Acquisition
Stats
The Prisma Lenz's Crit is incredible, 50%/2.8× being amongst the highest of any weapon. Backed up by a high base Damage, this gives the PLenz very high direct damage. A Status Chance of 16% is usable, but not overly consistent with such low Fire Rate. Blast and Impact damages are not much good as damage types or procs, but the base Cold can be taken advantage of.
A Charge Rate of 0.8 seconds is slower than average for a Bow, though completely understandable for such a strong explosive. Note that unlike most Bows, the PLenz must be fully charged to shoot.
Unlike many explosive weapons, prior to the ammo changes the Lenz already only had Ammo Max of 6 rounds, which was unchanged. The Prisma increases this to 8 rounds, while still retaining the innate Ammo Mutation effect which is greatly appreciated.
These two explosions hit in an impressive 7.2m radius from the point of impact, though suffer from fairly heavy 70% Damage Fall-Off when far away from the epicentre. These explosions can both inflict self-stagger/knockdown. Note that the PLenz's explosion cannot hit through walls.
Depending on your choice of eighth mod, you can fit it in with one or two added Forma - probably V polarities.
Augments
None.
Builds
Hunter Munitions 0-Forma:
With several native polarities (2 -, 1 V), the Prisma Lenz can fit a very solid build right out of the gate. Additionally, its innate Cold allows you to form Viral with just a single Toxin mod, which with a decent base Status Chance will proc reasonably reliably. This frees up space for another non-elemental mod. Because of the PLenz's unique elemental setup, adding just a Toxin mod gives Viral on the initial explosion, and Blast + Toxin on the follow-up major explosion.
I'd strongly recommend a +Fire Rate mod, which will cut down Charge Time drastically. I've got Vile Acceleration here as it is the largest +Fire Rate and its -Damage penalty is negligible, however Speed Trigger is of course a good alternative if you don't have Vile Accel. Point Strike is the default Crit Chance mod, however as with many weapons I favour Critical Delay for the slightly higher Crit Chance bonus. The Fire Rate penalty is a non-issue with any +Fire Rate mod.
Finally, Hunter Munitions is installed as the best option against heavily armoured enemies, giving the PLenz a semi-reliable method of inflicting Slash procs, which it cannot do naturally. With the PLenz's massive base Damage and Crit, any Slash procs it inflicts will be extremely strong, though they will be weakened by Damage Falloff.
This Viral + HM build is most effective against heavily armoured enemies, whose immense damage reduction is bypassed by Slash procs. Conveniently, because of the PLenz's unique elemental setup, this build also ends up with a strong Toxin hit. The Viral proc + Toxin combo is viciously powerful against most unarmoured shielded Corpus units, with Toxin bypassing their Shields entirely.
Against unarmoured enemies, or enemies who are immune to Status procs, you are better off with other damage types that deal better direct damage. From this example build, switch out Hunter Munitions for the second elemental mod.
Corrosive for instance deals much better direct damage against Ferrite-armoured foes, such as Heavy Gunners as well as most heavy Infested units. It is particularly important on the Cambion Drift, on which many enemies are immune to Viral procs. Radiation is most effective against the other common armour type, Alloy-armour, which is used by many Grineer units as well as most armoured Corpus.
Against heavily Shielded enemies, you might consider using Magnetic damage, however it is only necessary against enemies whose Shields cannot be bypassed. Against many other targets, another damage type will likely be more effective. As mentioned previously, pure Toxin deals Shield-bypassing damage, and its combination with the Cold explosion for Viral procs is a vicious combo. Against armoured units, you will usually be best off with either the Viral + HM build, or the damage type most effective against that armour type.
Recommended Setups: Toxin (Viral) + HM vs everything, Corrosive vs Infested, Ferrite-armour, Toxin (Viral) or Magnetic vs unarmoured Corpus, Radiation vs Alloy-armour, armoured Corpus
Primed Firestorm 2-Forma:
Of note, Primed Firestorm can be used to significantly increase explosive radius, which in turn also improves the Damage Falloff rate.
