Weapon Recommendations For New Players

Discussion in 'Weapons' started by MagnusEffect, Oct 5, 2014.

  1. MagnusEffect

    MagnusEffect Administrator Staff Member Jarl SC Huscarl

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    Weapon Selection By Mastery Rank:
    http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Weapons_Mastery_Rank

    Mastery Rank '0' Weapons:
    NOTE: all of the following weapons (or their blueprints) are immediately available to new players and most can be bought directly from the market for in-game credits. Those that must be purchased from the clan dojo research stations will be marked accordingly. Click the names of the weapons for more details.

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    Attica (Primary - Rifle) *MUST PURCHASE BLUEPRINT FROM CLAN DOJO*

    For a starter weapon, the Attica is exceptionally powerful. Unlike many here, this "auto-crossbow" can punch well above its weight class and will serve you well through almost all of the game's content. However, it has two minor drawbacks. First, it requires more uncommon materials than some of the other weapons on this list (ask for help to acquire these). Secondly, it is a bolt thrower, which means it's rounds have some travel time and fast moving targets will be harder to hit... but this is a small price to pay for what you get in return.

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    Daikyu (Primary - Bow) *MUST PURCHASE BLUEPRINT FROM CLAN DOJO*
    Generally speaking, bows are not recommended as general purpose weapons for new players as they simply cannot offer enough bullet saturation that is required to fight off the countless hordes you will face. That being said, bows are extremely powerful tools for killing bosses and Eximus troops (uncommon elite units). The Daikyu shares the same drawbacks as the Attica, but the Daikyu trades rapid firing action for a single powerful shot. The Daikyu also has the advantage of being silent.

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    Grakata (Primary - Rifle)

    The first Grineer weapon on this list, the Grakata performs very similarly and is a general improvement over the standard Braton. Like the Braton, it features rapid firing rounds with no travel time (aka hit-scanned ammo). Of all the guns on this list, this is probably the closest to a jack-of-all-trades. If you like your more standard sub-machine guns, this is a solid choice until you can get the Soma at Mastery Rank 8.

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    Karak (Primary - Rifle)
    Whereas the Grakata functions more like a sub-machine gun, the Karak feels a bit more like an fullsized AK-47. The difference between the two is small, but generally speaking you are trading the Grakata's magazine size for the Karak's higher base damage per shot. Ultimately it comes down to personal preference. Just like the Grakata, you will want to upgrade from this to a Soma at Mastery Rank 6.

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    Latron (Primary - Rifle)

    If you are looking for a semi-auto marksman rifle, look no further. The Latron is a powerful rifle that will serve you well in almost all situations. Functionally, it sits somewhere between the Karak and the Attica. It enjoys the same hit-scan accuracy of the Karak, but more similar stopping power to the Attica. However, it does not scale quite as well as the Attica at higher difficulties and so after mastering it to level 30, you will want to trade it out for a burst-firing Tiberon at Mastery Rank 4.

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    Regarding Primary - Shotguns

    Shotguns are very powerful options for short range combat. They are particularly effective against Infested who tend to charge at you in droves rather than attack from a distance. This can be exploited further if you also equip Seeking Fury or Seeking Force. However, keep in mind that not all Shotguns are created equal. If you want a decent starting shotgun, pick up the standard Strun or Boar at Mastery Rank 1 & 2 respectively. They will not scale well into late-game, but they are very serviceable until you can get access to the Hek at Mastery Rank 4.

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    Regarding Orokin Catalysts
    Orokin Catalysts essentially double the number of mod points you can put on a weapon. This makes them a great first-option for "supercharging" a weapon beyond its normal capabilities. However, only one catalyst can be applied to each weapon (the catalyst fuses with it) and they are uncommon to acquire for new players. You will always want to save all your catalysts for only weapons you plan on keeping for awhile (or indefinitely). Consider the advice listed above and choose accordingly.

    Regarding Forma
    Formas are generally considered the next step in upgrading your weapons. Unlike, Catalysts which are a "one and done" process, Formas require leveling a weapon to level 30 for each one applied. When applied, each Forma allows you to apply "polarity" (or change existing polarities) to mod slots on a weapon. Match a mod to the polarity slot and it effectively halves a matching mod's point cost when equipped (rounding up). However, pay close attention when applying these as placing a mod with the mismatched polarity to a slot will actually increase the cost of the mod. Typically, you don't want more than 5-6 polarized slots on a weapon (you need a few blank ones to swap between elemental damage mods). However, when properly done, you can effectively chop your mod costs in half for any weapon. A heavily Forma'd weapon with high cost mods is a force to be reckoned with.

