For the first time since I started building these, I present a build for a Warframe character! While a game I enjoy, it's one of those that I take a break from every now and then before returning to it. I'm currently on one of those breaks but thought it would still be fun to do a build for one of the classic Warframes - and honestly, one of the more simple ones. Initially, I had built him as a rogue before realizing that magus better accomplished what I was looking for. Now, I don't like doing builds of the same class in a row, so I apologize for that, and I'll try to avoid it in the future. As always, this build is conceptualized entirely in a vacuum, with choices made in an attempt to fit the character. These choices might not hold up in a campaign with different themes and should be adjusted accordingly.
Let's get into the build for Ash from Warframe!
ASH
CHARACTER Ash
SOURCE Warframe
GOALS
o Ash is a fast, maneuverable Warframe themed around assassains and ninjas, known as the avatar of murder
o Once treated as the patron saint of a school of assassination, he eventually abandoned them after helping children they had stolen from birth reunite with their father
o In his backstory, Ash is mentioned to wield the causta bow and dual kamas
o Ash’s passive increases bleed damage he deals and its duration
o His first ability, Shuriken, launches a spinning blade that deals damage and impales enemies to walls
o Smoke Screen drops a smoke bomb that stuns enemies, obscures their vision, and briefly makes Ash invisible
o With his Teleport ability, Ash appears behind a target, making them vulnerable to his attack
o Finally, Ash’s ultimate is Blade Storm, which summons a gang of shadow clones that attack foes
LEVEL 1
Ancestry & Heritage: Impersonator Android
o Ability Boosts & Flaws: +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Strength, -Charisma
o Ancestry Feat: Nightvision Adaptation
Background: Hired Killer
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Intelligence
o Skills: Stealth (trained), Underworld Lore (trained)
o Background Feat: Terrain Stalker - Rubble
Class & Subclass: Laughing Shadow Magus
o Class Ability Boost: +Strength
o Skills: Acrobatics (trained), Arcana (trained), Athletics (trained), Deception (trained), Society (trained), Survival (trained), Thievery (trained)
o Spellbook: Cantrips – detect magic, gouging claw, message, produce flame, ray of frost, read aura, shield, telekinetic projectile; 1st – magic weapon, shocking grasp, thicket of knives, snowball
Details
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Charisma (Str 18, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 10)
Warframes are beings made from flesh and cybernetics cultivated by an alien empire, making the best options for their ancestry either android or a technological fleshwarp. This build ended up being slightly more MAD than I thought it would be, leading to android being the best choice. To reflect the story regarding Ash being a patron of a school of assassination, hired killer seemed like a good choice, using rubble for his Terrain Stalker option as most places in the game have at least some amount of them. With the laughing shadow magus, Ash gains the dimensional assault focus spell, emulating his Teleport ability. Meanwhile, the gouging claw is a good initial way to give him a way of inflicting bleed, as per his passive while spells such as produce flame, shocking grasp, and snowball equate to elemental mods added to his weapon. Finally, using the magus class gives Ash proficiency with martial weapons, allowing him to wield his favored kama, bow, and shuriken.
LEVEL 2
o Class Feat: Rogue Dedication
o Skill Feat: Alchemical Crafting, Quick Jump
o Skill Increase: Crafting (trained), Intimidation (trained)
o Gear: ring of discretion
LEVEL 3
o General Feat: Toughness
o Skill Increase: Stealth (expert)
o Gear: +1 kama, cantrip deck (5-pack), ring of discretion
LEVEL 4
o Class Feat: Basic Trickery – Nimble Dodge
o Skill Feat: Combat Climber
o Gear: bracelet of dashing, +1 kama, Jack’s tattered cape, ring of discretion
LEVEL 5
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 19, Dex 16, Con 10, Int 18, Wis 12, Cha 10)
o Ancestry Feat: Emotionless
o Skill Increase: Athletics (expert), Occultism (trained)
o Gear: +1 striking kama, bracelet of dashing, manacles of persuasion, Jack’s tattered cape, cantrip deck (5-pack), ring of discretion
Anybody that’s played Warframe knows that jumping feats aplenty are needed while Alchemical Crafting from his Rogue Dedication gives him the ability to craft smokesticks, which can be used to achieve the effects of his Smoke Screen. Furthermore, the Rogue Dedication grants him Nimble Dodge to effectively roll out of the way of attacks. Given that Warframes typically must be piloted by an operator to fully function, Emotionless seemed a good grab. Skill wise, Ash is going to focus on Athletics and Stealth to increase his jumping capability as well as his ability to disappear from vision.
