Harrow - Aggressive Gunner
Status: Great
Build type: Loadout
Rating: 4/5
Designed for: Defense, Excavation, Interception, Survival, Arena
Overview
Harrow is a bit of an oddball frame. His kit excels when he can get all the kills and do all the work, which is pretty counter-intuitive for a so-called support frame. Harrow thrives in a weapon-DPS role similar to Banshee or Chroma.
Despite his low HP and armor, Harrow needs to be on the front lines constantly shooting and casting abilities. Unlike most frames, Harrow has an ability 'rotation' so to speak. His moveset is very cyclical and functions more like a Diablo character rather than a Warframe.
Disclaimer
This is a very expensive build, requiring 6 forma and four rank 10 Primed mods on Harrow alone. If you don't plan on playing Harrow often in endgame missions, you'll likely find better results with other builds. You have been warned.
Warframe
Harrow
Dauntless and devout, the dark priest Harrow bestows upon his coven three virtues: salvation through sacrifice, redemption through vengeance, and ascension through defiance.
Armor: 150
Health: 300
Energy: 150
Shield: 450
| Modded stats | |
|---|---|
| Armor | 150 |
| Energy | 425 |
| Health | 850 |
| Shield | 450 |
| Sprint Speed | 1.00 |
| Duration | 151.5% |
| Efficency | 100% |
| Range | 100% |
| Strength | 225% |
Warframe Mods
CorrosiveProjectionMod5
PowerDriftMod5
AugurMessageMod5
WardingThuribleMod3
PrimedContinuityMod10
UmbralVitalityMod10
NaturalTalentMod3
PrimedFlowMod10
TransientFortitudeMod10
UmbralIntensifyMod10
Arcane Avenger
14% chance for +30% Critical Chance for 8s
Criteria: On Damaged
Arcane Avenger
14% chance for +30% Critical Chance for 8s
Criteria: On Damaged
Build Notes
Duration
There's a bit of a rule with Harrow builds: As you get better at playing Harrow, you can run less duration. High duration is good for beginners as it mitigates a lot of the micro in his kit, but it's also more limiting in terms of your invincibility usage and your other power stats. Lower duration (100-150%) allows you to be much more flexible with Covenant. You can be more proactive with your invincibility timing and maintain the 2/3rds uptime on your crit boost, while also gaining the benefits of higher range for your other abilities since you don't need to run Narrow Minded.
Natural Talent
Natural Talent is a fantastic choice for two reasons. Harrow has slow cast animations on three of his abilities, and Thurible's energy gain rate is doubled by Natural Talent. These two factors make it an extremely worthwhile mod on almost any Harrow build. I know it may be a tempting idea to swap it for more stats, but I really can't recommend doing so simply because you gain so much additional benefit from Natural Talent.
Vitality vs Quick Thinking
Quick Thinking is generally a better choice than Vitality on Harrow; Thurible keeps you completely topped up on energy if you're able to kill even a few enemies, which gives you vastly more survivability when combined with Quick Thinking. With that said, there is some merit to using (Umbral) Vitality, namely if you're trying to hit the 225% strength breakpoint for Warding Thurible. I use Umbral Vitality primarily for my Kubrow with Link Health, but also to get the 2-set Umbral effect.
Warding Thurible
The slot where I use Warding Thurible is a flex slot. My build specifically accommodates Warding Thurible by having exactly 225% strength, but you can replace it if you'd like some extra stats.
Weapons
Weapon choice is almost entirely up to taste. Something to note that may impact your weapon choice is that status weapons are an exceptionally potent choice for Harrow. Your first inclination may be a crit weapon to benefit from Convenant's crit boost, which is absolutely valid. However, status weapons are generally balanced around not critting, meaning that when you add 200% crit chance to them they tend to break the balance of the game. With all that said, let's briefly cover some notable weapons for Harrow, starting with...
Vectis Prime
Vectis Prime
Once thought destroyed, the newly uncovered Vectis Prime revives Tenno martial traditions.
Category: Primary
Type: Sniper Rifle
Damage: 350
DPS: 569
Accuracy: 100
This needs no introduction. The Vectis prime is a strong contender for the best weapon in the game, boasting impressively high base damage, pretty consistent crits, good crit damage, and even some status chance to boot. In addition, the weapon has effectively zero downtime between shots due to the lightning fast reload speed. The Vectis Prime is a monster in the right hands.
Vectis Prime Mods
SerrationMod10
SplitChamberMod5
PrimedBaneOfCorruptedMod10
VitalSenseMod5
HunterMunitionsMod5
VigilanteArmamentsMod5
PrimedCryoRoundsMod10
InfectedClipMod5
Build Notes
This is, in my opinion, the highest scaling Vectis Prime build. Point Strike is replaced with Vigilante Armaments for more consistent damage, as the crit boost is unnecessary when Covenant and Arcane Avenger are active and granting you additive 260% crit chance. Further, (Primed) Bane mods are an excellent choice for any damage-over-time build as they receive the Bane multiplier twice.
Arca Plasmor
Arca Plasmor
Stagger targets with blasts from this Corpus engineered plasma shotgun. Surviving enemies are consumed with radiation.
