Warframe is no stranger to unique weapons, ranging from plasma shotguns to fully automatic explosive assail rifles. Yet, one category of weapons most forget to mention is secondary weapons.

Most secondary weapons come with stronger Mods than their main counterparts, potentially making them stronger than primaries when modded correctly. Just like melee weapons or primaries, secondaries can come with interesting mechanics to prepare them apart from the residual. Some even let players add custom effects, such as gaining strength on a kill or gaining space ammo. Here are some of the strongest secondary weapons players can use in Warframe.

Updated May 7th, 2022, by Charles Burgar: While no major meta shift has occurred recently, the introduction of Incarnon weapons in the Angels of the Zariman update has given united states of america a new meta contender: the Laetum. We've updated this tier listing to include the Laetum pistol, and we've made some slight tweaks to other entries to better explain why we ranked them in that particular spot.

11 Catabolyst

Warframe Proboscis Cernos

The Catabolyst is an Infested secondary that shares a reload mechanic with Tediore weapons from the Borderlands franchise. This beam weapon fires Corrosive energy that easily strips armor. When you reload, yous throw out an Infested grenade that deals immense AoE impairment—fifty-fifty more than if the mag was fully depleted.

Being able to employ a secondary with Corrosive, Viral, and Oestrus all at in one case is enough reason to catch this weapon, even so this weapon'southward reload mechanic makes it a truthful menace for just about all content. Debuff enemies with the beam, and then finish them with a grenade toss. While it isn't a contender for the male monarch of secondaries, the Catabolyst has more than enough pros to warrant building.

10 Kuva Brakk

Warframe Kuva Brakk arsenal menu.

Should players need a solid secondary shotgun that tin can inflict condition effects and deal critical hits, the Kuva Brakk is the best choice available. With a high base damage at 130 per shot and a 29% critical chance, this secondary is null to scoff at. An 11.i% status chance also allows this weapon to easily apply Viral, Corrosive, or most any status disquiet when using a hybrid build. It likewise comes with an implicit elemental damage type, as the Kuva Brakk is a Kuva Lich weapon. Be warned: this weapon has horrendous harm falloff. Make sure you have a Weapon Exilus Adapter and the Lethal Momentum Mod before you consider farming for this gun.

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8 Tenet Detron

Warframe Tenet Detron

If you're a die-hard Detron user, don't allow the Tenet Detron's stats fool you. The weapon seems to exist a modest upgrade to the Mara Detron at first glance, but this doesn't consider a few things:

  1. The Tenet Detron has an additional elemental damage type.
  2. Information technology fires 10 projectiles instead of 7.
  3. Information technology tin empty its entire mag in a 2nd through its alt-fire.
  4. The Tenet variant's critical stats are good plenty to warrant making a hybrid build.

These improvements make the Tenet Detron one of the best secondaries in Warframe, particularly for priming Condition Overload weapons. A Galvanized Shot Modernistic, when paired with a status build, results in a massive heave to your damage output. Very few enemies will survive but a few shots of this weapon, let alone the gun'southward alt-fire.

seven Knell Prime

Warframe Knell and Scourge Prime

Harrow Prime'south signature weapon is zero short of a powerhouse. Featuring double the crit chance and higher base impairment than its default analogue, the Knell Prime number shreds through hordes of enemies with an infinite supply of high-damage rounds.

The Knell Prime has a unique feature where landing a headshot will grant the weapon infinite ammo, 0.5x more critical multiplier, and +20% status risk for two seconds. This stacks up to three times, granting a monstrous corporeality of status and critical stats. Land a single headshot, then become on a killing spree with a fully-automatic pistol. It's a pocket Rubico Prime with infinite ammo and is fully automated. Alas, its lack of AoE qualities makes it fall behind the meta secondaries of Warframe.

vi Pyrana Prime

Warframe Pyrana Prime pistol stats.

The Pyrana Prime is arguably one of the strongest guns in the game. Information technology might have a lackluster status risk of 3.6%, yet the gun'southward raw impairment output is so high that it can brute-strength through almost forms of damage resistance. Excellent base impairment and disquisitional stats brand the Pyrana Prime a great workhorse weapon, farther amplified if you go a triple impale. Later you lot state iii quick kills, you go an ethereal Pyrana in your other hand for a few seconds, doubling your magazine while increasing your fire rate. Clearing hordes of enemies becomes trivial when the Pyrana Prime is in its dual-wield state.

With that said, this gun's lack of status effects does hurt its viability in Steel Path. It also needs to oftentimes reload while a burn down rate Modern is installed, something you tin can counteract with Cabalistic Pistoleer or a reload Modern. So long as yous bring an armor-stripping Warframe and accept a ways of reloading this weapon quickly (or non at all), this gun is nothing short of S-tier.

five Sporelacer Kitguns

Warframe marketing board for Kitgun forge vendor.

