Review: Nagantaka Prime (U31.3.1)

The MR12 Nagantaka Prime is an improved version of the MR9 Nagantaka. Garuda Prime's signature Crossbow, it excels at inflicting brutal Slash procs on heavily armoured enemies, though struggles against large groups.

Acquisition

Standard Prime weapon stuff, the Nagantaka Prime's Blueprint and Components can be found in certain Void Relics.

Stats

The Nagantaka Prime's stats are very solid for a low Fire Rate weapon. 25%/2.3x Crit is very solid, a great damage boost though can be slightly inconsistent per-shot. 39% Status Chance is enormous, and combines perfectly with its 90% Slash bias. Not only can the NagantakaP inflict Status procs very reliably, but many of those procs will naturally be Slash procs, which are highly desirable.

A Mag Capacity of 11 is not very large, but with such low Fire Rate still gives a nearly decent Reload Ratio of 1.91.

The NagantakaP has an Alternate Fire that quickly empties the rest of the mag. As the bolts retain their stats from standard Semi-Auto, this makes Alternate Fire a great option if you need a quick burst of damage and procs. Using Alternate Fire also results in a slightly-faster-than-normal Reload, though the very high Fire Rate results in very a poor Reload Ratio of 0.71.

Unlike most other similar Alt-Fires, the NagantakaP's does not have very high recoil, nor does it prevent you from aiming in during it. These are major benefits over comparable firing modes, and make it far more controllable and effective.

In both firing modes, direct hits from the bolts will inflict a forced Impact proc. This makes Internal Bleeding a great mod option, and also adds a proc that is otherwise extremely unlikely to occur naturally.

Additionally, upon killing an enemy with direct-hit headshot (damage-over-time procs will not count), the NagantakaP gains a buff called Precision Reload. This buff offers +50% Reload Speed for 3 seconds, and is refreshable but does not stack.

Notably the Nagantaka (Prime) gains 1 metre Punch-Through in the hands of Garuda (Prime) - it does not have any innately. All of my screenshots were taken with Garuda Prime equipped. Being a Bow-type weapon though, any kills from the direct hit of a bolt will cause the bolt to continue on its path, and ragdoll and carry the body of the dead enemy.

Augments

None.

Builds

NOTE: As of writing, neither Overframe nor Warframe Builder have the Nagantaka Prime yet. I have used Warframe Builder's Custom Rifle, which does not accurately reflect the doubled Fire Rate effects, nor does it calculate Galvanised mods properly.

Basic 0-Forma:

The Nagantaka Prime has one native V polarity, which is helpful for fitting builds. Notably, a basic build can be comfortably fit in as per above. The usual Damage, Multishot, Crit, and two elemental mods. With the innate V polarity, there is enough space for one of the elemental mods to be a 90% and the other a 60/60, even if all mods are max rank. This is particularly beneficial for newer players as the 60/60 mods tend to be a lot rarer.

The default elemental combo is of course Viral, but it is especially good on the NagantakaP. Viral procs synergise extremely well with Slash procs, drastically increasing the damage they deal, and the NagantakaP inflicts a lot of strong Slash procs. This combo is most effective against heavily armoured enemies, as Slash proc damage bypass armour damage reduction entirely.

Corrosive is worth a mention particularly against Cambion Drift Infested, who are immune to Slash procs but largely extremely weak to Corrosive. Corrosive deals stronger direct damage to most Infested than Viral, though Viral still breaks ahead with its proc stacked up. Corrosive is also better against Ferrite-armoured bosses who are immune to Status, though there are very few such enemies nowadays. Similarly, Radiation is best against Status-immune Alloy-armoured enemies. Finally, Toxin is a great option against most unarmoured Corpus, bypassing their Shields and striking at their smaller Health.

