The MR14 Tenet Spirex is one of the completely new Secondaries introduced in U30.5 Sisters of Parvos. A slow-firing Semi-Auto Pistol, it has very good Crit and great Status Chance. Strong stats coupled with an explosive shot make the Tenet Spirex one of the best Semi-Auto Pistols in the game.
Acquisition
Stats
The Tenet Spirex has a very strong stat spread. Very good Crit of 26%/2.4x coupled with a very high base Damage of 120+80 before Sister bonus gives it great damage-per-shot. 40% Status Chance coupled with base Heat damage allows it to reliably inflict useful procs. A small explosive radius of 2 metres is beneficial as well, both for minor area coverage and also for inflict even more procs on single targets. This explosion can of course inflict self-stagger.
With just 8 rounds in its default Mag Capacity, and a somewhat lengthy 2.4 second Reload Time, the TSpirex has a poor Reload Ratio of 1.43. A spare ammo count of 80 rounds is not bad with quite low Fire Rate, especially when drawing from the relatively common Pistol ammo.
Though the TSpirex is a Projectile weapon, its Projectile Speed is one of the highest in the game.
Direct hits on enemies will inflict a forced Impact proc.
Notably, the TSpirex builds up a buff called "Bullseye Reload". Upon landing a headshot, the Tenet Spirex gains +25% Reload Speed for 4 seconds. This stacks up to twice and is refreshed with each subsequent headshot. This +Reload Speed stacks additively with other +Reload Speed equipment. Considering Reload Time is one of the Tenet Spirex's main drawbacks, this buff is a very nice feature to have.
With two stacks of Bullseye Reload for +50% Reload Speed, the TSpirex has a much shorter Reload Time of 1.6 seconds, for a better Reload Ratio of 2.15.
Augments
None.
Builds
NOTE: The below Overframe builds are pictured with a maximum +60% Radiation bonus. For a minimum +25% bonus, multiply the total damage numbers by 0.78125.
0-Forma Basic:
The Tenet Spirex has two very much appreciated V polarities. It can comfortably fit in a build with all of the basics, and even has space to upgrade to one of the Primed Crit mods if you have two elemental 60/60s.
It is worth considering Creeping Bullseye instead of (Primed) Pistol
Gambit, especially if you do not have the Primed version at a high rank.
Creeping Bullseye offers a lot more Crit Chance for a very minor Fire
Rate reduction, and is also lower drain at just 9.
Recommended elemental setups are all as expected, with the caveat that the TSpirex's innate Heat helps some setups, but inhibits others. Viral for general purpose and Corrosive against Ferrite-armour and the Infested, with the innate Heat being a great addition. Pure Toxin is unfortunately very difficult to get on the TSpirex, as it will combine with the innate Heat. Instead, a Magnetic with extra Heat build is not bad against the Corpus. Pure Radiation is solid against Alloy-armoured targets, but is lacking in versatility.
Recommended Setups: Viral vs everything, Corrosive vs Ferrite-armour, Infested, Magnetic vs Corpus, Radiation vs Alloy-armour
1-Forma Primed Crit:
Just one added V polarity allows easy fitting of both Primed Crit mod, as well as a low-drain eighth mod if you have all the 60/60 elementals. Alternatively, if you switch Primed Pistol Gambit with Barrel Diffusion, you will have enough capacity to switch both 60/60 elemental mods to their 90% versions. This offers a lot more direct damage, at the cost of far fewer Status procs.
There are a number of options that will fit as an eighth mod even here with low capacity. Augur Pact is a no-fuss, unconditional damage boost, though it is quite weak. A regular Quickdraw is a nice quality-of-life option, though is additive with the Bullseye Reload buff so is less valuable if you reliably trigger that. Hydraulic Crosshairs and Sharpened Bullets are conditional Crit-boosting mods that offer more overall damage than Augur Pact.
A third elemental mod may not offer a large amount of damage, but does further increase Status Chance with a 60/60 mod. The main three-element combos are already enabled with the TSpirex's innate Heat, with the only notable new option being Radiation + Toxin. It is one of only two ways of getting pure Toxin damage on the TSpirex (the other being Blast which is much worse), and is reasonably effective against most Corpus targets.
Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Radiation + Toxin vs Corpus
2-Forma Primed Heat:
A second added V polarity opens up a lot more options for that last mod slot. In this example build, Primed Heated Charge is added for a large chunk of extra Heat damage.
