With over 400 weapons in Warframe, it can often be hard to figure out which ones are the best. If you’re new to the game, it’ll seem impossible.
This list of the best weapons in Warframe and how to acquire them is your go-to guide to outfitting yourself with the most powerful gear in game.
In Warframe, you can equip a primary weapon, secondary weapon, and melee weapon for each mission. Each type of weapon has its own mods that you will need to level up with Endo, a common resource. Mods make a significant difference in power at higher levels.
Some weapons are weak, but easy to obtain, while some of the strongest weapons in the game can be tricky, difficult, or tedious to get your hands on. This guide spans the spectrum of different weapons, with information useful for both new players, veterans, and min-maxers alike.
With that in mind, let’s get started.
11. Dual Heat Swords (Best melee weapon for new players)
Two red-hot blades of wrath, the Dual Heat Swords set enemies on fire and look great while doing it
Dual Heat Swords is a melee weapon in the Dual Swords family. If you’re just starting out, your melee weapons are much more effective without high-level mods compared to your guns due to the melee combo multiplier: the longer you maintain the combo, the more damage you do.
When starting out, you’ll want to rank your Mk-1 weapons to level 30 ASAP, then upgrade them for better weapons that you have the materials to craft. As you play and increase your mastery rank, you’ll accumulate more resources and gain access to more weapons.
What makes the Dual Heat Swords awesome:
- Easy to craft, low Mastery requirement (MR3)
- Burns nearby enemies on ground slam
- High status chance
- Primary slash-damage is great against most enemy types
How to Get Dual Heat Swords
Dual Heat Swords blueprints can be bought in the Market for 15,000 credits. Crafting the blueprint at your Foundry requires 2 Morphics, 900 Salvage, 1,000 Ferrite, and 700 Polymer Bundles.
All these materials can be found on Mercury, besides the Salvage, which can be farmed on Mars.
Note that you have to have a Mastery Rank of 3 (MR3) to use the Dual Heat Swords, which new players can quickly achieve.
Dual Heat Swords Stats:
- Attack Speed: 0.917
- Range: 2.5 m
- Total Damage (Impact, Puncture, Slash): 147.0 (22.05, 22.05, 102.9)
- Critical Chance (Critical Multiplier): 5% (1.5x)
- Status Chance: 20%
10. Lex (Best secondary weapon for new players)
Arguably one of the first weapons you should buy, the Lex is the perfect upgrade to the base Lato. A hand-cannon with 6 shots per magazine, the high damage and ammo efficiency of the Lex makes it a great option for new players who don’t have many mods to equip.
Pro-tip: critical hits to an enemy’s head have an additional damage multiplier on top of both the headshot and critical multipliers. You can do exponentially more damage to an enemy by consistently landing headshots with a high-crit weapon like the Lex.
The Lex becomes less effective at higher levels, however, so new players should consider collecting Void Relics to farm the Lex Prime and other high-powered Prime weapons.
What makes the Lex awesome:
- High single-target damage and crit chance, especially on headshots
- Performs well in low levels, even without mods
- Can be bought instantly with credits: no need to farm materials or craft it
How to Get the Lex
You can buy the Lex from the Market for 50,000 credits. No materials required!
Lex Stats:
- Fire Rate: 1.08 rps
- Magazine Size: 6 rounds
- Total Damage (I, P, S): 130 (13, 104, 13)
- Crit Chance (Multi): 20% (2x)
- Status Chance: 10%
9. Hek Shotgun (Best primary weapon for new players)
A quad-barrelled shotgun named after an in-game boss, the Hek boasts high damage-per-shot in a fairly narrow spread of pellets. Like all shotguns, it becomes less effective at long ranges, but this beast can still take out enemies at moderate ranges with no problem.
Place your reticle carefully though, as you only get four shots before a 2-second reload time.
What makes the Hek awesome:
- Insanely high damage per shot
- Puncture damage is great against armored enemies
- Easy to craft, low mastery requirement (MR4)
- Features a weapon-specific augment mod, making it useful at higher levels
- Like all shotguns, is less mod-reliant than other guns (for new players)
How to Get the Hek
The blueprint for the Hek can be bought in the Market for 25,000 credits. Crafting it at your Foundry requires 5 Neurodes, 1,100 Rubedo (Earth), 900 Circuits (Venus), and 1,200 Salvage (Mars).
