Saryn Spore guide. Everything you need to know about spreading... diseases.

[Suira]

It would seem that there has been multiple people asking about Saryn, her weapons and how to mod everything. So I will do my best to break down everything you need to know about Saryn.

How do I build Saryn?
There is only one stat that matters when building a spore build Saryn, and that is range. Now you don't want to go negative or to much into the negative (90% is as low as you want to go in anything) on any of her others stats, but they really don't warrant that much attention.
So 250 range is our goal. I also suggest Regenerative Molt, Steel Fiber and Vitality.

 

How Does Spore work?

To quote the wiki:
Saryn infects a target within 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 meters with 2 / 2 / 3 / 3 virulent spores. Each spore inflicts 4 / 10 / 14 / 20  Viral damage per second over a duration of 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 seconds. If a spore is popped, 25  Viral damage with a 100% status chance is dealt within 8 / 10 / 12 / 16 meters, and 2 / 2 / 3 / 3 spores are transmitted to each affected enemy.

If an infected enemy is being damaged by a  Toxin proc, popping a spore on that enemy will also spread Toxin damage to surrounding enemies. The spore will have 25% of the initial base damage that triggered the Toxin proc added to its burst damage as  Viral damage with a 100% status chance for  Viral and  Toxineffects.

You will get more damage out of Saryn by spreading a lot of Toxic procs onto enemies and popping their bubbles to inflict the viral status proc.
The best way to do this is by using concealed explosives on a status build Hikou Prime geared towards gas. When the gas procs every enemy will get a toxic proc. The math break down to this:

Number of enemies= X
Status chance of Hikou Prime= 67.4% = Y
Concealed Explosives chance= 80% = Z
Fire Rate of Hikou Prime= 9.33 = W

In one second you get:
Y x W= 6.28842
Z x W= 7.464
Now we are going to use the lowest number and round down for the most realistic number to find or spread, which is 6.
Spread= 6

Each Concealed Explosive proc pops 9 spores per target so we are going to times by 9.
6 x 9= 54
Now we factor in the amount of enemies affected by this, which is 10 for this example.
X x 54= 540

Each tick of toxic dot generally ticks for 5 and lasts for 10 seconds with Saryns passive.
So 540 x 5 x 10= 27,000

So you can do 27,000 damage in 1 second on a mob of 10 without factoring in damage for the Hikou Prime or the damage from spore. BTW, every enemy within 40 meters takes this damage.
So what happens when you attack these enemies for 10 seconds (the point where toxic procs fall off)?
27,000 x 10= 270,000

Now factor in the fact that you inflict a viral proc cutting the enemies health in HALF!

Now you can use other weapons other than the Hikou Prime, I just used it for this example.
Also, it is possible to pop every spore and then get no effect from them what so ever.
So I suggest you don't shoot one group of enemies for to long.

 

What weapons should I use to pop Spores and spread Gas? Or is that the other way around?

Well, there are criteria that HAVE to be met when trying to spread your spores on Saryn.
They are as follows:
Has to have AOE to pop the spores. (I am excluding all normal shotguns and normal bows.)
Has to have a high status chance to proc gas.
Has to do both things rapidly to get a good effect.

So that means your choices are:

Amprex
Pros:
Can reach 100% status chance.
Can reach 100% crit chance.
Great CC through the electric proc.
Deals really good damage even without Spore.

Cons:
Terrible ammo efficiency.
Long reload.
Short base range.
Does not pop the spores as fast as many other weapons.

Ignis
Pros:
Can reach 100% status chance.
Goes through walls.
Good ammo efficiency.

Cons:
Low damage.
Short base range.

Synoid Simulor
Pros:
Great damage even without spore.
Can reach a decent status chance.
Really good CC.
Great ammo efficiency.

Cons:
Short range.
Does not proc gas very often due to a low rate of fire.

Torid
Pros:
Great damage even without spore.
Can reach a decent status chance.
Status will proc often.
Can be attached to your Kubrow to help you spread spores.

Cons:
Any enemy that steps into the gas cloud will have all of their spores instantly removed. (This can be used to your advantage by using another weapon to spread spores onto enemies inside the cloud which then reverberate the spores back out.)
Low fire rate.
Long reload.
Small magazine.

Zhuge Thunderbolt
Pros:
Great status chance.
Great fire rate.
Good damage even without spore.
Good ammo efficiency.

Cons:
Only a 30% chance to explode.
Small magazine.
Long reload.
Can self damage.

Atomos
Pros:
It's a secondary.
Greats status chance.
Amazing fire rate.

Cons:
Short range.
Poor ammo efficiency.

Hikou Prime with Concealed Explosives
Pros:
It's a secondary.
Great status chance.
Very fast reload.
Amazing fire rate.