Gas is a novel option for adding some AoE. The NagantakaP inflicts a huge number of strong procs, and stacked Gas procs can deal surprising damage to bunched up enemies. Unfortunately, Gas has terrible multipliers and is extremely poor against armoured enemies. Though the NagantakaP can use it to deal with lower-level and weaker enemies fairly well, it still pales in comparison to any proper AoE weapon.

Recommended Setups: Viral vs everything, Corrosive vs Infested, Toxin vs unarmoured Corpus

1-Forma:

Another added V polarity allows you to start considering a seventh mod. In this example build, I've slotted in Vigilante Armaments as a simple positive. There are of course a great number of options for this (and the next) slot. I'll discuss primarily three-element builds here, and then the rest of the options below.

Adding Heat alongside Viral or Corrosive is a solid option. Heat is already a solid damage type and proc on its own with damage-over-time and armour-reduction, but is greatly enhanced by and complements both Viral and Corrosive. Radiation + Toxin is a neat Corpus catch-all, targeting their most common armour type (with Radiation) and hitting anything unarmoured through their Shields (with Toxin).

Finally, Critical Delay is worth consideration in place of Point Strike. The increased Crit Chance is always appreciated, however the Fire Rate penalty is doubled as the NagantakaP is considered a Bow. This is particularly problematic as it already fires quite slowly. It is notable if you want maximum benefit from Internal Bleeding (below 2.5 Fire Rate), but in my opinion the severe overall DPS loss is not worth it.

Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Viral + Heat vs everything, Corrosive + Heat vs Infested, Radiation + Toxin vs Corpus

Balanced 3-Forma:

Two more Forma allows an eighth mod as well, with a lot of options to consider.

A +Fire Rate mod is a significant increase in Burst DPS since its bonus is doubled, and it can also comfortably offset the penalty of Critical Delay. However with the NagantakaP already having a small Mag Capacity, this also means much more frequent reloading. I'm personally a fan of Primed Shred for the extra Punch-Through.

Heavy Caliber offers a stronger all-round damage boost than Vigi Armaments, but the Accuracy penalty can be problematic. Argon Scope and Bladed Rounds conditionally increase Crit. Hammer Shot and Proton Jet are a novel options that offer less damage than the aforementioned mods, but also increase Status Chance which means more Slash procs (among others). Proton Jet is conditional while Hammer Shot is not.

Internal Bleeding is a solid option to greatly increase the number of Slash procs. The NagantakaP inflicts a forced Impact proc with every hit, so IB is strictly superior to Hunter Munitions even above 2.5 Fire Rate.

Fanged Fusillade also increases Slash proc frequency, as well as increasing direct damage a surprising amount. However, this comes at the cost of fewer other procs (mainly Viral), and it does not increase Slash proc damage either. As such, in my opinion you are better off with one of the other mods if you have them available.

A (Primed) Bane mod is a fantastic damage-boosting option if you can be bothered switching for each Faction. Its bonus is applied twice to Slash procs, drastically increasing their damage.

Primed Fast Hands can be a nice quality-of-life mod, mitigating one of the NagantakaP's notable weaknesses. However, it stacks additively with Precision Reload, so is perhaps not as effective as it otherwise might have been.

For the Exilus slot, there are two main options. An Ammo Mutation mod completely eliminates any shred of ammo concerns (which are already very minor). Notably, Vigilante Supplies also increases damage very slightly due to its set bonus. Otherwise, Terminal Velocity significantly increases Projectile Speed which is great beyond close quarters.

Recommended setups: see above.

Galvanised Build and Arcane

Galvanised Chamber naturally.

Galvanised Aptitude is a very strong option. The NagantakaP inflicts forced Impact procs, naturally inflicts many Slash procs (which can be enhanced further), and will also regularly inflict whatever elements are modded on. Three different proc types is already enough for Galv Apt to be worth using over Serration, and any more procs are just a bonus.