2-Forma Hemorrhage:
This alternate build leverages the TSpirex's forced Impact procs on direct hit to inflict Slash procs with Hemorrhage. This of course synergises with a Viral build for massive armour-bypassing damage. Note that Lethal Torrent is not included, so as to keep the Fire Rate below 2.5 for maximum Hemorrhage benefit. In its place, I've slotted in a Primed Expel mod, which is a strong damage multiplier especially for damage-over-time procs like Slash and Heat. Of course, these are quite expensive to max out so they may not be to your liking - I personally almost never use them.
I would not recommend using Magnum Force. The Accuracy penalty is quite detrimental to a weapon that values precision and ability to reliably land headshots.
In builds using Cold damage, you could consider Ice Storm for the extra Mag Capacity, which offers nice quality-of-life instead of the +Status Chance of a 60/60.
(Primed) Fulmination is an option to increase explosive radius, though scaling from a relatively small explosion this increase is not major.
There isn't too much to talk about in the Exilus slot. The usual option of Lethal Momentum is less impactful on the TSpirex, whose projectiles already travel very fast. Pistol Ammo Mutation can be included if you are worried about ammo, though it is fairly ammo-efficient with low Fire Rate and high damage-per-shot. Perhaps the best option to look at would be Steady Hands. The TSpirex has noticeable recoil, which can make follow-up shots more difficult to land in quick succession.
Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Viral + Hemorrhage vs armour
Galvanised Build and Arcane
Galvanised Diffusion naturally.
Galvanised Shot, since the first fixes on projectile weapons, is a strong option for the TSpirex in place of Hornet Strike. Direct hits have a forced Impact proc, and with such high Status Chance, the TSpirex has no issue inflicting at least two more procs on enemies, depending on what has been modded. In a typical Viral + Heat build, you have great chance of at least three unique procs (Impact, Viral, Heat), which is already enough to outclass Hornet Strike. A Hemorrhage build also benefits from the frequent Slash procs for yet another multiplier, on top of the base Puncture and potentially a Radiation or Magnetic bonus. It is worth noting that the +Damage still seems to not work correctly for the AoE.
Galvanised Crosshairs is a strong option on the TSpirex, alongside or even instead of (Primed) Pistol Gambit/Creeping Bullseye. The TSpirex already wants to be landing headshots for its Bullseye Reload buff, and zooming usually helps in ensuring tighter shot spreads.
Both Deadhead and Merciless offer strong benefit. Deadhead's bonus Headshot damage and headshot kill requirement synergise perfectly with the TSpirex's desire to land headshots, though note that kills from damage-over-time procs (e.g. Slash, Heat) will not count as headshot kills. The Recoil reduction can be helpful in landing precise hits in quick succession.
Merciless will still gain stacks from kills by damage-over-time procs, and +Reload Speed is quite appreciated on a weapon with poor Reload Ratio, though is a little less impactful alongside Bullseye Reload.
My Builds
Kuva Lich/Sister of Parvos Bonus
There are a few options to consider for the Sister bonus. Magnetic and Radiation do not interfere with other elements on the weapon, allowing very neat and otherwise impossible elemental combos like Viral + Magnetic + Heat, or Corrosive + Radiation + Heat. They deal good damage against specific targets, and their unique procs are useful for specific purposes, Magnetic against Shields of course and Radiation for negating enemy auras. The unique procs also grant more damage from Galvanised Shot.
With its innate Heat, I would not recommend a single element bonus for the TSpirex except for Heat, as the elemental combos can get a bit weird. Heat is of course great to have individually, as mentioned previously.
Finally, Impact is not totally worthless but in my opinion is still a waste of the bonus. It allows both direct hit and explosion to inflict Impact procs for more Hemorrhage procs. I don't know if this is worth it though and I have no intention of farming up an Impact TSpirex to find out.
Combat Use and Summary
Being relatively slow firing, with great DPS and Status output but small AoE, the Tenet Spirex naturally fares better against fewer, heavier targets. It can take down almost all manner of single targets fairly quickly especially if it can land headshots. Anything that survives the first few shots is usually left with a plethora of Status procs if it is not Status-immune, leaving it highly vulnerable to follow-up attacks.
Hemorrhage is a strong option if you want to prioritise heavily armoured enemies, as the TSpirex inflicts forced Impact procs on direct hits and fires slowly enough to get maximum benefit. Scaling from high base Damage and solid Crit, any Slash procs that are inflicted will deal immense armour-bypassing damage. This setup of course comes at the cost of lower direct damage and overall DPS.
