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Kunai and katanas are undoubtedly old-fashioned, especially for a futuristic biomechanical space ninja. From time to time, you have to speak softly and carry a big gun against some punks who feel lucky. The best Primary Weapons in Warframe, for that matter, can help you speak this language of the Pew Pew more fluently. Below are five of the best Primary Weapons in Warframe, each covering different scenarios and situations in the game. And while one might excel in certain situations better than the rest, they all have their places in the current meta. You’d do well to grab one of these.
Nataruk
- Bow
- Infinite Ammo
- Requires Mastery Rank 0 (acquired upon The New War)
- Crit Chance: 20%
- Status Chance: 30%
Well, it’s not like you have any say in acquiring this one. It’s automatically thrust into your character as soon as you enter the intermediate stages of The New War quest. As an added bonus, it even comes pre-installed with an Orokin Catalyst, perfect for new players who are saving up their weapon upgrades and are also looking for the best primary weapons.
As for Nataruk’s effectiveness, it’s viable for the Steel Path, which is a tall order for a lot of newbies or free weapons. You can even mitigate some of the Nataruk’s downsides (the long charge time) with one or two mods, and you can build it for either Slash (Bleed), Crit, or Status. This makes it one of the most versatile bows in the game; you just need a Hunter Munitions mod.
Cedo
- Shotgun
- 40 Magazine Size
- Requires Mastery Rank 8
- Crit Chance: 20%
- Status Chance: 0.30%
It’s rare for a Warframe’s non-Prime signature weapon to reach the top, but the Cedo’s Bleed build capabilities make it a reliable weapon that newbie players can take to Steel Path missions. It’s all thanks to the innate Glaive attack in the Alt-Fire mode, which deals Slash damage or the so-called Bleed damage in Warframe.
You can even throw in a Hunter Munitions mod if you want to be less reliant on the Alt-Fire. This is a Crit weapon, after all. The fact that you can use it at a relatively low Mastery Rank makes it even more appealing to the whole community. Think of it as a budget version of the more elite Bleed weapons below.
Kuva Bramma
- Bow
- 5 Magazine Size
- Requires Mastery Rank 15
- Crit Chance: 35%
- Status Chance: 21%
Eventually, you’ll want to graduate from Nataruk, and the next big step up would be none other than the notorious Kuva Bramma. It’s a weapon so busted when it was released that the developers had to nerf the ammo economy to prevent players from relying too much on this weapon. But despite the nerfs, the Kuva Bramma is still powerful.
You don’t even have to aim with this explosive bow. If you see a cluster of enemies, you can just aim at the ground beneath them and vaporize them along with their family tree in the included blast radius. Even the bow part of this weapon is slightly misleading. It’s practically a slingshot that fires dynamite, not that we’re complaining.
Tenet Arca Plasmor
- Shotgun
- 10 Magazine Size
- Requires Mastery Rank 16
- Crit Chance: 22%
- Status Chance: 34%
Sometimes, in Warframe, you just look in one direction and wish that you could clear the view as though a bowling ball scoring a strike. Think of the Tenet Arca Plasmor as that bowling ball. It fires pretty energy projections that ricochet off walls and often deals double damage against enemy groups depending on where it bounces.
It’s simple, effective, and fun to use, making it a fan favorite among the best Primary Weapons in Warframe. Moreover, you can pick which element you’ll get, and you can even build it with versatility. For Steel Path, you don’t even need to build it for Bleed, as it’s already a capable weapon on its own. With Hunter Munitions, it melts Steel Path enemies like a hot nikana through butter. The high Mastery Rank requirement is totally worth it.
Phenmor
- Rifle
- 30/540 Magazine Size
- Requires Mastery Rank 14
- Crit Chance: 20%
- Status Chance: 20%
It’s almost unfair to the enemies in Warframe that only players get to wield these. The Phenmor has been sitting at the top of the best Primary Weapons in Warframe consensus for more than a year. It’s not likely to be dethroned soon. This Incarnon Weapon is just that powerful for any occasion, even for Archon Hunts.
This is also a two-for-one weapon where it starts out as an impactful semi-auto rifle and turns into an interdimensional machine gun if you give it some love and patience. So treat it like your spouse — oil it well, then take it out to dinner with the carcasses of your enemies as food, and it might just give you the world, or several.
