The Epitaph Prime is an MR14 Secondary. Sevagoth Prime's signature weapon, it possesses two very distinct firing modes that combine for one highly versatile weapon. Uncharged Shots fire weak projectiles that explode in a large range, ideal for spreading Status procs amongst groups of enemies. Charged Shots fire powerful projectiles dealing massive damage to single targets.
Acquisition
Standard Prime weapon stuff, its Blueprint and Components are available in various Void Relics.
Stats
Uncharged Shots are quite weak, with mediocre base Damage and projectile speed, and terrible Crit. However, they have an exceptional 50% Status Chance, ideal for spreading a wide range of Status procs.
Note of course that the explosion can inflict self stagger/knockdown if you are too close.
On the other hand, Charged Shots focus on an extremely strong single-target attack, as well as much higher projectile speed. Their Crit is exceptional, possibly the highest of any weapon in the game currently, backed up by a much higher base Damage.
Though not pictured on this stat screen for some reason, Charged Shots also have innate Punch Through of 2m. This is very helpful as they are much slower firing and have no AoE otherwise.
Where Uncharged Shots get guaranteed Cold procs, Charged Shots inflict guaranteed Impact procs on any enemy hit. While this isn't too special on its own, it has a particularly strong interaction which will be discussed in the modding section.
My Builds
On the other hand, this build forgoes damage entirely, and focuses on stacking as many different Status procs as possible with Uncharged Shots. I use this build in Disruption for greatly weakening and slowing Demolishers/Demolysts, allowing me to more comfortably kill them with other weapons.
Both firing modes consume a single ammo-per-shot, and require a reload after every shot like a Bow. An Ammo Max of 40 is not particularly large, but Ammo Pickup of 20 is very reasonable and easily replenishes the EpitaphP. The most likely way one could come close to running out of EpitaphP ammo is exclusively using the weaker, faster Uncharged Shots.
When used by Sevagoth (Prime), the Epitaph (Prime) deals an additional 20% Headshot Damage.
Augments
None.
Builds
Crit 0-Forma:
The Epitaph Prime has two native V polarities, which is quite helpful. This sample build has most of the basics - Damage, Multishot, Crit, Elements. While Target Cracker is not particularly strong, the EpitaphP's Crit on Charged Shot is so high that it still gives a major damage boost.
If you have Creeping Bullseye, you can substitute it in place of Pistol Gambit, for a big boost in Crit Chance in exchange for a small Fire Rate penalty.
Elemental 0-Forma:
This build focuses instead on Elemental damage and procs, notably stronger for Uncharged Shots, but less efficient for Charged Shots. At lower levels, Uncharged Shots can be effective at clearing out weaker enemies, but this drops off quite quickly at very high levels. Instead, at high levels Uncharged Shots can be very effective for spreading Status procs. A build such as the one pictured above can inflict upwards of 6 procs on individual enemies with just a single shot. Multiple shots can max out capped procs like Viral and Corrosive very quickly.
Aside from building for super-effective multipliers, there are a number of other elemental setups worth considering.
Viral procs are nearly universally useful, as every enemy has Health, so even if it is not super-effective, Viral is a good default element. Corrosive is a little stronger against armoured enemies, and particularly so against armoured enemies who are resistant/immune to Viral procs, such as the Cambion Drift Infested. Magnetic is the Viral equivalent for Shields and Overguard, making it especially strong against Corpus units and enemies who make use of Overguard, such as all Eximus units. Alternatively, Toxin bypasses Shields entirely, making it notably effective against unarmoured Corpus units in particular.
If going for a three-element build, there are even more options to look at. Heat is a great general-purpose option, with its proc offering both damage-over-time and armour reduction. It combines well with any proc that amplifies damage dealt to the enemy, including Viral, Corrosive, and Magnetic.
Electric, Gas, and Blast can all offer potent AoE damaging effects, though I've personally struggled to make good use of them outside of specific interactions.
