Related : Warframe : Every Tenet Lich Weapon, Ranked
When the crippled mentions that the Tenno are masters of both accelerator and blade, there is no hyperbole. Melee weapons are some of the most brawny weapons in the entire game, taking out the bad of targets in a couple of hits. rapid attacks, fluent jazz band, and incredible critical and condition chances make these weapons shine above most primary weapons. From gunblades to heavy blades, here are the best melee weapons players can presently use in Warframe.
Updated December 23rd, 2021, by Charles Burgar: The melee meta has changed quite a bit in 2021. The introduction of weapon-exclusive Galvanized Mods and Weapon Arcanes has made melee weapons less prevailing over the sandbox. Melees are hush more than feasible, however, able of one-shotting groups of Steel Path enemies when build up right. We ‘ve updated this list to include some luminary melee weapons we missed in our last rate .
10 Zaws
What could be better than a weapon tailored to a player ‘s preferences ? Well, a few things, but player-made melee weapons are still more than feasible. Zaws are particular, player-made melee weapons crafted at Hok ‘s Anvil in the Plains of Eidolon .
Zaws cover closely every weapon class in the crippled. Skull-crushing hammers and western fence lizard nikanas are all available here. While more holocene melee weapons have better stats than Zaws, all Zaws come with an Exodia Arcane slot. Exodia Arcanes grant herculean passive benefits to your Zaws, some of which grant life steal or AoE pulls upon slamming the flat coat .
If you decide to grind the Plains of Eidolon to craft your identical own Zaw, you ‘ll want to use one of three blade types :
- Sepfahn: Creates staffs and nikanas.
- Plague Kripaph: Creates rapiers and polearms.
- Dokrahm: Creates scythes or heavy blades.
These three blade types have higher basis stats than the rest of Hok ‘s blades. You ‘ll find stronger weapons in each individual class than what these parts make, but the value of Exodia Arcanes can not be overstated. The right Zaw can serve as a speciate sidegrade to more meta picks .
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9 Pangolin Prime
The Pangolin Prime is decidedly the best sword in Warframe. It deals a whopping 248 damage a swing, has a 26 % prospect to critically hit with a 2.2x multiplier, and it has a 30 % status probability per swing. Making a traditional melee build up for this weapon will turn you into a red-critting, Slash-inflicting machine .
thus why is n’t the Pangolin Prime higher on this tilt ? It’s boring. This is vitamin a generic as melee weapons get. Most sword stances feature rapid slashes or sweeping attacks, nothing truly singular from early melee weapons. Crimson Dervish does give this weapon enough of sweeping attacks that inflict Slash, but the playstyle itself is quite dull. however, if you ‘re merely looking for a weapon that can carve through the Steel Path without any fluff, the Pangolin Prime is a safe count .
8 Venka Prime
You ‘ll have a hard time finding a better crit-focused melee weapon than the Venka Prime. This weapon comes with a whopping 32 % critical chance and 2.6x multiplier, amplifying its 188 base damage into the stratosphere when modded properly .
Better so far, the Venka Prime is the alone melee weapon in Warframe capable of reaching a x13 jazz band multiplier at 240 hits, allowing you to scale jazz band Mods or Heavy Attacks further than most melee weapons. If you can get past the Venka Prime ‘s incredibly short reach, you ‘ll find that these claws can carve through pulp and armor with rest .
7 Orthos Prime
Polearms are fantastic at clearing out hordes of enemies all around the player, not fair in front of them. The Orthos Prime is still one of the best choices for clearing out hordes, thanks chiefly to its 24 % critical probability and huge range. Build this weapon for critical hits and range to become a whirlwind of death in battle .
Related : Warframe : Galvanized Mods And Weapon Arcane Guide
You can besides use the Guando Prime, but both weapons are about the same in terms of raw deadliness. Since the Orthos Prime is an evergreen item—meaning it ‘ll never be vaulted—it slenderly edges out the Guando Prime for this list .
6 Gram Prime
Heavy blades were impacted heavily by the melee Mod nerf in the Sisters of Parvos update. These weapons are typically slow and unwieldy, making the nerf to Blood Rush and Condition Overload more impactful on weapons like the Gram Prime .
But does the Gram Prime care about the nerfs ? not even a short. This weapon still chugs along as one of the most potent melee weapons in Warframe, featuring a DPS value that far surpasses most weapons, tied meta picks like the Kronen Prime. With fantastic critical stats and basis damage that biases Slash, it ‘s easy to see why its DPS is indeed gamey .
unfortunately, clayey weapons suffer from average stances. Tempo Royale makes up for the unwieldy nature of heavy blades reasonably, although all Heavy Attack stances miss meaningful condition procs in their jazz band. Most jazz band inflict guaranteed Impact, a status effect that is n’t about arsenic potent as Slash. It ‘s quite telling that despite the miss of S-tier Stance Mods for fleshy blades, the Gram Prime still manages to carve a spot in Warframe ‘s melee meta. If you need a weapon to melt through Acolytes or Liches, look no far .
