![[Top 9] Warframe Best Daggers And How To Get Them (Ranked Good To Best)-01](/sites/default/files/styles/responsive_image_2x_1240xauto/public/2022-08/top_9_warframe_best_daggers_and_how_to_get_them_ranked_good_to_best.webp?itok=JUYyznAj "Warframe Daggers Main Photo")
Sure Warframe is a game filled with tons of flashy and outrageous weapons, but sometimes you just want to go subtle and take down your enemies from the shadows.
And one of the best melee weapon types for the job is the dagger. These unassuming, nasty little suckers can strike your foes down without them ever even knowing a threat was there. They have limited range, but make up for it with their draw and attack speed.
Though full disclosure, going loud and strong with daggers in Warframe is just as valid as using them for stealth. As long as you know how to mod them properly, you can use daggers for a variety of playstyles. But I think it’s fun to roleplay and go full stealth every now and then.
But anyway, here are all 9 of these cunning daggers currently in Warframe ranked:
Note: This list will only cover single-handed daggers. Dual Daggers are a different category of weapon in the Warframe.
9. Dark Dagger
Coming at the bottom of the list is the dagger with the radioactive sting: the Dark Dagger. “Why” you ask? Well, its critical chance is pretty bad (8%), and so is its critical multiplier (1.5x), but the worst detail that this weapon has is that its stance polarity doesn’t match any of the Dagger stance mods currently in the game.
This means that you’d first have to use a Forma on the stance mod slot to maximize any stance mod’s benefits for your mod space.
But okay, you can argue that it’s not so bad once it’s Forma-ed. Well, there’s also simply a better version of the Dark Dagger out there, the Rakta Dark Dagger. So if you like the Dark Dagger, you might want to consider switching to that when you can.
What the Dark Dagger excels at:
- Irradiating enemies
The Dark Dagger has base Radiation damage and a status chance of 22%. So you’ll be able to inflict Radiation easily.
If you’re unfamiliar with what Radiation does in Warframe, it sends the afflicted enemy into confusion and they’ll attack their own allies while the effect lasts. Further procs of Radiation will increase the enemy’s damage against his allies.
- Multi-elemental attacks
The Dark Dagger works best with multiple elements. Since it already has Radiation damage, adding more elements will allow you to cause even more chaos in battle.
How to get the Dark Dagger:
Blueprints for the Dark Dagger are obtainable via the Nightwave Offerings. The items for sale there are on a weekly rotation though so you might have to wait a while until it’s available again if it’s not there yet.
Dark Dagger Details
8. Ceramic Dagger
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Despite its appearance, the Ceramic Dagger deals mostly Puncture damage (with a little bit of impact) and deals no slash damage.
Now, I’m not going to mince words here, for most players, the Ceramic is pretty much just considered to be MR fodder. Unless you’re intentionally going for a weaker build (or maybe a meme build), you’re probably not going to be using the Ceramic Dagger that much.
But maybe you like the design and intend on taking it for a spin on some low-level missions. Here’s what you’d want to know about it:
What the Ceramic Dagger excels at:
- Fast cuts
Despite its other stats not being all that good, the Ceramic Dagger is tied with the Rakta Dark Dagger with having the highest attack speed among all Daggers. So you’ll be able to cut your enemies faster and go for quick hit-and-runs.
- Puncturing armor
Since its primary damage is Puncture, the Ceramic Dagger excels against Grineer armor and Corpus Robotics. Aside from that, the Puncture status effect reduces enemy damage, making them less of a threat to your Warframe.
How to get the Ceramic Dagger:
Blueprints for the Ceramic Dagger are obtainable via the Nightwave Offerings. The items for sale there are on a weekly rotation though so you might have to wait a while until it’s available again if it’s not there yet.
Ceramic Dagger Details
7. Sheev
Next on the list is the typical Grineer footsoldier’s backup melee. You may have noticed Grineer Lancers equipping this weapon whenever they lose their main weapon for whatever reason.
The Sheev is a decent weapon that sadly just gets outshined by other weapons.
It is also infuriating to farm for unless you get lucky and invasions with all the Sheev’s parts start showing up one after the other.
What the Sheev excels at:
- Status effects
The Sheev has a status effect of 25%. Making it a weapon that would profit a lot from elemental damage and additional status effect mods.
