There are many ways to kill some hapless aliens and humanoids in Warframe thanks to its intricate roster of melee weapons, guns, and even the warframe abilities themselves. At times, the plethora of options can be dizzying; the best methods of ending missions or slaying dozens of enemies in quick succession tend to overshadow some of the most underrated guns in the game: sniper rifles.
This is frankly, a weapon category in Warframe that's in need of more names or variations. Most players usually don't prefer them since they're too slow and are typically only useful in open-world scenarios. That doesn't mean they don't pack a punch or are not viable in all mission types. In the right hands, sniper rifles scale well in the endgame, especially against enemies that warrant precise big hits. Of course, not just any sniper rifle can keep up with assault rifles or melee weapons; one has to consider these top guns for the job.
Updated July 4, 2022, by Sid Natividad: Although Warframe sniper rifles have yet to see the tender loving care that the developers poured into automatic guns and sidearms, they still remain one of the best options for the game's open-world areas. The best sniper in Warframe remains the same since the developers are not in a hurry to add more sniper rifles to the arsenal.
However, some of these Warframe sniper rifles are somewhat hard to obtain, especially for clueless newbies. As such, we've made it easier for people to determine what they need to acquire or craft these precise killing machines.
7 Vulkar Wraith
- Total Damage: 273
- Accuracy: 13.3
- Fire Rate: 2
- Noise Level: Alarming
- Magazine Size: 8
- Max Ammo: 72
- Reload Time: 3 seconds
- Projectile Type: Hit-Scan
Vulkar Wraith is a more robust and stylish variant of the Grineer-made sniper rifle, the Vulkar. As with all upgraded weapons in the game, the Vulkar Wraith boasts better stats compared to its base variant, and the best part is that players don't need to craft it. They can simply wait for the weapon to become available in Baro Ki'teer's shop and buy it for Ducats.
Sure enough, everyone would want the Vulkar Wraith over the Vulkar. It not only deals higher damage but has the third highest bullet damage out of all the sniper rifles in the game. The only downside is the cripplingly low rate of fire, so players will have to make each shot count. For better use of this weapon, make sure the targets are Corpus enemies as its primary damage type is Impact.
How to obtain
Vulkar Wraith is available for purchase from Baro Ki'Teer. He sells the sniper rifle for 300,000 Credits and 450 Ducats. The cost isn't the hard part of obtaining this weapon, but rather its availability in Baro's inventory.
He constantly changes his stock, so it's up to the player's luck whether they chance upon Vulkar Wraith or not.
Another method of obtaining this without the need for Baro Ki'Teer is through trading. Players can ask for it through the trade chat and purchase it for a Platinum fee from other players or just browse through other players' offerings.
6 Snipetron Vandal
- Total Damage: 200
- Accuracy: 13.3
- Fire Rate: 2
- Noise Level: Alarming
- Magazine Size: 6
- Max Ammo: 72
- Reload Time: 2 seconds
- Projectile Type: Hit-Scan
One of the reasons why the Vulkar or even the Vulkar Wraith isn't that popular is that there are other, more available, and more flexible weapons in Baro's arsenal. That would be the Snipetron Vandal. It's the Vandal version of the Snipertron gun, which is a Corpus-made weapon and thus deals Puncture damage primarily.
That alone makes it more functional as a weapon compared to the Vulkar. Puncture damage is more viable for different kinds of enemies and penetrates armor well. Other than that, the Snipetron also has a lower Mastery Rank requirement (five) compared to the Vulkar Wraith. With that said, it's only given as a Sortie reward or acquired through trading.
How to obtain
Getting the Snipetron Vandal is a bit more straightforward compared to the Vulkar Wraith. Players can grind for it in Invasion-type missions. The weapon's parts and blueprints drop as rewards from these kinds of missions. Players will have to aim for the second reward period (Rotation B) for a chance of the Snipetron Vandal parts dropping.
Once the barrel, receiver, stock, and overall blueprint have been acquired, players will have to craft the weapon. This will take 12 hours to finish and 25,000 Credits.
Alternatively, players who don't want to grind Invasion missions for Snipetron Vandal parts can trade for the crafting components using Platinum.
5 Komorex
- Total Damage: 87
- Accuracy: 20
- Fire Rate: 6
- Noise Level: Alarming
- Magazine Size: 20
- Max Ammo: 40
- Reload Time: 3 seconds
- Projectile Type: Projectile
Here's where the tradeoffs start happening among sniper rifles. If something fires faster and in semi-auto mode, then it's bound to have poorer projectiles or lower damage. That's the Komorex in a nutshell. It's more accurate than the two aforementioned bolt-action sniper rifles and comes equipped with a more generous magazine, but the damage is significantly lower.
While players do get to make more mistakes with the Komorex, they must also live with the fact that they have to expend more bullets in order to kill their targets, especially at higher levels. With that said, Komorex's Status Chance is actually quite high at 35 percent, meaning it can work better against slower sniper rifles.
How to obtain
Komorex is thankfully easier to obtain compared to the previous two weapons. Players will need to be part of a clan with good research and upkeep. Players can obtain the Komorex blueprint in the clan dojo's Energy Lab. Once players have obtained the blueprint, they'll need these materials to craft the Komorex:
- Fieldron - 5
- Ferrite - 6,200
- Hexenon - 300
- Forma
Crafting it also takes 12 hours.
4 Lanka
- Total Damage: 200
- Accuracy: 100
- Fire Rate: 1
- Noise Level: Alarming
- Magazine Size: 10
- Max Ammo: 72
- Reload Time: 2 seconds
- Projectile Type: Projectile
Despite being one of the slowest sniper rifles in Warframe, players will get a kick out of using the Lanka due to its incredible damage. One thing to note is that the Lanka, by default, fires Electric rounds instead of physical ones. That already makes it highly moddable and perfect for dealing Corrosive or Radiation damage. Both damage types are highly-effective in the late game.