Hek Shotgun Stats:
- Fire Rate: 2.17 rps
- Magazine Size: 4 rounds
- Total Damage (I, P, S): 525 (78.75, 341.25, 105.0)
- Crit Chance (Multi): 10.7% (2x)
- Status Chance: 10.7%
8. Twin Kohmak (Best overall secondary)
Dual mini-shotguns that spool up to unleash rapid-fire hitscan pellets, the Twin Kohmak is a status beast. Properly modded, it gets close to 200% status chance, which can reliably proc multiple status effects with each shot.
After a short spool-up period of three shots, its max fire rate allows it to decimate crowds of enemies. For best results, build it for Viral and Heat damage which, along with its innate slash procs, will make it much easier to kill high-level enemies.
What makes the Twin Kohmak awesome:
- High damage per shot in a shotgun spread
- High fire rate and status chance, making it easy to spread status effects
- Innate 1.5-meter punch-through
- Large magazine to accompany its high fire rate
- High base slash damage, allowing it to inflict true damage via slash procs
How to Get Twin Kohmak
Twin Kohmak blueprints drop from the boss Kela De Thaym on Merrow, Sedna. To build it in the Foundry, you need to build two Kohmak and a single Forma. Kohmak blueprints can be obtained from a clan that has completed its research in the Chem Lab of the Clan Dojo.
Twin Kohmak Stats:
- Fire Rate: 6.67 rps
- Magazine Size: 80 rounds
- Total Damage (I, P, S): 150 (30, 30, 90)
- Crit Chance (Multi): 11% (2x)
- Status Chance: 13.8%
7. Kohm (Best overall primary)
Make it hail bullets with this automatic shotgun that fires faster the longer you hold down the trigger
The big brother of the Kohmak, the Kohm is a Grineer shotgun featuring the same automatic spool-up mechanic as its secondary variant. And, like the Twin Kohmak, it boasts high damage, fire rate, status chance, and innate punchthrough.
Compared to its little brother, however, the Kohm also has a higher magazine capacity as well as a higher critical multiplier. Critical hits, in this case, make a significant difference, as they increase the damage of slash procs, making enemies bleed to death that much quicker.
All these features allow it to tear through packs of enemies with little effort.
What makes the Kohm awesome:
- High damage per shot in a shotgun spread
- High fire rate and status chance, making it easy to spread status effects
- Innate 1.5-meter punch-through
- Highest magazine capacity and ammo capacity of all shotguns
- High base slash damage, allowing it to inflict true damage via slash procs
How to Get Kohm
Kohm blueprints can be purchased in the market for 20,000 credits. Crafting a Kohm in your Foundry requires 2,500 Salvage, 500 Oxium, 500 Cryotic, and 2 Argon Crystals.
Kohm Stats:
- Fire Rate: 3.67 rps
- Magazine Size: 245 rounds
- Total Damage (I, P, S): 360 (72, 72, 216)
- Crit Chance (Multi): 11% (2.3x)
- Status Chance: 6.25%
6. Lesion (Best overall melee weapon)
The Lesion is a polearm with an Infested theme that has a hidden special effect: whenever the Lesion inflicts a status effect, it gains 15% attack speed and 100% Toxin damage.
While an amazing buff on it’s own, paired with the Lesion’s naturally high critical, status, and base damage stats, this weapon becomes ludicrously powerful when modded for Condition Overload.
What makes the Lesion awesome:
- High base stats, including damage, crit chance, and status
- Unique buff applied on status procs, increasing attack speed and damage
- Synergizes with Condition Overload, increasing damage when inflicting status effects
- High range, allowing you to hit multiple enemies at once
How to Get Lesion
Lesion blueprints can be purchased at the Market for 25,000. Crafting the Lesion at your Foundry requires 1,400 Plastids, 4 Neurodes, 2,300 Nano Spores, and a built Tipedo. Note that the Tipedo requires a built Kunai and Bo to craft.
