A Tier Warframes are also excellent choices and very strong in the current meta, falling just short of S tier. These frames might require a specific build to shine, be slightly less universally dominant, or excel in one area while being average in another.

 They are still more than capable of handling end-game content like Steel Path or Arbitrations when used correctly. This tier also includes some new Warframes from 2024 and strong Prime variants of older frames. If you don’t have an S-tier frame available, any of these A-tier Warframes can often fill the gap with the right strategy.

• Cyte-09 – A recently introduced sniper-themed Warframe (from the Warframe 1999 update) that brings a unique kit. Cyte-09 uses elemental sniper shots and deployable sensor devices to mark and eliminate targets.
  In the right scenarios – particularly open areas or boss fights – he can dish out incredible burst damage by sniping weak points. However, Cyte-09 is a bit situational and requires good aim and positioning, which keeps him in A tier. When his strengths align with the mission, though, he can feel overpowered.

• Khora Prime – The queen of loot farming and crowd control. Khora is a versatile Warframe who can ensnare entire groups of enemies in her Strangledome and whip them to death with her high-damage Whipclaw. With the Pilfering Strangledome augment mod, Khora becomes the best farming frame in the game, as her dome causes enemies to drop extra loot.
  Khora Prime boasts increased health and armor over the base Khora, making her more durable while she’s rounding up mobs. In endless survival missions or resource farm runs, a Khora (especially Khora Prime) is invaluable. She may not have the raw boss-killing DPS of an S-tier frame, but her utility and crowd control put her solidly in A tier.

• Gauss Prime – The fastest Warframe currently available. Gauss is all about speed and kinetic energy: he can sprint so fast that he generates an electrical aura, and use his battery meter to unleash powerful abilities. Gauss can boost fire rate and reload speed of weapons, run circles around enemies (literally), and is very hard to hit when moving at full tilt. Gauss Prime improves on the original by adding extra mod capacity (polarity) and upping his shields and sprint speed even more.
  Few frames can match Gauss in terms of raw mobility and agility; he’s a fantastic choice for disruption missions or whenever you need to hit multiple objectives quickly. His only real limitation is that extremely high level enemies can still hit hard if they catch him, but a good Gauss rarely sits still to be caught!

• Volt Prime – Another speed-focused Warframe and a beloved classic. It is best among the Warframe tier list and Volt offers a powerful team speed boost that increases run and melee speed, an electric shield that players can carry for protection (and to amp bullet damage), and high voltage AoE attacks that can clear rooms of lower-tier enemies. Volt Prime has better shields, armor, and energy pool than base Volt, enabling more liberal use of his abilities.
  He’s great for buffing allies and dealing elemental damage, and is especially useful in specific scenarios (e.g. Volt is famously great for Eidolon hunting due to his shield boosting critical damage of sniper shots). While Volt’s kit is straightforward, in skilled hands he can trivialize many missions with sheer speed and damage. He’s top of A tier for his utility and the momentum he brings to any squad.

• Nyx Prime – A psychic control Warframe who has seen some ups and downs. After some rework tweaks, Nyx is better than she used to be, but still somewhat niche. Nyx’s abilities let her turn enemies against each other (Mind Control), absorb all incoming fire into a single burst (Absorb), and strip enemy defenses (Psychic Bolts). With Nyx Prime’s boosted health, armor, and energy, she’s less squishy when diving into crowds to cast her abilities.
  In the right hands, Nyx can effectively neutralize tough targets and cause chaos among enemies. However, compared to other frames that outright kill or tank damage, Nyx’s indirect approach places her in A tier. She provides superior crowd control and survivability through damage reduction, but needs a bit of setup and doesn’t scale into damage as hard as S-tier damage frames.

• Trinity Prime – The premier healer and support Warframe of the past, now slightly eclipsed by newer support options. Trinity can refill team health and shields (Blessing), provide energy to allies (Energy Vampire), and even make the team briefly invulnerable while redirecting damage to herself (Link). Trinity Prime comes with higher shields, armor, and energy capacity than the base Trinity, allowing more survivability and ability spam.
  While Trinity’s role has diminished (frames like Harrow or Protea and certain Helminth abilities can cover some of her functions), she remains the only true raid-level healer frame. A good Trinity in A tier can keep any squad alive indefinitely, which is especially helpful for new players or high-level content. She may not speed up kills, but she ensures you won’t die – and that’s always valuable.

