Best Primary Weapons in Warframe

There are 295 Primary Weapons in Warframe (counting Conclave variants) that are each divided into one of four categories. Rifles, Shotguns, Snipers, and Bows all have different uses and are important to note when equipping them with mods.

Top Warframe Primary Weapons

The best weapons will make the most of these mods to deliver high damage output to even the toughest of bosses.

Best Rifles in Warframe

Rifles make up most of the 151 weapons available and range from fully automatic to beam weapons in the game. Other weapon categories can use Rifle ammo, and even some Rifles will use Sniper ammo, such as launchers.

• Fulmin Prime - This weapon operates as both a fully automatic rifle and a shotgun with its different fire modes. With high electricity-based damage, this weapon can be used as either a high crit powerhouse or a status-building machine.
• Stahlta - Using an alternate fire, this fully automatic weapon can use an explosive that deals 1,200 Radiation damage. The projectile itself has a separate critical hit chance and a 3x multiplier with a very short cooldown.
• Acceltra - An automatic mini rocket launcher with a high crit chance is a good choice for any Warframe. This weapon deals both Puncture and Impact damage and is a safe pick for nearly any situation.
• Trumna - This weapon's alternate fire mode fires grenades that deal high heat damage for each one that explodes. This is charged by getting five kills in a row. It has a large magazine and poor reload time but can be overlooked because of its damaging capabilities.
• Basmu - This weapon fires explosive bolts that deal significant damage in a small area around each impact. Its greatest trait, however, is its unlimited ammo, which only needs to be recharged upon using up a magazine. During said recharge, the Basmu absorbs health from nearby enemies, an excellent bonus toward overall survivalability.
• Kuva Chakkhurr - This battle rifle borders on the line of a sniper rifle but without the zoom bonuses. Every round packs a massive punch, with an extreme 50% increased damage on headshots, as its unique trait.

Related: How To Obtain New Warframes In Warframe

Best Shotguns in Warframe

Shotguns are usually slow weapons with their own ammo type. With shorter range and high damage, a majority of these weapons can kill an enemy with one press of the trigger.

• Bubonico - This infested shotgun can apply Toxin while maintaining a high crit chance. Its secondary fire will shoot out three toxic barbs in a burst, making it perfect for status building.
• Tenet Arca Plasmor - This is possibly the best source of Radiation damage in the game. The fire rate and reload may not be high but the high damage, high status chance, and high critical chance of the weapon more than make up for it. Bullets for the weapon ricochet and firing it into a horde of enemies can melt them all with ease.
• Ferlarx - One the first ever Incarnon weapons introduced, the powerhouse fires high-damage shells that build up a meter on the side of its crosshair. Once full, the weapon can be morphed into two extremely powerful pistols that utilize this meter as its total ammo.
• Cedo - Firing a giant spike that ricochets while dealing elemental damage, this weapon is perfect for status builds. Even without applying status on its own, for every enemy that is afflicted by status, this weapon increases its damage for each effect placed.
• Kuva Kohm - With a high fire rate, this shotgun can deal a lot of damage in quick succession. This is quickly made even stronger as every shot fired quickly will cause the weapon to fire an additional bolt. With a 90 percent status chance, this weapon works for many builds.

Best Snipers in Warframe

Sniper Rifles vary in power because of how they work, but their unique Shot Combo can make for devastating quick kills. They share the same mods as Rifles but use their own type of ammo. Snipers aren't really widely used, but there is one Sniper that the community agrees is the best.

• Rubico Prime - Capable of killing bosses in one shot, this sniper has high damage, a 3x multiplier, high crit, and a high fire rate. It outpaces many other weapons, depending on the situation, but it can eat through ammo quickly.

Best Bows & Crossbows in Warframe

These weapon types use Rifle mods and must be charged before firing for maximum damage. Bows use Sniper ammo, and Crossbows use Rifle ammo.

• Proboscis Cerno - Each arrow fired from this bow are attached with probes that deal Viral damage. With an astonishing 43 percent Status Chance, this bow is perfect for both Status and high damage builds. Its Viral damage output from its Radial attack deals well over 1,000 Viral Damage.
• Kuva Bramma - Explosive arrows in any game are great fun and Warframe is no exception. The ability to detonate these arrows in midair only aids this weapon's explosive capabilities. Building upon Blast can make this a brutal weapon to use.
• Dread - With a high status and high crit chance, this bow is great for bleed builds. It is tied with the Lenz for the high crit chance at 50 percent while being completely silent for stealth missions.
• Lenz - Along with the Dread, this has the highest crit chance of all weapons in the game. The bow has the second highest base damage but has special properties dealing both Cold and Blast damage. It has built in ammo mutation, making it easy to always keep arrows on hand.
• Nataruk - This bow hits as hard as the rest (if not harder in some cases), but where it stands out most is both its unlimited ammo and unique trait. Readying arrows causes them to be charged for increased damage. When released at just the right moment (indicated on the crosshair), fired arrows are at their peak effectiveness. Best of all, this bow is free to all who play through the The New War story quest.

Related: All Warframe Damage Types, Explained

Best Unique Weapons in Warframe

Weapons that don't fit into the main four categories don't have their own specific category of their own. They vary in their functionality and usually use one of the ammo types, either rifle or shotgun mods.

• Kuva Zarr - This weapon is a launcher with two firing modes. Cannon mode fires projectiles to deal impact and Blast damage making it good for large groups of enemies. Barrage mode makes the weapon fire more like a shotgun and is good for single-target damage at even long range.
• Ignis Wraith - This flamethrower is the more powerful version of the Ignis with an increase to crit and status chance with a higher magazine. Status and crit builds can take advantage of this capacity weapon as it fires exceptionally quickly.
• Tenet Envoy - Cold damage and the ability to manually guide missiles make this launcher deadly. The launcher is able to be reloaded when holstered as well, making it easy to switch to a secondary weapon in tense situations. The guided missile system is used by aiming and with the expense of speed, the missiles can more easily be delivered for a swift kill.
• Kuva Tonkor - 30 percent crit chance on a grenade launcher already makes this launcher better than a majority of the rest. The weapon has good stats all around, and deals Blast damage to make it versatile in what mods to use when building it.

Weapons in Warframe can be customized in many ways. While these weapons are the best when built in a specific way, players may have a different idea of what weapons they prefer. A Dread may not be what someone is looking for if they prefer quick-firing and loud weapons. Using what works before going for specific weapons is a good way of learning the game and its mechanics.

For more information on dealing with every enemy, check out All Enemies Weaknesses In Warframe on Pro Game Guides.