The S Tier

These are the best Frames in the game and you simply can't go wrong with any of them in (almost) any given situation. Everything that Good and Above Average Frames can do, these, most of the time, can do better. If you want to stay in the meta, you should focus on one of those Frames.

As far as pure DPS Frames go, Saryn is considered as the best, and the most over-powered. Her ability to disintegrate everything, even in the end-game trivializes a lot of mission types and lets you just breeze through level 100+ content. Her main advantage over other DPS Frames comes from her ability to dish out Damage constantly.  With Saryn, you don't have to reset your aim, build up, or even care about such silly things as walls, because her abilities go straight through them. Moreover, she scales well into the end-game and focuses on Viral and Corrosive Damage, which helps a lot when dealing with armored targets. On top of that, she has some survivability and self-buffs going for her. All these combined results in Saryn being, arguably, the best overall Frame currently available in the game.

If you want to play Saryn, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Defense
• Survival
• Extermination
• Interception

Octavia is no doubt one of the best Frames in the game, if not THE best. Her Metronome ability provides various powerful buffs (Invisibility, Attack Speed, Movement Speed, Armor Increase, Multi-Shot, and direct Weapon Damage boost) to all teammates, and to her (the fact that she can self-buff with the Metronome pushes her even further ahead of other buff Frames). In fact, Her incredible Buffing potential is enough to push her all the way to the S Tier, and she can do massive Damage to boot. Her Mallet ability is one of the most powerful offensive AoE Damage Dealers in the game. Moreover, its Damage scales unbelievably well into high levels and using it does not require too much in a way of skill, making Octavia very easy to play. All in all, the term "balance" does not apply too well to Octavia's incredible toolkit...

If you want to play Octavia, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Sabotage
• Survival
• Excavation
• Mobile Defense

Being, arguably, the most versatile Frame in the Game, Gara is a Jack-of-all-trades, who comes without any standard drawbacks that are usually associated with being "good at everything". She is able to demolish groups of mobs with her Shattered Lash and her Damage scales really well. She is very hard to kill thanks to her unbelievably strong defensive toolkit. Her Splinter Storm is one of the strongest damage-reduction abilities in the game, and it can even be placed on objects that require protection, which is rare. On top of that, she can defend objectives with her Mass Vitrify and is capable of putting out decent CC. The ability to do everything, even on the highest level, and without any visible drawbacks, secures the S Tier spot for Gara.

If you want to play Gara, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Defense
• Mobile Defense
• Extermination

Ivara is one of the most universal Frames in the game, which makes her a great addition to any team. Does your team need an additional DPS? - Ivara can handle it. Does your team lack Crowd Control potential? - Ivara has got it all covered. Does your team need a sneaky Frame? - Ivara can do that as well. Does your team look like it could use some Damage buffs? - Guess what, Ivara has an Augment for that. Even though Ivara isn't the best Frame at any task, she can pretty much do everything, and do it well. She is a Jack-of-all-trades that is actually pretty good at everything she does, just not "the best" at anything. If you have been looking for a truly universal Frame, look no further, Ivara has got you covered.

If you want to play Ivara, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Spy
• Survival
• Assassination
• Rescue

Equinox is a unique Frame that actually possesses more than 4 main abilities, thanks to her Night & Day mechanic. The Metamorphosis ability allows her to gain access to two sets of three unique abilities, for 6 unique abilities in total (+ the Metamorphosis, of course). This abundance of abilities lets players build Equinox in various ways, but she mainly excels at two things: Obliterating every enemy around her with Maim (her Damage scales very well, so she can AoE clear even in very high-level missions, moreover, Maim is very easy-to-use, and charges unbelievably fast), and directly buffing Team's Ability Strenght with her Provoke ability, which makes her one of the best buff Frames. Unlike some other powerful Frames, Equinox is a specialist who does her job perfectly and just can't be substituted by any other Frame (unless you want a substitute that does the same thing, but much worse).

