Warframe is a third-person free-to-play looter shooter game that was released back in November 2013 on PlayStation, Xbox consoles, and PC. The players control members of the ancient warriors’ race called Tenno. Currently, there are 46 playable warriors/characters in the game.
Key Highlights
- You get 46 competitive gameplay warriors, or “Frames,” as the developer likes calling them, to shoot the looters of Warframe.
- Each option’s unique skills and moveset differ according to the specific theme they are dedicated to serving, namely Hunter, Sand Elemental, Archer, Manipulation, Gunslinger, Poison, Serpentine, and many more!
- Damage dealing, healing, and crowd-controlling are the three main areas concluding all themes, and we ranked Warframe Frames considering that.
- The Warframe warriors/frame that we believe totally blows the meta by excelling exceptionally in terms of overall performance are Mesa, Saryn, Octavia, Trinity, Nova, and Wisp.
- On the split hand, characters that we don’t advise wasting your effort and time with include Xaku, Nyx, Zephyr, and Grendel. They are the most difficult to master quickly and do not carry mind-blowing offense tactics either.
- Warframe warriors that play well in their domain while also rendering tremendous value across a variety of situations make a killer deal for us hence ranking higher in our tier list.
They are also called frames, and each one of them comes with unique abilities based on a particular theme. Not all of these characters are the absolute best when it comes to doing PvE missions alone or with a team. This is why we have curated the Warframe tier list to rank all frames based on their overall performance in the game.
| Warframe Tier List Frames Ranking Table | ||||||
| Gender | S-Tier | A-Tier | B-Tier | C-Tier | D-Tier | F-Tier |
| Male | – | Inaros, Chroma, Volt, Wukong, Rhino, Nidus, Gauss, Nezha | Baruuk, Limbo, Oberon, Lavos, Harrow, Sevagoth, Revenant | Vauban, Nekros, Frost, Excalibur, Loki, Ash | Hydroid, Atlas | Grendel |
| Female | Mesa, Saryn, Octavia, Trinity, Nova, Wisp | Ivara, Khora, Gara, Equinox | Mirage, Titania, Protea, Ember | Mag, Hildryn, Garuda, Valkyr | Banshee | Nyx, Zephyr |
| Androgynous | – | – | – | – | – | Xaku |
Warframe Comparison Table
Let’s take a quick glance at the comparison between these Frames:
| Charatcer | Tier | Gender | Theme | Subsumed Ability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mesa | S | Female | Gunslinger | Shooting Gallery |
| Saryn | S | Female | Disease, Poison, Serpentine | Molt |
| Octavia | S | Female | Radiation | Resonator |
| Trinity | S | Female | Healer | Well of Life |
| Nova | S | Female | Antimatter Manipulation | Null Star |
| Wisp | S | Female | Portal Manipulation | Breach Surge |
| Ivara | A | Female | Archer, Poison Frog | Quiver |
| Inaros | A | Male | Mummy, Sand Elemental | Desiccation |
| Chroma | A | Male | Dragon, Elemental Power, Hunter | Elemental Ward |
| Khora | A | Female | Arachnid, Huntress & Companion, Metal Manipulation | Ensnare |
| Volt | A | Male | Electricity | Shock |
| Gara | A | Female | Glass, Warrior | Spectrorage |
| Wukong | A | Male | Monkey King | Defy |
| Rhino | A | Male | Rhinoceros | Roar |
| Equinox | A | Female | Duality, Day & Night | Rest and Rage |
| Nidus | A | Male | Infestation, Mutation | Larva |
| Gauss | A | Male | Kinetic Energy, Runner | Thermal Sunder |
| Nezha | A | Male | Third Lotus Prince | Fire Walker |
| Baruuk | B | Male | Monk, Pacifist | Lull |
| Mirage | B | Female | Harlequin, Illusionist | Eclipse |
| Oberon | B | Male | Nature, Paladin | Smite |
| Harrow | B | Male | Monastic, Void Manipulation | Condemn |
| Lavos | B | Male | Alchemy, Serpentine | Vial Rush |
| Limbo | B | Male | Magician, Planes of Existence | Banish |
| Titania | B | Female | Fairy Queen | Spellbind |
| Revenant | B | Male | Eidolon, Vampirism | Reave |
| Sevagoth | B | Male | Phantom, Reaper, Shadow Elemental | Gloom |
| Ember | B | Female | Fire Elemental | Fire Blast |
| Protea | B | Female | Gadgetry, Time Manipulation | Dispensary |
| Nekros | C | Male | Darkness, Necromancy | Terrify |
| Mag | C | Female | Magnetism | Pull |
| Vauban | C | Male | Combat Engineer | Tesla Nervos |
| Frost | C | Male | Ice Elemental | Ice Wave |
| Hildryn | C | Female | Shield Maiden | Pillage |
| Excalibur | C | Male | Swordsman | Radial Blind |
| Loki | C | Male | Trickster | Decoy |
