Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 - Assault Class Guide

Assault is frequently regarded as the worst class in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Compared to its predecessor, this class' Jump Pack has seen some balance tweaks that make it a little tougher to use in PvP and significantly weaker in PvE Operations.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 - Tactical Class Guide

Triple your team's damage and more with this Tactical build.

But that doesn't mean the Assault is a bad class, far from it. With the right perks and mindset, an Assault Marine brings death from above with the brutal grace you'd expect from an Astartes. Your playstyle matters significantly more than the average class, so let's cover that first before we jump into perk and gear recommendations.

How To Play The Assault

The Assault is all about measured aggression. You don't have a primary weapon to rely on with this class, so your main line of defense is your Jump Pack. You can use it to leap into the air or quickly dash away from a target. Dashing with your Jump Pack can perform a perfect dodge, the same as a roll. But thanks to the Assault's passive 50% longer perfect dodge window, it's fairly easy to chain dodges with this class.

Your perfect dodge window is decreased while on Ruthless difficulty.

That's ideal since most of Assault's perks grant bonuses for perfectly dodging targets. Use your dodge to avoid damage, open enemies to Gun Strikes, and gain a temporary damage bonus. Deal damage with your Heavy Bolt Pistol, then finish the target with your massive Thunder Hammer. Assault is the hardest class to play in Space Marine 2, but they can perform well in Ruthless difficulty once you master perfect dodge timings.

Perks And Equipment

Assault Perk Tree

Core

Pick one per row

Winged Fury

Melee sprint and dash attacks deal 25% more damage.

Overcharge

Charged melee attacks deal 15% more damage.

Armor Reinforcement

Non-Finisher Gun Strikes also restore armor.

Auxiliary Arsenal

Secondary weapons deal 15% more damage.

Retribution

After you are grabbed or knocked down, deal 15% more melee damage for 10 seconds.

Consecutive Execution

Rapidly killing 15 enemies will restore a grenade charge. 180s cooldown.

Perseverance

You cannot be staggered by heavy attacks while performing charged melee attacks.

Knowledge of the Enemy

Majoris and Extremis-class foes receive 15% more melee damage from you.

Act of Attrition

Enemies hit by melee attacks take 10% more damage for 3 seconds.

Passives

Pick one

Squad Cohesion

All squad abilities recharge 10% faster.

Strategic Strikes

All squad members deal 20% more melee damage against Terminus-level enemies.

Proven Efficiency

Gun Strikes deal 50% more damage for the entire squad.

Gear

Pick one per row

Smiting Angel

Ground Pound deals 10% more damage.

Hammer of Wrath

After a Ground Pound, you cannot be staggered for 10 seconds.

Precision Strike

Ground Pound deals 100% more damage, but its radius is 50% smaller.

Wings of Flame

Jump Pack Dash damages enemies along its trajectory.

Maneuverability

Jump Pack recharges 20% faster.

Zealous Blow

Ground Pound kills restore 10% ability charge.

Pride in Duty

After a finisher, Ground Pound deals 25% more damage for 10 seconds.

Diligence

Charged Ground Pounds deal 20% more damage, but they take 25% longer to charge.

Aerial Grace

After a perfect dodge using the Jump Pack, deal 25% more damage for 5 seconds.

Signature

Pick one

Ample Ammunition

Using your Jump Pack reloads your pistol.

Ascension

Jump Pack's leap deals damage to nearby targets.

Commitment

Perfectly-timed dodges with the Jump Pack refund ability charge.

Similar to the Sniper class, the Assault's best perks are saved for last. Commitment is mandatory to make this class feel maneuverable, allowing you to spam the Jump Pack's dash ability if you can time your evades properly. Aerial Grace will reward this strategy with a constant 25% damage buff. Throw on Armor Reinforcement to replenish your armor from subsequent Gun Strikes, and you can stay alive as the squad's frontline fighter.

As for melee attacks, you're highly encouraged to use the Jump Pack's aerial slam attack. Precision Strike doubles your Ground Pound damage and makes it a decent method of slaying Minoris and weaker Majoris-class targets. Zealous Blow can then restore ability energy from Ground Pound kills, letting you spam this ability. However, most of these perks are unlocked towards the tail end of Assault's progression. Be prepared for a rough leveling experience.

Assault Equipment

Primary

• N/A

Secondary

• Bolt Pistol
• Heavy Bolt Pistol

Melee

• Chainsword
• Thunder Hammer
• Power Fist

Assault Marines trade their primary weapon for a Jump Pack and heavier weapons. The Heavy Bolt Pistol is arguably the best secondary in the game, chunking Majoris-class enemies while one-tapping Minoris units. Assault is also the only class that can use the Thunder Hammer, a cumbersome melee weapon that deals exceptional damage if you can land multiple swings on a target.

If you aren't a fan of the Thunder Hammer, you can also use the fantastic Chainsword for strong AoE mobbing. The Power Fist in this game is lackluster and not worth using over the Chainsword or Thunder Hammer.

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Best Assault PvE Build

Weapons

• Heavy Bolt Pistol (Gathalamor Crusade)
• Thunder Hammer (Ophelian Liberation - Beta)

Weapon Perks

• Heavy Bolt Pistol: Top row
• Thunder Hammer: Top row

Class Perks

• Armor Reinforcement
• Auxiliary Arsenal
• Act of Attrition
• Proven Efficiency
• Precision Strike
• Zealous Blow
• Aerial Grace
• Commitment

This build focuses on perfect dodging with the Jump Pack. We use Commitment to refund a dodge charge whenever we successfully perform a perfect dodge, which triggers Aerial Grace's 25% damage buff. Enemies you perfect dodge will also be open to a Gun Strike. Precision Strike buffs the damage of your Gun Strike by 25%, while Armor Reinforcement forces the attack to restore a chunk of armor, even if the attack doesn't kill the target.

You'll want to alternate between dodging targets and launching yourself in the air to perform Ground Slams. Aim for packs of adds to restore as much energy as possible from Zealous Blow. Precision Strike decreases your AoE size, but the double damage bonus is too good to pass up. Wield a good Thunder Hammer with Fencing to parry if you're getting swarmed.

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