• Excalibur Umbra – A special case among the Warframe tier list that is essentially a powered-up version of Excalibur with sentience. Umbra is obtained during the Sacrifice quest and is the only Warframe (besides certain Primes) with the unique Umbra polarities. Excalibur Umbra has slightly different stats and an autonomous AI that can fight on its own when you, as the Operator, are out of the frame. He brings all of base Excalibur’s strengths (a strong Exalted Blade ultimate, good mobility, and a balance of offense/defense) with extra lore flavor and some improved base stats.
  Umbra might not strictly outperform a maxed Excalibur Prime (if it were obtainable), but since Umbra is freely given and has those special mod polarities, he’s extremely useful and beginner-friendly. Umbra sits in A tier because while he’s powerful (especially with his Exalted Blade which can cut through most enemies easily), he’s not as overwhelming as S-tier frames like Mesa or Wisp. Nonetheless, for story reasons and versatility, Umbra is a fan-favorite and a great Warframe to invest in.

• Nova Prime – A master of wide-area control and damage amplification. Nova’s signature ability Molecular Prime coats the map in an antimatter wave, dramatically slowing all enemies and making them take extra damage. This is hugely useful in defense or interception missions where controlling crowds is key. She can also speed up allies’ damage output via an augment or deal targeted burst with Antimatter Drop.
  Nova Prime has improved health, armor, and energy pool over the base Nova, making it easier to cast and survive. While Nova’s debuff is powerful, the frame is a bit fragile and the slow effect, although life-saving, can annoy some teammates who want faster gameplay. There are also more direct nuke options for damage. Still, Nova Prime’s ability to double the damage enemies take and immobilize them makes her a high A-tier pick, particularly in organized teams.

• Jade – A recently released angelic Warframe, Jade combines support and offense with a unique flying mechanic. She has wing-like appendages and can hover or glide, raining punishment from above. Jade is capable of buffing her allies with powerful hymns that trigger on kills, marking enemies for explosive punishment, and even granting team-wide healing or energy under certain conditions. Essentially, Jade is a hybrid support/DPS: she enhances allies (like a bard) while also delivering high damage via her exalted “angelic” weapon systems.
  In practice, Jade is very strong but requires maintaining her buffs by actively getting kills, which can be a bit complex to maximize. This lands her in A tier – she’s definitely powerful and fun (with the novelty of flight), but not as brainlessly dominant as some S-tier frames. For those willing to learn her songs, Jade can carry missions with style.

• Citrine – A crystal-themed Warframe introduced in early 2023, Citrine excels at support and crowd control with a twist of critical hit buffs. Her abilities create crystal formations that can freeze enemies, generate health/energy orbs, and even grant enormous critical chance buffs to allies when shooting marked targets. Citrine’s Crystallize ability encases enemies in crystal and makes them take more damage (similar to a weaker Molecular Prime but also dropping health/energy on shatter), and Prismatic Gem applies random elemental status effects to enemies, providing great condition overload setup.
  Citrine isn’t an insane DPS by herself, but she brings a lot of utility and team support. She can make weapons hit very hard by marking enemies for guaranteed crits. Because of this flexible kit, Citrine sits comfortably in A tier. She might not solo the hardest content as easily as an S-tier, but she heavily elevates any squad she’s in and can hold her own defensively.

• Protea Prime – A tactical gadget Warframe that is extremely versatile. Protea’s kit includes Dispensary (a device that spawns health, ammo, and energy pickups for the team), Blaze Artillery (a turret that scales damage the more it fires), and the ability to rewind time a few seconds to her previous position and state (Temporal Anchor). In endless missions, few frames offer as much sustained value as Protea – she keeps everyone topped up on resources, provides consistent damage, and can even undo a fatal mistake with her rewind.
  The Prime version adds an extra Naramon polarity and boosts her armor and energy, enabling even stronger builds. Protea Prime shines in defense, survival, and excavation missions where attrition is a factor. Her only drawback is she requires active ability management (placing dispensers, turrets, etc.). She may not “face-roll” kill as fast as Saryn or Mesa, but her Swiss-army-knife utility easily earns her a spot in A tier among the most reliable Warframes.

