Overview: A sound themed frame that can apply devastating debuffs but can’t take much retaliation. Blueprints can be researched in the Tenno lab of your clan dojo.

Prime: Banshee prime is currently vaulted, meaning that you’ll need to ask clanmates and friends, consult the trading channel or wait for an unvaulting event if you want this variant.

Special: All weapons brought by Banshee or her companion are treated as silent. Not a huge advantage, but useful for stealth missions with long range weaponry.

Pros: Absurdly high damage multipliers through Sonar (2) stacking, good crowd control options and the ability to remove armour make Banshee a good support pick. She can also hand out some serious area damage using Sound Quake (4) with or without the augment.

Cons: Fragile, oh so fragile. Mediocre health, shield and armour means Banshee must rely on crowd control to protect herself – and some enemies are immune. Certain Banshee builds can be a massive pain for teammates as well, leaving them unable to acquire targets – since they’re all ragdolled in the next room.

Powers: Ragdoll foes with Sonic Boom (1) for a cheap and powerful crowd control – or apply the Sonic Fracture augment to strip them of armour! This is an essential tool for keeping Banshee alive – your poor defences mean little if enemies can’t shoot you.

Sonar (2) emits a radar pulse, showing up all enemies in range on the minimap for your whole squad, while painting them with an additional weak-spot. The weak-spots deal 5x damage, are affected by power strength and can overlap, dealing appallingly high damage – combine with the Resonance augment to emit secondary pulses when killing affected enemies!

Silence (3) casts an aura around Banshee that briefly staggers foes entering it, leaving them open to melee finishers – you can capitalise on this with the Savage Silence augment, boosting finisher attacks against those affected.

Sound Quake (4) locks Banshee in place and drains energy as she channels waves of staggering blast damage in a large area. The Resonating Quake augment changes the way it works, emitting a single, larger blast that deals a great deal more damage at the epicentre.

Opinion: Banshee is something of a glass cannon, relying on enemies being ragdolled or dead to survive. No other frame multiplies damage to the extent Banshee can, but the frailty of the frame can make it a very frustrating choice for a beginner. Consider using things like a Huras Kubrow or Shade Sentinel to avoid being targeted. Banshee is a great choice for defence missions with a team, but use Sound Quake (4) carefully – your squad will be upset if they have to spend ages at the end of each round hunting ragdolled stragglers.