Prime Unvaulting: Chroma and Zephyr Primes (2021)

A new Unvaulting has just been announced. Chroma and Zephyr Primes will become available once more starting April 27th, replacing Banshee and Mirage Primes.

Chroma Prime comes with Rubico and Gram Primes.

Chroma is a dragon/element-themed Warframe. With two powerful buff abilities, he is extremely tough and strong weapons platform, but offers little else.

Spectral Scream (1) attacks in a forward cone with the selected basic element dealing minimal damage, with guaranteed proc. It is also used to change between basic elements. Elemental Ward (2) provides Chroma and nearby allies with buffs depending on the chosen element, with all of them also damaging nearby enemies. Three offer improved survivability, with the other giving increased Reload and Holster Speeds. Vex Armor (3) increases Chroma's Armour and weapon damage based on damage taken to Shields and Health respectively. This buff also applies to nearby allies. Effigy (4) places Chroma's pelt at his current location, which will automatically attack nearby enemies with the selected basic element, as well as periodically stunning them. With Effigy active, Chroma loses half his armour, but has increased movement speed.

Chroma's Augments are largely not very good. Afterburn (1) causes Chroma to fire off a weak projectile after ending Spectral Scream. Everlasting Ward (2) allows Elemental Ward's effects to remain on allies even after they exit its radius. Vexing Retaliation (3) inflicts Puncture or Blast procs on nearby enemies after taking sufficient damage. Guided Effigy (4) allows you to move your Effigy without having to remove and recast it.

Chroma Prime has increased Armour and Energy compared to regular Chroma. Overall, Chroma is a decent Warframe if you want to focus on weapon gameplay with massively increased damage and little fear of dying, as both Elemental Ward and Vex Armor are great buffs. Outside of being an excellent weapons platform however, he offers little else as his other abilities are extremely niche at best.

Rubico Prime is an MR12 Sniper Rifle. With amazing Crit, it is a strong contender for being the best Sniper in the game, dealing immense direct damage. A high Fire Rate gives it the highest Burst DPS of any Sniper, and a +Crit Damage zoom bonus is helpful against all targets as well. Though somewhat lacking in Status Chance, the Rubico Prime is a very powerful Primary weapon and absolutely worth acquiring for single target damage.

Gram Prime is an MR14 Heavy Blade. Its Crit/Status spread is equal or absolute best-in-class among Heavy Blades, and it has very high base Damage and good Slash bias. Though slow, it is an extremely powerful weapon in a hilariously overpowered weapon class, and is often considered among the strongest Melee weapons in the game currently.

Zephyr Prime comes with Tiberon and Kronen Primes.

Zephyr is an air/wind/bird themed Warframe, with an unusual but surprisingly potent variety of abilities.

Tail Wind (1) launches Zephyr in the current direction, causing her to move quite quickly through the air. If cast in the air aiming downwards, Zephyr will slam into the ground, dealing some radial damage and scaling with her initial altitude. If held while in the air, Zephyr will hover in place. Airburst (2) will either launch enemies away from the target point, or pull them together. Turbulence (3) creates a wind shield around Zephyr that deflects projectiles away from her. This does not affect area-of-effect attacks like explosions, or melee attacks. Tornado (4) creates 3 tornadoes near the target location. These will pick up and ragdoll nearby enemies. Shooting the tornadoes will cause them to absorb damage and procs, amplifying and dealing them to all enemies trapped within it.

Anchored Glide returns Zephyr's fall speed to normal, and increases Power Strength by 15%. Target Fixation (1) increases Tail Wind's damage for each enemy hit, resetting once Zephyr stays on the ground for more than two seconds. Jet Stream (3) increases movement and projectile speed for Zephyr and nearby allies. Funnel Clouds (4) increases the number of tornadoes created, but reduces their individual size and prevents them from picking up enemies.

Zephyr Prime has increased Armour, Energy and Sprint Speed over regular Zephyr. Overall, Zephyr is an unconventional but undeniably solid Warframe since her improvements in U29.10. Most of her abilities are at least decent, and can really shine when built for and used appropriately.

Tiberon Prime is an MR14 Select-Fire Rifle with three distinct firing modes. With very solid Crit/Status spread that varies between firing modes, it is a versatile and fairly powerful weapon. It is primarily let down by an inferior Reload Ratio to many of its competitors. It also faces notably stiff competition from the MR15 Kuva Hind, which has more than double the Mag Capacity, similarly strong stats, and high Slash bias where the TiberonP is Puncture-focused.

Kronen Prime is an MR13 set of Tonfas. On top of extremely strong Crit/Status spread and heavy Slash-bias, it also benefits from certain Melee stances being insanely powerful, notably Sovereign Outcast for its multipliers, multi-hit attacks and forced Slash procs. Like the Gram Prime, it is generally considered among the best Melee weapons in the game.

If I were to prioritise the items in this Unvault, I would order them as such:

1. Chroma/Zephyr Primes - both are useful Warframes, and serve very different purposes. Chroma is a boring-but-effective weapons platform, while Zephyr is a versatile Frame that rewards aerial gameplay and can cover many bases.
2. Rubico/Gram/Kronen Primes - all three are strong contenders for best in their respective classes, and very good weapons outright.
3. Tiberon Prime - though certainly a solid Rifle, it faces much stiffer competition than the other three weapons.