If you want more direct damage, there are a lot of options. Heavy Caliber gives a good chunk of +Damage, however is quite costly and high drain, becomes obsolete with any +Damage Arcanes. Vigilante Armaments is much cheaper and lower drain, but is also weaker and again becomes obsolete with Galv Chamber.
A (Primed) Bane is one of the best scaling options, particularly as its damage bonus is applied twice to damage-over-time procs like Slash. It is exceptionally useful against the Grineer and by extension the Corrupted. However, for the vast majority of content that the typical player will experience, they are total overkill - I have not used any of them in anything outside super-specialised niche builds, and still have an easy time with Steel Path.
Bladed Rounds/Argon Scope are decent conditional Crit mods, with the former being more appropriate for the PLenz. Hammer Shot is an unconditional Crit/Status boost, albeit is rather weak.
Using the remaining slot for a second or even third elemental mod can offer some strong damage combos. For the Toxin (Viral) + HM build, adding in a Cold mod will force the Toxin on the main explosion to combine to Viral as well, for more frequent Viral procs.
Adding Heat alongside Corrosive deals super-effective damage to almost every Infested unit. Radiation + Toxin is an interesting setup, with the Toxin auto-combining to make Viral on the weak explosion, for a unique Viral + Radiation + Toxin combo. This combo is most effective against the Corpus, striking both their armoured and unarmoured units very effectively.
There are a couple of decent options for the Exilus slot. Although Vigilante Supplies' ammo mutation effect is not needed, its mod set bonus still marginally increases damage potential. Instead, Ammo Drum could be used if you want a bit more lenience with ammo economy. Cautious Shot can be used to reduce the severity of self-stagger/knockdown. Finally, Terminal Velocity for increased Projectile Speed can be very helpful outside of close range.
Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Corrosive + Heat vs Infested, Radiation + Toxin (Viral) vs Corpus
Galvanised Build and Arcane
Galv Aptitude is a no-go since its +Damage does not affect AoE, and the PLenz is almost all AoE.
Galv Scope is technically strong, but very difficult to properly use. It relies on landing headshots and specifically headshot kills for maximum effect, which the PLenz is not good at due to its slow projectiles and relative lack of precision.
Fairly standard Viral + HM build, using the innate Cold to save a mod slot.
Being an explosive weapon with massive explosion radius, the Prisma Lenz naturally excels against crowds of enemies. Its high direct damage will effortlessly kill any weaker enemy in the blast radius, while its decent Status Chance will leave survivors with at least a couple of procs. Additionally, the high direct damage is very effective against heavy unarmoured/Status-immune enemies, provided you equip the appropriate damage types.
Since the initial batch of three Primary Arcanes, Warframe has introduced another seven Primary Arcanes, of varying quality. As always, Pri Dexterity is a personal preference choice as it focuses on Melee combat.
Fractalised Reset from the Zariman offers a major Reload Speed boost, which is not significant for the PLenz so is largely pointless.
Primary Plated Rounds from Mirror Defence does not work on Bows, so is a non-starter even before considering that its Damage bonus would be miniscule on the PLenz, due to it scaling with Mag Capacity.
Primary Exhilarate from Duviri is a very niche option. It provides Energy regen from Impact procs, which the PLenz does on direct hits but cannot do with its explosion. Given PLenz is primarily an AoE weapon, and that you'd be giving up a damaging Arcane, Pri Exhilarate probably isn't worth it. There are also many better ways of generating Energy.
Longbow Sharpshot from Duviri offers massive extra damage after landing a headshot. It is very similar to Galv Crosshairs - very strong on paper, but requires landing headshots which the PLenz is not very good at. If you think you can do that reliably, go for it. Notably, the Longbow Sharpshot damage bonus is separate to standard +Damage effects, making it exceptionally strong.
Shotgun Vendetta from Duviri cannot be triggered by the PLenz, so again is a non-starter even if its stat buffs would be decent.