Galvanised Scope can be useful, but also has notable drawbacks. The NagantakaP already wants to be landing headshots, both for maximum damage and also to trigger its quickened reload. However, much of its power comes from its brutal Slash procs, which will not stack Galv Scope on kills even if they were inflicted from a headshot. As such, it can be surprisingly difficult to get full benefit from Galv Scope.

Arcane Deadhead suffers from the same issue. Though it requires very few headshot kills to stack, kills from damage-over-time procs do not count, so you are competing with your own procs for kills. The Recoil reduction is nice for making Alt-Fire more controllable, while the increased Headshot multiplier is always appreciated for more damage.

While Arcane Merciless requires more kills to stack, it can stack from kills by damage-over-time procs, which is far more convenient. Its Reload Speed increase is also greatly appreciated, though the increased Ammo Max is of little value.

My Builds

Ordinary Viral build. While Hammer Shot inflicts fewer Slash procs than Internal Bleeding, it inflicts more direct damage and increases Slash proc damage. Primed Shred allows comfortable use of Critical Delay, on top of its regular benefits.

Combat Use and Summary

The Nagantaka Prime is most effective against heavily armoured enemies. It inflicts massive Slash procs very reliably, and can complement them with Viral procs to boost their damage even further. One or two good Slash procs is more than enough to kill anything short of Steel Path.

On top of that, with solid Crit and high base Damage, the NagantakaP deals solid damage-per-shot and Burst DPS. Alt-Fire is great against all types of heavies, either for rapidly stacking massive procs on heavily armoured/Status-vulnerable enemies, or a huge Burst DPS spike against anything Status-resistant/immune.

Naturally, the NagantakaP is weakest against groups. It is slow firing with no innate AoE (besides ragdolling enemy bodies on a direct hit kill), so struggles to engage multiple enemies quickly. Punch-Through is helpful but nowhere near enough to compare with more popular, faster-firing weapons. While Alt-Fire offers a much higher Fire Rate, it is severely limited in anti-crowd capability by a small Mag Capacity, followed by a lengthy reload.

 

While the NagantakaP uses uncommon Bow ammo, it is fairly ammo efficient and has a massive spare Ammo Max of 540. Longer ranged engagement can be problematic due to projectile travel time.

The Precision Reload buff is very useful, mitigating one of the NagantakaP's main weaknesses in slow Reload Time. However, it triggers only on direct damage kills, and not kills from damage-over-time procs. This is particularly unfortunate as the NagantakaP is one of the best Slash proc weapons in the game, and its Slash procs are where its greatest firepower comes from. As such, Precision Reload may not trigger as frequently as would be ideal.

Overall, the Nagantaka Prime is a decent anti-armour weapon, reliably inflicting brutal armour-ignoring Slash procs. It can rapidly bleed out even the toughest of armoured enemies with just a few shots. However, it struggles against groups, with its slow Fire Rate and lack of AoE.

The Nagantaka Prime is one of the two better Crossbows (see below), and carves itself a decent single-target niche. If you enjoy slower-firing, more deliberate weapons, I'd suggest this one as one of many solid options to consider, though it faces major competition from other non-Crossbow weapons.

Scores

Vs Trash Mobs: 1.5/5 - Low Fire Rate with no innate AoE (barring ragdoll-on-kill) makes the NagantakaP quite poor against groups. Alt-Fire gives a nice burst of high Fire Rate, but forces an immediate reload which is very time consuming.

Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 4/5 - Solid Crit and high base Damage give the NagantakaP respectable direct damage and Burst DPS. Alt-Fire is notable for offering a massive Burst DPS spike when required.

Vs Armoured Heavies without Forced Slash: 5/5 - Massive Status Chance and vast majority Slash damage allows the NagantakaP to naturally inflict Slash procs very reliably. With Crit, these Slash procs are extremely strong and rapidly eat through even extremely tough enemies very quickly.

Vs Armoured Heavies with Forced Slash: 5/5 - Internal Bleeding can be installed to inflict even more Slash procs, though this is only noticeable against extremely tough enemies (minimum Steel Path). Most armoured enemies will easily die to just one or two Slash procs.

