Beginner Friendly Warframes And Builds

This guide includes beginner friendly Warframes and their builds. Builds include some of the more attainable mods and require no forma.

Introduction

Warframes’ Beginner Friendliness Is Based On:

• Relative ease of attainment
• Relatively lower dependence on mods
• Builds include attainable mods in early game
• High energy efficiency
• Relatively low endo costs

• 1 Orokin Reactor
• 0 Forma

• This guide only contains beginner friendly builds. Advanced builds will be available as you progress through the game.
• Mods can be ranked up to 7 or 8 in early game for best +stat to endo cost ratio.
• Many builds use rank 4 Fleeting Expertise and rank 4 Streamline. Rank 4 is recommended because it offers superior capacity cost efficiency and maximum energy efficiency which is capped at 175.

Excalibur

• Starter or farmed from Lieutenant Lech Kril on War, Mars

Excalibur Umbra is not beginner friendly because his special mods are extremely costly in endo and credits. The following builds are for regular Excalibur only.

Excalibur’s Exalted Blade (Offensive)

• The first build is designed for Excalibur’s fourth ability, Exalted Blade. The second build is for the Exalted Blade itself. Many new players like Excalibur because of this ability. After activation, Excalibur’s melee will shoot waves that damage enemies, with unlimited punch through passing through enemies and walls, for up to 40 meters. Activating Exalted Blade will cost 6.25 energy and cost 0.63 energy per second to maintain. Each energy orb pickup buys you 40 more seconds of Exalted Blade. The Exalted Blade can be modded as well and will increase DPS.

Excalibur’s Radial Blind (Defensive)

• This build is designed around Excalibur’s second ability, Radial Blind. This build is a very defensive build and casting Radial Blind will blind all enemies within site of a distance of 58.75 meters for 16.20 seconds. Radial Blind costs 12.5 energy to cast. Blinded enemies are debuffed to take additional damage. This build is a good option against junction specters.

Rhino

• Farmed from Jackal on Fossa, Venus.

Many new players will favor Rhino because of his ease of use, tankiness, versatility, and early acquisition.

Rhino’s Iron Skin (Defensive)

• Many new players use this ability to get through the star chart. Iron skin will absorb 5504 damage before needing to be refreshed. It will cost 35 energy per cast.

Rhino’s Roar & Iron Skin Hybrid (Offensive & Defensive)

• Roar will cost 18.75 energy per cast, buff you (and your allies within 11.5 meters) for a +87.5% damage bonus. Iron skin will cost 12.5 energy per cast and absorb 3679.38 damage before needing to be recasted.

Rhino’s Stomp (Crowd Control)

• Stomp will not be viable in early game because of its energy inefficiency. It will require advanced mods and forma as well.

Frost

• Farmed from Lieutenant Lech Kril & Captain Vor on Exta, Ceres.

Frost’s decent amount of base armor and defensive ability, Snow Globe, make him a great choice for new players.

Frost’s Snow Globe (Defensive)

• Frost will create a protective globe that can protect you, your allies, and objectives. Players inside the globe can shoot enemies inside and out of the globe. Players outside of the globe will not be able to shoot enemies within the globe.
• Snow globe will cost 12.5 energy per cast. The globes will have a 14.5 meter diameter, slow enemies within the globe by 67%, and absorb up to 13737.5 damage.
• After each cast, the globe will be invincible for 4 seconds.
• Snow globes can be stacked infinitely for increased globe health as long as you have the energy for it. Just recast within the globe you want to reinforce.
• To destroy a snow globe, cast Frost’s first ability, Freeze, at the globe.

Frost’s Avalanche (Crowd Control)

• Frost will freeze all enemies within a 27.15 meter radius costing 25 energy per cast. Enemies will be frozen for 12.88 seconds.

Frost’s Snow Globe & Avalanche Hybrid (Offensive & Defensive)

• A build modded for Avalanche used offensively will not be viable in early game because of its energy inefficiency. It will require advanced mods and forma as well.

Loki

• Farmed from Hyena Pack on Psamathe, Neptune.

