Acquisition
Stats
The Fire Rate is an absurdly high 20 - among the highest in the game. This is exacerbated by the Twin Grakatas consuming two ammo-per-shot, firing the two simultaneously (hence the 2 Multishot) - so consumes ammo at a rate of 40-per-second, which is by far the highest in the game.
To compensate, it also has the highest non-infinite spare Max Ammo count of all weapons at 1200. Nonetheless, with a Mag Capacity of 120 and Reload Time of 3 seconds, its Reload Ratio is a pathetic 1.
Augments
None.
Builds
Basic 0-Forma:
The Twin Grakatas has a single native - polarity, which makes it slightly easier to fit an elemental mod up front, but isn't as useful as a V. Even so, the saved capacity offers some wiggle room for fitting in mods. The usual basic suspects are all here - Damage, Multishot, basic Crit. There is space for both elemental mods to be either 60/60s or 90%s, which is helpful as the 90%s are generally more common, but take up more capacity.
If you've read any of my recent reviews, this elemental section will come as no surprise. Viral is the best all-rounder, as even against targets for which its multipliers are weak, its proc is almost universally effective. Corrosive is effective against all armour types thanks to its proc, and especially effective against Ferrite-armour. It also has the best multiplier against most heavy Infested, and is by far the best against the Viral-proc-immune Cambion Drift Infested.
Radiation deals stronger direct damage against Alloy-armoured enemies, so is useful against certain Status-resistant/immune tough enemies and bosses. Toxin is notable for use against unarmoured Corpus units, as it will bypass their Shields entirely and deal damage directly to their often-weaker Health pool. There are a select few enemies whose Shields are legitimately tough (e.g. Treasurers, Kyta Raknoids), against whom Magnetic is the obvious choice for quickly depleting their Shields.
Recommended Setups: Viral vs everything, Corrosive vs Ferrite-armour, Infested, Radiation vs Alloy-armour, Toxin vs unarmoured Corpus, Magnetic vs strong Shields
Basic 1-Forma:
One added V polarity allows you to slot in Lethal Torrent, for a massive boost to Burst DPS. Keep in mind that this increases your ammo consumption rate to absurd levels, at 64 rounds-per-second. Recoil is also greatly increased, which at base is already quite strong. For these reason, despite its clear DPS advantage, I actually don't like Lethal Torrent on the Twin Grakatas.
Especially if you don't yet have a high-ranked Primed Pistol Gambit, Creeping Bullseye is a strong option as the primary +Crit Chance mod. It offers a significant increase over regular Pistol Gambit, is marginally higher than the Primed, and its -Fire Rate could be considered beneficial for the Twin Grakatas.
Primed Crit 1-Forma:
Alternatively, you can upgrade both Crit mods to their Primed versions, which is a significant boost to damage-per-shot if you have them ranked up.
Recommended Setups: see above.
Primed Crit 3-Forma:
Two more added V polarities and you can fit Lethal Torrent alongside the Primed Crit mods, for a huge chunk extra Burst DPS. At this point, you can start considering eighth mod options.
Recommended Setups: see above.
General Purpose 4-Forma:
Seeker is of course one of my go-to options. Punch Through makes non-explosive weapons significantly better against crowds, allowing them to potentially strike multiple enemies at once if they are lined up. This is particularly useful for the Twin Grakatas which has such a poor Reload Ratio, so appreciates anything that can make its shots more efficient.
A third elemental mod is always a strong option for more damage. For Viral or Corrosive builds, Heat is usually a very good option. It is a decent damage type and proc on its own, and synergises with those two damage types and procs extremely well for their respective targets. Viral + Heat is a great all-rounder, while Corrosive + Heat is particularly strong against any enemy with Ferrite-armour, and super-effective against just about all Infested, especially those on the Cambion Drift.
Combining Radiation and Toxin gives a great catch-all against the main Corpus Health and Armour types, however does not deplete Shields especially well. In general, there are very few Shields worth actually worrying about, as Shields do not get or apply Damage Reduction like Armour does. For those select few though, Magnetic + Heat/Toxin will tear through their Shields extremely quickly.
Carnis Stinger is notable if you want to increase number of Slash procs inflicted, though the Twin Grakata's base Slash is so low that even this is not especially effective.
For general damage boosts, Augur Pact and Magnum Force are the usual suspects. Magnum Force is stronger, but much higher drain and also introduces a significant Accuracy penalty. Both become essentially obsolete with Galv mods and Arcanes in the picture. Instead, a (Primed) Expel becomes a far stronger option, especially for damage-over-time procs like Heat.
The two conditional Crit-boosting mods are also worth consideration for general DPS boosts. Hydraulic Crosshairs and Sharpened Bullets are solid if their trigger conditions work for you, though in both cases they require aiming in to trigger, which is not ideal on the heavy-recoil Twin Grakatas.
I'd strongly recommend one of (Primed) Quickdraw/Slip Magazine. The Twin Grakata's terrible Reload Ratio is one of its biggest weaknesses, and for me detracts significantly from its usability. (Primed) Quickdraw offers a larger effect, however it also conflicts slightly with Secondary Merciless if/when you get to the point of installing an Arcane.