| Valkyr | C | Female | Berserker, Feline | Warcry |
| Ash | C | Male | Assassin, Ninja | Shuriken |
| Garuda | C | Female | Blood Manipulation, Gore | Blood Altar |
| Atlas | D | Male | Brawler, Earth Elemental | Petrify |
| Banshee | D | Female | Sound, Wailing Spirit | Silence |
| Hydroid | D | Male | Pirate, Water Elemental | Tempest Barrage |
| Xaku | F | Androgynous | Broken, Void Manipulation | Xata’s Whisper |
| Grendel | F | Male | Gluttony, Oni | Nourish |
| Zephyr | F | Female | Air Elemental, Avian | Airburst |
| Nyx | F | Female | Psychic | Mind Control |
S-Tier
All the frames mentioned in our S-tier are the best in offering various roles in the game. We have mentioned damage dealers, healers, and crowd-controlling frames in this list. If you have not unlocked these frames, we highly recommend investing your time in them.
Mesa
If you are looking for the best frame in Warframe, then Mesa is the one you should go for. She will not disappoint you when it comes to attacking enemies from close or ranged engagements. Primarily, Mesa is a gunslinger frame in the game. So, if you do not equip a melee weapon and heavily rely on guns, she gets a health bonus. Her ‘Shooting Gallery’ ability gives a random ally damage buff while jamming enemies’ guns.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Gunslinger |
| Subsumed Ability | Shooting Gallery |
Saryn
Saryn is the master of inflicting various status effects on enemies. Moreover, the status effects applied on enemies by her abilities and weapons last 25% longer. This passive ability alone at times proves overpowered in certain situations in Warframe. Saryn’s abilities apply corrosive, viral, and toxin status effects on enemies. Moreover, using her ‘Toxic Lash’ ability deals double Toxin damage – a 100% Toxin status effect chance.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Disease, Poison, Serpentine |
| Subsumed Ability | Molt |
Octavia
The Mandachords on Octavia’s arms are the weapons of destruction. She is a unique frame in our A-ranking Warframe tier list whose abilities are heavily music-centric. Using the ‘Resonator’ ability, Octavia launches a rollerball which divides the enemies’ attention, allowing her and the allies more time to attack the foes. She is not easy to farm, and sometimes, farming a prime seems much easier. Other than that, if you manage to unlock Octavia, you must make her your go-to frame in the game.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Radiation |
| Subsumed Ability | Resonator |
Trinity
If you are looking for the best healer frame in the game, Trinity is the one you need to keep an eye out for. All of her abilities either grant direct healing to allies or steal and channel them from foes to teammates.
Trinity, by far, is the best healer frame players should have by their side in a team while clearing out missions and bosses quickly.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Healer |
| Subsumed Ability | Well Of Life |
Nova
Nova is the master of antimatter manipulation, and she can confuse enemies with her decisive abilities. Her ‘Worm Hole’ ability allows Nova to travel away from enemies by creating a wormhole. She can conjure a couple of anti-matter particles that seek nearby enemies. Moreover, whenever enemies knockdown Nova, she immediately uses a neutron burst damage attack, dealing blast damage and knocking enemies back. She is a great team player and handles decently close combat situations.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Antimatter Manipulation |
| Subsumed Ability | Null Star |
Wisp
Wisp is the portal master, and she uses various tricks to escape or surprise attack enemies by using her abilities. Her ‘Wil-O-Wisp’ is probably our favorite as it allows Wisp to conjure a ditto image of her in front of enemies, confusing the foes. If you trigger the ability again, she teleports to the position of her image. Wisp’s ‘Sol Gate’ costs 25 energy, and she opens a portal to melt enemies using the solar plasma energy of the sun.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Portal Manipulation |
| Subsumed Ability | Breach Surge |
A-Tier
All frames falling under our A-tier listing are near to perfect ones in the game. They are not the absolute best, but they will get the job done. Pick these frames, and you will never be disappointed while dominating enemies and bosses in Warframe.
