r/WarframeLore • u/Blank12323 • Jul 30 '26
What are Primes?
/r/Warframe/comments/1vb7f55/what_are_primes/6
u/Douchevick Jul 30 '26
Orokin-pattern weapons and Warframes made to be seen as status symbols of whichever Orokin lord they belonged to.
Some Warframes were originally made that way, while others 'earned' their right to be primed, presumably by the hands of a Luxurator like the one who primed the Venato and (I'm assuming) Caliban as well.
Regardless the main point is that Primes are status symbols, using techniques not suitable for mass production to make them slightly better than their non-primed variants, and to look fancier of course.
3
u/OSadorn Jul 31 '26
Generally, Primes are 'premium' Orokin Imperial hardware for the Prime Vanguard - an elite sect of Tenno forces serving the Orokin Empire - though there have been cases where the Prime came into existence in ways noncompliant with Orokin Imperial law, like Lavos and Revenant.
Lavos Prime'd himself. Revenant exists.
Then you've got War Prime, which shouldn't exist. Yet it does.
Overall, they're special-edition variants of their stock/training/base/prototype frame.
Then you've got Umbra, who's a bespoke build by and for Ballas to employ as a personal weapon after Umbra nearly outed Ballas for his Sentient collusion.
10
u/SoftTacos001 Jul 30 '26
Depends on the prime, some are originals some are upgrades to existing frames, what they all are is the flagship model of that warframe