Acquisition
Another Sister weapon, so the same deal applies - create a Sister of Parvos with this weapon, then Vanquish them to acquire it.
Stats
The Tenet Envoy is clearly geared towards fewer, more powerful shots. Both its Crit and Status are very good, and of course it packs a very high total base Damage. In exchange, it is extremely slow firing at not even one rocket per second, and has among the slowest Reload Times in the game at 4 seconds. A Mag Capacity of 8 rockets is decent and does allow reasonable time between reloads.
To offset its painfully slow Reload Time, the TEnvoy has a built-in reload-while-holstered effect, reloading one rocket per second. It is worth noting however that it has slower than average drawing speed, as it needs to unfold from its briefcase form.
Take care when firing rockets repeatedly, as the TEnvoy has a spare ammo count of just 24 rounds. Additionally, it draws from the relatively rare Sniper ammo pool, so can be quickly rendered inert if ammo drops do not work out.
Of course, the main draw of the TEnvoy is its powerful explosions, dealing a great deal of damage in an excellent 8 metre radius - among the largest in the game currently. Damage Fall-Off of 80% is relatively harsh, but expected for an explosion of this size. Naturally, these explosions can inflict self-stagger/knockdown.
Base Cold damage is not bad, notably being able to combine into Viral with just one added Element.
The TEnvoy also has a unique feature. While aiming, it projects a laser to which any in-flight rockets are guided towards. Rockets are also slowed down during this time to allow easier guidance. Rockets are quite maneuverable while in this mode, allowing for surprisingly tight turns and precise hits if pathed well.
Augments
None.
Builds
NOTE: These builds feature a maximum Sister of Parvos bonus of +60% Radiation. Radiation has been selected to clearly show it alongside the other damage values. To calculate the damage of a minimum +25% bonus, multiply the total damage numbers by 0.78125.
0-Forma:
Another weapon with no innate polarities, though the TEnvoy can mitigate this somewhat. Its innate Cold allows forming of the always-great Viral with just a single elemental mod, leaving some space for the other essentials. This setup does however greatly limit your elemental options, since you can only form combinations with Cold in them.
The aforementioned Viral is a good catch-all, with an amazing proc offsetting any of its sub-par multipliers. The other two options are Blast and Magnetic, neither of which are very notable. Blast has alright multipliers against the Infested, but the vast majority of them are incredibly weak anyway. Magnetic is very good against Shields but very bad against everything else, so primarily useful against Corpus.
Recommended Setups: Viral vs everything, Magnetic vs heavily Shielded Corpus
1-Forma:
One added V polarity and the Tenet weapon rank bonus gives plenty of space to fit a sixth mod, and potentially even a seventh depending on your choices. This opens up many elemental options, as well as the extremely powerful Hunter Munitions.
A great Crit Chance allows the TEnvoy to use HM fairly reliably even with its very low Fire Rate. Such high damage-per-shot means that any Slash procs that are inflicted will deal immense Armour-bypassing damage-over-time. This of course combines perfectly with the easy-to-make Viral, whose procs will drastically increase said damage. This is by far the TEnvoy's best scaling anti-armour setup, provided the target is Status-vulnerable.
Against other targets, there are a few elemental combos worth mentioning. Corrosive is all-round much better than Blast, not only against the Infested but also in general thanks to its multiplier against Ferrite armour and great proc (though the TEnvoy does not leverage this proc very well). Radiation notably deals great direct damage against Alloy armour, useful against such enemies who are Status-immune.
Due to the innate Cold, there are not many three-element combos worth mentioning. Corrosive + Heat is turned into Corrosive + Blast which is much worse, while Radiation + Toxin getting turned into Radiation + Viral loses out the unique value of pure Toxin damage. Viral + Heat is still possible, however it is skewed towards Viral which is not ideal, and HM is much more effective against the enemies this combo targets most intently anyway (heavily armoured enemies). Magnetic + Toxin is still possible as an anti-Corpus setup, though it is self-redundant as a combo since Toxin bypasses the Shields that Magnetic tries to strip.
Recommended Setups: Viral + HM vs everything, Corrosive vs Infested, Ferrite-armour, Radiation vs Alloy armour
Quality-of-Life 3-Forma:
Two more added polarities offers a lot more space and options. Pictured are two options that I like a lot.
(Primed) Firestorm significantly increases the TEnvoy's blast radius, which is does not affect its peak damage-per-shot, but drastically improves its area-of-effect for even better crowd-clearing. Additionally, the increased blast radius also "stretches" the explosion Damage Fall-Off, thus dealing more damage at a given distance away from the epicentre. (Primed) Fast Hands reduces the TEnvoy's painfully long Reload Time quite noticeably, though you may be better off relying more on the reload-while-holstered effect.