5 Reaper Prime
The Reaper Prime is a fitting diagnose for this imperial scythe. even after the melee nerfs in Update 30.5, the Reaper Prime placid stands as one of the most versatile melee weapons in the game .
A antic stat package and solid stances allow the Reaper Prime to excel at about everything. Reaping Spiral has many forced Slash procs that the Reaper Prime can take full advantage of, making it a big light attack spam weapon .
If you ‘d rather kill enemies with Slash procs that deal over a million wrong, build the Reaper Prime for Heavy Attacks. All scythe stances force Slash procs on a Heavy Attack, and with the Reaper Prime ‘s great establish damage and critical stats, this weapon has no consequence killing Acolytes or Liches. Keep an eye out for when this weapon gets unvaulted .
4 Stropha
Gunblades are one of the strongest melee archetypes in Warframe due to their implicit in benefits of firing projectiles while benefiting from a melee jazz band multiplier. While the Redeemer Prime is one of the best melee weapons in the game, it does n’t stand a opportunity against a good Stropha build .
Related : Warframe : A Complete Guide To Railjack
Obtained from the Jackal and versatile tiers of Granum Void, the Stropha is an Arca Plasmor discrepancy of the Redeemer Prime. This toaster gun/melee loanblend features a 30 % critical hit prospect with a 2.4x critical damage multiplier with a subpar 14 % status gamble, although this can easily be fixed with Weeping Wounds. When this weapon is built around Heavy Attacks, nothing within the player ‘s near proximity will survive. Its plasma rounds will disintegrate all but the toughest of foes and penetrate through stallion hallways deserving of enemies .
Why Not The Redeemer Prime?
The Redeemer Prime is an excellent weapon, arguably a sidegrade to the Stropha. We ranked the Stropha over the Redeemer for two reasons :
- It will never be vaulted.
- It has slightly better critical stats.
Better criticals might not seem like a major blessing, yet it makes the Stropha a lot more coherent. It does suffer from less condition opportunity than the Redeemer Prime, but you can easily fix this with a primer weapon ( Kuva Nukor, Epitaph, or the Cedo ). For general gameplay, the Stropha slenderly edges out over the Redeemer Prime. however, if you ‘re fighting net income taker or motivation to take wax advantage of Condition Overload, the Redeemer Prime will serve you better .
3 Nikana Prime
The Nikana Prime has been a powerhouse ever since it was released. Through diverse updates through the years, the Nikana Prime ‘s identity has slenderly shifted towards a Heavy Attack weapon .
And as a Heavy Attack weapon, the Nikana Prime is second gear to none. Stances like Blind Justice make it a breeze to rack up a gamey jazz band counter for your following Heavy Attack. Any enemy unfortunate enough to be in the path of your Heavy Attack swing will cease to exist. Heavy Gunners ? Dead. Liches ? They ‘ll flee in terror. Acolytes ? They ‘ll vanish in an blink of an eye. If an enemy somehow survives the initial hit, the trace Slash proc will surely kill them. Those looking for a good counter to Steel Path Acolytes or Liches should give the Nikana Prime a try on .
2 Glaive Prime
If you ‘re a Warframe veteran, this should come as no surprise. The Glaive Prime is less of a melee weapon and more of a throwable turkey. identical few users equip the Glaive Prime to spam its light attack. This weapon is chiefly used for its Heavy Attack, releasing an AoE explosion that deals guaranteed Slash and Impact procs .
Since the Glaive Prime has excellent critical stats and a eminent status opportunity, this weapon is the arrant candidate for a loanblend build. A good Heavy Attack build can easily one-shot a drove of enemies with a single Heavy Attack. All glaives can besides be paired with a single-handed secondary weapon like the Zakti, applying an huge measure of status procs before you throw a Heavy Attack. This makes Condition Overload absurdly hard on the Glaive Prime, allowing it to net groups of Steel Path enemies with no issue. If you want an effective melee weapon that does n’t demand light attack spam, you ‘ll love the Glaive Prime .
1 Kronen Prime
This should come as no surprise if you ‘ve played Warframe much recently. The Kronen Prime has everything you ‘d want from a melee weapon :
- High base damage
- Fast attack speed
- Good critical stats
- High status chance
- Good range
- Excellent Stance Mods
about every melee weapon has all of those elements except one : a good position. Tonfas have some of the best Stances in the game—the most secondhand stance being Sovereign Outcast. It packs forced condition procs, mobility, and multi strikes into a clean package that brings the Kronen Prime to its meta-defining condition .
Does this weapon have the highest DPS rate ? No. Is it the best heavy Attack weapon ? not even close. But for those that want to swing their melee weapon with foolhardy abandon against Warframe ‘s toughest foes, the Kronen Prime is hard to beat .
next : Warframe : A Complete Guide To The New War Quest
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Charles Burgar
( 836 Articles Published )
Charles Burgar is an expert on all things technical school and gambling. Graduating from Pikes Peak Community College in 2018 with an Associate of Science, Charles has spent his time dissecting democratic television games, movies, and engineering. With an understand of games for angstrom hanker as he can remember, Charles has a big interest in understanding what makes things fun. He is presently a Freelance writer for TheGamer and Game Rant .
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