In Space Marine 2, whether you’re playing for the Imperium of Man or the Forces of Chaos, Eternal War is a fun PvP mode with some of the most satisfying gun and melee combat in the game. Much like Operations, this game mode retains the 6 classes of Tactical, Assault, Vanguard, Bulwark, Sniper and Heavy. With so much room for counterplay and strategies in PvP, it's hard to figure out which loadout works and what doesn't. In this guide, we’ll talk about the best classes, weapons and even strategies to help you win more consistently.
Table of Contents
Best Tactical Loadout
Starting with the Tactical marine, this class is not only the best one for beginners, but is also the most versatile with room for some counterplay. Since this class starts with a primary, secondary and melee weapon, the Tactical class can stand up to the other classes with enough skill.
For the best primary weapon, it’s a bit of a toss-up as they have the widest selection of primaries. While the starter Bolt Rifle is a good enough weapon for most situations, its bloom from sustained fire makes it difficult to use even in medium range. For this reason, the Heavy Bolt Rifle should be your immediate goal when leveling your Veterancy, as its slightly better accuracy will help you secure kills easier.
However, when talking about the absolute best-in-class weapon, the Plasma Incinerator is very powerful. Not only is it accurate even at long ranges, but its damage per shot is some of the highest in the game. Even when contending with the Stalker Bolt Rifle or its Carbine variant, the Plasma Incinerator has a faster fire rate and uses an overheat system instead of the traditional magazine count.
Tactical Tips and Tricks
As the Tactical class, your Wargear, Auspex Scan, works a bit differently compared to its Operations version. Scanning an enemy player will provide you and your team a legal wallhack as it outlines enemies behind cover. This class is a powerful information gatherer while also being a great frontliner too.
This class is a hard counter to the Assault class since the Assault class lacks any medium range killing power compared to the tactical. However, Tacticals are countered by the Heavy class as the Iron Halo, as they can block any ranged attacks while simultaneously dealing extremely high DPS with the Heavy Bolter.
As a Tactical player, you’re best suited with sticking with your team. Since you lack any frontline survivability, you should always push with a Heavy or Bulwark player as they’ll draw enemy fire away from you. Meanwhile, you can safeguard your friendly Heavy from flankers and output some ranged damage for your Bulwark.
Best Assault Loadout
For the Assault class, it sacrifices a primary weapon for the Jump Pack wargear, giving you the best vertical and horizontal movement tool in the game. You also have access to the exclusive Thunder Hammer and Power Fist weapons, making you extremely lethal in melee combat. You also have access to either the Bolt Pistol or its Heavy variant if you need range. For its best loadout, it somewhat depends on your playstyle.
The Thunder Hammer does a lot of damage, killing enemy players in 3 to 2 solid hits. However, its biggest weakness is that it swings extremely slow and wary players can easily avoid you. When using the Thunder Hammer, catching enemies completely off guard is key to securing kills.
The Chainsword on the other hand, is more consistent with landing hits on targets since it swings faster and has a slightly longer lunge range. While it doesn’t do as much damage as the Thunder Hammer, it lets you play a bit more aggressive even with more situationally aware enemies.
The Assault class counters the Heavy, as your mobility far exceeds the Heavy. As the Heavy class lacks a melee weapon, they’re easy targets for Assaults to pick off, provided they’re alone and out of position. However, many other classes can counter the Assault as they have a better chance of escaping and fighting back against your dive attacks.
As for your secondary weapon, the Heavy Bolt Pistol is by far the best option for Assaults. While it has a lower magazine capacity, it makes up for it with better damage and accuracy in longer ranges compared to the regular Bolt Pistol.
Assault Tips and Tricks
Due to your lower armor value and lack of reliable ranged damage, being a frontline is out of the question. Your biggest strength lies in your high mobility and map play, since your Jump Pack gives you access to vantage points normally unseen by most players. Use this mobility to your advantage by securing objectives fast and getting some sneaky flanks on the enemy team. Ideally, the Assault class plays best when doing hit and run skirmishes on the enemy.
The Assault class is also extremely powerful for picking out isolated targets, since you can easily chase them down with the Jump Pack’s dash boost. You can also hover mid-air, giving you a better angle to peek and poke the enemy team with your Heavy Bolt Pistol. By the time they spot you, you can immediately deactivate the hover and get back to cover.
Best Vanguard Loadout
The Vanguard class has a lightning-fast playstyle with its Grapnel Launcher giving them great manueverability. As a dedicated flanker class, they have access to many short-tanged guns like the Occulus Bolt Carbine, Instigator Bolt Carbine, and Melta Rifle. They also get to pick between the Combat Knife and Chainsword for their melee weapon.
When picking your primary gun, all three are fairly viable. The Occulus variant is good for players who want to burst down a target with close-ranged SMG like damage. For those preferring to pick off targets at medium to far ranges, the Instigator has a highly accurate three-round burst fire that can score consistent headshots. If you want the closest thing to a shotgun in Space Marine 2, the Melta Rifle will decimate enemies at point-blank range, killing targets in three to two shots. However, the Melta Rifle experiences severe damage falloff beyond close range.
