The Dakra Prime is (was?) one of very few Prime weapons that doesn’t have a standard variant; however, ther are references to it within the code as being the Cronus Prime, which is interesting. Still, there is now a more standard variant since the Dex Dakra was released as part of Warframe’s annual Anniversary celebration. That said, the Dakra Prime is a single Tenno Sword, while the Dex Dakra is a Dual Sword… Neither will replace your favourite Melee weapon, but both are solid enough.
How to Acquire
The Dex Dakra can be obtained by completing the Gift from the Lotus Alert for the Anniversary event held in March every year. Once completed, you will be provided with the weapon itself, a weapon slot to accommodate, and a Catalyst pre-installed. The best news? The Dex Dakra has no Mastery Rank requirement, so you can get started as soon as you get your hands on it.
The Dakra Prime, on the other hand, needs to be farmed from Void Relics. However, the weapon has been vaulted for some time now, but has been unvaulted on several occasions since first entering the vault in 2015. Still, there is a Mastery Rank requirement of MR6 for this weapon.
Stats by Variant
The Dex Dakra has some pretty solid base Damage stats, leaning strongly towards Slash Damage. On the other hand, the attack speed is quite poor for Dual Swords, which is really what lets this weapon down. Still, it has a pretty good Riven Disposition, so you should be able to track down a solid Riven if it does strike your fancy.
The Dakra Prime also has great base Damage, and also favours Slash over other Damage types. With a faster attack speed and an equal Riven Disposition, I’d say the base stats outperform the Dex Dakra.
Crit or Status?
Personally, I’d build the Dakra Prime for straight Damage, as the Critical Chance is not high enough (in my opinion) to warrant a targeted build. More than that, though, the Critical Damage multiplier is too low for it to be worthwhile, so I’d avoid this path unless you have a Riven for CC and CD.
On the other hand, the Dex Dakra has a good base Status Chance (at 20%), so I’d recommend building towards this. You aren’t likely to hit 100%, but it will still get high enough to apply Status most of the time, if not always. It’s always great to leave your enemies bleeding.
As a result, I’d probably suggest the two weapons are somewhat on par in terms of viability, but neither is top tier.
Overall, both the Dex Dakra and the Dakra Prime are both somewhat viable weapons, but without a great Riven, they aren’t likely to sail you through late-game content with the speed and grace you’ll likely be chasing. If you like the look of these weapons, they won’t let you down for everyday content, though, and there’s no better price than free when it comes to the Dex Dakra.
Greg
