Acquisition
Another Sisters of Parvos weapon, so another create-and-vanquish a Sister.
Stats
The Tenet Flux Rifle is clearly a great Slash-status weapon, with quite high Status Chance, Fire Rate and majority Slash damage. A Crit Chance of 20% is solid, though a Crit Multiplier of 1.8x is below average.
Despite initial appearance as a beam weapon, the TFlux Rifle is actually just a hitscan Full-Auto. As such, it does not have a range limitation, nor the damage ramp-up that beam weapons do. However, this also means that it consumes ammo at the full Fire Rate, rather than half that beam weapons enjoy.
At a base 15 Fire Rate, this is a pretty extreme ammo consumption rate. A Mag Capacity of 120 is quite high, and a fairly short Reload Time of 1.8s gives a very good Reload Ratio of 4.44. To compensate somewhat, it has a very large Ammo Max count of 1200 rounds.
Augments
On the TFlux Rifle, there is some sort of bug that drastically increases the +Status Chance that this mod provides - I've seen some suggestions that it increases the base Status Chance on top of its standard effect. Regardless of the reason, the net result is that Flux Overdrive gives a ridiculously large Status Chance boost, far beyond what it probably should and making it absurdly strong on the TFlux Rifle.
Builds
NOTE: The below builds have a maximum 60% Sister bonus of Radiation. Radiation is used to show the bonus clearly alongside the rest of the damage. To calculate the damage of a minimum 25% Bonus, multiply total damage numbers by 0.78125.
0-Forma:
New weapon, no innate polarities, a pattern becoming painfully frequent in recent updates. This above build fits reasonably with most of the essentials, Vigilante Armaments taking place of the higher drain Split Chamber. If any of your mods are below max rank, Split Chamber will fit in its place provided you have both 60/60 elemental mods.
Critical Delay is a great alternative over Point Strike. The extra Crit Chance is always appreciated, and the TFlux Rifle's base Fire Rate is so high that the Fire Rate penalty is barely noticeable. The improved ammo efficiency is a notable benefit, as it normally churns through ammo extremely quickly.
Viral is the obvious combo to go for. Not only is it useful against the vast majority of targets, but its proc multiplies damage dealt by Slash procs. Against certain Infested units, particularly Cambion Drift Infested, Corrosive will be much better as the latter are immune to Viral procs entirely. Toxin is a very strong option against any unarmoured Corpus units, as both its damage and proc bypass Shields. A Magnetic setup will rapidly deplete enemy Shields but there are only a few enemies against whom this is not just worse than going Toxin (Kyta Raknoids, Treasurers, Kuva Liches and Sisters of Parvos).
Recommended Setups: Viral vs everything, Corrosive vs Infested, Toxin vs unarmoured Corpus, Magnetic vs heavily shielded Corpus
1-Forma:
One added V polarity allows comfortable fitting of Split Chamber as well as a seventh mod. There are of course a number of options for that seventh slot. In this section I'll only mention the three-element combinations, and cover everything else below.
Heat is a strong element, both on its own and alongside another type. It combines with Viral + Heat for a great anti-everything build. Corrosive + Heat is especially strong against Cambion Drift Infested. Magnetic + Toxin will tear apart any unarmoured Corpus, but will struggle somewhat once you get to armoured units. Radiation + Toxin has a better multiplier against such enemies, but does not suit the TFlux Rifle very well as Radiation is not a very useful proc.
Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Viral + Heat vs everything, Corrosive + Heat vs Infested
2-Forma:
Another added V polarity and you can start looking at an eighth mod as well. There are a lot of options to consider.
Vigilante Armament and Heavy Caliber both offer drawback-free damage (the latter's Accuracy penalty being negligible), but both are outclassed once you get access to Galvanised mods. Hammer Shot isn't completely terrible as both of its stats are very useful, but it isn't amazing either. Bladed Rounds/Argon Scope/Proton Jet are all useful conditional mods if you want the bonus they give, and can tolerate their trigger conditions.