Lesion Stats:
- Attack Speed: 1.0
- Range: 2.7m
- Total Damage (Impact, Puncture, Slash): 237.0 (47.4, 11.85, 177.75)
- Critical Chance (Critical Multiplier): 15% (2x)
- Status Chance: 37%
5. Rubico Prime (Best weapon for boss fights)
A sniper rifle, and the first Prime weapon on this list, the Rubico Prime is one of the most popular weapons for Eidolon hunting, and for good reason.
Boasting high damage per shot and insane base critical stats that are boosted by the sniper scope, the Rubico Prime is the perfect weapon for doing tons of damage to a boss’s weak points.
As a primed weapon, the Rubico Prime requires you to collect specific Void Relics, then open each relic during a fissure mission for a chance of a Rubico Prime part. Upon collecting all the parts, you can craft the weapon.
Sniper rifles in Warframe have a unique scope mechanic, in which zooming in with your sniper scope provides different bonuses depending on the rifle. In addition, all snipers have a combo counter similar to melee weapons, giving them a damage multiplier as long as you can accurately hit shots.
What makes the Rubico Prime awesome:
- High damage-per-shot, with increased damage as you build a combo
- High fire rate and low combo count makes it easier to get the combo multiplier
- Amazing critical chance and multiplier, with increased multiplier when scoped in
- Perfectly accurate when using scope, making it the best choice for hitting weak spots
- Innate 1-meter punch-through, allowing you to hit multiple enemies with a single shot
How to Get Rubico Prime
Rubico Prime parts must be obtained by opening Void Relics during Void Fissure missions. You can obtain Void Relics as a reward from random missions in the star chart. Check out the Warframe Wikia for detailed information on drop locations and rarity.
Rubico Prime Stats:
- Fire Rate: 3.67 rps
- Magazine Size: 5 rounds
- Total Damage (I, P, S): 187 (149.6, 28.1, 9.3)
- Crit Chance (Multi): 38% (3x)
- Status Chance: 16%
4. Kuva Bramma (Best AoE weapon)
Obtained only by defeating a Kuva Lich that wields it, the Kuva Bramma is a tactical nuke disguised as a bow. When fired, each arrow silently splits into multiple explosives, carpet-bombing an entire area in a single shot.
Not only that, the bow boasts one of the highest base damage stats in the game, with impressive critical and status chances to boot. The only “drawback” with this weapon is what you’ll be doing right before you vaporize an entire room. Just point, click, and watch the fireworks.
Devastatingly effective at dealing with large groups of mobs, it’s no wonder that the Kuva Bramma is one of the most commonly-used primaries among veteran Warframe players.
What makes the Kuva Bramma awesome:
- Cluster-bomb explosives are great at dealing with large groups
- Insane base stats, including damage, crit, and status
- Kuva weapons inherit bonus elemental damage from their respective Lich
- Kuva weapons can be leveled up to 40, granting additional mod capacity
How to Get Kuva Bramma
In order to get a Kuva Bramma of your own, you must first spawn a Kuva Lich that wields the weapon. Defeating the Kuva Lich requires a complex process of collecting and equipping the right requiem mods, then confronting the Lich in a planet under his/her control.
Once you vanquish the Lich, their weapon will appear in your Foundry. See detailed information on Kuva Liches and how to beat them at the Warframe Wikia.
Kuva Bramma Stats:
- Fire Rate: 1 rps
- Magazine Size: 1 round
- Total Damage: 1026 (187 arrow, 839 explosion)
- Crit Chance (Multi): 35% (2.1x)
- Status Chance: 21%
3. Modular: Zaw Cyath-Peye-Ekwana Jai II (Best Zaw melee weapon)
When you get to Cetus on Earth, you’ll find something new: an outpost filled with interactable NPCs, which leads to the Plains of Eidolon, an open world area featuring dynamically-generated objectives.
In Cetus, you can talk to Hok to craft your own Zaw: a modular melee weapon, taking the form and stats of its customizable parts. Built correctly, these are some of the best weapons in the game. Best of all, all the materials you need can be found in the Plains of Eidolon.
The Zaw configuration listed below uses the following parts:
- Cyath: a Machete or Polearm blade with high Slash damage
- Peye: a high-speed grip that comes at the cost of low damage
- Ekwana Jai II: A link that trades a lot of damage for even more speed, while sacrificing some critical chance for increased status chance
This creates a machete weapon that attacks incredibly quickly, stacking up your combo multiplier while inflicting stacks of slash procs on your enemies. The bleed effect of slash procs makes enemies take true damage every second over a six-second duration.
