Warframe is an MMORPG, shooter/slasher wherein you essentially play as space ninjas with the option of stealth.
Emphasis on OPTION.
This game features a massive variety of weapons. From bows and arrows to nunchucks to flamethrowers. But what shooting game would be complete without a healthy amount of shotguns? Here’s a list of the game’s best shotguns for those of you who want to go in loud and hard.
Note: Here are the things considered in the making of this list
- Different players have different definitions of what’s “best”, some may think higher damage is best, while others might want higher fire rates or critical chance. Some even prefer weapons that are easy to obtain rather than farming for hours for something that is only slightly better.
In order to be objective, this list will be based on Digital Extreme’s very own records of weapon usage for 2021. This means the “best” shotguns will be the ones favored by the most players. You can find the full list here. Sadly, you can’t sort it in a way that it will only show shotguns so you’re better off finishing this article first.
- Each variation of a weapon will be considered a different weapon for this list’s sake. So, there can be more than one version of a weapon on this list.
- Any gun the game considers a shotgun can be on the list. Even if they don’t look or act like a shotgun in the traditional sense. Warframe considers a weapon a shotgun if it uses shotgun mods like Point Blank and Blunderbuss.
10. Drakgoon
Fire and watch the pretty ricochets make the bad guys scram for cover
You may be wondering what a Grineer flak cannon is doing on a list meant for shotguns. Well, the game treats this gun as a shotgun and so will we!
Other shotguns may struggle with long-range targets but this gun offers a charged shot that makes your bullets more compact and more viable for bigger distances. Aside from this, another unique characteristic this weapon has is that its bullets ricochet once, allowing each pellet to hit more than once.
The base Drakgoon gets a place on the list instead of the Kuva Drakgoon mainly because of its accessibility. It also has a higher base damage, and though the rest of the stats are slightly worse, this version still shows a higher usage rate from players (0.55% vs 0.23%).
What makes Drakgoon great
- The charge mechanic makes this weapon viable for multiple ranges instead of just being a short-range weapon.
- Ricocheting bullets are very useful in cramped places full of enemies. This can be further improved with the mod Fomorian Accelerant which increases the number of bounces and projectile speed.
- Having a high base slash damage, combined with having a good status chance makes this weapon really good at damaging health.
How to get Drakgoon:
There are currently two ways to acquire the Drakgoon. The easier way is by simply buying the blueprint off of the in-game market. Alternatively, you can get a Drakgoon blueprint by beating the Excalibur Spectre in the Pluto Junction from Neptune.
Neptune-to-Pluto Junction Guide
Drakgoon Details
9. Astilla Prime
Giving the term "glass cannon" a new meaning
Blast your enemies with slugs of glass (oof) with the upgraded version of the Astilla. The Astilla Prime looks good, kills good, and even feels good to use, what’s not to like?
Despite being a shotgun, the Atilla Prime fires a single glass slug instead of multiple pellets per shot.
Lore-wise this weapon belongs to the Warframe Gara and so gets a bonus when used by players using Gara or Gara Prime. The bonus grants a larger ammo pool for the weapon from 120 to 200.
What makes Astilla Prime great
- Along with the original Astilla, this weapon has the second-highest accuracy amongst shotguns. (The Wikia states it to have the highest but this is technically untrue as Phantasma fires beams with 100% accuracy).
- The slugs explode on impact, dealing an area of effect damage that deals even higher damage than the initial impact. The explosion also inflicts status effects separate from the slug itself.
- Having a high critical chance (21%) and a high status chance (37%) gives you a ton of ways to mod the weapon to match your playstyle.
How to get Astilla Prime:
Like most Primed weapons, the Astilla Prime’s blueprints and parts are obtainable by cracking Void Relics or trading it with other players. A list of the Void Relics containing this weapon’s blueprints and parts can be found on the “Astilla Prime details” link below.
Void Relic Guide
8. Phantasma
Melt your enemies with this radioactive shotgun
My personal favorite primary weapon (primarily because I have an amazing riven for it). The Phantasma is a beam weapon with an alternate fire that acts like a grenade launcher, except imagine the grenade releasing heat-seeking missiles AFTER exploding.
“What’s a beam weapon doing in this list?” you may ask. The Phantasma actually fires 6 beams of radiation, giving it its place here. The beams are all concentrated in one direction though, so it’s hard to distinguish them apart.
Like the Astilla Prime, the Phantasma also gets a bonus when wielded by its in-lore match. When used by the Warframe: Revenant, this shotgun gains a boost in magazine size, from 11 to 15.