Cons:
Can deal self damage.
Poor ammo efficiency.

Staticor
Pros:
It's a.... you know.
Fast fire rate.
Great status chance.
Can CC with a radiation proc.
Great damage from charge shot.

Cons:
Has a long travel time on shots.
Charge shot is very slow.
Has a semi small explosion radius.

 

 

Now a few words about the weapons.
I personally prefer to have a secondary as my Spore weapon. The reason being is that most of the time at really high levels big enemies like a Bombard or a Heavy Gunner will not die from Spore. So a second weapon that can deal with them easily is required. Now you could of course use a secondary weapon like the Lex Prime to deal with them.
 

I'll probably come back and tweak this guide a bit later. Feel free to critique this guide in any way and comment on your favorite weapon or Spore build.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Suira

[Suira]

1 hour ago, rawr1254 said:

Sonicor should probably be on that list instead of staticor. Since ya know sonicor hits multiple times on direct hits. 

But all in all nice guide

The Sonicor has a 0% chance of apply gas. So yes you can spreads spores with, but you will not do as much damage. According to my criteria of "Has to have a high status chance to proc gas" the Sonicor is disqualified.

1 hour ago, RideaTear said:

Good guide. Its Amprex, and I think you meant put critical chance (50%) instead of status chance (20%).

 

Sonicor may be good but in my experience Staticor is also very good for Saryn, it's AOE pops a spore nearly every time.

lol oops, fixed the spelling error.
No, I meant what I said, 100% status. You can actually get 100% status and 100% crit at the same time.

1 hour ago, Major_Phantom said:

I've used (prepares to be laughed at) the Lanka for Gas.

Yup... On testing if I get a gas proc on a lv 100 bombard, the gas cloud pops and spreads the viral and toxic and I can kill a huge area of ~20 lv100 bombards with those procs in seconds. That's in the test room so I only had at most 1 CP on me.

To me it's a very interesting concept of making AoE sniping. I use it for fun but it IS effective if you sustain the spores and have them keep the toxic potency to grind through everyone around you.

Alright, I have tested it now.
I am not sure what to think of this. The Lanka made no sense before, now it makes even less sense.
This is a terrible spore weapon, and an amazing spore weapon.
#1 This basically does jack for spreading spores, but when it does spread it spreads that super powerful dot with it.
#2 This is more effective against heavy units than lighter units. Which again, makes no sense.
#3 It loses in over all DPS to the Hikou Prime, but beats it at the same time. Basically the Hikou wins on larger clusters of enemies. While the Lanka wins in single target/spread out targets, but it is supposed to perform better against groups because of the gas cloud.

I'm going to run a long defense with this weapon before I say anymore about it.
It looks like the Hikou Prime is Saryns best secondary while the best back up for Spore is the Lanka.

54 minutes ago, Ojimaru said:

How about Mutalist Cernos? The gas cloud from the arrows, according to the Wiki, is a guaranteed Toxin proc, on top of the arrow's own proc chance. Granted the Toxin proc ticks and burst damage won't be anywhere near that of a Lanka's, so you'll be relying on Power Strength more than weapon base damage.

I sold that hunk of junk as soon as it reached rank 30. I figured it wouldn't even be good at spores because it's aoe is so small and it's fire rate is so bad.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Suira

[tischkanteVS]

Have you tested the Dual Toxocyst and the Ogris? *Prepares for laugh at Ogris tho*

[Mandelbrot]

 

For your consideration I'll mention the proc from Arbiter weapon mods - Truth

Specifically the Telos Boltor and the Burston Prime.  Caveat they aren't secondaries, but I have heavily forma'ed my Amprex, Ignis, Torid and Zhuge in my ongoing quest to better spread cooties, and the Telos Boltor is comparable in it's effectiveness; my anecdotal observation anyway.

 

 

 

[rawr1254]

Sonicor should probably be on that list instead of staticor. Since ya know sonicor hits multiple times on direct hits. 

But all in all nice guide

Edited March 30, 2016 by rawr1254

[RideaTear]

38 minutes ago, Suira said:

Amprax
Pros:
Can reach 100% status chance.

Good guide. Its Amprex, and I think you meant put critical chance (50%) instead of status chance (20%).

 

9 minutes ago, rawr1254 said:

Sonicor should probably be on that list instead of staticor.

Sonicor may be good but in my experience Staticor is also very good for Saryn, it's AOE pops a spore nearly every time.

Edited March 30, 2016 by RideaTear

[-BM-Mitz]

I've used (prepares to be laughed at) the Lanka for Gas.