- Inflicting nasty burns
The Sheev’s ground slam attack actually deals Heat damage which is ideal against armored enemies (the heat status effect reduces enemy armor) and enemies with flesh.
How to get the Sheev:
The Sheev’s blueprint and parts are granted as a reward in Invasions. Keep in mind that you need to participate in the Invasion three times to get the reward.
Sheev Details
6. Heat Dagger
The Sheev may give you a little taste of Heat with its slam attacks, but the Heat Dagger gives you the entire meal. The Heat Dagger deals heat damage on all of its attacks.
For some reason though, between the Heat Dagger, Heat Sword, and Dual Heat Swords, the Heat Dagger is the only weapon that has innate Heat damage. Making this weapon the hottest of the hot.
What the Heat Dagger excels at:
- Turning up the heat
The Heat Dagger will help you cut through armored and fleshy enemies like a knife through screaming, sentient butter.
- Versatility
With an equal critical and status chance of 14%, it’s up to you whether you want your Heat Dagger to concentrate on critical hits or burn up more enemies with your status effects.
How to get the Heat Dagger:
Blueprints for the Heat Dagger are obtainable via the Nightwave Offerings. The items for sale there are on a weekly rotation though so you might have to wait a while until it’s available again if it’s not there yet.
Heat Dagger Details
5. Karyst
According to the Codex, this venomous dagger was the “weapon of choice for an exclusive order of Tenno assassins”. This might be referring to the Scoria from the Warframe Ash’s lore. A mysterious sect of the Orokin empire dedicated to the art of assassination.
Whichever the case, the Karyst is an exquisite weapon designed to kill, whether it’s with its wavy, razor-sharp blade, or the deadly Toxin that it’s been dipped in.
What the Karyst excels at:
- Intoxicating foes
The Karyst’s base Toxin damage makes it extremely effective against shielded, fleshy enemies as Toxin damage ignores shields and flesh is weak to Toxins in-game.
- Injecting other forms of pain
With its 26% status chance, the Karyst prime easily procs any status effect you want it to, so mod it to have the elements you need for whatever mission you’re going on.
How to get the Karyst:
You can simply buy the Karyst’s blueprint from the in-game market. You can access the market from the console across the console where you access your quests.
Karyst Details
4. Rumblejack
The Rumblejack was the Drifter’s personal melee weapon during the rule of Narmer in the New War quest. If the Drifter could make good use of it, imagine the devastation the Rumblejack can deal in the hands of a Warframe.
With its base electric damage, the Rumblejack breaks the norm and is likely one of the flashiest pieces of equipment in your arsenal with its bright flashes of electricity with every swing, stab, and cut.
What the Rumblejack excels at:
- Constant status effects
The Rumblejack has a 40% status chance, it’s the highest among all daggers. But not just among daggers, 40% is an enormous amount that sets this weapon among one of the best status effect-centered weapons in the game.
- Crippling enemies
With its default electricity damage, the Rumblejack is best used to stun enemies in place and set them up for further combos with this weapon, or any other high-damage weapon or ability you have.
- Being high-damage
The Rumblejack has the third highest base damage among all daggers, so each hit from this lightning blade hurts that much more.
How to get the Rumblejack:
You get a Rumblejack after completing “The New War” quest. You can buy additional copies, should you want to, from Cephalon Simaris for 100,000 standing.
Rumblejack Details
3. Rakta Dark Dagger
The Red Veil’s choice assassination tool, the Rakta Dark Dagger is the ideal weapon for stealth operations. It has various effects that aid in your survivability behind enemy lines such as making you less visible to enemies and recharging your shields in battle or through stealth kills.
This dagger is a really fun one, and when you use it along with the Red Veil’s other Rakta weapons, you’ll turn into a fearsome hunter, darting in and out of the shadows and taking out targets without a sound.
Compared to the regular Dark Dagger, the Rakta version has higher base damage, critical chance, critical multiplier, status chance, and attack speed. But maybe the best improvement is that it has a stance polarity that actually matches with a dagger stance mod.
What the Rakta Dark Dagger excels at:
- Quick slices
The Rakta Dark Dagger ties with the Ceramic Dagger with having the fastest attack speed among all daggers.
- Hiding you from enemies
Upon equipping or drawing the Rakta Dark Dagger, you get a special effect called “Mind Haze”. This effect makes you harder to spot by reducing the minimum range enemies can see you from by 25% for 30 seconds.