Similar Read: King of Fighters All Star Tier List
Ivara
For players who want to play with an archer in Warframe should look for Ivara. She is the best offensive frame when it comes to shooting enemies down from a distance using four types of tactical arrows. Ivara switches between arrow types on the fly, and all four of the tactical arrows give a strategic advantage to allies and self. Using the cloak, she creates a bubble that cloaks teammates and herself. The noise arrow type is used to attract enemies or distract. Ivara’s dashwire arrows create a zipline, allowing her to be up and away from enemy’s reach. She can put enemies into a temporary sleep by shooting them with the sleep arrows. All in all, Ivara is the best A-ranking frame in the Warframe tier list.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Archer, Poison Frog |
| Subsumed Ability | Quiver |
Inaros
Inaros is a great offensive frame in the game, and he deals decent damage by applying True, Corrosive, and Slash status effects on foes. His ‘Desiccation’ ability allows him to steal health from enemies by attacking them with cursed sand. The attack also leaves them blind for a short time. By using the ‘Devour’ ability, Inaros steals an enemy’s health by drowning it in the quicksand. His ‘Sandstorm’ ability is the best for crowd control as he can throw back enemies or destroys the ones trapped in the furious sandstorm.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Mummy, Sand Elemental |
| Subsumed Ability | Desiccation |
Chroma
Chroma is the best frame when it comes to leading assault on enemies with a full team. He is the master of elemental power and can cycle between four elemental types on the fly. Heat, electricity, toxin, and cold are four elemental types Chroma triggers by using his Elemental Ward ability. Whatever elemental type you go with, Chroma offers defensive and offensive buffs to self and allies. Having him on your side while taking the fight to a boss or crowded enemies is a relief.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Dragon, Elemental Power, Hunter |
| Subsumed Ability | Elemental Ward |
Khora
Khora does the massive damage using her whipclaw and loyal hunter companion called Venari. She calls her pet to assault enemies. Moreover, Khora controls Venari to damage a single target or protect and heal. She can also revive herself using Venari, which makes Khora the ultimate frame in our A-ranking Warframe tier list. Other than that, by using the ‘Ensnare’ ability, Khora traps an enemy in a circulating living metal.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Arachnid, Huntress & Companion, Metal Manipulation |
| Subsumed Ability | Ensnare |
Volt
Volt is the master of electricity-oriented attacks. He offers the best offense and defense tactical advantages by manipulating electricity to its advantage. Volt’s ‘Shock’ ability deals with small burst high-damage of electric shock to a target. It can also chain to an adjacent enemy. Volt’s ‘Speed’ ability grants self and allies a short duration of increased movement speed. He can outright stop the incoming ranged fire from foes by conjuring an electric shield. If enemies surround Volt, using the ‘Discharge’ ability paralyzes foes that are in short range.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Electricity |
| Subsumed Ability | Shock |
Gara
Gara wears glass armor that cuts enemies deep and reflects light to blind enemies. Using the ‘Shattered Glass’ ability, she hits enemies with glass shards. Holding down the ability button will strike a foe with a glass arching strike. Gara’s ‘Splinter Storm’ ability allows her to fortify allies from incoming damage, and at the same time, the glass inflicts heavy damage on enemies. She brilliantly uses glass to lead assault or buff the defense of teammates.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Glass, Warrior |
| Subsumed Ability | Spectrorage |
Wukong
There is no other frame other than Wukong, who is best at shredding enemies and controlling the crowd. He is also easy to get and should not give you much trouble of grinding for weeks before you could play with him. Using his ‘Celestial Twin’ ability, Wukong creates another version of himself having his own health. The twin can be commanded to attack an enemy. Or, if Wukong does ranged damage, the twin will attack a nearby enemy with a melee hit. Wukong’s ‘Defy’ ability at times feels overpowered as he can store all the damage on an enemy and deal it back using his staff in a single blow. This can devastate even the tanky enemies.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Monkey King |
| Subsumed Ability | Defy |
Rhino
Rhino is the frontal assault frame in the game, and he can destroy enemies alone or buff allies for extra firepower. He charges onto enemies to deal impact damage. Rhino uses ‘Iron Skin’ ability to harden his skin to soak in all the incoming damage for a short duration. His ‘Roar’ ability gives damage buff to nearby allies, empowering them to deal more damage for a short duration. The most devastating ability of all is his ‘Rhino Stomp’. Rhino stomps on the ground and deals blast damage in a certain radius.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Rhinoceros |
| Subsumed Ability | Roar |
Equinox
