If you are a fan of Warframe you might be interested in learning more about the top primary weapons you can choose from and how they compare to one another.
We are going to look at some of the best choices. Warframe weapons are as important as the characters as they will define your interactions while playing.
If you aren’t using good weapons or good mods, you will find the game becoming much more difficult.
There have been many changes in the game during the past year, including revamped status, different armor scaling and more activities like Steel Path which calls for your best weapons.
20 Best Primary Weapons in Warframe
The following list is not in any order of preference, since every player has their own preferences and playing style.
Snipers are included in this list of best Warframe primary weapons, since they are primaries too.
20) Lenz
This AoE damage inflicting bow can inflict huge damage since it has high status chance as well as critical chance.
Run it on Limbo and you can shoot before sidestepping for immunity. Quickly reload and sidestep then fire again.
Ammo is limited but if you choose a carrier for your companion it should cover you well.
Lenz is a nice-looking weapon and an alternative to Kuva Bramma.
19) Baza Prime
A great choice for stealth missions, it’s totally silent and comes with a high critical chance.
Destroy your enemies with Baza before they even notice your approach.
It isn’t the strongest for really high level foes but there don’t tend to be many of these in stealth missions anyway.
This weapon has low recoil and high accuracy.
18) Vaykor Hek
This is a superior version of regular Hek and available from Steel Meridien.
It has double the magazine capacity as well as a better rate of fire plus crit chance.
The Vaykor Hek is a variant of regular Hek. Although Hek is good for beginner players from MR 4 to clear out the star chart, Vaykor Hek is handy at using status effects, Viral for example.
Add the consistent criticals and have fun with this weapon.
17) Arca Plasmor
Able to deal with enemies up to level 80, this Corpus shotgun will shoot Radiation pulses for guaranteed impact procs.
It’s available from the dojo’s Energy Lab. Despite some nerfs, this is still one of Warframe’s most popular weapons.
It has an amazing room clearing ability along with 100% status chance potential and huge damage infliction.
Lean hard into Radiation and Blast damage with this weapon for a powerful killing machine.
16) Dread
Although bows tend to be overpowered in stealth games or too slow for fast-paced action, Warframe strikes a happy medium between these two.
The Dread specializes in Slash procs.
Its impressive 80% Slash bias will take down nearly any enemy. It also has a 2x critical damage multiplier and 50% critical strike chance.
A well-aimed headshot can ramp up the Slash procs even further.
Consider sinking Kuva into a Dread Riven for even more impressive action.
You can get Dread as a drop from the Stalker. If you want to challenge yourself with your aim or run a stealth frame, Dread is a nice choice.
It has innate Punchthrough to kill several birds with one stone.
15) Amprex
You might not be impressed with Amprex’s 22 base damage but bear in mind it has nice supplemental stats plus a unique mechanic.
When you land a beam on a target, lightning is arced to nearby enemies, giving as much damage as its main beam.
Try a Viral mod and disintegrate enemies in under a second. You can mod this weapon to be an armor-stripping weapon for tasks such as Steel Path.
It’s designed to clear rooms as well as the Ignis Wraith but is more focused on criticals than status effects.
14) Tiberon Prime
This is a versatile weapon with a trio of firing modes. Choose from burst, semi-automatic or full-automatic.
Semi-auto offers great critical stats while full-auto is great for applying status effects. Burst falls somewhere between the two of them.
Use Corrosive or Viral to de-buff targets before wiping them out with a headshot. Offering 30% base critical chance on semi-auto or 28% on burst mode, this weapon has great damage potential.
13) Opticor Vandal
Although some players have abandoned this weapon after Melee 3.0 and alternate fire mode changes, it’s still a strong choice.
400 base damage along with nice critical stats mean it can kill most enemies with one shot.
It is a slow-firing weapon which means it’s best for crits and pure damage rather than a crit/status hybrid.
This weapon works well in endurance methods including Steel Path. You need to do the Buried Debts event if you want Opticor Vandal.
With high critical multiplier, status and critical chance, there aren’t many foes you can’t mow down with this one.
12) Tigris Prime
You can’t get this end-game weapon before Master Rank 13 but it does offer more base damage than any other Warframe weapon.
It’s an especially vicious choice of shotgun. Consider adding Viral and Radiation to max out Slash damage and take advantage of Slash procs.
You can mod Tigris Prime to 100% status chance.
Since it has a double-fire mechanism, this weapon means if an enemy isn’t killed you can click the mouse button to ensure it does with the next shot.
This is a good choice of Primary for anything with heavy armor or high scales or for Sortie Assassinations.
11) Shedu
This is a powerful cannon offering 23% status chance and 25% critical chance. It also inflicts Heat damage every time it’s fired.
When the projectile hits a surface it explodes and deals Electric damage to enemies within the sight-line.
There isn’t another explosive weapon in the game that can’t give Splash damage through walls however.
It’s still a strong choice, offering various status effects and an infinite magazine.
10) Fulmin
Both a shotgun and an assault rifle, Fulmin is Wisp’s signature weapon.
The shotgun mode is able to pierce through gangs of enemies with electric projectiles and the fully automatic fire is great to apply status effects.
It also comes with infinite ammo.
