Highlights
- The Duviri Paradox update in Warframe introduces new content, including a new story, intrinsics, and activities like Kaithe riding and Orowyrm hunting.
- The Undercroft in Duviri offers a unique gameplay experience, where players rely on "Decrees" to enhance their melee combat abilities.
- Some of the best Decrees for maximizing melee builds in Warframe include Luscinia's Suffering, Hammer of Retribution, Lodun's Rage, Venomous Touch, Smoldering Strike, Sweeping Blow, Salted Wound, Rising Agony, and Majestic Strike.
The Duviri Paradox is one of Warframe's biggest content updates of all time, adding a new story for the Drifter, a brand-new set of intrinsics, Kaithe riding, Orowyrm hunting, and more. Perhaps the most important piece of content that can be engaged with on the Plains of Duviri, though, is the Undercroft - the only place in Duviri where the titular Warframes are able to enter the fray.
The gameplay within the Undercroft is completely different from anything else that can be found throughout the world of Warframe. Instead of the usual looter shooter progression, players will need to depend on "Decrees" to grow more powerful. Here are the best decrees for maximizing a melee build's potential in Warframe.
9 Luscinia's Suffering
Though this decree doesn't directly augment the performance of melee weapons, it makes any player's approach to melee combat much easier. Luscinia's Suffering ensures that every enemy in proximity to the player is afflicted with the cold status effect.
This means that enemies will be perpetually slowed. They won't be able to run and hide, and their attacks will be much easier to dodge. Players will easily be able to make mincemeat out of any enemy unfortunate enough to become affected by this decree.
8 Hammer Of Retribution
A decree that rewards building and utilizing combos, Hammer of Retribution amplifies the speed at which players can attack when they perform power strikes or ground slams. Since this is a combo breaker, it needs the proper loadout and mods to get the most value, but it can be deadly in the right hands.
With this decree, the player's melee speed is boosted by 25-75% of its original value, helping to build up combos for additional power strikes much quicker.
7 Lodun's Rage
Another proximity-based decree, Lodun's Rage is a great way to maximize DPS based on player distance from enemies. Much like Luscinia's Suffering, Lodun's Rage applies status effects to any enemies that come close to a player running this decree.
Enemies affected by this decree take anywhere between 10-50 Heat damage every second, with an additional 15% chance to afflict them with the status effect for another three seconds. This is a great way to keep stacking status effects on every enemy if the build calls for that.
6 Venomous Touch
Another great status decree, Venomous Touch imbues every third melee strike with the Toxin status effect. Toxin is one of the best status effect primers in the game, being a requisite trigger for both the Corrosive and Viral status effects, and Venomous Touch is a great way to start building up to that damage type.
The decree also expresses the Toxin as somewhere between 100-300% of the weapon's base damage, which is a staggering number. This is a great way to get raw DPS and some extra status effects at the same time.
5 Smoldering Strike
Nearly a straight upgrade to Venomous Touch, the Smoldering Strike decree adds between 70-210% of a weapon's base damage as Fire damage on every melee attack. The consistency of this effect far outweighs the extra 90% damage that can be achieved with Venomous Touch, although Toxin might stand out as a more useful status effect.
It's prudent not to run the two decrees together, as their effects will combine into the much less useful Gas status, foregoing any chance of achieving the more potent Corrosive or Viral combinations.
4 Sweeping Blow
Another combo-focused decree, Sweeping Blow amplifies the damage on heavy attacks. Since heavy attack damage is already a product of whatever combo a player has built, a flat damage amplification can boost this output to one-shot almost any enemy, regardless of scaling.
This decree raises the heavy attack damage by anywhere between 60-180% of its base damage, making it very good for builds centered on speedy melee weapons.
3 Salted Wound
The Salted Wound decree presents a unique way to circumvent needing to take Venomous Touch but also requires a speedy melee build. With this decree, heavy attacks deal anywhere between 60-180% more damage, and also proc a guaranteed Corrosive effect, stripping enemies of their armor and making them light work.
This decree pairs well with other melee decrees mentioned previously, such as Sweeping Blow and Hammer of Retribution.
2 Rising Agony
The Rising Agony decree is a great way to start seeing big red numbers with any melee build. When landing a critical blow with this decree in a build, players do even more critical damage for seven seconds afterward.
The critical damage boost from the Rising Agony decree ranges from 50-150%, but one thing is certain - if a player is building for melee crits, they need to be running this decree.
1 Majestic Strike
This decree is one of the most powerful decrees in Duviri, as it effectively doubles the DPS of any melee build. With this decree, every single melee attack initiated by the player strikes twice.
Notably, this does not add two strikes to the combo counter. Players will still have to build up their multiplicative damage at the normal rate. But in every other way, this decree will be doubling the player's melee damage output.
Warframe is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch.