Warframe: Best Bows, Ranked

Warframe has tons of different weapon types across its Primary, Secondary, and Melee options. Players have a lot to do in this game with many different areas and mission types to play through, meaning there are different loadouts required at times and the need for players to have multiple options for the great PvE multiplayer combat they will encounter.

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By  Sid Natividad

Not all bows in Warframe are created equally, with some having naturally higher base stats or more potential for upgrading over others. Bows play into the space ninja aesthetic and are some of the most satisfying weapons that players can use to vanquish their enemies and progress through the Star Chart.

Updated by Rhenn Taguiam on April 6, 2024: With TennoCon 2024 teased to happen on July 19 to 20, 2024, fans of Warframe may be eagerly awaiting news as to just what other surprises the game offers them for the rest of the year. After all, the Dante Unbound update has just released a new character in the fame of Warframe Dante, a chronicler whose kit incentivizes granting statuses to enemies and buffing allies. Fans of Warframe who want to elevate their long-distance plays may want to consider using a Bow instead of the traditional firearm to secure victory at a distance. Among Bows that Warframe fans should add to their arsenal of must-use armaments include a Bow that can become the perfect Corpus killer, a Bow with a unique Incarnon Form, as well as Bows that pack a lot more punch when used in conjunction with headshots.

20 Lenz

Primary Fire Damage: 50

The Lenz is a Corpus Bow that is pretty dissimilar from other bows with its own unique mechanics and different base stats compared to most normal bows. The Lenz has a small ammo pool but mitigates this by firing Cold procs that later turn into Blast procs.

When upgraded with Warframe's must-use mods, the Bow has the potential to deal consistent damage to foes at close range, especially when focusing on effect procs. Players can obtain the Lenz via the Energy Lab in the Dojo, which players must join a Clan to access.

19 Zhuge

Primary Fire Damage: 100

Players enjoying their long-distance plays can put a spin to their Warframe gameplay with the Zhuge, an automatic Crossbow notable for its high accuracy and silent nature. Among its accolades include having the highest critical multiplier (3%) among bows and ties with the Attica and the Panthera alongside their Prime counterparts for full-auto armaments.

The Zhuge also possesses the special on-kill Crossbow visual, wherein bodies killed will follow the bolt until they get pinned on walls and damaging creatures in their path. Since mods count the Zhuge as a Bow, it can benefit from effects that grant an additional Fire Rate and the Bow-only 30% Chance to Explode (Thunderbolt).

18 Attica

Primary Fire Damage: 80

While the Attica is the second Crossbow the game introduced, Attica was the first in Warframe gameplay to ever feature a full-sized type of armament. Inspired by the Repeating Crossbow of the Chinese, the Attica retains the high critical chance and decent firing rate as with its similar counterpart Zhuge.

When using the Attica, its Auto trigger is more practical to use in bursts to maximize aim, especially with its limited mag size. However, Attica’s natural knockback stat incentivizes focusing on one target or strafe-firing multiple foes, as both will push enemies further from the player. Using the Thunderbolt Mod with the Attica is more practical compared to other Bows, especially the Crossbow’s multiple shots per second can trigger the Explode effect much faster.

17 Paris

Primary Fire Damage: 160

At first glance, the solid blue hues of the scale-like Paris can make it seem like an elegant Warframe weapon. However, its gray-and-black Incarnon Form is a testament to how deadly the weapon can get in the right hands. The weapon’s Puncture Damage focus is emphasized further with its high crit chance and even higher reload speed, with a charged shot option that deals much higher damage while retaining decent reload speed.

Where Paris can potentially shine is its Incarnon Form, as this mode’s charged shot can deal much higher damage with high reload speed. Due to its better firepower when charged, players are encouraged to get more tactical when timing their shots against foes. When they start charging, they can sprint to get a better position while finishing their charge. Likewise, they can cancel their charges via reload to avoid expending a shot, allowing them to maximize shots at clustered foes.