Yup... On testing if I get a gas proc on a lv 100 bombard, the gas cloud pops and spreads the viral and toxic and I can kill a huge area of ~20 lv100 bombards with those procs in seconds. That's in the test room so I only had at most 1 CP on me.

To me it's a very interesting concept of making AoE sniping. I use it for fun but it IS effective if you sustain the spores and have them keep the toxic potency to grind through everyone around you.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Major_Phantom

[Ojimaru]

How about Mutalist Cernos? The gas cloud from the arrows, according to the Wiki, is a guaranteed Toxin proc, on top of the arrow's own proc chance. Granted the Toxin proc ticks and burst damage won't be anywhere near that of a Lanka's, so you'll be relying on Power Strength more than weapon base damage.

[RideaTear]

14 minutes ago, Suira said:

No, I meant what I said, 100% status. You can actually get 100% status and 100% crit at the same time.

I threw on every status chance mod there is and still reached only 79, 91 w/ catalyzer link active, and that's using every mod slot, leaving no room for damage and crit mods. Granted its AOE status/sec and even with a 40-50% status chance you will proc often so I get your point its a good status weapon as well as crit.

[Suira]

20 minutes ago, RideaTear said:

I threw on every status chance mod there is and still reached only 79, 91 w/ catalyzer link active, and that's using every mod slot, leaving no room for damage and crit mods. Granted its AOE status/sec and even with a 40-50% status chance you will proc often so I get your point its a good status weapon as well as crit.

Did you put on Speed Trigger? The Amprex is a beam weapon, so fire rate improves status chance.

http://warframe-builder.com/Primary_Weapons/Builder/Amprex
Ignore the status chance on the builder. It isn't calculating properly. In game it has a 102.4% status chance.
:edit: I personally swap out Point Strike for Sinister reach, but that's just me.

Edited March 30, 2016 by Suira

[RideaTear]

17 minutes ago, Suira said:

Did you put on Speed Trigger? The Amprex is a beam weapon, so fire rate improves status chance.

Oh okay you're right then. Thanks for that, I rarely use continuous weapons, and its even rarer that I mod them for status (i.e. never). Now that I know I'll have to give it a shot.

Edited March 30, 2016 by RideaTear

[rawr1254]

50 minutes ago, Suira said:

The Sonicor has a 0% chance of apply gas. So yes you can spreads spores with, but you will not do as much damage. According to my criteria of "Has to have a high status chance to proc gas" the Sonicor is disqualified.

It actually has a 25% status chance it just isnt shown in UI. Check wiki. And last I checked staticors 25% = sonicors 25% :D

Edited March 30, 2016 by rawr1254

[Suira]

6 minutes ago, rawr1254 said:

It actually has a 25% status chance it just isnt shown in UI. Check wiki. And last I checked staticors 25% = sonicors 25% :D

I just tested it in game and you are right, the mobs were inflicted with a toxic status.
I'll write it up and add it to the guide, but I don't like it, at all.
Mainly because enemies are rag dolled away and you cannot properly inflict gas and spread spores. I'll have to give it a try in an actual mission, but I don't see it out performing anything on this list.

[rawr1254]

Just now, Suira said:

I just tested it in game and you are right, the mobs were inflicted with a toxic status.
I'll write it up and add it to the guide, but I don't like it, at all.
Mainly because enemies are rag dolled away and you cannot properly inflict gas and spread spores. I'll have to give it a try in an actual mission, but I don't see it out performing anything on this list.

Yea I personally dont use anything outside of Gasulor + Hikou P Concealed but I just though I should put it out there is all. I honestly have no idea how well it performs lol.

[NabiCho]

I would suggest adding the Quanta Vandal to the list. It can reach 100% Status Chance, has an Elemental base, and has good base damage.

2 hours ago, rawr1254 said:

Sonicor should probably be on that list instead of staticor. Since ya know sonicor hits multiple times on direct hits. 

But all in all nice guide

Both are actually good for Spore popping and Gas proccing. It's a matter of having CC vs. More damage.

[-BM-Mitz]

I'm glad you'll test for yourself the Lanka. The build iI used for it is:

Serration, split chamber, bane of grineer(slotted out for wildlife against corrupted), vital sense, fire and toxic elements and their respective status mods. 

No point strike because the Lanka's zoom at max make it have 75% crit chance. 

My tactic is to shoot a spored enemy NOT on a spore and let the gas cloud pop the spores. Otherwise the dot won't spread. Take some power strength on your saryn too. I have no idea what it does but it makes the dot skyrocket for me. My guess is that it affects the % of toxic you convert to viral when popping. I need more test to verify that though, haven't had time for it recently. Oh and I also take aim after miasma to use the stun for aiming aid. 

Good luck and let me know how the Spore Sniping(that's what I call it) went. 

