Warframe: Best Melee Weapons (Top 5) And How To Get Them

Updated:

10 Nov 2019

Crush, cleave, chop, cut: in Warframe, there’s enough space magic to ensure that your weapon of choice, whether it’s a giant sword in the shape of a paddle or a tiny knife, you’re able to carve a path of destruction through waves of power armored clones, robots whose guns make up 60% of their mass, and infested hordes!

While most melee weapons are viable with enough time spent into them, it’s ultimately down to personal preference when it comes to selecting your infinite death machine. However subjective Warframe’s vast selection of archaic weapons may be, some are objectively better than the rest, and come highly recommended if you’re looking for dealing the most damage!

Here’s my top five choices to help you decide what harbinger of ruin you should bring to the battlefield!

(As a side note, this top five pick won’t include any Zaws from the Planes of Eidolon, since Zaws are different beasts altogether)

5. Twin Krohkur

Twin Grineer blades with the words “Head Splitter” in Grineer. With these hooked swords in hand, you can create an elemental dervish of death that’s sure to dismantle and disgrace anything you turn their points against.
Tied with the Dual Kamas Prime for the highest damage for Dual Swords, a superior attack speed over the single variant, decent critical chance and most importantly: an insanely high status chance. With all four +status/+damage mods, you can easily make this a qualifier for Condition Overload, granting even more damage.
With this, and obviously modded correctly, it should be able to grant you a swift victory, or at least enable you to defeat those notoriously tough endgame activities with a tidal wave of Viral procs.
Details on how to get the weapon can be found here.
However, it essentially boils down to this: You at least need a dojo that has unlocked it with a Chem Lab, and two of the single bladed Krohkurs that can be found in the marketplace. It’s difficult to get, but I find the rewards to be well worth it when you reap this whirlwind of destruction.

4. Lacera

Blade and Whip made by Tenno for Tenno. Naturally charged with electricity damage, it’s shocking snaps of scissorlike blades lunges and leaps with a flick of your Warframe’s hand, sending unimaginable volts of pain coursing through your enemy’s systems with a wicked hooked chain.
Like the other Status Chance based weapons such as the one previously mentioned, it’s damage potential is impressive thanks to its innate base Status Chance and decent speeds when paired with something like Condition Overload. However, the fact that you only need two of the +status chance/+damage mods means you’ll have more room for the pure elemental damage mods as well as a significantly improved range thanks to it’s whip.
Details on how to get the weapon can be found Here.
Another Dojo weapon, this time requiring a Tenno Lab where you can research it from. Lacerate, lobotomize, and liberate your enemies’ heads from their bodies with Lacera’s blades and spikes on hand, where the enemy can always be brought to your reach!

3. Lesion

The technocyte virus is an ever growing, ever devouring cancerous tumor upon the Sol system, rotting away the scattered remains of the Orokin Empire, carving vast scars and wounds, leaving behind only itself. As a Tenno, you can wield this wave of miasma and pain for yourself in Lesion! A horrifying polearm meant to create vast, gaping, sickly wounds in both man and machine!
Another status weapon (what can I say I think status chance is more helpful) that has the second highest damage among polearms, wide sweeping attacks, the highest status chance among polearms, and has a passive that allows you to swing even faster and deal more toxic damage when you proc a status effect.
The only downside is it’s short range for a polearm and the fact the status proc’s buff cannot be stacked, but that’s a small trade for melting (literally) anything in your path with corrosive acid or viral damage.
Details on how to get the weapon can be found here.
It’s a market weapon, however, you also require the polearm Tipedo to be constructed first as a base for the infestation to coat it, after which...biological warfare lies at your fingertips and on the living, biting edge of your snapping weapon.

2. Silva & Aegis Prime

Favored weapon of the Fae King of the Forest, this flaming mace and shield shines with an enlightening glow. Unfortunately for your enemies, the only enlightenment they’ll be receiving is the light entering their skull when you bash it open with this gilded gavel.
Boasting the highest damage amongst the “sword and shield” class of weapons in Warframe, it’s high critical chance, status chance, and damage reduction when blocking make for a seriously dangerous weapon.
Only truly hindered by its speed (and cost), the Silva and Aegis Prime is essentially a wrecking ball. Start on the defensive, as blocking damage will provide charges which further increase its already deadly amounts of crit and status chance.
Details on how to get the weapon can be found here
As a prime weapon, the Silva and Aegis Prime are only obtained from relics, which are listed on the link above. Therefore, you’ll need luck if you want your pieces to construct it. Alternatively, you could buy it from somebody on the Trade Chat, provided you have adequate platinum.

1. Gram Prime

It was too big to be called a sword. Heavy. Thick. Massive. Indeed, it was describing a hunk of raw iron. But the father of swords, bathed in the energy of the Void, is born anew to serve the Tenno as a blade of planetcracking power, wieldable only by them.
Totally a weapon you’d see space ninjas using, right?
Boasting the highest damage (tied with Arca Titron), highest status chance, highest crit chance, and highest critical multiplier among all heavy blades, it’s truly a sight to behold on the battlefield. It works well with critical based mods, status based, pure damage really, it’s surprisingly versatile, only marred by slow attack speed but, who’s to say that isn’t part of the charm?
It’s long range of 8 meters is nothing to scoff at, and it can rag doll enemies impressively.
Details on how to obtain the weapon can be found here
As with most Prime weapons, it’s obtained by opening specific relics, of which can be found on the link above. It will be difficult to get, unless you’re willing to part ways with platinum in exchange.

As with most things in Warframe, it’s all up to personal preference (and what looks cool to you) for your choice of weapons, but that doesn’t stop this article from trying to be objective as possible.

Which weapons do you think belong as ‘the best’? Which are your personal favorites?

Comment down below and see you on the battlefield, Tenno! (Or a relay I guess)