If you’ve spent any decent amount of time with Warframe, then you’ll know that having a Prime variant of a Warframe will bring you some much envied stat enhancements, such as a higher armour rating, an improved energy pool, an even faster sprint speed, as well as some extra mod polarities. And with that in mind, it’s not uprising to see a Prime arrival following Zephyr’s recent changes which have seen Tail Wind, Tornado and Turbulence improved alongside the addition of Airburst.
But let’s be honest for a moment here. Zephyr isn’t exactly the greatest in comparison is she? With greater speed found in Volt’s buff, mobility in the air clearly bettered by Titania’s Razorwing and CC abilities that fail to stand out from the crowd, what’s the point in even getting involved with Zephyr Prime?
Well because if you mix everything that comes as part of Zephyr Prime together, you start to see a radical change to things and a clear reason as to why many are able to dominate the skies when using Zephyr Prime.
So, let’s have a closer look at the abilities that make Zephyr Prime so appealing.
Tail Wind
I’m going to get this one out of the way first, as to be honest, it’s not one I’m all that enamoured with.
If you’re after an ability to match that of Titania’s Razorwing in airborne battle then, if you can control it, Tail Wind is likely to of use to you. However, with a hover ability that proves fruitless once airborne and a charge that takes way too long, there’s really no reason to be getting excited by it.
It works outdoors rather well in open spaces of course, but with the Dive Bomb ability requiring players to have already gained plenty of height for the damage effect to take hold, it’s much simpler to shoot enemies than rely on fancy manoeuvres, even with Target Fixation in use.
Turbulence
If you struggle with projectiles, then Turbelence is going to be your new best friend as this skill ensures Zephyr is pretty much untouchable when it comes to projectiles and enemies that want to ply you with bullets.
This one is my personal favourites and after the casting animation, players are gifted an energy field providing the ability to walk through gunfire with ease – just make sure you keep an eye on the duration as having to cast this during combat can prove troublesome.
Turbelence does also come with the Jet Stream ability mod which can a great for those needing a quick speed boost, whilst it also brings a speed buff to projectile weapons which is always appreciated when overcrowded.
Airburst
Onto Airburst then and this ability goes hand in hand with the final ability, Tornado. If you like the idea of sending your enemies flying then you’ll want to make the most of this one.
Whilst it’s not exactly the best in terms of inflicting damage, those who enjoy melee combat will have great fun utilising the bursts of dense air that Airburst produces before watching it explode on contact with enemies, even if they are hidden behind walls or stood clumped together – great for those times you need some crowd control.
Tornado
Always save the best till last they say – someone has said that I’m sure – and Tornado is definitely that.
Tornado is Zephyr’s go to ability if you want to cause serious damage with Tornadoes seeking out targets and attacking them, with the elemental damage type they have absorbed the most. This is great for taking out groups of enemies as it immobilises on contact and with a quick trigger finger to mix in, you’ll quickly find the crowds thinning.
It is worth noting though that due to the unpredictable path of the tornadoes, it can be difficult to nab those kills quickly when playing a Defence mission, unless of course you’re running in with a shotgun which is definitely the go to weapon when maximising the use of Tornado, but it sure as hell clears the enemies if they are surrounding the objective.
The ability mod that can be applied with this one is Funnel Clouds and using this is sure to shake up your game entirely. From the offset Funnel Clouds looks like a bad idea, with the CC ability removed entirely from Tornado, however with enemies no longer being thrown about by the effects, more damage can be inflicted thanks to any enemies within a five-metre radius being affected. With up to 12 Tornadoes possible with the Funnel Clouds ability, the damage multiplier can indeed be monumental in the field.
So, with all abilities considered, is it really worth forking out cash for the Zephyr Prime? That is hard to say. It’s certainly worth utilising there’s no doubt about it, but if you have the time spare then it’s easily feasible to be able to build towards it without any extra cost. For the effect it can have on battle though, paying a little extra isn’t the worst idea in the world, especially if you’re serious about Warframe.
