Warframe: Top 15 Secondary Weapons, Ranked

Warframe is no stranger to unique weapons, ranging from plasma shotguns to fully-automatic explosive assault rifles. One category of weapons most forget to mention, however, are secondary weapons.

Most secondary weapons come with stronger mods than their primary counterparts, potentially making them stronger than primaries when modded correctly. Just like melee weapons or primaries, secondaries can come with interesting mechanics to set them apart from the rest. Some even let players add custom effects to them, such as gaining power strength on a kill or gaining infinite ammo. Here are 15 of the strongest secondary weapons players can use in Warframe.

Updated October 5th 2020 by Charles Burgar: Warframe has seen many changes during 2020. Besides new weapons and Warframes being added to the game, Digitial Extremes have overhauled status effects and enemy armor scaling. On top of new modes like Steel Path, the game has changed dramatically since the list was first written. Besides updates to the current entries, we went ahead and added five additional options for players to keep their eyes out for while exploring Warframe’s wide range of content.

15 Prisma Twin Gremlins

If precise aiming isn’t appealing, the Prisma Twin Gremlins are twin pistols that pin enemies to walls with fast-moving bolts as ammo.

These weapons can only be obtained from Baro Ki’Teer, a rare vendor that only appears in Relays every other weekend. This weapon is worth the cost, however, as it comes with a high 23% critical chance without mods and a respectable 23% status chance. It might not hit as hard as other entries, but its ease of use and high Riven disposition help set this spray-and-pray weapon apart from the rest of its competition.

14 Synoid Gamamcor

The Synoid Gammacor is a secondary beam weapon available from Cephalon Suda for 100,000 Standing. The grind for this weapon might be intense for a newer player, but the grind is certainly worth the trouble.

A 20% critical chance and 28% status chance is incredibly strong for a beam weapon that fires 12 rounds a second base. Factor in critical, status, and fire rate Mods and the Synoid Gammacor becomes a terrifying beam that can kill most targets in less than a second. It also has the Entropy effect, a buff that grants free energy after gaining a set amount of Affinity.

13 Kuva Seer

Warhammer 40K fans will instantly recognize that the Kuva Seer is a Bolt Pistol in disguise. This semi-auto secondary fires corrosive projectiles that deal damage in a small area.

Since it will always deal Corrosive damage with its explosion, this weapon is perfect for modding Radiation and Viral onto. All three elements will disintegrate the toughest foes in Warframe, but the gun gets even better. A 21% critical chance and 33% status chance makes this weapon perfect for a hybrid build as well, allowing this weapon to scale well into Steel Path missions and endurance missions.

12 Euphona Prime

Would a shotgun secondary be best in close-quarters combat? What if there are enemies at range that need to be killed as well? The Euphona Prime can do both at the same time with its special alternate fire.

The Euphona Prime fires a projectile slug that deals substantial damage, but its alternate fire is a shotgun blast that’s hitscan and has a high status chance. The slug is meant for critical builds while the shotgun is meant for status builds, so players can’t have it both ways. They won’t need to for most of Warframe’s late-game content, however, as this weapon does more than enough damage to one-shot most foes.

11 Kuva Twin Stubbas

Fans of the Prisma Twin Gremlins that want a hitscan alternative should consider farming a pair of Kuva Twin Stubbas. These weapons trade the critical damage of most bullet-hose secondaries for a higher status chance.

Every bullet has a 31% chance to cause a status ailment, something that can easily be raised to 60 or 70% with mods. A solid 23% critical chance allows this weapon to use both critical and status mods to great effect. Best of all, the Kuva Twin Stubbas come with an inherent elemental damage type since they come from Kuva Liches. Constantly inflicting Slash, Viral, and Heat procs is what makes the Kuva Twin Stubbas a great choice for any mission.

10 Kuva Kraken

Note that this is the Kuva Kraken, not the default Kraken. The base Kraken is one of the worst weapons in a looter shooter, shooting marshmallows at enemies at a slow fire rate, backed with a relatively long reload.

Not only does the Kuva Kraken address all of these issues, but it also adds some new mechanics to make it more competitive in today’s meta. The Kuva Kraken can empty its entire magazine in an alternate fire, dealing ludicrous amounts of damage to any horde or tanky boss alike. Its two-round burst feature has been upgraded to a three-round burst, and its critical and status effects have been substantially buffed. This is a beast of a gun if players can pry one off of a Liches’ dead hands.

9 Sicarus Prime

Obtaining the Sicarus Prime can range from easy to absurdly difficult. This is thanks to the ever-rotating Prime Vault that releases and removes Prime items from the game every quarter. Sadly, the Sicarus Prime is part of this Prime Vault.

