When Warframe released in 2013, most people thought its popularity would rise and then quickly burn out.
More than seven years after, it’s clear that Warframe has surpassed every expectation as a free-to-play, PvE, multiplayer shooter.
With over 40 character suits (called Warframes), hundreds of different loot variations and a ton of lore to unpack, the game will overwhelm you. If you’re a beginner, the best option would be to learn the basics and then work towards a goal you’ll want for later on in the game.
This tier list will help you decide which Warframe you’ll want to build to breeze through even the game’s most difficult missions.
Table of ContentsShow
S-Tier
Being the best in the game, these warframes offer plenty of upsides and their disadvantages are easily ignorable.
| Warframe | Abilities |
| Mesa | Ballistic Battery Shooting Gallery Shatter Shield Peacemaker |
| Octavia | Mallet Resonator Metronome Amp |
| Saryn | Spores Molt Toxic Lash Miasma |
| Trinity | Well of Life Energy Vampire Link Blessing |
| Nova | Null Star Antimatter Drop Wormhole Molecular Prime |
| Wisp | Reservoirs Wil-O-Wisp Breach Surge Sol Gate |
A-Tier
These warframes are very good in almost any situation the game puts you in. While they are not standouts like those in S-tier, they’re pretty solid overall and can easily dominate the game’s content with proper gear and tuning.
| Warframe | Abilities |
| Inaros | Desiccation Devour Sandstorm Scarab Swarm |
| Ivara | Quiver Navigator Prowl Artemis Bow |
| Chroma | Spectral Scream Elemental Ward Vex Armor Effigy |
| Khora | Whipclaw Ensnare Venari Strangledome |
| Gara | Shattered Lash Splinter Storm Spectorage Mass Vitrify |
| Volt | Shock Speed Electric Shield Discharge |
| Rhino | Rhino Charge Iron Skin Roar Rhino Stomp |
| Wukong | Celestial Twin Cloud Walker Defy Primal Fury |
| Equinox | Metamorphosis Rest & Rage Pacify & Provoke Mend & Maim |
| Nidus | Virulence Larva Parasitic Link Ravenous |
| Gauss | Mach Rush Kinetic Plating Thermal Sunder Redline |
| Nezha | Fire Walker Blazing Chakram Warding Halo Divine Spears |
B-Tier
These are decent for any mission the game throws at you. With the right strategy and build, these warframes have the potential to be powerhouses down the road.
| Warframe | Abilities |
| Mirage | Hall of Mirrors Sleight of Hand Eclipse Prism |
| Baruuk | Elude Lull Desolate Hands Serene Storm |
| Oberon | Smite Hallowed Ground Renewal Reckoning |
| Harrow | Condemn Penance Thurible Covenant |
| Titania | Spellbind Tribute Lantern Razorwing |
| Limbo | Banish Stasis Rift Surge Cataclysm |
| Revenant | Enthrall Mesmer Skin Reave Danse Macabre |
| Ember | Fireball Immolation Fire Blast Inferno |
| Protea | Grenade Fan Blaze Artillery Dispensary Temporal Anchor |
C-Tier
Average warframes that anyone can enjoy playing. It takes more nuanced strategies to strengthen these units compared to their high-tier counterparts, however, so be ready to invest time and resources in building these units.
| Warframe | Abilities |
| Nekros | Soul Punch Terrify Desecrate Shadows of the Dead |
| Vauban | Tesla Nervos Minelayer Photon Strike Bastille |
| Mag | Pull Magnetize Polarize Crush |
| Frost | Freeze Ice Wave Snow Globe Avalanche |
| Hildryn | Balefire Pillage Haven Aegis Storm |
| Excalibur | Slash Dash Radial Bind Radial Javelin Exalted Blade |
| Loki | Decoy Invisibility Switch Teleport Radial Disarm |
| Valkyr | Rip Line Warcry Paralysis Hysteria |
| Ash | Shuriken Smoke Screen Teleport Blade Storm |
| Garuda | Dread Mirror Blood Altar Bloodletting Seeking Talons |
D-Tier
These are subpar warframes that do not have much value in high-difficulty missions. They have niche use cases and most players only use them for the love of that specific playstyle.
| Warframe | Abilities |
| Banshee | Sonic Boom Sonar Silence Sound Quake |
| Atlas | Landslide Tectonics Petrify Rumblers |
F-Tier
It’s advisable to avoid these warframes in your playthrough because you’ll get minimal rewards for investing in them. They have glaring flaws that prove a problem with the game’s current state.
| Warframe | Abilities |
| Hydroid | Tempest Barrage Tidal Surge Undertow Tentacle Swarm |
| Grendel | Feast Nourish Regurgitate Pulverize |
| Zephyr | Tail Wind Airburst Turbulence Tornado |
| Nyx | Mind Control Psychic Bolts Chaos Absorb |
With this tier list, you’re one step closer to creating the ideal build for your warframe towards the end game.
Your preference would always trump any rankings in this list, but it’s good to use this as a guide whenever you feel like the game becomes too overwhelming.
