Acquisition
Stats
Ammo is a notable concern, with an Ammo Max of just 24, with 8 in the magazine, and recovering only 6 rounds per-pickup. This can be depleted very quickly especially given the AkariusP fires two rockets per trigger pull.
A Fire Rate of 3.67 is relatively fast with a Mag Capacity of just 8, depleting the magazine in 2.18sec. With a Reload Time of 2.4sec, this gives a poor Reload Ratio of just 0.91.
As with its base form, the Acceltra Prime gains +50% Reload Speed when Sprinting, increased to 100% if held by Gauss (Prime). This is a major help to mitigate one of its (few) weaknesses.
As alluded to previously, the AkariusP fires explosive rockets. These rockets detonate on impact, dealing major damage in a massive 7.8m radius - among the largest in the game. Its Damage Fall-Off is significant, dealing just 30% damage at the edge of its explosions.
Unlike most explosive weapons, the AkariusP's rockets will home in on nearby enemies within a certain arc in front of them (Wiki suggests 15 degrees). This can be quite useful for striking enemies behind cover or at longer ranges. However, it can also be detrimental if you are aiming to hit a target further away, as the rockets may swerve to hit a closer, intended target. Admittedly, in Warframe's chaotic gameplay that generally encourages total extermination, this is rarely an issue.
More likely, the greatest inconvenience you will suffer from the homing rockets is their ability to inflict self-stagger/knockdown. Like every other explosive weapon, the AkariusP will inflict stagger/knockdown to you if you are close enough to the blast. Rockets could potentially home in on an enemy closer to you than the intended target, potentially knocking you down unintentionally. This of course can be mitigated with better situational awareness.
Augments
None.
Builds
Basic 0-Forma:
With one native V and two native - polarities, the Akarius Prime can fit in quite a few solid mods without any added Forma. The - polarities are useful for three of the four 90% elemental mods (Toxin, Heat, Electric), which is great for those elemental types but inconvenient for Cold.
A basic build such as the above fits in nicely without Forma, and is relatively low cost. Additionally, there is spare capacity to switch one of the 90% elemental mods to its 60/60 counterpart if you want to use those instead.
Primed Crit 0-Forma:
Alternatively, you could forgo one mod to upgrade the two Crit modes to their Primed versions, for an increase in damage-per-shot.
For elemental combos, you usually can't go wrong with Viral. While its multipliers are not amazing, its damage-increasing proc is almost universally useful, to the point where some enemies in game have been given Viral proc immunity to blunt its ubiquity.
Corrosive is typically the next best option. Its armour-reducing proc is very helpful, as armoured enemies tend to be the toughest enemies in the game. Additionally, it deals massively increased damage to Ferrite-armoured units, as well as most Infested heavy units, particularly those on the Cambion Drift who are immune to Viral procs.
Radiation deals massively increased damage to Alloy-armoured units (notably used by most armoured Corpus units), while its confusion proc can provide an element of light CC and distraction.
Finally, against unarmoured Corpus units, Toxin is usually the best bet. Its damage and proc both bypass Shields entirely, completely invalidating the Corpus' main defensive tool and hitting at their often-weaker Health directly.
Recommended Setups: Viral vs everything, Corrosive vs Ferrite-armour, Infested, Radiation vs Alloy-armour, Toxin vs unarmoured Corpus
General Purpose 2-Forma:
Recommended Setups: see above.
Another added V polarity allows you to start fitting all eight mod slots, even with several high-drain Primed mods. This example build slots in Primed Fulmination, increasing the AkariusP's already impressive 7.8m blast radius to an exceptional 11.23m.
Mostly standard build. Again, I've opted to drop Lethal Torrent, as I find its +Fire Rate to be more detrimental than anything else on such a low-ammo weapon. My Riven adds Heat, so fits nicely in the last slot. I know some players swear by dropping Hornet Strike for a +Damage Arcane, but I don't have an Arcane Adapter installed so...
The MR14 Akarius Prime is a majority upgrade over the base MR8 Akarius. Most notably, its Crit has been increased from negligible to respectable and usable. This allows the AkariusP to use a hybrid build for a significant damage increase over the base Akarius.