If you want to play Equinox, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Defense
• Survival
• Extermination
• Interception

While some Frames are renown for their flexibility, Crowd Control potential, Tankiness, or Support abilities, Mesa does not care about any of these traits. Instead, she focuses on her Guns. In fact, she is the best gunslinger Frame in the game and packs one of the highest possible ranged DPS outputs in Warframe. Moreover, Her great Damage potential comes without any visible drawbacks. While other high DPS Frames have to build up before unleashing hell on their opponents, Mesa can destroy everything in her path almost instantly. One might think that with this kind of firepower, Mesa lacks in the defense department, but she doesn't (Her Shatter Shield allows Mesa to reflect incoming bullet fire, which is more than enough of a defensive ability for a ranged Frame)! On top of that, Her Shooting Gallery is a solid offensive buff that doubles as Crowd Control ability. All in all, Mesa is one of the strongest DPS Frames in the game, and she comes without any visible drawbacks.

If you want to play Mesa, we recommend the following types of missions:

• All types of missions
• Basically all End-Game content

Every team needs someone who will do the dirty work, someone who will watch everybody's back, someone who will become everyone's guardian angel, and someone who will make sure that everybody is full on Energy. This someone is Trinity, the best Support Frame in the game. Placing a straight-up Support Frame in the S Tier might feel like overkill, especially when the said Support Frame does not come with anything else, other than Support abilities, that is worth a mention. But, Trinity can greatly benefit any team that she is a part of, and She will make every team stronger, no matter its composition (can you say that about any other Frame?). Her powerful Party Heals, Insane Damage Reductions, and Shield Restorations just cannot be overlooked or overvalued, and that is why she holds a place among the best of the best.

If you want to play Trinity, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Any End-Game content
• Any type of mission

The Good Tier

These Frames have something that they excel at, but that something just isn't quite enough to push them to the S Tier (some of them are very close). Every single one of the Good Tier Frames can jump to the S Tier is the meta shifts slightly, so don't be surprised if, for example, an Excalibur or Rhino jump up to the S Tier in the foreseeable future.

Rhino is one of the most durable and most popular Tank Frames. His quite simple playstyle makes him ideal for newer Players, but seasoned veterans find him powerful and enjoyable to play nonetheless. He feels heavy, dominating, and powerful thanks to his versatile and straightforward ability toolkit (which might be taken as a negative by players who like complexity, but sometimes good old Brute Force is the way to go if you want to get the job done). His Rhino Charge is fun-2-use and lets you feel... unstoppable like a Juggernaut. His Iron Skin lets him just laugh at enemies while they futilely try to hurt him, His Roar is a decent Damage Buff, and the Rhino Stomp is, arguably, one of the best CC abilities in the game (its 25m base duration is simply insane). Moreover, Rhino scales really well into the late game and is just the kind of Tank you want in your team (the kind that can Tank, Crowd Control, Buff, and deal Damage at a top level - you can compare Rhino to a Swiss Army Knife, except Rhino is most likely a lot more durable). All these Features grant Rhino a position near the Top, and might actually be enough to bump him straight into the S Tier in the foreseeable future.

If you want to play Rhino, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Hijack
• Survival
• Defense
• Sabotage

We can summarize Excalibur in a few words: Exalted Blade + Chromatic Blade. That's it, neeeeext...

This master swordsman combines unbelievable melee Damage output with good Crowd Control and decent survivability. As hinted in the previous paragraph, his Exalted Blade + Chromatic Blade Combo results in him being one of the best melee Frames in the game, because it lets him deal primary elemental Damage (Heat, Cold, Electricity, or Toxin, depending on the Energy Color). Excalibur's main weakness is the fact that, although he can take punishment, he can't take enough of it to work as a Tank. However, this weakness is totally mitigated by the Excalibur Umbra who can run Umbral Fiber and Umbral Vitality, making him a very hard (and dangerous) nut to crack. Excalibur is not in the S tier, because he pretty much needs his Umbra variant to show his full potential.

