in just a few runs of atheon I already have all titan raid gear except chestpiece . I doubt id be stuck at 29 without vanguard due to that. plan c hits in times vengeance for 1400 per beam un-upgraded. haven't bothered to figure out the exact damage,but the charge time and multiple hits make it worth it. and I managed to kill him WITHOUT the damage buff when he still had a good bit of hp left using the plan c. so id say its more than a useful weapon for him.