Maximum Damage 3-Forma:
Alternatively, this example build focuses on maximising damage dealt, especially the Slash procs of Hunter Munitions. Heavy Caliber's accuracy penalty is a non-issue on the TEnvoy, especially with the guidance function, making it just a pure damage increase. A (Primed) Bane mod is an especially strong multiplier of damage-over-time procs like Slash as it is applied twice. This is most relevant against the Grineer, who have the most heavily armoured units, in both number and strength.
Bladed Rounds and Argon Scope are conditional Crit-boosting mods, however they are only active while aiming, and Argon Scope in particular requires headshots. As such, for the TEnvoy in particular, I personally would not recommend either. Proton Jet is a more reasonable conditional mod that boosts both Crit and Status Chances. Hammershot is an unconditional Crit Damage and Status Chance boosting mod, though neither effect is especially large.
As is the case for most weapons since U30.5, Critical Delay is worth consideration over Point Strike. It gives noticeably higher Crit Chance, which is especially helpful for Hunter Munitions, while reducing Fire Rate which is not a strength of the TEnvoy anyway. However, it may reduce Fire Rate to the point where you find it to be much too slow - the choice between the two should come down to your preference of Fire Rate.
There are a few decent options for the Exilus slot. Vigilante Supplies is an obvious option for its Ammo Mutation effect and Vigilante set bonus, with regular Sniper Ammo Mutation being better for pure ammo recovery. Terminal Velocity increases dumb-fire rocket velocity, but does not seem to affect guided rocket velocity. Cautious Shot can be used to mitigate self-stagger/knockdown. It is worth noting that Eject Magazine cannot be equipped on the TEnvoy to double up on the reload-while-holstered effect.
Recommended Setups: see above.
Galvanised Build and Arcane:
Galvanised Chamber is a no-brainer.
I do not think Galvanised Scope is a good fit, as it requires landing headshots and constantly aiming, neither of which are good restrictions for the TEnvoy.
Galvanised Aptitude is not suitable either. Its focus on high damage-per-shot and low Fire Rate mean that the TEnvoy wants to be able to one-shot them if possible, usually meaning relatively few Status procs on the target before it (hopefully) dies. On top of this, the Galv Apt +Damage bonus does not apply to explosions anyway, which is the vast majority of the TEnvoy's damage.
Merciless is the clear winner for the Arcane slot. The TEnvoy does not have the precision to reliably land headshots to stack up Deadhead, though the Recoil reduction can be nice for aimed shots. On the other hand, it can easily max out Merciless stacks in a single shot, and both the Reload Speed buff and Ammo Max increase are highly valuable.
With a high rank Arcane, Serration and Heavy Caliber become optional and can be replaced with something like a Primed Bane mod.
My Builds
Sister of Parvos Bonus
There are several good options for the elemental bonus. Radiation and Magnetic are always notable as they do not interfere with elemental combos. The former is more all-round useful, while the latter is very strong against anything heavily Shielded. Toxin notably immediately combines with the explosion's innate Cold for instant Viral, though this can be broken by mods, for instance to form Corrosive + Cold instead. Heat is convenient if you want to go for a Viral + Heat build, though I wouldn't recommend it personally - I think a Viral + HM build is more effective.
Note that the TEnvoy's innate Cold can interact strangely with a single element Sister Bonus like Heat if only one elemental mod is added.
Combat Use and Summary
Being an explosive weapon with a fantastic blast radius, the Tenet Envoy is very effective against groups. A single rocket will wipe out groups of weaker enemies with ease, and a second one will take down moderately tough enemies too. A close or direct hit can deal a lot of damage to a single target, given its great damage-per-shot, though precise hits like headshots are much more difficult.
Where the TEnvoy struggles most is against heavily armoured enemies if it does not have Hunter Munitions equipped. With such a low Fire Rate, it does not inflict a great deal of Status procs. A Viral + Heat is its best scaling anti-armour setup, as its innate Cold prevent Corrosive + Heat. Furthermore, the innate Cold also skews the Viral damage which is suboptimal for this setup. That said, any Heat procs that are inflicted will deal great damage, and even without procs the TEnvoy deals enough direct damage to muscle through weaker armoured enemies.
Hunter Munitions is also not particularly consistent with such a low Fire Rate, but it is much better than a Heat build, in both reliability and efficacy. Any Slash procs inflicted will deal massive Armour-bypassing damage, and it does not interfere with regular Status procs, of which Viral is ideal.
The TEnvoy has quite heavy recoil with each shot. This is not usually an issue for such a slow-firing weapon, and indeed it poses no harm to hip-fire. However, it can be troublesome for guided shots, as the recoil will cause the rocket to kick upwards for the first bit of its flight. Similarly, any accidental aiming such as aim-gliding for aerial mobility will also trigger this guidance function, which with the rocket maneuverability can throw them well off-course. This can be inconvenient if you regularly aim-glide.
