The Evensong is a new MR10 Bow. Jade's signature Primary, it possesses a small AoE and special effects that make it a unique support weapon with usable kill power.
Acquisition
Stats
The Evensong has decent, though not exceptional, stats. 25%/2.2× Crit is quite solid, albeit not that high by Bow standards, and 38% Status Chance is excellent, especially with majority base Slash damage. A Reload Time of 0.6 seconds is standard Bow fare.
A Charge Time of 1.2 seconds is one of the slowest of any Bow, beaten only by the fully charged Cinta, and the (Prisma) Lenz.
Ammo Max of 72 with Ammo Pickup of 15 is fairly generous, and shouldn't pose a significant issue unless you are struggling to kill enemies.
Naturally, this AoE can inflict self-stagger/knockdown if you are too close to the target.
The second is that kills with the Evensong will give the Evensong Devotion buff, that gives all allies in Affinity range (including yourself) +35% Multishot for 30 seconds. This includes any kills due to direct damage-over-time procs inflicted by the Evensong, such as Slash, though apparently not if the kill is due to the AoE damage-over-time effect of a proc like Gas.
The Evensong has two unique effects. The first is that any enemy damaged by the Evensong will be inflicted with 7 Puncture procs (normal maximum is 5). This reduces affected enemy damage output by 100%, as well as increasing the Crit Chance of any subsequent attacks to the enemy by 35%. These are quite significant effects, notably being able to completely stop all damage from affected enemies for a short time.
Note that these special Puncture procs are still subject to normal Status proc duration - 6 seconds at base.
This buff does not stack with itself, but is refreshed with each kill. It's not the most impactful effect given the Galvanised Multishot mods exist, but hey certainly can't complain about more damage.
Two added polarities allows you to start seriously considering an eighth mod as well.
Ordinary Viral + Slash build.
Note also that if you have Evensong, Cantare and Harmony (i.e. all of Jade's weapons), and trigger all of their conditional effects, the three buffs combine into a single 60-second buff with doubled strength (in other words, +70% Multishot from Evensong). Unless you really like all three weapons though, I wouldn't worry too much about chasing this effect.
Augments
None, it's a new weapon.
Builds
Basic 0-Forma:
The Evensong has two native V polarities, which is greatly appreciated. This gives it ample space for the usual suspects (Damage, Multishot, Crit, some Elements), with space for a seventh mod depending on your available Elementals.
This build shows Vile Acceleration as the seventh mod, as its +Fire Rate is invaluable for cutting down the Evensong's long Charge Time. If you don't have Vile Accel, any +Fire Rate mod is greatly appreciated due to their doubled effect on Bows.
As for recommended elemental setups, well...U36 also introduced a major overhaul of damage multipliers and some of the procs. For starters, enemies are now universally weak to specific elements based on their faction/subfaction. I will be largely ignoring discussion of the multipliers, unless it is relevant to element choice, as they are universal across all weapons and individual enemies.
Viral remains a great all-rounder, as its proc is still near-universally useful. Indeed, even against the enemies who are resistant to Viral damage, Viral procs are still valuable. Corrosive remains strong against armoured enemies with its armour-reducing procs.
Magnetic is effectively the Shield version of Viral, and the recent changes have made it even better - working on Overguard as well, and benefitting greatly from the unified damage multipliers. That said, Toxin still retains its Shield-bypassing properties, so is still a strong competitor against Magnetic.
Blast and Gas can be used to give the Evensong a degree of AoE damage, though I'm not convinced that they are generally worth it.
Recommended Setups: Viral vs everything, Corrosive vs armoured enemies, Magnetic or Toxin vs Corpus
Hunter Munitions 2-Forma:
Critical Delay is a fantastic substitute over Point Strike, adding a decent amount more Crit Chance at the cost of a little Fire Rate. Alongside any +Fire Rate mod, this penalty is a non-issue, and the extra Crit Chance is greatly appreciated for more damage-per-shot, and higher chance of triggering Hunter Munitions.
Speaking of, HM is a good way to significantly increase the Evensong's Slash proc output. Even with the changes to damage types, procs, multipliers, and armour, Slash remains a highly efficient way to deal with heavily armoured enemies, and the Viral + HM combo is still excellent.
