Top 5 must-have Drifter Intrinsics perks in Warframe, ranked

Drifter in Warframe fighting a Dax vanguard
Drifters can get strong in Warframe with a few Intrinsics (Image via Digital Extremes)

Duviri is host to the latest open-world content in Warframe. Unlike the previous open worlds, this one has no faction to gain standing with. Progression is instead tied to a new set of Drifter Intrinsics. As those familiar with Railjack will know, Intrinsics are tiered perk trees that get progressively costlier with each rank. There are four trees with 10 perks each: Combat, Riding, Opportunity, and Endurance.

Ultimately, all 40 of these perks can be up and active concurrently. Other than being interlinked in progression, each of these Intrinsic perks grants a good chunk of Mastery Rank. Work towards maxing out all the Intrinsics trees in due time.

This list highlights perks with the most impact on your Duviri experience in Warframe and how early you should get them.


5 best Drifter Intrinsics perks every Warframe player should have, ranked in order of priority

5) High Value Vendor

Acrithis is the only Warframe vendor in Duviri (image via Digital Extremes)
Acrithis is the only Warframe vendor in Duviri (image via Digital Extremes)

High Value Vendor is the penultimate perk in the Opportunity Intrinsic tree. Being in a higher tier, it is a huge Intrinsic point sink. This, however, is not an issue for those who can utilize this perk in practice. It is aimed toward long-term Duviri veterans by design.

Acrithis, the sole vendor in Duviri, hoards all of its purchasable items, including Kullervo components and all the Duviri-exclusive decor. Those who have already visited her regular stock may have noticed the occasional Arcane appears in it. However, these Arcanes are locked out by default. This is what the High Value Vendor perk unlocks.

While these Arcanes also tend to appear in Steel Path Circuit rewards, here, they can be purchased in bulk. These include:

  • 2 Warframe Arcanes - Arcane Intention, Arcane Reaper
  • 4 Primary Weapon Arcanes - Primary Exhilarate, Longbow Sharpshot, Shotgun Vendetta, Primary Obstruct
  • 1 Secondary Weapon Arcane - Secondary Shiver
  • 1 Operator/Drifter Arcane - Magus Aggress

The stock switches between one of nine available Arcanes in no specific order every 24 hours. The price of these ranges from 10 to 20 Pathos Clamps apiece.


4) Warframe Abundance

You can pick from five Warframes from the Circuit thanks to Opportunity perks (Image via Digital Extremes)
You can pick from five Warframes from the Circuit thanks to Opportunity perks (Image via Digital Extremes)

The fourth perk in the Opportunity tree, 'Warframe Abundance,' is the best example of what this branch of Intrinsic stands for. When players load into Duviri, they get an assortment of Warframes and equipment to pick from. There are three frames by default. This perk, and the subsequent upgrade at rank 8, jack this number up to five.

This perk is more geared towards The Circuit than the Duviri experience proper. Especially in the Steel Path mode, the former may require some luck to grab a Warframe powerful enough to grapple with the high-level content.

In this MMO-lite, the abundance of equipment means even long-time players often don't have all the frames ready to go in their arsenal. Most players will frequent only four or five of them.

To get a proper custom build for Steel Path Circuit maps, the average player has to cross their fingers, hoping for a familiar Warframe to spawn in Teshin's cave. In light of that, this perk greatly helps their chances.


3) Transference Sync

The Transference Sync perk lets you play as your Warframe in Duviri (Image via Digital Extremes)
The Transference Sync perk lets you play as your Warframe in Duviri (Image via Digital Extremes)

Unless you run Steel Path mode exclusively, most regular Duviri content should not present DPS issues. This is primarily because most of it is balanced around Drifter gameplay. Even the Orowyrm boss fight that caps off all Duviri runs does not rely on the Drifter's damage.

Come the Kullervo boss fight, this equation may turn on its head. The boss gets especially dicey when doing a solo run, being much more durable than the average Dax grunt. Admittedly, it is manageable with the preparation of numerous Decrees, but when farming Kullervo parts, you want the run to be fast.

The average perk in the Combat Intrinsic focuses on directly boosting your Drifter's melee and ranged damage. Transference Sync takes a very different approach. With this perk, you gain the ability to temporarily spawn your entire Warframe loadout. Needless to say, this enables you to decimate any opponent you may face on Duviri, Kullervo included.


2) Fast Travel

Materliths as seen in Duviri in Warframe (Image via Digital Extremes)
Materliths as seen in Duviri in Warframe (Image via Digital Extremes)

Unlike other open worlds, you cannot deploy your Archwing in Duviri. Getting around in its vast landscapes is limited to riding your mount, Kaithe, who is admittedly a swift steed when he takes to the skies. But getting around from one objective to another is a drag when looking to speedrun the Lone Story mode.

A fast-traveling mechanic in Duviri is gated behind the perk of the same name. For 120 Intrinsic points, you permanently unlock convenient drop points scattered throughout the landscape - including situational islets like Kullervo's hold.

Fast travel points in the other Open worlds are regular Corpus teleporters. Duviri, on the contrary, has huge stone formations called Materliths. They are all displayed on the full map, accessed by holding the map button (bound to M by default). You can click these Materliths to teleport there from anywhere after getting rank 4 in the Riding Intrinsic tree.


1) Fortifying Decrees

Drifter with 50k HP in Warframe (Image via u/AsleepWater on Reddit)
Drifter with 50k HP in Warframe (Image via u/AsleepWater on Reddit)

The most vital set of perks you gain in Duviri is accessible early on. As Duviri newcomers will learn the hard way, the Drifter is not remotely as durable as Warframes.

With your first set of Intrinsic points, you should immediately grab the rank 1 and rank 2 perks in the Endurance Intrinsic tree. Cumulatively, they will set you back only 45 Intrinsic points, which is obtainable within only two or three runs.

The first perk, Fortifying Decrees, adds 25 health points per Decree to both the Drifter and your equipped Warframe. Initially, it may not seem like much.

However, completing side activities rapidly ramps it up to a couple of thousand health points. Combine this with the Restorative Decrees perk in rank 2, and you will never need to use the Drifter healing ability.


Check out other guides on this game from Sportskeeda:

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