If you want to play Excalibur, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Pretty much all kinds of missions can be completed with Excalibur

Chroma is THE Single-Target Burst Damage Dealer of the game. While other Frames are better at dealing AoE, Cleave, and Sustained Damage, not one comes close to Chroma's insane Burst potential. Moreover, He is very durable for a Frame with such high Damage potential. Thanks to this, Chroma is a top choice for Eidolon Bosses and the Profit-Taker. However, while incredibly powerful, Chroma is a very linear Frame that struggles a bit in missions that don't require his massive Damage output, and instead, promote spread Damage that can eliminate multiple enemies at a time, like Defense, for example (this drawback can be eliminated with a proper build and/or weapon, however, so it does not hold Chroma back by too much). Overall, He is a durable Burst Damage monster and a force to be reckoned with.

If you want to play Chroma, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Assassination
• Eidolon Bosses
• Excavation 
• Profit-Taker

First of all, if you want to play a Tank in Warframe, why even bother with Wukong when you can get Inaros instead? This question pretty much sums up Inarose's placement on the List, but let us look a little more deeply into this subject, shall we? Inaros is incredibly hard to put down, like Wukong. He can do decent Damage in melee, unlike Wukong, and he is also able to Crowd Control multiple enemies with his Desiccation, unlike Wukong. Inaros also possesses potent self and group Healing ability in a form of the Scarab Swarm which cements his role a flexible melee Tank Frame that is very useful for the team, unlike Wukong. Inaros is how the Tanks in Warframe should be, he excels at his role but also can do a lot of other things (like CC, Support, and even DPS) if needed, unlike Wukong.

If you want to play Inaros, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Survival
• Sabotage
• Defense
• Hijack

Nova was released six years ago, which makes her one of the older Frames, but this "old" lady is still alive and kicking, and trust us, you wouldn't want to get kicked by her... Nova still remains one of the most versatile offensive Frames in Warframe. She combines great DPS (her Antimatter Drop ability has a low range of 15 meters, but it can be shot through walls, which greatly increases its viability) with strong Crowd Control abilities and powerful enemy debuffs (similar to Banshee, but without Banshee's limitations). The main reason why Nova is in Good Tier and not in the S Tier is the fact that she is very fragile. Her below average Health count and Weak shields make her very vulnerable to incoming damage and force you to be on your toes almost constantly.

If you want to play Nova, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Defense
• Mobile Defense
• Interception

Both Shadow and Substance, Limbo can be everywhere and nowhere at once, thanks to his ability to disrupt the space-time continuum. Like a Frame that manipulates time and reality should, Limbo is a true master of Crowd Control and Defense. His Banish, Stasis, and Cataclysm abilities can lock down enemies completely, which trivializes some encounters. The biggest downside of many otherwise powerful Frames is their weakness to nullifiers, but Limbo is different, and that makes him stand out. When against nullifiers, he can use Cataclysm in a combination with the Rift Surge, rendering nullifiers ineffective against his Crowd Control abilities. This makes him the Crowd Control Frame of choice for almost any mission type.

If you want to play Limbo, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Defense
• Mobile Defense (arguably, Limbo is the best Mobile Defense Frame in the entire game)
• Rescue
• Excavation

Being the zealous paladin of Warframe, Oberon employs his sacred powers combined with his zeal to destroy enemies and aid allies in combat. As a true Paladin should, Oberon can survive a lot of punishment and is one of the most durable Frames in the game. Moreover, he can heal teammates thanks to his Renewal and Reckoning abilities, which comes in handy in a lot of mission types. On top of that, with the Phoenix Renewal Augment Oberon can save his allies from certain death (arguably, this is one of the best Augments in the game). However, he lacks in Damage department and his Crowd Control abilities are not the best. All in all, Oberon is one of the best support Frames in the game and one of the top choices for Eidolons and Profit-Taker fights.

If you want to play Oberon, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Defense
• Eidolon fights
• Profit-Taker fights

In the right hands, Titania is a true Jack-of-all-Trades Frame. She provides consistent AoE Damage (when built properly, Titania can maintain her Razorwing ability for a very long time), solid and reliable Crowd Control, and some Buffs. Her universal kit makes her a good addition to any group. This versatility bumped her up the list, but we might reconsider her placement and lower her by a Tier at a later date if we receive enough feedback (after all, being Jack-of-all-Trades means that you are also the master-of-none). If there is one thing that keeps Titania back, it is certainly her somewhat lackluster survivability.