Equinox is a unique frame in our A-ranking Warframe tier list. All of her moveset and abilities completely change whenever she alternates between day and night tactical forms. While using her ‘Metamorphosis’ ability, she gets extra damage and speed if Equinox is in day form. If she is in the night form, she gets extra armor and shields. The same is the case with her ‘Rest & Rage’ ability. She puts a single enemy to sleep during the night form, and in day form, the target takes increased damage from Equinox.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Duality, Day & Night |
| Subsumed Ability | Rest and Rage |
Nidus
Nidus is the master of inflicting fungal infestation-oriented damage onto enemies. He is a perfect frame for crowd control and buffing an ally. Using the ‘Virulence’ ability, Nidus launches a fungal infestation attack that grows in a radius and staggers the enemies. He spawns an infested larva pod by using ‘Larva’ ability, damaging the enemies in closer proximity. Nidus’s ‘Ravenous’ ability spawns hungry maggots swarm that slowly eat enemies’ health and deal burst damage in the end.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Infestation, Mutation |
| Subsumed Ability | Larva |
Gauss
Gauss is the master of manipulating the kinetic energy to his advantage. Using his ‘Mach Rush’ ability, he rushes through the enemies to deal impact damage. If Gauss strikes a solid object, he will create a massive shockwave, dealing enormous damage to nearby enemies. His ‘Kinetic Plating’ ability acts as an offensive and defensive tool. Gauss absorbs the incoming elemental damage and prevents himself from getting knocked down or staggered.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Kinetic Energy, Runner |
| Subsumed Ability | Thermal Sunder |
Nezha
Nezha is the master of controlling fire-based attacks while fighting enemies in Warframe. His ‘Fire Walker’ ability allows him to hurl flame attacks on foes. His ‘Blazing Chakram’ ability allows the frame to throw a scorching flame ring on a couple of enemies, dealing tons of damage. Whenever enemies die from this ability, they drop Restorative Orbs. Nezha’s Wading Halo consumes 75 energy but in return forms a defensive ring around the frame, dealing stun and Slash status effect to nearby enemies.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Third Lotus Prince |
| Subsumed Ability | Fire Walker |
B-Tier
The frames falling under our B-tier listing perform above-average in Warframe. They are great at attacking, healing, and controlling the crowd. However, a few drawbacks are holding them down in the current game’s meta. Still, they are an excellent pick for certain situations, and veteran Warframe players will know how to utilize their abilities in the field properly.
Baruuk
Baruuk is another great frame you should have in the game. His ‘Elude’ ability allows him to dodge incoming shots or projectiles. The ability only works if Baruuk is not attacking enemies. His ‘Lull’ ability confuses enemies by putting them to sleep, and when they wake up, they become disoriented.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Monk, Pacifist |
| Subsumed Ability | Lull |
Mirage
Mirage is an above-average attacked who received damage buff whenever she is in light. She becomes much harder to track when she goes into the shadows. Mirage is also great in confusing enemies. Using ‘Hall of Mirrors’ ability, she creates a couple of her duplicates to distract the enemy’s attention. Her ‘Prism’ ability costs 50 energy, and she unleashes a floating prism that fires lasers randomly in all directions.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Harlequin, Illusionist |
| Subsumed Ability | Eclipse |
Oberon
Oberon is a good attacker and healer frame in our B-rank Warframe tier list. Using his ‘Renewal’ ability, he projects a healing energy to restore allies’ health for a short duration. Oberon’s ‘Smite’ ability does decent area-of-effect damage. His ‘Hallowed Ground’ costs 50 energy but in return sanctifies the ground in front of Oberon. Whenever an enemy steps inside this flaming range, it receives a radiation status effect damage.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Nature, Paladin |
| Subsumed Ability | Smite |
Harrow
Harrow is an excellent all-rounder frame in the game. He can do a decent amount of damage to enemies and at the same time can convert it into health regeneration as well. Using his ‘Penance’ ability, Harrow receives a boost in fire rate and reload speed by sacrificing the shields. Additionally, all damage struck on an enemy is converted to health for self and nearby allies.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Monastic, Void Manipulation |
| Subsumed Ability | Condemn |
Lavos
Lavos is an above-average offensive frame in the game. By using his ‘Ophidian Bite’, he attacks enemies with a serpentine strike. The ability also grants healing for a short duration. Lavos’s ‘Vial Rush’ ability allows the frame to dash forward with an incredible speed. He leaves an icy trail behind whenever he crashes through enemies, damaging the enemies with a cold status effect.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Alchemy, Serpentine |
| Subsumed Ability | Vial Rush |
Limbo
Limbo is an excellent offensive frame that is a master of magic-based attacks. His ‘Banish’ ability allows him to cast rift energy, damaging enemies slowly. Limbo’s ‘Stasis’ ability enables him to suspend or freeze enemies that are bound by rift energy.
