Saryn: Did I Make a Mistake?

[DaBruuzer]

So I am only MR4 and still very new to Warframe.  Loved my starter Excal, and my Frost is a bunch of fun (especially for Defense missions), and are both maxed.  However, I have been playing with Frost maxed out for a while now, and decided it was time for a new 'Frame.  I purposely didn't want to ask opinions on what my next 'Frame should be, as what I have read here seems to be either (for example) 20 posts with 20 different opinions, or some kind of argument over "what's best for a newb".

I can currently build Rhino, and eventually will, but he's not really my style at the moment.  So I started looking at the different 'Frames available, to see which one sounded and looked the most fun to me.  I purposely avoided reviews and forum posts on the subject, as I really wanted to find something that appealed to ME.  So I used some of that lovely 75% Off Plat that I got on my 2nd day in WF (should have bought the top package, but I didn't know at the time!) and bought Saryn.  I traditionally love corrosive and/or toxic-based power sets in games, and she seemed like she would be, you guessed it, FUN to play.  Not to mention I really don't see her being used by other players much (which should have sent up a red flag for me, I guess).

However, so far, I am finding her lackluster, and surprisingly a little boring.  I realize that she is only level 4 or 5, but there is something just... lacking.  Her powers seem to be very meh.

The one thing I truly love about this game, is the helpfulness of the vast majority of the community that I have encountered thus far.  So now I turn to your opinions.  Did I make a mistake with her?  Does she get significantly better for mid-game, end game, etc. with some decent Mods?  Am I just being impatient here?

 

Edited June 8, 2016 by DaBruuzer
Typo

[(PSN)skydrive]

Saryn is a frame of synergy. Her first ability will weaken (and kill if low enough) enemies, and spread to nearby enemies if you break any spores.

Second is good for a distraction... slight distraction at high levels (used it in a TIV Survival all the way to about 80 minutes solo, the aggro on something in one direction kept the bombard missiles from targeting me while I activated Life Support) and can remove any harmful status effects currently on your frame, plus dealing Toxic damage to enemies in range when destroyed/timer hits 0. You can also cast Spore onto the Molt for only 50% of the energy cost, and when Molt goes, so does any Spores on Molt, and then infecting any nearby enemies, of which you can hasten by casting Molt again.

Toxic Lash can add a decent amount of Toxic damage to your melee weapon, and sometimes that Damage Reduction bonus can be a life saver. The ability will guarantee a Spored enemy hit by your melee will have at least 1 Spore burst, and for each Spore that bursts by Toxic Lash, you get 2 energy back, which may not sound like a lot... but in situations where enemies will pile up, the return on energy can be quite immense.

Miasma, the ultimate ability, can do some nice damage, and disable enemies for a duration. The damage from this is increased 100% when the enemies hit have a Viral Proc on (for instance, Spore damage), and another 100% when effected by a Toxic Effect (Molt, Toxic Lash), to which end, while casting Miasma, if a Molt is in range, it will be destroyed before you are done casting Miasma. The Viral and Toxic effects do not need to come from Saryn's abilities, they can also come from weapons and a few other sources.

The first three of her abilities are all counted as one handed actions, so you can still shoot, reload, etc. without interruption, and really, her most potent ability is Spore due to that Viral.

[(PSN)AssaulterInMe25]

Saryn is not that bad, she's a Warframe that can degrade health in half, her abilities focuses on Viral.

And no, you didn't made a mistake, you just got a Warframe perfect for weakening enemies.

[(PSN)FriendSharkey]

I'm right there with you. I managed to collect a Saryn Prime, but I'm like meh. She's just gathering dust. Seems overly complicated just to kill a few units in mid tier. As you get higher it just seems by the time you hit 1 then 2 then 4 you're down somewhere between 3-4 thanks to the machine gun bombard. 

I'd go with the Rhino, at least you can use stomp to stop a Sentient so you can fill it full of holes with a Sancti Tigris and a good Lex Prime for Neuroids and a chance at some Sentients drops tables.

[ranks21]

get all the other frame from bosses and quests and build them then 1 by one take them out and play / level them and see which ones suits your playstyle the most that way youll have 100% understanding of each frame.

