The Coda Bassocyst is an MR17 Shotgun, one of the few Coda weapons that is brand new rather than an upgraded variant. With a powerful wave-like Primary Fire, and an unusual Mercy-kill-focused Alt Fire, it is a potent, unique and versatile weapon, absolutely worthy of your investment.
Pri Fire launches wave projectiles, much like the Arca Plasmor albeit relatively smaller - more Catchmoon sized. Nonetheless, it retains the same infinite body Punch Through, making it excellent at mowing down groups of enemies. Compared to those weapons, the CBassocyst also has much higher range and Damage Fall-Off ranges. At max range, it still deals a usable 32.55% damage.
Alt Fire is not designed for immediate kills, but rather to weaken and stack procs on heavy enemies, whether to finish them off with Pri Fire or a Mercy kill. In particular, Impact rapidly increases the Mercy threshold, while Magnetic tears through Shields and Overguard which can otherwise stop a Mercy kill.
Acquisition
In a change to Kuva Liches and Sisters of Parvos, Codas give a "Live Heartcell" resource on vanquishing, that can then be turned in at Eleanor in Hollvania. It is pretty much an identical system to some of the Tenet weapons that are sold by Ergo Glast, where the Nemesis bonus element and value are both randomised and change every 4 days.
Note that only half of the Coda weapons are available from Eleanor at any one time.
Stats
The Coda Bassocyst's Primary Fire is quite strong, with very respectable 18%/2.2× Crit and an excellent 40% Status Chance. Base (mostly) Blast damage is quite interesting with high Status Chance, offering fairly reliable AoE damage procs alongside its natural AoE.
With a Fire Rate of 1.17, Mag Capacity of 24, and Reload Time of 2.5s, the CBassocyst has a fantastic Reload Ratio of 8.2. An Ammo Max of 96 seems small in a vacuum, but is more than enough for this type of weapon, especially with Ammo Pickup of 15.
Alt Fire is a very strange attack. It fires up to 6 spores that infect nearby enemies for 10 seconds. Each second, these spores will deal guaranteed Impact and Magnetic procs, on top of regular damage and proc chance for its normal damage types.
Note that it has a limited range of 35m, and consumes 4 ammo per shot, regardless of the number of enemies in range.
If the targeted enemy is open for a Mercy kill, instead of firing spores, Alt Fire will instantly teleport you to them and automatically execute a Mercy kill, without consuming ammo.
Not mentioned in the Unique Trait text, upon executing a Mercy kill, the CBassocyst gains +100% Damage and Multishot (treated like mods) for 20 seconds. This happens regardless if the Mercy is triggered by Alt Fire, or as normal Mercy finisher.
Augments
None.
Builds
NOTE: The below Overframe builds do not feature any Nemesis Bonus. Multiply the final damage numbers by between 1.25× and 1.6×.
Basic 0-Forma:
The Coda Bassocyst has a single V polarity, which allows you to fit a basic general build. This pictured build has the usual suspects. If you don't have Critical Deceleration, Blunderbuss is the much weaker +Crit Chance alternative - that said, at that point you are probably better off just stacking more +Damage/Multishot/Elemental Damage.
For the elemental combo to mod on, Viral as always is a good default option. While its multipliers aren't great, its proc is almost universally useful, and often outweighs otherwise going for bonus damage if you don't have another source of Viral procs. Corrosive has generally better multipliers, and is notably effective against the Cambion Drift Infested, who are immune to Viral procs. Both Magnetic and Toxin are super-effective against Corpus units. Magnetic deals bonus damage and rapidly depletes Shields and Overguard, while Toxin bypasses Shields entirely, striking directly at their Health.
Recommended Setups: Viral vs everything, Corrosive vs armour and Infested, Magnetic or Toxin vs Corpus
Primed Mods 1-Forma:
One added V polarity, and the extra levels from being a Nemesis weapon, allow you to comfortably fit in a lot more. In this case, I've upgraded both Point Blank and Ravage to their Primed versions, for a significant damage increase. There's also space for a seventh mod, depending on your elemental mod choices.
If you're after a no-fuss damage increase, Vicious Spread and Vigilante Armaments are worth a look. Both are relatively cheap to max and provide similar overall damage increase. Once you get into Galv Mods, Arcanes, and other late-game mods, both become largely obsolete.
You can also use the seventh slot for a third elemental mod. Adding Heat alongside Viral or Corrosive is a strong option, as it synergises with both very well. Radiation + Cold is fairly potent against some targets, primarily Sentient and Murmur. Blast with or without Electric is notable if you want to maximise AoE, leveraging both an AoE projectile and very high chances for AoE procs.
