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Monday, 2 August 2021

Review: Tenet Detron (U30.5.5)

The Tenet Detron is an MR16 Shotgun Secondary, one of the many weapons introduced in U30.5: Sisters of Parvos. Packing a very solid stat spread, it is a fairly powerful, if not particularly exceptional, weapon.

Acquisition


A Sisters of Parvos weapon, create a Sister with this weapon and Vanquish them to acquire.

Stats

The Tenet Detron's stats are fairly well rounded. 18% Crit Chance is solid, and 10% Status Chance is quite good for a Shotgun with 10 pellets at base. Base Radiation damage is useful to form some otherwise impossible setups (e.g. Corrosive + Radiation), and is great against Alloy Armour, but does not offer a particularly useful proc.

A Mag Capacity of just 6 rounds is quite small, and is quickly depleted with a Fire Rate of 3.33. However, a fast Reload Time of just 1 second gives a not-awful Reload Ratio of 1.80.

As a Shotgun, the TDetron has Damage Fall-Off, starting at 13m and ending at 22m. It deals 55% of its full damage at 22m and beyond, higher than most Shotguns. Additionally, its pellet spread is much tighter than most other Shotguns.

The TDetron also has an added Alternate Fire that dumps the rest of the mag in a single burst, just like the Pandero (Prime). It even uses the same animation. This feature results in very high Burst DPS, but cannot be zoomed, has much higher Recoil and forces a reload afterwards.

Augments

The Tenet Detron has access to the Detron-family-exclusive mod Thermagnetic Shells. Upon achieving a kill, the dead enemy will explode, dealing a portion of their max Health as Magnetic damage in a 6 metre radius.

In theory, Thermagnetic Shells could give the Tenet Detron a decent AoE that helps to clear out weaker enemies. Unfortunately, this is largely not the case. Most notably, it deals Magnetic damage, which against unshielded targets is anywhere from mediocre to outright terrible. This immediately limits its viability against any Factions besides the mostly Shielded Corpus. However, this then presents another problem.

Thermagnetic Shells scales with the enemy's Health, but does not include their Shields. Against the Corpus who largely have a lot of Shields but not much Health, this often means that its explosions will not deal a lot of damage, to Shields or to anything else. As a result, oddly enough this mod works best against the Infested, as they are all-Health enemies, and largely do not resist Magnetic.

Unfortunately, this overall means that Thermagnetic Shells is not good. The damage it deals is only effective agaisnt a very specific set of enemies, against whom the mod does not work very well with.

Builds

NOTE: The builds pictured below use a maximum 60% Magnetic Sister Bonus. Magnetic has been chosen to have the bonus clearly displayed alongside the base Damage. For a minimum 25% Bonus, multiply the total damage numbers by 0.78125.

Crit 0-Forma:

With no innate polarities like so many newer weapons, it can be quite troublesome fitting a decent no-Forma build. This pictured build already achieves decent damage-per-shot and Status output, though the fairly low Crit Chance can make it somewhat inconsistent.

Status 0-Forma:

Focusing instead on Multishot, Elemental Damage and Status Chance can get you this sort of build, with better Status output, more Status variety, and higher on-paper DPS. Note that it will fall behind for damage-per-shot if you land headshots regularly.

With great Status capabilities, the TDetron has several strong builds it can utilise. For those procs with a hard maximum, it will reach those caps very quickly, and for those that can be infinitely stacked, the TDetron can stack enormous numbers of.

The obligatory Viral against everything rears its head once more, with the increased damage to health from its proc outclassing everything else for general-purpose. Corrosive is stronger against heavily armoured enemies, especially those who are Ferrite-armoured, and is obviously better against many Viral-immune units, notably the Cambion Drift Infested. Adding Heat to either of these combos is also very strong, as it also reduces armour and introduces a stacking damage-over-time proc that greatly benefits from Viral or Corrosive's own procs.

