Prime Unvaulting: Nyx + Rhino (2019)

New (well, old) batch of Unvaulted Prime stuff, Nyx and Rhino Primes and their respective weapons. It is currently available (opened July 16th), and will close again September 17.


Nyx Prime comes with Hikou and Scindo Primes. Nyx is a mind-control-themed Warframe, with powers focusing on CC. She is quite useful in mission types that don't require killing, though can be a tad unreliable at times.

Nyx's Mind Control (1) temporarily turns a single enemy into an ally, which is primarily useful only on powerful enemies such as Ancients. Her Psychic Bolts (2) reduces the armour of affected enemies, slows Infested enemies, and temporarily disables Ancient auras. This would be quite useful if it weren't limited to 6 enemies at any one time. Chaos (3) causes all affected enemies to attack the closest unit, regardless of friend or foe, which is a fantastic distraction. Absorb (4) temporarily makes Nyx invulnerable but immobile, absorbing any incoming damage at the cost of additional energy. Upon being cancelled, it deals the stored damage to all enemies within range.

Nyx's Augments range from mediocre to excellent. Mind Freak (1) drastically increases the damage dealt by the Mind Controlled enemy, though this pales in comparison to enemy health scaling. Pacifying Bolts (2) stuns affected enemies, though as Psychic Bolts is limited to affecting 6 enemies at once, this effect is pretty mediocre. Chaos Sphere (3) causes Chaos to be inflicted upon any enemy that comes within a portion of Chaos' original range, which can be helpful for keeping all enemies CC'd. Assimilate (4) allows Nyx to move, shoot and interact while using Absorb, with reduced movement speed. This is an incredible improvement over the base Absorb, allowing Nyx to be completely invincible, while also being readily able to kill enemies.

Nyx Prime has increased Shields, Armour and Sprint Speed over regular Nyx, none of which are significant (the Sprint Speed boost is a mere 0.02). Overall, Nyx can be a very good distraction Frame, making her exceptionally useful in missions like Interception and Mobile Defence. However, her ability set is showing its age, and in many respects is outclassed by various other Warframes.

Hikou Prime is a throwing secondary with very high Status Chance, and exceptional Reload Ratio. It is not very powerful, but can inflict a lot of Status procs, and can also make decent use of Concealed Explosives.

Scindo Prime is a Heavy Blade Melee that has been vastly outclassed by several other Heavy Blades. It is not a weak weapon by any means, with solid Crit, reasonable Status Chance and high Slash bias, but it is significantly worse than say Galatine Prime, Gram Prime, or Paracesis.

Rhino Prime comes with Boltor and Ankyros Primes. Rhino is an all-rounder Warframe, with a diverse and very useful set of abilities.

Rhino Charge (1) throws Rhino forward a distance, making him temporarily invulnerable. This is useful for getting out of tight situations, as it also knocks back any enemies hit. Iron Skin (2) absorbs a significant amount of damage, blocking all Status procs. It is an incredible defensive ability, making Rhino among the toughest Warframes in the game. Roar (3) gives Rhino and all nearby allies a damage boost. Notably, it is currently the only ability that equally boosts the damage of both weapons and Warframe abilities. Rhino Stomp (4) knocks down all affected enemies for an extended amount of time, completely disabling them.

Like with Nyx, Rhino's Augments range from poor to great. Ironclad Charge (1) temporarily increases Rhino's armour from hitting enemies with Rhino Charge. Notably, this bonus is used when calculating Iron Skin health, allowing for a ridiculously tough Iron Skin if timed properly. Iron Shrapnel (2) allows you to detonate Iron Skin, dealing damage to nearby enemies based on remaining Iron Skin health. More importantly, it lets you dispel and recast Iron Skin on demand, letting you actively refresh it. Piercing Roar (3) inflicts a Puncture proc on all enemies within range of Roar. Puncture procs are currently terrible, so this Augment is too. Reinforcing Stomp (4) replenishes Iron Skin health for each enemy caught in Rhino Stomp, which is a useful option for keeping Iron Skin high without having to dispel it.

Rhino Prime has increased Armour and Sprint Speed over regular Rhino, both of which are useful. Notably, the increased Armour increases the health of Iron Skin, making Rhino Prime one of the only Prime Frames with an improved ability over the base. Overall, Rhino is a simple, versatile and rather effective Warframe. He is useful in just about every mission type, and has a lot to offer to a squad.

Boltor Prime is a Status-focused Rifle, with high base Damage but mediocre Crit. It has been powercreeped with many other weapons now having comparable Status abilities with superior DPS, but the Boltor Prime is not an outright bad weapon by any means.

Ankyros Prime is a Fist weapon with high Attack Speed, solid Crit and reasonable Status Chance. Its biggest weakness is abysmal range, which drastically reduces its overall usability. Though not particularly weak by any means, the Ankyros Prime's incredibly short range makes it much more difficult and less efficient to use than many other Melee weapons.

My personal recommended order of priority would be:

1. Rhino Prime
2. Nyx Prime
3. Scindo/Boltor Prime
4. Hikou Prime
5. Ankyros Prime