• Wukong Prime – In the massively popular Warframe Tier List, especially among new players, because of how self-sufficient and tanky he is. Wukong (inspired by the Monkey King legend) has a unique passive that gives him 3 automatic revives (with different buffs each time), effectively allowing him to cheat death multiple times. He can also summon a celestial twin – an AI clone that fights alongside you and draws aggro. Wukong’s kit includes turning into an invulnerable cloud, and extending a magical staff to smack enemies from great range.
  Wukong Prime increases his armor and energy compared to base Wukong, making an already durable frame even sturdier. In practice, Wukong Prime is almost an “easy mode” Warframe – his twin does a lot of work, and he can survive almost anything thanks to his passive and defy ability. He’s only A tier instead of S because his damage output, while good, isn’t the absolute top, and post-nerfs to his clone’s weapon usage, he’s a bit less ridiculous than before. Nonetheless, for most content, Wukong Prime makes things a breeze, and he’s rightly a top choice for many players.

• Nezha Prime – Often described as “baby Rhino,” Nezha is a fiery warframe with a blend of offense and defense. He is fun to play and quite durable, thanks to his Warding Halo – a spinning flame shield that absorbs a set amount of damage (similar to Rhino’s Iron Skin) and then provides 90% damage reduction until it’s depleted. Nezha zooms around leaving fire trails that speed up allies and fry enemies (Fire Walker), can impale enemies on his Divine Spears, and heal or protect allies by absorbing damage via an augment. Nezha Prime has increased all-around stats and an extra polarity over the base Nezha. While Nezha is very solid, there are even more effective “unkillable” tanks (see: Inaros, Nidus) and more effective damage dealers.
  He tends to sit in A tier as a great generalist – you can safely take Nezha Prime into any mission and expect good results, but he won’t clear as fast as an Saryn or survive as absurdly as an Inaros in the absolute hardest content. Still, his blend of speed, protection, and decent damage makes him a favorite for many.

• Gara Prime – A glass-themed Warframe with the power to shatter enemies en masse. Gara’s hallmark ability is Mass Vitrify, which creates a wide ring of glass that can protect an area. Shattering that glass (with her first ability, Shattered Lash) turns it into a deadly explosion of shards that scales based on how much damage the glass absorbed. In simple terms, Gara can set up a huge nuke by letting enemies beat on her glass wall, then explode it to obliterate them. Gara Prime improved her armor and energy pool, so she can build bigger, stronger glass. She also blinds and cuts enemies with her other abilities, giving a mix of crowd control and damage.
  Gara Prime is absolutely capable of very high damage output in the right scenario (even Steel Path enemies can be one-shot if her glass wall soaks enough damage before shattering). However, setting this up requires specific modding and sometimes waiting for enemies to gather. Her tools for fast-moving missions are a bit clunkier. As such, we place her in A tier: Gara Prime can trivialize defense-type missions and hold areas extremely well, but she’s less flashy in run-and-gun situations compared to the S tier monsters.

• Nekros Prime – The dark necromancer of Warframe and one of the best farming frames due to his loot ability, Desecrate. Nekros passively makes additional loot drop from dead enemies by mutilating their corpses (gruesome but effective!). Beyond farming, Nekros can summon shadow clones of defeated enemies to fight for him, providing meat shields and distraction.
  He also has an armor-strip with Terrify (causing enemies to panic and reducing their armor) and can protect himself with Shield of Shadows (an augment that shares damage to his summoned shadows). Nekros Prime offers increased shields, armor, and energy over the base, so he’s less fragile while doing his job. In terms of meta, Nekros Prime is invaluable for resource-heavy grinds – bringing one will massively increase your haul of health orbs, mods, and materials.
  In pure combat, Nekros isn’t as directly powerful (his damage output is modest), but his utility and the survivability granted by his shadow bodyguards make him an A-tier choice for endless missions and team support. Many squads take a Nekros along not to kill faster, but to double the loot, and that by itself keeps him highly relevant.

