Warframe is home to armories’ worth of firepower. From bows, to shotguns, to grenade launchers, to a bow that launches grenades that fan out like a shotgun, there’s something for everyone. The Opticor is a Corpus chargeable laser cannon specializing in critical hits. The Opticor Vandal is a faster firing, higher capacity variant with an even higher chance to score critical hits. For players interested in high damage to single targets, the Opticor Vandal is a solid choice. It takes several forma to reach the weapon’s full potential, but the results are worth the effort.
The Opticor Vandal is a special variant of the Opticor that was introduced in the Buried Debts event from update 24.4. The weapon can be acquired by earning 100 points in the recurring Thermia Fractures event or by purchasing it from the bi-weekly trader Baro Ki’Teer when it’s in his shop. The sales price is 550,000 credits and 650 ducats, so early players may find it easier to play the Thermia Fractures event.
With its 24.00% crit chance and hit-scan projectiles, the Opticor Vandal is an excellent candidate for precision headshots. Its 30.00% status is a huge benefit as well, but its critical stats are its biggest asset for most builds.
Two of the best critical damage mods to install on the Opticor Vandal are Critical Delay and Vital Sense. Vital Sense increases critical damage by 120%, bringing the crit damage multiplier to 5.7 times. Critical Delay increases a rifle’s critical damage by 200% at the cost of reducing its fire rate by 20%. The Opticor Vandal has double the fire rate of the base Opticor, so the reduction is still a net gain in fire rate over the base model. With Critical Delay, the Opticor Vandal’s critical chance goes from 24% to 72%. Ideally, users would install a Riven Mod with Critical Chance and no detrimental effects, but not everyone has that option.
Two mods considered foundational for nearly all primary weapons are Serration and Galvanized Chamber. Serration increases base damage by 165% and Galvanized Chamber adds 80% multishot with an additional 30% multishot stacking for the next five kills.
The four mods above could be considered mandatory for most Opticor Vandal builds. It’s advisable to use Vigilante Supplies for the eximus mod slot for most builds. It will minimize the chance of ever running out of ammo, as well as adding a 5% chance of increasing a critical hit’s level. Using these mods as a base, there are three builds that stand out for users. Note that these builds utilize mods that are not easily accessible to new players, but the components are far from impossible to farm in missions or purchase from other players.
HEADSHOTS
Add Galvanized Scope, Hunter Munitions, Vigilante Armament, and Bladed Rounds if you prefer precision shots and maximum damage. Galvanized Scope improves your critical hit chances while aiming and increases for each headshot kill. Bladed Rounds increases critical damage while aiming, after each kill. Hunter Munitions has a 30% chance of inflicting a bleed status effect after a critical hit. Lastly, Vigilante Armament increases your multishot, in addition to granting an additional 5% chance of increasing a critical hit’s level. For the Arcane slot, use Primary Deadhead to further increase headshot damage. This build excels at headshots above all else. Body shots will result in reduced damage, so it pays to aim carefully.
- Serration
- Critical Delay
- Vital Sense
- Galvanized Chamber
- Galvanized Scope
- Hunter Munition
- Vigilante Armament
- Bladed Rounds
- Vigilante Supplies Eximus Mod
- Primary Deadhead Arcane
STATUS BUILD
If you live by status effects and build your warframe around it, the Opticor Vandal can still be viable. Add Galvanized Aptitude and any three dual stat mods to increase the status chance over 100%. It’s advisable to pair Rime Rounds and Malignant Force to create viral status, and then add Thermite Rounds for heat damage. For players who have Hammer Shot, that could be used in place of one dual stat mod. For the Arcane, Primary Merciless is a decent candidate. The result is a hybrid primary weapon with high critical and status chances.
- Serration
- Critical Delay
- Vital Sense
- Galvanized Chamber
- Galvanized Aptitude
- Malignant Force
- Rime Rounds
- Hammer Shot
- Vigilante Supplies Eximus Mod
- Primary Merciless Arcane
CROWD CONTROL
Sometimes, you want a weapon that doesn’t take a lot of thought or time to use. You fire your weapon into a crowd of enemies and keep firing until the job is done. If that’s your playstyle, try adding Rime Rounds, Vigilante Armament, Primed Cryo Rounds, Shivering Contagion, and the Arcane Primary Frostbite. This build isn’t for everyone, but it can be a lot of fun to mess around with. Especially for end game players using Archon Shards to boost their primary weapon’s status chance.
With this build, you simply fire into a group with the Opticor Vandal and roll the dice with each shot. The combination of multishot and cold elemental damage means there’s a good chance an enemy will suffer a cold status effect. When that happens, Shivering Contagion has a 30% chance of spreading that status effect to every enemy within six meters. Primary Frostbite increases the critical damage and multishot for every cold status effect inflicted onto enemies, stacking up to 40x. The result is a build that rewards hits, not kills, and increases power over time simply through usage.
- Serration
- Critical Delay
- Vital Sense
- Galvanized Chamber
- Rime Rounds
- Primed Cryo Rounds
- Shivering Contagion
- Vigilante Armament
- Vigilante Supplies Eximus Mod
- Primary Frostbite Arcane
The Opticor and its Opticor Vandal variant are iconic weapons in Warframe. With a distinct firing sound, pinpoint accuracy, and satisfying animation set, it’s a weapon that most players keep in their arsenal. Try one of the builds above and see if it fits into your playstyle.