Warframe: Caliban Prime build guide

Caliban Prime is the latest shiny Warframe in the roster, boasting increased shields and energy capacity. Additionally, you get two extra mod polarities compared to the base character. Following a rework, Caliban now excels in crowd control and lowering enemy armor. Furthermore, everyone on the team also receives an extra 50% adaptive damage reduction due to its Sentient origin.

In this Caliban Prime build guide, we'll provide a brief rundown of his Warframe abilities and the best-case build, weapons, and Helminth synergies to keep in mind.

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What you need to know about Caliban Prime Warframe abilities: Explanation and tips

Caliban Prime details (Image via Digital Extremes)

Razor Gyre is a spinning dash with limited directional control. The ability deals Tau damage and regens health, shields, and energy based on each enemy hit. At 25 cost, this ability is great for staying alive while being surrounded by a horde of enemies, and also, acquiring infinite energy.

By itself, this ability isn’t that impressive, but pairing it with an Augment mod, Razor Mortar will group all enemies, making it convenient to take down everyone at once.

Sentient Wrath is the primary crowd control ability for Caliban, without any augment mod. It sends out an AoE wave of Tau energy that deals damage and lifts enemies into the air, applying 35% base damage vulnerability that scales with ability strength.

One thing to note is that the ability neither works against Overguard nor Nullifier, but it’s better to have one enemy shooting at you compared to 10 in Steel Path, so use it regardless.

Lethal Progeny allows you to summon Sentient fighters. After all, what good is a Sentient Warframe if they can’t control a few? The ability has three summon modes and only one can be active at a time:

• Conculysts: Melee-based summons that can use spin attack every 10 seconds.
• Ortholysts: Gun-based summons that use projectile attacks and can transform into a mortar.
• Summulysts: A gateway that spawns six support summons who will take the enemy aggro and recharge shields for the entire squad.

It is important to note here that every Sentient recharges your shields, but Summulysts provide an additional recharge rate.

Fusion Strike is Caliban’s ultimate ability that can strip up to 100% enemy shields and armor. It shoots three lasers that converge into a single point, causing an AoE explosion. Try to hit as many enemies as possible, as the laser strips armor and every enemy struck explodes after it converges.

If you have Conculysts summoned, they’ll also use the Fusion Strike, but deal 0.5x of whatever damage you do. This number does not scale with anything, meaning the best way to use it is to increase your own damage.

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Best endgame build for Caliban Prime in Warframe

To make full use of Caliban Prime’s armor strip and crowd control ability, you’ll need to improve Range and Ability Strength as much as possible. Here’s what the stats will look like for this build:

• 155% Duration
• 45% Efficiency
• 145% Range
• 243% Strength (363% with Arcanes active)

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Ability modifier breakdown

Duration is a quality-of-life in this build that will add more time for your summons to remain on the battlefield without another use. With abilities costing more than usual, it’s better to use as few of them as possible.

Efficiency is what you’ll be sacrificing to make the build work. While it may seem unmanageable, considering Caliban Prime is mostly a caster frame, there are many ways to recoup energy.

Range is also something of a mild investment that is useful for increasing the range of Fusion Strike. However, since it does not affect the shield recharge range for Lethal Progeny, we’re not investing too much.

Strength is the primary focus of the build, as we are utilizing the summons in the build. With Strength, they too gain more HP, damage multiplier, and shield recharge, which is crucial for endgame content.

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Caliban Prime mod setup (three-Forma)

Use Summoner’s Wrath instead of Dreamer's Bond (Image via Digital Extremes)

Mods used

• Summoner’s Wrath (Aura) (Naramon polarity, change to universal or Madurai)
• Adaptation (default polarity D)
• Primed Flow (change to Naramon polarity)
• Equilibrium (change to Naramon polarity)
• Stretch (no change in polarity)
• Prime Continuity (default Madurai polarity)
• Blind Rage (default Madurai polarity)
• Razor Mortar (Augment mod)
• Umbral Intensify (use Transient Fortitude if you don’t need duration)

Arcanes used

• Molt Augmented: This Arcane provides a 60% ability strength after you take down 250 enemies, which shouldn’t be too hard with Razor Mortar.
• Arcane Camisado: As you summon attack enemies, they will gain 20% increased speed and grant you up to 60% ability strength.

You can also use Theorem Infection to increase the damage of summons by 360%. The Arcane creates a zone, standing on which will increase the damage of your sentients by 24%/s up to 15 stacks. It provides a significant damage boost while also restricting the fast-paced gameplay.

Archon Shards used

With over 350% ability strength, you can melt bosses in Steel Path content. However, since we have the option, Archon Shards can fill in the gaps left behind. For this build, 3x Tauforged Crimson Archon Shard will take the overall ability strength to 400%.

The remaining two can be 2x Amber Archon Shard for ability cast speed, or 2x Violet or Azure Archon Shards if you’re still having energy issues.

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Best weapons for Caliban Prime in Warframe

As Caliban, you'll be the support for your summons (Image via Digital Extremes)

Your main damage dealers are your summons; as such, you’ll only need to inflict as many status effects on enemies as possible. Luckily, all abilities of Caliban Prime deal Tau damage. While it does not deal damage itself, this status effect makes enemies vulnerable to other status effects.

In short, what you’re looking for is a primer weapon. Kuva Nukor, Cedo, and Epitaph are some of the most popular ones. Build them your favourite element. Our suggestion would be to have two weapons in the loadout built to eliminate enemies you may encounter in a mission.

Apart from the basic ones, Galvanized mods are a good source of status chance and multishot. Additionally, you can also use dual stat mods like Frostbite, Pistol Pestilence, and more to add status combinations.

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Best Helminth options for Caliban Prime in Warframe

Helminth abilities aren't necessary for the build (Image via Digital Extremes)

All abilities of Caliban Prime are helpful in one way or another, so you won’t need to replace them. However, if you want to, Sentient Wrath is the only one we recommend replacing with a Helminth ability. Here are some recommendations on what you should be replacing it with:

• Roar: We mentioned that more strength is essential for this build. That makes Roar the best-in-slot replacement ability, great for buffing yourself and your summons.
• Nourish: Provides another source of inflicting status effects on enemies, but do note that it will use a lot of energy for a short duration due to low ability efficiency.
• Empower: This is a very straightforward ability. Use it before bringing out your summons to grant additional ability strength. Using the ability after acquiring more strength from Arcanes would provide the best benefit.

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How to play Caliban Prime with this Warframe build

Fusion Strike can remove 100% of enemy armor (Image via Digital Extremes)

Caliban Prime relies a lot on abilities. If you’re using this build and have subsumed any skill, use it before summoning Ortholysts. Activate Razor Gyre to pull enemies in a group, and cast Fusion Strike to strip their armor. The Ortholysts will teleport to your location and start blasting everyone.

If you don’t have enough energy, don’t use the Fusion Strike, and instead, apply a status effect using your weapon. The Augmentation mod also grants your summons 70% additional Electric damage and fire rate. Once you have max stacks of Arcane, resummon the Ortholysts for an even better damage boost.

There shouldn’t be an energy crisis, considering Razor Gyre will pull and hit all enemies, providing ample energy and shields. Equilibrium should also keep you at max energy for most of the mission duration.

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Check out our other Warframe guides:

• All Warframes tier list
• Warframe Incarnon weapons tier list
• Warframe Kuva weapons tier list
• Warframe Coda weapons tier list
• Best weapons in Warframe for each Mastery Rank