Summary
With the recentWarframe 1999: Techrot Encoreupdate,Warframehas seen itsthird adversary systemadded to the game, introducing the Codavariant weapons, offering powerful iterations of certain infested weaponry. The original system, however, was the Kuva Lich adversaries, which introduced the Kuva weapons, powerful versions of Grineer technology that require the systematic hunting and vanquishing of a powerful Kuva Lich enemy to obtain.
This list looks at all of the Kuva weapons, ranking them on how powerful they are in the game’s current meta. Each of these weapons is leaps ahead of their standard variants; however, not all are worth farming for, and some requirespecifically-focused buildsto make them worth running.
19Kuva Grattler/Ayaga
Kuva Archguns
The Kuva Grattler and Kuva Ayanga are not necessarily the worst of the Kuva weapons, and are standout weapons within the Archgun category. They find themselves at the bottom of this list simply because of their position as weapons that can’t really be compared to standard primary, secondary, and melee options, being primarily used for Archwing and Necramech combat.
Both have their unique selling points; however, the Grattler arguably comes out as the victor, being the more powerful option of the two with its higher fire rate and ammo regeneration speed, as well as its high status chance, making it perfect for the fringe circumstances where Necramechs or Archwings are required.
18Kuva Seer
Corrosive Slug Pistol
For many players, the Kuva Seer is nothing but a meme. The gun fires projectiles that burst on impact, dealing corrosive damage in a 2-meter radius, but does little else than tickle enemies hit by it. While the gun has a very high base status chance, it is not even usable as an elemental primer; a better weapon for this role can be seen later on this list.
If a player does end up with a Kuva Lich carrying this weapon, it is best kept for mastery rank fodder and the occasional joke loadout, with little else going for it outside of these uses.
17Kuva Shildeg
Warframe’s War Pick
One ofWarframe’s most unique-looking hammers, the Kuva Shildeg is amenacing melee weaponthat deals predominantly puncture damage as its rocket-propelled swings strike huge spikes into enemies. With a slam attack that deals blast damage, this weapon can cleave through groups of enemies with ease.
The main downside to the Kuva Shildeg is its low attack speed when compared to the many other hammer weapons available in-game. If a player really wants a hammer, the Coda Motovore is a worthy contender that outclasses the Kuva Shildeg in damage and looks.
16Kuva Drakgoon
Unstoppable Flak Cannon
The Kuva Drakgoon is a force to be reckoned with, spewing forth bursts of superheated shrapnel that shreds enemies to pieces and ricochets once, making it able to kill even behind cover. This weapon benefits from the innate perks of being a spread-shot weapon, giving it high multishot without the need to mod.
The main drawbacks to the Kuva Drakgoon are the requirement to charge shots to get their full effects, the travel time of the shrapnel, and the low magazine size. Still, the Drakgoon is well worth a pickup simply for the fun of welding a metal-spitting machine.
15Kuva Kraken
Three-Round Burst Sidearm
The Kuva Kraken is small but mighty, firing a three-round burst with each pull of the trigger, an extra bullet when compared to its base variant. The Kuva Kraken also has access to an alt-fire mode, which unleashes the entire remaining magazine in a single concentrated shot, dealing huge damage that scales with the magazine size.
While the Kuva Kraken may not find itself a place in the secondary weapon meta, it is far from a lost cause and can, especially with a decent progenitor bonus, pack quite the punch when used correctly. It simply requires too much investment to make it any higher on the list.
14Kuva Quartakk
Hybrid Burst-Automatic Rifle
The Kuva Quartakk is a unique beast, even within the family of burst-fire rifles. Unlike many of its brethren, not only does the Kuva Quartakk fire automatically when fired from the hip, but when aimed, it fires a four-round burst simultaneously rather than consecutively, making it much more accurate than other burst rifles.
The main failing point for this rifle is its overall underwhelming total damage, being outclassed by almost all of its competitors. Without the help of something akin to the Incarnon form that the Burston gets, the Kuva Quartakk simply gets left behind.
13Kuva Brakk
Shotgun Pistol
The biggest draw to the Kuva Brakk is the fact that it has the highest status chance of any shotgun secondary in the game, with an innate multishot of 10 pellets making status effects almost a guarantee before mods are even taken into account. Despite this, the Kuva Brakk suffers from a hugely unforgiving damage falloff, with incredibly low range.
This can make it feel awful to use at times, yet amazing at others. What the Brakk needs is a player willing to spend the time learning its best ranges and exploiting those to full effect. This, however, simply takes longer than most players are willing to spend with the gun.
12Kuva Twin Stubbas
Dual Machine Pistols
These fast-firing micromachines of death are the Kuva Twin Stubbas, an upgraded anddoubled variantof the standard Grineer weapon, the Stubba. These weapons excel in close range, firing bullets at an astonishing speed, and showering enemies with pain. While they do lower base damage than most secondary weapons, they make up for this with their insanely fast attack speed.
A major drawback to the Kuva Twin Stubbas is their horrendously long reload time, making them feel like great fun in short bursts, followed by prolonged periods of groaning while the player waits for their Tenno to reload.
11Kuva Hek
Four-Barreled Shotgun
The Kuva Hek is an interesting shotgun. As is the case with the base Hek and the Vaykor Hek, the Kuva Hek houses four individual barrels with which it can fire its 7 pellet spread at enemies. The Kuva Hek, however, can alt-fire, firing all four barrels at once for much less accuracy, but much higher total damage.
While the alt-fire does chew through ammo, it is an incredibly powerful way to dispatch larger targets, and can deal unbelievably high damage when modded correctly. The main pitfall of this weapon is its damage falloff, requiring players to ensure they are positioned so as to reach its full potential.
10Kuva Karak
Status Inflicting Assault Rifle
Acting as a direct upgrade to the Karak assault rifle, the Kuva Karak boasts a notably high status chance, firing rate, and punch through, but slightly lower base damage. This assault rifle is one of the more powerful assault rifles in the game, especially when modded for high status damage.
Outside of its status chance being high, the Kuva Karak is relatively unremarkable. It holds its own in most content, but falls off later in the game, making it a solid weapon, just not anything overly special.