Pure Toxin is a very strong option against unarmoured Corpus, bypassing their Shields to hit at their usually weaker Health. Between it and the innate Radiation, the TDetron already covers the two main Corpus Health types well. Should you feel it necessary, adding Magnetic will ensure effective damage against just about every Corpus enemy.

Recommended Setups: see above. Viral (+ Heat) vs everything, Corrosive (+ Heat) vs Infested, armour, Toxin (+ Magnetic) vs Corpus

1-Forma Crit

One added V polarity allows you to upgrade the two Crit mods to their Primed versions, for a significant boost in damage-per-shot.

Recommended Setups: see above.

2-Forma:

A second V polarity and the extra ranks offers comfortable space for a seventh mod like Lethal Torrent. LT is an massive on-paper DPS boost, however the Fire Rate increase may not be to your liking. As a Semi-Auto weapon, the TDetron's peak DPS is only achieved by rapidly pulling the trigger, which at higher Fire Rates can be very difficult to achieve and maintain while also aiming. As such, LT's in-practice DPS boost could be much smaller than it first appears - only +27% DPS for its +60% Multishot alongside Barrel Diffusion.

Recommended Setups: see above.

3-Forma:

Another added polarity and you can start comfortably filling all eight mod slots. There are a lot of solid mods to consider, especially if you do not include Lethal Torrent. The aforementioned three-element setup is a very strong option considering the TDetron has such good Status capabilities.

A (Primed) Expel mod is always a strong option, especially with damage-over-time procs like Heat and Toxin. Magnum Force also offers decent damage, but noticeably increases pellet spread. Augur Pact offers less damage with no downside. Hydraulic Crosshairs and Sharpened Bullets offer conditional Crit increases if that is your sort of thing, offering similar damage to Augur Pact. 

(Primed) Quickdraw reduces Reload Time, which does not increase Burst DPS, but is great quality-of-life and improves Reload Ratio and thus Sustained DPS significantly. (Primed) Slip Magazine also improves QoL with its +Mag Capacity, but it has a lesser effect on Reload Ratio and Sustained DPS. Ice Storm is notable as an option that adds elemental damage (+Cold) as well as +Mag Capacity.

The Detron-exclusive Thermagnetic Shells can be somewhat entertaining, and adds valuable AoE, but it is not very strong and has limited use against the different factions. Seeker for Punch-Through is a much more effective option, adding a degree of anti-crowd capability.

For the Exilus slot, there are a few neat options. Lethal Momentum increases Projectile Speed as well as Damage Fall-Off ranges, which significantly improve performance beyond close range. Steady Hands reduces Recoil, which is notably useful for Alternate Fire, but less important for regular combat.

Recommended Setups: see above.

Galvanised Build and Arcane


Galvanised Diffusion because of course. 

Galvanised Shot would be a fantastic addition to the TDetron if it worked correctly. With a Magnetic bonus, it is capable of up to four different procs (five with Impact and Hemorrhage, but such a build would likely be much worse overall). With solid Status capabilities, it has no issues getting three or all four proc types on victims for a massive damage boost. The TDetron however is one of those weapons that did not apply the Galv Shot +Damage bonus on release, and still seems to have some issues applying the correct bonus.

Galvanised Crosshairs is relatively easy to start initially, however may prove troublesome to stack up. Though the TDetron's pellet spread is quite tight for a shotgun, it can be difficult to land a killing headshot properly to stack the increased Crit Chance effect on headshot-kill. It also does not work with Alternate Fire, which cannot be zoomed.

Deadhead has the obvious advantages of higher peak damage and longer-lasting stacks, however it suffers from the same flaw as Galv Crosshairs. The Recoil reduction can be nice. Merciless is much more convenient, and the Reload Speed buff is very helpful, but of course stacks take longer to build up and decay much more quickly.