What makes the Cyath-Peye-Ekwana Jai II awesome:
- Lightning-fast attack speed
- High status chance inflicts slash procs, doing true damage
- Zaws can use Exodias, endgame upgrades that have unique effects
- Machete stance “Sundering Weave” is easy to obtain
How to Get a Zaw
Crafting your own modular weapon can be a lengthy process:
- Raise your faction rank with the Ostron enough for Hok to sell you the Zaw components.
- Use your earned faction points to buy the component blueprints.
- Components must be crafted individually in the foundry using materials found in the Plains of Eidolon.
- Once all components are crafted, bring them to Hok to assemble your Zaw. You can name your weapon at this step.
- Once initially crafted, Zaws must be leveled to rank 30 and then gilded by Hok to unlock their full power.
Check out the Warframe Wikia for more information on Zaws.
Cyath-Peye-Ekwana Jai II Zaw Stats:
- Attack Speed: 1.167
- Total Damage (I, P, S): 218 (43.6, 10.9, 163.5)
- Crit Chance (Multi): 14% (2x)
- Status Chance: 25%
2. Modular: Kitgun Rattleguts-Lovetap-Splat (Best Kitgun secondary)
Like the Zaws in Cetus, Fortuna on Venus also has modular weapons available. And like Zaws, these are also some of the best weapons in the game, crafted with materials unique to Orb Vallis, the open-world environment of Venus.
These, however, are guns rather than melee weapons. Speaking to Ruud Zuud in Fortuna allows you to buy and assemble your own modular secondary weapon.
The Kitgun below uses the following parts:
- Rattleguts: a chamber that fires hitscan lasers with an automatic trigger.
- Lovetap: a grip that increases damage at the cost of fire rate.
- Splat: a loader that significantly increases critical chance while lowering status. It also increases magazine size at the cost of a slower reload.
What makes Rattleguts-Lovetap-Splat awesome:
- High fire rate with great damage per shot
- Kitguns can use Pax arcanes, endgame upgrades that have unique effects
- High critical chance with above-average critical multiplier
- Hitscan beams and automatic trigger make it easy to use
- Innate radiation damage
How to Get a Kitgun
Crafting a Kitgun is the exact same process of making a Zaw outlined above, except on Venus instead of Earth. Purchase Kitgun component blueprints from Rude Zuud in Fortuna, then take the built parts to her to assemble your Kitgun.
Check out the Warframe Wikia for more information on Kitguns.
Rattleguts-Lovetap-Splat Kitgun Stats:
- Fire Rate: 5.17 rps
- Magazine Size: 64 rounds
- Total Damage (I, P, S, Radiation): 52 (6.8, 14.8, 12.8, 17.8)
- Crit Chance (Multi): 33% (2.3x)
- Status Chance: 11%
1. Modular: Kitgun Gaze-Tremor-Splat (Best Kitgun primary)
The newest addition to the modular weapon category, Kitgun primaries are available to craft at Rude Zuud in Fortuna.
Kitgun primaries share most components with their secondary counterparts. The grip used for the kitgun is the deciding factor whether the gun will be in your primary or secondary slot.
This Kitgun uses the following parts:
- Gaze: a chamber that fires a continuous beam. Pinpoint accurate, but with a limited range.
- Tremor: a primary grip that significantly increases damage, but lowers beam range.
- Splat: a loader that significantly increases critical chance while lowering status. It also increases magazine size at the cost of a slower reload.
What makes Gaze-Tremor-Splat awesome:
- Extremely accurate, with no recoil
- High critical chance with above-average multiplier
- Innate radiation damage
- Kitguns can use Pax arcanes, endgame upgrades that have unique effects
How to Get a Kitgun
Purchase Kitgun component blueprints from Rude Zuud in Fortuna, then take the built parts to her to assemble your Kitgun.
Check out the Warframe Wikia for more information on Kitguns.
Gaze-Tremor-Splat Kitgun Stats:
- Fire Rate: 8 rps
- Magazine Size: 43 rounds
- Total Damage (Radiation): 37
- Crit Chance (Multi): 39% (2.3x)
- Status Chance: 17%
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