• Titania Prime – The pixie-sized Warframe with a big punch. Titania has the unique ability to shrink down and fly in her Razorwing mode, essentially becoming a one-Warframe fighter jet with built-in archwing guns and homing razorflies. In Razorwing, Titania is hard to hit and can output serious sustained damage with her Dex Pixia twin guns and Diwata sword. She also provides team utility through buffs (Tribute offers various auras like enemy damage debuff or increased dust for evasion) and crowd control (Lantern and Spellbind make enemies float helplessly). Titania Prime gets more armor and energy than base Titania, which helps her survivability (her evasion is good, but she’s still inherently squishy if hit).
  Titania shines in open worlds or any content where mobility is key – she can fly freely and strike from the air, bypassing obstacles. She’s A tier because while she deals great damage, it’s mostly single-target or small area (her homing butterflies pick targets one by one). Against large hordes, she’s slightly slower than frames like Saryn. But in skilled hands, Titania Prime can boss-kill and maneuver like no other, making many tedious fights trivial (imagine literally dogfighting a boss while all its attacks miss you). Definitely one of the more underrated but powerful A-tier frames.

• Voruna – An incarnadine wolf-inspired Warframe introduced in late 2022, Voruna comes with an interesting kit geared towards melee combat and survival. She has four passive effects (one from each of her wolf heads) that grant things like increased parkour speed, extra status duration, etc., and abilities that let her maul enemies or turn invisible. Voruna can gain guaranteed crits on melee attacks, increased attack speed, and even run on all fours pouncing on prey with her ultimate.
  She’s quite powerful in close quarters and can chain kills rapidly, healing herself in the process. However, Voruna is a bit situational – in scenarios where melee isn’t ideal (against flying enemies, or when extreme range is needed), she doesn’t contribute as much. She also can be a little energy-hungry if you constantly spam her abilities for the buffs. Still, in melee-friendly content, Voruna is a top performer and very fun, which places her in A tier. She rewards aggressive play and can tear through Steel Path if built right, but needs that face-to-face combat to truly shine.

• Styanax – A spear-wielding warrior Warframe (inspired by a hoplite or Spartan) who was given free to players in 2022. Styanax has a well-rounded kit: he can throw his shield like Captain America to pull enemies in, buff the squad’s shields and armor, and launch a barrage of javelins as an ultimate that deals heavy burst damage in an area. His passive also boosts critical chance for each enemy nearby, encouraging him to dive into the fray. Styanax is solid in both offense and defense – he can protect allies and himself while also outputting respectable damage.
  He even regenerates health or shields when spearing enemies, adding to his sustain. While Styanax may not top the charts in raw DPS compared to frames like Mesa or Saryn, he brings a great balance that makes any mission safer and simpler. With no glaring weaknesses, Styanax earns an A tier spot as a reliable all-rounder Warframe. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy flinging a dozen spears into a crowd and watching them explode?

• Sevagoth Prime – A shadowy reaper Warframe with a unique death mechanic. Sevagoth has two forms: his normal body and an exalted Shadow form. As Sevagoth damages enemies with his AoE abilities (which drain enemies’ life and slow them), he fills his “Death Well.” If he dies or activates his ultimate, his Shadow emerges – a powerful smoky being with its own melee claws that can reap souls. Sevagoth excels at area nuking and crowd control; his Gloom ability creates an aura that significantly slows enemies and leeches their life, which is fantastic for survivability and team support. Sevagoth Prime (newly released) has better stats and mod capacity, making it easier to keep Gloom active over a large radius.
  In high-level play, Sevagoth’s constant lifesteal and enemy slow can make him near-unkillable, and if he ever does fall, his Shadow can kill a few enemies to resurrect him – essentially giving him a second chance. He’s arguably just shy of S tier because his damage output (while good, especially with the Shadow claws) is not as instant or high as the top-tier nukers. However, Sevagoth Prime is easily one of the best crowd controllers and attrition fighters out there – second only to maybe Dante when it comes to draining the life of everything around him.

