The Best Warframes for Beginners

#5 Rhino

The first Warframe on this list is the incredibly tanky Rhino. This ‘frame is excellent for new players because of how forgiving he can be. He’s built around survival, and he makes it incredibly easy to do so.

Abilities

Rhino’s first ability is Rhino Charge which has Rhino charge forward damaging and knocking over any enemy in his path.

His second ability is Iron Skin. An ability that hardens Rhino’s skin giving him Overguard, an extra layer of protection that needs to be destroyed before Rhino can take damage.

Rhino’s third ability is Roar, which gives Rhino and his allies bonus damage to weapons and abilities by up to 50%.

Rhino’s final ability is Rhino Stomp which deals high area damage in a radius around him and causes affected enemies to be slowed and tumbled.

Acquisition

Rhino can be acquired by defeating the Jackal boss on Fossa, Venus. An early fight, Rhino can be grabbed immediately and is a powerful frame that can shrug off most damage that comes his way.

#4 Frost

Another tanky Warframe, Frost has high armor and powerful abilities that make him a master at defense. He’s built to defend and is perfect for defense mission types because of his ability to provide strong crowd control and place barriers around defense targets.

Abilities

Frost’s first ability is Freeze which launches a projectile that does moderate damage, as well as inflicts the target and nearby enemies with the cold status. It also has the possibility of freezing enemies solid for a short time.

Frost’s second ability is Ice Wave which sends forth a wave of ice that deals high damage, inflicts the cold status, and potentially freezes them solid.

Frost’s third ability is Snow Globe which creates a protective barrier that receives bonus health based on Frost’s armor value.

Frost’s final ability is Avalanche which, as its name suggests, drops an avalanche on all surrounding enemies, dealing high damage, freezing enemies solid, and permanently reducing their armor.

Acquisition

Frost can be farmed from Exta, Ceres by defeating a double boss fight of Captain Vor and Lieutenant Lech Kril. Two bosses that you should have fought on their own before this point.

#3 Zephyr

Our first non-tank-based Warframe is Zephyr. This ‘frame has a great mix of damage, CC, and defense that allows her to play through many mission types with ease. At a certain point, she’ll even be able to fly for entire missions. An excellent feature when doing some of the open-world bounties.

Abilities

Zephyr’s first ability is Tail Wind. A powerful ability that jets Zephyr wherever she’s aiming, inflicting slash damage and knocking down any enemies hit. This is also the ability that allows Zephyr to essentially fly.

Zephyr’s second ability is Airburst. A versatile ability that launches an air blast that can pull enemies in or push them away depending on if you tap or hold the button while doing moderate damage.

Zephyr’s third ability is Turbulence which surrounds Zephyr with a shield that redirects incoming projectiles. This shield surrounds Zephyr in a radius meaning it can be used to protect defense targets and other players with enough range.

Zephyr’s final ability is Tornado which mimics the movie Twister and creates several tornadoes that seek out and engulf enemies that can then be shot for additional damage.

Acquisition

Like Volt, Zephyr can be obtained from the Tenno Lab in the dojo, which means Zephyr can potentially be one of your earliest frames if you find the right clan.

#2 Gara

Our next Warframe on this list is Gara and is the first frame on this list I would consider ‘complex.’ While not difficult to use, Gara requires some understanding of how the game works to be effective, but she is a powerful option for people who want a ‘frame that can get them through most content.

Abilities

Gara’s first ability is Shattered Lash which shoots out a project dealing high damage and knocking enemies back, or attacks in a sweep arc if the button is held.

Gara’s second ability is Splinter Storm which surrounds her with shards of glass that damage any nearby enemy. This ability also fortifies Gara and allies who touch the storm, increasing their damage reduction.

What makes this ability so powerful, other than the constant damage and damage reduction, is how it interacts with Gara’s fourth ability Mass Vitrify. When cast, the duration of Splinter Storm is refreshed. Furthermore, if the barriers created by Mass Vitrify are destroyed by Shattered Lash, Splinter Storm’s damage is increased.

This damage can be increased indefinitely using this method meaning Gara can become a walking storm of death with the right setup.

Gara’s third ability is Spectrorage which summons pinning mirrors around an enemy, forcing them to attack the mirrors and damaging themselves in the process.

Gara’s fourth ability, as mentioned before, is Mass Vitrify which creates a ring of expanding glass that slowly crystallizes and enemies trapped inside. Once finished casting, it also creates powerful barriers that can be used to defend key areas.

Acquisition

Unlike the other Warframes on this list, Gara’s blueprint is obtained from a quest. The rest of her parts are obtained from the open world map Cetus, Earth, and its bounties.

#1 Nekros

The final Warframe on our list is Nekros and probably one of the most important Warframes in the game for any player. It’s no secret that Warframe is a bit of a grind game, and Nekros’ job is to make that grind easier. 

The reason I consider Nekros the most complex is because his abilities are not as overtly powerful as the other ‘frames on this list, but are infinitely useful when gathering resources.

Abilities

Nekros’ first ability is Soul Punch which targets a single enemy’s very soul, dealing high damage and turning the target’s soul into a projectile that can damage other enemies.

Nekros’ second ability is Terrify which causes nearby enemies to panic and run away in fear, while also temporarily reducing their armor.

Nekros’ third ability is Desecrate and arguably his most important ability. Desecrate creates an aura around Nekros that consumes the corpses around him, causing health orbs to drop and rerolling the drop tables on that enemy.

This is incredible as you can potentially receive double the rewards from an enemy. A useful ability when running long survival missions.

Nekros’ final ability is Shadows of the Dead which summons the shadow versions of dead enemies that help Nekros fight. While useful, this ability also has an augment mod that redirects a portion of the damage Nekros receives to the shadows. An excellent ability for helping with Nekros’ survivability. 

Acquisition

Nekros can be grabbed by defeating Lephantis on Magnacidium, Deimos. It’s not the easiest fight early on, but once you reach it you should be skilled enough to handle it.