Similar Tier Lists: Smite Tier List
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Magician, Planes of Existence |
| Subsumed Ability | Banish |
Titania
Titania is a decent frame that applies various debuffs on enemies. She can also buff the allies for bonus damage on foes. Using her ‘Tribute’ ability, Titania can cycle through four buff variations. The full moon buff grants allies increased damage for a short duration. When applied thorns debuff, all enemy damage is reduced significantly on self and allies. Her dust debuff greatly reduces the accuracy of foes, and they tend to miss landing hits. Titania’s entangle modifier slows down enemies.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Fairy Queen |
| Subsumed Ability | Spellbind |
Revenant
Revenant is a decent offensive frame in our B-rank Tier list. By using his ‘Enthral’ ability, revenant converts an enemy into a thrall that attacks other foes. The thrall is controlled by Revenant until the duration of the spell expires. He conjures sentient energy on his armor by using ‘Mesmer Skin’ ability, redirecting all the incoming damage and stunning foes as well. Revenant using the same sentient energy to dash through foes, stealing the health and shields.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Eidolon, Vampirism |
| Subsumed Ability | Reave |
Sevagoth
Sevagoth is a decent all-rounder frame in the game. By using his ‘Sow’ ability, he steals nearby enemies’ health by planting a death seed. He can also detonate the seed to deal area-of-effect blast status effect damage on nearby enemies. Sevagoth’s ‘Gloom’ ability costs 50 energy, and it slows down all foes, stealing their health and regenerating his own. All allies also restore their lost health bar by attacking the enemies nearby.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Phantom, Reaper, Shadow Elemental |
| Subsumed Ability | Gloom |
Ember
Ember is great at assaulting enemies using fire elemental-oriented tactics. Her ‘Fireball’ ability sets a target ablaze after being struck by a charged fire projectile.
Ember’s ‘Immolation’ ability allows her to cast fire over her armor that grows over time, protecting the frame from incoming damage. Her ‘Fire Blast’ ability allows her to do an area-of-effect attack by slamming the ground. All nearby enemies can get incinerated by the attack.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Fire Elemental |
| Subsumed Ability | Fire Blast |
Protea
Protea is not an easy-to-use frame in the game as she comes with tons of gadgets that require precise timing to deal damage effectively. Her ‘Dispensary’ ability costs 75 energy and allows Protea to generate three orbs after a certain time.
Once it is done, she or allies can pick up the three orbs; empowered health orb, universal ammo pack, and energy orb. Other than that, by using her ‘Blaze Artillery’ ability, Protea summons an artillery unit that deals plasma damage on enemies.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Gadgetry, Time Manipulation |
| Subsumed Ability | Dispensary |
C-Tier
The frames belonging to our C-tier listing perform somewhat close to the B-tier frames. However, not all of them offer valuable tactical advantages while fighting enemies.
You might find this interesting: Paladins Tier List
Nekros
Nekros frame is a master of necromancy, and he can control foes with his abilities. Using his ‘Soul Punch’ ability, he deals serious damage on enemies and turns them into his shadows. Nekros’ ‘Terrify’ ability drains 75 energy and allows the frame to terrorize nearby enemies. He can also increase the chance of dropping more loot from the fallen enemies by using ‘Desecrate’ ability. If the fight becomes overwhelming, Nekros can summon shadow variants of enemies to find besides him.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Darkness, Necromancy |
| Subsumed Ability | Terrify |
Mag
Mag is a unique frame in the C-rank. She is the master of magnetism that can turn the tide while fighting enemies. The only downside we think Mag has is that most of her abilities cost a lot of energy. Her ‘Pull’ ability brings ranged targets closer, allowing Mag to deal with melee attacks. Her ‘Crush’ ability costs 100 energy and magnetizes enemies’ bones, allowing Mag to cripple and crush them from the inside. She weakens enemy armor and shields slowly by emitting a strong energy pulse by using her ‘Mag’ ability. All allies restore their shields if they touch the energy field.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Magnetism |
| Subsumed Ability | Pull |
Vauban
Vauban is a combat engineer who has an arsenal of tools that wreak havoc on enemies. His ‘Photon Strike’ allows the frame to drop a beacon that signals a high-power laser artillery strike.