• Dagath – A supernatural Halloween-themed Warframe introduced in late 2023, Dagath channels an eerie horseman vibe (complete with a ghostly steed in one ability). She specializes in dealing Viral damage and weakening enemies. Dagath’s abilities inflict curses that chip away enemy armor (her Doom debuff causes affected enemies to take increased damage and lose armor over time) and summon spectral Kaithes (horses) that trample and skewer foes. She’s great at spreading status effects – Viral, Slash, etc., which amplify the damage other players deal.
  Dagath doesn’t have a Prime variant yet, but even base Dagath lands in A tier for the utility she provides: stripping armor and multiplying incoming damage is always welcome in a squad. She may not have the raw kill speed of some others solo, but she greatly softens targets up and can hold her own with the sweeping scythe-like attacks of her spectral horses. Dagath is especially effective in longer fights where those compounding debuffs can really tilt the battle in the Tenno’s favor.
  • Ivara Prime – The master stealth archer Warframe. Ivara is the premier choice for spy missions and any content where staying undetected is key. She can turn invisible at will (with Prowl), pickpocket enemies, and her ultimate Artemis Bow is an exalted bow that fires powerful volleys of arrows. Ivara Prime comes with more armor and energy than base Ivara, giving her a bit more breathing room if things go loud. In combat, Ivara is not as flashy – she’s more methodical. However, with the right build, her Artemis Bow can one-shot even high-level enemies (particularly if you leverage her Navigator ability to guide a single arrow into a devastating trajectory). Most players value Ivara for her stealth capabilities: she trivializes spy vaults and any mission where you’d rather not fight at all. Because Warframe is often about fast killing, Ivara doesn’t always fit the run-and-gun meta, but her unique strengths still mark her as A tier. She enables missions that would be hard or impossible with other frames (like stealing rare unalerted caches, or capturing Eidolon lures without alarming enemies). If patience and precision is your playstyle, Ivara Prime is a top-tier choice.

     

  • Garuda Prime – The gore queen of Warframe, Garuda bathes in blood to empower herself. She is an aggressive melee caster who gets stronger as she kills. Garuda’s abilities involve injuring herself to gain energy (Bloodletting), impaling enemies on spikes (Dread Mirror) then using their blood to form a shield and an explosive projectile, and creating a blood altar that heals allies. Her most defining mechanic is that her damage increases as her health gets lower, and vice versa – she skirts the edge of death to deal more pain. Garuda Prime has higher health, armor, and energy, which seems counterintuitive (since she likes low health) but actually gives her more buffer to exploit her kit safely. Garuda is notably the only Warframe who can reach 100% bonus damage to all attacks via her passive as she racks up kills (essentially doubling her damage) – a buff that persists as long as she keeps slaughtering enemies. In the hands of a skilled player, Garuda Prime can output massive damage (with things like seeking talons causing slash procs across entire rooms) and simultaneously heal herself and allies. She’s high risk, high reward, which places her in A tier. She’s perfectly viable for end-game, but managing her health for maximum buff can be dangerous at the highest levels. Still, underestimate Garuda Prime at your peril – she turns the battlefield into a bloodbath that only empowers her further.

     

  • Vauban Prime – A tactical engineer Warframe and the crowd control king. Vauban specializes in deploying gadgets that can immobilize and damage enemies: he has tether coils, mines, and his famous Bastille which suspends a large number of enemies in the air helplessly. If Bastille is recast or collapses, it turns into Vortex, pulling all enemies into a tight cluster for easy cleanup. Vauban Prime has more shields, armor, and energy than base Vauban, which helps him survive while setting his traps. In modes like defense or excavation, Vauban Prime can single-handedly neutralize waves of enemies – they’ll spend more time floating in the air or sucked into a vortex than shooting. His damage is decent if you stack his mines, but primarily he’s there to make killing easier for everyone else. Vauban’s one downside is that against certain high-level enemies or bosses that are immune to crowd control, his kit loses some effectiveness. And he can be a bit squishy if something does get to hit him. That said, in 95% of normal missions, Vauban Prime turning the map into a physics experiment is a huge boon. He’s comfortably A tier for his unrivaled control abilities, especially in endless missions where controlling crowds is critical to survival.

