Chroma/Abilities

Passive[]

Chroma possesses an extra midair jump and bullet jump. Wings matching Chroma's energy colors will form during these maneuvers.

Chroma can alter his abilities to match any basic (uncombined) elemental attribute of the player's choice. Customizing Chroma's primary emission color determines what abilities he starts with. Color choices are grouped into four categories with each category corresponding to a given element:

red, magenta, brown, orange and bright yellow hues being Heat;
blue and purple hues being Electricity;
green, lime, teal and dark yellow hues being Toxin;
white, grey, black, and some faded colors being Cold.

Note that players do not need to purchase color palettes to unlock the full potential of this trait.

While customizing his emission color, Chroma's active element is displayed in the form of an icon ( Heat, Electricity, Toxin, Cold). This imgur album can serve as a reference for future color palette purchases.

Customizing the secondary emission and the energy colors will have no effect on Chroma's chosen element.

Abilities can be cycled mid-mission using .

Abilities []

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Main article: Spectral Scream (edit)

1 10 +3/s	Spectral Scream Exhale a deep breath of elemental destruction. Chroma's energy color determines the element. Introduced in Update 16.0 (2015-03-19)	Strength:200 / 250 / 300 / 400 (damage)
		Duration:N/A
		Range:4 / 5 / 6.5 / 10 m (cone length)
		Misc: 100% (status chance) 10 m (spread range) ?% (stagger chance) 90° (horizontal aim angle) 45° (vertical aim angle)

Info

Wielding mastery over the deadly elements, Chroma can selectively change his elemental alignment, by tapping the ability key to freely cycle the selection wheel between Heat, Electricity, Toxin, or Cold.
- Chroma's initial element once he enters a mission is determined by the primary emissive color in his Appearance customization; otherwise it will default to Heat.
Hold down the ability key (default 1 ) to expend 10 Energy to activate Spectral Scream. While active, Chroma holsters his weapons away and continuously exhales elemental energy in a cone 4 / 5 / 6.5 / 10 meters long that inflicts 200 / 250 / 300 / 400 Heat, Electricity, Toxin, or Cold damage per second with a 100% status chance and a ?% Stagger chance; each enemy hit directly by Spectral Scream's cone will also spread its ability effects via an elemental energy stream to one other enemy within 10 meters.
- Damage bypasses obstacles in the environment and does not decrease with distance.
- Damage type is based on Chroma's current elemental alignment which is determined by Chroma's emissive color.
- Spectral Scream's cone emits from Chroma's mouth, which changes direction based on where Chroma's model is facing (not the player camera) and can only be aimed within 90 degrees to each side and 45 degrees above or below Chroma.
- While Chroma cannot use his weapons with Spectral Scream active, he is still able to cast abilities or maneuver just as freely.
Spectral Scream drains 3 energy per second and will remain active as long as Chroma has energy. Spectral Scream will end if Chroma runs out of energy or if deactivated by holding down the ability key again (default 1 ).
- Chroma cannot replenish energy using Energy Vampire, Rally Point, Rift Plane's innate energy regeneration, Squad Energy Restores, Energy Siphon, Energy Nexus, Dreamer's Bond, and/or Wellspring while Spectral Scream is active.
- Energy Orbs, Orokin Void Death Orb's energy restores, Rage, Hunter Adrenaline, Spellbound Harvest, Arcane Energize, and Emergence Dissipate's Energy Motes can still replenish Chroma's energy during Spectral Scream.
Ability Synergy:
- Elemental alignment determines the ability effects of Elemental Ward and the elemental damage type of Effigy.
- Spectral Scream's damage can be boosted by the Fury aspect of Vex Armor.
The AoE cone is directed from the point of the animation as opposed to toward the crosshair. This means that diving rolls will divert the aim.
A visual effect lingers after the cone of damage, dependent on element.

Augment

Main article: Afterburn

Afterburn is a Warframe Augment Mod usable in both PvE and Conclave for Chroma's Spectral Scream that launches a single damaging elemental attack upon deactivating the ability.

