Review: Astilla Prime (U30.3.3)

The Astilla Prime is an MR14 Shotgun. It is a direct upgrade of the MR10 Astilla, firing explosive glass slugs. Gara Prime's signature weapon, the Astilla Prime is a fairly solid, though perhaps not outstanding, weapon.

Acquisition

Standard Prime weapon fare, Astilla Prime's Blueprint and Components drop from various Void Relics.

Stats

Astilla Prime's stats are quite solid, with the most notable weakness being a below-average 1.9x Crit Multiplier. Its Crit Chance is usable, and its Status Chance is exceptional. A Mag Capacity of 24 is a big step up from the regular Astilla, granting a solid 2.77 Reload Ratio.

The AstillaP has a spare ammo pool of 120 rounds by default, for 5 full reloads. In my experience, this is not much given the scarcity of Shotgun ammo drops, and can be used up very quickly. When used by Gara (Prime), the max ammo pool is increased to 200.

As a Shotgun, it also suffers drop Damage Fall-Off, though it is far more lenient than most Shotguns. Starting at 30 metre range, it deals linearly less damage to a limit of 60 metres, beyond which it deals half damage.

The Astilla Prime's projectiles explode on impact in a relatively small 2.4m radius, with a minor 30% Damage Fall-Off. Notably, these explosions deal majority Slash damage, which combines very will with its very high Status Chance, to reliably inflict many Slash procs. Note of course that the explosions can also inflict self-stagger/knockdown if you get too close.

Augments

None.

Builds

0-Forma:

The Astilla Prime natively has two V polarities as well as one - polarity, which is very welcome. It allows comfortable fit of the standard Damage + Multishot + Crit mods, with ample space for two Elementals and even upgrading two mods to their Primed versions. Depending on your available mods and mod choices, you may even have space for a seventh mod like Vigilante Armaments in this pictured build. Given its impressive Status Chance, the AstillaP greatly appreciates the 60/60 elemental mods for even more Status.

Though its Crit stats are not amazing (particularly the 1.9x Crit Multiplier), they are still good enough to make use of if you have Primed Ravage. If you only have access to regular Ravage, you are probably better off just focusing on Damage + Multishot + Elements.

 

Viral is of course the go-to element. Not only is it useful against a vast majority of enemies with its proc increasing damage to health, but it also combines exceptionally well with the Astilla's natural Slash procs, drastically increasing their damage output. This is especially the case against armoured enemies, whose armour damage reduction is ignored by Slash procs.

Against enemies resistant or immune to Viral, Corrosive is often the next best option. Notably, it is very effective against Cambion Drift Infested, many of whom are immune to Viral procs, as well as Ferrite armoured enemies. Its proc is also extremely useful against armoured enemies, though useless against unarmoured enemies. Radiation has strong direct damage against Alloy-armour, which is used by several Grineer units, and most of the Corpus' toughest units as well. Pure Toxin bypasses enemy Shields, which is especially effective against unarmoured Corpus.

 

The native polarities means there is potentially space to consider a three-element build, depending on what elemental mods you have. These setups have additional benefits over the two-element builds above.

Adding Heat to either Viral or Corrosive is a very strong all-round setup, offering an additional armour reduction, as well as a stacking damage-over-time proc. Viral + Heat is effective against a vast majority of enemies, though a pure Viral + Slash setup is better against very high level armoured enemies. Corrosive + Heat is especially effective against the vast majority of Infested units. Radiation + Toxin is a solid Corpus catch-all.

Recommended Setups: Viral (+ Heat) vs everything, Corrosive (+ Heat) vs Ferrite-armour, Infested, Radiation vs Alloy-armour, Toxin vs unarmoured Corpus, Radiation + Toxin vs Corpus

1-Forma:

Just one added V polarity allows you to put together a solid eight-mod build, again depending on what you have available. There are many good options for the seventh and eighth slots on top of the aforementioned Vigilante Armaments and a third element.

Blaze is a very strong option in any build that uses Heat, significantly boosting overall damage output. Unfortunately, since the introduction of Nightwave and removal of most Alerts, it is painfully difficult to acquire, as a 1.01% drop from low-tier Nightmare missions. If you don't want to add Heat, Vicious Spread offers more +Base Damage than Blaze, and its accuracy penalty is fairly minimal.

Laser Sight is a decent option for conditional Crit Chance, either alongside or even instead of Blunderbuss. Shrapnel Shot provides conditional Crit Damage. Motus Setup is another conditional mod, increasing both Crit Chance and Status Chance.

