Review: Aeolak (U31.5.10)

The Aeolak is a new MR10 Rifle, release in U31.5. It packs a relatively solid, slow Full-Auto Primary Fire, as well as a powerful explosive Alternate Fire with a short Charge Time. It is a versatile, if perhaps not spectacular, weapon.

NOTE: There are very slight spoilers for Angels of the Zariman, due to the acquisition of this weapon.

Acquisition

The Aeolak's main blueprint is a potential drop from the Tier 4 Zariman bounties. The blueprints for its Stock and Receiver are potential Rotation C rewards from Void Flood (12 ruptures worth), while the blueprint for its barrel is a potential Rotation C reward from Void Cascade.

Stats

The Aeolak's Full-Auto is quite solid. A Fire Rate of 6 is a little slow by Full-Auto standards, but it is very solid in almost every other respect - good Crit, good Status Chance, high base Damage including a little Radiation, even some innate Punch-Through.

A Mag Capacity of 40 rounds is decent, which with a Reload Time of 2 seconds gives a solid Reload Ratio of 3.33.

Alternate Fire is a charge-up explosive attack. Oddly, its stats are not shown in-game currently, so I have pulled the tested (perhaps datamined?) stats from the Warframe Wiki.

In exchange for a short 0.3 second Charge Time, Alt Fire packs massive base Damage mostly in a Blast damage 7m radius explosion. It inherits the same Crit/Status as Primary Fire. 

As standard for an explosive weapon, Alt Fire suffers from pretty heavy Damage Fall-Off, dealing just 10% damage at maximum radius. Also as standard, it can inflict self-stagger/knockdown.

Alt Fire consumes 10 ammo per shot, which still gives it superior damage-per-ammo compared to Primary Fire.

Augments

None, it's a new weapon.

Builds

NOTE: While overframe.gg has an Aeolak entry, it does not cover Alternate Fire. I have created Alternate Fire in warframe.builder's custom Rifle option, using the stats from the wiki page.

Basic 0-Forma:

The Aeolak has two native V polarities, which is greatly appreciated. It allows comfortable fitting of the basic mods (Damage/Multishot/Crit/two elements), potentially with space for a seventh mod.

Viral is of course the default elemental combo, being effective against most targets. It most notably synergises with Slash procs to deal massive armour-bypassing damage. Corrosive deals much better direct damage to Ferrite-armoured enemies like Heavy Gunners, as well as most heavy Infested units. In particular, many of the Cambion Drift Infested are completely immune to Viral procs. In a similar vein, Radiation deals good direct damage to Alloy-armoured enemies, though depending on the target a Viral or Corrosive build may end up more effective.

For most unarmoured Corpus units, Toxin is a great option. It bypasses their Shields entirely, dealing damage directly to their often weak Health pools. Note that Toxin is not very effective against armoured enemies. For the select few enemies whose Shields are tough and cannot be bypassed with Toxin, Magnetic is by far the most effective.

There are of course a lot of good options for the seventh mod. As pictured, Vigilante Armaments is a no-fuss but relatively weak overall damage increase. There is also possibility for a third elemental mod.

Adding Heat alongside Viral or Corrosive works very well. Heat's extra armour reduction and damage-over-time proc both combine very well with the aforementioned. Supplementing Radiation with Toxin is a solid catch-all against Corpus, hitting most of their Health types effectively. For a more focused anti-Shield build, both Heat and Toxin are greatly enhanced by Magnetic procs against any enemies whose Shields are strong and not bypassable.

Recommended Setups: Viral (+ Heat) vs everything, Corrosive (+ Heat) vs Ferrite-armour, Infested, Radiation (+ Toxin) vs Alloy-armour, Corpus, Magnetic (+ Heat/Toxin) vs strong Shields

Hunter Munitions 2-Forma:

Using two Forma for some added polarity greatly increases the mod options, for both seventh and eighth mods.