The ability costs 75 energy, but it is extremely useful against slow-moving targets. Using his ‘Tesla Nervos’ ability, Vauban throws a roller drone onto enemies that deal burst electricity status effect damage for a short duration. It is a great area-of-effect ability that disperses and weakens the crowd.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Combat Engineer |
| Subsumed Ability | Tesla Nervos |
Frost
Frost is the master of manipulating frost and ice-based elemental tactics. Using his ‘Freeze’ ability, he applies cold status effect damage on enemies and has a good chance to freeze the target. Frost’s ‘Ice Wave’ ability deals serious damage when powerful ice waves hit a target. His ‘Avalanche’ ability costs 100 energy and summons a freezing landslide, freezing and damaging enemies that are caught in it.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Ice Elemental |
| Subsumed Ability | Ice Wave |
Hildryn
Hildryn is an average frame that uses her defensive tactics to assault enemies. Using her ‘Haven’ ability, she conjures shield energy around self and allies. Foes who come in contact with the shielded frames take damage. Using the ‘Pillage’ ability, Hildryn steals enemy shields and armor to refill her own. Her ‘Balefire’ ability unleashes charged fire bolts on enemies. Hildryn’s ‘Aegis Storm’ ability allows her to jump in the air and bombard Balefire rockets on foes.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Shield Maiden |
| Subsumed Ability | Pillage |
Excalibur
Excalibur is one of the starting frames players get to choose while diving into Warframe for the first time. He is an average frame that has great mastery over swords. Using his ‘Slash Dash’ ability, he can dash between multiple enemies and slash through them in quick succession.
Excalibur’s ‘Radial Blind’ ability allows him to blind nearby enemies for a short duration by casting a bright light. His ‘Radial Javelin’ ability deals great damage on enemies when they are struck by sharp javelins.
Excalibur buffs significantly his melee damage by using ‘Exalted Blade’ ability. He summons an ethereal Skana blade that inflicts serious damage within two meters distance.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Swordsman |
| Subsumed Ability | Radial Blind |
Loki
Loki frame offers a very different perspective with which you can play Waframe. He comes in our C-rank Warframe tier list because almost all of his abilities are based on decoy, deception, and trickery. They lack strategic advantage when it comes to draining enemy health either by attacking directly or stealing.
Still, Loki can become a useful frame in certain situations and is fun to play as well. His ‘Decoy’ ability allows him to create a duplicate copy of himself that divides an enemy’s attention, making it an easy open target. Loki can become invisible and teleport to certain places to further confuse enemies.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Trickster |
| Subsumed Ability | Decoy |
Valkyr
Valkyr is an average offensive frame in the game. She uses ‘Rip Line’ ability to pull enemies towards her melee range. If the hook misses the target and hits a terrain, it pulls Valkyr towards it.
Using her ‘Warcry’ ability, she slows down nearby enemies and, at the same time, buffs allies’ melee damage. Valkyr’s ‘Paralysis’ ability costs only five energy, and she uses her shields to stun nearby enemies.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Berserker, Feline |
| Subsumed Ability | Warcry |
Ash
Ash is a master ninja who assaults enemies using his shuriken and can escape overwhelming situations by dropping a smoke bomb. He can cover great distances to reach enemies shooting from far away by teleporting to them.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Assassin, Ninja |
| Subsumed Ability | Shuriken |
Garuda
Gardua uses decisive blood manipulation tactics to assault enemies in Warframe. Using her ‘Bloodletting’ ability, she regenerates energy by depleting her own health. Garuda’s ‘Dread Mirror’ ability steals a target’s health and uses it as a defense mechanism to soak the incoming damage.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Blood Manipulation, Gore |
| Subsumed Ability | Blood Altar |
D-Tier
All the frames that come under our D-rank Warframe tier list perform below average in the game. They do not offer good enough offensive or defensive tactics while fighting enemies.