If you want to play Titania, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Excavation
• Extermination

Nidus is an embodiment of infestation. He feeds on his victims and constantly mutates to adapt end overcome even the hardest of challenges. He is very well-rounded and versatile Frame that can do pretty much everything, but at the same time, he is not broken in any way. The first word that comes to mind when describing Nidus is Balanced (which is quite strange for a Frame that is based around constant mutation and adaptation). He currently sits in a perfect spot - he has access to a great CC in a form of Larva, but it has a rather short duration, he can deal good Damage with Virulence, but he must build it up first, His Parasitic Link is a great survivability tool, but it requires Mutation Stacks and has to be maintained properly, and His Ravenous ability is well-balanced by its Mutation Stacks cost. As you can see, Nidus has a great toolkit that requires some thought and preparation to utilize properly. He is powerful but has to be skillfully piloted to unlock his true potential, and that is his best feature. Sadly, being well-balanced, well-designed, and very versatile is not quite enough to get him into the S Tier (in fact, Nidus is balanced a bit too well to be in the S Tier; he just needs a single a bit over-tuned ability to get there, however).

If you want to play Nidus, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Survival
• Defense
• Mobile Defense
• Excavation

Loki is a rogue of Warframe. He shies away from the direct approach strategies and prefers to focus on Stealth, Deception, Subtlety, and Distraction instead. Like you can imagine, Frame that is focused on screwing over opponents in various ways does not have too much in the raw firepower department (although, Loki can pull his weight in melee, no problem). But... Loki's Crowd Control abilities are among the best in the entire game, moreover, once applied, they can't be affected by nullifiers, which greatly increases Loki's viability. He is also one of the Frames that can run Power Donation without crippling himself in any way, and that is because he does not benefit from the Ability Strenght that much. On top of that, Loki can turn invisible for a very long time, and while invisible, he actually deals very good melee Damage. Loki's biggest downside is the fact that raw Damage output is more important than godlike Crowd Control abilities in the current meta, and this fact holds him back from the S Tier (if the meta shifts, Loki will surely make his way to the very top of the List).

If you want to play Loki, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Spy
• Rescue
• Sabotage
• Versatility

Important Note: Wisp is a very young Frame (She was released on May 22nd, 2019), so her placement on the Tier List might not be ideal, and She requires a lot more play-testing for further, more thorough, evaluation.

Wisp is very elusive and mysterious Frame. Blink of an eye is enough to lose the sight of Her, but her presence can be felt even if She can't be seen. She comes with a very powerful passive ability that lets her "weave between dimensions whilst she is airborne" (in simple terms, she becomes invisible when she is not touching the ground), this effect breaks when she fires her weapon, however. This passive ability alone is enough to put her in the "Above Average" Tier and things start to get even better for Wisp when we look at the rest of her toolkit. Her Reservoir ability is a versatile buff that can provide Movement and Attack Speed, or Heal over Time and Health Increase to Wisp and her allies, and it also works as a Stun CC (all three can be used at once). Her second ability, the Wil-O-Wisp is a very interesting and quite powerful Defensive/Mobility/Distraction skill. It creates an image of Her that travels forward and distracts enemies; using the ability again will teleport Wisp to image's current location (this can be used as an escaping tool or as a soft CC). Wisp's Breach Surge is a CC ability that effectively increases Damage received by enemies (this also gets bonus points for its synergy with Reservoir). Sol Gate ability allows Wisp to fire a Lazer. Enemies become increasingly more vulnerable to the Sol Gate for its Duration (the longer you fire your Lazer at a target the more Damage it receives per tick, and you can increase Lazer's DPS by increasing its Energy Drain). The Lazer is affected by Reservoir's Motes (Vitality Mote - 25% Damage Bonus, Shock Mote - 25% Damage Bonus, Haste Mote - 100% Corrosive Status chance) which increases Wisp's, already great, internal synergy potential. These powerful synergies make Wisp a very powerful Frame and a contender for one of the top spots on our Tier List.

