Warframe Tier List: Best Frames by Role in Update 44.1

Update 44 Iceblade of Narin went live on 23 September 2026. It added Narin, the 66th Warframe, plus the Banshee rework and Citrine Prime Access. The Icebind (Update 44.1.0) followed on 7 October with a new game mode of the same name and Riven Splicing. Hotfix 44.1.2 + 2.1 on 15 October added the permanent Tau Prologue quests and opened Epoch Operation: Taubound, an event that runs once, from 15 October to 17 November. Hotfix 44.1.3 on 22 October capped Ammo Efficiency at 75%, removed Riven Dispositions and stopped Acid Shells explosions from chaining. It changed no Warframe ability. Devstream 198 on Friday 30 October at 2 PM ET is the 1st of 2 Tau showcases.

The live board on this page shows its Update 43.5 data from 2 September 2026, and the lists in this article are the Update 44.1 ranking from 16 October 2026.

The S row is unchanged: Wisp, Saryn, Dante, Uriel, Octavia, Mesa and Nokko. 4 frames moved up for Update 44.1: Banshee and Nyx from C to B, Wukong and Gyre from B to A. Narin enters at A, and the lists now cover all 66 Warframes. Filter chips jump by archetype. Prefer Prime variants when farmed (same kit, better base stats).

WispSupport · S · motes

SarynDPS · S · Spores

DanteSupport · S · Overguard

OctaviaFarm · S · Mallet

MesaDPS · S · Peacemaker

UrielDPS · S · Old Peace

NokkoDPS · S · fungal

Tier	Warframe	Archetype	Why
S	Wisp / Prime	Support	Reservoirs give the squad speed, healing and stuns · Breach Surge clears rooms · strong solo
S	Saryn / Prime	DPS/Nuke	Spores and Toxic Lash still rule ESO and dense Steel Path
S	Dante	Support	Overguard generation and Verses · the default Netracell and Archon squad glue
S	Octavia / Prime	Farm/Utility	Mallet and Resonator scaling plus Metronome invisibility carry endurance and AFK-style farms
S	Mesa / Prime	DPS/Nuke	Peacemaker deletes Defense and Index waves · Shatter Shield cuts projectile damage
S	Uriel	DPS/Nuke	The Old Peace demon kit holds S · Update 44 adds Infernum, an Infernalis augment
S	Nokko	DPS/Nuke	Self-sustain, the Sporespring nuke and mushroom invulnerability keep him in S
A	Revenant / Prime	Tank/Survival	Mesmer Skin immortality · the top pick for staying alive at level cap
A	Narin	DPS/Nuke	Neote, Naraemagi and Hakchum build Ice with each hit. Full Ice casts Nurinarim, whose slashes strip Armor and Shields. New in Update 44 as the 66th Warframe · enters at A
A	Kullervo · Gauss · Mirage · Xaku	DPS/Nuke	Red-crit melee, Redline, Eclipse and Grasp stay elite with investment · Xaku Prime moved to the Prime Vault with Update 44
A	Sirius & Orion · Oraxia · Volt · Cyte-09 · Follie	DPS/Nuke	Sirius & Orion can now be rolled in Duviri · Oraxia gains the Brood’s Oversurge augment · Volt’s Speed and Discharge stay strong · Cyte-09’s Resupply packs picked up from the ground now scale their bonus damage with Ability Strength
A	Gyre	DPS/Nuke	Coil Horizon and Rotorswell clear rooms with Electricity. Up from B in the Update 44.1 re-rank · community votes and editorial picks now place her in A · Update 44 left her kit unchanged
A	Voruna · Sevagoth · Styanax · Temple · Lavos · Vauban · Mag · Garuda · Titania	DPS/Nuke	Voruna and Sevagoth nuke rooms · Styanax rains javelins with Final Stand · Temple plays a rhythm kit · Lavos mixes elements · Vauban clears with Photon Strike · Mag holds rooms with Magnetize · Garuda and Titania bring Dread Mirror and Razorwing