That shouldn’t take away from how strong this gun is, though. 50 damage per shot, 25% critical and status chance, topped with a fast 3 round burst make the Sicarus Prime an absolute beast. If punch through is installed on this gun, it can tear through entire crowds in a single burst. Bosses melt under the strong critical and status effects it causes, and it is a very beautiful gun to boot. This is one the best burst weapon in the game, beating out most primary weapons.

8 Sepulcrum

If the Kuva Seer seems lacking in the damage department, look no further than the Sepulcrum. This weapon is a powerhouse of a pistol, featuring explosive bolts that deal Heat damage alongside a 30% critical chance and 2.2x critical damage multiplier.

Should an enemy dare to survive this weapon’s bullets, players can use its alternate fire mode to fire heat-seeking missiles that deal 10x more damage and have better critical stats. It might lack status chance, but this weapon doesn’t need it with how much damage it can dish out per shot.

7 Athodai

Dealing mostly Heat damage, the Athodai is Warframe’s version of a powerful hand cannon. This weapon is anything but a hand cannon, however, at least in terms of functionality.

Make no mistake, the Athodia packs a punch. Every shot has a 32% base critical chance and the gun deals 70 damage unmodded, but the weapon becomes a full-auto killing machine if it achieves a headshot kill. Headshot kills will grant this weapon infinite ammo and increased fire rate. The Athodai is effectively a full-auto Knell.

6 Aksomati Prime

Bullet-hose secondaries can’t get much better than the Aksomati Prime. Its base damage of 20 is deceptively low. When players factor in the weapon’s 24% critical chance and 3x critical damage multiplier, it’s easy to see why this weapon is so frequently used. A good critical build will shred nearly all targets. Status is also high enough of this weapon to reliably proc the likes of Viral and Corrosive, making this weapon’s lethality all the deadlier.

5 Mara Detron

The Mara Detron might not bring the same pure destructive power that the Pyrana does, but what it lacks in fire rate it makes up for in its status chance.

Every projectile has a 13.7% status chance, a number that seems quite small until players realize that the Mara Detron is a pocket shotgun. When Lethal Torrent and Barrel Diffusion are installed, this weapon frequently fires 21 pellets that all share this status chance. Mod for status chance to turn this weapon into a Viral-stacking or armor-stripping machine.

4 Pyrana Prime

What the Pyrana Prime lacks in status chance it makes up for in sheer ferocity. High critical stats and high base damage make this weapon a powerhouse in virtually all content.

The Pyrana Prime, provided the enemy isn’t well armored, is the strongest gun in the game. Because armor is such a large problem in Steel Path and endurance missions, however, this gun significantly falls off in those environments. That said, this weapon fully makes up for it by creating a clone of itself whenever it gets a triple kill, turning into an akimbo variant for a few seconds. Its base stats are already amazing, but this akimbo version takes it to the next level. Double magazine size and increased fire rate make this already incredible gun a top-tier choice for all content.

3 Kuva Brakk

Should players need a solid secondary shotgun that can both inflict status effects and deal critical hits, the Kuva Brakk is the best option available. High base damage at 130 per shot and a 29% critical chance is nothing to scoff at. An 11.1% status chance also allows this weapon to apply Viral, Corrosive, or virtually any status ailment with ease when using a hybrid build. It also comes with an implicit elemental damage type since it’s a Kuva Lich weapon.

2 Secondary Kitguns

Putting Kitguns is somewhat cheating as they are a weapon category, but every single Kitgun except Gaze barrels are so powerful that they deserve to be bundled together. Otherwise, this whole list would be Kitgun combinations.

Regardless, Kitguns come with high base damage, elemental damage intrinsically, and high stats in whatever the player decides. Best of all, Kitguns can use exclusive Arcanes that grant effects ranging from infinite ammo to heat-seeking nanites on precision kills. Thanks to all of these factors, Kitguns are one of the best secondary options in all of Warframe.

1 Kuva Nukor

After players started obtaining the Kuva Nukor from Kuva Liches, it became clear which weapon was going to dominate the meta until further notice.

The Kuva Nukor is a potent mix of the Atomos and the Synapse. This weapon chains its damage between targets whenever it makes contact with an enemy, a mechanic that automatically makes it one of the strongest guns in the game. What makes the gun truly insane is the 50% base status chance it has. Modding for status chance allows this weapon to inflict hundreds of Heat or Gas procs on a target in a few seconds. It also has the highest critical damage multiplier in the game at 5x damage. Obtain sources of additive critical chance such as Harrow or Arcane Avenger to turn this already great weapon into the strongest gun in Warframe history.

NEXT: 10 Amazing Pieces Of Warframe Concept Art

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Charles Burgar is an expert on all things tech and gaming. Graduating from Pikes Peak Community College in 2018 with an Associate of Science, Charles has spent his time dissecting popular video games, movies, and technology. With an understanding of games for as long as he can remember, Charles has a large interest in understanding what makes things fun. He is currently a Freelance writer for TheGamer and Game Rant.

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