What makes Phantasma great
- As it is a beam weapon, the Phantasma’s primary fire has perfect accuracy (though the beams only extend up to 20 meters if unmodded).
- This weapon has the highest reload speed of all shotguns (0.5 secs).
- Along with the Convectrix and Phage, the Phantasma also has the highest fire rate among shotguns.
- This has an alternate fire wherein it launches a ball of plasma that explodes on impact. It then releases 5 projectiles that home in on enemies.
How to get Phantasma:
Blueprints for the Phantasma are simply bought from the in-game market. You can access it from the market console across the console where you access your quests.
Phantasma Details
7. Hek
Insert cringy joke about the gun's name here
Yet another weapon that made it on the list despite its other, newer variations not making it. The Hek’s other versions (Vaykor Hek and Kuva Hek) may have stats that are better on paper, but the fact that the regular Hek is just so hekking easy to get makes it have a higher usage rate from the player base.
Compared to the other weapons on this list, the Hek may be the closest thing to a traditional, semi-automatic shotgun. A big, loud gun that fires several bullets per shot and deals a lot of hurt to anyone in front of it.
What makes Hek great
- The Hek has a narrow cone, meaning that its bullets are packed closer than other shotguns. Due to this, the Hek is still useful for moderate distances.
- A high status chance of 10.7% chance per pellet (it fires 7 pellets per round).
- Has an exclusive mod called Scattered Justice, that gives it more multishot (number of pellets per round) as well as the Justice effect. This mod is also exclusive to the base version of Hek.
How to get Hek:
Blueprints for the Hek are simply bought from the in-game market. You can access it from the market console across the console where you access your quests.
Hek Details
6. Corinth Prime
Kahl-175 with his new toy in the New War
At first glance, the Corinth Prime seems like just another normal shotgun.
And then you press your alternate fire button.
This weapon’s alternate fire launches a grenade that manually explodes once you press the alternate fire button again.
What makes Corinth Prime great
- Shares the title of narrowest shotgun pellet spread with Hek and Vaykor Hek.
- This and base Corinth have the highest critical chance and critical multiplier among shotguns.
- This, Cedo and Turmna have the highest status chance among launcher weapons (with the alternate fire).
- Both modes of firing deal massive damage along with having a great status chance.
How to get Corinth Prime:
Like most Primed weapons, the Corinth 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 “Corinth Prime details” link below.
Void Relic Guide
Corinth Prime Details
5. Kuva Kohm
A guy spools up to you with this gun, what do you do?
Both the base and Kuva versions of Kohm feature a trigger function unique in shotguns called the auto-spool. Whenever you hold the trigger, each time the gun fires, the next shot would contain an additional pellet and would have an increased fire rate. It can reach up to a maximum of 12 pellets per shot and a fire rate of 4.17 shots per second.
Think of it like a minigun… but like a shotgun… yeah.
As with all Kuva Weapons, the Kuva Kohm’s max rank increases every time you apply a forma, capping at rank 40. It will also have bonus damage, the type of damage would depend on the Warframe used to spawn your Kuva Lich.
What makes Kuva Kohm great
- Auto-spool gradually increases multishot up to 12 as long as the trigger is held. Fire rate is increased per shot too.
- High critical chance or 19% and an absurdly high status chance of 90% (status chance gets split every time multishot goes up).
- Has the bonuses of being a Kuva Weapon: Max level of 40 and additional bonus damage.
How to get Kuva Kohm:
You can get this shotgun by vanquishing a Kuva Lich that was generated with one. Liches spawn with a random Kuva weapon though so it may take a while to get one to spawn with a Kuva Kohm.
Kuva Lich Guide
Kuva Kohm Details
4. Arca Plasmor
Evaporating groups of enemies since 2017
One of the things that make shotguns really satisfying to use is that *umph* you get whenever you pull the trigger. And in my humble opinion, no other gun in the game has more satisfying umph than those of the Arca Plasmor family. Every time this gun fires, it feels like a wicked bass drop from the top song: Darude Sandstorm (heh).
The Arca Plasmor doesn’t fire conventional ballistic bullets. Instead, it fires a pulse of radiation that knocks enemies down or just straight up disintegrates them if it kills them.
What makes Arca Plasmor great
- Shots inflict a guaranteed Impact status effect.
- Has a default punch through of 3 meters against bodies.
- Enemies killed by this weapon disintegrate, so you can mod it for stealth if you want to.
- It has a low zoom which is useful since its shots are pretty wide. This makes it easier to aim properly.
