Warframe (PC, PS4, Xbox One) is getting a comprehensive weapon update soon, affecting nearly every firearm. Stats, crafting costs, and minimum requirements will all be adjusted.
Alongside your Warframe suits, the many weapons in Warframe are the main stars. Depending on whether you’re using a lethal Tigris shotgun, a bullet-spewing Grakata, or the glass cannon Astilla, the gameplay experience changes dramatically.
However, it has been a long time since there has been any change to weapons. Therefore, the developers have prepared a massive balance update for nearly all guns.
Why are the weapons being changed?
As part of the upgrade, all weapons have been uniformly categorized into mastery ranks. Mastery ranks are somewhat like belts in martial arts. If a weapon is bound to a certain rank, you can only use it if you’ve reached that rank.
To reach higher ranks, you need to complete specific challenges in the game. To qualify, you have to grind a lot of experience points. The previous categorization of weapons into mastery ranks was, however, quite arbitrary.
For example, you only needed rank 7 for the powerful Astilla, and the also strong Grakata didn’t even require any rank!
Weapons have been categorized into new mastery groups
According to the new guidelines, the weapons are now sorted by damage and crit values and categorized into the appropriate mastery ranks. However, other factors like reload speed and fire rate have also been taken into account.
As a result, some strong weapons are not ranked as high due to long reload times as one might expect from their damage output. Many weapons have also been buffed and partially nerfed to solidly fit into their respective categories.
- You can find the complete list of all weapons and changes in the Warframe forum.
- The update does not apply to beam weapons, melee weapons, and Conclave weapons.
What is yours remains yours
With the update, many weapons will be categorized into new and usually higher mastery areas. Does this mean that you may no longer be able to use your beloved weapon because it suddenly jumped from rank 4 to rank 10 and you have not yet reached that level?
The developers quickly reassure you. Your previously used weapons can still be used. The new categorizations only apply when you do not already own the weapon and are buying or building it anew.
Also good to know: The crafting resources will be partially changed and will now more often include materials from the open-world map Plains of Eidolon.
In addition to weapons, 9 Warframes are also set to be changed. This divides the community!
