Warframe: Which Starter Warframe You Should Pick

In Warframe, pick Excalibur if you are unsure: he has by far the most armor of the three starters, a passive that rewards the sword play the game leans on, and an ability kit that stays useful long after the tutorial. Pick Volt if you want speed and team support, or Mag if you want to pull enemies together and strip their shields.

The choice is not permanent. All three starters can be built later without spending money, so you are really choosing which Warframe you learn the game with. Below: what each one does, their stats side by side, our pick for each play style, and where the other two come from.

The Three Starter Warframes at a Glance

New accounts choose between Excalibur, Mag and Volt before the opening quest, Vor’s Prize. Here are their base stats, with the rank 30 value in brackets where it grows:

All three have a Mastery Rank requirement of 0, so any of them can be built on a brand new account.

Excalibur: The Safe All-Rounder

Excalibur’s passive gives him 10% more damage and 10% faster attacks while he holds a sword, and melee is a big part of Warframe’s combat from the first mission. His abilities:

1. Slash Dash: a fast forward dash with a sword slash, good for crossing a room and hitting whatever is in the way.
2. Radial Blind: a burst of light that blinds nearby enemies, buying time when you get surrounded.
3. Radial Javelin: throws javelins that impale enemies around him.
4. Exalted Blade: conjures a spectral energy sword as his ultimate.

Why we pick him for most new players: 240 armor is more than double what Mag and Volt carry, so mistakes cost less while you learn movement. Radial Blind is a reliable panic button when you get surrounded, and Exalted Blade gives him a second weapon to fall back on.

Mag: Shields and Crowd Control

Mag’s passive pulls nearby pickups toward her, which saves a lot of running around for ammo and loot. Her abilities:

1. Pull: a vortex that drags enemies toward her.
2. Magnetize: a field that pulls in gunfire and increases its damage, so your shots into it hit harder.
3. Polarize: a pulse that drains enemy shields and armor and drops shards she can collect.
4. Crush: suspends nearby enemies, then crushes them, knocking them down and restoring shields to Mag and her allies.

Mag has the biggest energy pool of the three, so she can cast more often, but she also has the lowest health at 180. She suits players who want to control fights rather than tank them, and Polarize is especially useful against the Corpus, who lean on shields.

Volt: Speed and Support

Volt’s passive builds an electric charge as he moves on the ground and releases it with his next attack. His abilities:

1. Shock: fires an electric projectile.
2. Speed: boosts movement, attack and reload speed for Volt and nearby allies.
3. Electric Shield: a barrier that blocks incoming fire and strengthens allied gunfire.
4. Discharge: a powerful pulse that sends arcs of electricity through nearby enemies.

Volt has Excalibur’s health and Mag’s shields, which makes him the most balanced of the three on paper. Speed is the draw: Warframe rewards fast movement, and Volt makes the whole squad faster.

Our Pick for Each Play Style

• First time playing, or playing mostly solo: Excalibur. The armor and Radial Blind forgive mistakes, and his sword passive teaches you the melee system.
• Playing with friends in a squad: Volt. Speed and Electric Shield help everyone, not just you.
• You like setting up big hits and controlling crowds: Mag. Pull and Crush group enemies, and Magnetize turns your gunfire into area damage.

If two of them appeal, take the one you want right now. The next section shows how cheaply the others come.

How to Get the Other Two Later

None of the starters is locked behind your first choice:

Two more routes open up later. After you finish The Duviri Paradox quest, The Circuit offers a different set of Warframes each week, with Excalibur in the first week of the rotation and Mag in the second (Volt is not in it). And any of the three can be bought complete from Teshin for 60,000 Conclave standing once you reach the Typhoon rank in Conclave.

A spare starter is also an easy first Warframe to feed to the Helminth later, since a Warframe has to be built before it can be subsumed.

What to Do After You Pick

Your first quest, Vor’s Prize, restores the basic systems on your ship: the Arsenal, Communications (which turns on the Market and matchmaking), the Foundry and Navigation. It ends with the Burston rifle blueprint, and after that the Star Chart opens up.

Warframe also runs seasonal events through the year. This year’s Halloween event, Nights of Naberus, ran through October, and it sits in our roundup of every Halloween event in games. If you are looking for more games to play with a group after this one, our best co-op PS5 games list is a good place to start.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best starter Warframe? Our pick is Excalibur for most new players, thanks to his 240 armor, sword passive and Radial Blind. Volt is the best squad pick, and Mag is best for crowd control.

Can you change your starter Warframe? You keep the one you picked, but you can build the other two later. Mag and Excalibur parts drop from early bosses, and Volt’s are researched in a clan Dojo.

Which starter Warframe is best for solo play? Excalibur. His armor is far higher than Mag’s or Volt’s, which makes solo mistakes less punishing.

Is Mag a good starter? Yes, if you like controlling fights. She has the most energy of the three but the least health, so she wants to keep enemies away rather than trade blows.

Can you get all three starter Warframes? Yes. All three have Market blueprints for credits, and Teshin also sells each of them complete for Conclave standing.