Primary Obstruct from Duviri jams enemy weapons upon inflicting a Magnetic proc. This very niche for several reasons. Magnetic is not a highly desirable damage type, and for the PLenz would require forgoing Viral (or any other good damage type for that matter), drastically reducing its firepower. Additionally, it still does not add any damage which can be problematic in very tough content.
Primary Frostbite from Conjunction Survival stacks from Cold procs, and provides +Multishot and +Crit Damage. The PLenz is a great candidate for it, as its first explosion deals forced Cold procs regardless of elemental mods. With good blast radius, it can stack Pri Frostbite very quickly given high enemy density. However, its overall damage increase is smaller than sticking to the traditional +Damage Arcanes.
Speaking of, between Pri Merciless and Pri Deadhead, I'd strongly recommend Merciless. Once again, Deadhead requires direct headshot kills which the PLenz does not do well, while Merciless triggers from any kill including damage-over-time procs like Slash.
My Builds
Combat Use and Summary
Without Hunter Munitions, the PLenz struggles immensely against heavily armoured enemies. Though its Status Chance is significantly upgraded, it is still not notably high and it cannot natively inflict Slash procs. The PLenz can brute-force through the armour with Corrosive or Radiation, though the effectiveness of this drops off drastically at high levels. A Viral/Corrosive + Heat build can inflict some useful procs to weaken heavily armoured enemies, but there are far better weapons for that role.
Given the PLenz's exceptional Crit though, Hunter Munitions is a no-brainer. It offers surprisingly reliable and brutally powerful Slash procs, that can quickly eat through even the most heavily armoured of enemies. This is especially so on a Viral build, since Viral procs enhance Slash proc damage. Due to Damage Falloff also affecting Slash procs, you will need to land direct or very close hits for maximum effect.
The Lenz was originally designed when explosive weapons dealt self-damage - the delayed explosive gave players an opportunity to escape the explosion before it detonated. With the change from self-damage to self-stagger/knockdown, this delayed explosion is much less useful. In the current version of the game, it only serves to kill enemies slower, and potentially even allow enemies to escape the blast if they are moving fast enough. This is a distinct disadvantage over immediate detonation explosive weapons.
Even by projectile weapon standards, the PLenz's base Projectile Speed is quite slow. Additionally, it has significant projectile drop, making its use beyond close-to-medium range rather difficult.
Like most other strong explosive weapons, the PLenz has a low Ammo Max of just 8 rounds. Notably however, it has a built-in Ammo Mutation effect, eliminating the need to install an Exilus mod to do so. Given its effectiveness against groups, ammo should not be a significant concern with a good build and smart shot placement.
Overall, the Prisma Lenz is a strong explosive weapon. It deals very high damage-per-shot in a large radius, and its reasonable Status Chance lets it inflict a few procs fairly reliably. Massive Crit Chance also allows it to make good use of Hunter Munitions for heavily armoured enemies. Unfortunately, the Prisma Lenz faces very stiff competition in its role, and as discussed in greater detail below, I think it is already outclassed.
It is worth noting that the changes to headshot mechanics and explosion Damage Falloff since my original Lenz review significantly weaken both it and the PLenz. Explosive attacks now do not gain the default headshot multiplier, while direct hits deal 3× on headshots up from the original 2×. This makes direct hit, single-target weapons significantly more effective against heavier targets than an equivalent explosive weapon. This is why despite being a strict upgrade over the base Lenz, the Prisma scores barely any better - the base Lenz would score significantly worse if I were to update that review.
Scores
Vs Trash Mobs: 5/5 - Huge damage in an impressive explosive radius makes the Prisma Lenz exceptional against groups of weaker enemies.
Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 4.5/5 - Massive direct damage makes the PLenz excellent against unarmoured enemies, as well as Status-immune enemies with the right damage types.
Vs Armoured Heavies without Forced Slash: 2.5/5 - Though it has a usable Status Chance, the PLenz's base damage does not offer any useful damage types or procs against heavily armoured enemies. It can brute-force through the appropriate type with Corrosive or Radiation, but does not scale particularly well.
