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 |
| Nova | Null Star Antimatter Drop Wormhole Molecular Prime |
| Nezha | Fire Walker Blazing Chakram Warding Halo Divine Spears |
| Gara | Shattered Lash Splinter Storm Spectorage Mass Vitrify |
| Octavia | Mallet Resonator Metronome Amp |
| Protea | Grenade Fan Blaze Artillery Dispensary Temporal Anchor |
| Saryn | Spores Molt Toxic Lash Miasma |
| Rhino | Rhino Charge Iron Skin Roar Rhino Stomp |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| Nekros | Soul Punch Terrify Desecrate Shadows of the Dead |
| Inaros | Desiccation Devour Sandstorm Scarab Swarm |
| Ivara | Quiver Navigator Prowl Artemis Bow |
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 |
|---|---|
| Chroma | Spectral Scream Elemental Ward Vex Armor Effigy |
| Ember | Fireball Immolation Fire Blast Inferno |
| Xaku | Xata’s Whisper Graps of Lohk The Lost The Vast Untime |
| Baruuk | Elude Lull Desolate Hands Serene Storm |
| Gauss | Mach Rush Kinetic Plating Thermal Sunder Redline |
| Equinox | Metamorphosis Rest & Rage Pacify & Provoke Mend & Maim |
| Yareli | Sea Snares Merulina Aquablades Riptide |
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 |
|---|---|
| Khora | Whipclaw Ensnare Venari Strangledome |
| Titania | Spellbind Tribute Lantern Razorwing |
| Ash | Shuriken Smoke Screen Teleport Blade Storm |
| Hildryn | Balefire Pillage Haven Aegis Storm |
| Nidus | Virulence Larva Parasitic Link Ravenous |
| Grendel | Feast Nourish Regurgitate Pulverize |
| Excalibur | Slash Dash Radial Bind Radial Javelin Exalted Blade |
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 |
|---|---|
| Mag | Pull Magnetize Polarize Crush |
| Mirage | Hall of Mirrors Sleight of Hand Eclipse Prism |
| Oberon | Smite Hallowed Ground Renewal Reckoning |
| Garuda | Dread Mirror Blood Altar Bloodletting Seeking Talons |
| Wukong | Celestial Twin Cloud Walker Defy Primal Fury |
| Revenant | Enthrall Mesmer Skin Reave Danse Macabre |
| Trinity | Well of Life Energy Vampire Link Blessing |
E-Tier
These warframes are somewhere between average and the worst depending on the situation.
| Warframe | Abilities |
|---|---|
| Limbo | Banish Stasis Rift Surge Cataclysm |
| Loki | Decoy Invisibility Switch Teleport Radial Disarm |
| Lavos | Ophidian Bite Vial Rush Transmutation Probe Catalyze |
| Volt | Shock Speed Electric Shield Discharge |
| Vauban | Tesla Nervos Minelayer Photon Strike Bastille |
| Valkyr | Rip Line Warcry Paralysis Hysteria |
| Banshee | Sonic Boom Sonar Silence Sound Quake |
| Hydroid | Tempest Barrage Tidal Surge Undertow Tentacle Swarm |
| Harrow | Condemn Penance Thurible Covenant |
| Zephyr | Tail Wind Airburst Turbulence Tornado |
| 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 |
|---|---|
| Nyx | Mind Control Psychic Bolts Chaos Absorb |
| Frost | Freeze Ice Wave Snow Globe Avalanche |
