We break down the best Warframes to invest your time and effort into.

The concept of a “best” Warframe is a somewhat nebulous one, but I usually take it to mean that someone is looking for an effective and fun Frame that doesn’t need hyper-investment to be effective. The good news is that, by and large, how good a Warframe really is is dictated by its core abilities. Interestingly, it can often take just one ability for a Warframe to really shine, depending on what you are looking to do with it. Below, you’ll find a list of some of the best Warframes and where they really shine.

The best Warframes for every mode (2025)

Please note, this list is designed to be pretty new-player-friendly. I firmly believe that all Warframes can be invested in and built to run any of the main content up to Elite activities and deep Void Cascades. I’m trying to pick kits that don’t really need subsumes to shine or Archon Shards to matter. Also, feel free to go for Prime versions of these Warframes when they are available to really get the most bang for your buck.

Wukong

Source: Digital Extremes

Wukong has great built-in survivability, speed, some stealth, and damage output. As a Warframe with an exactled weapon, his powerful staff, it does mean you might invest a little more in him with regard to Forma, but it also means you have a weapon that can always work around any mission restrictions. Wukong is very easy to get early in the game, just join a clan and get his blueprints from the Tenno Lab in their Dojo.

Volt

Source: Digital Extremes

Volt should likely be your first taste of a speed-frame in the game, thanks to his ease of access. Just like Wukong, all you need to do is join a Dojo and grab his blueprints from the Tenno Lab in the Dojo. Volt is a fan-favorite thanks to his area-of-effect damage, speed, and general fun to play. He also comes with a built-in DPS boost for melee weapons, as his movement speed buffs impact attack animations. Ideal in Captures when you want to just get in and out quickly.

Rhino

Source: Digital Extremes

Rhino is a great option for anyone who is struggling to survive. Iron Skin will make you immune to damage until it gets chipped away, when you can just recast it, and Roar will buff your damage output, including your weapons. Stomp, his fourth ability, is also a bit of a pause button if you find yourself being overrun in defense-style missions. You can farm him pretty early from the Jackal mission at Fossa on Venus.

Revenant

Source: Digital Extremes

Much like Rhino, Reveant can simply never die thanks to an ability called Mezmer skin. He has some fun crowd control, but is mostly enjoyed as a bit of a brain-dead weapon platform when you want to let your weapons shine and just stay alive, no matter what is happening around you. Can be earned through the Mask of the Revenant question on Cetus.

Zephyr

Source: Digital Extremes

The third in our run of Warframes that has a “I don’t feel like dying” button, Zephyr can be earned from the Tenno Lab in any Dojo. Her third ability blocks any projectile damage, making survival easy, and she can group enemies and score insane critical bonuses against them. She is also just super fun to play, which is important.

Frost

Source: Digital Extremes

Frost is not always the most popular Warframe, but he can solve a lot of problems around Defence and Excavation missions by making life easy, thanks to his globe shield. Cast this on any objective, and it will be safe until it breaks, when you can recast it again. You can farm from the Lieutenant Lech Kril and Captain Vor twin fight on Ceres at the Exta node. I very happily use Frost all the way into the deep end game, and will often bring him into long Void Cascade runs with no issues.

Saryn

Source: Digital Extremes

Saryn is what is called a “nuke frame” in that she is capable of putting out tremendous and widespread damage, with the right build. She has been something of a powerhouse for years now, so it’s highly unlikely she will fall off anytime soon. Combine her with a Sobek built with the Acid Shells mod to see some really ridiculous damage spreading through a level. She can be farmed at Kela De Thaym on Sedna, so it might take newer players a little while to get there.

Dante

Source: Digital Extremes

You will need to be decently into the game to farm Dante, as he is available through the Sanctum Anatomica on Deimos, but he is undoubtedly a powerhouse. Able to easily generate Overguard for the entire squad, build into decently damaging spells that support everyone’s damage output, and carrying a magical book that can be built to annihilate enemies in tough endgame activities like Elite Deep Archimedia and Elite Temporal Archimedia, he is an incredible option.

You can find more helpful guides on our Warframe page.

Contributing Guides Editor

Hailing from Ireland, Aidan has been conditioned by local weather conditions to survive hours at his PC grinding through whatever game is offering the lowest possible drop rates for loot. He thinks the easiest way to figure out what fans of games want to read is to just be a fan of games. You can normally find him logged into Warframe, Destiny, or a gacha game. You can reach out to him on X @scannerbarkly.

From The Chatty