For the Exilus slot, Steady Hands and (Primed) Pistol Ammo Mutation are the two clear frontrunners. Steady Hands greatly reduces the very heavy recoil, making it a lot easier to keep rounds on a given target. (Primed) Ammo Mutation greatly increases ammo recovery, helping to mitigate the Twin Grakata's voracious ammo appetite.
If those two are somehow not an issue for you, there are a few other options to look at. Eject Magazine provides a reload-while-holstered effect, which is one of my favourite niche effects in the game. It can be quite useful for mitigating long reload time. Targeting Subsytem can be used to tighten up pellet spread particularly in sustained fire, for better and more consistent single-target damage beyond very close range.
Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Viral + Heat vs everything, Corrosive + Heat vs Ferrite-armour, Infested, Radiation + Toxin vs Corpus, Magnetic + Toxin/Heat vs strong Shields
Galvanised Build and Arcane
Galv Shot is a very strong option. With relatively balanced Physical base Damages and great Status output, the Twin Grakatas can easily get upwards of three unique procs on enemies, especially once elemental mods are installed. This pushes Galv Shot's Damage bonus far beyond that of Hornet Strike.
Galv Crosshairs can be used for massive Crit Chance, though I don't think the Twin Grakatas is a good choice for it. While the initial +Crit Chance is easy to trigger with just a headshot, each subsequent increase requires specifically a headshot kill. With such high Recoil and ever-widening pellet spread, I find it somewhat difficult to get the most out of on the Twin Grakatas. The requirement to be aiming in is also not ideal.
Just about all of the Arcanes are worth consideration. Cascadia Accuracy/Overcharge both offer more overall damage than any of the +Damage Arcanes when Galv Shot is installed. Accuracy of course only works on Headshots which is not ideal for the Twin Grakatas. Overcharge only works on equipment with reliable overshield generation.
Cascadia Flare is of course worth consideration. It offers the most +Damage of all the +Damage Arcanes, and the Twin Grakatas can inflict Heat procs quite rapidly. However, it offers only a minor damage boost over the other +Damage Arcanes, and does not offer any secondary benefits.
Merciless offers a lot of good benefits. It easily stacks from any kill, and both its increase to Ammo Max and Reload Speed are very useful for the Twin Grakatas.
Deadhead stacks faster if reliably landing headshot kills, and its decay timer is far more lenient than Galv Crosshairs. Its Recoil reduction is very helpful, and the increased Headshot Damage is always nice for more damage.
Fairly ordinary Viral build with Punch Through. I've elected to leave out Lethal Torrent and even go for Creeping Bullseye because the ammo consumption rate is just too high otherwise. Even with this setup, it consumes 32 ammo-per-second.
The MR12 Aksomati Prime is a strong competitor. It has slightly superior Crit and Slash bias, as well as slightly higher Status Chance-per-shot, though of course the Twin Grakata's far higher effective Fire Rate makes it inflict many more Status procs-per-second. The Twin Grakatas will win out on Burst DPS thanks to its Fire Rate, as well as the AksomatiP requiring a short spool-up to reach maximum Fire Rate. However, the AksomatiP has a much better Reload Ratio, so fares a lot better against groups of enemies once spooled up.
My Builds
Combat Use and Summary
With very high Burst DPS thanks to great Crit, the Twin Grakatas fares best against unarmoured or Status-resistant/immune enemies. It can dump a massive amount of damage into such targets quite effectively at close range.
The Twin Grakatas is also surprisingly effective against heavily armoured enemies. Its decent Status Chance and absurd effective Fire Rate allow it to max out Viral/Corrosive procs almost instantly, as well as stacking up Heat procs quite quickly. Unfortunately, it is not very good at inflicting Slash procs due to its very low Slash bias and inability to effectively use Hemorrhage. As such, it tends to fall behind other weapons with even higher Status output, and particularly good Slash proc weapons.
Perhaps surprisingly given the appearance of its stat spread, I think the Twin Grakatas fares worst against large groups of enemies. It can deal with smaller groups of weaker enemies easily for sure, but its insane ammo consumption rate results in an atrocious Reload Ratio and constant, lengthy reloads. Compared to many other weapons in the same category, it is nowhere near as efficient against groups, especially without any innate AoE or Punch Through.
At least one of Ammo Case/Mutation/etc is absolutely mandatory for anything longer than a very short mission. The Twin Grakatas chew through ammo at an obscene rate, even without any +Fire Rate mods. In fact, just one of Ammo Case/Mutation/etc may not be enough in the long run, and you might actually need multiple to keep it supplied.
Both Recoil and pellet spread are notable issues beyond close range. Even without +Fire Rate mods, the Twin Grakatas kick around quite heavily, one of the strongest recoiling weapons in Warframe. Additionally, its Recoil is in random directions rather than in one consistent direction. Pellet spread is also quite wide for a non-Shotgun, and can greatly reduce single target damage at longer ranges. This is especially bad combined with the Recoil, making it surprisingly difficult to actually keep shots on target at range.
