When it comes to picking the best weapons in Warframe, there are many to pick from. Although some do come down to playstyle and preferences, there are others that are vastly superior, and knowing these differences is important.
A solid weapon can mean the difference between taking out a horde or being overwhelmed. With so many options to pick from, there are outstanding choices you need to get on your radar and add to your collection. These are the 10 best primary weapons you should be using when you play Warframe.
Top 10 best primary weapons in Warframe
10) Soma Prime
The Soma Prime is an excellent example of why you should never judge something by merely looking at the stats, as there’s a lot going on with this weapon. Although it has a low amount of damage, it has a single clip with over 800 rounds on it, and it can fire 15 rounds per second. With such a massive magazine and a huge fire rate, alongside a high Slash and Punction damage to foes, it’s easy to see why you should add this weapon to your arsenal.
- A large clip and an incredibly fast fire rate
- High Slash and Punction damage to enemies
- Although it has low damage, the Soma Prime makes up
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9) Fulmin
The Fulmin is an ideal weapon suited for beginners and experts alike. It can easily switch between a fully automatic lightning rifle and an Arca Plasmor shotgun and is craftable as early as Mastery Rank 8. Beyond these earlier traits, what makes it a standout choice for Warframe players is that it has infinite ammunition, a high critical chance, and deals elemental damage, giving you the opportunity to benefit from armor and high damage multipliers.
- Fires out Electricity damage with every shot
- Has a high chance for critical chance and a critical modifier
- Swaps between Assault Rifle and Shotgun
8) Acceltra
For anyone who enjoys firing out large explosions and hitting multiple targets at the same time, the Acceltra is the perfect weapon for you. What’s even better is that this rocket launcher has a 32-percent critical chance and benefits from Hunter Munitions to get even more strength out of it. You can also safely use it in close-quarters combat, so you don’t have to fear being hit by one of your rockets. It’s not the strongest weapon in the game, and if you can get used to the speed of the weapon, you can make short work of foes nearly every time.
- Deals Punction and Impact damage against targets
- Unleashes large explosions to damage multiple foes
- Takes some time to adjust to the speed of the weapon’s rockets
7) Phantasma
The Phantasma is a close-range shotgun that has an alternative fire that blasts out plasma bombs, both doing Radiation damage. For anyone who wants to deal heavy Radiation damage to multiple enemies, it’s difficult to go wrong with the Phantasma in your arsenal, making it a go-to weapon for any Warframe player who wants to hit multiple targets at once. However, a big downside is it won’t activate Slash with Hunter Munitions, and this does hold the weapon back. It also has a low critical chance rate.
- Solid close-range capabilities, and applies Radiation damage to targets
- Superb accuracy with its beam attack
- If you can get used to the arc of the plasma bombs, the Phantasma can be exceptionally deadly
- Struggles at landing critical hits, and low ammunition pick-up rate
6) Phenmor
For anyone who wants to land reliable hits against an opponent, the Phenmor is an excellent chance for a semi-automatic rifle. Every shot you land on a target hits for 140 damage, with a mixture of Punction and Slash damage. If you can land enough headshots against an opponent, the Phenmor transforms into an automatic rifle, and it begins unleashing Radiation damage. What’s even better is the Phenmor is a flexible weapon you can use against Steel Path enemies to make short work of them, or you can craft a crit-focused build to take down some of the more monstrous bosses you face off against. Using this weapon does take a fair amount of skill, though.
- Robust weapon with heavy damage to enemies
- The Phenmor is extremely flexible and can made with several builds in mind
- Takes a good amount of skill to master, but once you reach this point, it’s an exceptionally reliable weapon
5) Kuva Bramma
One of the strongest bows you can use in Warframe is the Kuva Bramma. What makes this bow so powerful is the explosive tip attached to each arrowhead as it does Blast damage, when they hit a foe, they send out multiple clusters of mini-bombs against foes and anything near them. The explosions from the mini-bombs will land a status ailment to the foes, or you can choose for them to land critical hits, depending on the mods you’ve added to it. However, this weapon has a low ammo capacity, and this holds it back if you’re struggling to land your attacks, and it doesn’t do well in close-quarters combat. Although these issues can be adjusted with mods, these are things you need to invest in to adjust them.
- Easily the best bow in Warframe, with a powerful explosion that you can modify
- Flexible for many builds, but you’re reliant on having enough time to fully charge the Kuva Bramma to fire it
- Low ammunition capacity makes it tough if you can’t loot enough ammo for it
4) Ignis Wraith
The Ignis Wraith is a unique primary weapon that makes it difficult to beat when you’re playing Warframe. It’s a flamethrower, and it unleashes a heavy stream of fire against your opponents that deals Heat damage against your opponents. It has a 29-percent chance to land a status effect against your foes in battle, with a high fire rate and an equally powerful critical chance and critical multiplier, making it a go-to option whenever you need to face multiple enemies at the same time and defeat the overwhelming forces an opposing faction. However, make sure you bring punch-through mods to use on this weapon to get the most out of it, as it naturally does not come with this feature.
- Heavy flamethrower ideal for taking on multiple enemies at the same time
- Comes with a high status effect and critical chance rate, making it an ideal heavy hitter
- Requires punch-through mods to blast through surfaces, and this can hold it back
3) Arca Plasmor
Another excellent Warframe weapon is the Arca Plasmor, unleashing Radiation damage to close-range targets with its heavy shotgun blasts. Although it’s considered a shotgun, the wave it fires goes out to 30 meters, and you can hit multiple targets. Even though 30 meters isn’t a huge range, it’s great for any general situation, especially if you can close the range between you and targets. What’s even better about the Arca Plasmor is that it has a 22-percent critical chance, with a good amount of punch through, making it superb in nearly any environment. You can never go wrong with the Arca Plasmor, but it does have natural falloff damage the further away a target is from the initial attack.
- Incredibly reach for a shotgun with high Radiation damage
- Fantastic critical chance with great punch through capabilities
- Suffers from falloff damage the further away you are from your targets
2) Cedo
Another incredible shotgun is the Cedo, and it’s a fantastic one to add to your arsenal, especially for anyone who actively uses status effects to damage foes. The damage of the Cedo increases with each Status Effect you have to hit an enemy, and if you can land multiple of them with your squad, the Cedo can cut through foes as you lay waste to them. You will need to rely on this damage increase, though, as the base damage of this shotgun is incredibly low and has a low-status chance, but you can modify all of this with the correct mods.
- A powerful shotgun that ramps up on damage as you deal more status effects to enemies
- A high magazine size gives you the chance to continually lay waste to enemies
- Relies heavily on the damage increase you can receive from status effects, potentially hindering it
1) Kuva Zarr
Finally, we have easily the best primary weapon in Warframe, the Kuva Zarr. For those who want to lay siege to their foes using cannonballs, this is the weapon for you, an attack that will harm multiple targets. The cannonball attacks from this primary weapon deal devastating Blast and Impact damage over a large radius, hitting multiple targets at once. It also has an incredible critical chance rate and a decent fire rate. The primary you might run into while using it is the clip size, and the reloading can be a huge plan, but if you can plan around this, you’ll be taking down waves of enemies.
- Heavy fire from a launcher that acts like a shotgun
- Hitting multiple foes with a single attack
- Slow reload time that forces you to think about when and where to do it