[007-MusicalMind]

Saryn not noob friendly warframe my friend..it takes a bit of time to understand how her abilities work. but you barely played her. Even some of the vets dunno how to play her or how the spore spreading works/scale late game. I recommend you to read these two threads first. once you know which weapons to use and the spore spreading. she's really fun to play. i love her :)

 

Edited June 8, 2016 by 007-MusicalMind

[AutoPhox]

Saryn is a "damage over time" and health debuff frame. She is great mid game and can be a good dmg support in late game. There is even a solo melee build that requires a lot of late-game love to get right, but can be fun and devastating.

Use spores often, as it can cut enemy health down fast. cast it on molt and watch the enemies run to their own death. Just know that when you pop a spore, it can spread more spores to near by enemies, so use a shotgun or just be a good shot and target the spores on enemies to make the damage roll.

she may or may not be your style of game play, but she is a good frame.

[(PSN)Magician_NG]

She's a favorite of mine for mid-game defense.

When built for range, usually everything below enemy level 35 melts before they reach the pod.

However, because of her lack of any CC she has a hard time with high level content.

Edited June 8, 2016 by (PS4)Magician_NG

[VKhaun]

I would have made other recommendations if you asked, but she's not worthless. Molt with the augment mod Regenerative Molt equipped makes her immediately worth playing. Viral procs are big part of fighting tough/higher level enemies and Saryn's #1 is an excellent source of those.

Start by getting your hands on her augment for Molt. Get good at using Spores + your guns while dropping Molt as needed to defend objectives, save your self or heal.

Later when you have a larger power pool and more mods on her, your combo is to apply both Viral and Toxic on enemies, then use her #4 to nuke them. Miasma will do more damage to targets that have both status effects. Spores provide AoE Viral. The trick is getting your Toxic. You can get Toxic from a toxic weapon with good status chance, a Gas weapon (Gas procs apply toxin procs in an AoE) or from her #3 if you have enough power or a high duration build.

Molt itself causes Toxic so if you're surrounded or retreating (or hyper aggressive?) You can also combo Molt and Spores to get Toxic+Viral by applying Spores to the Molt decoy. They will spread when the Molt blows up. IIRC you can also cast Molt a second time to detonate the previous Molt early.

 

More info:

http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Saryn

Edited June 8, 2016 by VKhaun

[MegatronG1]

She is definitely not a new player friendly frame. To really get the most out of her playstyle you will really want to get your hands on some corrupted mods, and some other rare mods to fully get to enjoy her skill set.

[DaBruuzer]

Wow!  Thanks to all for some excellent, speedy answers, suggestions, etc.  What an amazing community.

I am thinking of a shotgun for her (haven't tried one at all yet), and noticed that there was one (Phage, I believe) that deals Viral damage.  Does this add any synergy with her powers, or should I go with the Boar, which I like just because of how it looks? :)

[FLSH_BNG]

Saryn is most certainly an advanced warframe. To be able to use her to her fullest requires a thorough understanding of the game's mechanics and her abilities.

Her Spores ability is incredibly helpful in endurance runs on endless mission types when properly modified, and it's not uncommon to be able to do a T3 or T4 survival mission solo for an hour.

Saryn's ability rework was perhaps the first step toward a new style of gameplay that is present now in Excalibur, Mag, and to a lesser extent Volt. To make the warframes and their abilities more synergistic and interactive, to increase their potential and, by extension, the player's as well. It requires more work and time to learn, but the payoff is worth it.

[Xennocide420]

You definitely won't feel its full potential until leveled and modded properly.

[FLSH_BNG]

13 minutes ago, DaBruuzer said:

Wow!  Thanks to all for some excellent, speedy answers, suggestions, etc.  What an amazing community.

I am thinking of a shotgun for her (haven't tried one at all yet), and noticed that there was one (Phage, I believe) that deals Viral damage.  Does this add any synergy with her powers, or should I go with the Boar, which I like just because of how it looks? :)

The phage is certainly devastating, and its damage type is helpful, but being a continuous-fire trigger type means that it has a status/second stat rather than a per shot stat. This can make it a disagreeable choice when it comes to debuffing enemies. To synergize viral debuffs with Saryn, the best shotgun choices for status chance would likely be the Boar and Strun with their respective Prime and Wraith variants having an even better base stat. (standard boar and strun are 20%, boar prime is 30%, and strun wraith is 40%)

I wouldn't say that you made a mistake at all. You just might have bitten off a little more than you can chew right now.

