Lavos vs Protea
Same Support / Healer fantasy — which support kit fits your squad and mission rota?
TL;DR — Quick Pick
Pick Lavos if…
- You want the squad gap filled by Lavos's vibe — The serpents of Lavos encourage him as he transmutes the battlefield.
- This slot should feel like Ophidian Bite, Vial Rush, and Catalyze, not a reskin of Protea's Grenade Fan, Blaze Artillery, and Temporal Anchor.
- You value Lavos's orb-efficiency passive for longer ability spam on dense holds.
Pick Protea if…
- You're sold on Protea's fantasy (Protea knows all about protection) more than another Support / Healer option.
- This slot should feel like Grenade Fan, Blaze Artillery, and Temporal Anchor, not a reskin of Lavos's Ophidian Bite, Vial Rush, and Catalyze.
- You're buying into Protea's passive — every caststh Power Cast is granted +a percentage Ability Strength.
Verdict
Both fill the Support / Healer lane. Lean Lavos for orb economy and Transmutation Probe; lean Protea for Dispensary and Dispensary. Mission Usefulness is a wash — decide on kit feel and passive, not the rating table.
At a Glance
Lavos
Stat
Protea
Support / Healer
Role
Support / Healer
NaramonAura
AnyMatch the priority to your main ability
Mod Priority
Match the priority to your main ability
Ophidian Bite
Kit Opener
Grenade Fan
Mission Usefulness
Mission
Lavos
Protea
Steel Path Survival / Defense / Disruption
Mobile Defense / Excavation
Exterminate / Capture Speed Runs
Spy / Rescue / Nightmare
Open World / Bounties
Long-Range Gunplay / Eidolon-Style Content
When Each Shines
Lavos
- Transmutation Probe carries mid-mission casts; Catalyze is the density payoff.
- Long holds where energy comfort matters — Lavos's loop stays online without babysitting orbs.
- Missions that reward committing to Lavos's full ability loop instead of dabbling.
Protea
- Dispensary carries mid-mission casts; Temporal Anchor is the density payoff.
- Mod focus stays on match the priority to your main ability so the cast loop doesn't fall over mid-rota.
- Dense spawns where Protea's cast cadence outpaces gun-only clears.
Mod Scaling Focus
Lavos
Match the priority to your main ability — Strength or Duration first for most kits, then Efficiency, then Range.
- STR
- Raises damage and effect potency across Lavos’s Strength-scaling abilities.
- DUR
- Extends channeled / timed effects — often comfort on Lavos if the kit leans on buffs or zones.
- RNG
- Helps radius / targeting tools. Dump it if Lavos is mostly self-buff or exalted weapons.
- EFF
- Keeps ability uptime comfortable, especially on longer Steel Path missions.
Protea
Match the priority to your main ability — Strength or Duration first for most kits, then Efficiency, then Range.
- STR
- Raises damage and effect potency across Protea’s Strength-scaling abilities.
- DUR
- Extends channeled / timed effects — often comfort on Protea if the kit leans on buffs or zones.
- RNG
- Helps radius / targeting tools. Dump it if Protea is mostly self-buff or exalted weapons.
- EFF
- Keeps ability uptime comfortable, especially on longer Steel Path missions.
Who Should You Pull?
- Energy / health orb rooms are common in your rota and Lavos gets more mileage out of every pickup.
- Squad comps where someone has to own tile clear alone — Lavos is the frame you trust for that job.
- Protea can stay on the shelf; Lavos is the one you'll actually Forma twice.
- Even after Helminth, Vial Rush and later abilities are still the reason Lavos earned potato.
- Your endgame loadout screen should show Lavos before it shows another same-role experiment.
- Dispensary into Temporal Anchor is the cast story you want to master — not a random subsume mashup.
- Your favorite clear starts on Grenade Fan and ends on Temporal Anchor — Protea is built for that arc.
- Lavos's Transmutation Probe loop asks for a different muscle memory than you want to practice.
- Aura on the aura slot matches the school you're already building weapons around.
- Potato + Forma budget this month has Protea's name on it.