Warframe Tier List: Ranking All Frames [With Comparison]

In Warframe, there are 53 playable warriors/characters in the game. They are also called frames, and each one of them comes with unique abilities based on a particular theme. Not all of these characters are the absolute best when it comes to doing PvE missions alone or with a team. This is why we have curated the Warframe tier list to rank all frames based on their overall performance in the game.

Key Highlights

Warframe offers 53 Frames for competitive gameplay.
Frames are divided into themes such as Hunter, Sand Elemental, Archer, Manipulation, Gunslinger, Poison, Serpentine, etc.
Each Frame’s unique skills and moveset cater to specific themes, including damage dealing, healing, and crowd control.
Top-performing Frames that excel in overall performance are Mesa, Saryn, Octavia, Trinity, Nova, and Wisp.
Frames like Xaku, Nyx, Zephyr, and Grendel are challenging to master quickly and lack impressive offensive tactics.
Frames that excel in their domain while providing value across various situations rank higher in the tier list.

Tier List Frames Ranking Table
Gender	S-Tier	A-Tier	B-Tier	C-Tier	D-Tier	F-Tier
Male	–	Inaros, Chroma, Volt, Wukong, Rhino, Nidus, Gauss, Nezha, Caliban, Styanax	Baruuk, Limbo, Oberon, Lavos, Harrow, Sevagoth, Revenant	Vauban, Nekros, Frost, Excalibur, Loki, Ash	Hydroid, Atlas, Kullervo	Grendel
Female	Mesa, Saryn, Octavia, Trinity, Nova, Wisp	Ivara, Khora, Gara, Equinox, Voruna, Citrine,	Mirage, Titania, Protea, Ember, Gyre	Mag, Hildryn, Garuda, Valkyr	Banshee, Yareli	Nyx, Zephyr
Androgynous	–	–	–	–	–	Xaku

Warframe Comparison Table

Let’s take a quick glance at the comparison between the Warframe Frames:

Charatcer	Tier	Gender	Theme	Subsumed Ability
Mesa	S	Female	Gunslinger	Shooting Gallery
Saryn	S	Female	Disease, Poison, Serpentine	Molt
Octavia	S	Female	Radiation	Resonator
Trinity	S	Female	Healer	Well of Life
Nova	S	Female	Antimatter Manipulation	Null Star
Wisp	S	Female	Portal Manipulation	Breach Surge
Ivara	A	Female	Archer, Poison Frog	Quiver
Inaros	A	Male	Mummy, Sand Elemental	Desiccation
Chroma	A	Male	Dragon, Elemental Power, Hunter	Elemental Ward
Khora	A	Female	Arachnid, Huntress & Companion, Metal Manipulation	Ensnare
Volt	A	Male	Electricity	Shock
Gara	A	Female	Glass, Warrior	Spectrorage
Wukong	A	Male	Monkey King	Defy
Rhino	A	Male	Rhinoceros	Roar
Equinox	A	Female	Duality, Day & Night	Rest and Rage
Nidus	A	Male	Infestation, Mutation	Larva
Gauss	A	Male	Kinetic Energy, Runner	Thermal Sunder
Nezha	A	Male	Third Lotus Prince	Fire Walker
Baruuk	B	Male	Monk, Pacifist	Lull
Mirage	B	Female	Harlequin, Illusionist	Eclipse
Oberon	B	Male	Nature, Paladin	Smite
Harrow	B	Male	Monastic, Void Manipulation	Condemn
Lavos	B	Male	Alchemy, Serpentine	Vial Rush
Limbo	B	Male	Magician, Planes of Existence	Banish
Titania	B	Female	Fairy Queen	Spellbind
Revenant	B	Male	Eidolon, Vampirism	Reave
Sevagoth	B	Male	Phantom, Reaper, Shadow Elemental	Gloom
Ember	B	Female	Fire Elemental	Fire Blast
Protea	B	Female	Gadgetry, Time Manipulation	Dispensary
Nekros	C	Male	Darkness, Necromancy	Terrify
Mag	C	Female	Magnetism	Pull
Vauban	C	Male	Combat Engineer	Tesla Nervos
Frost	C	Male	Ice Elemental	Ice Wave
Hildryn	C	Female	Shield Maiden	Pillage
Excalibur	C	Male	Swordsman	Radial Blind
Loki	C	Male	Trickster	Decoy
Valkyr	C	Female	Berserker, Feline	Warcry
Ash	C	Male	Assassin, Ninja	Shuriken
Garuda	C	Female	Blood Manipulation, Gore	Blood Altar
Atlas	D	Male	Brawler, Earth Elemental	Petrify
Banshee	D	Female	Sound, Wailing Spirit	Silence
Hydroid	D	Male	Pirate, Water Elemental	Tempest Barrage
Kullervo	D	Male	Betrayal, Criminal, Daggered Dax	Wrathful Advance
Xaku	F	Androgynous	Broken, Void Manipulation	Xata’s Whisper
Grendel	F	Male	Gluttony, Oni	Nourish
Zephyr	F	Female	Air Elemental, Avian	Airburst
Nyx	F	Female	Psychic	Mind Control

S-Tier

All the frames mentioned in our S-tier are the best Warframes in offering various roles in the game. We have mentioned damage dealers, healers, and crowd-controlling frames in this list. If you have not unlocked these frames, we highly recommend investing your time in them.

