The Best Bulwark Builds for Space Marine 2
The Best Bulwark Builds in Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2
The Bulwark class is a defensive powerhouse in Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2, excelling in tanking, crowd control, and support. Equipped with a Storm Shield and the ability to deploy the Chapter Banner, the Bulwark is critical for protecting the team, soaking up damage, and leading the charge into battle. Whether you're playing PvE or PvP, this class shines in its ability to block attacks, control the battlefield, and provide much-needed defense for your squad.
Bulwark Class Overview
Class Perk: Chapter Banner
Armor Class: 3
The Bulwark’s defining feature is the Chapter Banner, which restores armor to all squad members within its area of effect. This makes the Bulwark an essential frontline tank, ensuring the team stays alive during extended engagements. While the Bulwark is slower than other classes, its resilience and utility make up for this, allowing it to stand its ground in the face of overwhelming enemy forces.
PvE Rating: S
The Bulwark is highly rated for PvE content thanks to its ability to take and mitigate damage, control groups of enemies, and provide continuous support to the team. Its tanking capabilities make it invaluable during longer operations or missions where survival is key.
PvP Rating: A
While slightly less versatile in PvP compared to PvE, the Bulwark still performs admirably. Its ability to block attacks and provide armor regeneration can turn the tide of battle, especially in objective-based modes. However, it lacks the burst damage and mobility of more aggressive classes like the Assault or Sniper, which slightly lowers its rating in PvP.
Bulwark Class Abilities
The Bulwark's role in the team is primarily defensive, but it can still deal significant damage through careful management of its abilities and weapons.
Chapter Banner: This ability allows the Bulwark to place a banner that provides armor regeneration to allies within its area of effect. The banner’s buffs can be enhanced through various perks, providing additional benefits such as faster armor recovery, damage mitigation, or even the ability to revive incapacitated teammates.
Shield Bash: A key feature of the Bulwark's Storm Shield, the Shield Bash deals damage and interrupts enemies, making it a powerful crowd control tool. This move can be enhanced through perks to deal more damage and knock enemies back.
Perfect Parry: By timing a parry correctly, the Bulwark can reflect attacks and create a shockwave that stuns enemies in a radius. This is an essential skill for surviving tougher engagements, especially against elite enemies.
Early Game Bulwark Class Build (Levels 1-9)
In the early game, the focus should be on learning how to maximize your defensive abilities and support your team. The Bulwark is not about raw damage output, but rather about ensuring that you and your teammates stay alive and can handle waves of enemies without being overwhelmed.
Core Perks:
- Conviction: This perk activates when your armor is fully depleted, reducing incoming health damage by 25% for 5 seconds. It’s a great survival tool, allowing you to remain in the fight even when your armor breaks.
- Armor of Contempt: Blocking ranged attacks with your Storm Shield causes nearby enemies to take damage. This perk adds an offensive element to your defensive capabilities, punishing enemies who try to wear you down with ranged fire.
- Defensive Advantage: A perfectly timed parry creates a shock area around you for 5 seconds, stunning nearby enemies. This is especially useful for crowd control, as it allows you to neutralize groups of enemies and give your team breathing room.
Team Perk:
- Unyielding Ceramite: Reduces the delay before armor regeneration begins for all squad members by 5 seconds. This perk is essential for improving your team’s overall durability, allowing everyone to recover armor more quickly between engagements.
Gear Perks:
- Concussive Force: Increases the damage dealt by your Shield Bash, turning it into a more powerful tool for controlling enemy movements.
- Purity of Purpose: Your Chapter Banner now deals damage over time to enemies within its area of effect. This adds an offensive component to what is normally a defensive ability, making it even more valuable in longer fights.
- Rejuvenating Effect: Activating the Chapter Banner revives incapacitated squad members within its radius. This perk is invaluable in tough operations where your team might be overwhelmed, allowing you to quickly get them back into the fight.
Signature Perk:
- Emergency Countermeasure: When your armor is depleted, a shock grenade automatically detonates at your location, stunning nearby enemies. This provides a last-ditch defense mechanism, allowing you to regain control of the battlefield when things get hectic.
Early Game Weapon Builds
In the early stages, you’ll want to focus on weapons that are easy to use but provide both offensive and defensive utility. The Power Fist is an excellent choice for close combat, while the Plasma Pistol gives you a solid ranged option.
Weapons:
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Primary Weapon: Not available for this class.
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Secondary Weapon: Plasma Pistol (Master-Crafted – Beta)
- Fast Venting: Reduces the cooldown time for venting heat, allowing you to fire more frequently.
- Rampage: Increases damage after a kill, making this a great tool for dealing with groups of enemies.
- Supercharged Shot: Boosts the damage and radius of charged shots, making the Plasma Pistol highly effective for crowd control.
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Melee Weapon: Power Fist (Master-Crafted – Alpha)
- Perpetual Strength: Increases melee damage, giving you an edge in close-quarters combat.
- Heavy Preparation: Reduces the charge time for heavy attacks, allowing you to unleash powerful strikes more quickly.