Hunter Munitions is worth strong consideration in a Viral crit build against any heavily armoured enemies. Slash procs deal armour-bypassing damage, which is by far the best way to deal with very high level armoured enemies without just stripping the armour entirely. Though neither firing mode has spectacular Crit Chance, it is high enough to gain noticeable benefit. Alt Fire in particular can use it to inflict Slash procs with its explosion, something otherwise normally impossible. If HM is not available, Fanged Fusillade can be used to similar (if overall worse) effect.

Heavy Caliber offers a solid damage increase prior to installation of Arcanes and Galv mods, however becomes obsolete once these enter the picture. A (Primed) Bane can be a very strong option, especially on a Viral + HM build, as its damage bonus applies twice to damage-over-time procs like Slash. However, it can be expensive and fiddly to switch Banes around as appropriate, and they are very overkill for the vast majority of content.

A +Fire Rate mod is a solid DPS increase for both firing modes. It elevates Primary Fire's Fire Rate to a more normal speed. In Alt Fire's case, it both reduces Charge Time and time between shots. While I normally like (Primed) Shred for the Punch Through, in the Aeolak's case, I would not recommend it. Primary Fire already has innate 1m Punch Through, which will pass through the average enemy unit. Alt Fire does not want it at all, as it wants to detonate immediately upon impact.

Critical Delay is worth consideration instead of Point Strike, as the extra Crit Chance is always appreciated. If going this route, I strongly recommend a +Fire Rate mod to offset the Fire Rate penalty, as otherwise both firing modes become significantly slower.

There are several other Crit-boosting options. Bladed Rounds and Argon Scope both conditionally increase Crit, while Proton Jet conditionally increases both Crit and Status Chances. Hammer Shot is significantly weaker, but boosts Crit and Status unconditionally.

Primed Firestorm is a very strong option on an Alt Fire-focused build, drastically improving its overall coverage and group damage output. However, it does nothing for Primary Fire.

There are a few options for the Exilus slot. Rather frustratingly, Terminal Velocity is not currently equippable on the Aeolak. Given both firing modes use projectiles, extra projectile speed would be greatly appreciated beyond close range. Vigilante Supplies provides an ammo mutation effect as well as adding a small chance to improve crits through its mod set effect. Cautious Shot can be used to mitigate Alt Fire's self-stagger/knockdown.

Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Viral + HM vs Grineer, Corrupted

Galvanised Build and Arcane

NOTE: As mentioned previously, overframe.gg does not currently emulate the Aeolak's Alt Fire. I've had to use warframe.builder for it, which does not correctly emulate Galv mods or Arcanes. The pictured Riven incorporates the effects of a +Damage Riven and the rest of the Galv Chamber bonus. In this build I'd use Primed Firestorm in the slot.

Galv Chamber.

Galv Aptitude is a great option for Primary Fire. It can natively inflict four unique procs, and easily a fifth and potentially sixth with elemental mods. With high Status Chance, it effortlessly inflicts the procs necessary to gain a massive Damage bonus. Additionally, the Aeolak seems to be one of those weapons for which the Galv Apt Damage bonus multiplies with other +Damage sources, so really shines with an Arcane installed.

Galv Apt offers nothing for Alt Fire since it does not affect AoE.

Galv Scope can also be effective. Primary Fire can land headshots reasonably reliably, and will greatly benefit from the added Crit Chance. Alt Fire is surprisingly precise for an explosive attack and can also be used to land headshots. The biggest potential flaw with Galv Scope is that it will not stack from kills by damage-over-time procs like Slash.

I don't consider the Aeolak's Reload Time to be particularly bad, so would not recommend Fractalised Reset.

Deadhead and Merciless are both good options. Deadhead stacks faster and offers higher peak damage with its extra headshot damage, but suffers from the same issue as Galv Scope where it does not stack from kills by damage-over-time procs. Merciless stacks slower and decays faster, but stacks from any kill. The increased Reload Speed is nice, especially for Alt Fire which eats through ammo much faster.

My Builds

My default build is focused on Primary Fire. Fairly standard build that maximises damage and proc output from Primary Fire. With an Arcane installed Alt Fire still deals respectable damage, but it is nowhere near optimal.

