Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 – Best Vanguard Build

The mighty warrior force, Space Marines, has just got an upgrade. Their leader, Robute Guilliman, is responsible for them and creates a new breed of Marine, the Vanguard Marine. These new Vanguard Marines are much more robust and quicker than their previous, older versions. This guide features our recommended Vanguard build for Space Marine 2.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 – Best Vanguard Build

The Vanguard is a versatile class that handles both PvE and PvP quite well. They are also known for their ability to close the gap between the enemies through the grappling hook, which makes them intense on the field. Because they can assume mid-range and close-range combat, they use a wide array of weapons. The grappling hook of the Vanguard makes them get to enemies not only fast but also gives them great mobility in the battlefield. While they are not good to use in high-intense PvP fights, they can beat the most formidable enemies in PvE.

The Vanguard’s ability to regenerate health at a faster rate when they’re in dangerous situations helps them stay alive in close-quarters combat. This is a valuable skill that allows them to be more aggressive and take risks without worrying about running out of health.

• Armor Class: 2
• Class Perk: Grapnel Launcher
• Class Perk Description: The Vanguard can use their grappling hook to launch themselves at enemies, performing a powerful diving kick attack.
• Starting Perk: Contested Health heals you 50% faster.

If you’re not confident in your ability to parry attacks, you can replace the Duellist perk with Melee Mastery. Melee Mastery will give you a 10% damage bonus against enemies of Majoris level or higher.

Once you reach level 20 with the Vanguard, it’s recommended to replace the Moving Target perk with Conviction. Conviction gives you a 15% damage reduction for 10 seconds after your armor is completely destroyed.

Top Vanguard Weapons in Space Marine 2

With the Vanguard, you have the flexibility to use a variety of weapons. For this specific build, we’ll recommend the following:

• Primary Weapon: Melta Rifle
• Secondary Weapon: Bolt Pistol
• Melee weapon: Combat Knife

Best Melta Rifle Perks

We considered both the Melta Rifle and the Instigator Bolt Carbine, but ultimately chose the Melta Rifle because of its powerful damage in close combat. Many times, being a Vanguard, you’ll often be completely surrounded, therefore it is a great choice. We’ve focused on perks that increase damage, reload speed, and ammo capacity to ensure you’re always ready for battle.

• Expanded Magazine: Increases magazine size by up to 15%.
• Expanded Magazine II: Increases magazine size by an additional 15%.
• Magazine Restoration: When your health falls below 30%, your ammo reserves are automatically refilled to the maximum capacity of your magazine. This ability has a 30-second cooldown.
• Great Might: Deals 10% more damage to Terminus enemies.
• Divine Might: Increases damage by 10%.
• Fast Reload: All weapons reload 10% faster.
• First Shot: The first shot you take after reloading your weapon deals 10% more damage.
• Reloading Immunity: You won’t be knocked down by powerful attacks while reloading.
• Fast Regeneration: Your armor regenerates 0.5 seconds faster after defeating an enemy.

Best Bolt Pistol Perks

While your primary weapon is important, you should also consider upgrading your secondary weapon. Equipping the Bolt Pistol with the following perks will improve its ammo capacity and damage.

• Divine Might: Increases damage by 10%.
• Elite Hunter:  For 5 seconds after using a melee weapon to defeat a Majoris-level or higher enemy, your headshots will deal 50% more damage.
• Extended Magazine: Increases magazine size by up to 15%.
• Great Might: It deals 10% more damage to Terminus enemies.
• Gun Strike Reload: Your equipped weapon automatically reloads when you perform a gun strike.
• Head Hunter: Headshots deal 10% more damage.
• Iron Grip: For 5 seconds after using a gun strike, the recoil on your weapon is reduced by 35%.
• Perpetual Precision: The accuracy of your weapon is improved by 10%.
• Retaliation: For 5 seconds after successfully dodging an attack, your damage output is increased by 25%.

Best Combat Knife Perks

The Combat Knife is an excellent choice for the Vanguard’s melee weapon due to its speed and agility. To improve its effectiveness in PvE, we’ll focus on increasing its damage against specific enemy types.

• Armored Strength: Your melee attacks deal 10% more damage when your armor is fully intact.
• Chaos Slayer: It deals 10% more damage to Chaos enemies.
• Extremis Slayer: It deals 10% more damage to Extremis-level enemies.
• Hard Target:  While performing a Light Combo attack, you take 15% less damage from ranged attacks.
• Kill Streak: After using a Light Combo to defeat ten enemies, you’ll be able to withstand a heavy attack without being knocked down for 5 seconds. This ability has a 10-second cooldown.
• Kinetic Energy: Each heavy melee attack you perform will increase the damage of your next heavy attack by 3%, up to a maximum of 30%. This effect lasts for 3 seconds.
• Perpetual Strength: Melee attacks deal 5% more damage.
• Reeling Blow: Enemies hit by the Whirlwind Slash attack are 30% less likely to damage you.
• Sharp Impact: The area of effect (AOE) of the Right and Left Skull Crusher attacks is increased by 50%.
• Tyranid Slayer: It deals 10% more damage to Tyranids.

This Vanguard build is effective in both PvE and PvP. You can customize the perks and abilities to match your playstyle and choose different weapons if you prefer. With the recommended perks, you’ll be well-equipped to handle most challenges in the game.