The implication of having default Electric damage is also quite big as that only means players can save up on a mod slot. While the Lanka's accuracy is also pinpoint, the weapon has this innate charge mechanic which explains the slow fire rate. Getting used to charging up the weapon before it fires a projectile can become tedious, but the payoff is good.
How to obtain
Lanka is also easy enough to obtain. Players can grab the blueprint from the Energy Lab in their clan dojo, the same with Komorex. It does require different crafting components, however. Players might want to grind for these or prepare them beforehand:
- Fieldron - 5
- Gallium - 20
- Alloy Plate - 600
- Forma
3 Sporothrix
- Total Damage: 371
- Accuracy: 100
- Fire Rate: 1.83
- Noise Level: Alarming
- Magazine Size: 9
- Max Ammo: 45
- Reload Time: 2.7 seconds
- Projectile Type: Projectile
Think of the Sporothrix as Lanka, but better since it deals higher overall damage. It primarily deals a trifecta of Slash, Impact, and Puncture damage per bullet or "barb" and these barbs also act as delayed explosives. When they do explode, they deal innate Viral damage (which cannot be changed as it's a delayed weapon effect).
This sets up the Sporothrix for specific playstyles and areas. For one, players can forget about bringing this weapon to areas populated with machines or Infested enemies. Meanwhile, it does exceptionally well against organic enemies. That, and the Sporothrix also boasts the second-highest sniper rifle base damage next to Lanka.
How to obtain
Sporothrix is a late-game weapon, which is why it will require players to participate in Lvl 50-60 Isolation Vault Bounties both normal and Arcana. These are Entrati facilities accessible in Deimos. Players can initiate the Isolation Vault Bounty from Mother from the Necralisk. These bounties have a chance of dropping Sporothrix's components and blueprint.
Do be warned that it will take a bit of farming and grinding in order to get all the parts. Players should expect around 26 stages (or more) of the Lvl 50-60 Isolation Vault Bounty before they see all the components and the blueprint. Each run has three stages.
Again, players can avoid grinding for this through trading in the trade chat using Platinum. The components and the blueprint can be traded with other players.
2 Vectis Prime
- Total Damage: 350
- Accuracy: 13.3
- Fire Rate: 2.67
- Noise Level: Alarming
- Magazine Size: 2
- Max Ammo: 72
- Reload Time: 0.85 seconds
- Projectile Type: Hit-Scan
Don't be fooled by the rather pathetic magazine size; the Vectis Prime is one of the most used META sniper rifles in the game thanks to its handy operation. The low magazine capacity is easily compensated by the negligible reload time. The Vectis Prime, like the base Vectis version, also has a well-balanced serving of the three physical damage types.
Currently, it's also one of the best hit-scan sniper rifle weapons to use and is certainly preferable over the Vulkar Wraith or even the Snipetron thanks to the higher rate of fire. As a cherry on top, the Vectors Prime also has one of the most stylish-looking scope UIs in the game. Some players even prefer this weapon due to its scope design.
How to obtain
Getting the Vectis Prime without trading is quite the ordeal. Usually, players can acquire it by running these Relics in Void Fissure missions:
- Lith A1
- Neo A1
- Neo A4
- Axi C1
- Axi H1
- Axi T1
- Lith V7
- Neo N1
- Axi V2
- Axi V3
- Axi V4
- Lith V8
- Neo B1
- Meso V1
- Meso V6
However, those Relics and the Vectis Prime's components and blueprint are currently in the Prime Vault at the moment. That means they don't drop and are unavailable until developers re-introduce them to the reward tables by taking them off the Prime Vault. There's no confirmed date for when this will happen, as with all Vaulted items.
At best (at the time of writing), players will just have to trade for it in the trade chat. However, seeing as the Relics, components, and blueprint for Vectis Prime are currently Vaulted, their price in Platinum will be significantly more expensive due to rarity.
1 Rubico Prime
- Total Damage: 187
- Accuracy: 13.3
- Fire Rate: 3.67
- Noise Level: Alarming
- Magazine Size: 5
- Max Ammo: 72
- Reload Time: 2 seconds
- Projectile Type: Hit-Scan
It's not the best nor the most amazing stat-wise, but the Rubico Prime is held in the highest regard among all the sniper rifles in the game. It's all thanks to the most convenient balancing of stats out of all the sniper rifles. The fast semi-auto fire rate is great for taking out multiple enemies in quick succession without sacrificing too much firing power.
What's hidden in the stats which also makes the Rubico a highly-desirable gun is that it has almost no recoil. The weaker zoom might sound like a detriment, but it actually makes the Rubico Prime more useful at close encounters compared to any other sniper rifle. Thus, it's the most versatile choice out there for budding Tenno sharpshooters.
How to obtain
Unlike Vectis Prime, Rubico Prime is fortunately available in the drop tables right now. It's yet to be Vaulted. Players can obtain the components and the blueprint by running these Relics in Void Fissure missions:
- Lith C8
- Axi A9
- Axi D2
- Axi L5
- Axi P2
- Lith B5
- Lith M3
- Meso E2
- Neo P1
- Lith T6
- Axi M1
- Lith S8
- Meso Z2
- Meso Z3
- Neo H2
- Neo K3
- Axi T5
- Lith A3
- Lith K2
- Lith K3
- Lith O1
- Lith W2
- Meso R4
- Meso R1
- Meso R2
- Meso R3
- Neo R2
Once players have obtained the parts from those Relic rewards, they can craft the weapon. It will take 12 hours to finish. As always, players can just trade for it using Platinum.
Warframe was released in 2013 and is available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox One Series X|S, and the Nintendo Switch.