The MR11 Aegrit is one of few weapons with an explosive radius larger than the AkariusP, and its higher base Damage and Crit allows it to deal much more damage-per-shot. However, the AkariusP inflicts a lot more Status procs and can deliver multiple shots on-target much more quickly. Additionally, the Aegrit is one of relatively few weapons with ammo economy worse than the AkariusP.
Primed Fulmination 3-Forma:
You'll note that I've excluded Lethal Torrent from this build. This is primarily because I feel the +Fire Rate doesn't benefit the AkariusP much, with its small Mag Capacity. The Multishot, while very nice in a normal build, because much less impactful when Galvanised Mods are included (see below).
For flat damage increases, Augur Pact and Magnum Force are the usual basic options. Augur Pact is weaker but cheaper, and adds the Augur mod set bonus to assist survivability. Magnum Force is stronger, and its Accuracy penalty is largely irrelevant with homing. Neither is very strong when +Damage Arcanes are introduced in the mix, at which point a (Primed) Expel mod is a much better option. On top of its damage multiplier being independent of (almost) everything else, its damage increase is applied multiple times to damage-over-time procs like Heat. Its main disadvantages are high cost to max and having to switch around per-faction for maximum damage.
If you don't want to mess around with Faction mods but still want a decent damage boost, you could consider the conditional Crit mods. Sharpened Bullets provides +Crit Damage from achieving kills, which should be very easy to trigger. Hydraulic Crosshairs requires landing headshots to provide +Crit Chance. The AkariusP's homing rockets target centre-of-mass, so while it is possible to trigger headshots from the explosions, it is quite unlikely and I wouldn't recommend it personally.
Finally, a third Elemental mod is also worth consideration. Heat in particular is a very strong addition to Viral or Corrosive builds, further reducing armour and providing a strong stacking damage-over-time effect that is amplified by both Viral and Corrosive. Radiation + Toxin is a great combo against the Corpus. Most armoured Corpus units use Alloy-armour, against which Radiation is super-effective, while Toxin quickly cleans up anything unarmoured.
Thanks to the relatively new Radiation mods (Accelerated Isotope for Secondaries), Radiation can now be added into any build regardless of other elementals. It is effective against Alloy-armour, and its friendly-fire proc can provide a degree of light CC. Notably, the Radiation mods allow otherwise impossible combos, such as Corrosive + Radiation, which is strong against any armoured target.
For the Exilus slot, an Ammo Mutation mod is the clear main option. By far the AkariusP's biggest problem is its tiny Ammo Max, which can render it impotent within a minute if you are not careful. Ammo Mut greatly mitigates this, provided you are still achieving a reasonable kill rate for ammo drops.
If Ammo is not a concern (e.g. running Carrier with Ammo Case), there are a few other options to consider. Lethal Momentum increases Projectile Speed, which can make longer ranged engagements a little easier. I don't think it is particularly necessary on the AkariusP due to its homing. Steady Hands greatly reduces recoil, allowing for easier follow-up shots. Again, the homing makes this much less important, and I generally think the AkariusP is best used slower firing anyway.
Recommended Setups: Viral + Heat/Radiation vs everything, Corrosive + Heat/Radiation vs Ferrite-armour, Infested, Radiation + Toxin vs Corpus
Galvanised Mods
Galv Diffusion for more Multishot, of course.
Galv Shot is near-worthless as its +Damage bonus does not work on explosions, and the AkariusP is almost entirely explosion.
Galv Crosshairs is similarly worthless. It relies on landing headshots and headshot kills, but the homing function aims for centre-of-mass. While it is not impossible to trigger on-headshot effects, it is nearly impossible to reliably achieve the headshot kills necessary to stack Galv Crosshairs effectively.
Arcane
While there are a lot of Arcanes now to choose from, the selection of properly useful ones narrows down quite quickly.
+360% Damage options:
- Sec Merciless - The standard, and quite effective on an explosive weapon. Stacks quickly on the AkariusP, and the Reload Speed is quite helpful.
