The Lato is a standard issue pistol for new Tenno recruits. While its damage suffers, its good accuracy and stability as well as fast reload allows easy handling of the weapon.
This weapon can be sold for 
2,500, it is also a requisite ingredient for 
Bolto.
Characteristics
- This weapon deals primarily
Slash damage.
Advantages over other Secondary weapons (excluding modular weapons):
- Normal Attack (wiki attack index 1)
- High reload speed (1.00 s)
- Above average ammo max (210)
- High disposition (●●●●● (1.40x))
- Incarnon Form (wiki attack index 2)
- High average number of crits per shot (0.32)
- Above average reload speed (1.00 s)
- Above average fire rate (3.50 attacks/sec)
- Above average ammo max (210)
- High disposition (●●●●● (1.40x))
- Above average crit multiplier (2.60x)
Disadvantages over other Secondary weapons (excluding modular weapons):
- Normal Attack (wiki attack index 1)
- Low crit chance (10.00%)
- Below average total damage (40)
- Very low status chance (6.00%)
- Below average crit multiplier (1.80x)
- Incarnon Form (wiki attack index 2)
- Very low average number of procs per shot (0.12)
- Below average crit chance (16.00%)
- Very low status chance (6.00%)
See WARFRAME Wiki:Stat Comparison/Percentiles for more details.
Comparisons:
Lato (Normal Attack), compared to 
Lato Prime (Normal Attack):
- Lower base damage per projectile (40.00 vs. 60.00)
- Lower total damage (40 vs. 60)
- Lower base critical chance (10.00% vs. 30.00%)
- Lower base critical multiplier (1.80x vs. 2.60x)
- Lower base status chance (6.00% vs. 20.00%)
- Lower average damage per tap (43.2 vs. 88.8)
- Lower burst DPS (194.4 vs. 444)
- Lower sustained DPS (149.53 vs. 355.2)
- Lower fire rate (4.50 attacks/sec vs. 5.00 attacks/sec)
- Smaller magazine (15 vs. 20)
- Lower Mastery Rank required (0 vs. 14)
- Higher disposition (●●●●● (1.40x) vs. ●●●●● (1.35x))
- Lato (Normal Attack), compared to
Lato Vandal (Normal Attack):
- Lower base damage per projectile (40.00 vs. 46.00)
- Lower total damage (40 vs. 46)
- Lower base critical chance (10.00% vs. 26.00%)
- Lower base critical multiplier (1.80x vs. 2.40x)
- Lower base status chance (6.00% vs. 10.00%)
- Lower average damage per tap (43.2 vs. 62.74)
- Lower burst DPS (194.4 vs. 313.72)
- Lower sustained DPS (149.53 vs. 235.29)
- Lower fire rate (4.50 attacks/sec vs. 5.00 attacks/sec)
- Less accurate (Very High vs. Very High)
- Wider first-shot spread (0.50° vs. 0.20°)
- Wider maximum spread (10.50° vs. 8.50°)
- Lower Mastery Rank required (0 vs. 7)
- Higher disposition (●●●●● (1.40x) vs. ●●●●● (1.35x))
Acquisition
During Awakening, the Lato is one of two secondary weapons offered to the player, the other being the 
MK1-Kunai.
The weapon can also be purchased from the Market for 10,000.
Notes
Incarnon Genesis
- Upon completion of The Duviri Paradox and Angels of the Zariman, and unlocking The Steel Path, players can earn
Lato Incarnon Genesis from The Circuit's Steel Path to place on their Lato 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 Lato Incarnon Genesis § Evolutions. To change it, please edit the transcluded page.
- Installing the Lato Incarnon Genesis requires 20
Pathos Clamps, 70 
Yao Shrubs, and 100 
Nacreous Pebbles. - 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.
- Gain Punch Through and Ricochet.
- Incarnon Form gains increased Damage, Critical Chance and Critical Multiplier. It also gains 2 Multishot and 0.8 meter Punch Through, and shots now ricochet to 1 nearby enemy within 9 meters of the main target and any subsequent targets struck by punch through. However it has noticeably higher Recoil and lower Fire Rate.
- 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. 6 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 Lato's Incarnon Form uses a separate "magazine" with each charge producing 4 rounds to a maximum of 24. Once all ammunition is expended, the Lato 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 this weapon equipped.
- Perk 1: Haven Foray
- Increase Damage by +40 (Lato) / +22 (Vandal) / +2 (Prime).
- With Overshields: Increase Damage by +40 (Lato) / +40 (Vandal) / +34 (Prime).
- Perk 2: Reified Bane
- Increase Damage by +30 (Lato) / +12 (Vandal) / +2 (Prime).
- On Reload from Empty Magazine: Increase Damage by +30 (Lato) / +30 (Vandal) / +24 (Prime).
Evolution III
- Unlock Challenge: Kill 100 enemies with this weapon's Incarnon Form.
- Perk 1: Void's Guidance
- Increase Accuracy and Reduce Recoil by +50%.
- Perk 2: Marksman's Gain
- On Headshot: 20% chance for +50% Ammo Efficiency for 6s.
- The bonus can be refreshed on subsequent headshots.
- The bonus does not affect the Incarnon form.
