What does slash do in Warframe?

What does Slash do in Warframe?

Slash is one of the most crucial skills in Warframe, and understanding its mechanics can help you optimize your damage output and gameplay experience. In this article, we will delve into the specifics of slash, its effects, and how to use it to your advantage.

Effects of Slash

Dot (Damage over Time)
Slash is the primary source of dot in Warframe, dealing a portion of the total damage every second. This allows players to chip away at even the toughest enemies without interrupting their combo chains or taking a break. In fact, Slash-based procs can often times allow you to one-shot minor enemies, especially if stacked with other dot abilities or damage sources.

Reduced Armor
The impact of Slash can pierce through armor, significantly decreasing its effectiveness. As an example, using the Ash’s Blade Surge weapon to apply Slash will disable a target’s armor for several seconds, allowing the Blade Surge’s own attacks to deal increased damage. Meanwhile, the Ash’s abilities will also have enhanced critical hit chance against un-armored targets.

Infested Enemies
For most enemies, Slash causes more damage than Impact and Heat combined. In certain areas, like Infested Space, Slash’s additional health drain can quickly render bosses helpless. Moreover, slashing enemies can spread your effects to nearby Infested Grineer units.

How to Use Slash Efficiently

Slash on Heavy Attacks

Apply slash damage using a variety of attack types, such as those found on weapons or with abilities like Nekros’ Soul Punch or Oberon’s Smite.

Slash and Multi-hitting

For damage-per-second (DPS), multi-hitting the enemy with slash effects ensures both increased damage output and enemy stun duration. Aim to hit the same area frequently to maximize this damage application.

Slash Synergy and Combos

Build effective combos by alternating your ability usage to ensure continued, prolonged damage over time with slash effects.

Key Warframes and their Abilities

Here’s a sampling of Warframes whose skills utilize slash or apply various slash effects:

1. Ash: Has blade surge, a basic melee attack that deals physical and slash damage, causing prolonged damage over time on enemy Grineer units. Moreover, Ash’s razorworm ability applies slash, armor reduction, and other harmful effects.
2. Nekros: Unleashes the ability Soul Punch against enemies, infusing and damaging them while maintaining extended damage over time and DOT effects.
3. Oberon: Channels Smite, spreading slash damage across his abilities, including Hammers swing, and discharging projectiles.
4. Banshee: Launches Wingguard projectile explosions while performing sword combat actions, applying slash to airborne enemies.

Important Tables for Slash

Here is an example of the optimal, high-damage strategy (Table 1):| Warframe Abilities | Slash Procs & DOT | Recommended weapon/ability combination|<!–| Key Damage Elements| Enemy armor level|<!–| Suggested playstyle and damage optimization| <!–|
Banshee ( Wing Guard + Sword attack combos)
(4-hit combo)
Slash procs|4-5 (every 0.25 second)
</code|(1-3|)
4 hit | Sword attack | Air enemies
Use combination weapons like the Veldala or the Razor wire.