LEVEL 6
o Class Feat: Sneak Attacker
o Skill Feat: Powerful Leap
o Gear: +1 studded leather, +1 striking kama, lifting belt, bracelet of dashing, Jack’s tattered cape, goz mask
LEVEL 7
o General Feat: Fleet
o Skill Increase: Stealth (master)
o Gear: endless grimoire, +1 studded leather, quick runner’s shirt, +1 striking kama, bracelet of dashing, manacles of persuasion
LEVEL 8
o Class Feat: Expansive Spellstrike
o Skill Feat: Swift Sneak
o Gear: cloak of elvenkind, endless grimoire, wounding weapon rune, +1 studded leather, +1 striking kama, lifting belt
LEVEL 9
o Ancestry Feat: Advanced Targeting System
o Skill Increase: Athletics (master)
o Gear: +1 resilient studded leather, boots of bounding, cloak of elvenkind, endless grimoire, quick runner’s shirt, +1 striking kama
LEVEL 10
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Dexterity, +Constitution, +Intelligence (Str 20, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 19, Wis 12, Cha 10)
o Class Feat: Dimensional Disappearance
o Skill Feat: Cat Fall
o Gear: armbands of athleticism, +1 resilient leather, wand of teeming ghosts (3rd-level), cloak of elvenkind, endless grimoire, +1 striking kama
Initially, this build didn’t include the Sneak Attacker feat, but it ended up being necessary for another feat down the line, necessitating it. Similarly, there’s some specific spells down the line that Ash will want to use with Expansive Spellstrike. Though it’s slightly off, Ash disappears when he uses Smoke Screen and makes enemies vulnerable when he uses Teleport. Dimensional Disappearance slightly combines these two abilities while providing Ash with additional utility given his limited spell slots. The Advanced Targeting System further increases his utility spell slots, granting him a free casting of true strike. Fleet increases the distance he is able to teleport with dimensional assault as well as the distance he can Sneak even if he gets Swift Sneak the next level.
LEVEL 11
o General Feat: Wall Jump
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (expert)
o Gear: +2 striking kama, armbands of athleticism, greater sleeves of storage, +1 resilient leather, boots of bounding, cloak of elvenkind
LEVEL 12
o Class Feat: Advanced Trickery – Twist the Knife
o Skill Feat: Foil Senses
o Gear: +2 resilient leather, +2 striking kama, greater endless grimoire, armbands of athleticism, greater flaming star, wand of teeming ghosts (3rd-level)
LEVEL 13
o Ancestry Feat: Revivification Protocol
o Skill Increase: Acrobatics (master)
o Gear: +2 greater striking kama, +2 resilient leather, ring of maniacal devices, greater endless grimoire, armbands of athleticism, greater unmemorable mantle
LEVEL 14
o Class Feat: Arcane Shroud
o Skill Feat: Kip Up
o Gear: boots of speed, +2 greater striking kama, major flaming star, +2 resilient leather, greater endless grimoire, greater clandestine cloak
LEVEL 15
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Intelligence, +Wisdom (Str 21, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 10)
o General Feat: Feather Step
o Skill Increase: Stealth (legendary), Nature (trained)
o Gear: +2 greater resilient leather, boots of speed, keen weapon rune, +2 greater striking kama, greater boots of elvenkind, ring of maniacal devices
With the Advanced Trickery feat, Ash gains access to Twist the Knife, which allows him to inflict persistent bleed equal to his sneak attack damage with a single action after scoring a hit, fitting in with his passive. Arcane Shroud seems a less obvious choice but the utility it provides such as invisibility, fleet step, and stoneskin are very handy and also fit with some of the mods that can be applied to a Warframe. Wall Jump is a must for a Warframe while Revivification Protocol resembles the ability to revive while on a mission. Kip Up is always a useful feat, allowing him to stand as a free action without provoking reactions.
