- For the Capture-mission of the same name, see Ceres#Missions.
The Lex is a pistol with high damage and very high accuracy. The weapon does not falter in long ranges, and is capable of dispatching most light armored enemies with a well-aimed headshot.
It can be sold for 
5,000; it is also a requisite ingredient for 
Aklex (x2).
Characteristics
- This weapon deals primarily
Puncture damage. - Innate
polarity.
Advantages over other Secondary weapons (excluding modular weapons):
- Very accurate.
- Very good ammunition efficiency.
- Normal Attack (wiki attack index 1)
- Above average total damage (130)
- Above average ammo max (210)
- Incarnon Form (wiki attack index 2)
- High crit chance (30.00%)
- Very high total damage (1,000)
- Above average ammo max (210)
- High crit multiplier (3.00x)
Disadvantages over other Secondary weapons (excluding modular weapons):
- High recoil.
- Normal Attack (wiki attack index 1)
- Low reload speed (2.35 s)
- Low magazine (6)
- Very low fire rate (1.08 attacks/sec)
- Low status chance (10.00%)
- Incarnon Form (wiki attack index 2)
- Very low reload speed (2.35 s)
- Low magazine (6)
- Very low fire rate (0.67 attacks/sec)
See WARFRAME Wiki:Stat Comparison/Percentiles for more details.
Comparisons:
Lex (Normal Attack), compared to 
Lex Prime (Normal Attack):
- Lower base damage per projectile (130.00 vs. 180.00)
- Lower total damage (130 vs. 180)
- Lower base critical chance (20.00% vs. 25.00%)
- Lower base status chance (10.00% vs. 25.00%)
- Lower average damage per tap (156 vs. 225)
- Lower burst DPS (168.48 vs. 468)
- Lower sustained DPS (118.39 vs. 290.50)
- Lower fire rate (1.08 attacks/sec vs. 2.08 attacks/sec)
- Smaller magazine (6 vs. 8)
- Smaller ammo pickup count (40 vs. 60)
- Lower Mastery Rank required (3 vs. 8)
- Higher disposition (●●●●○ (1.25x) vs. ●●●●○ (1.20x))
- Lex (Normal Attack), compared to Aklex (Normal Attack):
- Equal base damage
- Lower burst DPS (168.48 vs. 246.48)
- Lower sustained DPS (118.39 vs. 176.68)
- Lower fire rate (1.08 attacks/sec vs. 1.58 attacks/sec)
- Smaller magazine (6 vs. 12)
- Faster reload time (2.35 s vs. 3.00 s)
- More accurate (Very High vs. Very High)
- Tighter maximum spread (12.00° vs. 20.00°)
- Lower Mastery Rank required (3 vs. 4)
- Higher disposition (●●●●○ (1.25x) vs. ●●●○○ (1.05x))
Incarnon
This section is transcluded from Lex Incarnon Genesis § Evolutions. To change it, please edit the transcluded page.
- Installing the Lex Incarnon Genesis requires 20
Pathos Clamps, 70 
Yao Shrubs, and 150 
Saggen Pearls. - When installed, the first Evolution tier is unlocked. The following Evolution tiers, their requirements for unlocking them, and their related perks, are shown below;
- Each challenge additionally grants 5,000 affinity to the weapon, affected by Affinity Boosters.
Evolution I
- Weakpoint hits charge Incarnon Transmutation; Alt Fire transmutes. Switching back will expend any remaining charge.
- Fire energy waves that deal
Radiation and Punch Through damage.
- Incarnon Form fires a wide projectile that deals Radiation damage and guarantees
Impact procs, with significantly increased base damage, Critical Chance, Critical Multiplier, and Status Chance, and 1.4 meter Punch Through. However, it no longer deals Puncture or 
Slash damage, has a headshot multiplier of 1x, has drastically slower Fire Rate, has linear damage falloff from 100% to 66.67% from 10m to 18m target distance (affected by Projectile Speed), has projectile travel time, and a limited range of 28 meters (affected by Projectile Speed).
- Incarnon Form fires a wide projectile that deals
- Mode switching is not instantaneous and has an animation equal to the weapon's reload speed.
- Incarnon Form is activated by filling the Incarnon Transmutation gauge that appears under the reticule by achieving weakpoint hits and then pressing the Alternate Fire button. 10 weakpoints will completely fill the gauge. A full gauge is not required to activate Incarnon Form.
- Charges do not generate on the backpacks of most MOA variants, or vulnerability spots generated by
Sonar or 
Detect Vulnerability in places other than actual weakpoints. - Weakpoints on corpses or Invulnerable targets do not build charges.
- Individual Multishot bullets can build charges.
- Charges do not generate on the backpacks of most MOA variants, or vulnerability spots generated by
- Instead of drawing ammunition from its reserves, the Lex's Incarnon Form uses a separate "magazine" with each charge producing 2 rounds to a maximum of 20. Once all ammunition is expended, the Lex reverts to its normal form.
- Incarnon Form's magazine is not affected by mods.
- Incarnon Form is not affected by Ammo Efficiency (such as
Energized Munitions). - Charges and Incarnon Form persists through all activities, such as holstering, bleedout, or being disarmed. However, charges and Incarnon Form are removed upon death.
- Swapping to and from Incarnon Form will fully reload the normal form's magazine.
Evolution II
- Unlock Challenge: Complete a solo mission with the Lex equipped.
- Perk 1: Hoplite Virtue:
- Increase Damage by +80 (Lex) / +20 (Prime).
