[](https://www.youtube.com/watch/o9VjARbqjcE) # How do I grade Warframes? Warframe is an incredibly complex game when it comes to grading. All Warframes can be used in all content and you are able to see success with all of them. With that said my grading focuses on who is the __BEST__ at the *__Important__* content in Warframe. What that means is a combination of being able to do important activities *__Safely__*, *__Easily__*, and *__Quickly__*. ### The Meta The Meta as considered by me has two main driving factors. The first of those is "Reward" which simply refers to meaningful rewards from content. Reward has a handful of ways in which it manifests in the game with those manifestations being mainly Resources/Mods, Warframes/Weapons, and Platinum so the Warframes capable of farming all of these easily or farming any amount of them particularly well are highly valued. The second factor is a possibly unexpected one. "Ease" which is essentially a rule that most players want to do as little as they can get away with for the maximum amount of rewards balanced inversely with time investment. If an hour in an endless mission gives you the exact same rewards no matter your effort put in then the only optimization path for you is to make it easier to do so. The concept of "Ease" is what makes a Warframes ability to survive in missions without effort so important. Once you cannot die you essentially cannot lose as long as you're meeting other mission requirements. As I said though this factor is balanced inversely by time investment. Warframes that have no trouble surviving and also do things quickly will always rise to the top especially in cases where you get increased rewards for performing well. A great example of this are Void Captures. You are always awarded a Relic on completion so if you can complete the mission in 30 seconds as opposed to 1 minute you are getting double the reward for your time which makes it immediately more desirable and worth theoretically twice the effort. You'll note we did not discuss *Fun*. I encourage all players to play the game in a way they enjoy but for the purposes of discussing what is *Good* it just isn't something to be considered since players enjoy differently. ### A Note on Helminth. Helminth is an incredibly important system that is being taken into account for these grades. It is worth noting that you can slap a great helminth ability on any frame and make them functional but a frame needs to effectively differentiate themselves in how they specifically use that ability in order to influence their grade. # S Tier Any frame with an S tier is an oppressive force in Warframe. Often pushing multiple other frames out of the picture because they do things so much better than others. Fully dominant frames that are likely to see a nerf in the future. # A Tier Excellent frames that are best at what Warframe is currently asking of us. These frames are generally able to be played in all content to great success with the possible exception of some content being so easy for them as to not allow them to be used to their full ability. # B Tier Good frames that can run the gambit from just being general workhorses to frames that have important niche use cases. Consistent performers in most content even if they are usually not optimal. # C Tier Totally ok frames that while not being bad also do not excel in any particular area or have glaring weaknesses that make them hard to use in most relevant content. # D Tier Frames in desperate need of a rework that function poorly enough to be ineffectual in missions or an outright burden on a squad. # F Tier The worst frame or frames in the game. Nearly valueless frames you should by no means invest in.