Review: Fulmin Prime (U33.6.0)

The Fulmin Prime is an MR12 Rifle, an improvement over the MR8 Fulmin. Wisp Prime's signature weapon, it possesses two distinct, Crit-heavy firing modes. Semi-Auto fires a hefty projectile great against crowds, while Full-Auto is a conventional, accurate hitscan attack. The two combine into a single, versatile and reasonably powerful weapon.

Acquisition

As standard for a Prime weapon, Fulmin Prime's blueprint and components are available from various Void Relics.

Stats

Fulmin Prime's Semi-Auto is geared for strong single shots. Its Crit is excellent at 30%/2.2×, and it has a respectable 22% Status Chance as well. Base Impact and Electric damage isn't ideal; Impact being a generally poor damage type and proc, and Electric interfering with some elemental setups.

A Fire Rate of 2.17 is quite low, however Semi-Auto consumes 10 ammo-per-shot - depleting the magazine in around 3.7 seconds of continuous fire. The FulminP is a battery weapon, with Recharge Delay of 0.7s and Recharge Rate of 40 rounds-per-second, for a total maximum Reload Time of 2.7s. This gives Semi-Auto a low Reload Ratio of just 1.37.

Semi-Auto fires a medium-sized projectile that has 3m of innate body Punch Through, allowing it to hit and pass through multiple enemies, but not objects. This projectile has limited range and Damage Falloff, losing damage beyond 12m to a minimum damage of ~33% at 24m, and having a maximum range of 24m. It inflicts forced Impact procs up to roughly 10m.

Note that like other projectiles of its type, Semi-Auto does not gain the default 3× headshot multiplier.

While Semi-Auto has a large amount of recoil animation, its actual aiming recoil is rather minimal.

Full-Auto mode is a conventional single-target hitscan attack. It leans even heavier into Crit, at an exceptional 34%/2.4×, however has a relatively low 10% Status Chance. Base Damages of Puncture and Electric aren't great, however the buff to Puncture in U33.6 makes it a little more palatable especially for Crit weapons like the FulminP.

Full-Auto consumes a single ammo-per-shot as normal, giving it a much higher 3.18 Reload Ratio. Full-Auto has essentially no recoil.

Note that unlike most weapons, switching modes with the Fulmin is not instantaneous, instead taking roughly a second. If wielded by Wisp, this is sped up to roughly half a second.

Augments

None.

Builds

NOTE: The Overframe.gg builds below use base Fulmin, as Fulmin Prime has not been updated as of writing.

Basic 0-Forma:

The Fulmin Prime has just a single native - polarity, which can make fitting in a basic build frustratingly difficult depending on your available mods. This above build uses that slot for a 90% element like Infected Clip, relying on a second 60/60 elemental mod to create the desired elemental combo while still fitting in the other core mods.

Due to the FulminP's innate Electric however, it is possible to form desirable elemental combos with just a single elemental mod - any combo using Electric (Corrosive, Radiation, Magnetic). This can make fitting in the other mods much easier.

All three of the Electric-based combos have some value, although of the three Corrosive is the overall best. It is super-effective against Ferrite-armoured enemies and most heavy Infested, and its proc reduces all armour as well. Radiation is super-effective against Alloy-armoured enemies, however its proc is not as useful for killing. Magnetic is exceptionally effective against Shields, however is useless against anything else. Additionally, very few enemies have Shields strong enough to explicitly build against.

The only other dual-element combination worth mentioning here is Viral, which remains the no-fuss all-rounder, with a proc useful against almost all enemies. 

Recommended Setups: Viral vs everything, Corrosive vs Ferrite-armour, Infested, Radiation vs Alloy-armour, Magnetic vs Shields

Hunter Munitions 1-Forma:

If you have it, Critical Delay offers more Crit Chance than Point Strike, at the cost of a little Fire Rate.

With an added V polarity, you can look at adding a seventh mod. The main option to discuss here is a Slash proc mod. Neither FulminP firing mode can inflict Slash procs naturally, which are the best scaling method to deal with heavily armoured enemies (besides armour strip). Thankfully, it can equip and make good use of both Hunter Munitions and Internal Bleeding.

Hunter Munitions gives any Crit a chance to inflict a Slash proc. Both firing modes have great Crit, so naturally this works very well on the FulminP.

Internal Bleeding is a more conditional option, requiring Impact procs and low Fire Rate. This makes it a no-go on most weapons, unlike HM which is worth considering on almost every Crit weapon. However, FulminP's Semi-Auto mode inflicts guaranteed Impact procs at close range (within ~10m), and has a low enough Fire Rate to get the full effect of IB. With these conditions all met, IB inflicts Slash procs more than twice as frequently as HM. That said, that's several conditions to meet for IB to work well. Using Semi-Auto beyond close range, boosting Semi-Auto's Fire Rate, or using Full-Auto at all, will lose most or all of the functionality of IB, where else HM will work just fine.

