Best single target secondary for Saryn?

[Nelyeth]

Hey,

I'm a relatively new player (MR8, just started doing the War Within quest), and I'm currently forma-ing my brand new Saryn Prime and Ignis Wraith (before that, I used whatever would give me mastery, so it's my first actually thought-out build). So far, so good, and I've been toying with a few builds for both (still hesitating between max range+power and a more balanced build for Saryn, but that's another topic entirely). I'm satisfied with the results so far (spore chain reactions are fun), but there's still one thing I can't iron out : whenever I'm left against a single, tanky enemy, I have absolutely no options (I'm looking at you, Toxic Ancients). My pure gas Ignis just isn't enough (though it might get better with more formas), and whacking things in melee only goes so far when you use a spore-popping, caster oriented build.

At first, I wanted to go for a Saryn P./Ignis Wraith/Concealed Explosives Hikou/Lesion build, but it's becoming clearer and clearer than Ignis Wraith and Hikou serve the same purpose, and that I have no reliable way of dealing with isolated enemies.  Hence my question: what is, according to you, the best secondary weapon I could get with Saryn P.? Another solution would be to ditch the Ignis, use my secondary to pop Spores (Hikou, or maybe Pox/Embolist), and get a more traditional primary like the Soma Prime, but I doubt it'd be the best thing to do.

Thanks.

Edited November 10, 2017 by Nelyeth

[Azrael]

This question is kind of odd. You're asking what's the best secondary for Saryn, but since you aren't looking for one that works with her powers (you have the ignis for that) what you really mean is you want to know what the best secondary is, regardless of your frame. If it's for heavy units, I'd recommend a crit weapon and aiming for headshots. Classic answers to this question are Lex Prime, Vaykor Marelok, and Akmagnus. More recently Akstiletto Prime, Aklex Prime, and Euphona Prime made the list as very powerful crit secondaries, but I'm sure there are plenty of other options. Arca Scisco and Knell are pretty good, but honestly the Marelok and Euphona are still some of the best in the game. Ballistica Prime is also pretty strong.

*Edit: Oh, I forgot Pandero! That's a pretty strong secondary as well, you should check it out. It has a 2.5x crit multiplier at base, so slap on target cracker and aim for the head and anything will die.

Edited November 10, 2017 by Azrael

[Spartan336]

The Aksteletto Prime kills everything, and so does the Lex Prime. 

[Nelyeth]

I included the Saryn bit to explain why I was specifically looking for a single target weapon, and to make it easier for other Saryn beginners to find this thread should they have the same issue. Thanks for the answers. I guess I'll use the Akmagnus for now, since I already have it built, but I'll try hunting for the Akstiletto P., Lex P. or Euphona P. whenever I open relics. 

Edit: Ooh, Pandero, nice call. That one is easy to build, and Baro was kind enough to sell Primed Target Cracker on my first time meeting him. Plus, I love quick reload times, and the Akmagnus... Yeah.  

Edited November 10, 2017 by Nelyeth

[Azrael]

6 minutes ago, Nelyeth said:

Plus, I love quick reload times, and the Akmagnus... Yeah. 

Yep, that's a problem with that one. I use a riven mod for it that helps a lot, but it's understandable if it puts you off. I definitely recommend trying Pandero. Good crit + that crazy charged attack should melt anything you're running into.

[Nelyeth]

For the build, I guess the standard Hornet Strike-Barrel Diffusion-Lethal Torrent-Pistol Gambit-Target Cracker-3x90% elemental mods works best? What element should I aim for? I've read that corrosive+heat is the general consensus for all-purpose use, but is it still just as good against heavier enemies?

Edited November 10, 2017 by Nelyeth

[Foefaller]

I use Akstilleto Prime for my Saryn. (Ak)Lex Prime and Pandero are good alternatives as well. Pretty much all variants of the Vasto also works if you like the revolver aesthetic (they have stupidly fast reloads as well, Vasto Prime to the point where it's almost nonexistent) , but you'll need heavy forma'ing to make it comparable to a Pandero or Lex Prime with just a tater and a couple forma.

As for elements, I'd probably go Rad/toxin instead, as most of the really tough lone enemies have Alloy Armor, which isn't weak to corrosive, but is weak to Radiation. Having half the surviving enemies turn and start shooting at each other when rad procs doesn't hurt either.

Edited November 10, 2017 by Foefaller

[Azrael]

19 minutes ago, Nelyeth said:

For the build, I guess the standard Hornet Strike-Barrel Diffusion-Lethal Torrent-Pistol Gambit-Target Cracker-3x90% elemental mods works best? What element should I aim for? I've read that corrosive+heat is the general consensus for all-purpose use, but is it still just as good against heavier enemies?