Frame	WHY WE RANKED IT IN S TIER?
Mesa	Excels in both close and ranged combat, making her a versatile damage dealer. Her abilities buff allies and disrupt enemies’ guns.
Saryn	Specializes in inflicting various status effects on enemies, with abilities that apply corrosive, viral, and toxin status effects. Her passive extends the duration of these effects.
Octavia	Utilizes music-themed abilities to confuse enemies and distract them with her Resonator ability.
Trinity	Renowned as the premier healer frame, providing direct healing to allies and channeling health from enemies to teammates.
Nova	Manipulates antimatter to confuse enemies and summon particles that seek nearby foes. Her Worm Hole ability provides strategic mobility.
Wisp	Wisp utilizes portals to evade or surprise enemies, creating doppelgangers with her Wil-O-Wisp ability to confuse foes and opening a portal with Sol Gate to unleash solar plasma energy and melt enemies.

A-Tier

All frames falling under our A-tier listing are near-to-perfect ones in the game. They are not the absolute best, but they will get the job done. Pick these frames, and you will never be disappointed while dominating enemies and bosses in Warframe.

Character	WHY WE RANKED IT IN A TIER?
Ivara	An adept archer, Ivara provides strategic advantage with four tactical arrows, including a cloak bubble for stealth.
Inaros	Inaros deals damage and steals health from enemies while leaving them temporarily blind with his Desiccation ability.
Chroma	Chroma leads assaults with elemental power, cycling between Heat, Electricity, Toxin, and Cold buffs for offense and defense.
Khora	Khora deals massive damage with her whipclaw and loyal companion Venari, also possessing the ability to revive herself.
Volt	Volt manipulates electricity for both offense and defense, stunning enemies with high-damage bursts and chaining electric shocks.
Gara	Gara wears glass armor to cut and blind enemies, using Shattered Glass to strike foes and Splinter Storm to fortify allies while damaging enemies.
Wukong	Wukong controls crowds with his Celestial Twin ability, creating another version of himself, and is easily obtainable for quick gameplay.
Rhino	Rhino charges into enemies for impact damage and uses Iron Skin to absorb incoming damage for a short duration.
Equinox	Equinox’s abilities change between day and night forms, offering extra damage and speed in day form and crowd control in night form.
Nidus	Nidus inflicts fungal infestation-oriented damage, perfect for crowd control and buffing allies, launching a fungal attack that staggers enemies.
Gauss	Gauss manipulates kinetic energy, rushing through enemies for impact damage and absorbing elemental damage for offense and defense.
Nezha	Nezha controls fire-based attacks, dealing damage with Fire Walker and Blazing Chakram while forming defensive rings with Warding Halo.

B-Tier

The frames falling under our B-tier listing perform above average in Warframe. They are great at attacking, healing, and controlling the crowd. However, a few drawbacks are holding them down in the current game’s meta.

Still, they are an excellent pick for certain situations, and veteran Warframe players will know how to utilize their abilities in the field properly.

Frame	WHY B TIER?
Baruuk	Utilizes Elude to dodge incoming shots when not attacking, and Lull to confuse enemies, putting them to sleep or disorienting them upon waking.
Mirage	Receives damage buffs in light, confuses enemies, and distracts them with Hall of Mirrors duplicates. Can unleash Prism to fire lasers randomly in all directions.
Oberon	Functions as both an attacker and healer, projecting healing energy with Renewal, dealing area-of-effect damage with Smite, and sanctifying the ground with Hallowed Ground, inflicting radiation damage to enemies within the area.
Harrow	Balances damage dealing with health regeneration, gaining boosts in fire rate and reload speed with Penance while converting damage struck on enemies into health for self and nearby allies.
Lavos	Attacks enemies with a serpentine strike using Ophidian Bite, grants healing, and dashes forward with incredible speed with Vial Rush, leaving an icy trail behind to damage enemies with a cold status effect.
Limbo	Casts rift energy to damage enemies slowly with Banish, and suspends or freezes enemies with Stasis, binding them by rift energy.
Titania	Applies various debuffs on enemies and buffs allies for bonus damage with Tribute, cycling through four buff variations including the full moon buff that grants increased damage for a short duration.
Revenant	Converts enemies into thralls with Enthral, controlling them until the duration of the spell expires.
Sevagoth	Steals nearby enemies’ health by planting a death seed with Sow, detonating it to deal area-of-effect blast status effect damage with Gloom, slowing down all foes, stealing their health, and regenerating his own, while allies restore lost health by attacking nearby enemies.
Ember	Assaults enemies using fire elemental-oriented tactics, setting targets ablaze with Fireball, protecting herself from incoming damage with Immolation, and performing area-of-effect attacks with Fire Blast.
Protea	Generates orbs with Dispensary, requiring precise timing to deal damage effectively.

C-Tier

The frames belonging to our C-tier listing perform somewhat close to the B-tier frames. However, not all of them offer valuable tactical advantages while fighting enemies.