If you want to play Wisp, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Sabotage
• Spy
• Extermination

The Above Average Tier

These are perfectly serviceable Frames that can be used with the right team compositions and mission types. None of them are weak or underpowered, but they are just a bit too specialized or niche to be put higher on the list. Don't be surprised if one of those turns out to be the best Frame at a very specific task or is a jack of all trades, but sadly, a master of none.

Volt is one of the fastest Frames in the game (and he can provide his allies with that speed), in fact, he can be almost as fast as lightning if he is built to have enough Ability Duration and Ability Strenght. His Speed ability is a bit gimmicky, however, and is not enough by itself to put Volt this high on the List. Luckily for Volt, he also comes with a very good Electric Shield ability that provides some much-needed defense and damage buffs to his team, and the powerful Discharge that deals good damage and doubles up as decent Crowd Control ability, but loses much of its power over distance and can't be used in rapid succession, because it won't work on enemies already affected by it. Overall, Volt is a good Support Frame with a quite interesting toolkit.

If you want to play Volt, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Capture
• Extermination
• Sabotage
• Alert

Nekros is best known for his great looting potential thanks to his Desecrate ability, but there is a lot more to him in fact. His Terrify ability strips enemies out of Armor, which makes a great Support ability out of it. Moreover, Augmented Terrify becomes one of the best Slow Crowd Control abilities in the game (90% movement speed decrease is nothing to sneeze at) while also preserving its Armor reduction, which is just great for area denial and quick enemy extermination. Augmented Terrify alone is enough to lift Nekros up from the Average Tier, and the additional loot that he provides comes as a nice bonus. If you want some solid CC combined with a powerful Debuff and also want to make some additional profit on missions, pick Nekros.

If you want to play Nekros, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Survival
• Defense
• Mobile Defense

Harrow is a strange one. On one hand, he is a very solid and versatile Frame that can Deal Damage, Crowd Control, and Support. On the other hand, he gets handicapped by his own teammates (Harrow has to kill enemies by himself to utilize the Thurible properly, and allies do not seem to care in the slightest). This creates a strange situation for Harrow - He excels in bad teams, which means that he can carry below average players to victory, but can't do his job properly when surrounded by skilled allies. This raises Harrow's skill cap by a lot because you have to be very, very good if you want to be able to help your teammates, even if they don't want you to help them, and they are just rampaging through missions like mindless berserkers (and this happens a lot). Sadly, being crippled by his own team's skill level lowers Harrow's rating to Above Average.

If you want to play Harrow, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Survival
• Defense
• Eidolon fights

Versatility often comes at a price of compromises, and Nezha's jack-of-all-trades toolkit proves it. He can be very tough and take the role of a Tank. He is able to put out decent amounts of Damage thanks to his Blazing Chakram's Augment. He comes with some rather good Crowd Control potential, and he is able to Buff his allies. But, this very universal toolkit is balanced by the fact that every single one of Nezha's abilities is just a little bit under the power curve. This means that there are Frames that do Damage, CC, Tanking, or Buffing better than him. He might not excel at anything, but he can do a little bit of pretty much everything, and do it well enough.

If you want to play Nezha, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Hijack
• Defense
• Sabotage

Khora, of course, comes in a package with her loyal, deadly beast Venari. This crazy cat lady is very good at Crowd Control and can deal quite high amounts of AoE Damage, her defenses are also decent. Her Pet, however, feels rather underwhelming at times. Venari's Attack mode has a Cooldown and Protect mode feels useless most of the time. This leaves the Heal mode as the only "good" mode for the pet which somewhat limits its versatility. But still, having the loyal companion at her site boosts Khora's power-level by a very visible margin. Khora can run out of Energy surprisingly quickly, forcing players to manage their resources instead of spamming abilities for the maximum damage output all the time. This can be seen as a little bit of extra complexity and does not limit her viability most of the time. Overall, Khora feels like she has great potential and is very versatile, but sadly, she also has some visible downsides.

