Nov 17, 2019 Warframe Tier List – What is the best Warframe? – This is a question that arises in almost every Tenno, there are so many to choose from. Players who have lower mastery rank/less experienced in the game face difficulties while choosing the best frame.
- Primary:
- (Telos) Boltor (prime) – mastery rank 2 required(!)
- Strong puncture rifle, good vs. Heavy armor enemy units like Grineer or Void.
- Boltor prime is currently being “vaulted” which means it cannot be farmed anymore.
- Telos Boltor can be obtained from:Arbiters of Hexis syndicate for 125k(!) standing (or trade with other players).
- Soma (prime) – mastery rank 6 required(!)
- Good rapid-fire crit rifle with massive magazine of 200 ammo(!).
- Ignis – mastery rank 4 required(!)
- Best beam rifle (in my opinion) – good range, beam width and damage.
- Very good to drain corpus shields when modded Gas and magnetic, or melting infested.
- Obtained from: Chem lab, Clan Dojo.
- (Synoid) simulor – mastery rank of 12 required(!)
- One of strongest elemental weapons in Warframe, it can adapt damage to 3 elemental combo types(!)(regular weapons can do 2 max).
- Synoid Simulor can be obtained from:Cephalon Suda syndicate for 125k(!) standing(or trade with other players).
- (Vaykor) Hek – mastery rank of 4 required(!)
- Strong and effective shotgun (there is a syndicate mod to make regular Hek even stronger).
- Vaykor Hek can be obtained from:Steel meridian syndicate for 125k(!) standing(or trade with other players).
- Amprex – mastery rank 5 required(!)
- Nice electric crit beam rifle.
- Obtained from: Energy lab, Clan Dojo.
- (Telos) Boltor (prime) – mastery rank 2 required(!)
- Secondary:
- Atomos – mastery rank 4 required(!)
- “Bouncing” beam weapon.
- Hikou (prime) – mastery rank 2 required(!)
- Fast throwing stars with lots of damage and noneexistent reload-speed (its instantaneous).
- (Telos) Akbolto – mastery rank 0 required
- Strong puncture pistols with good syndicate AoE damage effect.
- Telos Akbolto can be obtained from:Arbiters of Hexissyndicate for 100k standing.
- Stug – mastery rank 2 required(!)
- Fun corrosive weapon – melts through armored units(!), literally.
- Azima – mastery rank 5 required(!)
- Nice huge-magazine rapid-fire dual pistols.
- Comes with its own Weapon slot and Pre-installed Orokin catalyst(!).
- Obtained from: “Daily tribute”/login-reward – after having logged in 100 days.
- Atomos – mastery rank 4 required(!)
- Melee:
- Galatine (prime) – mastery rank 3 required(!)
- Massive sword with good damage and nice stance mods to go with it.
- Nikana (prime) – mastery rank 4 required(!)
- Good crit melee.
- War – mastery rank 10 required(!)
- A rare heavy sword with Massive Impact damage(!).
- Obtained from: This has a rare chance of being dropped from Shadow Stalker or it can be bought for 516(!) platinum in market as part of a “bundle”.
- Galatine (prime) – mastery rank 3 required(!)
The parts in parentheses () is the upgraded versions that you want to havewhen you can get them – all upgraded versions have increased base-stats and are stronger than the regular versions.
OBS: If “Obtained from:” is not listed, that means can be obtained from market(!).
Note: More weapons might be added in future as we keep trying weapons out or get tips from readers to complement this list- but for the moment, these are the ones we have done extensive testing on (especially the primarys).
With hundreds of melee weapons to choose from, Warframe can feel a little overwhelming at times. The below list will point you towards some very strong options in the game right now, but you should always remember to experiment with weapons, builds, and tactics. Warframe’s inventive community is always finding a new combination of weapons and mods to turn your Tenno into a murder machine, and there is always something new to discover.
Orthos Prime
Orthos Prime is a superb polearm weapon. You will need to be Mastery Rank 12 to use it, but taking this for a spin will make you understand the insane power it can unleash. With a critical chance of 24 percent, a status chance of 36 percent, and a critical multiplier of 2.2x, the build options for this are varied. You can lean into status or critical hits, or a hybrid build of both. Stacking mods like Organ Shatter, True Steel, and Primed Pressure Point will give a solid base of critical damage, with Blood Rush and Body Count complimenting it perfectly.
