The AX-52 has two parts two its main gimmick. When fired from the hip (i.e. without aiming in), it gains +60% Ammo Efficiency. This means that each shot consumes only 0.4 rounds, or equivalently that the default magazine is effectively 100 rounds if fired purely from the hip - a much more respectable Reload Ratio of 5.
On the other hand, when fired while aiming, the AX-52 gains +400% Crit Chance on Headshots (this does not apply to other non-head weakpoints). This Crit Chance is treated like a +Crit Chance mod.
While the loss of the Ammo Efficiency buff is unfortunate, that drastic increase in damage output is quite significant - especially on Headshots which gain an extra damage multiplier for Crits.
None, it's a new weapon.
NOTE: The displayed Damage numbers do not take into account either side of the AX-52's trait.
Basic 0-Forma:
The AX-52 natively has two V polarities, which is greatly appreciated. This allows comfortable fitting of the standard gamut of mods, with potential space for a seventh mod depending on your elemental options.
I've slotted in Vigilante Armaments as the seventh mod, as a no-fuss simple overall damage boost. It becomes obsolete once you get access to Galv mods and Arcanes, but until then is a great filler. Other options for this slot are discussed just below.
For elemental setups, the usual suspects remain besides just going for super-effective types. Viral is a great all-rounder, as even without good multipliers its proc is nearly universally effective. Corrosive is a strong all-round anti-armour option, while Magnetic is the Viral equivalent against Shields/Overguard. Alternatively, Toxin is still a strong Shield-bypassing damage type.
Recommended Setups: Viral vs everything, Corrosive vs armour, Magnetic/Toxin vs Corpus
General Purpose 2-Forma:
Two added Forma gives you much more room to work with, and allows you to start looking at a solid eighth mod as well.
If you have Critical Delay, it is a strong option to replace Point Strike. It provides extra Crit Chance at the cost of a little Fire Rate, which I generally find to be a net positive, especially when also running a +Fire Rate mod.
Hunter Munitions is an obvious great option. The AX-52 already has good Crit Chance which is cranked up well above 100% on aimed Headshots. HM will trigger very reliably for constant and surprisingly strong Slash procs. When combined with Viral procs, such a build can bleed through heavily armoured enemies with frightening efficiency, even if the initial direct damage seems unimpressive at first.
As with just about any single-target weapon, I am a big fan of adding Punch Through, specifically with (Primed) Shred. Being able to hit multiple enemies with a single bullet makes such weapons significantly more efficient against tightly packed groups of enemies, and the +Fire Rate offsets Critical Delay nicely as well.
If you're looking for an overall damage boost stronger than Vigilante Armaments, Heavy Cal is a decent option. It is a little more powerful, but is much more expensive to max, higher drain, and also introduces an Accuracy penalty. Additionally, once Galv mods and Arcanes are introduced, it too becomes obsolete. Instead, a (Primed) Bane mod is a much stronger option for the Factions that have a corresponding Bane mod. The Faction Damage effect is a separate damage multiplier that notably applies multiple times to damage-over-time procs, making it exceptionally strong for endurance runs. However, it can be inconvenient switching Bane mods around, and for the Factions without a Bane mod, you're a bit out of luck.
While it doesn't offer any direct damage increase, Rifle Elementalist offers a strong boost to damage-over-time procs like Slash and Heat. It isn't as strong as a maxed out Primed Bane, but is far cheaper to max and is faction-agnostic.
If you want more direct damage, you could instead look to boost your Crit. The usual conditional mods Bladed Rounds/Argon Scope/Proton Jet are worth consideration. With the bonus Crit Chance on aimed Headshots, Bladed Rounds is the clear better option between the three. Hammer Shot is fair bit weaker, but is unconditional and also adds some Status Chance.
Finally, you could consider three-element builds for some uniquely powerful combos. Adding Heat alongside Viral or Corrosive is a good option, providing additional damage-over-time and armour reduction capability. Cold is another option worth mentioning alongside Corrosive for its freeze effect and increased Crit. Other damage types are probably also interesting but I still don't fully understand them yet.