There are of course even more decent builds if you are targeting specific enemies/factions.
Recommended Setups: Viral + Heat vs everything, Corrosive + Heat vs armour and Infested, Radiation vs Sentient and Murmur, Blast (+ Electric) for max AoE
Hunter Munitions 2-Forma:
Another added V polarity opens up many more options, including for the eighth slot.
Hunter Munitions in a Viral build is a strong option against heavily armoured enemies, allowing the CBassocyst to inflict enormous Slash procs. Such procs can bleed even the heaviest armoured enemies in a few ticks, but its only decent Crit Chance makes HM somewhat inconsistent.
Not mentioned previously, Blaze and Chilling Reload are decent alternatives for their respective base elemental mods. Blaze offers slightly higher total damage, while Chilling Reload cuts down on Reload Time.
If you have a spare mod slot, the combined-element mods are also absolutely worth consideration. Magnetic Strife offers Magnetic and a decent chunk of Fire Rate, both of which are highly beneficial for most builds. Viral + Magnetic in particular is highly effective against any target that isn't immune to those procs - that combo shreds Health, Shields, and Overguard in equal measure. Atomic Fallout provides Radiation and Mag Capacity, which is generally less impactful on the CBassocyst.
If you're looking for a general damage increase that is stronger than Vicious Spread or Vigi Armaments, Semi-Shotgun Cannonade is very strong if you aren't intending to increase Fire Rate. In fact, it is stronger than Primed Point Blank, and should be used instead if you are so inclined. The added Punch Through is also beneficial in clustered environments, as while Pri Fire has infinite body Punch Through, it does not have any object Punch Through.
Speaking of, dedicated Punch Through mods like Seeking Fury or Seeking Force can be nice around messy terrain if you don't want the Fire Rate-lock from Cannonade.
A (Primed) Cleanse is also a powerful option. In particular, they apply twice to damaging procs, making them exceptional for any such build (e.g. Heat, Slash, and Blast). However, they are of course restricted to one Faction at a time, which is both expensive and inconvenient.
Focusing on damage proc builds, Shotgun Elementalist is nearly as powerful as a Primed Cleanse, without the Faction-specificity. However, it has no impact on direct damage.
My primary build is a Viral + Magnetic setup. While I initially tried Hunter Munitions in the Mag Strafe slot, I found that for the content I play, the Slash procs weren't really necessary, and the Magnetic damage and procs were generally more useful.
This build switches the Viral out for Corrosive, particularly useful against targets who are Viral-immune.
With the introduction of the "Elemental Vice" item, a Nemesis weapon's base elemental bonus is less important - which is a good thing since you can't choose the base elemental bonus for Codas. Instead, you're stuck to just pray and/or wait for the right element to come into Eleanor's stock, or just use an Elemental Vice on it once you've 5-Forma'd it.
There are a couple of conditional Crit mods worth a look if you don't want any of those above. With Critical Deceleration in the picture, Shrapnel Shot is the strongest for its conditional +Crit Damage. Laser Sight provides conditional +Crit Chance but is a fair bit weaker overall than Shrapnel Shot, and while Motus Setup is weaker still, it also provides +Status Chance.
Given the CBassocyst's excellent Reload Ratio, +Fire Rate can be a powerful DPS increase. Shotgun Barrage is the obvious choice for this, since Frail Momentum is just strictly worse.
There are a few options for the Exilus slot. Vigilante Supplies of course gets mentioned for the marginal damage increase, although the Ammo Mutation effect is less necessary. Fatal Acceleration is worth a mention, with the increased Projectile Speed also increasing max projectile range and Damage Fall-Off ranges.
Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Viral + Slash vs armour
Galvanised Mods
Galv Hell.
The Coda Bassocyst is one of those weapons that gets multiplicative benefit from Galv Savvy, making it an obvious choice alongside a +Damage Arcane or similar.
Galv Accel is almost always a solid option on Shotguns, as even on hitscan weapons, +Projectile Speed increases Damage Fall-Off ranges. For the CBassocyst, which is a projectile weapon with limited range, it is an even easier sell.
Arcane
+Damage options:
- Primary Merciless - the standard, +Damage on kill and +Reload Speed. Stacks quickly on a weapon like the CBassocyst which has solid AoE.
- Primary Deadhead - +Damage on Headshot kill, +Headshot damage, -Recoil. Higher damage potential than Merciless, stacks faster, and lasts longer, but relies on landing Headshots.