- On Headshot: 20% chance for +50% Ammo Efficiency for 6s.
- Perk 3: Exact Penance
- On Kill: 50% chance for Instant Reload.
- Kills from status effects can also trigger the effect.
- On Kill: 50% chance for Instant Reload.
Evolution IV
- Unlock Challenge: Get 40 headshots in a single mission.
- Perk 1: Survivor's Edge
- Increase Critical Chance by +20% (Lato) / +6% (Vandal) / +4% (Prime).
- Increase Status Chance by +12% (Lato) / +12% (Vandal) / +10% (Prime).
- Perk 2: Deathtrap Trigger
- On Equip from Primary:
- Increase Critical Chance by +50% (Lato) / +38% (Vandal) / +30% (Prime) for 4s.
- Increase Critical Damage Multiplier by +3.2x (Lato) / +2.6x (Vandal) / +2.3x (Prime) for 4s.
- On Equip from Primary:
- Perk 3: Carnage Reign
- +40% Direct Damage per Status Type affecting the target.
Tips
- The Lato has a high chance of cutting corpses into pieces, making it a prime candidate for a Desecrating
Nekros to bring along, as the game considers the cut corpses as separate entities, essentially giving multiple corpses to desecrate from a single enemy and thus yielding more chances to create more drops. - Once the weapon ranks up to 30, consider using it to build the Bolto which is significantly better, at least in terms of combating armored enemies.
Trivia
- The Lato was originally intended to fit in more with the other wood and metal aesthetic Tenno weapons have, its original design can seen be seen in this concept art (top right). The Lato Prime is still based on that old design.
- Additionally the Lato was visually reworked in Update 19 and its default skin changed from black and metal grey to the black white red color scheme of Excalibur.
- This weapon is used by the Grineer Lancers in Vor's Prize as a low damage alternative to the
Grakatas they normally wield. It is also used by them in Mastery Rank Promotion Tests. - The Lato received a buff to its damage and critical stats in Update 14.0 (2014-07-18) to bring it in line with the new MK1 weapons. The
Aklato however did not receive this buff until Update 15.16 (2015-02-25). - It was seen in the Dark Sector original concept video.
- Though the word Lato has a variety of meanings in different languages, the usage here may be in Italian where it means "side", a nod to the weapon itself being a sidearm.
Media
(Old) Lato in Codex.
Lato Skins
Patch History
Hotfix 37.0.1 (2024-10-02)
- Fixed the Lato clipping into Koumei when holstered.
Update 32.2 (2022-11-30)
- SEMI-AUTOMATIC WEAPON CHANGES
While reviewing the stats of some weapons with a semi-automatic mode, we noticed that certain weapons had an unsustainably high fire rate for most players. We adjusted the stats of the following semi-automatic weapons whose maximum potential was only being reached with the use of macros (to learn more about third-party use in Warframe visit our support article). Since not everyone is an avid macro user (within the boundaries allowed), we lowered fire rates to a more humanly achievable level and improved their damage or reload stats to compensate.
Lato
- Reduced fire rate from 6.67 to 4.5.
- Increased damage from 30 to 40.
Update 22.12 (2018-02-09)
- Status chance increased from 3% to 6%.
- Critical damage increased from 1.75x to 1.8x.
Update 21.0 (2017-06-29)
- Increased damage from 18 to 30.
- Increased Crit Chance from 5% to 10%.
- Increased Status Chance from 1% to 3%.
Hotfix 19.11.5 (2017-02-28)
- Improved volume of the new firing sounds in different environments for the Lato.
Update 19.11 (2017-02-15)
- Further minor firing sound improvement tweaks to the Lato.
Hotfix 19.10.1 (2017-02-14)
- Optimized remastered Lato firing sounds for lower frame rates.
Update 19.10 (2017-02-09)
- Lato model reworked.
- Kintsugi and Nocturne weapon skins added.
- The Lato has also received newly remastered sounds as a major change to the way weapon firing sounds work.
Update 18.0 (2015-12-03)
- Conclave Skin added.
Update 17.0 (2015-07-31)
- Lato series damage increased in Conclave.
Hotfix 14.0.11 (2014-07-30)
- Damage multiplier for Lato normalized.
Update 9.5 (2013-08-09)
- Added custom recoil animation for Lato.
Update 8.3 (2013-07-04)
- Sound changes.
Update 8.2 (2013-06-28)
- Lato now has queued fire, and is set up like other semi-auto weapons.
Update 7.11 (2013-05-17)
- Market cost revised: 10,000 credits or 50 platinum
Update 7.x Weapon Balance (2013-03-22)
- Increased damage from 23 to 24.
- Decreased Crit Chance from 5% to 2.5%.
Vanilla (2012-10-25)
- Introduced with game release.
Last updated: Hotfix 23.6.2 (2018-08-31)
See also
- Aklato, the akimbo counterpart of the Lato.
- Lato Prime, the Prime counterpart of the Lato.
- Lato Vandal, an exclusive Lotus upgrade to the Lato.
- Bolto, a bolt-firing pistol that uses the Lato in crafting.
Braton, an assault rifle that shares the same theme.
Skana, a sword that shares the same theme.- Lato Incarnon Genesis, the Incarnon power-up for the Single-Lato series.