If you want to play Khora, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Defense
• Extermination
• Survival
• Interception

Garuda is known for her never-ending bloodlust and a constant need for carnage. She is a solid DPS Frame that can evaporate multiple enemies very quickly and has some moderate group utility in a form of the Blood Altar. Her Damage scales well into higher levels as well. Garuda's sustain is also very solid, thanks to her ability to convert Health into much-needed Energy. She also excels at effortlessly slaughtering enemies in low-level content, thanks to her Seeking Talons ability. Garuda would be in the Good or even S Tier if not for long downtimes that limit her damage output significantly and keep her overall power-level in check. Her durability is also not very good, making her vulnerable to incoming Damage. To be honest, Garuda without her downtimes, and with some tank would be straight up overpowered.

If you want to play Garuda, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Extermination
• Excavation
• Sabotage

Hildryn is a Tanky Frame that uses her Shields, instead of Energy, to power Her abilities. While not perfect for a Tank, her Shield mechanic comes with some secondary benefits. She can also replenish her Shields shields by picking up Energy Orbs. Moreover, when Her shields are depleted, she becomes invulnerable to all Damage for 3 seconds, which makes her very hard to put down indeed (this effect resets when shields get fully charged again). Her Damage output, while not great is acceptable, however, her toolkit does not work too well against the Infested (notably, Hildryn's Pillage ability is almost completely useless against them, because they don't have Shields and/or Armor). She can buff Shields and Shield Regeneration of her allies, and grant them her invulnerability passive on top of that, with her Heaven ability (this ability also damages nearby enemies, but it drains Hildryn's Shields very fast, which somewhat limits its viability). Her Aegis Storm is AoE Damage ability that spawns Energy Orbs from enemies and suspends them in the air, which means that it also doubles as CC. Overall, Hildryn is a quite powerful Frame that, sadly, comes with some heavy limitations.

If you want to play Hildryn, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Arbitration
• Interception

Valkyr is a very mobile melee fighter that remains decent even after all the changes. Over the years, the game has moved forward by a lot, making close-range, mobile Frames less viable, and Valkyr has, no doubt suffered because of this. Her once-great Rip Line ability became very underwhelming because of the bullet jumping. Despite all this, Valkyr still remains a very durable Frame with good DPS, solid burst,  great mobility, an attack speed/armor buff combined with an enemy debuff (the Warcry is her best ability by far), and some decent CC options that help her finish off enemies. If you like dynamic melee playstyle, you will certainly enjoy Valkyr.

If you want to play Valkyr, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Rescue
• Sabotage
• Excavation
• Versatility

The Average Tier

These Frames do something that other Frames do better, which makes them somewhat underpowered, but still serviceable. If you, for some reason, don't want to follow the meta, there might be some interesting choices for you in this Tier.

Ash is a Stealthy DPS frame that excels at stripping/ignoring enemy armor and dealing massive amounts of Damage. His survivability is very good for a pure DPS Frame and lets him dominate enemies in close quarters. The main things that hold him back are his long damage-setup time and a kit that promotes selfish/solo playstyle. His power-level is certainly above average, but the drawbacks that come with it are too high to warrant putting him higher on the List. If you are a team player, Ash is not a Frame that you will enjoy, but if you are a lone wolf who likes to solo stuff, you might very well fall in love with him.

If you want to play Ash, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Capture
• Rescue
• Spy
• Interception

Banshee provides some decent group utility in a form of the Sonar, which increases Damage taken by enemies significantly (with a right build, up to 1420%). Sound Quake ability is interesting, but she can't do anything else when using it, which makes it somewhat gimmicky, and forces Banshee to rely on her Team while she locks down the area (there are Frames that can do the same thing and still act normally when doing it). Her Crowd Control (lack of solid CC hurts her performance at high-levels significantly) and Survivability (you can get one-shotted pretty easily, which makes close quarters combat rather problematic) are not good enough to put her higher up on the List, sadly.

