Prime Unvaulting: Oberon and Nekros Primes (2020)

Yet another Unvaulting, this one of Oberon and Nekros Primes. I'm rather late to this post as they are already available in-game. These two haven't been Unvaulted before so for newer players, it's a valuable opportunity to get some pretty solid equipment.

Oberon Prime comes with Sybaris and Silva & Aegis Primes. Oberon is a paladin/druid themed Warframe, with a varied set of abilities, making him a very good jack-of-all-trades.

Oberon's Smite (1) deals minor damage to a victim, inflicting a Radiation proc and releasing additional projectiles. These projectiles home in on other enemies, dealing damage that directly scales with the original victim's health. Hallowed Ground (2) creates a radioactive patch of grass, dealing Radiation damage and procs to enemies on it. Allies standing on Hallowed Ground are immune to Status procs, and are cleansed of all procs upon entering it. Renewal (3) drains energy over time, healing Oberon and any allies "tagged" by the initial cast of Renewal. Any allies under the effects of Renewal who step on Hallowed Ground also gain increased armour. Reckoning (4) slams nearby enemies into the ground, dealing Radiation damage. Any enemies also on Hallowed Ground at the time have their armour permanently reduced.

Oberon has a fairly solid set of Augments. Smite Infusion (1) allows Oberon to grant himself and nearby allies additional Radiation damage to their weapons. Hallowed Eruption (2) passively increases Hallowed Ground duration. Upon being casted again, it detonates the pre-existing Hallowed Ground, dealing some Radiation damage and proc. Phoenix Renewal (3) grants all allies under the effects of Renewal an instant revive when they would otherwise be downed, with a cooldown of 90 seconds individually. Hallowed Reckoning (4) causes enemies affected by Reckoning to leave small areas that give allies bonus armour, and deal minimal damage to enemies.

Oberon Prime has increased Armour and Energy compared to base Oberon, both of which are very helpful. Overall, Oberon is a well rounded and versatile Warframe, useful in almost every mission type and quite self-sufficient.

Sybaris Prime is an MR12 Burst-Fire Rifle. It is quite well rounded, with high Crit, Status Chance and base Damage. On the other hand, it is relatively slow firing and its capacity is on the smaller side. It is a very solid Burst Rifle, however faces stiff competition in the many other good Burst Rifles now available.

Silva & Aegis Prime is an MR12 Sword & Shield Melee. With a very good spread of stats and access to some extremely powerful Stances, it is a powerful and very capable Melee.

Nekros Prime comes with Tigris and Galatine Primes. Nekros is a death/necromancer themed Warframe, with a variety of defensive/supportive abilities. Especially taking into account Augments, Nekros can be quite tough and is a very useful utility Frame.

Nekros' Soul Punch (1) ragdolls an enemy, dealing minimal damage to them and any enemies behind, and throwing their body across the room. Terrify (2) causes nearby enemies to stop attacking and flee, also reducing their armour. Desecrate (3) expends energy to consume nearby corpses, giving a significant chance to drop additional loot. Shadows of the Dead (4) summons 7 recently killed enemies to fight for you, with their health draining over time. When recasted, it will fully heal any Shadows still alive. These Shadows also draw enemy fire.

Nekros has a few extremely good Augments. Soul Survivor (1) allows Soul Punch to be used to revive an ally at range, consuming all of your energy. Creeping Terrify (2) slows down enemies affected by Terrify. Despoil (3) causes Desecrate to consume health instead of energy, which synergises perfectly with Desecrate's very high health orb drop chance. Shield of Shadows (4) redirects a portion of damage taken by Nekros to any active Shadows, drastically increasing his survivability.

Nekros Prime has increased Shields and Energy over base Nekros. Nekros is immediately a useful Warframe because of Desecrate (3), which is one of the only abilities that increases enemy loot drops. Shield of Shadows (4), coupled with Health Conversion working brilliantly alongside Despoil (3), can also make Nekros very tough.

Tigris Prime is an MR13 Shotgun, with immense base Damage, the majority of which is Slash. Capable of reaching 100% Status Chance, it can inflict enormous Slash procs on its victims, bleeding out any enemy who doesn't just die to its direct damage. Its main weakness is having only two shots, followed by a lengthy reload.

Galatine Prime is an MR13 Heavy Blade Melee, also with majority Slash damage. It has a great spread of Crit and Status Chance, making it very powerful and versatile. It faces some stiff competition, notably from Gram Prime which is slower but more powerful, and Paracesis and Scindo Prime which both lean towards Crit.


If pressed for time and resources, I'd personally offer the following priority list:

1. Oberon and Nekros Primes - both are very useful Warframes for quite different purposes.
2. Tigris Prime - it still maintains a niche among Shotguns as an insanely powerful two-shot Slash monster.
3. Sybaris/Silva & Aegis/Galatine Primes - all of them are very solid weapons, though none are outright best-in-class. Which one you should prioritise is down to personal preference.