Zephyr

Tank / Defense

Command the power of the wind. Zephyr’s cyclonic abilities protect her, deal high damage, and provide crowd control. She swoops in from above and leaves a path of destruction.

Role: Tank / Defense
Aura: Vazarin
Polarities: MaduraiNaramon
Mastery: 0
Introduced: Update 12.0 (2014-02-05)

RelatedPrime VersionZephyr Prime

Stats

Type: Warframe
Category: Warframes
Mastery: 0
Health: 455
Shield: 455
Armor: 105
Energy: 100
Sprint Speed: 1.1
Build Cost: 25,000 Credits
Build Time: 72h 0m
Rush: 50 Platinum

Warframe dossier

Verified 2026-07-22

Playstyle

Command the power of the wind. Built around Tail Wind, Airburst, Turbulence.

Passive

Zephyr moves faster and falls slower while airborne. Also gain a percentage Critical Hit chance with weapons while airborne.

When to Pick

You want a tank / defense toolkit and Zephyr’s fantasy matches the mission.
Your squad is missing what Zephyr brings — especially Tail Wind.
You already own the mods / archon shards that make Zephyr’s scaling comfortable on Steel Path.

Kit Overview

Tail Wind (Ability 1): Hold while airborne to hover Zephyr with reduced movement.
Airburst (Ability 2): Launch a burst of massively dense air.
Turbulence (Ability 3): Creates a wind shield around Zephyr, redirecting all incoming projectiles.
Tornado (Ability 4): Create deadly tornadoes that seek out and engulf enemies.

Abilities & Augments

1
Tail Wind →
Energy 25
Hold while airborne to hover Zephyr with reduced movement. From the air, tap to dash forward, or aim down to dive bomb enemies below.
Augment
Anchored GlideOpen augment →
2
Airburst →
Energy 25
Launch a burst of massively dense air. Hold to send enemies flying, tap to pull them toward the burst. Damage increases per enemy hit.
Augment
Airburst RoundsOpen augment →
3
Turbulence →
Energy 25
Creates a wind shield around Zephyr, redirecting all incoming projectiles.
Augment
Jet StreamOpen augment →
4
Tornado →
Energy 25
Create deadly tornadoes that seek out and engulf enemies. Tornadoes deal the elemental Damage Type they absorb the most. Shoot engulfed enemies to inflict extra damage. Hold for stationary tornadoes or tap for wandering ones.
Augment
Funnel CloudsOpen augment →

Ability Priority

1
Turbulence
Creates a wind shield around Zephyr, redirecting all incoming projectiles.
2
Tail Wind
Hold while airborne to hover Zephyr with reduced movement.
3
Airburst
Launch a burst of massively dense air.
4
Tornado
Create deadly tornadoes that seek out and engulf enemies.

Helminth / Subsume

Tail Wind is often the Helminth sacrifice if your build never needs Ability 1 and you’d rather import a strip, buff, or survival tool.
Keep Airburst and later abilities when they define Zephyr’s identity.
Never subsume the ability that enables the rest of the kit’s energy or survival loop.

Mod Scaling

Strength: Raises damage and effect potency across Zephyr’s Strength-scaling abilities.
Duration: Extends channeled / timed effects — often comfort on Zephyr if the kit leans on buffs or zones.
Range: Helps radius / targeting tools. Dump it if Zephyr is mostly self-buff or exalted weapons.
Efficiency: Keeps ability uptime comfortable, especially on longer Steel Path missions.

Priority

Match the priority to your main ability — Strength or Duration first for most kits, then Efficiency, then Range.

Mission Usefulness

Mission / Context	Rating	Why
Steel Path Survival / Defense / Disruption	Excellent	Zephyr is a S-tier Steel Path pick because Tail Wind still works when every spawn is overlevelled. Hold while airborne to hover Zephyr with reduced movement.
Mobile Defense / Excavation	Excellent	Zephyr wins Mobile Defense / Excavation by parking Tail Wind on the objective instead of chasing stragglers. Hold while airborne to hover Zephyr with reduced movement.
Exterminate / Capture Speed Runs	Situational	Usable on speed runs, but Zephyr’s tank / defense kit usually wants longer objectives than a 3-minute Exterminate. Hold while airborne to hover Zephyr with reduced movement.
Spy / Rescue / Nightmare	Weak	Loud kit. Leave Spy / Rescue to invis or silence frames; Tail Wind doesn’t make Zephyr quiet. Hold while airborne to hover Zephyr with reduced movement.
Open World / Bounties	Situational	Fine on clustered camps, but sparse open-world travel underuses Zephyr unless you love Tail Wind. Hold while airborne to hover Zephyr with reduced movement. Command the power of the wind.
Long-Range Gunplay / Eidolon-Style Content	Weak	Zephyr wants pack clear or finishers, not pure long-range; Tail Wind won’t save an Eidolon-style loadout. Hold while airborne to hover Zephyr with reduced movement.