Should I stick with a weapon or search for new ones ASAP?

[AzureDrag0n1]

So I have been playing this game for about a week. I have been using the starter staff weapon the entire time. It is now max level. I also have a sniper rifle at max level and I like how it works so far but maybe an automatic for better dps might be better. The staff has been ok but it is starting to feel like the damage is not so fantastic especially against certain enemies. I seem to be incapable of hurting certain enemies with both the sniper rifle and the staff like these small flying robot drones. Or at least it takes a lot of firepower to harm them.

What should I do? How do I get a better staff or maybe another weapon?

[actuallyVile]

Join a clan for more easy access to weapons. Check out the wiki to find out how to get certain weapons and the resources to build them. If you want suggestions for good weapons by mastery rank, check out https://axhx.net/warframe-best-weapons/

Edited December 31, 2018 by -AxHx-Vile

[Ephemerous]

The biggest change to weapon DPS is mods + upgrading them via Fusion at the mod station in your lander.  If you feel underpowered, that's where I'd start.  (Though if you have just started, I would avoid putting any resources into "flawed" mods; you'll get normal mods soon if you haven't already.)

[AzureDrag0n1]

16 minutes ago, -AxHx-Vile said:

Join a clan for more easy access to weapons. Check out the wiki to find out how to get certain weapons and the resources to build them. If you want suggestions for good weapons by mastery rank, check out https://axhx.net/warframe-best-weapons/

Thanks for the tip. What do you do to join clans and is there anything I should know about joining one? What should I look for in a clan?

[(XBOX)Dredd1973]

Once you unlock all the nodes and junctions on your star chart the only way to increase MR is to level frames, weapons, and companions to level 30.

So as you are able to obtain / make new frames and weapons you should always have something you're leveling up.

I always try to keep at least one weapon on me that's not fully leveled so I'm always increasing my MR.

[Artekkor]

The main power comes from modding the weapons, rather than building a new ones.
Yes, there are better weapons than starters, but ultimately its all about the mods. THe weapons itself will only make a difference once enemies will start reaching for the edge of balance.

Serration, Split Chamber any of 90% or 60% elemental damage mods are a good start. The mods stack, so for example if you put "+105% Damage" Serration mod and "+90% Toxin Damage" mod, the bonus  toxin will also be increased by 105%, essentially quadripling the damage output of weapon. 
Same goes for secondaries with Hornet Strike and for melee with Pressure Point.

On top of that, you must upgrade the weapon itself. First of all: there's a thing called "Orokin Catalyst" - its a one-time use item that permanently fuses itself with a weapon of your choice and doubles its Mod Capacity.
After that, you can use Forma to polarize slots inside the weapon for maximising its potential. A mod of a certain polarity installed into a slot of matching polarity costs 50% less mod capacity. Rank 10 Serration (+165% damage) has mod capacity of 14, but when installed into appropriate slot it only costs 7.

Edited December 31, 2018 by Artek94

[actuallyVile]

30 minutes ago, AzureDrag0n1 said:

Thanks for the tip. What do you do to join clans and is there anything I should know about joining one? What should I look for in a clan?

If you have people you play with regularly, ask them if you can join the clan they're in. Otherwise, post in Recruiting chat that you're a newbie looking for a clan. There's usually recruiters around picking people up. And if it turns out you don't like the people in the clan, you can always leave it and join another one. People go from clan to clan often due to clans dying out. It's awkward but it's the way things go. 

[AzureDrag0n1]

29 minutes ago, (XB1)Dredd1973 said:

Once you unlock all the nodes and junctions on your star chart the only way to increase MR is to level frames, weapons, and companions to level 30.

So as you are able to obtain / make new frames and weapons you should always have something you're leveling up.

I always try to keep at least one weapon on me that's not fully leveled so I'm always increasing my MR.

Oh S#&$ you can not get mastery unless you level stuff?

[actuallyVile]

4 minutes ago, AzureDrag0n1 said:

Oh S#&$ you can not get mastery unless you level stuff?

Correct, you only get Mastery when you level up gear from 0 to 30 and only the first time. So if you forma something and it goes back to 0 because of it, you won't get mastery for it again.

[NotLato]

The best thing you can do is learn how to mod weapons instead of looking for a powerful one. Build the ones that inspire you the most and just put an elemental combination for example electricity+toxin, which makes corrosive damage(you will see a huge difference against grineers).

[(XBOX)xBLADEPANTHERx]

4 hours ago, Artek94 said:

The main power comes from modding the weapons, rather than building a new ones.

That is true to an extent, but I would recommend trying to increase MR to get the really strong weapons since I highly doubt a Lato will get you through sorties, even with strong mods.

That being said there are weapons like the Hek that are really powerful despite them being at a low MR, but I would still suggest to buy any weapon you can to see what you like and don't like.

[(XBOX)D34thst41ker]

There are a number of weapons in the Market that can be bought outright for Credits, so spend some time looking for and leveling those. The biggest one that I can think of off the top of my head is the Lex, which is a low fire rate, very high damage Secondary.

Of the rest of them, you can get the Blueprints for them with Credits, then build them yourself. There are a number of them that will say that the Blueprint is available from the Clan Dojo, so you won't be able to get everything, but you'll be surprised how many Blueprints you can get from nothing more than Credits.

Working on making and leveling those weapons will keep you busy for quite a while, and also give you a large boost to your Mastery Rank.

[(XBOX)Dredd1973]

13 hours ago, -AxHx-Vile said:

Correct, you only get Mastery when you level up gear from 0 to 30 and only the first time. So if you forma something and it goes back to 0 because of it, you won't get mastery for it again.

And some things, like Moa's, don't even grant mastery until the SECOND time you bring it to 30. You bring some things to 30 and then gild them which resets them to zero and then the second time to 30 you get MR.

Unlocking nodes and junctions on the star chart gives MR, but once you have all that unlocked you need to always be leveling something new to 30.