Radiated Reload is worth a mention as adding pre-combined Radiation. It is useful for its damage multiplier against some Factions, and the extra Reload Speed is nice quality-of-life. In a similar vein, for builds with Heat, Wildfire can add some nice quality-of-life with its +Mag Capacity.
The Exilus slot doesn't have many standout options. Vigilante Supplies is always worth a mention on Crit weapons for the mod set bonus, marginally increasing DPS. The AX-52 doesn't really have Ammo Economy issues thanks to its hip-fire Ammo Efficiency and high Ammo Pickup value, nor does it have notable Recoil or Accuracy problems. You could always look at the quality-of-life/playstyle options like Agile Aim, Tactical Reload, but those are largely personal preference items.
Recommended Setups: see above. Also consider: Viral + Heat/Radiation vs everything, Corrosive + Heat/Radiation vs armour
Galvanised Mods
Galv Chamber.
Galv Aptitude can be a solid option with the right builds. While the AX-52 only has one base Damage type, Puncture, it can be modded with up to two elemental damage types (three if using Radiated Reload), and can inflict Slash procs using Hunter Munitions. Since Galv Apt only needs three damage/proc types to beat out Serration, it is a clear viable option on the AX-52.
Galv Scope is a decent option if you regularly land aimed Headshots, albeit is significantly less impactful due to the AX-52's trait. Of course, it still helps aimed non-Headshots, however such shots are already inherently inefficient. As such, I personally wouldn't recommend it unless you exclusively go for aimed headshots, in which case I'd suggest dropping Point Strike/Vital Sense.
Arcane
+Damage options:
- Primary Merciless - +Damage on kill, +Reload Speed. Stacks slowly and decays quickly. Effective when firing primarily from the hip.
- Primary Deadhead - +Damage on Headshot kill, +Headshot damage, -Recoil. Stacks quickly and decays slowly. Combos perfectly with aimed Headshots, amplifying the AX-52's strongest use case while also stacking very effectively.
- Primary Plated Rounds - +Damage for a short time based on number of rounds reloaded. With a base Mag Capacity of just 40 rounds, the AX-52 will get a +Damage boost of up to 209% - smaller than Serration and much smaller than a stacked Merciless/Deadhead. Not worth the trade-off in my opinion.
Other damage-increasing options:
- Primary Frostbite - +Multishot/Crit Damage from any equipment inflicting a Cold Proc. Combos especially well with aimed Headshots for a significant damage boost, and can be stacked by any part of your loadout, not just the AX-52 itself. A strong option to consider if you can spread Cold procs.
- Primary Blight - +Multishot/Crit Damage from inflicting a Toxin proc. Can only be stacked from Toxin procs from the AX-52 itself, however is very slightly stronger than Pri Frostbite. A strong option to consider if the AX-52 is built for Toxin procs.
Non-damage-increasing options:
- Fractalised Reset - +Reload Speed on Ability cast. Can be nice quality-of-life, but is very rarely worth the loss of damage compared to a damage-increasing Arcane.
- Primary Exhilarate - Energy regen from Impact procs. The AX-52 can't inflict Impact procs at all so this is a non-starter.
- Primary Obstruct - jams nearby enemy weapons on inflicting a Magnetic proc. This one can be nice in very specific circ*mstances, though you would often prefer to just take another Arcane for better damage output.
The choice between Pri Merciless and Pri Deadhead is mainly up to playstyle - whether you hip-fire more (Merciless) or go for aimed Headshots more (Deadhead). Pri Frostbite and Blight are strong options with the right builds, and don't require regular kills to keep stacked.
My Builds
Bog-standard Viral + Slash build. I've also experimented with other mods in the HM slot when anti-armour is less important - Wildfire was a notable comfort pick that I quite liked.