A (Primed) Bane mod is extremely strong on the TFlux Rifle. It stacks up enormous numbers of damage-over-time procs, notably Slash which is the best way to deal with the heavily armoured Grineer at very high levels. Faction Damage mods are applied twice to damage-over-time procs, drastically increasing their effectiveness.
Punch-Through can be quite nice to help deal with crowds, greatly improving effectiveness against clumps of enemies. My go-to for this is always (Primed) Shred, however the increased Fire Rate can be problematic, significantly increasing ammo consumption.
Flux Overdrive is currently an extremely strong option, increasing Status Chance to a ridiculously degree. I would not be surprised to see this fixed and provide only a large Status Chance boost, rather than the absurdity it is currently.
Hunter Munitions can be used for more Slash procs, though I personally don't think it adds that much to the TFlux Rifle's capabilities - other mods offer a lot more to it.
For the Exilus slot, an Ammo Mutation mod is strongly recommended. The TFlux Rifle eats through ammo extremely quickly, and ammo economy is a significant concern in anything beyond a short mission. You could also consider Vile Precision to keep Fire Rate down to a more manageable level, but this of course also significantly reduces DPS.
Recommended Setups: see above.
Galvanised Build and Arcane:
Galvanised Chamber is obvious.
Galvanised Aptitude is also a no-brainer on such a Status-focused weapon, exceeding Serration with three different Status procs. The TFlux Rifle is capable of at least four proc types with any bonus, making Galv Apt far superior to Serration once the first two kills are achieved.
Galvanised Scope is a nice alternative over Point Strike/Critical Delay if you regularly zoom in and aim for heads. The TFlux Rifle is quite precise so will easily land headshots.
Merciless is a nice Arcane option, the damage stacks being quite easy to build up and the +Max Ammo being very helpful given how quickly the TFlux Rifle consumes ammo. Deadhead of course gives the extra headshot damage, however its Recoil reduction is insignificant.
Note that in the case of both Galvanised Scope and Primary Deadhead, kills due to Slash (and other damage-over-time) procs do not count as a headshot kill even if the inflicting hit was a headshot. This can be quite troublesome considering how many Slash procs the TFlux Rifle inflicts.
My Builds
Kuva Lich/Sister of Parvos Bonus
There are a few elemental options to consider. I'm always a fan of Radiation or Magnetic for some elemental diversity and otherwise impossible combos (e.g. Corrosive + Radiation/Magnetic are not normally possible), and they do have niche uses. With Galvanised Aptitude/Shot/Savvy, these also add an extra damage bonus regardless of how effective the damage type actually is. Impact also adds a new damage type, though its multipliers and proc are much worse.
Of the others, Heat is the main one I'd recommend. Heat is one of the best Status types to stack very large amounts of, dealing great damage-over-time with a partial armour reduction as well.
Combat Use and Summary
The Tenet Flux Rifle is an exceptional Status weapon, with high Slash bias and Fire Rate. It will effortlessly max Viral stacks on heavily armoured enemies, as well as inflicting an incredible number of Slash procs. These will rapidly eat through any such enemy who is not Status-resistant/immune.
The high Fire Rate and Mag Capacity also lends to it being an ok anti-crowd weapon, as it can quickly kill weaker enemies and switch targets to the next. Added Punch-Through would be a very nice bonus to this as well, allowing it to rip through multiple enemies at once.
Naturally, where the TFlux Rifle is weakest is against Status-immune enemies, who will completely ignore its biggest strength. While it does Crit reliably, it does not deal a great amount of direct damage, so can struggle to muscle through such enemies.
Low spread and minimal recoil make the TFlux Rifle overall quite accurate, and surprisingly effective at longer ranges despite its beam-weapon appearance.
Ammo is a significant concern, especially with any +Fire Rate mods. I strongly recommend at least one of Ammo Case/Mutation/etc for anything beyond a short mission.
Overall, the Tenet Flux Rifle is a very strong single-target weapon. It inflicts an absurd number of Status procs, notably Slash procs, which can eat through especially armoured enemies with ease. It naturally struggles against Status-resistant/immune enemies, and munches ammo at an incredible rate. If you're after a single target Status Primary and are not concerned with ammo economy, the TFlux Rifle is one of the best you can get at the moment.