- Sec Deadhead - As with the repeated theme of difficulty landing headshots, Deadhed is quite difficult to stack and thus not worth using on the AkariusP.
Other Damage increasing options:
- Sec Encumber - Encumber is of limited value on the AkariusP. Encumber is most effective on fast-firing, usually single-target Secondaries, due to its special limitations. AkariusP is the complete opposite, being a slow(ish) firing, explosive weapon.
- Sec Kinship - As its bonus Crit Chance is additive with Crit Chance mods, it is a very weak effect outside of very specific Ability and squad setups.
- Sec Outburst - Can be a strong Crit increase if paired with a Melee weapon that easily gets to full Combo.
- Sec Shiver - Damage bonus doesn't apply to explosive damage, so again an instant no-go.
- Casc Accuracy - With the AkariusP's general difficulty of landing headshots, Accuracy is a poor Arcane choice.
- Casc Empowered - The AkariusP is far too strong to get notable benefit from Empowered.
- Casc Flare - Great option for any build with Heat. Stacks up very quickly as the AkariusP spreads Status procs with ease, providing a significant boost in damage without requiring kills.
- Casc Overcharge - Can be solid on any build that regularly maintains Overshields.
- Conjunction Voltage - Can be nice on a build with Electric; provides a smaller damage boost than most other Arcanes, but its +Reload Speed can be helpful.
Non-damaging options:
- Akimbo Slip Shot - The AkariusP's homing effect mitigates the aim issues of needing to be sliding or aim gliding, while the increased Ammo Efficiency helps the AkariusP's biggest problem. Not having any extra Damage can be problematic in high level content though.
Damage-wise, I believe Casc Flare and then Sec Merciless come out on top, so those would be my two top picks. If damage output is not a concern, Conj Voltage and Ak Slip Shot are worth consideration.
My Builds
Combat Use and Summary
The Akarius Prime naturally excels at clearing out weaker enemies. It deals quite solid damage with supporting Status procs in a huge explosive radius, and can fire multiple rockets in quick succession if the first burst didn't kill everything.Although it deals very high on-paper damage, most of the AkariusP's damage output does not benefit from the default headshot multiplier (3×). This is a major disadvantage compared to traditional single-target weapons, which will end up more effective against single targets - good game design in my opinion. As such, while the AkariusP can deal solid direct damage against unarmoured and Status-resistant/immune enemies, it surprisingly falls behind a number of seemingly weaker weapons.
The AkariusP is quite efficient at stacking up Status procs, making it effective for weakening heavier enemies. I find it less effective at stacking huge Heat procs on heavily armoured enemies than faster-firing options (e.g. Kuva Nukor, Tenet Cycron). Additionally, its disadvantage in direct damage makes it less effective at brute-forcing through weakened armoured units than powerful single-target weapons.
The AkariusP's homing feature is quite rare, and is both a blessing and a curse. On the positive side, you can practically guarantee that if there is an enemy vaguely near where you shot, the AkariusP will hit them. This includes enemies hiding around corners or behind cover, without requiring you to properly aim - a big advantage when on the move. On the negative side, it can prevent you from hitting the target you actually wanted to hit, primarily if there are other enemies closer to you. It also makes deliberate headshots near impossible unless you are directly above the enemy, or the enemy has an unusual "head" hitbox. Overall, I consider the homing feature generally more helpful than harmful on the explosive AkariusP.
Ammo can be problematic, as seen in my video above. The AkariusP has a measly Ammo Max of just 24 rounds, and only recovers 6 rounds per-pickup. If used carelessly, it can be rendered impotent quite quickly, and its low ammo recovery can take a while to recover sufficient rounds to be useful again.
As with most explosive weapons, the AkariusP isn't great at long range due to projectile travel time, though its homing makes it much easier to use than most.
Overall, the Akarius Prime is a powerful explosive Secondary. It is fantastic for clearing crowds and spreading a myriad of Status procs to any survivors. It deals solid but not exceptional damage, allowing to weaken, though rarely kill, very tough singular enemies.