LEVEL 16
o Class Feat: Runic Impression
o Skill Feat: Legendary Sneak
o Gear: greater shock weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather, major endless grimoire, boots of speed, +2 greater striking kama, major flaming star
LEVEL 17
o Ancestry Feat: Internal Respirator
o Skill Increase: Athletics (legendary)
o Gear: +3 greater striking kama, greater shock weapon rune, dragonscale amulet, +2 greater resilient leather, boots of speed, keen weapon rune
LEVEL 18
o Class Feat: Conflux Focus
o Skill Feat: Cloud Jump
o Gear: diadem of intellect, +3 greater striking kama, speed weapon rune, greater shock weapon rune, +2 greater resilient leather, major endless grimoire
LEVEL 19
o General Feat: Wary Disarmament
o Skill Increase: Thievery (expert)
o Gear: +3 greater resilient leather, diadem of intellect, greater armbands of athleticism, +3 greater striking kama, greater shock weapon rune, dragonscale amulet
LEVEL 20
o Ability Boosts: +Strength, +Constitution, +Wisdom, +Charisma (Str 22, Dex 18, Con 16, Int 22, Wis 16, Cha 12)
o Class Feat: Supreme Spellstrike
o Skill Feat: Quick Climb
o Gear: +3 major striking kama, +3 greater resilient leather, true endless grimoire, diadem of intellect, bloodthirsty weapon rune, wand of teeming ghosts (7th-level)
Runic Impression further achieves the effect of modding weapons with different elemental damage, but also provides him with additional focus points that can be used for more dimensional assaults. Conflux Focus grants him the ability to regain two focus points when he Refocuses, making it safer to use multiple focus spells in a combat. Finally, Supreme Spellstrike makes Ash permanently quickened to deliver more Spellstrikes or recharge them more regularly. Internal Respirator covers the general Warframe ability to briefly survive in outer space without additional equipment. Cloud Jump plays into the incredible jumping capabilities of Warframe while Quick Climb plays into the wall run ability that they exhibit. As a side note, I thought I had the spells set up properly in Pathbuilder, but it didn't print them with this character sheet. I had set him up with polar ray and shadow raid for his high level spells. Since it doesn't seem to be working properly, I'll go back to listing the spells at each level.
CONCLUSION
One main thing this build establishes is the basic ideas for Warframe characters that will likely be used for other Warframe characters that I ever build. For Ash specifically, his passive can be achieved through several methods with this build – a critical gouging claw Spellstrike will inflict bleed while Twist the Knife is a more consistent way of achieving it. Shuriken isn’t fully realized, but can be achieved with spells like telekinetic projectile or telekinetic maneuver. Smoke Screen can be done with a smokestick or by using a spell like obscuring mist that he can learn. Teleport is achieved through dimensional assault with Dimensional Disappearance creating the invisibility effects of Smoke Screen. Finally, Blade Storm is unlocked through the shadow raid ability, summoning a horde of shadowy clones to overrun his foes.
Be sure to lemme know what you think of the build! If you want to join in on the discussion of these builds and the ones I do for monsters or just hang out with a bunch of fellow TTRPG nerd, check out the Discord server. We also have a Twitter where we try to post teasers for the blog and are trying to get some milestones made up for. Join me here next Friday for a build for an Ash whose power mostly comes from his pets! Until next time, have a fantastic Friday!
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