Recommended Setups: Viral (+ Heat) vs everything, Corrosive (+ Heat) vs armoured enemies, Infested, Magnetic (+ Heat/Toxin) vs Overguard, Corpus
Primed Crit 1-Forma:
Another added V polarity allows you to upgrade both Crit modes to their Primed versions, for a significant damage increase. While Primed Pistol Gambit gives slightly less Crit Chance than Creeping Bullseye, its lack of Fire Rate penalty makes it generally overall stronger in a vacuum.
Primer 1-Forma:
Alternatively, you can also make a strong primer build.
Accelerated Isotope can be a very useful option to get some easy Radiation, for an extra proc. It can be included in many builds without interfering with other elements, potentially allowing many otherwise-impossible setups like Corrosive + Radiation. Typically, I would use it in place of Lethal Torrent, mainly as Galv Diffusion (see below) makes the Multishot component much less valuable.
(Primed) Fulmination is also a great addition if you have it available, significantly increasing Uncharged Shot explosive radius for much wider ranged priming. Keep in mind that it does not directly increase damage output, nor does it benefit Charged Shot at all.
Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider adding Radiation with Accelerated Isotope
Hemorrhage 3-Forma:
Two more added V polarities gives you much more capacity to work with. The most notable option to mention is Hemorrhage.
Neither firing mode is particularly good at naturally inflicting Slash procs. Charged Shot does not have very high natural Status Chance, and Uncharged Shot Slash bias is low, and only on direct hits. However, Charged Shots inflicted guaranteed Impact procs on hit, and at base have a very low Fire Rate, resulting in near-guaranteed Slash procs from Hemorrhage. These Slash procs will be incredibly powerful, bleeding out almost any armoured enemy instantly.
Note that if running Hemorrhage, you must be careful with your +Fire Rate mods. Specifically, if you are running Lethal Torrent, you must also run Creeping Bullseye (or similar) to keep Fire Rate below the 2.5 threshold. Alternatively, Accel Isotope on its own, in place of Lethal Torrent, will stay just below the threshold as well.
There are a couple of other mod options you can consider. If you are after an unconditional damage boost, the aforementioned Augur Pact is a cheap, but rather weak, option. Magnum Force is a little stronger, but also much more expensive, higher drain, and introduces an Accuracy penalty which is problematic for Charged Shots.
If you are looking to min-max, a (Primed) Expel is a much stronger option, as the +Faction Damage effect is a different stat to +Damage. Additionally, it applies multiple times to damage-over-time procs. This of course has the other downsides of being Faction-specific and requiring multiple maxed mods to truly optimise. If you want a Faction-agnostic Status-boosting option, Pistol Elementalist offers a similar effect albeit without the corresponding direct-damage increase. Ironically, those two work best on a build with Hemorrhage, though it can be difficult to get all of the requisite mods into the same build. Probably the best way to get around this is to use something else to proc Viral (e.g. Panzer Vulpaphyla), allowing you to remove the Toxin/Cold mods from the EpitaphP.
Otherwise, you can also consider Hydraulic Crosshairs and Sharpened Bullets for conditional Crit boosts.
For the Exilus Slot, Lethal Momentum is probably the top contender. Uncharged Shots are particularly slow and also suffer from projectile drop. Charged Shots are a lot faster, but still appreciated increased Projectile Speed for longer ranges.
Otherwise, (Primed) Pistol Ammo Mutation or even Trick Mag could be used to alleviate any potential ammo issues.
Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Viral + Hemorrhage vs armoured enemies
Galvanised Mods
Galv Diffusion.
Galv Shot is exceptionally strong on Charged Shots, as it is multiplicative to other +Damage effects on it, rather than additive as usual. On the other hand, Uncharged Shots only really benefit from the increased Status Chance, since their direct hit damage is fairly low. That said, Uncharged Shot radial damage is still only a minor component of its total damage.
