Warframe damage types - what enemies are weak against

Starting out in Warframe, you don’t need to fret too much about different damage types, as you can just shoot guys until they’re dead. But as time goes by, you'll begin to face more and more difficult enemies. You’re going to have to learn how to slay them with maximum efficiency. In this guide, we will walk you through the damage types in Warframe, how it all works, and what enemy types are weak against.

As you're likely reading this because you're starting out, there are plenty of other guides available. Head to our Warframe guide hub to find some tips to get you started, as well as more in-depth guides for Warframe's more complex bits.

Warframe damage types guide

This guide will be going over the damage types and the factions weaknesses.

It's a relatively basic concept in most games these days, but getting the most out of your gear to deal as much damage to enemies can be the difference between dancing around foes like a ninja, or ending up as a pile of scrap. In Warframe, this is especially important as the game progresses, but it's also vital that enemies are dealt with efficiently.

Preparing for Warframe missions

At any time before going into a mission, you should have a look at the details of the mission you're about to enter in the Star Chart. This gives you information about the enemies you expect while in the mission and it's important for difficult missions to prepare beforehand. You can then set up your gear and mods to most effectively take them on. You'll have loadout slots to help you in preserving builds, so make sure you use them. There are four major factions that you'll fight and each one has their own weaknesses listed below:

• If you’re staring down Corpus enemies, you’re going to want at least one of these these three damage types, if not all three: Impact, Magnetic, and Toxin.
• If you’re facing off against the Grineer, bring Puncture, Radiation, and Toxin.
• If you’re going against the Infested, then Slash, Corrosive, and Heat are your buddies.
• If the Corrupted are your enemies, Corrosive and Cold will be most effective.

To make matters even more complicated than they already are, you'll also need to consider status effects. Every single damage type has a corresponding effect if it manages to trigger. Blast damage knocks enemies down, while Electricity can cause chain lightning to nearby enemies, for example. Certain weapons have higher chance to inflict these status ailments, so keep that in mind when you’re constructing your loadout.

How to deal the most damage in Warframe

Speaking most generally, certain enemy types are vulnerable to specific types of damage. When you’re Modding your weapons to be most effective against enemies, you’re going to want to focus on specific things, depending on what sort of missions you’re looking to do.

Creating damage types works kind of strangely in Warframe. To do so, you have to combine the four “primary” elemental damage types (Heat, Electricity, Cold, and Toxin) to create “secondary” elemental damage. To create Blast, you combine Heat and Cold. For Corrosive, it’s Electricity and Toxin. For Gas, it’s Heat and Toxin. For Magnetic, it’s Cold and Electricity. For Radiation, it’s Heat and Electricity. For Viral, it’s Cold and Toxin.

Combining the damage types works like this: Two primary elemental damage mods next to each other on the weapon Mod page combine. (Read our guide to Warframe Mods for an intro to the topic.) So, if you’ve got a Cold damage Mod next to a Heat damage mod, it’ll create a Blast damage type. If there are a Electric and Toxin damage Mod on the page next to those two, they’ll combine for a Corrosive damage type, giving the weapon both Blast damage and Corrosive damage. If you swap the Heat and Electric mods (so that the list reads Cold, Electric, Heat, Toxin), your weapon will now deal Magnetic and Gas damage. It’s all about placement.

On top of all of that, there’s the three physical damage types: Impact, Puncture, and Slash. Physical damage types can’t be combined, but are good against specific types of enemies.

Making sure you have the right damage types ready is the most important part of late game Warframe. But also having the gear to do so can be vital. For those starting out, do be sure to look at our Warframe Mods guide for some handy hints, while those looking to grab those sweet, sweet, Primes can check out our Warframe Prime Relics guide for more details.