Overall, the Twin Grakatas are a strong but flawed Secondary. They pack very good Burst DPS and decent Status output, however their ammo consumption rate is utterly obscene, recoil is quite heavy, and Reload Ratio is terrible. There are several other weapons that can deal nearly as good DPS with far better ammo efficiency, superior Slash proc capability, better AoE, or other benefits. I personally favour more well-rounded Secondaries than the Twin Grakatas, many of which can offer nearly the same firepower with far superior quality-of-life.
Scores
Vs Trash Mobs: 3.5/5 - Though high Fire Rate may seem great against groups at first, the Twin Grakatas is held back in this regard primarily by its terrible Reload Ratio. It also has no innate AoE outside of pellet spread in sustained fire.
Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 4.5/5 - Very high Burst DPS make the Twin Grakatas extremely effective against single, heavy unarmoured and Status resistant/immune enemies.
Vs Armoured Heavies without Forced Slash: 4/5 - With very high Status output, the Twin Grakatas effortlessly maxes out Viral or Corrosive procs, and can stack decently strong Heat procs as well. Unfortunately, its Slash proc output is not exceptional, putting it behind a number of other strong Secondaries.
Vs Armoured Heavies with Forced Slash: NA/5 - The Twin Grakatas have too high a Fire Rate and do not inflict enough Impact procs for Hemorrhage to be worth using.
Vs Variants
None of the same class. The MR5 single Grakata is a Primary Rifle so while their base stats are similar, it is not a fair comparison to the MR9 Twin Grakatas. The MR11 Prisma Grakata is a strict and significant upgrade over the single Grakata, but again is a Primary so the comparison to the Twin is moot.
Competitors
There are several other strong Dual Secondaries that the Twin Grakatas must contend with.
Overall, the Twin Grakatas are more effective for quickly bursting down enemies at close range, while the AksomatiP is more convenient against groups, and scales better against armoured enemies.
The MR16 Tenet Diplos is another Crit-heavy Full-Auto Secondary. With at least a 35% Sister Bonus, it will exceed the Twin Grakatas for Burst DPS, and with much lower Fire Rate also has a far better Reload Ratio. Innate Punch Through is an extra benefit against crowds as well. However, the Twin Grakatas is much more Status-capable, with slightly higher Status Chance and far higher pellet output.
Finally, the MR13 Kuva Twin Stubbas. Unlike the other two weapons previously mentioned, the KTS is a Status-leaning weapon, trading Crit for much higher Status Chance and solid Slash bias. It will beat the above two weapons for Status output and particularly Slash procs, making it the best scaling of the lot against heavily armoured enemies. The Twin Grakatas will still come out well ahead for pure procs-per-second due to its insane effective Fire Rate. Naturally the Twin Grakatas will also easily win out for Burst DPS even with a max Lich Bonus on the KTS, though as the KTS Reload Ratio is far better it will win out for Sustained DPS. This also makes the KTS a lot more effective against large groups.
The Twin Grakatas have a fairly high 4/5 (1.2) Riven Disposition, emblematic of their (lack of) place in the current meta. There are arguably better Dual Secondaries in the game now, and certainly more overall popular and powerful Secondaries.
While the Twin Grakatas largely holds its own compared to its competitors on-paper, its several additional flaws put it at a notable disadvantage in my opinion. It consumes ammo far faster than any others, its Recoil is extremely strong, and its Reload Ratio is absolutely atrocious. While none of the above mentioned weapons are strictly superior to the Twin Grakatas, I personally prefer all of them as they do not have such extreme weaknesses.
Rivens
The Twin Grakatas have a fairly high 4/5 (1.2) Riven Disposition, emblematic of their (lack of) place in the current meta. There are arguably better Dual Secondaries in the game now, and certainly more overall popular and powerful Secondaries.
+Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are the usual good positives. The former three become a lot less valuable with Galv Mods and Arcanes in the mix, leaving +Crit Damage as the best of the four. +Slash can be nice to try and eke out more Slash procs, though unless you also get -Impact/Puncture, there are far better weapons to try and do this with. +Elemental Damage can be useful to save a mod slot. +Faction Damage can be useful at very, very, very high levels to maximise damage from Slash and especially Heat procs, but it is total overkill for most content. +Mag Capacity/Reload Speed are great quality-of-life stats to have, improving the horrendous Reload Ratio. -Recoil can be very helpful as well to keep rounds on target. +Punch Through is a great help against tightly bunched groups.
-Impact/Puncture/Slash all have their place. -Impact has a greatest impact on total damage, but as it is an underwhelming proc and damage type anyway this is not a big deal. -Puncture has a slightly lesser effect on total damage and again is still a poor proc and damage type. -Slash has the smallest effect on damage type but its proc is by far the most valuable of the three, so its negative is significantly less desirable. -Faction Damage to the weaker factions (Corpus and especially Infested) is easily manageable with good positives. -Fire Rate, though a significant DPS loss, makes Recoil and ammo consumption a lot more manageable. -Ammo Max can be managed alongside at least one of Ammo Case/Mutation/etc, though with the Twin Grakatas just one of those may not be enough. If only being used at point-blank range, +Recoil can be manageable. -Zoom is ideal for close quarters.
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