Warframehas been one of the best free-to-play games available for years. One of the biggest reasons for this is the large number of characters (A.K.A. Warframes) that players can choose from. Each of these Frames has multiple ways that they can be built to wreak havoc across the galaxy. Over time, these Warframes have become more difficult to play.
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While earlier Frames can be thrown together with little knowledge of how they work, newer Frames can be extremely difficult to figure out. This is partially due to the way their abilities work together. Yet, some Frames are more intuitive, and great for newer players to pick up.
Updated August 03, 2025, By Aden Carter:The team behindWarframehas continued to add new characters into the game. At this point, there are forty-seven Warframes to choose from, all with widely different abilities. This isn’t even counting the expansive list of Prime variant Warframes. Digital Extremes is always hard at work to create the best characters, but even the newer Warframes are confusing to learn. Recent Warframes like Sevagoth have been confusing players since release — but still, others remain that are beginner-friendly and easy to pick up.
14Easy: Rhino
Rhino is one of the earlyWarframesthat players can pick up in the game by simply farming the Frame’s pieces from Jackal. Players can find this boss on Venus in the mission Fossa.
Rhino is one of the earlier Warframes that was released, but he still holds up as one of the best. As the basic tank Frame, he canhandle the harsh battlesthat others can’t. His Iron Skin ability protects the player from getting damaged, while his other abilities allow the player to plow through enemies and buff allies.
13Complicated: Harrow
Harrow is one of the more difficult Warframes to get and one of the moredifficult to learn.Each one of this character’s pieces comes from killing void fissure enemies, completing a spy mission on Pago, and completing rotation C spy missions.
His abilities are mainly focused on giving buffs to allies. This sounds easy, but it can be very hard to go from hard-hitting characters like Rhino to a character that requires the player to read ally health and shields.Knowing when to cast each of Harrow’s abilitiesis the hardest part of learning the character.
12Easy: Excalibur
Excalibur can be built in a few ways, but newer players have a habit of using his Exalted Blade ability. Players who want to obtain Excalibur can unlock him by farming Lech Kril on Mars. Each time the player completes the mission, they will get a random piece of Excalibur.
Excalibur’s abilitiesare pretty self-explanatory.Exalted Bladelets players run around with a glowing sword that can kill enemies quickly when built right.Slash Dashallows players to rush forward and slash through multiple foes. Finally,Radial Blindflashes a blinding light that paralyzes enemies and blinds them for a short period, andRadial Javalinthrows a projectile that impales enemies to walls.
11Complicated: Lavos
Lavos is the alchemist Warframe that commands the different elements to annihilate enemies. The only problem is that it can bea little tricky to get a handle on the different abilities as they all work together. Each ability imbues the next ability with an element type.
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This type of ability chaining is something that newer players could have a problem with, because the starting characters don’t require it. Most of the starting characters have standalone abilities that can be used more than others.
10Easy: Khora
Khora may seem difficult because she uses one ofher abilitiesto command her pet, Venari. Despite that, though, this Warframe is actually easy to learn. Most of the time, players can just ignore Venari, as she will attack enemies on sight.
Using the other abilities is simple.Strangledomeencases an area in a dome made of metal that traps enemies,Whipclawhits enemies with a whip, andEnsaretraps an enemy in living metal. Players can obtain Khora by completing standard Sanctuary Onslaught missions.
9Complicated: Equinox
Equinox is hard to learn and can beannoying to obtain.This is because Equinox is two Warframes in one; the day form and the night form. Players can obtain all of Equinox’s parts by defeating Tyl Regor on Uranus. Each part drops randomly, and there are eight of them to obtain.
Aside from the annoyance of farming, players will need to get used to a character that hasmore abilities than normal. TheMetamorphosisability changes Equinox from day form to night form and vice-versa. Each form has three different abilities that the player can use as well.
8Easy: Volt
Volt is one of the Warframes that a player can choose to start with, but gamers can also get him by buying the blueprints froma clan Dojo.
Volt’s abilities are simple and easy to enhance with various upgrades. HisShockability shoots out a lightning bolt that shocks enemies, whileSpeed, predictably, makes him move fast.Electric Shieldplaces a shield on the ground to block projectiles, which players can also pick up. Lastly,Dischargelets Volt shoot out a storm of electricity in a small area.
7Complicated: Nidus
Nidus isn’t as complicated as some Warframes, but he is a challenge for new players who switch from easier Frames. To unlock the components to build Nidus, players need to complete rotation C of the salvage mission on Oestrus, Eris.
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What makes Nidus more complicated than other Warframes is theswitch in playstyle. Most Warframes use the standard energy system to use their abilities. Nidus uses energy, but he also uses mutation stacks. This can be a little confusing to players who first use this Warframe, and so making a build for Nidus can prove to be difficult at first.
6Easy: Atlas
Atlas is known as the rock Warframe, because he uses rocks to create rockslides, summon missions, and petrify enemies. He is a powerhouse that most new players can get used to quickly.
Atlas has one of thehighest armor ratingsof any of the Warframes, and players can easily create builds for him. Most players stick to creating a build that increases his final ability,Rumblers. This ability summons rock missions, which fight alongside Atlas to take down enemies.
5Complicated: Limbo
Creating a good Limbo can be hard. Even veteran players have admitted that Limbo is still one of the most complicated Warframes to use, and he has been around since 2014.Limbo is the rift walkerWarframe, meaning that he canteleport enemies into another dimension and pull them back out.
His final ability,Cataclysm, creates a massive area of rift energy that puts players and enemies in the rift world. Players can usually find two different Limbos, good or trolling. Troll Limbos tend to send allies into the rift so they can’t do anything during a mission.