With just 24 spare ammo and using fairly rare Sniper ammo drops, an Ammo Case/Mutation/etc mod is strongly recommended when using the TEnvoy.
The TEnvoy's rockets are not very fast. Guided rockets in particular are slowed down significantly to enable better guidance. As such, engaging targets at longer range will result in a significant delay between firing and impact. The guidance function can drastically improve hit rates, but of course will increase that delay even further.
Overall, the Tenet Envoy is a strong rocket launcher with notable but not insurmountable weaknesses. It deals very good damage in a large radius, with good use of Hunter Munitions to tackle heavily armoured enemies. The guidance function can be useful on occasion, but above all is very entertaining. The TEnvoy is a very slow weapon, both in Fire Rate and Reload Time, as well as projectile speed.
If you're after a fun and explosive weapon, I'd definitely recommend the Tenet Envoy as one to look out for. It represents a particular type of weapon that I'd love to see more of - one that is conventionally very effective, with notable but not deal-breaking flaws, and a unique feature that is a lot of fun, even if not always useful. If you dislike slow firing and slow reloading weapons however, look elsewhere.
Scores
Vs Variants
None.
Competitors
As a slow-firing hybrid-capable explosive Primary, the Tenet Envoy must compete with powerhouses like the Kuva Bramma and Kuva Zarr.
The MR13 Kuva Tonkor is the first point of call, offering the best of the three comparisons in the TEnvoy's favour. The KTonkor wins out slightly in damage-per-shot, primarily due to its slightly higher base Damage, however it is less Status capable. The TEnvoy puts out slightly more projectiles-per-second by virtue of the KTonkor's single shot and slow Reload Time, though this gap is not large.
The biggest advantage the TEnvoy has is its larger explosive radius. This counteracts its slightly harsher Damage Fall-Off. Notably in the KTonkor's favour is its spare ammo count, a significant 60 rounds versus the TEnvoy's 24.
To be honest, the two are quite close and personal preference easily takes precedence over any minor performance advantages. I'd lean towards the TEnvoy personally.
The TEnvoy's biggest advantage is the massive difference in spare ammo - the TEnvoy gets 24 spare rounds on top of its 8 magazine, while the KBramma gets just 5 rounds total. Additionally, the KBramma can only recover one ammo per ammo drop. As such, while the KBramma is much more powerful overall, it can be rendered useless much more quickly if used carelessly.
The TEnvoy retains a superior explosive radius, though this is largely negated by the KZarr's bomblets. The TEnvoy also enjoys a superior Reload Ratio, with larger Mag Capacity and faster Reload Time, and more spare ammo (24 versus 15). The KZarr's 4.8 second Reload Time is among the slowest in the game, though it should be noted that it quickly reloads rounds one-by-one, so the reload can be interrupted part way with a partial mag. It also sports a powerful Shotgun mode that deals immense concentrated single target damage.
Overall, I'd consider the Kuva Zarr to be largely superior to the Tenet Envoy. It is all-round more powerful and versatile, while its disadvantages are not major.
The Kuva Ogris is another powerful rocket launcher, however it is Status-focused where the TEnvoy is more balanced. This as well as the Ogris Nightwatch Napalm Augment make the two quite different in role and actual use.
Rivens
As with all new weapons, the Tenet Envoy starts with a minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition. I expect it to stay relatively low as it is a very capable explosive weapon.
+Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are all good stats to look out for, the latter two more so once you start getting Galvanised mods and weapon Arcanes. +Elemental Damage can help in saving a mod slot if it is the right element. +Faction Damage can greatly amplify damage-over-time procs, notably useful against the Grineer. +Fire Rate can be very helpful as the TEnvoy is very slow firing. +Mag Capacity/Reload Speed can be very nice quality-of-life stats. +Ammo Max is not worthless given its fairly low spare ammo count, but not as important with an Ammo Mutation/etc mod. +Projectile Speed can be useful for landing hits more quickly at longer ranges.
-Impact/Puncture/Slash are all great negatives. The latter two have no effect whatsoever, while the former only affects the direct hit, which is far weaker than the explosion anyway. -Faction Damage to a weaker faction (ie Infested or Corpus) is usually very manageable on all but the toughest enemies. -Fire Rate is not bad if you comfortably clear all nearby enemies in the first shot. -Mag Capacity/Reload Speed can be manageable if you leverage the innate reload-while-holstered mechanic. -Ammo Max is manageable with Ammo Case/Mutation/etc. +Recoil is insignificant when hip-firing because of how slow it fires, but it poses a problem if aim-guiding. -Zoom is ideal for closer range combat.
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