The AX-52's greatly increased Ammo Efficiency when fired from the hip belies its otherwise unimpressive base Reload Ratio. It packs respectable power, easily killing weaker enemies, and can take down a good number of enemies before needing to reload - especially if modded with Punch Through.
On the other hand, the AX-52's greatly increased Crit Chance on aimed Headshots gives it much higher single-target direct DPS than would be expected for its weapon type. Provided you can reliably land Headshots, the AX-52 can burst down single unarmoured heavy targets quite quickly.
With respectable, though not exceptional Status output, the AX-52 can inflict a reasonable number of Status procs. Its pure base Puncture damage is not ideal, as Puncture has a very low proc cap of just 5. As such, it is reliant on mods to be provided with more valuable and powerful procs. Viral or Corrosive, coupled with Heat, can do a good deal to weaken heavily armoured enemies, and of course the significant weakening of enemy armour recently helps as well. However, the inability to naturally inflict Slash procs is a notable weakness compared to some competitors, if not for...
While the AX-52 is incapable of inflicting Slash procs naturally, it is a perfect fit for Hunter Munitions. Aimed Headshots are automatically guaranteed to Crit, thus providing maximum chance for HM to trigger and inflict Slash procs. With high Fire Rate, it stacks such Slash procs very quickly and reliably, and can magnify them greatly with Viral procs. Even without aimed Headshots, the AX-52's Crit Chance can be raised to respectable levels with just a standard Crit Chance mod for a good chance of triggering HM.
Making the most of the AX-52 requires knowledge of when to hip-fire or aim, and the skill to land headshots while aiming. When hip-fired, the AX-52 is a solid Full-Auto weapon, but nothing exceptional in a sea of strong weapons. Aimed Headshots are necessary to distinguish it from the pack, giving it a much higher spike of direct damage than most of its competitors. The downside of this feature is of course that any aimed non-Headshots will deal just normal damage while also consuming one full round, making them entirely inefficient.
Even if fired solely while aiming, the AX-52's Ammo Pickup value of 80-per-pickup is very high, and largely negates any potential ammo issues.
Overall, the AX-52 is a solid Full-Auto Rifle, with its two-part trait greatly enhancing its decent but unexceptional stats. The Ammo Efficiency on hip-fire is a great boon against large groups of weaker enemies, while the increased Crit Chance on aimed Headshots is quite strong against heavier enemies.
However, this is all dependent being able to use both parts of the AX-52's trait effectively. The hip-fire Ammo Efficiency is easier to use, but does not notably distinguish it amongst its competitors. The aimed Headshot Crit Chance is more significant, but requires a degree of aiming skill to be effective, and is notably ineffective against enemies whose weakspots are not their head.
Additionally, the AX-52 also faces tough competition in today's meta, which I dive further into below as well. It is fairly strong and quite capable in the vast majority of Warframe's content, but so are many of its competitors.
Vs Trash Mobs: 4/5 - Solid DPS and increased Ammo Efficiency when hip-firing allows the AX-52 to work through large numbers of enemies fairly efficiently
Vs Unarmoured Heavies: 4.5/5 - Aimed Headshots deal excellent direct DPS, much higher than usual for this type of weapon. Note that this is score is dependent on reliably landing Headshots - without them, the AX-52 is largely unremarkable in this aspect.
Vs Armoured Heavies without Forced Slash: 3.5/5 - Pure base Puncture limits the AX-52's options against heavily armoured enemies, even with decent Status output. Viral or Corrosive combined with Heat can do reasonably well, but other weapons do that much better.
Vs Armoured Heavies with Forced Slash: 4.5/5 - High Crit Chance, especially on aimed Headshots, allows the AX-52 to make excellent use of Hunter Munitions. With HM, it can stack decently strong Slash procs very reliably, quickly bleeding out heavily armoured enemies.
None, it's a new weapon.
There are a lot of Full-Auto and Full-Auto-adjacent Rifles in the game, with many strong competitors to the AX-52.
