Taking a Glance at the Best Warframe Weapons

By Yi Xiaomei | December 20th, 2018 | Categories: Warframe

There are hundreds of weapons in Warframe, some good, some bad, and some somewhere in the middle. It’s natural that players regularly ask: which weapons are best? But with DE constantly releasing new weapons, mods, nerfs, and buffs, that answer is subjective and ever-changing. That said, at this current moment, there are plenty of weapons that we can all agree are pretty dang great. Perhaps some of the weapons on these lists will be dethroned with the next update (or the one after that, or the one after that…) but for now, here are the Best Warframe Weapons at a glance.

Table of Contents

What are the best Primary weapons?

As the name suggests, your primary weapon in Warframe is often your most important one. For most of us, it’ll be the weapon we use most frequently during our missions to kill the most enemies, so of course, you want to choose a good one. But which ones are best?

Arca Plasmor
Tigris Prime
Dread

1. Arca Plasmor

Based on sheer popularity alone, the Arca Plasmor is one of the best primaries in the game for most mid-level missions. With every shot, this shotgun fires a huge blast of radioactive plasma, disintegrating most enemies and confusing the survivors into chaos with a Radiation proc that causes them to attack both friend and foe. With an innate two meters of Punch Through on top of an impressively widespread, the Arca Plasmor is one of the best weapons for taking out large groups of enemies in a single burst of plasma. You can acquire the Arca Plasmor’s blueprint from the Energy Lab in your clan’s dojo and begin using it at Mastery Rank 10.

2. Tigris Prime

If you like your shotgun experience a little more intimate, on the other end of the spectrum is the Tigris Prime. The Tigris Prime is another fantastic shotgun, but whereas the Arca Plasmor excels at clearing rooms of average enemies, the Tigris Prime specializes in pumping massive amounts of damage into whatever enemy is directly in front of you. It deals huge amounts of Slash damage and has a high-status chance that can be pushed to 100% with certain status mods. Its massive damage potential makes it perfect for chewing up high-level enemies, such as those you might encounter in Sorties or the Index. The only downside to the Tigris Prime is that it can only fire two shots before you have to reload, so it isn’t great for taking out large groups of enemies quickly—but if you have a limited amount of bulky enemies you need dead, it’s the perfect tool for the job. The Tigris Prime, like all Prime weapons, can be acquired by opening certain Void relics.

Those looking for a more trditional yet still devastating weapon may want to invest in the Soma Prime, a full-auto assault rifle that’s something of a bullet hose, spraying enemies with waves upon waves of bullets. With both its high critical chance and critical damage multiplier, the Soma Prime can deal a ton of damage in a short period of time, making it yet another super effective pick for clearing out hordes of enemies.

3. Dread

Finally, if elegance is everything to you, then Dread might be a perfect pick for your arsenal. Dread is the Shadow Stalker’s signature bow and not only does it look great, but it does ridiculous amounts of damage. This is largely due to its extremely high Slash damage and critical chance. With its innate Punch Through, it does alright dealing with crowds, but where Dread really shines is in taking out enemies with a well-placed headshot well before they ever step in reach of you. Plus, it’s a silent killer, making it perfect for stealth missions. Dread’s blueprint can be obtained as a rare drop from killing the Stalker.

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What are the best Secondary weapons?

Secondary weapons might not get as much use as Primary Weapons in most missions, but they’re nonetheless an important part of your arsenal. Here are some of our favorites.

Euphona
Akstiletto Prime
Atomos

1. Eupona

With its extremely high short-range damage checked by its low magazine capacity, the Euphona Prime has often been compared to a mini-Tigris Prime. Like the Tigris Prime, this weapon is great for taking out tougher enemies, if not for clearing out rooms. However, thanks to its two firing modes—one that fires a slug at moderate range and another that fires a short-range blast—the Euphona Prime is even more versatile than the Tigris, making it a great choice of secondary.

2. Akstiletto Prime

Another fan favorite is the Akstiletto Prime. The Akstiletto Prime is a pair of machine pistols with a high fire-rate and impressive status chance, making it ideal for spraying status procs onto mobs of enemies, while also doing decent damage. This can make it perfect for a status-centered build or for compensating for a primary’s weapon low-status chance.

3. Atomos

For those looking for some AoE carnage, the Atomos is a heat-based particle cannon featuring a fiery laser beam that chains between enemies. This chaining effect combined with a good status chance gives the Atomos incredible crowd control potential. Though it may not have the individual stopping power of the Euphona Prime, it’s a great weapon for melting roomfuls of mid-level enemies.

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What are the best Melee weapons?

There’s no getting around it; at this stage in the game, the Best Warframe Weapons when it comes to melee are Zaws. Due to their high level of customizability, plus the ability to carry Arcane Enhancements, Zaws tend to outclass more traditional weapons in almost every category. The only exception is the Galatine Prime, which is the arguably best Heavy Blade weapon due to its very high slash damage, critical chance, and status chance. For most other melee weapon types, however, you can’t do much better than a Zaw.

The Best of the Best?

Though this list of the Best Warframe Weapons may give you a good place to start in filling your arsenal, it’s important to remember that Warframe is a game about choice and customization. Finding a weapon that suits your playstyle is much more important than choosing a weapon just because it has high stats, especially as it’s easy to turn even an average weapon into an absolute beast with the right combination of mods. Even so, we hope our guide has given you a roadmap of the weapons that currently dominate the Warframe landscape—at least until the next wave of updates comes around.

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