Sword Alone 'frame

[OriVerda]

I really want to go and play a bit of melee exclusively for a bit and am looking for a good Warframe and build for a melee-only/Sword Alone playstyle.

[Autongnosis]

I love Trinity and Mesa for sword alone.

 

Trinity built for Strenght and Duration, with Abating Link. Try not to butcher your range too much.

(build snapshot: CP aura, Cunning Drift exilus, BR max, Intensify, NM max, PCont, Stretch, PFlow, QT, Abating Link)

 

Mesa i use a duration build with some Strenght and Rqange thrown in, with Staggering Shield.

(build snapshot: CP aura, Power Drift exilus, Constitution, PCont, Stretch, Streamline, Intensify, Rage, Vitality, Staggering Shield)

 

Both work wonders if you also have access to Arcane Avenger.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Autongnosis

[Kai_Shiba]

In my opinion, Ash/Ash Prime is really great with melee only due to his high health. 

 

Slap a unranked life strike on your melee weapon and Slap a maxed rage mod on Ash. Profit.

 

Alongside adding Vitality/Vigor combo with some Armor mods and Speed mods(I use Maglev)

 

Also if you want to make use of this build and use a sentinel, get rid of guardian(Restores shields instantly). It screws with the whole Rage thing.

 

Another one is Chroma

Edited January 27, 2016 by KJRenz

[artemisfortune]

Excalibur.

 

Specifically for the passive and the fact that slash dash is a closing ability, and adds to the combo counter.

[ScribbleClash]

ExcAshibur?

It depends if you want to use abilities. Banshee can actually support melee nicely (got a 4mil crit with Resonance on draco).

If you just want to focus on melee without any abilities, all you want will be armor and health. As such, your choices are Atlas and Valkyr (and Chroma, but that involves abilities again).

Edited January 27, 2016 by ScribbleClash

[Autongnosis]

It depends if you want to use abilities. Banshee can actually support melee nicely (got a 4mil crit with Resonance on draco).

Savage SIlence build with double Trickery :D Oodles of goodness.

[Rheoidegen]

I'd say Nekros, but... Eh... Doubt you'd share the opinion. (He's pretty much immortal, so he's a pretty good melee frame. Plus Terrify and SotD for CC if you need it.)

[Flanyr]

Warcry Valkyr: Great Buffs to Melee Speed and Armor and she has Hysteria if things get a bit hairy. (Or you just want to rage)

[Chroia]

Banshee.

Low duration, high range. Silence -> Murder stuff.

Nyx.

Whatever duration, high range, Chaos Sphere optional. Chaos -> Murder stuff.

Frost.

Strength to taste, Range to taste. Globe -> Murder stuff.

Zephyr.

Duration. Tubrulence -> Murder stuff.

Ember.

High range. Accelerant -> Murder stuff.

Limbo

Equinox

[NyxCrab]

Valkyr, Ash Prime, Excalibur, Wukong, Atlas, Saryn, Rhino, Chroma, and Volt Prime all make for decent Sword Alone frames.

 

Valkyr, Wukong, Chroma, and Atlas have really high armor or abilities that help keep them alive, though Valkyr and Wukong have more focus on their ults, and Atlas is more on his first, there are builds for them that buff another ability as opposed to their ult to make them decent at melee.

 

Ash Prime, and too a lesser extent Loki, works as a good melee frame. He's got fast speed, high health, decent armor and shields, a really good gap closer ability, Invisibility, and an augment that helps build melee stacks quicker. Loki works mainly for his long invisibility, but Ash Prime is better.

 

Excal for similar reasons as both of the above mentions: abilities that scale off of melee mods, plus a gap closer, and some pretty good melee-oriented CC as well.

 

Saryn, Rhino, and Volt Prime a bit lower on the who can melee well list. Saryn has a melee boosting skill, and a decent way to regen health outside of Life Strike, though it's not too reliable and her nerf to her tankiness with her rework really hurts her going Sword Alone. Rhino's got a damage buffer and a somewhat decent tanking ability, but he can't use Rage to keep his energy up as a result of that, so that hurts him too. Volt Prime's got a fast movement and melee speed, plus tons of CC in his kit, but he's quite squishy so Rage puts him in a lot of danger compared to other frames.

 

There's more options for Sword Alone, but I was just telling the ones I use the most.

[Rheoidegen]

Jus' gonna... Leave this here... http://goo.gl/YCHzy7

[Magnulast]

Zephyr!

 

Turbulence+jetstream!

 

Speed and damage reduction(ignorance...) is good, I usually slam attack enimes when I get bored, or I carefully get headshot melee hits.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Magnulast

[(PSN)Kamranos]

I like using Excal for sword alone fun. My clan and I have fun with T4 sword alone missions. We intentionally avoid the cheese so no immortal frames.

[(PSN)Appauling83]

Why wouldn't you equip a primary/secondary? Just in case.

Or are there benefits to not doing so?

Why wouldn't you equip a primary/secondary? Just in case.

Or are there benefits to not doing so?