Interestingly, although it has a small AoE, the Evensong can equip Split Flights. This offers a major increase in Multishot over even Galv Chamber, at the cost of drastically decreased Accuracy. If all you want is to spread procs (including its super Puncture procs) and precision is not a concern, Split Flights can be a great alternative over Split/Galv Chamber.
Oddly, Punch Through has no effect on Charged Shots, as they will always immediately detonate on whatever object they hit first. If you are seeking improved anti-crowd capability, (Primed) Firestorm can be slotted, although it is admittedly not very strong. The AoE component of Charged Shot is not very large, not very powerful, and suffers from severe Damage Fall-Off. Nonetheless, it is still useful as a Status spreader, particularly the Evensong's unique Puncture procs.
If you want unambiguous damage boosts, Vigilante Armaments and Heavy Caliber are always decent mid-game options. Vigi Armaments is much cheaper to max and easier to slot, while Heavy Cal adds more overall damage at the cost of some Accuracy. As you delve into Galv mods and Arcanes however, these both become obsolete.
Instead, a (Primed) Bane is the strongest damage boost you can get, albeit only against the correct Faction and for a very hefty cost for each Primed mod. Notably, (Primed) Bane also drastically amplifies damage-over-time Status proc damage, however this can be emulated against all Factions with the new Rifle Elementalist mod. While the appropriate Primed Bane is still much stronger against the right target, Rifle Elementalist is much cheaper to max, easier to slot, and doesn't require changing for each Faction to be effective.
If you're looking instead to boost Crit, the usual conditional options of Argon Scope and Bladed Rounds are always worth consideration. Proton Jet is a conditional option that boosts both Crit and Status Chances. Hammer Shot on the other hand is weaker than those, but unconditionally boosts Crit Damage and Status Chance.
There is also opportunity to slot in a third elemental mod.
Radiated Reload is notable as an option that adds pre-combined Radiation, allowing otherwise impossible combos like Corrosive + Radiation. This is most useful when facing enemies weak to Radiation damage, allowing you to retain other useful procs, since the Radiation proc is arguably less useful than many of the others.
Adding Heat to a Viral or Corrosive build is a classic combo that still remains very effective, with the two pairs combining very nicely to deal drastically increased damage against the appropriate targets.
Uncombined Cold is particularly effective on the Evensong, combining perfectly with its unique super-Puncture procs. The two combine to give increased Crit Chance and Damage against affected targets, while also negating their damage output and slowing/stopping them. These are major benefits not just for the Evensong, but for any other Crit weapon as well. The best three-element setup for this is probably Corrosive + Cold, which is exceptionally effective against any armoured targets.
There are perhaps even more combos worth trying - I am still trying to wrap my head around all the changes and possibilities.
If you want to focus the Evensong on being a support weapon rather than maximising kill power, Continuous Misery or Hunter Track are worth consideration. Both significantly increase Status Duration, making the Evensong's unique Puncture procs (and any other procs of course) stay on enemies for a lot longer.
For the Exilus slot, there are a couple of options to consider. Vigilante Supplies is always an option for marginally increasing damage output, as well as providing a weak Ammo Mutation effect. Arrow Mutation can be used instead if Vigi Supplies is not working well enough, although I generally find the Evensong to have no ammo issues at all. Cautious Shot can be used to mitigate self-stagger/knockdown from Charged Shot explosions. Terminal Velocity can be used to significantly increase Projectile Speed, most useful at longer ranges.
Recommended Setups: Viral + Heat/Radiation vs everything, Corrosive + Heat/Cold/Radiation vs armour, possibly more
Galvanised Mods
Galv Chamber.
I find Galv Aptitude to be underwhelming on the Evensong. As with many other Bows, the Galv Apt damage bonus doesn't apply correctly on Charged Shots, and also doesn't apply to the (admittedly weak) AoE.
Galv Scope can offer a good damage bonus if you land Headshots reliably. The Evensong has very solid Crit, so gains a great deal of damage from maxing out Galv Scope stacks. However, it falls potentially victim to the usual Headshot-type drawbacks, in that certain damage-over-time procs cannot score Headshots (e.g. Slash and Heat). If your build relies on stacking damage-over-time procs to kill effectively, Galv Scope can be surprisingly difficult to make full use of.