My Builds

Pretty ordinary Viral + Heat (+ Rad + Mag) build. Since the (partial) Galv Shot fix, Hornet Strike has been switched to Galv Shot for (hopefully) more damage once the first kills are achieved.

Sister of Parvos Bonus

With its great Status capabilities and innate Radiation damage, the primary Damage Bonus that I would recommend is Magnetic. Over time, Warframe has seen more enemies added with legitimately tough Shields that cannot be bypassed by Toxin, making Magnetic an actually niche useful choice. Additionally, as it does not interfere with elemental combos, it can add a unique damage type and proc into otherwise impossible combinations, such as Corrosive + Magnetic + Radiation. Not only does this cover more enemy health types, but also adds a extra proc for Galvanised Shot and Melee's Condition Overload.

Of the single elements, Heat is the clear best option. It is the overall best single element to have with its stacking damage-over-time and armour reduction, and having it as the bonus saves you from having to mod it on.

Impact is worth a quick mention as adding a unique proc as well, and can be used with Hemorrhage to also inflict Slash procs - but I do not think it is worth it, nor do I intend to farm up an Impact TDetron to find out. Impact is overall a terrible damage type, and the Slash procs from Hemorrhage will not be very common as the TDetron exceeds the 2.5 Fire Rate threshold.

Combat Use and Summary

With powerful shots dealing a lot of direct damage and procs, but relatively few rounds per mag, the Tenet Detron is more suited towards killing fewer, heavier enemies. With among the highest Burst DPS of all Secondaries, it is very well suited to killing unarmoured and even Status-immune heavy enemies, provided you can get close to the target for maximum damage.

Solid Status capabilities also make it quite effective against heavily armoured enemies. The TDetron can max out Viral or Corrosive procs with just a few shots, all while potentially stacking up Heat procs. Innate Radiation has very good multipliers against Alloy-armour as well.

Where the TDetron is least effective is against large groups, especially if they are spread out. It has very tight pellet spread for a Shotgun, so does not hit multiple close targets as effectively as other Secondary Shotguns. Additionally, with a small Mag Capacity, it spends a lot of time frantically reloading, and will often have to do so in the face of many weaker enemies. Thermagnetic Shells can offer some AoE, but it is quite limited and weak against most targets.

Alternate Fire can be useful if you simply need to put rounds into targets as quickly as possible, but its high Recoil and inability to zoom inhibit any precise aiming and any viability beyond point-blank range. It also forces a reload immediately afterwards.


The TDetron is one of the least worst Secondary Shotguns beyond close range. Its Damage Fall-Off is reasonable, and it has one of the tightest pellet spreads among its peers. While it will of course be noticeably weaker at medium and longer ranges, it will still perform much better relative to its competitors.


Overall, the Tenet Detron is a strong Secondary. It deals massive damage backed by a heap of Status procs, making it excellent at taking out singular heavy enemies. Its lack of spread and AoE, and poor Reload Ratio make it rather unsuited to tackling large groups of weak enemies. If you're after a close-range Secondary for use against tough targets, the Tenet Detron is a great option to consider.

Scores

Vs Trash Mobs: 2/5 - Low Mag Capacity and minimal pellet spread makes the TDetron largely unsuited to taking on groups of enemies. Thermagnetic Shells can offer some AoE, but for various reasons described above, is not very effective.
Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 5/5 - With one of the highest Burst DPS of all Secondaries, the TDetron is clearly exceptional when up close against tough single targets, even if they are resistant or immune to its many Status procs.
Vs Armoured Heavies without Forced Slash: 4.5/5 - The TDetron can rapidly max out Viral/Corrosive procs, as well as stacking up Heat procs if appropriately modded for it. Between stacking up Status procs and very high damage output, it can significantly weaken and punch through heavily armoured enemies very effectively.
Vs Armoured Heavies with Forced Slash: NA/5 - The TDetron has no way of inflicting Slash procs without an Impact Sister bonus, and even with it it will not proc Hemorrhage very frequently.