Ammo is by far the biggest (and arguably only) problem. It restricts the AkariusP to being best used against large clumps of enemies, and disincentivises its use against singular, heavier targets. This of course can be easily managed by using your Primary or Melee instead on such targets.
If you are after an explosive Secondary, the Akarius Prime is a great option to pursue. Few other Secondaries match up to its power and range.
Scores
Vs Trash Mobs: 5/5 - Firing powerful projectiles with hefty explosive radius, the AkariusP can tear apart groups of weaker enemies with ease.
Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 4/5 - High Burst DPS, but an inability to benefit from the headshot multiplier, leaves the AkariusP as simply "good" against unarmoured and Status-resistant/immune enemies.
Vs Armoured Heavies without Forced Slash: 4/5 - With very high Status Chance, the AkariusP can very quickly max out Viral/Corrosive procs, and then stack up respectable Heat procs.
Vs Armoured Heavies with Forced Slash: NA/5 - The AkariusP only inflicts Impact procs on its extremely weak direct hits, so Hemorrhage is not worth consideration.
Vs Variants
Competitors
There are a couple of other explosives Secondaries, though few compare to the Akarius Prime.
I find the AkariusP to be much more overall effective between the two.
The MR8 Prisma Angstrum basically doesn't compare at all. Besides slightly higher Crit Damage and direct impact damage, it is vastly inferior to the AkariusP.
Probably the closest competitor to the AkariusP is a Sporelacer Kitgun, although the parts chosen can vary a Sporelacer's stats dramatically. The pictured build goes for max Crit, max damage-per-shot, which ends up very different to the AkariusP. Additionally, while not shown on the stat screen, the Sporelacer generates additional bomblets on hit that noticeably increase its overall damage and especially Status output.
Some elements remain constant. Outside of the (relatively small) bomblets, the Sporelacer will have significantly inferior explosive radius to the AkariusP, and it cannot reach the same Crit-Status spread, though it can get quite close. The AkariusP will also always have a superior Fire Rate-Damage combination, as building the Sporelacer for higher Fire Rate drastically reduces its base Damage.
On the other hand, the Sporelacer will always have far superior ammo economy, and in particular can even equip Pax Charge to completely eliminate ammo concerns.
Both are very strong weapons. I personally favour the Sporelacer, partly out of preference for max Crit builds, and partly also because of the ammo advantage.
The MR14 Zakti Prime is one of relatively few weapons that can match the AkariusP for Status output in a wide area. While its explosive radius is a lot smaller, the ZaktiP has higher Status Chance, fires much faster, and has much more lenient ammo economy. On the other hand, the AkariusP is far more powerful, thanks both to higher base Damage and usable Crit. Between the two, I find the AkariusP to be much more effective as an overall weapon due to its far greater killing power.
In conclusion, while there are a number of other usable (non-Incarnon) explosive Secondaries, the Akarius is easily among the best.
Rivens
As with all new weapons, the Akarius Prime starts with a minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition. The base Akarius is currently sitting at an average 3/5 (1.05) Disposition. I expect the Prime to end up around the 2/5 (0.7-0.8) range. It is meaningfully stronger than base Akarius, and is one of the better AoE Secondaries in the game.
+Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are the usual nice positives, with the latter two being better 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 Heat, most useful against the Grineer as they are the toughest of the three base Factions. +Mag Capacity and especially +Ammo Max can be very nice quality-of-life stats. +Projectile Speed can be useful at longer ranges, but is not overly necessary. -Recoil can make quick follow-up shots easier, but I generally feel the AkariusP performs better with fewer, more deliberate shots.
-Impact/Puncture/Slash are all good negatives. The latter two have no effect at all, while Impact is only a tiny component of the base Damage, and only on direct hits. -Faction Damage to the weaker Factions (mainly Infested, arguably Corpus) can be manageable with strong positives. -Fire Rate in small amounts can be negligible if you fire bursts slowly anyway. -Projectile Speed isn't the worst as the homing function can make up for a loss of speed, but isn't ideal. +Recoil is fine if you fire slowly, but can be problematic for rapid-fire. -Zoom is ideal for close quarters.
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