The MR8 Braton Prime is a more tame example, with significantly better Status output (particularly Slash) than the AX-52, but much worse Crit and direct DPS. The AX-52 can of course equip Hunter Munitions to mitigate this flaw.
The BratonP of course has an Incarnon Genesis Adapter, which makes far superior to the AX-52 once fully enhanced.
The MR12 Gotva Prime, which was also initially a Tennocon Twitch drop, is an interesting comparison. The GotvaP has higher Fire Rate, Crit Damage and most notably Status Chance, in exchange for lower base Damage and Crit Chance. If fired from the hip, the AX-52 has slightly higher Mag Capacity thanks to its Ammo Efficiency trait. Both are pure Puncture weapons, and both have a unique Crit mechanic.
Upon inflicting a Status proc, the GotvaP has a 15% chance for the next hit to have forced 300% Crit Chance. On the other hand, the AX-52 has +100% Crit Chance on aimed Headshots.
The two are very close. I think the AX-52 comes out overall ahead when used optimally as its Crit bonus is guaranteed with good aim, however this is not always easy as some of Warframe's enemies (particularly Infested) do not have clear or easy-to-hit heads.
The MR13 Kuva Karak is in many ways just an upgraded Braton Prime, with only slightly worse Crit than the AX-52 and far better Status output. The AX-52 retains a small base Damage advantage even with a maximum 60% Kuva Lich Bonus (up to 36.8 base Damage). The KKarak's Status advantage really shines here, with all three physical types and the Lich Bonus giving up to 4 base Damage types to benefit from Galv Aptitude, where the AX-52 has just the one at base. On the other hand, the AX-52 will deal far greater direct DPS on aimed headshots thanks to its even greater Crit advantage.
I find the KKarak more comfortable to use, and its Status advantage is notable against tougher enemies.
The MR14 Tenora Prime is one of relatively few similar weapons that has comparable Crit to the AX-52. Its lower Base Damage is somewhat offset by higher Fire Rate and better Status. Additionally, the TenoraP's slow-firing Alt Fire gives it massive burst damage potential that comes close to that of the AX-52's aimed Headshots.
The TenoraP's biggest disadvantages are spool-up time, limiting its instantaneous damage output, and much poorer ammo economy than the AX-52.
The MR15 Kuva Hind is another comparison similar to that of the Kuva Karak - slightly worse Crit, but much better Status. In this case, the KHind will also wins out in base Damage with a high Kuva Lich Bonus (at least 34%). I believe the AX-52 still has the DPS advantage on aimed Headshots, however the KHind can make up some ground with its own higher Crit Semi-Auto mode.
It being my most used Primary currently, I of course find the KHind more comfortable to use. The AX-52 has a notable advantage in DPS in aimed Headshots, however when fired from the hip and in overall usability I consider the KHind to be a bit better.
Finally, a bit of an odd comparison, the MR16 Beam weapon Tenet Glaxion. Once again the AX-52 has a solid Crit advantage particularly on aimed headshots, however the TGlaxion has higher base Damage with the Sister Bonus factored in, plus comically superior Status output. Additionally the TGlaxion chains between multiple enemies, for far superior AoE damage, and consumes ammo very slowly as one of the perks of being a beam weapon. While the AX-52 is more powerful against individual enemies with clear head hitboxes, I find the TGlaxion far superior in general Warfame gameplay.
Overall, while the AX-52 is by all means a solid weapon, there are many other strong weapons competing in a similar role as well. Additionally, Incarnon weapons blow the AX-52 completely out of the water, although that is a rather unfair comparison given their deliberate absurdity.
As a new weapon, the AX-52 has a starting Riven Disposition of 1/5 (0.5). I expect it to rise to around 2/5 (0.8) in the future, perhaps more. While fairly solid, and arguably on the upper-end of conventional Full-Auto Rifles, I don't think it matches up well against the absolute best weapons in the game.