Scores
Vs Variants
The MR15 Tenet Flux Rifle is a majority upgrade over the MR6 Flux Rifle. It has much higher Crit Chance and Mag Capacity, slightly higher Fire Rate and Status Chance, and when recharge time is taken into account, slightly faster Reload from empty. With the Sisters Bonus incorporated, its base Damage is also much higher. As a regular hitscan weapon, the Tenet model has unlimited range where the base Flux Rifle has limited 30m range and damage ramp-up.
There are a few notable advantages to the base Flux Rifle. As it uses a recharging magazine, it has infinite spare ammo where the TFlux Rifle is limited - particularly notable given how fast the Tenet model consumes ammo. It also oddly has a higher Crit Multiplier, as well as a little innate Punch-Through where the Tenet model has none. Finally, the base Flux Rifle is a true beam weapon so consumes ammo at half its Fire Rate, whereelse the TFlux Rifle is not, so consumes ammo at the full stated Fire Rate.
Overall, the Tenet Flux Rifle is a much more powerful weapon than the base Flux Rifle, however makes a few odd compromises.
Competitors
There are many other strong Beam and Full-Auto Primaries, however not many can compete with the Tenet Flux Rifle's Slash-proc capabilities. Below are just some examples to consider.
A Primary Vermisplicer has at base a comparable Crit/Status spread to the TFlux Rifle, and can be biased to one or the other for much stronger Crit, or higher Status Chance. A build biased towards Crit will deal much more direct damage. Additionally, the Vermi will chain to two other targets (nerfed from five as of U30.5), where the TFlux Rifle is purely for single targets. However, its base Damage composition is not as suited to stacking Slash procs, and as a beam weapon it has limited range where the TFlux Rifle, despite appearances, does not.
Something like the MR14 Tenora Prime is a strong overall competitor, but the two weapons fit different niches. The TFlux Rifle will have a superior total base Damage with anything bar a bare minimum Sister bonus, but the TenoraP's Crit puts it far ahead for DPS. Of course, conversely the TFlux Rifle will inflict more Status procs, especially Slash procs.
Hunter Munitions can help many of the mentioned weapons to close the gap in terms of Slash procs, however the TFlux Rifle still easily eclipses them all in this respect. It is among the best Slash proccing weapons in the game, and there are few weapons that even come close to it. Additionally, its usable Crit and majority Slash damage put it well ahead of some of the more purely Status-focused weapons that can try to compete. However, as has been discussed several times already, it falls well behind for direct Damage, and can really struggle against Status-immune enemies.
Rivens
Another new weapon, so another starting minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition. The regular Flux Rifle's Disposition is one of the highest in the game, at 5/5 (1.55). I expect the Tenet's to go up a decent amount, to around 0.8-1. The Tenet Flux Rifle is quite strong but it does not fit in Warframe's main meta of AoE damage.
If you don't yet have Galvanised mods and Arcanes, +Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are all great. Their addition greatly devalues their associated stat, leaving +Crit Damage as the best one, and +Crit Chance as well if you don't like Galv Scope. Multishot is weaker but not as redundant as +Damage. +Slash is not bad if you want to more heavily bias Slash procs. +Elemental Damage can be useful to save a mod slot. +Faction Damage, mainly against the Grineer, is an extremely powerful multiplier of Slash procs. +Mag Capacity/Reload Speed can be nice quality-of-life stats, but are not significant. +Punch-Through is a great help against tightly packed groups.
-Puncture/Impact are good negatives. The former has little effect, reducing a mediocre damage type and terrible proc, and the latter has no effect at all. It should be noted that losing Puncture entirely may not be optimal as it means one fewer proc type for Galvanised Aptitude's damage bonus. -Faction Damage to the weaker factions Corpus and Infested can be fairly manageable. -Fire Rate reduces the voracious ammo consumption rate, but obviously also reduces DPS and proc output. -Mag Capacity/Reload Speed in small amounts can be manageable. -Ammo Max is manageable alongside at least one of Ammo Case/Mutation/etc. -Projectile Speed has no effect. +Recoil is rather minimal. -Zoom is ideal for close quarters.
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