Vs Armoured Heavies with Forced Slash: 4/5 - HM triggers quite consistently with PLenz's colossal Crit Chance, inflicting very strong Slash procs on anything in the epicentre of its blasts. Damage Fall-Off also affects these Slash procs however, meaning enemies further from the blast will take significantly less damage.
Vs Variants
The MR12 Prisma is a strict upgrade over the MR8 Lenz. It has several noteworthy stat buffs - larger Ammo Max is significant since the ammo changes, faster Charge Time is appreciated, and the massive Status Chance increase is a major boon as well. The extra damage, while also significant, is ironically arguably the least impactful of the stat changes.
Competitors
The Prisma Lenz has to compete with several other explosive Primaries, many of which are among the best weapons in the game.
The MR12 PLenz deals greater damage-per-shot that the MR13 Kuva Tonkor even with a max Kuva Lich bonus, in a marginally larger explosion. The KTonkor has far better ammo economy, and its explosion deals part Slash which can inflict extra Slash procs.
Similarly, the PLenz beats the MR16 Tenet Envoy for damage-per-shot even with max Sister bonus. On the other hand, the TEnvoy has much better ammo economy, higher Status Chance, and a slightly larger explosion. Additionally, the TEnvoy can uniquely deal Viral damage with zero elemental mods if it has a Toxin Sister bonus.
Once again, the PLenz beats the MR15 Kuva Zarr for damage-per-shot, even with max Kuva Lich bonus and its extra bomblets factored in. However, the KZarr is far superior in Status output due both to its double Status Chance, and the bomblets contributing extra procs. The bomblets also give it greater effective AoE. Finally, the KZarr is much more adept at putting multiple rounds quickly on target for much higher Burst DPS, unlike the PLenz which takes over a second between shots. I'd consider the KZarr to be largely better.
Finally, the PLenz actually loses to the MR15 Kuva Bramma for damage-per-shot even before its bomblets are included, provided it has a ~40% or higher Kuva Lich bonus. With the bomblets included, even a minimum 25% Kuva Lich bonus will put the KBramma above the PLenz. Additionally, the KBramma has shorter Charge Time, much higher Status output between both better Status Chance and bomblets, and better AoE with a larger explosion and the bomblets. The only area in which the PLenz comes out better is Ammo Max.
As mentioned previously, the PLenz is a delayed-detonation explosive, while all of these competitors detonate upon impact. This is a notable disadvantage for the PLenz, as its primary damage output is delayed by 1.3 seconds.
Overall, while the Prisma Lenz is strong, its competition is stronger still.
Rivens
As a new weapon, the Prisma Lenz starts with a minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition, while the base Lenz is currently sitting at a medium 3/5 (1) Disposition. Given its unfavourable comparison with several other highly popular weapons, I expect that to rise at least a little, perhaps to around 2/5 (0.8).
+Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are the usual good positives, with +Damage being the least valuable due to weapon Arcanes. +Elemental Damage can be useful to save a mod slot. +Faction Damage is a strong multiplier of damage-over-time procs like Slash, most notable against the Grineer. However, it is total overkill for the vast majority of content, and of course has no effect on other Factions. +Fire Rate cuts down Charge Time significantly. +Ammo Max can be beneficial with such a low pool. +Projectile Speed can be helpful for combat beyond close range. +Reload Speed cuts down the time between shots, but +Fire Rate is more impactful.
-Impact/Puncture/Slash are all great negatives. The latter two are not even on the PLenz at all, and the former is only on the weak direct hit. -Faction Damage to the weaker Factions (mainly Infested, arguably Corpus) can be manageable with good positives, and has no effect on other Factions. -Fire Rate can be offset with +Fire Rate mods, but otherwise I would avoid it as the penalty is also doubled. -Mag Capacity has no effect. -Ammo Max can be manageable if you have no issue with ammo economy. -Projectile Speed can be offset with Terminal Velocity in the Exilus slot. -Reload Speed can be offset with Primary Merciless. +Recoil has essentially no impact. -Zoom is inconsequential on a non-precision weapon.
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