If you want to play Banshee, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Survival
• Interception
• Extermination
• Excavation

Baruuk supports a decent mix of Crowd Control, Area of Effect Damage and Survivability. However, his CC is not instant and has a line-of-sight requirement, which makes it unreliable in some situations. This fact lowers Baruuk's viability by a lot and holds him back from being a really good and versatile Frame. Moreover, Baruuk's overall image of a "pacifistic" Frame is very odd in a game focused around destroying large quantities of enemies, and his Restraint mechanic holds his Serene Storm back too much in many situations. Despite all this, Baruuk is still a perfectly serviceable Frame, even if there are other Frames that do his job better and without weird restrictions.

If you want to play Baruuk, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Defense
• Survival
• Extermination

When built properly, Vauban can become a very potent Crowd Control Frame, thanks to his Bastille and Vortex abilities. This great CC potential makes him one of the best Frames for missions like Excavation and Mobile Defense. Sadly, Vauban's great defensive capabilities are pretty much the only thing that he has to offer, which makes him rather dull in the long run (spamming Bastille and sometimes adding a Vortex to the "rotation" is not very engaging). Overall, Vauban is a great role player and he is irreplaceable when persistent Crowd Control is needed, but he can't do much else. He would be higher on the List, but sadly, he is too much of a one-trick-pony (and other one-trick-ponies at least try to offer some alternative playstyle options).

If you want to play Vauban, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Defense
• Mobile Defense
• Excavation

Hydroid excels at Controlling multiple areas at once with his Tempest Barrage, Tentacle Swarm, and the Undertow, which makes him great for Interception missions. He can also farm very efficiently thanks to his very good loot potential provided by the Tentacle Swarm Augment. His Damage isn't bad as well. Hydroid can certainly do his job, and do it well at that. But. What holds him back from being higher on the List is the fact that there are frames that can do what he does, but better and more efficiently. You just have to put a lot of effort into the mission for a Hydroid to perform on par with some other, more powerful Frames.

If you want to play Hydroid, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Excavation
• Interception

Deadly as a Sun in the Desert, Mirage is able to put out incredibly high amounts of Damage and, for some time, was regarded as one of the best gun-focused Frames. In fact, her DPS is among the highest in the entire game. She can also Crowd Control to quite well, thanks to her Prism ability (this, however, requires a line of sight and is rather expensive to use for what it does). What Holds her back is her Light/Shadow mechanic that forces her to choose between Damage output and Survivability (when she uses Eclipse in the shadows for defensive purposes, she loses its Damage buff which is annoying, to say the least). Overall, Mirage is a decent weapon-oriented Frame that does her job very well, but not well enough to be higher on the List.

If you want to play Mirage, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Survival
• Excavation
• Extermination
• Interception

Mag is able to manipulate magnetic forces and is quite infamous for her, on the most part unjustified, nerfs (it feels like they nerfed a starting Frame to force in-game progression or something...). Still, She excels at clearing multiple low to mid-level enemies at once and can strip the enemy's armor, which makes her a quite good DPS/Support Frame. Moreover, she can ignore the enemy's armor completely with the proper use of her Polarize ability, and can also do some Crowd Control if needed. Her survivability is on the low side, but she can still take at least some Damage. Overall, Mag is a versatile Frame that is best-suited for clearing low to mid-level content, and She is a great starting character for new Warframe players.

If you want to play Mag, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Assassination
• Exterminate
• Defense

Frost is known for his great defensive capabilities, and nothing else, really. If something needs protecting/defending, Frost is the right Frame for the job, but if the job also involves attacking stuff, then you will be better of picking someone else. He is also good at Crowd Control, but again, his limited offensive potential largely limits his overall power level. With a proper team composition, Frost can almost trivialize Defense and Excavation missions, but he is not able to carry teams to victory on his own. He is a Defensive Support Frame (and the guy that is good to have at your side, because having someone who will do the dirty job for you is great), and he is very good at his job, and only at his job, which makes him, well... average.

