Top 5 Warframe Best Bows and How to Get Them

Updated:

10 May 2022

What Are The Best Bows in Warframe?

You’re looking for a new weapon, but you’re bored of the same old shotguns and rifles. Luckily, Warframe offers a selection of bows to choose from.

Sometimes, you just want to level up a weapon to 30 and sell it just for the mastery experience; I’ve been there. Making low rank swords and pistols, barely using them, and then selling to clear a weapon slot. They aren’t really fun to use, and definitely do as much damage as you want them to. You need a good weapon though, one that will carry you through those long Survival and Exterminate missions.

Below are 5 of the best bows in Warframe, along with how to get them. These bows have proved themselves worthy and make for some of the best overall weapons in the game.

5. Lenz

“Bolts from this Corpus bow deliver a one-two punch of an icy pulse, followed by a conventional explosion. Excess ammo picked up for other weapons will be converted into charges for the Lenz. Warning, safety-protocols do not exist on this prototype.”

Lenz is a unique bow that doesn’t have a string and naturally deals blast damage. When fired, the arrows explode with cold damage. After this, there is another explosion dealing a huge amount of blast damage. Blowing up Grineer and Corpus with your bow will guarantee that you have a fun mission.

Bow Stats (Charged):

50 Impact
10 Cold
660 Blast
50% Crit Chance
5% Status Chance

What’s Good about Lenz:

Blast Damage
Accuracy not important (Mods with decreased accuracy don’t make much of a difference)
Highest critical chance along with Dread

How to Get it:

Lez can be researched in the Energy Lab in your clan dojo. Amprex must be researched first before you begin researching Lenz.

4. Daikyu

“Daikyu takes great strength to draw back, but provides added power and range to every shot.”

Daikyu is a bow modeled after the Yumi, a Japanese longbow. Unlike other bows, you cannot quickfire with Daikyu; you have to wait for each shot to be charged. This wait is compensated by the incredible Impact, Puncture, and Slash damage. Daikyu does an insane amount of damage and is perfect for one-shots.

Bow Stats (Charged):

138 Impact
184 Puncture
138 Slash
460 Total Damage
20% Crit Chance
50% Status Chance

What’s Good about Daikyu:

One of the highest status chances of all primary weapons, with Miter and Ferrox
Effective against all factions as well as Sentients and the Stalker
Along with Rakta Cernos, fastest arrow speed

How to Get it:

Daikyu can be researched in the Tenno Lab in your clan dojo. Akstiletto must be researched first before you begin researching Daikyu.

3. Paris Prime

“Discovered deep inside an ancient Orokin derelict the Paris Prime increases the kinetic energy of any bolt it fires, dealing more damage than its more common counterpart.”

When you first began playing Warframe, you were given the choice between Mk-1 Braton and Paris. Paris Prime is an upgraded version, dealing more overall damage. This bow works great for average mission, and when paired with high ranked mods and forma, Paris Prime is comparable to Dread.

Bow Stats (Charged):

3.25 Impact
104 Puncture
22.75 Slash
130 Total Damage
25% Crit Chance
20% Status Chance

What’s Good about Paris Prime:

High Puncture damage, good against armored enemies
Higher total damage than original Paris version
With the right mods, compares to Dread

How to Get it:

Like all Prime weapons, you can get the parts and blueprint from void relics.

Blueprint: Common in Lith M4
Grip: Uncommon in Neo G1
Lower Limb: Common in Lith C4 or Meso T3
String: Common in Meso M3

2. Rakta Cernos

“A finely tuned instrument of assassination.”

This bow comes in four different forms; Cernos, Cernos Prime, Mutalist Cernos, and Rakta Cernos. Rakta Cernos can only be acquired by reaching Exalted Rank with the Red Veil syndicate. The modified Rakta version has the fastest charge time out of all the bows on this list, with increased base damage. The radial viral damage is good against groups of enemies, dealing damage to the area as well as the individual.

Bow Stats (Charged):

225 Impact
12.5 Puncture
12.4 Slash
250 Total Damage
35% Crit Chance
15% Status Chance

What’s Good about Rakta Cernos:

Blight effect built in (radial viral damage to enemies in range of attack)
High Impact Damage
Shortest charge time of all weapons

How to Get it:

You can only get Rakta Cernos from the Red Veil syndicate’s Exalted Rank, so be sure to level up your standing with them to get it.

1. Dread

“Dread is the calling card of the Stalker. It fires arrows that can decapitate.”

If you are fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to encounter the Stalker, then he has a chance to drop the blueprint for Dread. With a good build, Dread can be one of the deadliest weapons in the game.

Bow Stats (Charged):

10 Impact
10 Puncture
180 Slash
200 Total Damage
50% Crit Chance
20% Status Chance

What’s Good about Dread:

With mods improving Slash and Crit Chance, can easily become one of the best weapons in the game
High slash damage, good against enemies with high HP
Along with Lenz, highest critical chance out of all weapons

How to Get It:

You can get the blueprint for Dread by killing the Stalker. If you successfully kill him, there is about a 38% of it dropping, so you may have to kill him a few times before the blueprint drops.