Vs Variants

The MR12 Nagantaka Prime is a solid improvement over the MR9 Nagantaka. It has higher Mag Capacity and base Damage, but most notably nearly double the Crit Chance. Both inflict large Slash procs with great regularity.

NOTE: Neither Nagantaka has innate Punch-Through, it is a bonus from having Garuda (Prime) equipped.

Competitors

There aren't many other Crossbows in Warframe.

NOTE: The Nagantaka Prime does not have innate Punch-Through, it is a bonus from being used by Garuda (Prime).

The MR7 Attica is a lot weaker, though not strictly inferior. Of note, it has both higher Fire Rate and a much larger Mag Capacity, making it better against large groups. While it also has a higher Crit Multiplier, this is easily offset by the NagantakaP's far higher base Damage. Most importantly, the Attica is not very good at inflicting Status procs normally, relying on Hunter Munitions for Slash procs. As such, the NagantakaP is far stronger against single targets and especially heavily armoured units.

The MR14 Zhuge Prime (which itself is largely superior to the MR10 Zhuge), serves a rather different purpose. Its delayed explosion and higher Fire Rate give it far superior crowd clearing capabilities compared to the NagantakaP, which is in turn much stronger against heavily armoured enemies partly due to its superior Slash bias and high base Damage.

Overall, the NagantakaP is easily the best Crossbow for use against heavily armoured enemies, though falls behind both other options against crowds (I'd consider the Zhuge Prime to be the other best Crossbow).

Looking more generally at other Primaries however, it becomes a lot more contentious. Hunter Munitions and more recently Internal Bleeding offer a wide variety of weapons reliable Slash proc methods, often with other superior aspects as well. For instance, the Kuva Chakkhurr is slower firing but even more powerful, with a small AoE that also deals forced Impact procs, for perfect usage of IB. The Nataruk is also far more powerful per-shot, and can use Hunter Munitions to inflict massive Slash procs.

Rivens

As a new weapon, the Nagantaka Prime has a starting minimum Riven Disposition of 1/5 (0.5). The base Nagantaka currently has a high 4/5 (1.3) Riven Disposition, representative of its unpopularity. I do not think the Prime will be much (if at all) more popular, so am expecting its Riven Disposition to end up at just a slightly lower value (say 4/5 (1.2)).

The standard "good" stats are all desirable. +Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are all solid damage boosts, though the former two are less effective with Arcanes and Galv mods. +Slash is an option that skews procs even more to Slash procs, as well as increasing direct damage slightly, but as mentioned previously it does not actually increase Slash proc damage. +Elemental Damage can save a mod slot, add more damage types and overall direct damage, and skew damage type biases.

+Status Chance enhances one of the NagantakaP's best stats, though is already greatly enhanced by a typical mod setup. +Faction Damage is an extremely strong multiplier for Slash procs, the most notable being against Grineer as they have by far the most armoured enemies and toughest armour. +Fire Rate greatly improves handling, as do +Mag Capacity/Reload Speed. +Projectile Speed is very nice at longer ranges. +Punch-Through is a great help against crowds.

-Impact/Puncture are both great negatives. The NagantakaP has almost no base Impact damage, and has forced Impacts, so reducing Impact damage has almost no effect. -Puncture is slightly less desirable (but still good). Puncture is a marginally larger (but still negligible) damage loss, but more importantly can be an extra proc for Galv Apt. -Faction Damage to the weaker Factions (Corpus and especially Infested) are manageable, and of course of no impact against any other enemies.

-Fire Rate can be compensated for with a +Fire Rate mod, but is greatly detrimental on its own due to the doubled effect from being a Bow. -Ammo Max is largely a non-issue as the NagantakaP is quite ammo-efficient. +Recoil is fine for Semi-Auto, but is problematic for Alt Fire. -Zoom is ideal for close quarters.