Category: Primary
Type: Shotgun
Damage: 600
DPS: 571
Accuracy: 17
Another popular weapon, the Arca Plasmor is notable for being a headshot machine. If you opt to use the Lasting Covenant augment, you'll have absolutely zero issues maintaining your crit buff if you're rocking one of these bad boys. The projectile nails headshots around 80-90% of the time if you just aim slightly above center-of-mass. For this reason, the Arca Plasmor is one of the best weapons for a Thurible-based support build.
Arca Plasmor Mods
PrimedPointBlankMod10
HellsChamberMod
PrimedRavageMod10
HunterMunitionsMod5
ToxicBarrageMod3
FrigidBlastMod3
VigilanteArmamentsMod5
PrimedChargedShellMod10
Build Notes
The Arca Plasmor is a highly versatile weapon, meaning that you can build in just about any way you'd like and it'll still be a highly effective weapon. I've elected to drop Blunderbuss from the build, as I don't think it's worth the mod slot when Covenant will be giving it an overwhelming amount of crit chance. Primed Charged Shell is a filler, but the extra damage from a primed elemental mod is nothing to scoff at.
Nukor
Nukor
The Nukor is a Grineer sidearm that fires a microwave-like frequency beam that inflicts Radiation damage.
Category: Secondary
Type: Pistol
Damage: 22
DPS: 0
Accuracy: 100
Ah, the good old gimmick weapon. The Nukor is notable for simultaneously having the lowest crit chance (3%) and the highest crit damage (4x) in the game. These stats were mostly a joke back when it released, but now that we have access to some additive crit buffs it's become a real powerhouse weapon.
Nukor Mods
HornetStrikeMod10
BarrelDiffusionMod5
LethalTorrentMod5
PrimedTargetCrackerMod10
JoltMod3
PathogenRoundsMod5
FrostbiteMod3
PrimedHeatedChargeMod10
Build Notes
The elements on this build can be swapped around as you like, but I'd recommend using one dual stat mod and one raw element mod per combined element. This is to maintain a good status chance without making one element overwhelmingly more prominent than any others. If you don't mind having an elemental bias, feel free to swap them as you please.
Gameplay
Now that we've got a frame and weapons, let's talk about how to effectively use this build in a mission.
Rotation
As mentioned in the overview, Harrow is one of the few frames in the game that has a cyclical ability rotation. This manifests in how you manage your buffs and CC timers, and for that reason it's important to note that this playstyle has some micro. It can be a little overwhelming at first, but once you get the hang of it the playstyle becomes second nature. With all of that in mind, here's how you should be managing your timers.
Thurible
Channel
ThuribleThurible
Channel Harrow’s energy into the Thurible to generate a buff. Once finished, kill enemies to bestow nearby allies with bursts of energy. The more energy channeled the greater the reward for each kill. Headshots produce extra energy.
Cost: 25
Warframe: Harrow
if you or your teammates need energy. This should always be the very first thing you do. I like to channel enough to get 40-70 energy per kill. After the most recent buff to Thurible, this costs around 150 energy with my build.
Penance
Use
PenancePenance
Sacrifice shields to boost reload, and fire rate while converting damage inflicted on enemies into health for Harrow and nearby allies.
Cost: 50
Warframe: Harrow
. This is the single most important ability in your kit, and as such you should strive to always have Penance active. No ifs, ands, or buts. The vast majority of your EHP comes from self healing. I'll probably get some flak from other Harrow players for this, but Penance is primarily for you and you alone. The team healing is a nice extra, but you should be prioritizing yourself. Without Penance active you will be gunned down with extreme prejudice. Long range melee weapons are optimal for healing, I used to use the Atterax but frankly I got sick of spin-to-win and have since switched to more traditional melees. Maiming Strike weapons still work incredibly well on Harrow, I just don't like them.
Condemn
Use
CondemnCondemn
Cast a wave of energy that chains them where they stand. Each enemy held reinforces Harrow’s shields.
Cost: 25
Warframe: Harrow
on heavy units (techs, bombards, bursas, etc) to take them out of the fight. Condemn is incredibly powerful CC that opens enemies up to easy headshots. Don't kill the Condemned enemies yet! With the big threats CCd, you have an easy opportunity to kill the random trash enemies.
Covenant
Pop
CovenantCovenant
Protect nearby allies with an energy force that absorbs all damage and converts it to a Critical Chance bonus for all those under the Covenant. Headshots are amplified even further.
Cost: 100
Warframe: Harrow
when Condemn expires. Start killing the heavies only when you reach your max crit chance threshold, usually around 1-2k absorbed damage.
Rinse & Repeat
Counters
You'll need to keep an eye out for certain enemies with this build. Sustained-damage enemies have a hard time dealing with Harrow in general, but this build is still quite susceptible to knockdowns and burst damage. Make sure to kill/condemn Bursas, Combas/Scrambus, Nullifiers, and Bombards to neutralize them during a heavy firefight.
A solid Harrow build that explains why you use what you do. Harrow can often be overlooked and it's good to see a true end-game focused loadout that includes him.