma's Alt Fire, and the Corinth (Prime)'s Alt Fire. All four are Status-focused. The Corinth(P) is the most unusual of the four, being an air-burst detonated explosive rather than on-impact like the others. The Astilla is the fastest firing and also has a strong Slash component which the others do not, but has by far the smallest explosive radius. The Bubonico's Alt Fire lacks the Slash of the Astilla, but deals pure Viral in a much larger radius, at a nearly-as-fast Fire Rate. The Corinth(P)'s Alt Fire is extremely slow, but explodes in an enormous radius with very high base Damage. The Phantasma's Alt Fire is somewhat lacking, with unexceptional explosive radius and damage, but releases a number of additional bomblets as well as head-seeking projectiles.
Comparing the Corinth(P) and Bubonico then largely comes down to a simple balancing act: Fire Rate vs damage-per-shot. The Corinth(P) is far slower firing, but deals much more damage per trigger pull in both firing modes. I personally find the Bubonico much easier to use because of its higher Fire Rate, and I do not consider it to be lacking in damage output at all.
The Corinth(P) does have far better sounds though.
Rivens
As standard for new weapons, the Bubonico starts off with a minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition. I would not be surprised to see it stay low, it is a very powerful and seemingly fairly popular weapon.
As usual, +Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are all ideal stats to have. +Elemental Damage can be useful to save a mod slot. +Slash can be useful for getting more natural Slash procs out of Primary Fire, though this will reduce the number of other procs you get. +Status Chance is useful for both firing modes. +Faction Damage is a large damage multiplier, especially for damage-over-time procs like Slash and Heat. It is most useful against the Grineer. +Fire Rate can be useful if you find the Bubonico too slow firing normally. +Projectile Speed can be very useful for longer ranged combat.
-Impact/Puncture are both great, as neither is a large component of the Bubonico's base damage, nor are they any good. -Faction Damage can be manageable, especially to the weaker factions. -Infested is ideal for this. -Mag Capacity has minimal impact on the relatively efficient Primary Fire, but can be more troublesome for Alternate Fire. -Ammo Max has no effect. -Reload Speed only affects the initial recharge delay, so has minimal impact. I personally find the Bubonico's recoil to be negligible, so would consider +Recoil a good negative.
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