I personally favour HM for its superior versatility.

Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Viral + HM vs armoured enemies

3-Forma:

Adding two more Forma can open up space to fit in an eighth mod as well.

If not running Internal Bleeding, you can consider a +Fire Rate mod, notably to offset Critical Delay's Fire Rate penalty. Vile Acceleration offers the most Fire Rate, while (Primed) Shred adds some universal Punch Through (which I am a big fan of).

For an overall damage increase, you could initially consider Heavy Caliber and Vigilante Armaments. The former is stronger, while the latter is much cheaper to max and slot in. However, both become obsolete once you acquire Galv mods and Arcanes. At that point, you could instead look towards a (Primed) Bane mod. The +Faction Damage effect is applied multiple times to damage-over-time procs like Slash, which is exceptionally effective at very high levels. However, it is total overkill in the vast majority of content that a typical player will experience.

There are several other damage boosting options that aren't as obsolete as Heavy Cal/Vigi Armaments, or as finicky and tedious as a (Primed) Bane. Bladed Rounds and Argon Scope are solid conditional Crit boosting options if you reliably meet their trigger conditions. Proton Jet is another conditional mod, however boosts both Crit and Status Chances. Finally, Hammer Shot unconditionally boosts Crit Damage and Status Chance, but is generally weaker than the others.

Finally, you could consider running three elemental mods. The FulminP's innate Electric limits your options somewhat, however there are still a few combos of note. Corrosive + Heat is exceptionally effective against the Infested, particularly those on the Cambion Drift who are immune to Viral procs. Radiation + Toxin is a great catch-all against the Corpus. Most armoured Corpus units use Alloy-armour, against which Radiation is super-effective. Anything unarmoured is hit hard by Toxin, which bypasses most of the Corpus' Shields entirely.

For the Exilus slot, Terminal Velocity is the clear choice. It significantly increases both the range and Damage Falloff ranges of Semi-Auto, which is a good improvement. Being a battery weapon, the FulminP has no need for Ammo Mutation mods, however Vigilante Supplies can still be used for the marginal damage increase from its mod set bonus.

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

Galvanised Mods

Galv Chamber.

Galv Aptitude is a great option. It acts as a separate multiplier to other +Damage effects on Semi-Auto, giving far more damage than a normal +Damage mod if installed alongside a +Damage Arcane. Full-Auto doesn't benefit anywhere near as much, but can itself still inflict 3-4 unique procs comfortably, making Galv Apt stronger than Serration.

Galv Scope is also a decent option, as both firing modes are very Crit-heavy and appreciate even more Crit. However, the FulminP usually inflicts damage-over-time procs like Slash and Electric, which can interfere with landing the necessary killing headshots. This is especially so against heavily armoured enemies, who take very little direct damage due to their massive armour-based damage reduction. Nonetheless, if you can land killing headshots reliably, Galv Scope is a great damage boosting option.

Arcane

There are a lot of Arcanes to discuss, though the Galv Apt interaction with Semi-Auto makes the choice a lot easier. If using Galv Apt and Semi-Auto, a +Damage Arcane is the clear best option. 

+Damage Arcanes:

• Primary Merciless - the usual default option. Stacks from any kill but also decays quickly. Semi-Auto in particular kills groups quite effectively, making stack gain and maintenance quite easy. The +Reload Speed effect only reduces Recharge Delay, which isn't a big deal.
• Primary Deadhead - stacks from headshot kills and decays slowly, however as mentioned with Galv Scope, headshot kills can be surprisingly unreliable. Bonus headshot damage is always appreciated, although the recoil reduction isn't significant.

Other damage increasing Arcanes:

• Primary Frostbite - +Multishot/Crit Damage from inflicting Cold procs. If not for the Galv Apt interaction, this would be a very strong option if you had some way of inflicting Cold procs. Due to its innate Electric, the FulminP would need to build for a dual element using Electric (e.g. Corrosive) to fit individual Cold, which isn't always desirable.
• Primary Plated Rounds - doesn't work on battery weapons like the FulminP.
• Primary Blight - +Multishot/Crit Damage from inflicting Toxin procs, with higher Crit Dmg/lower Multishot compared to Pri Frostbite. Again, if not for Galv Apt, would be a strong option if you can inflict Toxin procs reliably. Also again, the FulminP would need to build for a dual element using Electric (e.g. Radiation) to allow individual Toxin. Blight would be very slightly stronger than Frostbite.