Afterburn

Tips & Tricks

This ability can come in handy when used as a form of Crowd Control and can both be used as a damage ability, or with Heat or Electricity elemental damage creating a continuous crowd control stun.
This ability can be used to resist knockdowns, making it usable for walking through Corpus laser doors or shockwaves caused by MOAs or death orbs.
Rolling can be used to counteract the movement speed reduction and cover a large area in a short period of time.
Spectral Scream's conical area of effect can also break containers, as well as hazards such as explosive barrels. Regardless, increasing range, and having Elemental Ward active along with Spectral Scream will make it easier to clear rooms of containers.

Main article: Elemental Ward (edit)

2

50

Elemental Ward

Depending on Chroma's elemental alignment, an offensive area-of-effect is created. Chroma and his nearby allies are imbued with defensive energy.

Introduced in Update 16.0 (2015-03-19)

Strength: 25 / 50 / 75 / 100 ( damage per second)
15 / 20 / 30 / 55 % (health bonus)

Duration: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 s

Range: 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 m (aura range)

Misc:2 / 5 / 7 / 10 % ( status chance)
5 m (burn radius)

Strength: 2.5 / 3 / 5 / 10 x (damage reflection multiplier)
10 / 15 / 20 / 30 % (shield bonus)
10 / 15 / 20 / 25 % ( status chance)
50 / 60 / 100 / 200 (minimum damage)

Duration: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 s

Range: 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 m (aura range)
5 / 6 / 8 / 10 m (discharge range)

Strength: 25 / 35 / 40 / 50 % ( damage chance per second)
15 / 25 / 30 / 35 % (holster damage)

Duration: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 s
? / ? / 3 / 3 s (holster damage duration)
15 / 25 / 30 / 35 % (reload speed bonus)

Range: 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 m (aura range)

Misc:5 m (poison radius)
5 % (enemy health to damage)
100 % ( status chance)

Strength: 1.5 / 2 / 2.5 / 3 x (damage reflection multiplier)
25 / 70 / 90 / 145 % (armor bonus)
10 / 15 / 20 / 25 % ( status chance)

Duration: 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 s

Range: 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 m (aura range)

Subsumable to Helminth

Info

Chroma expends 50 Energy to emit an aura of elemental energy, empowering himself and nearby allies within 6 / 8 / 10 / 12 meters for 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 seconds, providing both offensive and defensive buffs.
- Energy cost is affected by Ability Efficiency.
- Duration is affected by Ability Duration.
- Aura radius is affected by Ability Range.
Elemental Ward exhibits different effects depending on Chroma's current elemental alignment, determined by Chroma's primary emission color or the selected element of Spectral Scream.

Generates a flame aura around Chroma and affected allies that increases base Health by 15% / 20% / 30% / 55% and inflicts 25 / 50 / 75 / 100 Heat damage per second within a radius of 5 meters with a 2% / 5% / 7% / 10% status chance.
- The health bonus stacks additively with base health modifiers, and the amount of health gained is determined by the affected Warframe's base health at rank 0. Since Chroma has 270 health at rank 0, a rank-3 Elemental Ward with a maxed Vitality and Intensify will increase Chroma's health at rank 30 to $270 \times (1 + 2 + 1 + 0.55 \times 1.3) = 1,273.05$ .
- Damage bypasses obstacles in the environment and decreases with distance.