How to get Arca Plasmor:
You can research and obtain the Arca Plasmor Blueprint in the Energy Lab of your clan dojo.
Getting the Arca Plasmor
Arca Plasmor Details
3. Bubonico
There're just some times when coughing loudly isn't enough to scare people away anymore, that's where this thing comes in
An automatic Infested arm cannon named after the Bubonic plague. True to its namesake, the Bubonico spreads disease and death with innate toxin damage in its primary fire through 7-pellet shots. For its alternate fire, it deals viral damage in the form of a three-round burst that causes AOE on impact.
What makes Bubonico great
- Because it’s an arm cannon, your other hand is free to do other things. You can carry objects and fire while downed, which you can usually only do with secondary weapons.
- High critical chance for primary fire (25%) and high critical multiplier for both firing modes (2.3X for primary and 3.5X for alternate).
- The alternate fire has the highest status chance out of all primary launcher weapons (57%).
How to get Bubonico:
You can research and obtain the Bubonico Blueprint in the Bio Lab of your clan dojo.
Getting the Bubonico
Bubonico Details
2. Tenet Arca Plasmor
When you want to wipe enemies off the face of the celestial body you're on
A version of the Arca Plasmor that is simply a straight-up upgrade in almost every way. The Tenet Arca Plasmor has higher base damage, critical multiplier, and status chance. But props to both versions of the Arca Plasmor for making it to the list (both of them took high spots too).
Like Kuva Weapons, all Tenet weapons raise their max rank every time you apply a forma, capping at rank 40. It will also have bonus damage, the type of damage would depend on the Warframe used to spawn your Sister of Parvos.
What makes Tenet Arca Plasmor great
- Unlike the base Arca Plasmor, the Tenet version features ricochet! The pulses bounce off of walls to potentially deal even more damage.
- Has the bonuses of being a Tenet Weapon: Max level of 40 and additional bonus damage.
- Has a default punch through of 3 meters against bodies.
- Enemies killed by this weapon disintegrate, so you can mod it for stealth if you want to.
- It has a low zoom which is useful since its shots are pretty wide. This makes it easier to aim properly.
How to get Tenet Arca Plasmor:
You can get this shotgun by vanquishing a Sister of Parvos that was generated with one. Sisters spawn with a random Tenet weapon though so it may take a while to get one to spawn with the Tenet Arca Plasmor
Sisters of Parvos Guide
Tennet Arca Plasmor Details
1. Cedo
The king of lead pumpers
Here it is, the best shotgun in Warframe with a 2.85% usage rate out of all primary weapons and a whopping 15.98% usage rate of all shotguns. Here’s why:
The Cedo has 2 firing modes. The first fires fully automatic buckshot rounds with a high critical chance.
The alternate firing mode launches a glaive that ricochets before exploding. This firing mode has an amazing status chance (50% for both the glaive and the explosion).
So far so good, but nothing too crazy yet right? Well, Cedo’s primary fire has another effect. It increases its damage dealt by 60% for each status effect a target is afflicted by.
This means that even if you can just deal 2 status effects on an enemy (which is easy since the alternate fire has an impressive status chance), your weapon will already be dealing 120% more than its base damage. And if you mod it to just have as many status types as possible… you see just how incredible this weapon’s potential is!
As a little bonus, not that this weapon needed one, the Cedo is the Warframe Lavos’s signature weapon and gains Ammo Mutation effect when used by him. This converts unused ammo pickups into ammo for the Cedo.
What makes Cedo great
- Ricocheting and exploding glaives have a high status chance.
- Primary fire takes advantage of the alternate fire’s high status chance with the effect of adding 60% damage per status effect.
- Primary fire also has a great critical chance, further boosting damage potential.
- This, the Corinth Prime and Turmna have the highest status chance among launcher weapons (with the alternate fire).
How to get Cedo:
The blueprint and parts for this weapon can be bought from Father using Entrati standing. You can find Father in the Necralisk in Deimos. Note that you have to be Rank 5 with the Entrati to get all the components and as well as a total of 20,000 standing.
Getting the Cedo
Cedo Details
You May Also Be Interested In:
- Warframe: Best Warframes, Ranked Weakest To Strongest (Warframe Tier List)
- Top 10 Warframe Best Primary Weapons (And How to Get Them)
- [Top 5] Warframe Best Arch-guns And How To Get Them
- [Top 5] Warframe Best Melee Weapons And How To Get Them
- [Top 5] Warframe Best Kuva Weapons And How To Get Them
- [Top 11] Warframe Best Weapons And How To Get Them