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    Mods For Weapons
    http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Mods

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    Essential Mods for Weapons
    Essential Mods For Rifles:
    • +Damage Mods - Serration
    • Multishot Mods - Split Chamber
    • Elemental Damage Mods - (heat, cold, electricity, toxin); depending on enemy, you probably only need to equip two of these
    • Critical Chance (only if base is >15%) - Point Strike, Vital Sense
    Essential Mods For Shotguns:
    • +Damage Mods - Point Blank, Blaze
    • Multishot Mods - Hell's Chamber
    • Elemental Damage Mods - (heat, cold, electricity, toxin); depending on enemy, you probably only need to equip two of these
    • Critical Chance (only if base is >15%) - Blunderbuss, Ravage
    Essential Mods For Pistols:
    • +Damage Mods - Hornet Strike
    • Multishot Mods - Barrel Diffusion, Lethal Torrent
    • Elemental Damage Mods - (heat, cold, electricity, toxin); depending on enemy, you probably only need to equip two of these
    • Critical Chance (only if base is >15%) - Pistol Gambit, Target Cracker
    Essential Mods For Melee:
    • Stance Mods - weapon specific
    • +Damage Mods - Pressure Point, Spoiled Strike
    • Channeling Mods - Killing Blow, Corrupt Charge
    • Elemental Damage Mods - (heat, cold, electricity, toxin); depending on enemy, you probably only need to equip two of these
    • Critical Chance (only if base is >15%) - True Steel, Organ Shatter

    Enemy Weaknesses
    http://warframe.wikia.com/wiki/Damage
    While you can't change the physical damage of a weapon, you can usually add any elemental damage you want. It is wise to boost elemental damage to better exploit a faction's weakness. There are MANY exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking, here is the easiest way to remember the "holy trinity":
    • Grineer weakness = Puncture & Radiation (electricity + heat)
    • Corpus weakness = Impact & Magnetic (electricity + cold)
    • Infested weakness = Slash & Corrosive (electricity + toxin)
    • You can also add other "unused" elements after the above to inflict additional effects; ex. Infested = Corrosive + Heat (or Heat + Cold for "Blast")
    The Corrupted is another faction you will face later in the game. Their weaknesses are a bit more complicated, but generally speaking, we recommend this:
    • Corrupted weakness = Puncture & Corrosive + Cold (this will make you more effective against their most dangerous units; Ancients & Heavy Gunners)
    FINAL NOTE: when combining elemental damage types, position matters; these bind in pairs left to right and top to bottom on the mod slots.
     
    Last edited: Nov 12, 2018
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  2. Hunter Gamma

    Hunter Gamma Well Liked Viking

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    Bo's strength lies in its comboes that that can ragdoll multiple enemies, effectively shutting them down for a moment and giving you and and your buddies time to finish 'em off. This is really useful with tougher enemies that can deal lots of harm on you by just being there.
    I personally recommend Clashing Forest for Bo as it's the stance with mobile ragdolling attacks.

    Word on Tiberon: It's basically heavy burst rifle. Think about Browning Automatic Rifle and you get the point. It doesn't have good stat proc or crit change/damage but it's surprisingly accurate, steady to fire and it beats even Burston Prime in pure damage.
    Good and reliable weapon that takes you surprisingly far.
     
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  3. Mezzanine

    Mezzanine Well Liked Thrall

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    I went with the bow for my starting primary, any tips for that one?

    DPS seems low due to the need to draw and fire each shot, but single target damage is high. Main reason I like it is it seems not to draw attention... Any truth to this as far as stealth mechanics work in the game?

    Right now I'm an Excalibur warframe with a Bo, Kestrel throwing daggers, and the Paris (I think it's called) bow. All starter stuff and starting to think about new blueprints.
     
  4. Hunter Gamma

    Hunter Gamma Well Liked Viking

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    All bows expect Attica crossbow and Ballistica rapid-crossbow are considered silent and allow you to silently kill enemies if you need/want to stay unnoticed. First hit must kill the target and other enemies better not see it.
    Also, all throwing secondaries like Kunai, Hikou, Despair etc. are also silent but you need to have them properly modded to kill mobs with single throw.
    Always try to aim for head. Especially with heavy units.

    Pure damage, Crit change/damage, elemental and with bows the fire rate mods are important. Fire rate allows you to draw faster, allowing you to fire faster and thus leading to better DPS.
    All bows can also impale enemies which means you can kill rows of mobs if you line them up properly.

    Here's a simple example build for Paris.
    I tried to avoid rare/hard to get mods. The only really important thing that is missing is multi-shot and Hammer Shot. Apart from that this is something even I could use with basic Paris. Change the elemental mod depending on the faction.
    Most important are the Serration, fire rate and crit change and damage.
    I and others may have spare Barrel Diffusions (the multi-shot mod) so throw a PM if you see us online.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2014
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  5. Jacob

    Jacob Made Some Friends Thrall

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    Dual Zoren are great melee choice for starting players, they are cheap to craft and their dps doesn't fall off until very high levels even without berseker mod and they are fantastic as a mobility tool too.
     
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