You might find this interesting: Paladins Tier List

Character	WHY C TIER?
Nekros	Nekros masters necromancy, dealing damage with Soul Punch and terrorizing enemies with Terrify.
Mag	Mag controls magnetism, pulling ranged targets closer with Pull, although her abilities cost significant energy.
Vauban	Vauban, a combat engineer, wreaks havoc on enemies with Photon Strike, dropping a beacon for high-power laser artillery strikes.
Frost	Frost manipulates ice-based tactics, applying cold status damage with Freeze and dealing serious damage with Ice Wave.
Hildryn	Hildryn conjures shields with Haven, steals enemy shields and armor with Pillage, and unleashes charged fire bolts with Balefire.
Excalibur	Excalibur dashes between enemies with Slash Dash, blinds them with Radial Blind, and deals damage with Radial Javelin.
Loki	Loki specializes in decoy, deception, and trickery, lacking direct strategic advantage in draining enemy health.
Valkyr	Valkyr pulls enemies with Rip Line and uses Warcry to enhance offensive capabilities.
Ash	Ash assaults enemies with shuriken, escapes with a smoke bomb, and teleports to distant enemies to close the gap.
Garuda	Garuda manipulates blood, regenerating energy with Bloodletting and stealing health to defend with Dread Mirror.

D-Tier

All the frames that come under the D-rank of our tier list perform below average in Warframe. They do not offer good enough offensive or defensive tactics while fighting enemies.

Character	WHY D TIER?
Atlas	Masters earth elemental tactics, summoning stone minions with Rumblers and defending himself with a stone wall.
Banshee	Utilizes powerful sound waves, pushing enemies away with Sonic Boom and damaging nearby foes with concentrated sound energy from Sound Quake.
Hydroid	Commands water elemental attacks, unleashing an area-of-effect barrage with Tempest Barrage that deals extra damage when charged.
Kullervo	The latest addition to Warframe, Kullervo wields sharp blades and possesses abilities like Wrathful Advance and Storm of Ukko, although his effectiveness compared to other frames is lacking.

F-Tier

All frames falling under our F-rank are the weakest frames in the game. They are challenging to play, and most of them do not even have decent offensive abilities. If you pick these frames while playing the game, you are guaranteed to struggle a lot while fighting enemies.

Character	WHY F TIER?
Xaku	Xaku’s void manipulation abilities are still underwhelming, wielding void damage from existing weapons with Xata’s Whisper.
Grendel	A massive gluttonous frame, Grendel consumes enemies and spews them out to deal toxin damage, relying heavily on storing enemies in his gut for attacks like Regurgitate.
Zephyr	Zephyr utilizes air elemental tactics, hovering with Tail Wind and hurling dense air with Airburst, although her effectiveness in combat remains lacking.
Nyx	Nyx employs psychic abilities to confuse enemies, controlling them with Mind Control and inducing chaos with Chaos, yet struggles to provide significant offensive or defensive support.
Caliban	A formidable frame embodying both biological and Sentient characteristics, excelling in crowd control and survival but lacking significant offensive capabilities.
Styanax	Armed with spear and shield, Styanax fearlessly seeks out enemies, embodying the valor of ancient champions, yet his combat prowess falls short compared to other frames.
Voruna	Leading a pack of loyal wolves, Voruna blends strength and stealth, instilling fear in foes, yet her combat effectiveness is limited, lacking significant offensive capabilities.
Citrine	Citrine supports allies on the battlefield with her crystalline form, shining brightly like adamant amber, but her combat abilities are limited compared to higher-tier frames.
Gyre	Gyre employs electrical coils and transmitters for crowd control, mesmerizing onlookers with her mechanized pirouette, yet her combat prowess is limited in comparison to other frames.
Yareli	Yareli unleashes devastating aqueous attacks on the battlefield, dealing high damage, but her combat effectiveness remains questionable, lacking significant offensive capabilities.

How We Ranked

Over the last eight years, developers Digital Extremes released more frames to the game. They expanded the roster and strengthened the replay value of the game. With steady support from the developers since 2013, the fanbase of Warframe grew over time, and in 2019, it crossed 50 million.

The developers not just added more characters to Warframe but also introduced hundreds of new weapon arsenal as well. You may want to check our Warframe weapon tier list. It ranks all of the weapons you will come across while playing the game.

Our Warframe tier list is based on our experience with the game. We understand that our ranking may differ from yours, and the frames that we have placed in certain tiers may seem out of place for you. However, we tried to give justice to the best Warframes and also keep in mind which don’t enter that group yet.

The frames we listed in each tier ranking are based on the current meta. Please note that our categorization is based solely on our opinion of where each frame should fall in the tier list. Additionally, for each frame, we have provided a short description that highlights their best abilities.

Similar Reads: Marvel Strike Force Tier List

Whenever Warframe gets new frames, we will update our tier list. But till then, this list will do. Let us know more of your thoughts in the comments section below.

Did you find this helpful? Leave feedback below.

Thanks! Do share your feedback with us. ⚡

How can we make this post better? Your help would be appreciated. ✍