Oh boy. Okay, your element is going to depend on your enemy type, different enemies take extra damage from different elements and less damage from other elements. Research what you're fighting and take the appropriate elements.

It is usually not a good idea to stack more than 2 of any type of mod. Be it damage, multishot, or elemental damage, you should avoid stacking the same "class" of mod over and over if possible (the exception is status builds, those need more elemental mods). For the pandero if you're not going for status (but it's not bad at status) you might want to consider a faction mod if you have one instead of a 3rd elemental, meaning Expel Grineer/Corpus/infested/corrupted. If you don't have those then either a +90% elemental, OR maybe a dual-stat mod such as jolt/scorch/etc. Using something like Jolt will be a great idea for corrosive builds, especially, since you'll strip more armor and do more slash procs. But don't ignore the power of faction mods! They act as final multipliers and are far more effective than they look.

 

Edited November 10, 2017 by Azrael

[motorfirebox]

Pandero is maybe the best single-target secondary, period. It hits hard, it fires quickly, and it reloads almost instantly.

22 minutes ago, Nelyeth said:

For the build, I guess the standard Hornet Strike-Barrel Diffusion-Lethal Torrent-Pistol Gambit-Target Cracker-3x90% elemental mods works best? What element should I aim for? I've read that corrosive+heat is the general consensus for all-purpose use, but is it still just as good against heavier enemies?

Hydraulic Crosshairs instead of one of the 90% mods. Personally, on the Plains I actually use Radiation damage, so that even the heaviest enemies die in a few headshots. Corrosive is better for general purpose, though.

[Azrael]

1 minute ago, motorfirebox said:

Pandero is maybe the best single-target secondary, period. It hits hard, it fires quickly, and it reloads almost instantly.

Hydraulic Crosshairs instead of one of the 90% mods. Personally, on the Plains I actually use Radiation damage, so that even the heaviest enemies die in a few headshots. Corrosive is better for general purpose, though.

Ooh, yeah, Hydraulic Crosshairs is another good idea. Or Sharpened Bullets! Take advantage of that 2.5x base multiplier! The point is there are so many options besides more elemental mods. Maybe even try a -recoil mod, so that you can hit consistent headshots with the secondary attack.

[Nelyeth]

Thanks for the answers, I guess I'll just try out everything to find out what works better for me. I didn't know about Hydraulic Crosshairs, that one looks pretty nice. 

[motorfirebox]

1 hour ago, Azrael said:

Ooh, yeah, Hydraulic Crosshairs is another good idea. Or Sharpened Bullets! Take advantage of that 2.5x base multiplier! The point is there are so many options besides more elemental mods. Maybe even try a -recoil mod, so that you can hit consistent headshots with the secondary attack.

Mathletes correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the almost-guaranteed crit upgrade from Hydraulic Crosshairs beats out the +75% crit damage from Sharpened Bullets (especially when you factor in the multiplicative value of redhead crits). Plus with HC, you don't have to get a kill to activate it.

The -recoil mod might be worth considering, except that HC and SB only provide their bonuses while aiming, and Pandero's alt fire takes you out of aim mode.

Edited November 10, 2017 by motorfirebox

[UltimateGrr]

 

My Saryn Prime build cheats a little.  I run a good single target Primary, and run a gas built Akstilleto Prime as my secondary.  Aksilleto Prime has better base damage than Ignis Wraith, so you get larger DoTs on spread, and a gas proc pops all the spores, making it an excellent spore spreader, while the IPS makes it effective against Ancients as well.

[Azrael]

6 hours ago, motorfirebox said:

Mathletes correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that the almost-guaranteed crit upgrade from Hydraulic Crosshairs beats out the +75% crit damage from Sharpened Bullets (especially when you factor in the multiplicative value of redhead crits). Plus with HC, you don't have to get a kill to activate it.

The -recoil mod might be worth considering, except that HC and SB only provide their bonuses while aiming, and Pandero's alt fire takes you out of aim mode.

You're probably right, but some players struggle to get headshots or simply don't want to bother. Also, we were discussing the last mod slot, and HC and SB were options for that as well as -recoil, so nobody was considering using -recoil AND HB or SB. That's a good point about it taking you out of ADS though. The main point here is that there are many options besides just more elemental mods.

[motorfirebox]

7 hours ago, Azrael said:

You're probably right, but some players struggle to get headshots or simply don't want to bother. Also, we were discussing the last mod slot, and HC and SB were options for that as well as -recoil, so nobody was considering using -recoil AND HB or SB. That's a good point about it taking you out of ADS though. The main point here is that there are many options besides just more elemental mods.

Absotutely. I run single or even no elemental slots on a few of my weapons (mostly melee). I don't think I have any weapons anymore where I run 3x 90%, much less 4x, and only a few that I run 2x. If I have more than two elemental mods, they're usually mostly 60/60 for the status.