- Primary Plated Round - maxes at +165% Damage when reloading the full base 24 Mag Capacity, which is very small compared to the others and not worth it at all.
Other Damage-increasing options:
- Primary Blight - +Multishot/Crit Damage on Toxin procs from the weapon. Strong provided the build has Toxin on it.
- Primary Frostbite - +Multishot/Crit Damage on Cold procs. Very slightly weaker than Pri Blight, but stacks from Cold procs from any source, not just the weapon itself, making it more versatile.
- Shotgun Vendetta - +Multishot/Reload Speed on close range kills. Can be powerful, but is more impactful on weapons with really slow Reload Time.
Non-Damage-increasing options:
- Primary Crux - +Status Chance/Ammo Efficiency on Weak Point Hit. I find the CBassocyst generally pretty comfortable with ammo so I don't think this one is particularly impactful.
- Primary Exhilarate - +Energy Regen on Impact proc. Alt Fire reliably inflicts Impact procs, so if you need more Energy and aren't concerned about damage output, this can be a good option.
- Primary Obstruct - Light CC on Magnetic proc. Alt Fire also reliably inflicts Mag procs, so this is again an option if you don't need more damage.
- Fractalised Reset - +Reload Speed on Ability cast. The CBassocyst's Reload Speed isn't that bad and its Reload Ratio is excellent, so this is ignorable.
Due to the multiplicative nature of Galv Savvy, a +Damage Arcane is the much stronger option. Both Merciless and Deadhead are good options, depending on personal preference and the secondary stats.
My Builds
Nemesis Bonus
There are quite a few options to consider. Impact is probably the worst option as isn't a good damage type, and Alt Fire can be used to stack Impact procs already. Both Radiation and Magnetic are solid, offering non-combining extra elements with useful multipliers. Magnetic is probably the better of the two, but as I actually like the Magnetic mod on Shotguns, I opted for Radiation instead for more elements.
In terms of single elements, pretty much all of them have value. Toxin allows easy combining into Viral or Corrosive to save a mod slot for something else. Heat is pretty much always a strong addition on top of Viral or Corrosive. Cold is somewhat more niche, but has notable value against Ability-resistant enemies. Electric offers an extra AoE proc, though with the way Blast operates, you may be better focusing on pure Blast for AoE than diluting your proc pool with Electric.
While I was lukewarm about Alt Fire initially, I have come to appreciate it. Its high Ammo cost and limited targeting naturally make it inefficient against groups of enemies, and very much a secondary mode of the weapon.
Combat Use and Summary
The Coda Bassocyst's Primary Fire is, as you might expect with its projectile type, most effective against groups of enemies. A single shot can pass through and damage entire crowds, easily killing off weaker enemies and weakening heavier ones. While the projectile size is smaller than the likes of the Arca Plasmor, the high chance of natural Blast procs offers an additional, if inconsistent, AoE.
With quite high damage-per-shot, the CBassocyst deals surprisingly good direct damage to singular heavy targets. However, it doesn't get the default 3× Headshot Multiplier, so falls behind a number of more precise weapons, and its only "decent" Crit Chance can be a tad inconsistent for damage output.
Pri Fire will inflict Status procs fairly reliably, but with low Fire Rate, it is not quick at stacking them. A Viral/Corrosive + Heat build can inflict a few of those procs quite reliably, but other weapons are much more efficient at stacking these procs for maximum effect.
Its ability to quickly cripple tough enemies though is very potent, especially at high levels where Pri Fire doesn't just one/two-shot everything. Whether you finish off the weakened enemies with Pri Fire or a Mercy, Alt Fire's rapid Status stacking is a notable boon for an otherwise slow-firing weapon. That is, so long as the enemy is vulnerable to Status procs.
The CBassocyst's Alt Fire naturally works exceptionally with Parazon mods that trigger on Mercy, such as Blood for Ammo, Blood for Energy, and Power Drain. If you have a build that wants regular Mercy kills for whatever reason, it is a very synergistic weapon to pick up.
While the CBassocyst is much less effective beyond 35m, and outright useless beyond 60m, this is still far superior range than all of its competitors. Combined with Warframe's incredible movement system, I have found very little issue with effective range, even in the larger tilesets like 1999.
Overall, the Coda Bassocyst is a great weapon. Its Primary Fire is very potent and very effective against large groups of enemies, both with its large projectile and with the high chance of AoE Blast procs. Alt Fire is rather unusual, but perfectly complements Pri Fire in rapidly weakening Mercy-able heavy enemies who might otherwise survive Pri Fire shots.
