Saryn: Spreading the Spores of Love

Written in Update 31

Ah, yes,  Saryn. Warframe's original high profile poster girl (can someone check how many Mods feature Saryn?), and everyone's beloved fashion model (if all her TennoGen entries mean anything, though  Wisp and  Garuda might want to challenge that...).

Saryn's popularity is caused not only by her shapeliness (I mean,  Nezha,  Ivara,  Sevagoth and  Mesa are all shapely, if you stare at them long enough), but also because she is virtually the Queen of all Trades. Need a crowd killer in Survival and Disruption runs? Call Saryn. Someone to keep Sanctuary Onslaught efficiency? Saryn. A capable decoy? Saryn's  Molt, gotcha. Someone who can go toe-to-toe with bosses? Even Saryn can fill that role. A virtual girlfriend? Heck, Saryn can compete with  Yareli for that. If there's one thing she's admittedly less capable at, it's during Eidolon hunts, as players prefer hunt mainstays such as  Volt and  Trinity, or the lore-appropriate  Gara; and yet Saryn is still preferable over others due to her tankiness, in case a player doesn't have the aforementioned mainstays.

On top of that, Saryn is perhaps one of the most frequently updated Warframes. Remember the time when spamming  Miasma was all you needed? Then when they nerfed Miasma, there is the trick when you can spam  Viral  Spores on her molted skin, and that also got nerfed. Then they made  Toxic Lash work beyond melee weapons, buffing up ranged weapons and even Arch-guns. And, as if anticipating the release of The Steel Path, her Spores evolved to its current iteration, so that they now scale up in damage as long as there is an ongoing infection. And did I mention they changed her sound sets at least twice already?

And Saryn's spores are her bread and butter tool for mass murder, of which the build on this blog post will primarily focus on.

The Spread Her Love Build

• Aura:  Growing Power
• Exilus:  Power Drift or  Cunning Drift
• Warframe Mod List:  Umbral Intensify,  Umbral Vitality,  Primed Continuity,  Primed Flow,  Blind Rage,  Overextended,  Regenerative Molt,  Hunter Adrenaline
• Minimum Forma requirements: Cannot recall (Saryn Prime has been with me way before any of the Umbra mods appeared, so I kind of overforma'd her to account for the said mods)

• Skillset:
  • Saryn's default kit ( Spores,  Molt,  Toxic Lash,  Miasma), with Miasma being the option to be overriden by a Helminth infusion.

• Weapon Options:
  • At least a primary or secondary weapon with an explosive potential, or a bow or thrown secondary with an explosive trigger mod ( Thunderbolt and  Concealed Explosives, respectively).
  •  Nikana Prime, Saryn Prime's signature choice of melee.
  •  Kuva Grattler,  Corvas Prime or  Morgha, because, why not, they also get buffed by Toxic Lash.

Explaining the build

The above mod build is intended at sustaining Spores with high Ability Duration and Range, while still keeping some oomph for the damage scaling part with a decent amount of Strength. Overextended gives very high Range as an individual mod and allows the boils to spread quick and fast. It does come at the expense of Ability Strength, which is then offset by Blind Rage and Spores' damage scaling mechanic. Saryn's Efficiency suffers as a result of Blind Rage, but the casting cost of Spores is relatively cheap, not to mention easy to maintain without the need to re-cast by popping freshly grown ones with an explosive shot. So using Spores this way will barely touch her rather large Energy reserves, further augmented with Primed Flow as a safeguard.

To replenish her Energy, Saryn - tanky as she is - can simply take damage and trigger Hunter Adrenaline, then once she's had her fill, she can use Regenerative Molt to both heal herself and create a decoy for incoming enemy fire. To return the favor with a vengeance, Saryn can stagger the crowd with Miasma, use Toxic Lash, and either slap enemies with her Nikana, or blow them up into oblivion with explosive weapons or everyone's favorite Kuva Grattler.

Now, take note that this build treats Saryn as a caster type, albeit a tough cookie at that. Other Saryn builds emphasize her tankiness with  Umbral Fiber and  Adaptation which may require sacrificing this build's reliance on high Ability Range, so be mindful that while Saryn is still far tougher than dedicated casters such as  Ember or  Limbo, she is still squishier compared to her builds that emphasize heavily on survivability. So mobility is going to be her best friend - after all, she can keep moving around and avoid gunfire while her Spores do most of the job for her.

Conclusion

There is a good reason Saryn is popular with TennoGen modders. And while her usual form is that of an imposing, formidable fighter, she can be as sassy as a certain bird-inspired bloodthirsty Warframe if she chooses to be.

Saryn has definitely achieved her place as one of the most iconic and memorable Warframe designs, and despite being a formidable mainstay in the game for almost a decade now, and despite the many new interesting Warframes that spawned after, she remains one of the top choices due to her excellent gameplay mechanics, ability synergies, and love for fanservice.

So, with due respect to  Wukong, I'll stay and remain loyal as a Saryn main, thank you.