A (Primed) Cleanse mod is a solid option if you can be bothered switching out mods per faction. Not only do they offer a decent direct damage boost, but they are applied twice to damage-over-time procs like Slash, which the AstillaP excels at. It is most relevant against factions with many organic armoured enemies, so Grineer and Corrupted.

A +Fire Rate mod like Shotgun Spazz can be a lot of fun, but of course also comes with the downside of drastically increased ammo consumption, which is already a problem for the AstillaP.

Hunter Munitions is another option to consider, allowing it to inflict even more Slash procs. The AstillaP's Crit Chance is just high enough to make it worth using, though it is only significant against heavily armoured enemies. The main disadvantage of HM is that it does not increase direct damage at all, leaving it a fair bit weaker against unarmoured enemies than if you'd slotted in another mod.

Like with most explosive weapons, I strongly recommend against Punch-Through. If the glass slugs have sufficient Punch-Through to pass through an object or enemy, it will not explode. The projectiles will only explode upon hitting an object it cannot penetrate. Given that the majority of the AstillaP's damage, and all of its Slash in particular, are in the explosion, adding Punch-Through will result in a significant overall damage reduction.

 

For the Exilus slot, I strongly recommend an Ammo Mutation (Shotgun Ammo Mutation or Vigilante Supplies). The AstillaP eats through ammo very quickly, and takes Shotgun ammo which is a relatively rare ammo type. If you've already got the ammo side of things covered (e.g. with Carrier's Ammo Case), Fatal Acceleration can be used to increase Projectile Speed and Fall-Off ranges, for better mid- and long-range combat.

Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Viral + HM vs armoured enemies

My Builds

Standard general purpose Viral + Heat fare.

Corrosive + Heat build, used mainly against Infested, especially Cambion Drift Infested. 

Radiation + Toxin build, mainly useful against Corpus.

Combat Use and Summary

With explosive slugs and a decent Fire Rate, the Astilla Prime is quite effective against groups of enemies. It easily kills weaker enemies with its explosions, and can cover a good area with its above-average Fire Rate for an explosive weapon. Its Reload Ratio is also quite respectable and allows you to keep up sustained fire (ammo issues notwithstanding).

Additionally, with majority Slash damage on its explosions and a very high Status Chance, the AstillaP performs very well against heavily armoured enemies. It can rapidly max out Viral procs and stack up massive Slash procs on tight groups of armoured enemies, quickly eating through their health. Against enemies resistant/immune to Viral procs, a Corrosive build instead is also highly effective against armour. Adding in Heat to either is also a strong option.

Where the AstillaP is weakest is of course against Status-resistant/immune targets, and unarmoured enemies against whom its Slash procs are less notable. It does not deal particularly high direct damage, especially for a Shotgun, though its use of slugs allows fairly consistent headshots which deal reasonable damage on Crits.

 

As a projectile weapon, the Astilla Prime can be a little troublesome to use at longer ranges, though it tends to fare better than ordinary Shotguns. Its Damage Fall-Off is much longer ranged than most Shotguns, and landing a direct hit with its slugs, though not necessarily easy, still deals very respectable damage. Additionally, projectile spread is not a major issue at range like it is for most conventional Shotguns.

As is the case with just about every explosive weapon, the AstillaP's explosions can inflict self-stagger/knockdown if you get within their range. This is always frustrating for Warframes without stagger/knockdown resistance/immunity, though I haven't had too much issue given its relatively small explosive radius.

At least one of Ammo Case/Mutation/etc is practically mandatory for the AstillaP. It is quite fast firing for a Shotgun, so eats through its relatively small (24+120) ammo pool quite quickly. Additionally, Shotgun ammo is a relatively rare ammo drop. As such, even in shorter missions the AstillaP can be quickly rendered useless if enemy ammo drops are unhelpful. The extra ammo from having Gara (Prime) equipped is nice for shorter missions.

Overall, the Astilla Prime is an effective and fairly well rounded Primary. It performs well against groups and heavily armoured enemies with its explosive, Slash-proccing glass slugs. It is a little less notable against unarmoured enemies given its Status focus over Crit, but can still manage with headshots. Status-resistant/immune enemies offer more of a challenge, though are relatively rare. The AstillaP's ammo efficiency can be problematic, though this can be solved with Ammo Case/Mutation/etc. By Shotgun standards, it also holds up quite well beyond close range.

