The Ultimate Cyte-09 Super Sniper Build for Warframe

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Cyte-09 takes the Warframe design philosophy back to the space ninja basics but this time, with a ranged twist. That’s because Cyte-09 is a sniper-themed Warframe with abilities that fit the theme well. You might be wondering how to make the most out of Cyte in a game that’s too fast-paced for sniper gameplay. Well, our Cyte-09 build will ensure that he not only keeps up with other Warframes but can also kill enemies before teammates can spot them.

The Ultimate Cyte-09 Build in Warframe

It’s worth noting that just like any Warframe with an invisibility or stealth ability, this particular Cyte build will be taking advantage of that. That also means you’ll need some concessions in playing the build as you mostly won’t be seeing your character during gameplay– which is a shame if you bought the Quincy skin for Cyte-09 with the intention of seeing it in gameplay.

However, you can still show off in Relays and other instances and permanent invisibility isn’t really necessary unless you’re tackling Steel Path or harder content. In any case, this is the build:

Mod List

Mod Name	Effect	Alternative
Worthy Comradery (Aura)	Squad receives +75% Weak Point Critical Chance	Growing Power or Corrosive Projection (for armor strip)
Primed Sure Footed	+100% Chance to Resist Knockdown	Regular Sure Footed or Power Drift
Rolling Guard	On Dodge: Become invulnerable for 3s and remove all Status Effects. 7s cooldown.	Vitality, Redirection, or Adaptation
Stretch	+45% Ability Range	None
Primed Continuity	+55% Ability Duration	Regular Continuity (weaker)
Primed Flow	+185% Energy Max	Regular Flow (weaker)
Precision Intensify	+90% Ability Strength for your 4th Ability	Regular Intensify or Blind Rage/Transient Fortitude
Blind Rage	+99% Ability Strength -55% Ability Efficiency	Intensify or Augur Secrets
Augur Reach	+30% Ability Range	None
Equilibrium	Health pickups give +110% Energy. Energy pickups give +110% Health.	None. You need this for sustaining your Energy.

The build will likely take anywhere from 3-6 Forma though you can always use non-Prime modes to lower the drain cost. In any case, the mods aren’t too expensive.

However, you will need to invest quite a bit into the Neutralizer Exalted weapon. We’ll make a separate build for that one later. As you can expect, this Cyte build will then take advantage of the 4th Ability.

Arcanes for the Cyte-09 Build

Arcanes can be a bit overwhelming for new players, so if you’re just starting out in Warframe, you can hold off on diving into them for now. That said, they’re incredibly useful for many Warframes, including Cyte-09, so it’s worth starting your collection once you reach Steel Path difficulty—or even sooner if you can.

For Cyte-09, make sure to aim for these Arcanes:

Molt Augmented – It’s practically a standard and must-have for most endgame Waframe builds these days and Cyte-09 is no exception. You can obtain it from the Zariman region and syndicate.
Arcane Energize – This expensive Arcane might just allow you to drop the Equilibrium mod or even Archon Stretch. Starting Rank 3, this Arcane will solve most of your Energy problems in Warframe.

Archon Shards for the Cyte-09 Build

For Archon Shards, Cyte-09 has some terribly long casting animations, so you’d do well to include some yellow shards. Meanwhile, he’s also a Warframe that benefits a lot from more Ability Strength.

With that in mind, make sure to place these in:

2x Amber Archon Shards (Casting Speed & Energy Orb Efficiency)
3x Crimson Archon Shards (Strength/Duration)

Ideally, you want the Tauforged variants for both of those for better potency.

Playstyle for the Warframe Cyte-09 Build

The idea behind the build is simple. Stay invisible at all times and snipe enemies. You want to be scoring headshot or weakspot kills while you’re invisible because weakspot hits will replenish your invisibility counter or duration. Of course, you also want to be killing enemies fast anyway.

To help with increasing your invisibility, you’ll also want to use the 1st Ability or Seek whenever it’s off cooldown or whenever the duration is over. Because Seek will allow you to shoot through walls and will also highlight enemy weakspots. Thus, the three-ability combo and loop leads to a never-ending chain of headshots and invisibility.

The only way that loop be cut short is if you run out of Evade or energy so you’ll still need to move around to pick up Energy Orb to keep your DPS up. In any case, here’s the step-by-step gameplay loop for the ultimate Cyte-09 build:

Top up your energy, you’ll want it to be full before starting this loop.
Cast the 3rd Ability (Evade) to become invisible.
Cast the 4th Ability (Neutralize), you want to be in this mode all the time.
Hold the 2nd Ability (Resupply) and select Viral or Heat damage.
Immediately snipe enemy heads/weakspots until Evade’s duration reaches 20+ seconds.
Once there are no more enemies in sight, use the 1st Ability (Seek) to shoot enemies through walls, again aiming for the heads or weakspots.
If your energy is running low (100 or less), walk around and pick up Energy Orbs.
Keep all Abilities active if you can, but prioritize keeping the 3rd Ability active, meaning always score headshot/weakspot kills.
Avoid getting caught in area damage or attacks. Also, avoid Nullifier bubbles.