The Ultimate Warframe Loot Guide: Which Frame Reigns Supreme?

The burning question on every Tenno’s mind: Which Warframe gives the most loot? The short answer is that while different frames excel in different situations, Nekros edges out the competition due to his Desecrate ability. This ability re-rolls the loot table on corpses, providing a second chance at valuable resources and mods. However, Khora, Hydroid, and a few others bring unique loot-boosting strengths to the table, making the choice more nuanced than it appears. Read on for a deep dive into the world of Warframe loot and the best frames to maximize your gains.

Loot-Boosting Warframes: A Comprehensive Overview

Several Warframes possess abilities that directly or indirectly increase the amount of loot you acquire. Choosing the right one depends heavily on your playstyle, team composition, and the type of resource you’re after.

1. Nekros: The Undisputed Loot King

Nekros is the gold standard for loot farming. His Desecrate ability consumes a portion of his health to re-roll the loot table of dead enemies. This effectively gives you a second chance to acquire resources, mods, and other valuable items.

• Strengths: High loot potential, versatile in most mission types, works well solo or in groups.
• Weaknesses: Requires health management, less effective against enemies that disintegrate upon death, like infested.

2. Khora: The Crowd Control & Loot Specialist

Khora excels in crowd control and focused farming. Her Pilfering Strangledome augment for Strangledome increases loot drop chances within the dome, making her ideal for Defense, Survival, and Interception missions where enemies are clustered.

• Strengths: Excellent crowd control, high damage output, focused loot farming within a designated area.
• Weaknesses: Requires the Pilfering Strangledome augment, less effective in open environments. Khora is known for her damage with Whipclaw, so no issues here. Being a stat stick ability does mean she can adjust to the faction she is farming against, making the kill time better for looting.

3. Hydroid: The Tentacle Terror with Looting Potential

Hydroid‘s Pilfering Swarm augment for Tentacle Swarm increases loot drop chances from enemies caught within the tentacles.

• Strengths: Good area denial, potential for decent loot gains, can be useful in various mission types.
• Weaknesses: Pilfering Swarm augment is essential, less reliable than Nekros or Khora, energy intensive.

4. Atlas: The Rocky Resource Gatherer

Atlas, while not a primary loot frame, can passively generate extra resources. His Ore Gaze augment causes petrified enemies to drop extra loot upon being killed.

• Strengths: Passive loot generation, good damage output, tanky.
• Weaknesses: Reliance on petrification mechanic, not as effective as dedicated loot frames.

5. Wukong: The Versatile Clone Master

Wukong‘s twin can pick up resources, making looting easier, he has good survivability, and can deal with most content in the game with relative ease.

• Strengths: Excellent survivability, clone can grab resources.
• Weaknesses: Clone AI is inconsistent, not as effective as dedicated loot frames.

6. Ivara: The Stealthy Hunter

Ivara can steal items with Prowl. It can be very effective to steal rare items from stronger targets, this also prevents having to eliminate them.

• Strengths: Stealing rare items with prowl.
• Weaknesses: Stealing is not as effective as other frames.

The Supporting Cast: Frames That Enhance Loot Indirectly

While the above frames directly increase loot drops, other Warframes contribute to efficient farming through crowd control, damage amplification, or speedrunning capabilities. Frames like Saryn, Volt, Gauss, and Mirage can significantly reduce clear times, allowing you to kill more enemies and, ultimately, acquire more loot.

Optimizing Your Loot Farm: Mods, Companions, and More

Choosing the right Warframe is just the first step. Maximizing your loot potential requires careful consideration of mods, companions, and mission selection.

Essential Mods

• Equilibrium: Converts health pickups into energy and vice versa, crucial for Nekros’s Desecrate.
• Stretch/Overextended: Increases ability range, maximizing the effectiveness of Khora’s Strangledome and Hydroid’s Tentacle Swarm.
• Streamline/Fleeting Expertise: Reduces ability energy cost, allowing for more frequent ability usage.

Companions

• Smeeta Kavat: The Charm ability provides various buffs, including a chance for double resources (Critical Chance Buff). This is THE BEST farming companion for solo play.
• Chesa Kubrow: Can disarm enemies and retrieve loot, but less effective than the Smeeta Kavat for resource farming.