Infuses Chroma and affected allies with an electric current that increases base Shields by 10% / 15% / 20% / 30% and converts incoming damage into arc discharges. An arc discharge inflicts 250% / 300% / 500% / 1,000% incoming damage as Electricity damage to a single target within 5 / 6 / 8 / 10 meters with a 10% / 15% / 20% / 25% status chance. Arc discharges will inflict a minimum of 50 / 60 / 100 / 200 Electricity damage.
- The shield bonus stacks additively with base shield modifiers, and the amount of shields gained is determined by the affected Warframe's base shields at rank 0. Since Chroma has 270 shields at rank 0, a rank-3 Elemental Ward with a maxed Redirection and Intensify will increase Chroma's shield capacity at rank 30 to $270 \times (1 + 2 + 1 + 0.3 \times 1.3) = 1,185.3$ .
- Arc damage bypasses obstacles in the environment.
- The final damage of an arc discharge is determined by the amount of shields and/or health lost by incoming damage. For example with a maxed Intensify, losing 100 shields from a single instance of damage will produce an arc that inflicts 100 × 10 × 1.3 = 1,300 Electricity damage at rank 3 to a single target as long as it's within range.
  - When infused into Hildryn by the Helminth, the Shield drained by skills is also converted into damage, but the base multiplier is 1x instead of 10x.
- Damage from environmental hazards can also be converted into arc discharges.
- Arcs can strike the same target multiple times, and arcs can be produced in quick succession should Chroma and allies receive multiple instances of damage that exceed the minimum threshold.

Emits an aura of noxious fumes around Chroma and affected allies that increases base Reload Speed by 15% / 25% / 30% / 35%, as well as weapon damage when Holstering by 15% / 25% / 30% / 35% for ? / ? / 3 / 3 seconds. Within a radius of 5 meters, the noxious fumes also have a 25% / 35% / 40% / 50% chance per second to deal 5% of an enemy's maximum health as Toxin damage with a 100% status chance.
- The Toxin damage will only be applied to an enemy if it is not already affected by a Toxin proc, but can occur as soon as an existing Toxin proc expires. As such, its effect cannot stack with itself but can refresh itself every 7 seconds.
- Damage bypasses obstacles in the environment and does not decrease with distance.

Encases Chroma and affected allies in a layer of frost that increases base Armor by 25% / 70% / 90% / 145% and creates an ice shield that reflects incoming fire back to its source. Reflected damage is increased by 150% / 200% / 250% / 300% and has a 10% / 15% / 20% / 25% status chance.
- The armor bonus stacks additively with base armor modifiers, and the amount of armor gained is determined by the affected Warframe's base armor, according to the following formula: Base Armor × (1 + Armor Mods + Ability Modifier × (1 + Strength Mods)).
  - Since Chroma has 370 base armor, a rank-3 Elemental Ward with a maxed Steel Fiber and Intensify will increase Chroma's armor to $370 \times (1 + 1 + 1.45 \times (1 + 0.3)) = 1,437.45$ .
  - As with all other additive armor bonuses, Elemental Ward's bonus is applied before multiplicative armor bonuses.
- Incoming hitscan and non-hitscan projectiles are physically redirected after hitting Chroma. As such, obstacles in the environment can prevent reflected damage from hitting enemies.
- Hitscan projectiles are reflected directly to the source enemy regardless of distance from Chroma. Melee attacks are not reflected.
- Non-hitscan projectiles are reflected in the direction of the source enemy.
- Does not prevent damage to Chroma aside from the additional armor bonus and other damage reduction rules; Chroma will be hit normally before reflecting weapons fire.

Elemental Auras of any type from two or more Chromas do not stack and only the first aura will apply its benefits as long as the player is within buff range. For example, two Heat auras do not increase damage nor health values, and possessing a Heat aura will negate receiving a Cold aura.
Has a casting delay of 1 second. The animation interrupts movement and other actions.
Elemental Ward cannot be recast while active.
Elemental Ward does not work on Nekros' Shadows.
Subsuming Chroma to the Helminth will offer Elemental Ward and its augments to be used by other Warframes. The Ward's effects are determined by the Warframe's primary emission color.

Augment

Main article: Everlasting Ward

Everlasting Ward is a Warframe Augment Mod for Chroma that allows allies to retain Elemental Ward's effects upon moving out of its range, lasting for a percentage of Elemental Ward's remaining duration.