Galv Crosshairs can be a strong boost for Charged Shots, though it is very build-dependent. Charged Shots of course benefit greatly from Headshots, thanks to both the default Headshot multiplier and the additional Crit Headshot multiplier. However, as is so often mentioned in these discussions, certain damage-over-time procs (like Slash) cannot hit Headshots, and thus do not trigger Headshot kills, regardless of whether the original shot was a Headshot. This is particularly relevant for any build relying on Hemorrhage, as kills from the resultant Slash procs will not proc Galv Crosshairs. If instead you are relying on direct damage, it is a strong option.
Arcane
+Damage Options:
- Sec Merciless - The standard, though I'd argue is not particularly suitable for the EpitaphP. The faster Uncharged Shots are very weak, and struggle to kill anything except the squishiest of enemies, while the more powerful Charged Shots are much slower. It takes a fair amount of time to reach max stacks with the EpitaphP.
- Sec Deadhead - Works notably well with Charged Shots, albeit suffering the same usual flaws as Galv Crosshairs for Headshot kills. Much faster to stack and slower to decay than Merciless.
- Casc Flare - Works very well for any build with added Heat, thanks to Uncharged Shots inflicting massive amounts of procs.
Other Damage-increasing Options:
- Casc Accuracy - Strong for Charged Shots if you are skilled at landing Headshots, but near useless for Uncharged Shots.
- Casc Empowered - Can actually be a significant damage boost for Uncharged Shots, due to how low the explosion base Damage is. However, does almost nothing for Charged Shots.
- Casc Overcharge - Strong for Charged Shots with any Frame that reliably generates Overshields, but of little value to Uncharged Shots.
- Conjunction Voltage - Can be solid on a Primer build, offering two valuable stats that are not just pure damage. Falls well behind in pure Damage compared to many other options.
- Sec Kinship - Generally speaking, too weak and conditional to be worth using; can work well on a select few Warframes, but requires squadmates.
- Sec Shiver - Acts effectively as an alternate Galv Shot on the EpitaphP. Has an advantage in lack of need for setup, since Uncharged Shots can effortlessly max Cold procs, but is exceeded by Galv Shot by 4 or more unique procs. Note that like Galv Shot, it offers little benefit to Uncharged Shots.
- Sec Outburst - Extremely strong for Charged Shots if the playstyle suits you, thanks to their incredible base Crit. Does almost nothing for Uncharged Shots.
- Sec Surge - The EpitaphP is probably one of the better Sec Surge users, as both modes are comparatively slow-firing. Charged Shots in particular can be cranked to hilariously high overkill numbers with a max Surge boost.
- Sec Fortifier - Very strong if you want to deal with Eximus/other Overguarded enemies quickly, and/or want a bit more survivability. Uncharged Shots, being much faster firing and AoE, can notably abuse Overguard gating if you are fighting groups of Overguarded enemies.
Non-Damage-increasing Options:
- Sec Encumber - Ideal for a pure Primer build, but is most effective against single targets due to its unusual limit of one proc per very short period of time.
For Charged Shot builds, if you are using Galv Shot, a +Damage option is a must. Otherwise, there are a whole lot of viable options, dependent primarily on build and playstyle.
My Builds
I have two very distinct builds for the EpitaphP. This first one focuses on Charged Shots, dealing enormous single-target damage with massive Slash procs for anything that somehow survives. Uncharged Shots remain useful for stacking Viral and Cold procs on enemies.
Combat Use and Summary
The EpitaphP's two firing modes operate very differently, but work together very well.
Uncharged Shots are severely lacking in direct damage, and are generally only suited to priming enemies with Status procs - a role it excels in. Besides innate Blast and whatever has been modded on, Uncharged Shots also inflict forced Cold procs. With an element-heavy build such as the ones pictured above, Uncharged Shots can inflict at least 5 unique elemental procs on its victims. Very weak enemies such as Infested Chargers and Grineer/Corrupted Butchers can be killed by Uncharged Shots, but little else.