Invisibility greatly increases survivability and is helpful in spy missions.

Loki’s Invisibility (Defensive)

• Enemies will no longer target loki. Invisibility will last 22.68 seconds and cost 12.5 energy. The build will have 17 unused capacity. Survivability mods and/or quality of life mods such as +movement speed, +hacking, and +loot radar can be equipped.

Loki’s Invisibility & Disarm Hybrid (Defensive)

• Invisibility will cost 12.5 energy and last 19.32 seconds. Radial Disarm will disarm enemies within a 36.20 meter radius and permanently restrict them to melee only. It costs 25 energy per cast.

Nezha

• Tenno Lab in Clan Dojo

Nezha has innate +slide. With +movement speed mods, Nezha becomes a speed running warframe.

Nezha’s Warding Halo & Innate Speed Hybrid (Defensive & Speed)

• Warding Halo provides 90% damage reduction. Warding halo will diminish after absorbing 3203.82 damage and will need to be recasted. Each cast costs 37.5 energy. Nezha is a very slippery warframe because he has a ton of innate +slide. Nezha takes practice because the floor will feel like ice. For great speed boosts, execute the following sequence in quick succession: sprint, slide, and roll.

Nezha’s Warding Halo (Defensive)

• This build focuses solely on survivability. Warding Halo provides 90% damage reduction. Warding halo will diminish after absorbing 3203.82 damage and will need to be recasted. Each cast costs 37.5 energy.

Nezha’s Divine Spears (Crowd Control)

• Divine Spears will cost 25 energy per cast. All enemies within a 44.65 meter radius will be impaled and disabled for 12.96 seconds.

Nezha’s Divine Spears (Offensive)

• A build modded for Divine Spears used offensively will not be viable in early game because of its energy inefficiency. It will require advanced mods and forma as well.

Chroma

• Chroma’s main blueprint will be rewarded upon completion of the quest, The New Strange. Component blueprints are awarded by completing Junctions. The Neuroptics will be rewarded after completing the Uranus Junction, the Chassis the Neptune Junction, and the Systems the Pluto Junction.

Tanking Requires Cold Energy

• You must go into your warframe’s appearance and equip specific energy colors until you get a cold symbol. Options are white, grey, black, and some faded colors. This will modify Chroma’s abilities to give +armor.

Chroma’s Vex Armor & Elemental Ward (Offensive & Defensive)

• The most important ability here is Vex Armor, because it gives significant armor and damage buffs. Elemental Ward isn’t as powerful as Vex armor and should only be used if there is an abundance of energy.
• Vex Armor buffs both defense and offense. As Chroma takes damage, the buffs will build up to a maximum of +455% armor and +357.5% damage bonus. Recasting Vex Armor before the timer runs out will maintain maximum buff. Vex armor will cost 18.75 energy and last 40.25 seconds.
• Elemental Ward will provide +195% armor and last 40.25 seconds. Each cast will cost 12.5 energy.

Limbo

• Component blueprints are awarded from The Limbo Theorem quest, obtainable by completing the Europa Junction on Jupiter. An Archwing is required to begin the quest’s missions.

• Players and enemies in opposite planes cannot damage each other.
• Limbo can go in and out of the Rift plane by rolling.
• Players in the Rift Plane regenerate Energy at a rate of 2 units per second.
• Players can carry mission items such as Datamasses or Power Cells, but cannot get Pickups (unless they are within a Cataclysm).
• Players cannot insert Datamasses into mobile defense objectives while in the Rift.

Limbo Cataclysm & Stasis (Defensive & Crowd Control)

• Limbo Cataclysm will send players, enemies, and objectives within a 21.76 meter radius into the rift plane. It will cost 25 energy and last 56.7 seconds.
• Enemies within the Cataclysm will freeze while Stasis is active. Stasis will cost 12.5 energy and last 28.35 seconds.

• This second build works the same way as the first build, except the Cataclysm will be larger at 28.96 meters at the expense of a little bit of duration.
• Cataclysm will last 48.3 seconds.
• Stasis will last 24.15 seconds.

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