Everlasting Ward

Tips & Tricks

In a pinch, the bonus Health provided by the Ward can be used as a quick heal, as the Health granted is automatically added to your remaining health and is not reduced from your remaining health when Elemental Ward wears off.
The Ward is capable of damaging containers and hazards, albeit fairly slowly. Combining Elemental Ward with Spectral Scream and range mods will make for a useful farming tool so long as you have the energy to maintain it.

Can be used to great effect on Survival and Exterminate missions where enemies approach you from all directions and are often difficult to locate or target. At maximum Ability Strength, the damage reflected can easily finish off weaker enemies and potentially stun any survivors.

Works very well with weapons that require you to reload frequently or have long reload times.
Its dmg increase is considered as a Universal base dmg increase, same as Vex Armor and Arcane Arachne
Can reduce recharge delay for Cycron or a Kitgun equipped with Pax Charge, however, it does not affect recharge rate.

Properly modded, a Cold-oriented Ward can provide an armor bonus high enough that can counteract the armor penalty generated when casting Effigy.
The damage reflection is calculated using the damage before any damage reduction.

Bugs

Allies who enter, leave, then re-enter the radius of Heat-oriented Ward will not regain the buff on the same cast of Elemental Ward. This results in an empty space where the bonus health should have been, even if they took no damage at all.
- This causes Medi-Ray and other healing abilities to attempt to heal the player, but if the player gets out of Elemental Ward's range, their health will return to normal again, wasting the health restored in the process.
The in-game UI shows the armor bonus from the Cold aura as a flat bonus rather than a percentage.

Main article: Vex Armor (edit)

3

75

Vex Armor

Chroma fortifies squad Armor when his Shields are damaged or he kills an enemy with a melee weapon. He increases squad Weapon Damage when he loses Health or kills an enemy with a ranged weapon, double the effect on weak point kills.

Introduced in Update 16.0 (2015-03-19)

Strength:0.5 / 0.625 / 0.75 / 0.875 %/SP (Scorn armor bonus per shield point lost)
? / ? / ? / 15% (Scorn armor bonus per melee weapon kill)
200 / 250 / 300 / 350 % (Scorn max armor bonus)
2 / 2.25 / 2.5 / 2.75 %/HP (Fury damage bonus per health point lost)
? / ? / ? / 15% (Fury damage bonus per ranged weapon kill)
200 / 225 / 250 / 275 % (Fury max damage bonus)

Duration:10 / 15 / 20 / 25 s

Range:8 / 10 / 15 / 18 m

Info

Chroma expends 75 Energy and enters a state of primal rage, sustaining an Armor and damage buffing aura with a radius of 8 / 10 / 15 / 18 meters for 10 / 15 / 20 / 25 seconds. While active, Chroma and his allies within aura range gain the Scorn armor buff once Chroma's Shields are hit or performs a melee kill, and the Fury damage buff once his Health is damaged or performs a ranged weapon kill.
- Scorn increases Warframe Armor by 0.5% / 0.625% / 0.75% / 0.875% for every point of shields lost or ? / ? / ? / 15% per melee kill, up to a maximum of 200% / 250% / 300% / 350%.
- Fury increases weapon and Chroma's abilities' base damage by 2% / 2.25% / 2.5% / 2.75% for every point of health lost or ? / ? / ? / 15% per ranged weapon kill (doubled for weakspot kills), up to a maximum of 200% / 225% / 250% / 275%.
- Scorn, Fury, and conversion percentages are linearly affected by Ability Strength.
  - E.g., with Intensify, Steel Fiber and maximum Scorn at rank 3, Chroma's armor will be at:
    $Base Armor \times (1 + Armor Mods + Scorn Modifier \times (1 + Strength Mods)) =$
    
    $370 \times (1 + 1 + 3.5 \times (1 + 0.3)) = 2,423.5$ .
  - E.g., with Intensify, Serration and maximum Fury at rank 3, a weapon with 100 base damage will be at:
    $Base Damage \times (1 + Damage Mods + Fury Modifier \times (1 + Strength Mods)) =$
    