On the other hand, Charged Shots excel against single targets, with slow Fire Rate but exceptional damage-per-shot. Once primed with Uncharged Shots, most enemies will die to a single Charged Shot, particularly on a Headshot. Innate Punch Through is helpful, though not particularly impactful with such slow fire rate.
The forced Cold procs from Uncharged Shots synergise especially well with Charged Shots. At full stacks, they freeze targets in place, for very easy Headshots, as well as increasing Crit Damage based on the number of Cold procs.
Particularly before the most recent Armour rework, heavily Armoured enemies could prove troublesome even for Charged Shots. Their enormous damage reduction drastically reduced the amount of direct damage received, and dealing with them either required significant armour reduction, or armour-bypassing damage like Slash procs.
Uncharged Shots can be used to very quickly stack Viral/Corrosive and Heat procs, for huge armour reduction/damage increase. While neither firing mode is particularly good at inflicting Slash procs naturally, Charged Shots can make exceptional use of Hemorrhage, to inflict massive Slash procs that can instantly bleed out even the toughest armoured enemies.
The EpitaphP struggles at long ranges. Uncharged Shots, while faster firing, have slower projectile speed and quite significant projectile drop at range. Charged Shots are a lot faster travelling, but also slower firing, and have no AoE to speak of.
While the EpitaphP's Ammo Max of 40 is not particularly high, it generally does not consume ammo that quickly either. Additionally, an Ammo Pickup value of 20 makes it very easy to replenish.
Overall, the Epitaph Prime is a powerful and versatile Secondary. Uncharged Shots excel at spreading Status procs, and can kill off weaker enemies, while Charged Shots obliterate even the toughest single enemies in the game with ease. The two firing modes are effective on their own, but synergise exceptionally well together. Where the EpitaphP is weakest is against large groups of moderately tough enemies, against whom Uncharged Shots take a while to kill, and Charged Shots are too slow to eliminate quickly.
Very few weapons pull off so many roles effectively with a single build. If you are looking for a Secondary that can work well in most mission types, the Epitaph Prime is an excellent option.
Scores
Vs Trash Mobs: 3/5 - Uncharged Shots, although they possess fantastic AoE, deal very low damage, and struggle to kill anything beyond the squishiest of enemies. Charged Shots easily kill individual enemies, but with Charge Time and low Fire Rate cannot kill many of them quickly.
Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 5/5 - Charged Shots dealing massive damage allows the EpitaphP to quickly punch through most unarmoured or Status-resistant/immune heavy enemies.
Vs Armoured Heavies without Forced Slash: 4.5/5 - Uncharged Shots can be used to greatly weaken heavily armoured enemies, stacking up Viral or Corrosive procs, as well as potentially both Heat and Cold. These drastically increase the already impressive damage that Charged Shots will deal. The recent enemy armour rework also greatly weakens heavily armoured enemies.
Vs Armoured Heavies with Forced Slash: 5/5 - Charged Shots deal forced Impact procs and fire very slowly, making them an ideal candidate for Hemorrhage. Backed by very high base Damage and Crit, a single Slash proc from a well aimed Charged Shot will kill most armoured enemies in just one or two ticks.
The MR14 Epitaph Prime is a strict upgrade over the (already excellent) MR8 Epitaph. The most notable differences are probably the Uncharged Shot explosive radius (8m to 10m), and the Charged Shot Crit Multiplier (2.6× to 3×).
The MR14 Zakti Prime is a bit more similar to the Uncharged EpitaphP, also with pitiful Crit and very high Status Chance. Though the ZaktiP's explosive base Damage is a fair bit higher, and its Fire Rate much higher, its explosive radius is also significantly smaller, requiring more shots to cover the same area. Ultimately, while the ZaktiP is more capable of killing enemies, in the grand scheme of things I find it to also be better suited to a pure support/primer role. Besides the aspects mentioned above, the EpitaphP has innate Blast and forced Cold procs, while the ZaktiP has innate Gas.