Naturally, the TSpirex is least efficient against large groups of weak enemies. It does not fire quickly, nor does it possess a large AoE. Additionally, without the Bullseye Reload buff active, its Reload Ratio is not very good.
Moderate recoil can make quick, precise follow-up shots a little difficult at range. Recoil Reduction equipment can be useful if you do not handle recoil well.
Overall, the Tenet Spirex is a solid slow-firing, hard-hitting Secondary. It deals great damage to single targets, leaving stacks of Status procs on anything that survives the initial attack. With a small explosive radius, it is not the worst weapon against large groups of enemies, but still pales in comparison to many other Secondaries. If you're a fan of strong Semi-Auto Pistols, I'd strongly recommend getting your hands on a Tenet Spirex.
Scores
Vs Variants
None, the Tenet Spirex is a brand-new weapon.
Competitors
There are two main competitors to the Tenet Spirex, namely the Kuva Seer and a Secondary Tombfinger Kitgun. Both of these are also Semi-Auto Pistols with a small explosive radius.
The MR15 Kuva Seer has exactly the same base Damage, with slightly more on direct hit and slightly less on explosion. Notably, its explosion deals base Corrosive damage, its direct hits deal part Slash, and its Reload Ratio is slightly better. However, everything else falls in the TSpirex's favour, with superior Crit, better Status Chance, forced Impact procs on direct hit allowing great use of Hemorrhage, and the Bullseye Reload buff counteracting a worse base Reload Ratio.
The KSeer has a unique advantage for number of damage types, however pretty much everything else favours the TSpirex.
A Tombfinger (Killstream/Splat Loader, Haymaker Grip) is the closest that a Tombfinger can get in terms of Burst DPS, however it will still be significantly weaker than a TSpirex. Even with superior Crit, the base Damage disparity (taking into account Sister bonus) is too large for the Tombfinger to overcome, and of course its Status Chance is much lower. The TSpirex is also capable of more damage types with a Radiation/Magnetic Sister bonus. A Status-focused Tombfinger will not remotely compare in most metrics.
However, Sustained DPS is much, much closer, as the Tombfinger has a far superior Reload Ratio with any Loader if it uses a Haymaker Grip (which provides the best DPS of the Grips). The TSpirex retains a lead with the Bullseye Reload buff active, but the difference is much smaller. Without the buff, the two are essentially neck-and-neck. The Tombfinger thus retains a niche as a much more user-friendly weapon that still packs a formidable punch.
Overall, the Tenet Spirex comes out as the overall strongest light-explosive Semi-Auto Pistol, and one of the best slow-firing Secondaries in general.
Rivens
Standard fare for a new weapon, minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition. I'm expecting this one to reach around the same level as the Secondary Tombfinger (2/5, 0.85), given it is a very similar type of weapon.
+Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are your usual no-fuss positives. +Damage/Multishot are much less valuable when Galvanised mods and Weapon Arcanes are taken into account. +Elemental Damage can be useful for saving a mod slot and adding more raw damage. +Mag Capacity/Reload Speed can be very nice quality-of-life, though I would strongly prefer the former due to the Bullseye Reload buff. +Projectile Speed can be beneficial, though it is less impactful on the already very fast TSpirex than most Projectile weapons. -Recoil can be useful if you find it problematic.
-Impact is decent. It is not a good damage type, and the TSpirex already forces Impact procs on direct hit so its inclusion as a damage type is not necessary for maximum benefit from Galvanised Shot. Puncture is a smaller damage component so -Puncture has even less impact on base Damage, though it may be worth keeping just for the damage multiplier. -Slash has no impact whatsoever so is optimal. -Faction Damage to a weaker Faction (most notably Infested) is usually quite manageable. -Fire Rate is minimal alongside Lethal Torrent, though currently will not be enough to bring it back below 2.5 for maximum Hemorrhage benefit. -Ammo Max in a relatively small value is not a big issue as the TSpirex is quite ammo efficient. -Reload Speed is largely negated by Bullseye Reload, but I would still avoid it if possible. +Recoil is not a big deal if you handle recoil well, or if you have -Recoil equipment. -Projectile Speed is easily compensated for with a +Projectile Speed Exilus mod, and even without is less noticeable due to the TSpirex's very high Projectile Speed. -Zoom is useful for close quarters, particularly if you are running conditional mods like Hydraulic/Galvanised Crosshairs.
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