    $100 \times (1 + 1.65 + 2.75 \times (1 + 0.3)) = 622.5$ .
  - Both Scorn and Fury are additive multipliers that function the same as (and add together with) mods like Steel Fiber and base-damage-increasing mods like Serration. If these mods are present, all the multipliers are added together before any further calculations such as elemental damage mods, critical hit mods, or multishot mods.
- Scorn and Fury are tracked from 0% to their maximum increase in the HUD next to Chroma's shield and health indicators.
  - Scorn and Fury will gradually increase each time shields or health are hit, and each time Chroma gets a melee or ranged weapon kill, until they reach their maximum percentages. 400 shield points must be lost to maximize Scorn, and 100 health points must be lost to maximize Fury.
  - Alternatively, 24 Enemies must be killed with Melee to maximize Scorn, and 19 Enemies must be killed with Ranged Weapons to maximize Fury.
- Hits on overshields count towards Scorn accumulation.
- Shield drain from a Hijack payload counts towards Scorn accumulation.
- Multiple Chromas' Scorn and Fury buffs will stack together.
Ability Synergy:
- Spectral Scream Will increase the Scorn buff on kills. The Fury aspect of Vex Armor boosts the damage output of Spectral Scream and Effigy.
- Effigy will only maintain the damage increase from Fury so long as Chroma's Effigy is within range of Vex Armor.
Vex Armor is a one-handed action. As such, it can be used while performing various maneuvers and actions without interruption.
- Vex Armor can be recast while active, retaining the existing buffs.
When recast with a higher power strength than the current active buff, the max Scorn and Fury limits will only be increased if Chroma has not already reached their respective limits.
- E.g., If Vex Armor is casted with 100% power strength, then recast while it's still active with the Energy Conversion buff, the Scorn and Fury buffs max limit will be increased to 525% (350 * 1.5) and 412% (275 * 1.5) only if the buffs weren't at the existing limit of 350% and 275% respectively. If Scorn has reached the limit but Fury has not when recast with a higher power strength, then only Fury will benefit from the increased power strength, and vice versa.

Augment

Main article: Guardian Armor

Guardian Armor

Main article: Vexing Retaliation

Vexing Retaliation is a PvE Warframe Augment for Chroma that makes Vex Armor detonate an area-of-effect attack upon receiving 150 incoming damage, dealing procs on enemies.

Vexing Retaliation

Tips & Tricks

Equipping a rank 4 or higher Vigor mod will allow you to maximize Scorn armor bonus without requiring shields to recharge, as well as provide additional health.
Using an electric element Elemental Ward will allow you to maximize the Scorn armor bonus without having to equip any mods increasing your shields.
Equipping a Decaying Dragon Key to lower your shields can increase the likelihood of health damage at the loss of some of the Scorn Armor bonus due to the reduction of your shields.
Using Energy to Shield conversion mods, like Brief Respite and Augur mod set effect, to generate shields/overshields when casting Vex Armor will help you maximize the Scorn armor bonus without having to equip any mods increasing your shields.

Main article: Effigy (edit)

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50
+10/s

Effigy

Chroma turns his pelt into a massive sentry that strengthens nearby allies and engulfs enemies in elemental attacks.

Introduced in Update 16.0 (2015-03-19)

Strength: 100 / 200 / 300 / 400 (damage/tick)
500 / 1000 / 1500 / 2000 (damage/second)
1000 / 2000 / 4000 / 8000 (health)

Duration: N/A

Range: N/A

Misc:140 AP (sentry armor)
20 m (attack range)
?% (status chance)
5 (ticks/second)
5 m (knockback radius)
200 (knockback damage)
Ragdoll on Knockback
30 m (stun radius)
15 / 30 / 45 / 60 % (credit chance)
10 m (credit bonus drop zone)
25 / 50 / 75 / 100 % (credit bonus)

Strength: N/A

Duration: N/A

Range: N/A

Misc:+20% (speed bonus)
-50% (armor reduction)

