Hikou, Despair, and Kunai

[voidpunk]

Despite being hard to pronounce, these are all very desirable weapons. Currently I'm using the Vandaltron for long range and the Akbolto for short range. I'm looking for a new sidearm because even though I like the Akbolto, my finger doesn't. The semi-automatic doesn't work well for me when you have to fire really quickly to do enough damage. These weapons are all fully automatic and have innate armor ignore.

Hikou - This weapon is probably the best of the three for infested. It has a high fire rate of 6.6 and does 25 damage. It's has the serrated blade damage type, which ignores armor and does triple damage to infested. Unmodded DPS: 166.75.

Despair - This weapon can tear through anything BUT light infested. It has a very nice damage output of 55 and a fire rate of 3.3. It's damage type is Armor Piercing, which is arguably the best elemental damage type against Grineer, Corpus, and Infested ancients. More on this here[warframe.wikia.com]. Unfortunately, AP damage only does %50 damage to light infested. Unmodded DPS: 181.5.

Kunai - This is a very well-rounded (well, actually very sharp) weapon. It does 45 damage with a fire rate of 3.3. It has innate armor ignore, which makes it effective against armored units while still being better than the Despair for Infested. Unmodded DPS: 148.5

Even though the Kunai is the worst weapon on paper, why am I leaning towards it? I like the high damage per shot and it's effective against infested (unlike the Despair). Still, the Hikou has a higher DPS and does triple damage to infested. Should I get the Hikou for infested and build the Despair (when I get it) for Grineer/Corpus? I really just can't decide which one to get. I'm hoping to get some help from people who have used these weapons.

Thanks,

thePhysicist8

[voidpunk]

Any help you guys can get me would be greatly appreciated.
:)

[Petrograde]

In my opinion, it really comes down to what weapon you're pairing it with.

I haven't tried Hikou, but am a little turned off by the higher fire rate and what that means for ammo efficiency, which can be a problem depending on the mission type and the ammo efficiency of your primary weapon. I have maxed both Kunai and Despair and prefer Despair mainly for the higher base damage.

You're right about Despair being less effective against light infested, which is a gap I fill by having a slashing melee weapon, since those do triple damage to light infested(I use Orthos). That way you have 2 weapons that cover just about anything at close/mid range. The addition of a primary capable of some range and you've got a build versatile enough for pretty much anything.

Ultimately, I'd say all 3 weapons are capable and can be very effective when modded right, but if I had to make a choice I'd say get Kunai until you can get your hands on Despair then switch to that. It's very debatable though and people who feel otherwise certainly aren't "wrong".

[Stingin' Roger]

i heard once leveled up all the way and modded correctly that the kunai is the best
despair isnt the easiest to get because of the mats(but mainly because you need to obtain it via stalker)
hikou are just like kunai but weaker and have easier mats.

[Mad]

To say the despair is ineffective against light infested is completely wrong. With a catalyst on it, by level despair level 15 with hornet strike barrel diffusion and heated charge, you will still alpha strike light infested of level 50 and lower. Meaning what does it matter if it has reduced damage against light infested? It still one shots them.

[Captain Keene]

I've used both the Hikou and Kunai, and both have been absolutely fantastic sidearms. Of the two, I'd lean towards the Kunai because the higher base damage allows you to absolutely shred Grineer and light infested. The Hikou may have better DPS on paper, but in practice you tend to kill enemies so quickly that the DPS rarely comes into play.

I've also found that I run into more ammo problems using the Hikou. You throw the stars so fast that it's hard to throw just one or two.

Sorry that I can't offer an opinion on the Despair, but word of mouth from my Clan is that it is incredible and the exceptional damage more than makes up for its weaker performance against light infested.

[Jin]

To me seems like OP already did the research and answer his own question... IMO Despair is highest DPS than the other 2 and is a better weapon.

DPS = damage per second. I am not sure why above posts mention Hikou has higher DPS when it is lowest damage. Even with twice fire rate, Hikou still can not make up to Despair's damage. Also like above said Despair does -50% against light infest but its make up by its own damage. Who cares about light infest? They die to anything.

I have both Acrid and Despair 5 stars(check my sreenshots). I only do Despair after Acrid because Despair is easier to predict long distance aiming than Acrid.

[Vector88]

To me, the Hikou are nice, but not ammo efficient compared to the others. The Hikou also has the lowest base damage so then it will gain the least benefit from damage and elemental mods

Kunai i feel are better all round and are very ammo efficient
Despair have very high damage but are not good against light infested. (shreds grineer though which makes up for it)

[TwistedDude]

I used Kunai for the 1st time today :) And let me say how awsom it is. cant wait to build my clan weapon :P

[Rockon]

Despair. Light Infested are a joke anyway.

[his1roguenation]

I want to add that, if you do the maths, Despair beats Kunai at light Infested with porn mods, as any kind of bonus damage is calculated by the original damage and not the reduced (-50%) one.

Personally I couldn't think of using anything else but Despair by now, especially since it's -the- answer to ancients (aside Ogris and the allround-lord Hek of course).

Edit: Not to mention that lacking stagger is just better for this weapon.

[Jiminez Burial]

just saying, if you are having issues with semi auto pistols with decent fire rate, just bind a secondary fire key to either scroll wheel up or down. I got akbolto potatoed with two forma, and well as despair potatoed with two forma, and with the key bindings, there isn't all the much difference. try it out, and you may love the akbolto again without any objections being screamed by your fingers.

[Balerion]

a tip:
1. put alternate fire on mouse wheel up or down
2. get Acrid
3. ????
4. Profit!

[his1roguenation]

Everyone who needs the mousewheel for casual semi-auto shooting shouldn't be playing this game anyway but whatever.

[Balerion]

Messaggio originale di his1nightmare:

Everyone who needs the mousewheel for casual semi-auto shooting shouldn't be playing this game anyway but whatever.

Watch out. We have a badass over here.

P.S. We are not talking about "casual semi-auto shooting" here... oh no... we are talking about Acrid+Lethal Torrent+Gunslinger shooting full speed. Some people have problems with clicking that fast when facing bullet sponges, which is understandable. Mouse wheel firing is useful in those situations.

[his1roguenation]

I suppose.