If you want to play Frost, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Defense
• Excavation
• Mobile Defense

The Bad Tier

These are mostly underpowered, redundant, or gimmicky Frames that get overshadowed by almost all other Warframes. In some cases, only a rework could bring them higher up the Tier List. However, these are still playable and can be used with at least a moderate success in the right circumstances.

Wukong is tough and very hard to put down (with a right build, he is almost impossible to kill, really), which makes him a great Tank... and this is where the good things about him end, sadly. Warframe is a game that does not require a Tank who can ONLY Tank. All other Tanky frames in the game can do things other than tanking, like Deal Damage, Buff teammates, Debuff enemies, or Crowd Control, for example. Wukong's offensive kit is almost not existent, which forces him to rely on his Teammates to complete objectives and eliminate targets, while he provides very little to the Team in return.

If you want to play Wukong, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Survival (being impossible to put down comes in handy here...)
• Sabotage

Nyx can Crowd Control Enemies with her Chaos ability and mitigate incoming Damage with the Absorb. Sadly, her kit is not too reliable and has some significant issues. Chaos works in a... well, chaotic way and counting on it is generally not a good idea. Absorb, while quite good for soaking up incoming Damage, limits her mobility significantly and drains too much Energy to be counted on when really needed. Overall, Nyx is very unwieldy and somewhat strange Frame that comes with a mix of RNG-dependant and sub-par abilities.

If you want to play Nyx, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Interception
• Defense
• Extermination
• Excavation

After the nerf, Ember has fallen out of favor. This almost purely offensive Frame just can't keep up with other DPS Warframes, especially when running high-level content (if you pick up Ember, avoid the end-game if possible). Her damage doesn't scale well, which lowers her impact significantly. If you want to pick up a DPS frame, you will be better off picking up Saryn, for example. However, if you are determined to play Ember at higher levels, you should still be able to make Her work, it will just require some good effort, dedication, and skill. If you want to have fun with her, just stick to the low-level content, where she can destroy Targets with very little effort (the contrast between her performance at various level ranges is almost terrifying).

If you want to play Ember, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Infestation (this is where her Fire Damage is actually very good)
• Defense
• Excavation
• Extermination

Revenant is a difficult Frame to rate properly. His kit is quite flexible and can be used with moderate success, but there are many other Frames that can do things Revenant does and more. Too high Energy costs of some of his abilities (hello, Danse Macabre) hinder his viability and might require some finetuning to become really competitive (don't get us wrong, his overall sustain is good, but the Damage to Energy Cost ratio of Danse Macabre is really bad). His Thralls would be very useful at pulling aggro, but they tend to die in seconds, killed by the Danse Macabre and teammates (there is nothing more frustrating than a built-in synergy that turns out to be an anti-synergy).

If you want to play Revenant, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Extermination
• Survival
• Defense

Pretty much the only thing Zephyr is good at is creating Tornados, which sounds fun, but is not very reliable, because Tornados tend to move around rather randomly, which makes them annoying to use and unpredictable, to say the least. When it comes to her other abilities, the Airburst is basically a Tornado booster, and Tail Wind provides good mobility but is very gimmicky. Turbulence is a decent defensive ability but it is not good enough to redeem Zephyr from the Bad Tier. However, if you like to be very mobile and you are able to lower your expectations enough to not get mad at her Tornados, Zephyr can be a Frame for you.

If you want to play Zephyr, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Sabotage
• Extermination
• Defense
• Mobile Defense

Atlas is a rather Tanky Frame with some Crowd Control and Debuff Potentials, but he gets outclassed in all three of these departments by many other Warframes. His kit just feels a bit underwhelming. Even his most recognizable skill, Rumblers, does not perform as well as we might have wanted to (damage buff would turn this Skill into a rather good one, though). Overall, Atlas is almost decent enough to be an average Frame but is not quite there, because there are other Frames that do his job better.

If you want to play Atlas, we recommend the following types of missions:

• Defense
• Mobile Defense
• Survival
• Capture