If you're looking for a Status-focused, light explosive Primary, or a Shotgun more effective at longer ranges than the usual Shotgun, I'd recommend checking out the Astilla Prime. It may not be exceptional by today's standards of absurdly powerful weapons, but it still holds its own in most of Warframe's content. My group of Warframe friends like it quite a lot.

Scores

Vs Trash Mobs: 4.5/5 - Decent Fire Rate with reasonable AoE and a solid Reload Ratio gives the Astilla Prime excellent anti-crowd capabilities. It is readily capable of eating through large groups of enemies.

Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 3/5 - A Status focus leaves the AstillaP slightly lacking for direct damage compared to several other Shotguns, which is a notable disadvantage against Status-resistant/immune enemies.

Vs Armoured Heavies without Forced Slash: 4.5/5 - High Slash bias on its explosions and very high Status Chance allow the AstillaP to stack up massive Slash procs very quickly.

Vs Armoured Heavies with Forced Slash: 4.5/5 - A decent, though not exceptional, Crit Chance allows the AstillaP to make reasonable use of Hunter Munitions to maximise Slash procs. This of course comes at the cost of reduced direct damage, and is overall weaker against most targets, but is notably effective against high level, heavily armoured enemies.

Vs Variants

The MR14 Astilla Prime is a strict upgrade over the MR10 Astilla.

Competitors

There are some other fast-firing explosive Primaries, though they are quite a varied bunch. Of note, there are the Acceltra, Basmu, Panthera Prime, and Trumna.

The Acceltra is Crit-focused, so deals much more direct damage, but struggles to inflict Status procs. It must rely on Hunter Munitions to inflict Slash procs. The Acceltra also eats through ammo even more quickly with a much higher Fire Rate, yet has a smaller Ammo pool of just 96 rounds. It does have the advantage of drawing from common Rifle ammo though, where AstillaP uses rarer Shotgun ammo.

The Basmu also fires very quickly, but is more Status-focused. Notably, it deals innate Electric and Heat damage separately, has a slightly higher Crit Multiplier, and has a recharging magazine. However, the AstillaP has superior Crit and Status Chances, very good Slash bias, and higher direct damage output.

The Panthera Prime is perhaps the most similar weapon here. It has slightly worse Crit/Status spread compared to the AstillaP, while still having high Slash bias and a small explosive radius. By virtue of both direct hit and explosion having high (or pure) Slash damage, the PantheraP will inflict more Slash procs on single targets. However, its explosions are far weaker and smaller than the AstillaP. Additionally, as discussed in my review of it, for several reasons, the PantheraP just does not perform very well in the field, with weaknesses that the AstillaP does not suffer from.

Finally, the Trumna has a very good Crit/Status spread, and deals innate Heat damage which is always useful. It is capable of higher direct damage than the AstillaP, and its Alternate Fire is an absurdly strong burst of damage that is near-unmatcheable. The AstillaP has two main advantages, in its larger standard attack explosive radius, and in its natural Slash proc ability.

The AstillaP faces quite stiff competition primarily from the Acceltra and Trumna, but carves itself a niche with its impressive Slash proc inflicting ability.

Rivens

As standard for a new weapon, the Astilla Prime starts with a minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition. I would not be surprised to see it increase in future updates. Though the Astilla Prime is fairly solid, it does not come close to the strongest and most popular weapons in the game. 

+Damage/Multishot are obvious great stats. +Crit Chance/Damage are also excellent for a Crit build. +Slash is not bad for biasing Status procs towards Slash, and adding a small amount of extra damage. +Elemental Damage can be useful to save a mod slot. +Status Chance helps to inflict even more procs. +Faction Damage is an extremely strong proc damage multiplier, which is very useful for the Slash-focused Astilla Prime. Grineer are the best targets of this stat. +Fire Rate can greatly increase DPS, at the cost of reduced ammo efficiency. +Projectile Speed can be useful for longer ranges.

-Puncture is an ideal stat, with -Impact being decent but not as good. Reducing Puncture damage increases the explosion damage bias towards Slash and elements, for more useful procs. Impact is a poor damage type and proc, but as it is purely on the direct hit (and is the only base Damage of the direct hit), reducing it is nowhere near as useful as reducing Puncture. -Faction Damage to a weaker faction (ie Corpus or Infested) is usually pretty manageable, and of course of no relevance against other Factions. -Ammo Max is alright alongside at least one of Ammo Case/Mutation/etc, but a very bad idea without them. +Recoil is negligible if you manage recoil well.