Arcane
+Damage options:
- Primary Merciless - +Dmg on kill, +Reload Speed. The standard, although in this case not a great fit in my opinion. Pri Merciless decays quite quickly, and the Evensong fires fairly slowly with minimal AoE, giving very little margin-for-error to keep Pri Merciless stacks up.
- Primary Deadhead - +Dmg on Headshot kill, +Headshot damage, -Recoil. Much slower decaying makes Pri Deadhead easier to keep up, although its inability to stack from kills due to some damage-over-time procs is irksome.
- Primary Plated Rounds - +Dmg on reload based on rounds reloaded. Doesn't work at all on the Evensong (or indeed most Bows).
Other damage increasing options:
- Longbow Sharpshot - +Dmg to the next shot upon landing a Headshot. Particularly if you are running permanent +Damage from Serration/similar, this is a very strong option that doesn't rely on stacks, kills, procs etc. It simply requires you to land consistent headshots.
- Primary Frostbite - +Multishot/Crit Dmg on Cold proc. Can stack from Cold procs from any part of your loadout (e.g. Companion weapon or Warframe abilities), which is quite nice. It is weaker than a maxed Merciless/Deadhead, but not by much. If you can inflict Cold procs easier than you achieve kills/headshots, this is a good option.
- Primary Blight - +Multishot/Crit Dmg on Toxin proc. Much the same as Frostbite, except the Toxin procs must come from the Evensong itself. This is a significant disadvantage, since this requires building the Evensong for Toxin, which you may not want to do. While marginally stronger than Frostbite, it is still weaker than a maxed Merciless/Deadhead.
Non-damage-increasing options:
- Fractalised Reset - +Reload Speed on Ability cast. With low base Reload Time, increasing Reload Speed isn't much help.
- Primary Exhilarate - Energy regen on Impact proc. While this would be a great option to consider on a support-focused Evensong, unfortunately it can't inflicting Impact procs at all, making Exhilarate a non-starter.
- Primary Obstruct - Enemy weapon jam on Magnetic proc. Again, while this might be a nice effect on a support-focused build, the Evensong already completely negates enemy damage with its unique Puncture proc mechanic, without reliance on chance Status procs or being limited by a cooldown. As such, Obstruct feels rather redundant.
Ironically, the support Arcane options don't work particularly well on the Evensong, so that leaves just the damage increasing options.
Longbow Sharpshot or Pri Deadhead are ideal if you are good at landing headshots, as they are powerful and not particularly impacted by the Evensong's low overall Fire Rate. Pri Frostbite is also solid if your overall loadout support stacking Cold procs, and similarly for Pri Blight for any Toxin builds.
My Build
Combat Use and Summary
While the Evensong possesses an AoE, it is not particularly large or strong, and useful moreso as a Status spreader than a serious damaging component. As such, the Evensong is barely any better against groups of enemies than traditional single-shot Bows.With a rather long Charge Time, and DPS that is only "decent" by today's insane standards, the Evensong is also unexceptional against heavy unarmoured enemies. Individual headshots can deal good damage, but the Evensong is very slow between shots even with a +Fire Rate mod.
Where the Evensong fares best is against heavily armoured enemies. The Evensong possesses excellent Status Chance and high Slash bias, allowing it to inflict decently strong Slash procs fairly reliably. This is especially the case if complemented with Hunter Munitions, and greatly amplified with Viral procs - whether from its own added Viral damage or another source. While the Evensong's DPS is unexceptional against unarmoured enemies, its armour-bypassing Slash procs are more notable against armoured enemies, who have much less Health.
The Evensong's unique features are unlike anything else currently in-game. While normal Puncture procs can be inflicted by a myriad of weapons and other sources, those all stop at 80% Damage Reduction, where the Evensong's will provide complete 100% Damage Reduction. Against lower enemy counts, this can be invaluable for providing survivability particularly for more vulnerable Warframes. In more conventional high enemy count environments, these unique Puncture procs are a lot less impactful, but can still be useful to temporarily neutralise major threats.
The additional Crit Chance can also be nice for Crit weapons, albeit is actually a minor disadvantage for the select few weapons that don't want to Crit (Incarnons, mainly).
The squad-wide Multishot buff from Evensong kills is appreciated for just about every weapon, but is not a major increase.