- Restoring shields
The Rakta Dark Dagger has a peculiar vampirism effect where it restores your shield when hitting enemies. It comes with some pretty specific rules though.
- The enemy you hit/damage must be afflicted with a Radiation status effect.
- You must have shields.
- Stealth kills will recharge shields but only if the dagger is in your hand when you press the stealth kill button.
How to get the Rakta Dark Dagger:
The Rakta Dark Dagger can be accessible from the Red Veil syndicate once you’ve reached Exalted (Rank 5). It costs 125,000 standing with the Red Veil.
Rakta Dark Dagger Details
2. Karyst Prime
Compared to its base version, the Karyst Prime has higher base damage, critical chance, critical multiplier, status chance, and attack speed. It still has the innate Toxin damage that the Karyst boasts.
It’s highly advisable that you replace your base Karyst with the Prime version as soon as you can so you can start wreaking some major havoc.
What the Karyst Prime excels at:
- Reaching far… kinda
The Karyst Prime has the longest reach (2.2m) among all daggers (not counting the Innodem’s Incarnon Form). Admittedly that’s not saying too much. But hey, it’s something to consider in an extremely short-ranged weapon class.
- Delivering immense damage
The Karyst Prime’s base damage is not only the second highest among daggers, it’s the second-highest among all melee weapons (not counting explosions from glaives and shots from gunblades). For something so small to have such high damage is mind-blowing.
- Critical stings
The Karyst Prime has the highest critical chance and critical multiplier among all daggers (24% and 2.2x respectively). This makes the Karyst Prime’s critical hits something to fear when you find yourself in Tenno sights.
How to get the Karyst Prime:
Like most Primed weapons, the Karyst Prime’s blueprints and parts are obtainable by cracking Void Relics or trading them with other players. A list of the Void Relics containing this weapon’s blueprints and parts can be found on the “Karyst Prime Details” link below.
Karyst Prime Details
1. Innodem
The Innodem is the latest dagger to come to Warframe. It’s only about 2 months old as of the writing of this article. So admittedly, some more testing in the game is required to fully gauge how great it is.
But on paper, this thing just looks and sounds ridiculous. So I’m just going to call it, this is currently the best dagger in the game.
The Innodem is part of a new type of weapon called Incarnon Weapons. What makes these weapons so special is that after a certain requirement is fulfilled, they transform into their Incarnon Form.
For the Innodem, its Incarnon Form is triggered by performing a Heavy Attack while your combo counter is at 5x or higher and will last for 90 seconds.
While in Incarnon mode, the Innodem gains increased range and attack speed. Attacking while airborne while in this mode will fire projectiles. Also, when performing Finishers in this mode, you will receive a buff called Incarnon Resilience which gives you a 10% damage reduction (it can be stacked 4 times and will last until the Innodem reverts to normal).
And just when you thought it couldn’t get any better, the Incarnon form actually evolves once you complete certain actions. Each evolution grants even more benefits. There’s honestly so much intricate detail to the Incarnon system. If you want to check how to unlock each evolution and as well as what additional boosts and effects they grant, you can check it out by clicking on the “Innodem Details” below which will lead you to its Wikia page.
What the Innodem excels at:
- Being a sword?
The Incarnon Form of the Innodem basically turns the dagger into a sword. It doesn’t even become slower, the Incarnon Form makes the Innodem faster.
- Bringing the pain
The Innodem’s base damage ties with the Arca Triton with having the highest base damage among all melee weapons (not counting glaive explosions and gunblade shots), and that’s not even counting the perks from the Incarnon Form’s evolutions that increase its finisher damage or melee damage upon airborne kills. This is a terrifying dagger to be up against.
- Tanking
The Incarnon Resilience buff is an incredibly useful tool for increasing your Warframe’s survivability in battle.
- Everything else
Each evolution grants the Incarnon form a couple of perks. There are perks that increase the weapon’s attack speed, range, and finisher damage, one even affects your Warframe by increasing its sprint speed. All these effects make every other dagger pale in comparison.
How to get the Innodem:
Can be bought from Cavalero of the Holdfasts syndicate in the Chrysalith when you reach rank 1 (Fallen) with them. It costs 5,500 Holdfasts Standing.
Innodem Details
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