This other build is focused on maximising Alt Fire's explosions. I find Alt Fire's stock Charge Time and Fire Rate to be just manageable, but I don't like the Fire Rate penalty from Critical Delay.

Combat Use and Summary

The Aeolak's Primary Fire is fairly well rounded, leaning towards Status. Its Fire Rate is a little low for a Full-Auto, but its very good stat spread mostly makes up for this. In particular, its great Status capabilities make it most effective against heavily armoured enemies. It can rapidly stack and max out Viral or Corrosive procs, which combine very well with Slash or Heat procs respectively for massively amplified damage-over-time.

Innate Punch Through allows it to hit multiple enemies with each shot somewhat reliably, though it is held back by relatively low Fire Rate. While it has no issue killing weaker enemies, it is not particularly quick in killing many of them.

Finally, Primary Fire's Burst DPS is not impressive by any means. It is more reliant on Status procs to amplify its damage output, especially apparent against Status-resistant/immune enemies. Respectable Crit Chance at least makes headshots significantly more effective. Nonetheless, it is rather outclassed in Burst DPS by many more Crit-heavy weapons.

Alternate Fire is naturally well suited to clearing out groups, with its 7m radius explosive rounds. It deals more than enough damage to kill most weaker enemies, and does so with a relative short Charge Time and potential for quick follow-up shots.

Its Burst DPS is also significantly higher than that of Primary Fire, and indeed far higher than the typical Rifle. While its only moderate Crit Chance can make damage output a little inconsistent, just one Crit will deal massive damage to any enemy caught in the centre of the blast. As such, Alt Fire is surprisingly well suited to brute-forcing through high health, Status-resistant/immune enemies, and certainly much better than Primary Fire.

Without Hunter Munitions, Alt Fire struggles against heavily armoured enemies. While it has high Status Chance, its overall low shot output makes proc stacking very slow, and it cannot natively inflict Slash procs except on its far weaker direct hit.

With Hunter Munitions in the mix, both firing modes become significantly more Slash-proc capable. Alt Fire in particular can trigger it with its extremely powerful explosion. While it is somewhat inconsistent due to its moderate Crit Chance, any Slash procs that Alt Fire's explosion inflicts will do enormous damage owing to its very high base Damage. Just one such Slash proc alongside a few Viral procs is all that is needed to kill the vast majority of heavily armoured enemies.

Making the most of the Aeolak requires effective use of both firing modes. Each has different strengths and weaknesses, but they cover each other's weaknesses very well. Individually neither firing mode is spectacular, but together they can take on most targets effectively.

Both firing modes use projectiles, which can be troublesome at longer ranges. Ammo is not a major concern for either firing mode, as the Aeolak uses very common Rifle ammo.

Overall, the Aeolak is a solid Rifle. Primary Fire is a somewhat slow but well rounded Full-Auto, while Alternate Fire is a fairly large, if slightly inconsistent explosive attack. Together, the two are very effective in most situations, with each firing mode offering its own benefits against different targets.

However, neither is best in their respective classes. Both firing modes are individually outclassed by either weapons. The Aeolak's strength is its ability to seamlessly blend together usage of both firing modes as needed, giving it great versatility and adaptability. If you are a fan of versatile multi-mode weapons, I'd suggest giving the Aeolak a look.

Scores

Vs Trash Mobs: 4.5/5 - Primary Fire has innate Punch Through and respectable Reload Ratio, though its Fire Rate is a little slow for a Full-Auto. While Alt Fire is slower firing, it packs a large explosive radius and respectable damage, effortlessly clearing out groups of weaker enemies.

Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 4.5/5 - Alt Fire deals much higher Burst DPS than Primary Fire. A well placed Alt Fire shot can deal enormous damage to single targets thanks to its massive base Damage, however it can be a little inconsistent with its moderate Crit Chance.

Vs Armoured Heavies without Forced Slash: 4/5 - Primary Fire is the star here, with its very high Status Chance and higher Fire Rate than Alt Fire. It can very reliably and quickly stack up Viral procs, and will inflict a reasonable number of Slash procs especially if upgraded with Fanged Fusillade.