Atlas
Atlas is the master of controlling earth elemental oriented tactics in Warframe. Using his ‘Rumblers’ ability, he calls two elemental stone minions who fight side-by-side with him. The two stone brawlers will become the source of healing for Atlas when the ability’s duration expires. He can also summon a big chunk of stone wall to defend himself.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Brawler, Earth Elemental |
| Subsumed Ability | Petrify |
Banshee
Banshee uses powerful sound waves to assault enemies in Warframe. Using her ‘Sonic Boom’ ability, she sends a loud and impactful sonic shockwave that pushes nearby enemies away from her. This ability is good for crowd control and dividing the enemies’ agro. Banshee’s ‘Sound Quake’ ability allows her to concentrate the sound energy and send it to the ground, damaging nearby enemies slowly.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Sound, Wailing Spirit |
| Subsumed Ability | Silence |
Hydroid
Like Atlas, Hydroid uses water elemental tactics to lead the offense on enemies. His ‘Tempest Barrage’ ability allows Hydroid to do an area-of-effect attack by calling a barrage of liquid fury. The attack is very slow in nature but if you charge it before unleashing on enemies, it will deal extra damage.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Pirate, Water Elemental |
| Subsumed Ability | Tempest Barrage |
F-Tier
All frames falling under our F-rank Warframe tier list are the weakest frames in the game. They are challenging to play, and most of them do not even have decent offensive abilities. If you pick these frames while playing the game, you are guaranteed to struggle a lot while fighting enemies.
Xaku
Xaku is a unique frame in the game because he is neither a male nor female. Instead, he is Androgynous, an embodiment of lost frames. His void manipulation abilities are a new addition to the game, but they are pretty underwhelming for now. Using ‘Xata’s Whisper’ ability, Xaku wields void damage from existing weapons.
| Gender | Androgynous |
| Theme | Broken, Void Manipulation |
| Subsumed Ability | Xata’s Whisper |
Grendel
Grendel is a massive gluttonous frame in the game that eats enemies and spews them out to deal toxin damage to nearby foes. Most of his attacks rely heavily on him storing enemies in his gut after eating them. Using his ‘Regurgitate’ ability, Grendel throws projectiles of pukes stored inside his gut.
| Gender | Male |
| Theme | Gluttony, Oni |
| Subsumed Ability | Nourish |
Zephyr
Just like Atlas and Hydroid, Zephyr uses air elemental tactics into her abilities to assault enemies. Using his ‘Tail Wind’ ability, he can hover in the air and also dive-bomb onto enemies. Zephyr’s ‘Airburst’ ability allows him to hurl dense air onto enemies, draining the health slowly.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Air Elemental, Avian |
| Subsumed Ability | Airburst |
Nyx
Nyx is a mind controller who uses psychic-oriented abilities to confuse enemies. Her ‘Mind Control’ ability allows her to control an enemy and attack other foes for a short duration.
Nyx’s ‘Chaos’ ability allows her to confuse all enemies who are affected by her psychic blast. All enemies then start attacking each other for a short duration.
| Gender | Female |
| Theme | Psychic |
| Subsumed Ability | Mind Control |
Now that you know about the overall ranking of all frames in the game, there may be a few questions popping into your head. Questions such as which frame should I go for the best attack, the highest healing, or which frames is all-rounder and such.
That is pretty much everything you need to know about the Warframe. We are aware that the developers, Digital Extremes, are still supporting the game and adding more frames every year.
How We Ranked
Over the last eight years, developers Digital Extremes released more frames to the game. They expanded the roster and strengthened the replay value of the game. With steady support from the developers since 2013, the fanbase of Warframe grew over time, and in 2019, it crossed 50 million.
The developers not just added more characters to Warframe but also introduced hundreds of new weapon arsenal as well. You may want to check our Warframe weapon tier list. It ranks all of the weapons you will come across while playing the game.
Our Warframe tier list is based on our experience with the game. We understand that our ranking may differ from yours, and the frames that we have placed in certain tiers may seem out of place for you.
The frames we listed in each tier ranking are based on the current meta. Please note that our categorization is based solely on our opinion of where each frame should fall in the tier list. Additionally, for each frame, we have provided a short description that highlights their best abilities.
Similar Reads: Marvel Strike Force Tier List
Whenever Warframe gets new frames, we will update our tier list. But till then, this list will do. Let us know more of your thoughts in the comments section below.
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