Non-damage-increasing Arcanes:

• Fractalised Reset - only affects Recharge Delay and not Recharge Rate, making it a no-go on the FulminP.
• Primary Exhilirate - gives Energy regen from inflicting Impact procs. Semi-Auto inflicts forced Impact procs at close range, making it a great option for this Arcane if you want the Energy and don't need damage.
• Primary Obstruct - jams nearby enemy weapons from inflicting Magnetic procs. While the FulminP can be easily built for Magnetic due to its base Electric, Magnetic is a niche damage type and proc (both only effective on Shields), so you'd rarely want to use it in the first place.

I'd pick between Pri Merciless or Deadhead, depending on personal preferences and playstyle.

My Builds

Fairly standard Viral + HM build. I opt for HM over Internal Bleeding to retain Slash proc capability beyond close range and for Full-Auto as well.

Combat Use and Summary

FulminP's Semi-Auto is most effective against groups of enemies. Its innate body Punch Through and moderately sized projectile allows it to hit multiple enemies with a single shot, and its Fire Rate is fast enough to put out follow-up shots quickly and effectively.

Though its on-paper DPS is quite high, Semi-Auto does not gain the default headshot multiplier, so its single-target damage is surprisingly mediocre. This is most problematic against unarmoured and Status-resistant/immune enemies, against whom direct damage is most effective.

Though its Status Chance is solid, Semi-Auto also does not excel at stacking strong anti-armour Status procs. It can easily inflict a few Corrosive/Viral procs, but it is not as quick or efficient as many other weapons. Additionally, its base Electric damage makes stacking strong Heat procs in a Corrosive + Heat more difficult.

Both Hunter Munitions and Internal Bleeding can be used to make Semi-Auto inflict Slash procs, which offers potent anti-armour capabilities. IB is most potent at close range with a higher maximum proc chance, however HM works at any range that Semi-Auto can hit, and is not affected by Fire Rate increases.

Semi-Auto is limited to close range combat. It has a maximum range of 24m, and deals reduced damage starting at 12m. This can be improved with +Projectile Speed effects, but is still a notable limitation.

Full-Auto is more well-rounded, being a standard hitscan attack with no short range limitation. It is moderately effective against groups thanks to its decently high Fire Rate and  good Reload Ratio, but nowhere near as efficient as Semi-Auto.

While Full-Auto's on-paper DPS is much lower than Semi-Auto, it benefits from the default headshot multiplier which can put it roughly on par. It is roughly middle-of-the-pack or a little above-average by Rifle standards, far from exceptional.

Although Full-Auto's Fire Rate is much higher than Semi-Auto, its Status Chance is a lot lower. The net result is that it is a little, but not massively, better than Semi-Auto at stacking Status procs. Again it can run a Corrosive + Heat build to stack armour-reducing procs but it is not as quick or efficient at doing this compared to other, more Status-focused weapons.

Once again, Hunter Munitions allows Full-Auto to inflict Slash procs, which though not very strong with Full-Auto's low damage-per-shot, can be stacked up in fairly high number for decent damage overall. Internal Bleeding does not work at all as Full-Auto cannot inflict Impact procs.

As mentioned previously, unlike most multi-mode weapons, FulminP takes roughly a second to change modes (half a second in Wisp's hands). This can make it slightly more difficult to make the most of both firing modes, but is far from dealbreaking.]

Being a battery weapon, the FulminP has effectively infinite ammo, making it an excellent option for extended duration runs.

Overall the Fulmin Prime is a solid, versatile weapon. Semi-Auto is notably very effective against clumped groups of enemies, while Full-Auto is more ammo-efficient, and remains effective at longer ranges. It isn't exceptional in either category, but combines both fairly well into a single weapon. While I'm not the biggest fan of it personally, it is a good weapon that can perform well in the vast majority of Warframe's content.

Scores

Vs Trash Mobs: 4.5/5 - Semi-Auto's innate body Punch Through allows it to hit tightly packed groups of enemies with each shot, drastically improving its shot efficiency. It deals respectable damage to each target, easily killing weaker enemies with one or two shots, and weakening any survivors with several Status procs.

Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 4/5 - Semi-Auto has much higher on-paper Burst DPS than Full-Auto, however its loss of the default headshot multiplier (3×) limits its DPS potential. Compared to other Primaries that deal high Burst DPS and get full headshot benefit, the FulminP falls a little behind with both firing modes.