Finally, the MR8 Kompressa. Its explosive radius is significantly smaller again, and its direct hit damage is almost non-existent. However, the Kompressa notably innately fires 4 pellets at once, giving it a massive advantage in single-target Status application rate especially now that its Multishot bugs have been fixed. Additionally, it has innate Viral damage, allowing it to equip exceptionally deadly and usually-impossible combos like Viral + Corrosive + Heat. Combined with a higher Fire Rate, and I find the Kompressa to actually be very effective at killing enemies (in fact it is probably due for a re-review), on top of its already respectable primer capability.
Vs Variants
Competitors
As already mentioned when reviewing the base Epitaph, while there are a number of competitors for the Epitaph Prime's individual firing modes, pretty much no other Secondary has the same combination of both firing modes.
There are a number of other Status-focused AoE Secondaries. A common theme is that Uncharged Shots from the EpitaphP are severely lacking in damage, relegating it to a support/primer role.
NOTE: These screenshots were taken with other equipment that increases Secondary Crit Damage, hence why all of these notionally Status-focused weapons appear to have very high Crit Multipliers.
The relatively recent MR14 Akarius Prime is a strong competitor. The Uncharged EpitaphP has higher Status Chance, much larger explosive radius, and more comfortable Ammo economy. However, the AkariusP is far stronger, with many times the base Damage and superior Crit, allowing it to effectively kill enemies in what is still a rather large area.
There are a number of other solid slow-firing, single-target Secondaries. Ones that come to mind include the Euphona Prime, Sepulcrum, and Tombfinger Kitgun. The EpitaphP's Charged Shots are notably slower than just about any other options, in part due to the Charge Time, but appropriately deal higher damage-per-shot than almost anything else. Additionally, it tends to fall behind most other options for Status output.
Of course, no single-target Secondary comparison would be complete without mentioning the utterly ridiculous Incarnons. Once again though, it is a rather unfair comparison, as weapons like the Laetum and Lex Prime Incarnon deal an order of magnitude more damage than the EpitaphP - but of course the burden to acquire and maximise them is significantly greater as well.
Overall, while the EpitaphP faces significant competition in its individual firing modes, no other weapon combines both powerful single-shot attacks and AoE Status priming.
Rivens
As with all new weapons, the Epitaph Prime starts with a bare minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition. Given that the base Epitaph only ever increased to 1/5 (0.55), and the Prime is a strict upgrade, I don't expect the Prime's to budge at all. It is a very powerful and versatile weapon.
+Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are the usual nice positives. +Elemental Damage can be useful to save a mod slot. +Faction Damage can be beneficial for endurance runs, most notable against the Grineer due to the ubiquity of their armoured units. +Fire Rate can be beneficial, increasing Uncharged Shot's Status spread rate, and further reducing Charged Shot's Charge Time. +Projectile Speed can be useful at longer ranges. +Reload Speed is arguably even more beneficial than +Fire Rate, as the Epitaph reloads after every shot like a Bow. +Punch Through can be useful for Charged Shots against tightly packed groups of enemies.
-Impact/Puncture are great negatives, as neither is particularly missed. Puncture in particular is the smallest base Damage component, so has the smallest effect on overall damage output. Impact is slightly larger, but still not major, and Charged Shots inflict forced Impact procs anyway, so there is no notable Status proc loss there. -Slash is arguably not terrible either, as the EpitaphP largely relies on Hemorrhage for Slash procs rather than natural Status application.
-Faction Damage to weaker Factions (mainly Infested, arguably Corpus) can be manageable with strong positive stats. -Mag Capacity, if it is a possible roll, has no effect. -Ammo Max is largely negligible, as while the EpitaphP's Ammo Max is fairly low, it fires slowly and its Ammo Pickup is very high relative to its Ammo Max. +Recoil is not really a problem as the EpitaphP fires fairly slowly. -Zoom is ideal for close quarters.
Considering that the base Epitaph is arguably Steel Path competitive already, introducing a Prime version seems like dramatic overkill. Not that I'm complaining.
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