The recent release of Vauban Heirloom Collection was also (no surprise) the opportunity for the first Warframe rework of 2026. Technically, it has been dubbed a retouch, but in case you’re wondering if it’s a buff, let me confirm this beforehand: yes. Depending on further adjustments Digital Extremes makes to the Passive, it’s potentially getting even stronger.
So for those out of the loop, here’s what changed for Vauban with Warframe Update 41.1, and my own twopence as a long-time Vauban player.
Everything that changed with Vauban retouch in Warframe U 41.1
Vauban’s Passive wasn’t changed per se, but it has a more clear descriptor on what you actually get. This is essentially a 1.25x damage multiplier similar to Bane mods (and therefore should double-dip with status effect damage in the same manner).
For this multiplier to apply, “incapacitated” enemies seems to imply all enemies affected by Vauban’s abilities, plus the Electricity status effect from Tesla Nervos. However, DE is considering a much bigger buff in the future. That is, all Electricity Status effects from Vauban will get this bonus:
“We are looking to expand this to shocks from all Electricity Status Effects, but this required more work than anticipated, meaning we couldn’t squeeze it in for the release of his Heirloom.”
So in other words, Vauban will broadly be a good vehicle for Purple Archon Shard-stacking for +Electricity primary damage on beam/status weapons, or indeed, Melee Influence. With that out of the way though, here’s what actually changed with his abilities at a glance:
- Tesla Nervos now has status effect chance scale with Ability Strength, latches on to enemies better, and applies the Electricity proc immediately.
- Minelayer is now a tap-hold ability instead of having to cycle through four mines. One casts Tether Coil + Flechette Orb, and another casts Vector Pad + Overdriver.
- Photon Strike now costs 50 Energy, has guaranteed Blast procs on all affected enemies, and deals double damage to Overguard.
- Perhaps the biggest change, Bastille has now hard cap on enemies it can pull in and control.
Overall, Bastille’s enemy cap removal means it’s instantly one of the best abilities in a capture-the-point mode (Defense, Mobile Defense, Interception, or even Survival). Vortex still seems very iffy and presents no more immediate synergy than it did before, but this alone can bring many Vauban mains back from the closet.
Meanwhiel, the Flechette scaling via weapon damage and crit chance bonuses seem to still work, but the big winner in the Vauban retouch is Photon Strike. The damage it deals is now SP and ETA/EDA-viable easily thanks to the Blast procs alone (plus a buffed Augment mod).
Minelayer, meanwhile, makes the QoL for the whole kit much better if you want to play Vauban as the tower-defense engineer. However, the Xaku problem still remains that Flechette-Coil will still remain the most-spammed ability if you want straight damage.
Overall, the Vauban retouch is certainly enough of a buff to consider trying him out if you haven’t before. For one, you can play the easiest casting Photon Strike-only Vauban with perhaps a Stealth Kubrow.
However, those who expected a caliber of mechanical cleanup similar to the 2019 rework will be disappointed. There’s still some odd leftover cutoffs in the engineer’s arsenal, like Vortex still making enemies get stuck in walls here and there (and Vortex in general).
If you are looking for a review of the frame overall in the 2026 landscape, Vauban is now at least A-tier as long as you stick some Energy solution on top (which is now easier to access than before, one could argue). You provide CC and damage in spades, and mainly use him in more static missions. If you’re standing in one place, you have somewhat-iffy methods to tank with Arcane Persistence, plus some help from a health or DR-boosting frame (So Citrine or Wisp).
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Edited by Sambit Pal