The Shimmering Blight stance will allow for rapid and fast attacks, allowing you to rapidly build your combo, and force plenty of critical hits on large groups of enemies.
Venka Prime
Venka Prime gives you the highest base damage from all claw weapons, combined with very high Slash damage, great critical chance, critical multiplier, and attack speed stats. They also have the highest status chance of any claw weapons. In short, if you want to use claw weapons, then it has to be the Venka Prime. Leaning heavily into a critical build, and getting as much range as you can, will turn this into an absolute monster. It is also a fantastic candidate for a bleed build, modding for more slash damage, base damage, and status chance, but you should still work in some mods that increase the critical chance and critical damage to take advantage of Slash procs.
Nikana Prime
Nikana Prime is the king of the Nikana weapons. Huge Slash damage, critical chance, and critical multiplier values combine to make this a monster. Combined with the Blind Justice stance, it becomes an absolute whirlwind of death. Combine it with range mods to cut down large numbers of enemies. A Berzerker mods will give you plenty of attack speed, Blood Rush to keep the critical hits flowing, and then mod in whatever damage types you like with a Condition Overload on top.
Like all Condition, Overload builds, you will benefit from running a secondary weapon to dump extra status damage on your enemies before you engage them. The Zakti or Cyanex are perfect for this.
Silva and Aegis Prime
Silva and Aegis Prime is another weapon that had been lost to the depths of time in Warframe, but Melee 3.0 brought it back with a vengeance. It does innate Heat damage and combines perfectly with Bezerker and Blood Rush. Many of the combos result in automatically status procs, so modding for three different damage types and Condition Overload can amp up your damage.
Related: Best Primary Weapons in Warframe
Zaws
Zaws are the problem child of Warframe melee weapons, giving so many options, potential strong builds, and general advantages over other weapons that it is almost impossible to talk about them individually. Build different Zaws and experimenting with them is one of the most worthwhile things you can do in the game if you are looking for a strong melee weapon. The huge variety of potential builds means you can build a Zaw for every occasion, and get some amazing damage numbers from them.
Reaper Prime
For a long time, Scythe weapons were left out in the cold in Warframe, but Melee 3.0 changed all that, and the Reaper Prime is now one of the best weapons in the game. Like most other weapons on the list, it does high Slash damage, has great critical values, and backs it all up with some pretty good status chance. The Reaping Spiral stance mod will add some spin-ti-win elements to your arsenal, and give you the tools to do insane amounts of damage to tough units.
Lesion
Lesion is the second Polearm on the list but deserves to be here for its ridiculous damage output. Lots of Slash damage, the highest status chance of all Polearms, and a passive bonus that increases attack speed when you inflict status procs on an enemy. It will also gain 100% Toxin damage, making it very easy to strip away any armor if you mod for Corrosive damage. This weapon works extremely well with a Condition Overload build propped up by three Dual Status mods to bring the status chance to 100 percent, and a Sacrificial Steel mod to bring the critical chance up to nearly 50 percent.
Redeemer Prime
Warframe Best Beginner Weapons
Redeemer Prime is Warframe’s ultimate Gunblade. Part of the appeal is that you don’t need to spend any Forma on it to make it a huge source of damage. It can hit 100 percent status chance with the four Dual Stat mods, and then standard damage build combined with Fury or Primed Fury for attack speed. The Redeemer Prime will switch between arching swings of the blade, followed up with shotgun blasts. The Bullet Dance will give you multiple combos based around shooting, and best of all, the weapon effectively has infinite ammunition because it’s a melee weapon.
Heavy Weapon Warframe
Gram Prime
Warframe Best Weapons
The Gram Prime is a Heavy Blade with high Slash damage, the best critical chance and status chance in the Heavy Blade class, and can take advantage of both the Cleaving Whirlwind and Tempo Royale stance mods. Mod for Critical chance, base damage, attack speed, and range to see what this monster can do.