Build it. Zhuge Prime offers high base damage and area-of-effect explosions, making it effective for clearing groups. Its main weakness is projectile travel time and self-stagger from explosions.
Bolts explode in a 2.6 meter radius after 0.6 seconds on impacting a surface or enemy. Initial hit and explosion apply status separately. Explosion does not need direct line of sight to deal damage and will penetrate walls. Reloads 50% faster from a fully depleted magazine. On kill, bodies will follow the bolt that killed them, damaging anyone in their path and pinning the corpse to walls.
The Zhuge Prime is a primed variant of the Tenno automatic crossbow, featuring improved critical chance, fire rate, and magazine size compared to its base version. It excels in dealing Slash damage, making it a potent choice for shredding armored enemies.
A key characteristic of the Zhuge Prime is its explosive bolts. These bolts detonate shortly after impact, providing area-of-effect damage that can clear groups of enemies efficiently. The weapon also reloads faster when its magazine is fully depleted, encouraging aggressive play.
Despite its explosive nature, the Zhuge Prime is a silent weapon, allowing for stealthy engagements. It also counts as a bow for fire rate mods, effectively doubling their bonus, which can significantly boost its damage output.
How to get the Zhuge Prime
- The Zhuge Prime is vaulted: its relics no longer drop in missions. Open relics you already own, buy them for Aya when Prime Resurgence lists it, or buy the parts for platinum.
- String: Lith G3, Lith N5, Meso W1, Neo E3, Neo I1 and 3 more (vaulted relics).
- Receiver: Meso W2, Neo N14, Axi B3, Axi D1 (vaulted relics).
- Blueprint: Lith L1, Lith T5, Meso P2, Neo G2, Axi A6 and 3 more (vaulted relics).
- Grip: Lith N6, Lith S13, Meso A2, Meso P3, Meso R3 and 3 more (vaulted relics).
- Barrel: Neo Z3, Neo Z5, Neo Z6, Neo Z7, Neo Z9 (vaulted relics; the rare slot in Neo Z3, Neo Z5).
- Run the fissure tier that matches each relic, refine the rare part’s relic to Radiant, and pick the best of the four results with a squad.
- Build the parts, then the weapon: 12 hours each, or rush with platinum.
Check the Relic finder for live odds per refinement; the set price on this page is what the built set trades for on warframe.market.
Stats
| Class | Primary |
|---|---|
| Mastery Rank | 14 |
| Trigger | AUTO |
| Noise | Silent |
| Fire Rate | 5.5 |
| Accuracy | 40 |
| Magazine | 30 |
| Reload | 3 s |
| Critical Chance | 26% |
| Critical Multiplier | 2x |
| Status Chance | 30% |
| Set Price | 49p on warframe.market (48h average) |
| Riven Disposition | (1.15) |
| Damage | 50 total |
|---|---|
| Impact | 10 |
| Puncture | 22.5 |
| Slash | 17.5 |
The Zhuge Prime has a riven disposition of 1.15, which is above average. This allows for powerful stat boosts from a well-rolled Riven mod, potentially enhancing its critical stats, damage, or quality of life features.
Builds
With a 26% critical chance and 30% status chance, the Zhuge Prime can effectively utilize both critical and status-based builds. A hybrid approach focusing on critical damage, multishot, and elemental damage for status effects will maximize its potential, especially with its innate Slash damage bias.
Rifle
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SET: PRIMARY| Mod | Why it’s here |
|---|---|
| Serration | +165% Damage |
| Split Chamber | +90% Multishot |
| Point Strike | +150% Critical Chance |
| Vital Sense | +120% Critical Damage |
| Galvanized Chamber | +80% Multishot; On Kill: +30% Multishot for 20s. Stacks up to 5x. |
| Malignant Force | +60% Toxin; +60% Status Chance |
| Primed Cryo Rounds | +165% Cold |
| Vigilante Armaments | +60% Multishot |
Primary Merciless is the pick: stacking damage on kills with faster reloads. Primary Deadhead if you land headshots. Primary Crux, from The Hex, is the cheap start.
Reviewed September 2026.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- High base damage for an automatic weapon.
- Explosive bolts provide effective area-of-effect damage.
- Innate Slash damage bias is strong against armor.
- Silent weapon, suitable for stealth.
- Faster reload from an empty magazine.
Cons
- Projectiles have travel time, requiring leading targets.
- Explosions can inflict self-stagger.
- Explosion damage has falloff and cannot score headshots.
- Vaulted, making acquisition more challenging.
The Zhuge Prime is a versatile automatic crossbow that offers a unique blend of direct damage and area-of-effect explosions. Its ability to clear groups and deal significant Slash damage makes it a strong contender for various mission types, provided its projectile travel time and self-stagger are managed. Despite being vaulted, it remains a worthwhile investment for players seeking a powerful and engaging primary weapon.