Vs Armoured Heavies without Forced Slash: 3.5/5 - Neither firing mode is capable of inflicting Slash procs naturally, forcing them to rely on Corrosive + Heat as the innate Electric prevents Viral + Heat. Both firing modes are moderately but not exceptionally effective at stacking up Status procs, and neither packs the direct damage necessary to brute force through very high level armoured enemies.

Vs Armoured Heavies with Forced Slash: 4/5 - Both Internal Bleeding and Hunter Munitions can be used on the FulminP, allowing it to inflict armour-bypassing Slash procs. This is easily the FulminP's best scaling way to deal with high-level, heavily armoured enemies. Compared to other Crit Primaries however, its DPS is not exceptional, especially as Semi-Auto no longer gets the default headshot multiplier.

Vs Variants

The MR12 Fulmin Prime is a moderate upgrade over the MR8 Fulmin. Semi-Auto has 20% longer range and Damage Fall-Off, as well as higher Status Chance and slightly higher base Damage. Full-Auto gains some Crit Chance instead.

Finally, the Prime has a significantly larger Mag Capacity (80 vs 60), shorter Recharge Delay (0.7s vs 1s), and higher Recharge Rate (40 vs 30), for a overall much better ammo economy. These are all very appreciated quality-of-life boosts.

Competitors

The Fulmin Prime's projectile type is still relatively rare, with the only directly comparable ones being the Arca Plasmor family and a Primary Catchmoon Kitgun. The Steflos and Alternox bear some similarities, but are generally much weaker overall. The Nataruk and Cinta also fire large wave projectiles, however being Bows they handle very differently.

A max Crit Catchmoon can be built for even higher Crit than the FulminP, and its base Heat damage is superior to the FulminP's Electric. Longer range and Damage Falloff is another notable advantage. Finally, the Catchmoon can use its Kitgun Arcane slot to also become a battery weapon.

However, the FulminP will always have much higher base Damage, nullifying the Crit differences, as well as significantly higher Status Chance. Additionally, where the Catchmoon is considered a Shotgun and can only access Hunter Munitions for Slash procs, the FulminP is considered a Rifle and can use HM or Internal Bleeding, which is far more effective at close range.

While the Catchmoon has several notable advantages, the FulminP's massively higher base Damage is near insurmountable.

The MR16 Tenet Arca Plasmor swings the other way, with much lower Fire Rate and Crit but far higher base Damage (with Sister bonus, 950-1216) and again longer range. More importantly however, the TAPlasmor's projectile is much, much larger than the FulminP's, and also bounces off walls and objects for far superior AoE.

While the FulminP will retain better single-target damage, the TAPlasmor is far better against crowds.

On the other hand, FulminP's Full-Auto is very conventional, and thus has many direct competitors. To name just a few, the Kuva Karak, Kuva Hind, Tenora Prime are all potent and relatively conventional Full-Auto Rifles. Looking a bit further out, Incarnon weapons such as the Phenmor (Incarnon form) and Burston (Incarnon form) completely humiliate FulminP Full-Auto, but of course as Incarnon weapons have their own requirements and restrictions.

Of course, no other current weapon combines these two firing modes like the FulminP does, giving it unique versatility and a special niche.

Rivens

As a new weapon, the Fulmin Prime starts with a minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition. The base Fulmin already has a low 2/5 (0.8) Disposition, so I'm expecting the Prime's to increase very little, if at all.

+Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are the usual good positives, with the latter two being more effective with Galv Mods and Arcanes in the mix. +Elemental Damage can be useful to save a mod slot. +Faction Damage can be a strong multiplier of damage-over-time procs like Slash, though is generally overkill for most content. +Fire Rate can be nice notably for offsetting the -Fire Rate of Critical Delay, however if running Internal Bleeding you need to make sure not to exceed the 2.5 Fire Rate threshold. +Projectile Speed is a great help for Semi-Auto, extending its range and Damage Falloff. +Punch Through allows both forms to pass through all small objects, rather than just bodies as Semi-Auto does innately.

-Impact/Puncture/Slash all have value. Impact is a generally poor damage type and is only a small component of Semi-Auto's base Damage. It is not present in Full-Auto at all, and Semi-Auto inflicts forced Impact procs at close range anyway. Puncture is a better damage type and proc (especially with the U33.6 changes), but it isn't crucial to the FulminP, and is only present as a small component of Full-Auto. Finally, Slash is not present in either form so reducing it has no effect.

-Faction Damage to the weaker Factions (primarily Infested, arguably Corpus) can be manageable with good positives, and of course has no effect on other Factions. -Ammo Max has no effect. -Reload Speed only affects the short Recharge Delay, so is quite manageable in small amounts. +Recoil has minimal effect as the FulminP's recoil is fairly low already. -Zoom is ideal for close quarters.