Vs Armoured Heavies with Forced Slash: 4.5/5 - Solid Crit Chance with both firing modes allows the Aeolak to make good use of Hunter Munitions. Alt Fire in particular appreciates it as HM allows it to inflict Slash procs with its explosion.

Vs Variants

None.

Competitors

Surprisingly, there are several Rifles similar to the Aeolak - Full-Auto and explosive firing modes in a single weapon. I've limited these direct comparisons to the slower Full-Autos.

The Aeolak competes directly with the also MR10 Stahlta. The two have very similar firing modes and functionality.

The Aeolak's Primary Fire is mostly stronger than the Stahlta's Primary Fire. The Aeolak has slightly higher base Damage, higher Crit Multiplier and Status Chance. The Stahlta has slightly higher Crit Chance, higher Slash bias, slightly more innate Punch Through and a faster Reload Time. I lean towards the Aeolak being the better Full-Auto weapon.

Meanwhile, comparing their Alt Fires is quite different. While the Stahlta takes over five times the Charge Time for its Alt Fire (1.6s vs 0.3s) and double the ammo (20 vs 10), it is fearsomely powerful with higher base Damage and vastly superior Crit. The Aeolak's much shorter Charge Time makes it a lot easier to use against most targets, but it does not hit anywhere near as hard or as consistently.

Personally, I consider the Aeolak overall superior to the Stahlta. Its Primary Fire is largely better, while Alt Fire trades sheer firepower for much better usability.

The MR16 Tenet Tetra is also strong competitor.

This time around, the Full-Auto comparison is not so pretty. The Aeolak has several minor stat advantages, most notably its higher Fire Rate and innate Punch Through. On the other hand, the Tenet Tetra has a much higher Crit Chance, as well as the Sister Damage Bonus giving it far higher damage-per-shot and DPS.

NOTE: The Tenet Tetra Semi-Auto screenshot was taken back when its Damage Fall-Off was still 0% as shown. It has since been corrected to 60%.

Comparing the Aeolak's Alt Fire to the TTetra's Semi-Auto again has he TTetra's being much stronger but also slower. Most notably, the TTetra's consumes an insane 80 ammo which is the entire default Mag Capacity, forcing a reload after every shot. As such, its effective Fire Rate is much lower than that of the Aeolak.

There are a lot of other weapons to consider, such as the Quellor, Ambassador and Bubonico having similar firing modes, however they are more different to the Aeolak than the aforementioned weapons. Looking more generally at Full-Autos or Explosive weapons would take an age given how many more of them there are.

Rivens

As a new weapon, the Aeolak is meant to start with a minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition. However, for some reason its Riven stats are much higher than they should be, I estimate around 4/5 (1.15-1.25). I expect it to settle at a slightly lower disposition than the Stahlta (currently at 3/5 (1)). As mentioned previously, I consider the Aeolak to be largely better than the Stahlta, but not massively.

+Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are the usual suspects for good Riven stats, though the former is very weak alongside Arcanes and Galv mods. +Slash can be useful for a Primary Fire-focused build to increase Slash proc frequency. +Elemental Damage can be useful to save a mod slot or shift around biases. +Faction Damage can offer an extremely strong damage multiplier particularly of damage-over-time procs like Slash. It is most useful against the Grineer, who are the most commonly and heavily armoured faction. +Fire Rate can be useful, making Primary Fire better to use, while also shortening Alt Fire's Charge Time and time between shots. +Mag Capacity/Reload Speed can be nice quality-of-life. +Projectile Speed can be useful beyond close range. +Punch-Through helps Primary Fire against groups, but is detrimental to Alt Fire.

-Impact/Puncture are the main physical negatives to look at. Neither is a particularly good damage type or proc, nor are they especially dominant damage types. The primary argument for keeping them above 0 is to increase the Galv Apt multiplier. -Faction Damage to the weaker factions (Corpus and especially Infested) is usually quite manageable. -Ammo Max is not a big deal, especially with any of Ammo Case/Mutation/etc. +Recoil is good if you handle recoil well. -Zoom is ideal for close quarters.