Mission Selection

• Dark Sector Survival/Defense: Offers increased resource drop rates and is ideal for utilizing Nekros, Khora, and Hydroid.
• Void Fissures: Provides a chance to obtain Prime parts and other valuable rewards while completing missions.
• Index: Offers a quick way to farm credits, which can be used to purchase resources and blueprints.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Warframe Loot

1. Does stacking multiple loot-boosting Warframes increase loot drops exponentially?

No, the effects of multiple loot-boosting abilities are generally additive, not multiplicative. While bringing multiple frames like Nekros and Hydroid can increase overall loot, the benefit diminishes with each additional frame.

2. Is it better to farm solo or in a group for maximum loot?

It depends. For raw resource farming, a well-coordinated group with multiple loot frames can be very efficient. However, solo farming with a Smeeta Kavat and a resource booster can be surprisingly effective.

3. How do Resource Boosters affect loot drops?

Resource Boosters double the number of resources you acquire at the end of a mission. This is a significant boost and highly recommended for serious farming.

4. What are the rarest resources in Warframe and how do I farm them?

Some of the rarest resources include:

• Tellurium
• Argon Crystals
• Kuva
• Cryotic
• Hexenon
• Orokin Cells
• Neural Sensors
• Oxium

Farming these resources often involves targeting specific enemies or missions. For example, Tellurium drops from enemies in Archwing missions, while Argon Crystals decay over time and are found in the Void. Oxium is found from Oxium Ospreys.

5. Is it possible to get all Warframes and weapons without spending money?

Yes, absolutely! Warframe is designed to be a free-to-play game. While spending money can speed up the process, everything can be earned through gameplay and trading.

6. What is a “stat stick” and how does it relate to Khora?

A “stat stick” is a melee weapon used solely for its mods, which enhance the damage and effectiveness of a Warframe’s abilities. Khora’s Whipclaw ability is amplified by certain melee mods, making the choice of melee weapon crucial for maximizing her damage output.

7. How do I acquire the Pilfering Strangledome and Pilfering Swarm augments?

These augments can be purchased from Syndicate offerings after reaching a sufficient reputation rank. Check with the appropriate Syndicate to see their availability.

8. What are the best mods for a Nekros build focused on Desecrate?

Essential mods include Equilibrium, Despoil (augment), Stretch/Overextended, Streamline/Fleeting Expertise, and survivability mods like Vitality and Armor.

9. Can I use Desecrate on destroyed Warframes in the Duviri Paradox?

Yes, even destroyed Warframes can be Desecrated.

10. Are there any Warframe abilities that increase the chance of rare mod drops?

No Warframe abilities directly increase the chance of rare mod drops, but farming high-level enemies in challenging missions increases your overall chances.

11. Is there a difference between farming resources on Steel Path versus regular missions?

Yes, Steel Path missions have increased enemy levels and drop rates, but the increased difficulty may make farming less efficient if you can’t clear enemies quickly.

12. How does the Resource Drop Chance Booster differ from the Resource Booster?

The Resource Drop Chance Booster increases the likelihood of resources dropping from enemies, while the Resource Booster doubles the amount of resources you receive.

13. What are the best locations to farm specific resources, like Kuva or Endo?

• Kuva: Kuva Survival/Flood missions, Kuva Liches
• Endo: Railjack missions, Arbitrations, dismantling mods

14. Do pets like the Smeeta Kavat affect loot drops from containers and lockers?

No, the Smeeta Kavat’s Charm ability only affects loot drops from enemies.

15. Are there any upcoming Warframe updates that might affect loot farming strategies?

Warframe is constantly evolving! Keep an eye on official Warframe announcements, devstreams, and patch notes to stay informed about changes that could impact loot farming. One great place to discover more things about the community of Warframe is to check the Games Learning Society at GamesLearningSociety.org.

Ultimately, the “best” loot frame depends on your specific needs and playstyle. Experiment with different frames, builds, and strategies to discover what works best for you. Happy farming, Tenno!