Sporelacer Kitguns are created past combining a Sporelacer butt with a secondary grip and magazine. These Kitguns unleash a volley of spore sacs that explode, dealing a massive amount of Toxin impairment to anyone caught inside the blast radius.

Since these weapons can exist fired rather quickly, the Sporelacer excels equally an add-clearing weapon in tight corridors. A few shots from this gun are enough to kill enemies in high-level content and fifty-fifty Steel Path. Those tired of the Kuva Nukor or more precise secondaries should craft a Sporelacer secondary equally soon as possible.

4 Tenet Cycron

Warframe Tenet Cycron

Many Kuva Nukor fans were looking frontward to the Tenet Cycron, the Corpus' take on the renowned Kuva Nukor secondary. Both office similarly: they fire a beam that applies status furnishings and chains between targets. What makes the Cycron unlike is its higher status chance, battery-charged magazine, and innate Estrus damage.

Is that enough to make the Tenet Cycron meliorate than the Kuva Nukor? No. The Kuva Nukor'southward absurd 5x disquisitional multiplier and innate Radiation damage make it far improve suited for slaying targets in Steel Path. The Tenet Cycron is a slightly worse version of the Nukor, sacrificing potential damage output for more frequent status procs.

Don't let the comparison dishearten y'all. The Tenet Cycron is still a fauna of a sidearm, applying hundreds of condition procs in the blink of an eye. Crowds will struggle to survive against hundreds of Heat procs and the gun'south good base damage. It might not tiptop the Nukor, yet the Tenet Cycron manages to carve its ain place in Warframe'due south secondary meta.

three Epitaph

Warframe Epitaph

Practise you love weapons that deal millions of harm per shot? Practice yous love weapons that have large AoE explosions? If yous said "yes" to either of those questions, you lot need to build the Epitaph immediately. It'south a devastating that is arguably a sidegrade to the Kuva Nukor.

Sevagoth'south signature arm-mounted crossbow releases massive AoE blasts that always inflict Cold when uncharged. You can use this fashion to apply quite a few status procs to crowds, weakening them for your charged shot. The Epitaph'southward charged bolts deal cataclysmic damage, featuring amazing base harm and great critical stats. Direct shots ever proc Impact, giving each shot a lxx% chance at applying Slash if you're using the Hemorrhage Mod. But put, there aren't many enemies in Warframe that volition survive a single charged shot from this weapon.

2 Laetum

Warframe Laetum Incarnon Form

It might be a shock to encounter the Laetum this high, yet its Incarnon state and Evolutions more warrant a high spot on this list. The Laetum is a semi-motorcar pistol that can bargain over a million damage per shot. If that wasn't plenty, the gun morphs into an Acceltra with a 220-circular magazine if you land a few headshots with the semi-automobile mode.

Calling the Laetum a secondary Acceltra is an understatement. Thanks to this weapon's Evolution passives, you lot can gain a permanent 1,200% damage increment or a chance of non-crits dealing ii,000% more damage. Both modes benefit from the Evolution passives, and the weapon'due south cadre stats are good enough to build it for simply about annihilation. Hybrid builds will annihilate enemies with a torrent of status procs and crits, while pure condition builds can get a frequent 2,000% damage increase. If you go for a hybrid build, apply Cascadia Empowered to accept each status effect increase your gun'southward base damage. Desire fifty-fifty more damage? Run Synth Charge and fully empty your mag; all 220 shots will deal triple harm.

Overall, the Laetum is a fantastic weapon in every state of affairs. Yous can use the primary fire to land devastating headshots from a altitude, then morph the gun into an add-clearing automobile in an instant. Steel Path Acolytes and Liches but cook to this gun'due south Incarnon form. If yous're willing to put in a little piece of work landing headshots—which you can circumvent with the Scourge—this is the all-time secondary weapon in Warframe.

i Kuva Nukor

Warframe Kuva Hind and Kuva Nukor weapons

After players started obtaining the Kuva Nukor from Kuva Liches, it became articulate which weapon was going to dominate the meta until further notice.

The Kuva Nukor is a potent mix of the Atomos and the Synapse. This weapon chains its harm betwixt targets whenever information technology makes contact with an enemy, a mechanic that automatically makes information technology one of the strongest guns in the game. What makes the gun truly powerful is its 50% base condition chance. Modding for status chance allows this weapon to inflict hundreds of Heat or Gas procs on a target in a few seconds. It as well has the highest critical damage multiplier in the game at 5x damage. Obtain sources of condiment critical chance such as Harrow or Arcane Avenger to turn this already groovy weapon into the strongest secondary in Warframe history.

Next: Warframe: Every Kuva Lich Weapon, Ranked