As for your melee weapon, the Combat Knife is extremely powerful as it has the speed and reach to secure easy melee kills. Even if it does the lowest amount of damage, its rapid hits and lunge distance can easily secure a kill for you. Compared to the Chainsword, the Combat Knife is far more consistent and matches perfectly with the Vanguard’s ideal playstyle.
Vanguard Tips and Tricks
Your most powerful tool as a Vanguard is your Grapnel Launcher, as it can both stun enemy players hit by it and hook you towards a wall. Since the Vanguard’s armor value is low, it’s a dedicated flank class that is lethal at 1v1 combat, but is extremely vulnerable against more organized groups.
The Vanguard class counters the Heavy and Bulwark class, as they cannot output the same melee DPS as you with the Combat Knife. However, this class is countered by the Tactical, since if spotted, their weaponry can easily burn through your armor.
Despite being primarily used to hook and stun enemies, the Grapnel Launcher can actually latch on terrain like the ground and walls. This means that Vanguard players can hook themselves towards higher ground, like the walls flanking the center arena in the Bastion map. Since your armor is low, it’s important to flank the enemy team while making sure that you’re not spotted.
Best Bulwark Loadout
Like the Assault, the Bulwark exchanges a primary weapon for the mighty Storm Shield. This means you’re only ranged choices are either the Plasma or Bolt Pistol. Despite its lack of range, it’s currently the most important support class in PvP.
You have three melee weapons to choose from: The Chainsword, Power Sword or Power Fist. Currently, the Power Sword is the best melee option since its Speed stance attacks have a nice balance of swing speed, lunge range and damage. As for your pistol, either choice is good enough, though the Plasma Pistol exchanges accuracy for more damage.
Bulwark Tips and Tricks
Bulwarks are the team anchor as their Wargear, the Chapter Banner, regenerates armor for all nearby allies. Setting it down on an objective site gives the entire team more time to capture or hold a zone or in the case of Annihilation, secure a chokepoint.
They’re also the best frontline class, as their Storm Shield will block ALL projectiles without taking any chip damage. This makes Bulwarks the perfect counter for the Heavy and Tactical class, as they can easily soak up a ton of fire.
The Bulwark class is best used as the anvil of an engagement since most enemies will try to shoot you while you hold their attention with the Storm Shield raised. When paired with a smart flanker, the enemy team will be too focused on you to notice an incoming flank. Any ranged class will benefit from a Bulwark playing the support anchor role.
Best Sniper Loadout
Despite being a long-ranged specialist, the Sniper class has a fairly diverse weapon list. They have access to 4 primary weapons, a Bolt Pistol and a Combat Knife. For their main weapons, the Sniper class can choose either the Stalker Bolt Rifle, Bolt Sniper Rifle, Las Fusil, or the Bolt Carbine.
Surprisingly, the Bolt Carbine is extremely effective for bursting down targets in close range, especially when paired with the Camo Cloak ability. Otherwise, the Bolt Sniper Rifle is a balanced choice if you're looking for a reliable long-range weapon.
Sniper Tips and Tricks
Like the Assault and Vanguard, the Sniper is best suited for flanking enemy teams with the Camo Cloak, ensuring that others will never anticipate your arrival. When using the dedicated marksmen weapons, you’re best positioned at the back of the team, providing support fire in engagements or picking off fleeing targets at a distance.
The Sniper class counters the Tactical, Vanguard, and Assault classes well, since your cloak ability can be a useful escape tool.
However, if you’re using the Bolt Carbine, you can use this to secure easy kills while invisible. Simply use the cloak, run towards an entrenched position and unload it on the tankiest target to let your team push with an advantage.
Best Heavy Loadout
The Heavy class is the true frontline tank class with its Iron Halo ability providing mobile cover. Since it has no melee weapon, your best defense is a heavy offense with the Heavy Bolter, Heavy Plasma Incinerator and the Multi Melta, with a Plasma or Bolt Pistol as a backup weapon.
Currently, the Plasma Incinerator for this class is quite unreliable due to its slow projectile speed and drop. This means that the Heavy Bolter or Multi Melta are your better options. For maps with tighter spaces, the Multi Melta is great in close quarters, but struggles in larger maps.
The Heavy Bolter is more versatile than the other two heavy weapons, but sustained fire with this weapon severely reduces its accuracy, so try to burst fire this weapon at longer ranges.
Heavy Tips and Tricks
As a tank, your role is to soak up damage for the whole team while they support you from the flanks. This means keeping your Iron Halo up at heavily contested areas like the mid objective zones or chokepoints. While you may gain more assist than kills, a Heavy player with a half-coordinated team can impact the game in your favor.
The Heavy class is a counter for the Tactical and Sniper class, as they rely on outputting as much ranged damage as possible, which the Iron Halo outright blocks.
Since the Heavy Bolter loses accuracy from sustained fire, try to find the closest position you can to the enemy so that your reticle still stays on target. Otherwise, burst firing it will help, but you’ll ultimately need to rely on your teammates to get clean up kills.