I'd go as far as saying that the Coda Bassocyst is one of the best weapons I've used in Warframe. It is powerful, versatile, feels satisfying to use, and is capable in the vast majority of Warframe content. I strongly recommend getting your hands on one at your earliest convenience, and investing it to bring out its full potential.
Scores
Vs Trash Mobs: 5/5 - Pri Fire fires a fairly large, enemy-piercing projectile with innate Blast damage, for a powerful double-up of AoE effects. It tears through groups with ease, and the large Mag Capacity allows you to take on streams of enemies comfortably, and multi-tap any enemies who survive the first shot.
Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 4/5 - Pri Fire is quite powerful, even without the default Headshot multiplier, dealing good direct damage to most targets. Alt Fire can be quite helpful for quickly weakening enemies (provided they are Status-vulnerable), either for Pri Fire to finish off, or for a quick Mercy kill. Status-resistant/immune enemies are more difficult to deal with though.
Vs Armoured Heavies without Forced Slash: 4/5 - Pri Fire is strong and very Status capable, allowing it to stack procs like Viral, Corrosive, or Heat fairly reliably. However, it is not particularly fast at stacking those procs. Alt Fire is pretty much tailor made for taking down such enemies, with excellent Status capability and notably forced Impact procs for much easier Mercy kills.
As a not-so-new weapon, the Coda Bassocyst started at a minimum 1/5 (0.5) Riven Disposition, and was recently increased marginally to 1/5 (0.55). I expect it to stay very low much like the Tenet Arca Plasmor, as it is a very powerful and capable weapon.
Vs Armoured Heavies with Forced Slash: 4.5/5 - The CBassocyst has solid, though not exceptional, Crit Chance, allowing it to make decent use of Hunter Munitions. Both firing modes can use it to inflict Slash procs. Pri Fire's will be much stronger, and can kill armoured heavies in one-to-two ticks. Alt Fire's are weaker, but still very helpful to more quickly bring enemies into Mercy range.
Vs Variants
None, it's a unique new weapon.
The Coda Bassocyst is superior in many respects compared to the Tenet Arca Plasmor. It has higher Status Chance and notably base Blast damage - a relative rarity for Status-heavy weapons, and less overlap with mods and Nemesis Bonuses. A slightly higher Crit Multiplier and base Damage is offset by lower Crit Chance. The net result is that the two have very similar damage-per-shot.
Competitors
The Coda Bassocyst competes directly with the Tenet Arca Plasmor, both firing a similar wave projectile and both being available from their respective Nemeses.
However, the CBassocyst really excels over the TAPlasmor in supplementary stats. Its Damage Fall-Off ranges are far further, for much more effectiveness at range (including max range), and its Fire Rate, Mag Capacity, and Reload Time are all superior. I find these to be very impactful in-game, as they make the CBassocyst feel much more comfortable to use.
The TAPlasmor retains a notable advantage in projectile size, allowing it to hit many more enemies with the initial shot. While I don't have solid numbers, the TAPlasmor's projectile feels to be about twice the width as the CBassocyst. That said, the CBassocyst's innate Blast damage can inflict AoE Blast procs to bridge this gap.
The TAPlasmor has nothing like the CBassocyst's Alt Fire, which is a notable tool against very heavy enemies.
Overall, I consider the TAPlasmor better in the pure group clearing role, but the CBassocyst is an overall more versatile weapon.
There aren't many weapons that fire the wave-type projectile, so in that regard, the Coda Bassocyst compares quite favourably. In fact, as far as non-Incarnon AoE weapons go, I think the CBassocyst is one of the best.
Rivens
+Damage/Multishot/Crit Chance/Crit Damage are the usual nice positives, though are quite weak at low dispo. +Elemental Damage can be useful to save a mod slot. +Faction Damage is normally potentially strong, however at such low dispo it isn't the most useful. +Fire Rate can be a decent DPS increase, especially with Crit Decel. +Projectile Speed is very beneficial at longer range, though the CBassocyst already has decent projectile speed and Damage Fall-Off range. +Punch Through can be helpful in tight areas, as though the CBassocyst has natural body Punch Through, it has no object Punch Through.
- Faction Damage, at low values, is a minor issue for such a powerful weapon, and of course has no effect against any other Faction. -Mag Capacity/Reload Speed in small amounts can be quite manageable. -Ammo Max is not a big issue. +Recoil is generally quite manageable.
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