     

  • Equinox Prime – A very unique Warframe that has two forms (Day and Night), effectively packing two playstyles into one. Equinox can switch between Day form (focused on offense and damage buffs) and Night form (focused on defense and damage reduction) at will. In Day form, Equinox can increase allies’ damage output and unleash Maim, an aura that stores damage and then releases it in a big slash burst (great for nuking weaker enemies). In Night form, Equinox can put enemies to sleep (massive crowd control) and use Mend, an aura that stores damage taken and then heals allies when released. This dual nature means Equinox is extremely versatile – you can adapt on the fly to what the mission needs. Equinox Prime gives better armor, health, and shields, which is useful because her base stats are a bit low. The main reason Equinox is A tier and not S is that each individual aspect of her kit, while strong, is somewhat surpassed by specialists (e.g., other frames out-nuke her Maim for very high levels, and others out-heal her Mend). Also, managing two sets of abilities can be a lot for some players. But the value of having a frame that can both buff damage and heal the team in one package cannot be overstated – Equinox Prime is an amazing solo frame and a great team frame, as long as you’re willing to utilize her full kit.

     

  • Ember Prime – The fiery Warframe, master of heat and flame. Ember was once considered overpowered in early Warframe days for her “World On Fire” ability that could clear maps, but after reworks she sits at a more balanced level. Ember’s current kit revolves around building heat: the more she casts, the stronger her fire abilities get (and the more energy they cost, a balancing mechanic). She can immolate herself in flame to reduce damage taken, fire off heat waves that strip armor, and incinerate crowds with a meteor-like Fire Blast. Ember Prime has higher shields, armor, and energy than base, giving her a bit more staying power. In practice, Ember is great for clearing low-to-mid level enemies quickly with area fire damage, but at very high levels, her damage doesn’t scale as well as toxin/viral or other damage types unless heavily modded. She’s also somewhat fragile if her Immolation isn’t managed carefully. Because of these limitations, we rank Ember Prime in A tier – she’s still a strong Warframe and fantastic for quickly farming simpler missions (some players love her for exterminate or fissure farming where you just want to burn through enemies fast). However, in Steel Path or long endurance runs, Ember can struggle to kill tankier foes without a specific build, and she’s not much of a team support. A good analogy: Ember Prime is like a flamethrower – devastating to light up a room instantly, but not as effective against heavily armored targets compared to some other frames.

     

  • Baruuk Prime – A serene monk-like Warframe who becomes more powerful the more he restrains himself. Baruuk has a unique Restraint meter that goes down as he avoids or negates violence (dodging, disarming enemies, etc.). When the meter empties, Baruuk can unleash his exalted fists (Desolate Hands) and demolish enemies with a flurry of punches. He gains up to 50% damage reduction while his Restraint is low, and his other abilities allow him to sleep enemies (Lull), disarm them (via his daggers that float around), and erode enemy defenses. Baruuk Prime (released in 2023) increased his shields and energy, making it easier to mod for survivability. In terms of durability, Baruuk Prime is one of the finest tanks when fully built – he can achieve damage reduction near 90-100% constantly by keeping his Restraint low, essentially shrugging off most hits. And when it’s time to go on offense, his fists (Serene Storm ability) can deal immense damage in a radius, especially to crowds. Baruuk is A tier mainly because, like a true monk, you need patience to get the most out of him – you have to cycle through disarming and dodging to safely lower Restraint before you “go berserk”. In frantic missions, that setup can feel slow. Also, against single high-priority targets, his kit is not as bursty as some others. But make no mistake, Baruuk Prime can trivialize content once he’s set up, standing in the middle of chaos calmly as enemies essentially beat themselves. He’s a superb choice for players who enjoy a balance of defensive play and explosive melee finishers.

     

  (At this point, we have covered the most notable A-tier Warframes. Note that many non-Prime versions of the above frames would be considered one tier lower if you only have the regular version. For example, base Wisp, Saryn, Mesa, etc., are effectively A tier since their Prime forms are S tier. Similarly, base Trinity, Nova, Wukong, Nezha, Gara, etc., fall to B tier if you don’t have the Prime. That said, their abilities remain the same – so you can absolutely still use a non-Prime and succeed, just with slightly lower stats.)