- On Shield Break: Increase Damage by +80 for 8 seconds.
- This is on personal shield break, not breaking enemy shields.
- Perk 2: Trusty Sidearm:
- Increase Damage by +80 (Lex) / +20 (Prime).
- With Channeled Ability active: +60% Ammo Efficiency.
Evolution III
- Unlock Challenge: Kill 100 enemies with this weapon's Incarnon Form.
- Perk 1: Lex Talionis:
- On Headshot: -20% Weapon Recoil and +20% Accuracy for 4s. Stacks up to 4x.
- Perk 2: Extended Volley:
- Increase Magazine Capacity by +10.
- Perk 3: Ready Retaliation:
- On Reload From Empty: +100% Reload Speed.
Evolution IV
- Unlock Challenge: Get 5 headshots with this weapon in Incarnon form in a single mission.
- Perk 1: Executioner's Dawn:
- On Equip: +100% Headshot Damage for 4s.
- Perk 2: Elemental Balance:
- Increase Status Chance by +40% (Lex) / +30% (Prime).
- Perk 3: Critical Parallel:
- Increase Critical Chance by +20% (Lex) / +19% (Prime).
- Increase Critical Damage Multiplier by +0.4x.
Acquisition
A built Lex can be purchased from the Market for 50,000.
Notes
- It is well suited for medium to long range combat, and the Hawk Eye mod can increase zoom to effectively use it as a pocket sniper.
- Recommended to pair this with a close to mid-range primary weapon as its small magazine and longer reload times can be crippling at closer ranges. This weapon is also very useful while playing a support role for its long-range capability and common ammo type.
Notes
Incarnon Genesis
- Upon completion of The Duviri Paradox and Angels of the Zariman, and unlocking The Steel Path, players can earn
Lex Incarnon Genesis from The Circuit's Steel Path to place on their Lex with the help of Cavalero in the Chrysalith. This Incarnon Genesis form grants it evolutions to a transformation and newfound strength.
Evolution
This section is transcluded from Lex Incarnon Genesis § Evolutions. To change it, please edit the transcluded page.
Tips
- This weapon is useful alongside automatic rifles or shotguns, as most of those weapons have poor long-range capabilities.
- This weapon can also be a high-risk-high-reward alternative to pair with a sniper rifle, since it can be used to finish off heavy enemies usually in a few hits, when you need to reload your rifle, or when you're being surrounded by lightly armored enemies.
- Using Steady Hands (which reduces the recoil of pistols) can be very beneficial to the Lex, as the high recoil between each shot could lead to you missing your target at times.
Mesa's passive provides a much needed reload speed.
Trivia
- Lex is the Latin word for law, and short for Alexis or Alexander meaning "defender" and "defender from adversaries" respectively (from Greek: ἀλέξειν (aléxein), meaning "defend").
- Lex also pronounced similar to เล็ก (Lĕk), a Thai word for "small", which is ironically referred to its tiny size.
- Lex shares its name with a mission node on Ceres.
- The Lex has a surprisingly conventional appearance compared to most weapons in the game, drawing inspiration from real-world firearms. Its Prime variant continues this trend, complete with a slide that is pulled back during reloading.
- The underbarrel attachment is a flashlight.
- The Lex appears to have two barrels, but the lower "barrel" is in fact a guide rod.
- The Lex and its akimbo and Prime variants share similar weapon sounds to the Hammer 1895, a revolver featured in Dark Sector.
Media
New Lex reload animation (Click to watch GIF image)
A rough comparison of the LEX to two pistols it resembles; the M1911A1 and SIG Sauer P226
Identifying the parts of the Lex
Please To Enjoy Warframe - 26 - LEX - Another Another Look
Warframe LEX
Warframe - All Tenno Secondaries - Weapon Animations & Sounds (2012 - 2019)
Warframe - All Tenno Weapon Reloads in 3 minutes (2012 - 2019)
Lex Skins
Patch History
Update 25.8 (2019-10-01)
- October 2019 Riven Disposition Change
- Lex: 0.9->1.05
Update 21.7 (2017-09-09)
- Lex headshot multiplier reduced to 1.5x in Conclave.
Update 21.0 (2017-06-29)
- Increased damage from 70 to 130.
- Increased Crit Chance from 15% to 20%.
- Increased Mastery Rank requirement from 0 to 3.
- Lex damage increased in Conclave.
Hotfix 18.4.10 (2016-02-11)
- Increased the damage of the Lex series in Conclave.
- Increased the headshot multiplier of the Lex series in Conclave.
Update 18.0 (2015-12-03)
- Lex Conclave Skin added.
Update 16.4 (2015-04-23)
- Decreased the Lex's damage in PvP.
Update 9.5 (2013-08-09)
- Added custom reload animation and sounds for the Lex.
Update 7.11 (2013-05-17)
- Credit price increased from 35,000 to 50,000.
- No longer purchasable for Platinum.
Update 7.x Weapon Balance (2013-03-22)
- Damage increased from 60 to 80.
- Fire rate increased from 60 to 65.
- Reload time decreased from 2.5s to 2.35s.
- Crit Chance increased from 5% to 15%.
Update 6.4 (2013-02-22)
- Lex balancing (less recoil, slightly higher fire rate).
Vanilla (2012-10-25)
- Item introduced with game release.
Last updated: Hotfix 23.6.2 (2018-08-31)
See also
- Aklex, the akimbo version of this weapon.
- Lex Prime, the Prime version of this weapon.
- Lex Incarnon Genesis, the Incarnon power-up for the Single-Lex series.