The MR5 Dread is a natural comparison point, being a common early-game Bow and one of the best "normal" Bows. The Dread notably has advantages in much faster Charge Time, as well as double the Crit Chance, which mostly make up for its significant base Damage deficit against single targets. The Evensong's higher Status Chance and AoE, although weak, give it superior ability to spread Status procs than the single-target Dread.
Finally, the quest-locked Nataruk, often the standard to which Bows are compared to later in the game. Even accounting for the Evensong's AoE, and the Nataruk's lack of Headshot bonus, the Nataruk deals vastly more damage-per-shot, especially on Perfect Shots. Its wave-like projectiles on Charged/Perfect Shot also give it significantly greater linear AoE than the Evensong, and its 0 Reload Time also give it far higher effective Fire Rate.
Overall, the Evensong is a novel and rather unique weapon. It is capable of completely negating enemy damage output for a short time, while also slightly buffing allies' weapons. Its own firepower is quite usable against single targets, though even with its slight AoE struggles against groups like most Bows.
If you're a fan of Bows or weapons with unique supportive effects, I'd consider the Evensong worth a look. It is readily capable in most normal content with just a little investment, and its unique perks give it a niche that few other weapons compare to. From a pure killing efficiency point of view though, there are many better options to consider, even just in the Bow category.
Scores
Vs Trash Mobs: 1/5 - Long Charge Time and a weak AoE make the Evensong more of a single-target weapon than it would like. The AoE is not consistently strong enough to kill multiple enemies at once, acting more just as a Status primer for a follow-up shot.
Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 2/5 - The Evensong's Burst DPS is underwhelming in today's meta. While it can deal respectable damage on Headshots, it is quite slow firing and falls far behind many other weapons.
Vs Armoured Heavies without Forced Slash: 3.5/5 - High Status Chance and natural Slash bias allow the Evensong to inflict solid Slash procs quite reliably. These can be augmented significantly with Viral procs, which can be easily modded on. Again the Evensong's mediocre DPS does not help its case, but this is much less of an issue against armoured enemies, who have less overall Health.
Vs Armoured Heavies with Forced Slash: 4/5 - Hunter Munitions works quite well off the Evensong's very good Crit, to amp up Slash proc frequency even further.
Vs Variants
None.
Competitors
"Regular" Bows have not been particularly impressive for a fair while, with the absurdity of powercreep and AoE weapons. Often the ones that are notably strong are ones that go beyond the traditional bow-and-arrow.
Of course, the Dread has access to an Incarnon Genesis Adapter that makes it significantly stronger and gives it access to a powerful Incarnon form.
The MR6 Cinta is a lot more interesting. Its Charged Shots are a lot more powerful than the Evensong, however are a little slower. On the other hand, its Perfect Shot fires a weaker wave-like projectile, being much less effective against single targets, but far more useful against large crowds. While the Evensong can do both reasonable single-target damage and minor AoE without having to choose, in my opinion the Cinta is overall more effective as a weapon for killing.
Overall, the Evensong struggles to compare amongst existing Bows when considering purely its killing power. Its unique features however are not replicated by any other Primary currently in game, giving it a distinct (if rather niche) role.
Rivens
As a new weapon, the Evensong starts with a minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition. I expect this to skyrocket when its Disposition starts getting adjusted, as it is not a notably powerful weapon.
+Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are the usual nice positives, with the latter two being more impactful as you acquire Galv mods and Arcanes. +Elemental Damage can be useful to save a mod slot. +Status Duration can enhance the utility of the Evensong's unique Puncture procs. +Faction Damage can be a useful extra damage multiplier for very high level enemies. +Fire Rate greatly reduces the Evensong's long Charge Time, so is very appreciated. +Projectile Speed can be helpful at longer ranges. +Reload Speed helps to cut down time between shots, though is relatively minor.
-Impact is ideal, with the Evensong having no Impact damage naturally. -Puncture reduces damage output slightly, but helps to bias Status procs more towards Slash and elementals. Additionally, since the Evensong automatically inflicts 7 Puncture procs on any enemy hits, getting Puncture procs from natural Status output is not helpful. -Faction Damage has no effect against other factions, and in smaller amounts can be manageable. -Mag Capacity has no effect although I'm not sure if it is a possible roll on the Evensong. -Ammo Max is generally not an issue (except with very large values). +Recoil has basically no effect. -Zoom is ideal for close quarters.
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