Info

Chroma expends 50 Energy to shed his outer pelt, imbued with elemental energy while sprouting wings and converting it into a stationary floating sentry with 1000 / 2000 / 4000 / 8000 Flesh health and 140 Ferrite Armor. The sentry will attack all enemies within 20 meters with a continuous stream of elemental energy, dealing 100 / 200 / 300 / 400 Heat, Electricity, Toxin, or Cold damage per tick with a ?% status chance at 5 ticks per second. If enemies come within 5 meters of the sentry, it will periodically unleash a radial knockback that inflicts 200 Heat, Electricity, Toxin, or Cold damage and Ragdoll. The sentry can also unleash a radial roar to temporarily stun all enemies within 30 meters.
- Damage type is based on Chroma's current elemental alignment, determined by Chroma's primary emission color or the selected element of Spectral Scream.
Enemies killed by the sentry have a 15% / 30% / 45% / 60% chance to drop additional credits. In addition, all credits that drop within 10 meters of the sentry yield 25% / 50% / 75% / 100% additional credits.
- For enemies killed by the sentry within the percentage credit bonus range, credit income is increased by an average of 43.75% / 95% / 153.75% / 220%. This assumes the credit chance on kill results in double credits from that enemy.
While Effigy is active, Chroma can fight in his lightened form, gaining 20% movement speed but with a 50% armor reduction.
- The armor reduction is a multiplicative penalty that's applied to Chroma's total armor (e.g., with a maxed Steel Fiber and Intensify, Chroma with Vex Armor at full capacity will have his armor lowered to $350 \times (1 + 1.1 + 3.5 \times 1.3) \times 0.5 = 1,163.75$ when Effigy is activated).
Effigy drains 10 energy per second while active, and will deactivate if Chroma runs out of energy, sentry health is depleted, or if manually deactivated by pressing the ability key again (default 4 ).
- Channeling energy cost is affected by Ability Efficiency and Ability Duration.
- Chroma cannot gain energy from Energy Vampire, Rally Point, Rift Plane's innate energy regeneration, Squad Energy Restores, Energy Siphon, Energy Nexus, Dreamer's Bond, and/or Wellspring while Effigy is active.
- Energy Orbs, Orokin Void Death Orb's energy restores, Rage, Hunter Adrenaline, Spellbound Harvest, Arcane Energize, and Emergence Dissipate's Energy Motes can still replenish Chroma's energy while Effigy is active.
Ability Synergy: Effigy's damage per tick and knockback damage can be boosted by the Fury aspect of Vex Armor.
- Effigy will only maintain the damage increase from Fury so long as Chroma's Effigy is within range of Vex Armor.
When deactivated, Chroma can teleport his pelt from anywhere onto himself. This will stop movement and interrupt any action Chroma is doing, such as reloading, leaving a player vulnerable.
- When deactivated while sliding, Chroma's pelt will be reapplied to him without triggering the animation, even if the player immediately cancels his slide.
Both the initial cast and the return of Chroma's pelt will cease any actions as they are a two-handed ability.

Augment

Main article: Guided Effigy

Guided Effigy is a Warframe Augment Mod for Chroma's Effigy that allows him to control the Effigy, dealing rapid damage to enemies in its path while recovering energy and stunning enemies at the destination.

Guided Effigy

Tips & Tricks

The pelt usually unleashes its roar a few seconds after deploying. This allows you to quickly deploy the sentry for a temporary stun to all nearby enemies.
The pelt can be Banished, preventing damage from non-banished enemies while still being able to damage all enemies normally.
The pelt gains shields from the Shield Osprey Eximus Specter.
As the pelt will not move from the spot it is cast on (unless the Guided Effigy mod is equipped), it would serve quite well as an impromptu turret. As such, it is recommended to place the pelt on top of an objective that needs to be defended such as in a Defense mission. If that is the case, then it is recommended to equip energy-regenerating mods such as Rage or Hunter Adrenaline to keep the pelt active for as long as possible.

Strength Mods	Duration Mods	Range Mods

Chroma/Abilities

Passive[]

Abilities []

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