A	Khora · Nekros · Protea	Farm/Utility	Pilfering Strangledome, Desecrate and dispensary kits · the default loot and sustain farms
A	Wukong	Farm/Utility	Celestial Twin, Cloud Walker and Primal Fury carry solo and squad runs. Up from B in the Update 44.1 re-rank · community votes and editorial picks now place him in A · Update 44 left his kit unchanged
A	Citrine · Jade · Nova · Harrow · Trinity	Support	Citrine Prime Access is live, and Preserving Shell now covers Companions · Jade supports the squad with Symphony of Mercy · Nova speed · Harrow weapon crit, with Thurible and Covenant now triggering on Weak Points · Trinity energy and healing
A	Rhino · Nezha · Hildryn · Nidus	Tank/Survival	Iron Skin, Warding Halo and shield tanking · Nidus keeps his Update 43 retouch (health, Mutation stacks, Virulence)
A	Baruuk · Gara	Tank/Survival	Restraint damage reduction and Serene Storm for Baruuk · Splinter Storm damage reduction and Mass Vitrify for Gara
B	Banshee	DPS/Nuke	Sonic Boom, Sonar and Sound Quake now chain without rooting her. Up from C after the Update 44 rework. Sonic Boom now strips 70% Armor, Sonar’s Weak Spots count as Weak Points, and Sound Quake leaves a zone for 25 seconds with brief invulnerability on cast
B	Nyx	DPS/Nuke	Mind Control, Chaos and Absorb lock rooms down for squads. Up from C in the Update 44.1 re-rank · Update 44 fixed her lost double jump after Assimilate
B	Ash · Excalibur · Ember · Dagath	DPS/Nuke	Solid with Forma and Helminth · power-crept by the S nukers for 1st-pick Steel Path
B	Zephyr · Chroma · Caliban · Atlas · Yareli	DPS/Nuke	Zephyr lifts enemies with Tornado · Chroma scales with Vex Armor · Caliban summons with Lethal Progeny · Atlas punches with Landslide · Yareli fights from Merulina
B	Inaros · Frost · Grendel · Valkyr · Qorvex	Tank/Survival	Health and objective tanks that lose default slots to the Overguard and Mesmer meta · Update 44 adds Cold Front for Frost’s Snow Globe and Gastroparesis for Grendel, and the decay rate of enemies in Grendel’s gut drops by 50% · Qorvex walls rooms with Radiation
B	Equinox · Oberon · Limbo · Koumei	Support	Niche picks: Maim for ESO, Renewal and Smite, Rift play · Koumei brings a luck kit · each needs mode-specific knowledge
B	Hydroid · Ivara	Farm/Utility	Pilfering Swarm adds extra loot for solo farms · Ivara spies and steals · Update 44 swaps the Shield and Armor values of Hydroid and Hydroid Prime
C	Loki	DPS/Nuke	Niche invisibility and Switch Teleport · invest for mastery or meme builds

Prime note: where a Prime exists, farm or trade it when you main the frame · same abilities, better armor, energy and polarity baseline. Citrine Prime arrived with Prime Access in Update 44, and Xaku Prime moved to the Prime Vault. Narin and Sirius & Orion have no Prime yet.

What is live on 16 October 2026: Update 44 Iceblade of Narin (23 September) added Narin and the Banshee rework. It also opened Yuvan Peak, a new hub on Earth. There Cephalon Melica trades Narin’s blueprints for Entropic Kuva, which Entropic Eximus enemies drop in Zariman missions. Citrine Prime Access and Riven Trait Locking went live the same day. The Icebind (44.1.0, 7 October) added its game mode and Riven Splicing. Hotfix 44.1.2 + 2.1 (15 October) added the Tau Prologue quests and opened Epoch Operation: Taubound to 17 November. Hotfix 44.1.3 (22 October) ended chained Acid Shells explosions through Elemental Ammo, a build seen on Cyte-09, Grendel, Oraxia and Saryn. Their own abilities did not change.

