Opticor

The Opticor is a Corpus laser cannon introduced in Update 15.

While charging, the trigger can be released at 50% charge to do the rated damage. If fully charged the weapon will fire immediately for double the rated damage. If the beam strikes terrain rather than an enemy's body, it creates a radial burst of damage centered on its site of impact. This explosion deals half the damage of the beam itself at the center, with damage reducing over distance.

Characteristics
This weapon deals primarily damage.

Advantages:
 * Silent.
 * Very high base damage.
 * Deals high damage; effective against armored targets.
 * Range of the laser is infinite.
 * Extremely ammo efficient - uses rifle ammo.
 * Area of effect can hit multiple enemies close enough together.
 * Does not damage the user.
 * Does not need to charge fully to fire (minimum of roughly half).
 * Pinpoint accuracy.
 * Heavy Caliber's accuracy penalty is minimal on this weapon.
 * Can use the exclusive Firestorm mod.
 * Fires a near hitscan projectile, unlike the Ogris and Penta.
 * As a near hitscan projectile gun, there's no need to compensate crosshair aiming at close-medium range.
 * Has a polarity slot.
 * Fully charged shots always stagger enemies.

Disadvantages:
 * Slow charge time.
 * Low fire rate.
 * Charging and releasing repeatedly or too early can cause the Opticor to jam.
 * Area of effect damage decreases with distance from the impact area.
 * Area of effect does not trigger if an enemy or corpse is hit with the main projectile.
 * The weapon fires as soon as it has reached a full charge, which can lead to premature firing.
 * Low damage - less effective against Flesh, Cloned Flesh and Infested.

Tips

 * Whilst starting out, make use of the Opticor's starting slot to fit Shred or Serration to enhance its AoE potential, and/or damage output.
 * A critical chance increase and/or critical damage increase can offer immense damage when getting a critical. Even simply increasing the critical chance to 37.5% with Split Chamber and Point Strike is sufficient.
 * Works well in combination with Nova's Antimatter Drop due to the weapon's pin-point accuracy and massive damage, allowing Antimatter Drop to deal large amounts of damage with only a single shot.
 * Shred is recommended for this weapon as it improves the charge time while adding Punch Through. This makes the Opticor much more effective in narrow hallways.
 * The Opticor treats the Shield Lancer's shield as a solid environmental surface, setting off its AoE damage effect. Shooting at Shield Lancers in the midst of enemy Grineer can be a good alternative to shooting the ground to deal splash damage.

Trivia

 * At the time of its introduction, firing the weapon at 50% yielded the same damage as firing at full charge, meaning charging the weapon past 50% served no purpose other than to afford additional time to aim. This was fixed in Update 15.0.7.
 * There are slight visual differences between partially-charged shots and fully-charged shots; fully-charged shots are wider and leave a short-lived trail of light after the main shot has dissipated.