Neutron Capture is the switch that turns Harlowe’s CHROMA Accelerator into gun damage on demand. When your Unstable Energy Pocket explodes, a portion of the damage it dealt is banked as bonus radiation damage on your shots for a short window. That means your gun becomes a delivery system; the real number you’re scaling is CHROMA’s card and what multiplies it.

Why this build hits so hard (the short version)

  • Most “% damage” buckets are additive with each other. Piling them up has diminishing returns.
  • Decoherence is a multiplier that sits outside those additive buckets. It multiplies the whole package.
  • Neutron Capture “double dips”: first when CHROMA deals damage, then again when that stored damage is applied as bonus gun damage. Multipliers and critical layers that touch both sides are disproportionately valuable.

Translated to choices: prioritize multipliers (Decoherence), radiation, and skill damage that apply to CHROMA and to your gun window, and effects that raise hit count during that window (fire rate, projectile count, ricochets).

Skill priorities (Creative Bursts core, with key pickups)

Skill Points Role
Cyclotron 5/5 Fire rate for more hits during the Neutron Capture window.
Field‑Ready Prototype 2/5 Action Skill damage scaling into CHROMA.
Neutron Capture (Augment) — Converts CHROMA damage into bonus radiation gun damage.
Elementary 5/5 Elemental and status effect damage for both CHROMA and gun ticks.
Enriched 3/3 Flat radiation damage to juice both sides of the dip.
Poisoned Sun 5/5 Radiation damage and irradiation chance; seeds AoE.
Fissile Launcher 2/3 Radiation darts for spread and uptime.
Chain Reactor 3/3 Bonus radiation vs. Entangled targets.
Demon Core (Capstone) — Big CHROMA travel damage; auto‑irradiates Entangled enemies.
Mechanical Brilliance 4/5 Sustained skill damage after CHROMA hits.
Decoherence (Cosmic Brilliance) Take it Multiplicative with the rest of the formula; do not skip.

Notes:

  • If you lack a crit‑guarantee knife, you can swap Mechanical Brilliance into Make Extraordinary to enable reliable crits on skill damage.
  • If you aren’t running the I Am A Gun specialization, move a few points into reload/handling support like Mass Function without gutting the red‑tree engine.

Weapons and gear

  • Primary guns: Convergence and Katagawa’s Revenge (Shock mode) top the list. Any high fire‑rate, high projectile‑count elemental weapon works; more pellets means more bonus radiation applications during the window.
  • Debuff sniper: Nullsaint purple ripper for a strong additive “damage taken” debuff (+35%).
  • Ordnance: Any Jakobs throwing knife with either +15% Damage Taken on target or a guaranteed crit part.
  • Class Mod: Atomic Driver for bossing; swap to Scientist when mobbing for comfort and uptime.
  • Shield: Timekeeper’s New Shield enables aggressive play but can feel risky with Driver; a high‑capacity shield is the safer alternative.
  • Repkit stat targets: Damage Dealt, Elemental Damage, Fire rate. Splash is fine, but it doesn’t double‑dip here.
  • Enhancement: Favor stats over flashy actives — fire rate, mag size, equip speed, reload, keep your window dense.

Firmware setup

  • Risky Boots (3/3) on Repkit and Ordnance is the priority — it grants a large “Damage Dealt” spike you can line up to double dip through Neutron Capture.
  • Class Mod firmware: High Caliber is a solid fit for crit‑forward play.
  • Shield firmware: Risky Boots again if you can safely exploit it; otherwise lean defensive.
  • Enhancement firmware: God Killer complements burst phases.
  • Alternates worth slotting if they roll well: Bullets to Spare, Airstrike.

Specializations

  • Groundbreaker — On‑kill momentum carries you between CHROMA windows.
  • Compounding Afflictions — More damage per active status; Harlowe stacks elements effortlessly.
  • The Best Defense — Survivability without leaving damage on the table.
  • I Am A Gun — Clean synergy with your burst loop.

How to play it (mobbing and bossing)

Mobbing

  • Equip Scientist for breathing room.
  • Entangle packs, prime with radiation (Demon Core and Chain Reactor do most of the work), and trigger CHROMA close to a cluster.
  • During the Neutron Capture window, dump with a fast elemental gun. Ricochets and high pellet counts clean up stragglers.
  • Re‑trigger your Action Skill regularly to keep Neutron Capture uptime high.

Bossing

  • Switch to Atomic Driver and a high‑impact primary (Katagawa’s Revenge or Convergence).
  • Let CHROMA tick the boss briefly before detonation to raise the stored value, then detonate and immediately fire into the buff window.
  • Time your shot so that Risky Boots is active as the Neutron Capture window opens — that “Damage Dealt” bonus then applies on both sides of the dip.
  • Keep moving; Driver’s playstyle punishes standing still.

Strengths and limits

  • Pros: Huge burst on demand; excellent mobbing pace; doesn’t need on‑level guns; smooth leveling path.
  • Cons: Can feel glass‑cannon at times; radiation‑resistant enemies blunt throughput; needs careful timing to fully capitalize on firmware windows.

Common pitfalls to avoid

  • Skipping Decoherence: It’s multiplicative with your core damage; omitting it leaves a large chunk of output on the floor.
  • Over‑stacking additive bonuses: Once you’ve got the key buckets, chase multipliers and hit count (fire rate, pellets) instead.
  • Mistiming Risky Boots: Fire after your CHROMA detonation and inside the buff window. Aim to have the firmware spike overlap both events.

The loop is simple once it clicks: entangle and irradiate a group, detonate CHROMA, and empty a fast clip while Neutron Capture is active. Build for the multiplier, not just the sum, and your damage will scale well past what raw additive stacking can do.