16 Cernos

Primary Fire Damage: 190

The wing-like protrusions of the Cernos is perhaps the reason why its Mutalist Cernos variant has quite the menacing appearance. However, even at its base form, the Cernos can become quite a useful weapon for players who want to add a unique spin to their Warframe gameplay. Both the weapon’s uncharged and charged shots boast high critical chance and decent reload speed, allowing players to capitalize on the power of timing charged shots to dispatch foes.

The weapon’s high Impact Damage encourages shield depletion on enemies first in order to capitalize on the Bow’s damage option. Due to this nature, the Cernos can become an effective weapon against Corpus units as they boast high shields but lower average health. Maximizing Critical Delay (Mod) can theoretically boost the weapon’s critical chance to 103.3%, practically guaranteeing criticals.

15 Nagantaka Prime

Primary Fire Damage: 173

The Primed variant of the Nagantaka Crossbow comes with a pristine gold sheen, making the Nagantaka Prime quite the attractive weapon to accompany a player in their Warframe gameplay. Stats-wise, the weapon boasts better magazine size, burst firing rate, and overall critical chance and base damage. A unique property of the weapon is its +50% reload speed when proccing headshots, encouraging players to be more precise when aiming.

Interestingly enough, the Nagantaka Prime also comes with two firing modes. On top of its primary mode is a burst shot that uses all the remaining ammo in the current magazine, releasing shots at x2.3 its firing rate. The corpses of units the Nagantaka Prime kills will also have their bodies follow the arrow that killed them. Not only does this pin said bodies to walls, but this also damages surrounding opponents.

14 Rakta Cernos

Primary Fire Damage: 235

Although most Bows in the RPG further diversify Warframe gameplay with more tactical long-ranged incursions via its charged attacks, the Rakta Cernos boasts the fastest charge time among Bows in the game. The Red Veil-exclusive Bow also packs a punch with higher base damage and a natural Blight effect, although it suffers from a slightly lower status chance and critical chance compared to its counterparts.

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Compared to the base Cernos, Rakta Cernos does boast much higher DPS, be it through burst or sustained. Its possession of more Polarities also paves the way for better customization, making the Rakta Cernos a more practical ranged weapon to train with, especially when higher-level Bows could make better use of the crit chance this weapon is missing.

13 Zhuge Prime

Primary Fire Damage: 50

The Zhuge Prime is the upgraded version of the original Zhuge automatic crossbow, boasting higher firing rates, magazine size, and critical chance in exchange for overall dec recess in reload speed, reserve ammo, and status chance. Since the caveats of the Zhuge Prime make it deal less overall DPS, it’s not the kind of heavy weapon players will want to carry like the Zhuge.

However, Warframe gameplay may enjoy the presence of the Zhuge Prime with faster empty magazine reloads and bolts that explode upon hit. Despite its disadvantages, Zhuge Prime, as a primary weapon, still has the distinction of having the second-highest base damage among all full-auto weapons, falling behind the tie-breaker of the Panther and the Zhuge. The bow’s high base accuracy and innate silent nature make the Zhuge Prime perfect for stealth builds that go into more action-heavy gameplay.

12 Cernos Prime

Primary Fire Damage: 276

The Primed version of the original Cernos Bow, this brilliantly designed Cernos Prime excels at killing multiple enemies at once due to its horizontal arrow spread when fired. It also has an Alternative Firing Mode that shoots arrows vertically and deals extra Headshot damage.

The Cernos Prime can be obtained through the Abandoned Derelict Caches on Corpus Railjack missions, having been permanently unvaulted by Digital Extremes. Players should pair the Cernos Prime with a great melee weapon to make it extra effective against enemies.

11 Dread

Primary Fire Damage: 168

Obtained from the Stalker that spawns in to kill players who have recently assassinated a boss, the Dread is one of Warframe's best Bows and is advised for any early-game or mid-game player. It has extremely high Slash damage and the highest Critical Chance stat out of the game's Bows. It also has a very high Status Chance. Pair this with one of the best original Warframes for a fun, nostalgic loadout.

Players should definitely look to get the Dread as soon as possible, especially if they enjoy using bows. However, there are multiple better bows available that players should look to move on to when they are at the appropriate stage of the game.