This weapon gives pure Electric base damage making a top status Primary, as it only procs one or two status effects for each shot.
Consider adding Hunter Munitions and Viral to make it even more of a threat.
9) Stahlta
This assault rifle can fire a death laser. Like you’d expect from a top-tier weapon, very shot comes with a high chance of giving a critical hit or status ailment.
After just 1.6 seconds recharge time, its alternate fire shoots an explosive projective which gives a massive 1,200 Radiation damage along with a 41% critical hit chance plus a 3x damage multiplier.
Modding Shahlta for critical hits makes it even better than Opticor.
8) Corinth Prime
This weapon doesn’t use a shell-loaded reload but a proper magazine. The critical stats and base damage are the same as regular Corinth.
However this weapon is able to inflict Viral damage with almost every shot and it has explosive alternative fire capable of killing hordes of non-armored targets at a time.
This weapon is a sound choice for Steel Path or endurance missions.
7) Trumna
The Entrati designed this Orokin weapon and you can get it at the Necralisk from Father. This fully automatic rifle will shoot explosive bullets and it’s a hard-hotting, slow-firing assault rifle.
Getting five kills in a row builds charges which then fuel the alternate fire mode: highly explosive bouncing grenades which deal 1,000 in Heat damage for each impact.
This comes with a 50% status chance, 2.4x damage multiplier and 38% critical chance too.
Add auto-reloading mods or the Synth mod to resolve the annoying 5-second reload time.
Trumna is perhaps one of the most fun weapons in Warframe for its destructive abilities.
6) Bubonico
This is an Infested shotgun which is perhaps more fun to use than a traditional weapon.
It fires Toxin blasts and the alternate fire mode will shoot a trio of viral shots in one burst.
Because it has a high status as well as crit chance, it’s a good choice for end-game playing.
5) Acceltra
This is a solid critical weapon with not much status chance, meaning it might not be the best choice for Steel Path or endurance missions.
However, every round fired will detonate mini rockets in a small radius inflicting huge critical damage when they explode on impact.
With a 2.8x multiplier and 32% critical chance, this full-auto rocket launcher can be paired with Hunter Munitions with great results.
In fact it’s difficult going back to other weapons after you’re used to the explosive nature and speed of Acceltra.
It might not be Warframe’s strongest pick but it can blow up every foe in sight and features high Puncture, as well as Impact, damage.
Make sure you pick a good mod combo or Sentinel so you don’t run out of ammo!
4) Kuva Bramma
This is considered Warframe’s strongest bow. Each arrow has an explosive tip which will detonate and release smaller clusters of mini-bombs.
Most explosions from Kuva Bramma will inflict a status ailment or critical hit if the weapon is well-modded.
Drawbacks are the poor ammo economy as well as the self-stagger if used at close-range. You can fix both of these issues with Vigilante Armaments and Primed Sure Footed Mod respectively though.
This weapon can cause huge destruction of pretty much anything in the game. A lot of players would rank it the number one Primary right now.
Its massive base damage, critical multiplier and high critical chance come with a quick charge speed and barely any penalty with the Heavy Caliber mod mean it’s a beast.
To get one you must engage with the Kuva Lich system, but it’s well worth it.
3) Ignis Wraith
Destroy enemies quickly and easy using this augmented flamethrower.
Add Heat as well as a CC/CD melee to kill enemies around +150 without a problem.
You can get this from the Chem Lab at the dojo from MR 5 and it’s a good idea to find someone to sell you the Ignis Wraith blueprint when you reach MR 9.
This might be harder than you think since it’s only available from clans who took part in an event several years back.
Most clans will hand it over for free however and all you need to do is request it in trade chat.
A great choice for end-game playing, this weapon packs a powerful punch when built for crit chance and extra damage.
You can take out hordes of the enemy in just seconds with this weapon.
2) Rubico Prime
Although this is a sniper rifle, it’s earned its place in this list for the amount of damage it’s able to cause.
The damage output is remarkable and it can kill even the toughest bosses with only one bullet.
Rubico Prime has fast reload, great critical stats and a good fire rate, making it a popular choice for boss killers and Eidolon slayers.
It’s a better sniper rifle than Vectis and Lanka, dealing out plenty of Radiation damage, critical chance and Forma.
1) Kuva Kohm
This beast is in my opinion the best primary weapon in Warframe.
You can fire full-auto with this hold-trigger weapon. Every shot adds one more pellet to the following.
Reach up to 100 status with this by choosing a great Riven mod.
The Kuva variant is similar but boasts even more power. Kuva Kohm is a top-tier option with a 90% status chance from the first shot.
This means it’s reliable with Heat, Corrosive or Viral. Consider a critical/status hybrid build for damage maximization.
The only drawback is it’s a pretty ammo-hungry weapon.
Also read:
- 24 Best Secondary Weapons in Warframe
In Conclusion
Any of the above options should be fun to use, so why not try a few as your Primary Warcraft weapon?
Ignis is a solid choice for early gameplay since it can clear rooms well without accurate aim on your part.
Choose Amprex if you love red crit damage or an assault rifle if you just want to blow away as many enemies as you can.
Do you agree with our list of the best primary weapons in Warframe? Feel free to share your opinion in comment section below.
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