Vs Variants


The MR16 Tenet Detron is a vast majority upgrade over the MR6 base Detron. It has slightly lower Status Chance, but this is compensated for with higher pellet count, for overall higher Status output. It is strictly superior in practically every other stat, with higher Base Damage thanks to the Sister bonus, far better Crit, and a slightly larger mag.


The MR9 Mara Detron poses a slightly stiffer challenge, but is still largely out of its depth. The Mara has again higher Status Chance, though once more this is balanced out by pellet count to give the Tenet the edge in overall Status output. More notably, the Mara has increased Damage Fall-Off distances, and a larger Mag Capacity. The Tenet of course retains its massive Crit and base Damage (after Sister bonus) advantages.

In both cases, the Tenet has a much tighter pellet spread, as well as lower Fall-Off effect (losing 45% damage where the others lose 62%). It also has its mag-dump Alternate Fire, which the other two do not.

Overall, the Tenet Detron is quite comfortably the strongest Detron. The Mara retains a slight advantage in quality-of-life thanks to its larger Mag Capacity, but this does not remotely compare to the Tenet's far greater overall firepower.

Competitors

There are a few other Shotgun Secondaries that the Tenet Detron must compete with. Most notably, the MR13 Kuva Brakk

The KBrakk is a very strong weapon, with superior Crit Chance, slightly higher Status Chance, a much larger mag and higher Fire Rate, and even a bit of innate Punch-Through. These all make up for its lower base Damage to give it higher DPS than the TDetron. Additionally, the KBrakk also comes out on top for Status output.

However, the KBrakk's Damage Fall-Off is incredibly harsh. Not only is its Fall-Off ranges shorter, but it also deals a measly 4% damage at long range, where the TDetron still deals roughly half. Additionally, the TDetron has a far tighter pellet spread where the KBrakk's is quite wide. As such, the TDetron is actually usable and somewhat effective at medium range, where the KBrakk is a close-range-only weapon.

The MR13 Pyrana Prime is also worth a mention, though its stats are much more skewed than the TDetron. The PyranaP is clearly geared for Crit and direct Damage. With its unique pseudo-akimbo ability active, it will far exceed the TDetron (and indeed just about every other Secondary) for DPS. In exchange, it has far weaker Status capabilities. As such, the two fill fairly different roles and a direct comparison has limited value.

There are a few more Secondary Shotguns, but no others are worth significant consideration. Overall, the Tenet Detron fills a solid niche as an all-rounder Secondary Shotgun with surprisingly long effective range.

Rivens

Another new weapon, another starting minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition. The regular Detron is currently sitting at 4/5 (1.15), and the Mara 3/5 (1.1). This is another one that I expect to increase in the future, as the Tenet is yet another strong single target weapon, lacking in AoE.

+Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are all decent stats. With the introduction of Galvanised mods and Arcanes, the former two are much less valuable, so you are better off looking for Crit. +Elemental Damage can be useful for saving a mod slot. +Status Chance can be nice for stacking procs, though other mods will probably provide better +Status Chance. +Faction Damage can be a strong multiplier of damage-over-time procs, notably Heat. It is most useful against the Grineer, who are on average by far the toughest of the normal factions. +Mag Capacity/Reload Speed can be very nice QoL stats. +Projectile Speed improves capabilities at longer ranges, also increasing Fall-Off ranges. -Recoil can be useful mainly for Alternate Fire. +Punch-Through can be quite helpful against clustered groups of enemies.

-Faction Damage to the weaker Factions (Infested and Corpus) can be manageable, and of course has no impact against other Factions. -Fire Rate is minimal alongside Lethal Torrent. -Ammo Max is not a big deal unless you use Alternate Fire constantly. +Recoil is not a big deal for regular combat, but can be troublesome for Alternate Fire. -Zoom is ideal for close quarters if it is a possible roll.

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