Before Update 44: Update 43 Jade Shadows: Constellations (17 June) brought the dual Warframe Sirius & Orion and Uranus Proxima Railjack. It also added the Protoframes Ryoku (Ash) and Vena (Garuda), a Nidus ability retouch and new Incarnon Genesis weapons. Update 43.5 Amir’s Shockwave followed on 12 August. TennoCon 2026 promised the 66th Warframe, a major rework and the next Prime Access for fall, with the Tau system later in the year. Update 44 shipped Narin as the 66th Warframe, along with the Banshee rework and Citrine Prime Access.

What that means for the lists:

• Support and Overguard still lead: Dante + Wisp remain the “bring these to any squad” duo.
• Nuke and farm hold S: Saryn / Mesa / Octavia / Uriel / Nokko. Uriel gains the Infernum augment in Update 44.
• New frames start in A: Narin enters at A, beside Sirius & Orion and Oraxia.
• Banshee climbs: the Update 44 rework lifts her from C to B.
• Jade loses a Railjack niche: Update 44 removed the boost that Jade’s Symphony of Mercy gave to Railjack armaments. She stays A as a squad support pick.
• Nidus: the Update 43 retouch (health, Mutation stacks, Virulence) keeps him a solid A tank.

Comp pattern: 1 universal support (Wisp/Dante) + 1 nuke (Saryn/Mesa/Uriel/Nokko) + loot or tank flex (Khora/Nekros/Revenant).

Once the frame is picked, the grind (MR, liches, Steel Path) is Warframe boosting on the hub · this page stays the ranking.

Starters: pick 1 of the 3 free starters, then rush a 2nd easy farm frame.

• Excalibur: safest tutorial kit (Blind + Exalted Blade) · B-tier late, A+ for learning.
• Volt: Speed + Discharge teach map pace; paper defenses · graduate to Gauss/Wisp motes.
• Mag: high ceiling Magnetize · squishy until you learn bubbles.

1st farms after starters:

• Rhino (Venus Jackal) · Iron Skin + Roar; still A tank/buff.
• Frost (Mars) · objective defense training wheels.
• Clan dojo: Wukong / Nezha for solo progression.
• Longer term: farm or trade toward Wisp / Saryn / Dante / Nokko · the S core.
• New in Update 44: Narin’s blueprints come from Cephalon Melica on Yuvan Peak, who trades them for Entropic Kuva from Entropic Eximus enemies in Zariman missions. The Market also sells her.

Story gate: the Tau Prologue quests open after The Hex and The Old Peace. Epoch Operation: Taubound only needs Vor’s Prize, so its Eris missions are open to newer players until 17 November.

Need slots, Forma, or Platinum without waiting on Daily Tribute RNG? Read the Warframe Platinum pack & coupon guide, or skip the grind with CTAs below.

This page is a consensus ranked list. The ranking date is 16 October 2026, after Hotfix 44.1.2 + 2.1. It was rechecked on 23 October against Hotfix 44.1.3, which changed no Warframe ability.

1. Community votes: a community vote board that ranks all 66 frames, under its Patch 44 label. It sets the base tier.
2. Editorial check: the newest full editorial list for Update 44. A listed frame moves only when both reads move it the same way.
3. Patch truth: the official Warframe Patch Notes for Update 44 (23 September), Update 44.1.0 (7 October), Hotfix 44.1.2 + 2.1 (15 October) and Hotfix 44.1.3 (22 October). Each move names its 44.x change, or says the kit stayed the same.
4. Live check: Digital Extremes lists Citrine Prime Access, The Icebind and Epoch Operation: Taubound as live.
5. Splits: a listed frame keeps its tier when the reads split, so Dagath and Ember stay B and Loki stays C. When both reads move a frame by different steps, the vote tier wins, so Banshee and Nyx land in B. New and newly listed frames take the vote tier, so Narin sits in A.

Lists from before 23 September 2026 predate Narin and the Banshee rework, so this page reads them as history.

Consolidated from the official Warframe Patch Notes for Update 44, Update 44.1.0, Hotfix 44.1.2 + 2.1 and Hotfix 44.1.3, and from community pick data for September and October 2026. Currency sibling: Warframe Platinum guide.