Edited March 30, 2016 by Major_Phantom

[(PSN)CoolD2108]

Not 100% accurate.

 

It isn't exactly clarified how poison spreads (100%, based off strength), what is clarfied tho is the criteria for the spread.

Wiki entry:

Only one spore on the infected enemy can transfer Toxin damage until that enemy becomes damaged by a new toxin proc.

------

So, radial destruction > destruction on the target.

Bouncing spores should therefore work best with weapons that cover some enemys...hikou is definitly decent as the splash covers 10m/shot but i've found the torid with the mod that ups its range to be the most effective choice as you simply cover a large area at a time with a few shots. Its from there on pretty much a tactical choice if you keep shooting or inject additional potent poison with lash, which scales off strength and your melee damage capability. (%age of your final damage that acts as base for the poison plus energy per hit what makes miasama use quite attractive)

Also meaning that only 3 spores at a time, per enemy, are able to transfer poison so i personally sacrificed overextendet for the sake of strength (more burst, more lash and you cover areas over your range anyways.)

 

[Soulden]

I don't play high end, but at 30-40s level I just grab higher dmg primary, place spore on heavys, shoot it and watch all small units die.

But yeah, once enemies start to cluster, it is nice to just spread spores and continuously let spores clear the room while spreading to incoming units that are too far from sight.

If public, I just take Ignis along, spread spore and let other teammates take on heavy units.

About Sonicor.

I use it not only to spread spores, but mainly to ragdoll spore afflicted heavy units so rest of team can continue to spread spores, considering that on public most players just race around.

[(XBOX)RAG is NAROK]

Personally I am a big fan of the Ignis but recently I am trying out the Torid to see if I like it or not. I figured if I liked the Tonkor I probably should like the Torid.

[(XBOX)Dr Desflurane]

I rain death with my debuffed Concealed Explosives Hikou Prime.  Damage is reduced while magazine size, total ammo, holstering and fire rate have been buffed. From my testing, I have found this to be the most effective means of spreading spores.  The most important part of getting exponential spore spread is to not kill the enemy initially as it will halve range of your spread.  Using this build on draco will cause the entire map to light up with numbers in the thousands.  4 rounds typically yields 50K+ focus & 1000+ kills.  I had a previous build with an ammo mutation but I found that you don't actually need it. 

Hikou Prime Build

Edited May 3, 2016 by (XB1)Dr Desflurane
added details, image

[(XBOX)RAG is NAROK]

When running an Ignis in a Saryn Prime Spore Build what is the better element to use? Gas or Corrosive?

EDIT:

Also would Pressurized Mag be good on the Hikou Prime?

Edited May 5, 2016 by (XB1)RAG is NAROK

[PikeOrShield]

1 hour ago, (XB1)RAG is NAROK said:

When running an Ignis in a Saryn Prime Spore Build what is the better element to use? Gas or Corrosive?

Gas.  Gas will get you toxin procs to increase your spore damage.  The base damage of the Ignis is too low to justify using corrosive damage over gas for the status.  The Ignis is also a "beam weapon" so you are capped at one status proc/sec rather than the 20+ your ammo consumption would suggest.  Corrosive can only proc once per second, decreasing it's usefulness as an armor stripper.  It has less effect on the gas status though, because all the damage/sec is calculated into the gas proc instead of per round.  Since it just combines what would have been several small gas procs into one large gas proc, the downside is not as severe as corossive's.

[(XBOX)RAG is NAROK]

Also is Torid really good? Should I invest in it or should I just stick to my Ignis (which already has 5 forma on it)?

[ButterLutter]

Torid is really good if you have a way to stack enemies (e.g. Vortex, Pull (and behind you a wall)). Saryn doesnt have it, so i wouldnt recommend using it.

Stick to the Ignis. like you said it already has Forma and it proccs the Spores insanely good

[(XBOX)RAG is NAROK]

10 hours ago, ButterLutter said:

Torid is really good if you have a way to stack enemies (e.g. Vortex, Pull (and behind you a wall)). Saryn doesnt have it, so i wouldnt recommend using it.

Stick to the Ignis. like you said it already has Forma and it proccs the Spores insanely good

Thank you. That is very helpful.

Does anyone know any good melee weapons to use. Normally I would just run my Nikana Prime but I am curious if there are any melee weapons that can help spread spores around.

[ButterLutter]

7 hours ago, (XB1)RAG is NAROK said:

Does anyone know any good melee weapons to use. Normally I would just run my Nikana Prime but I am curious if there are any melee weapons that can help spread spores around.

Id say use whatever you want, her 3rd ability makes every weapon good :)
Bigger range might help spreading spores though.

I am using Mios because of its toxin proccs on slam attacks and it has a great attack range