Edited June 8, 2016 by FLSH_BNG

[(PSN)CoolD2108]

Well, saryn is somewhat of a special case in her current state, not because she is missing that much but rather because her rework is fairly new and not properly documented yet.

 

Where to start...

Her spores have more to them then they reveal at first glance. They not only spread viral and Poison by default but synergice strongly with toxic damage. I can't give you a propper Feedback to the extend (eather part of the totall toxic or recently toxic, need new dots to even spread and might not do anything at all..) but they do definitly spread Poison with the spores at times and take all toxic into consideration on destruction. This is quite obvious the Moment you see enemys just...dying outside of your Range as you Slash your way trough crowds.

 

A build that Centers on this damage kinda forces you into melee Range what is most definitly a Curse in her case as DE ignored her melee potential BUT there are means in the game to Bypass this issue, what brings you to the conclusion that playing her is risky but most definitly rewardig.

Molt can be used to spread spores but also as trap and to draw fire away from you. Miasama is a damaging Tool but comes with CC what creates room to breathe. She is a debuffer that runs on Synergy but is also the most flexible Frame in her Kit!

 

If I may recommend a build (requires some maybe unavailable Mods but works best for me from a generall standpoint)

Aura: Corrosive Projection 

Exilus:Speed or Power Drift

Mods: Vitality, (Prime) Flow, Rage, Quick Thinking, (Prime) Continiuty, Transient Fortitude, Streamline, Stretch.

Get a huras/shade for the initial Phase and get the naramon Focus tree asap. Then just proceed to main melee. Don't avoid damage but use it to keep your energy full. Once you reach the stunlock-phase of QT, activate molt or miasama to break free. Use a spored molt to set spores as enemys draw in and Spam her abilitys! You'll have the energy.

She's a real gem among the Frames that require a certain skill-level or rather input to play as she actually rewards your efforts.

 

Did a couple T4 missions today. Died once, allways owned the damage Charts (only ever (EVER, since I play her prime) Fell behind in fast missions running with ash or ember, usually out-dps both in longer Games) so i rly wouldn't Call her lackluster :9 Deal with her difficultys and learn to play her. You won't regret it on the long run.

Edited June 8, 2016 by (PS4)CoolD2108

[(PSN)forChristsake]

I liked her so much I got the prime version. I melee a lot (habit from Skyrim, ha ha), so I like to molt, drop spores on it and wait for them to attack that. Then I toxic lash and plow through and watch the hit points blanket my screen. Then if I hit a particularly hard group, miasma to finish and or stun them. If only stun them, drop a molt and slip away to reevaluate the situation. If you get the syndicate mod regenerative molt (almost earned it myself), you can get some health back too. She's my solo frame when I'm not going for speed, just fun.

[Inarticulate]

4 hours ago, DaBruuzer said:

Wow!  Thanks to all for some excellent, speedy answers, suggestions, etc.  What an amazing community.

I am thinking of a shotgun for her (haven't tried one at all yet), and noticed that there was one (Phage, I believe) that deals Viral damage.  Does this add any synergy with her powers, or should I go with the Boar, which I like just because of how it looks? :)

If you're going for a shotgun, I'd suggest getting a Strun Wraith if you have the means to obtain one. If not, the Boar, Boar Prime, and Strun are your next best bets for synergy (as mentioned above).

Due to the way the math works out, if you hit 100% status chance with a shotgun before counting multishot mods, every pellet has a 100% chance to inflict a status effect. The Strun Wraith, with its 40% base status chance reaches 100% with only 3 of the 60% status-elemental mods equipped. The Boar Prime reaches 100% status chance when equipped with all 4 status-elemental mods. Modded with Viral or Gas (which inflicts Toxin procs on all nearby enemies), either of these will synergize well with Saryn's ability kit.