Early Game Strategy:
Use your Power Fist for heavy melee damage, particularly against elites and tougher enemies. The Plasma Pistol should be your go-to weapon for ranged engagements, especially when dealing with groups. Your main job as a Bulwark is to control the flow of battle, using Shield Bash and Parry to protect your team and disrupt enemy attacks.
Mid-Game Bulwark Class Build (Levels 10-17)
As you move into the mid-game, you’ll need to focus on improving your parrying and crowd control skills. By this stage, enemies will start hitting harder and appear in greater numbers, so mastering your Storm Shield and Chapter Banner abilities will be critical to your success.
Core Perks:
- Intimidating Aura: A perfectly timed parry deals area-of-effect damage to enemies in a 5-meter radius. This perk is key for controlling crowds of enemies, especially when you’re surrounded.
- Shock and Awe: Enemies in a shock area take 25% more damage, making your Parry and Shockwave abilities even more deadly. This is a fantastic perk for PvE, allowing you to quickly dispatch groups of enemies.
- Defensive Advantage: Continues to be a key perk for controlling the battlefield, ensuring that your parries create shock areas that damage and stun enemies.
Team Perk:
- Advanced Conditioning: Slows the rate at which contested health decays for all squad members. This is crucial for ensuring that your team can survive longer during drawn-out engagements.
Gear Perks:
- Concussive Force: Increases the damage of your Shield Bash, allowing you to knock back and damage enemies more effectively.
- Merciless Resolve: After a Shield Bash, you cannot be knocked back or stunned for 5 seconds, giving you more freedom to stay aggressive during combat.
- Rejuvenating Effect: Continues to be vital for reviving incapacitated squad members, making it easier to turn the tide of battle when things go south.
Signature Perk:
- Defensive Mastery: A perfectly timed parry instantly incapacitates a Majoris- or Extremis-level enemy. This is one of the most powerful perks for the Bulwark, allowing you to neutralize even the toughest enemies with a well-timed parry.
Mid-Game Weapon Builds
In the mid-game, you’ll want to upgrade your weapons to handle tougher enemies and larger groups. The Plasma Pistol and Power Fist remain your core weapons, but with upgraded versions and enhanced perks.
Weapons:
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Primary Weapon: Not available for this class.
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Secondary Weapon: Plasma Pistol (Drogos Reclamation – Alpha)
- Fast Venting: Reduces heat buildup, allowing you to fire more frequently.
- Rampage: Boosts damage after a kill, making this a great weapon for crowd control.
- Supercharged Shot: Adds explosive damage to charged shots, making it ideal for clearing groups of enemies.
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Melee Weapon: Power Fist (Achortan Oath – Alpha)
- Perpetual Strength: Increases melee damage, giving you an edge in close-quarters combat.
- Heavy Preparation: Reduces charge time for heavy attacks, allowing you to unleash powerful strikes more quickly.
- Tyranid Slayer: Increases damage against Tyranid enemies, making this weapon invaluable for PvE content.
Mid-Game Strategy:
By this point, you should be comfortable using your Power Fist to handle elite enemies while using your Plasma Pistol to soften up groups of enemies before moving in. Your job as the Bulwark is to hold the frontline, using your Storm Shield to block incoming attacks and disrupt enemies with Shield Bash. Make sure to deploy your Chapter Banner strategically to keep your teammates alive during tough encounters.
Endgame Bulwark Class Build (Levels 18-25)
In the endgame, your Bulwark build should focus on maximizing your defensive capabilities while also dealing as much damage as possible. At this stage, enemies hit harder and appear in larger numbers, so having the right perks and weapons is essential for survival.
Core Perks:
- Forward Momentum: After a Shield Bash, your melee damage increases by 25% for 5 seconds. This perk makes your shield even more valuable, turning it into both a defensive and offensive tool.
- Scrambled Targeting: If you’re surrounded by five or more enemies, you take 20% less damage from ranged attacks. This perk is vital for surviving in the middle of large groups of enemies.
- Armor Reinforcement: Non-finisher gun strikes restore 1 armor segment, giving you more staying power during prolonged fights.
Team Perk:
- Advanced Conditioning: Continues to be the best option for ensuring your team’s survival, reducing the rate at which contested health decays.
Gear Perks:
- Focused Strength: Increases the knockback and stun duration of Shield Bash, making it an even more effective tool for controlling the battlefield.
- Invigorating Icon: When the Chapter Banner is activated, all squad members regain their maximum contested health. This perk is invaluable during tough fights, ensuring that your team can recover quickly when they’re overwhelmed.
- Rejuvenating Effect: Still one of the most valuable perks in your arsenal, allowing you to revive teammates instantly when your Chapter Banner is deployed.
Signature Perk:
- Armored Advance: As long as you have armor remaining, you cannot be knocked back or stunned. This perk ensures that you can continue tanking damage and protecting your team even in the most intense battles.
Endgame Weapon Builds
For the endgame, you’ll want to upgrade your weapons to their highest possible levels, ensuring that you can deal with both groups of enemies and elite targets effectively. The Plasma Pistol and Power Fist remain your core weapons, but with the highest-tier upgrades available.
Weapons:
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Primary Weapon: Not available for this class.
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Secondary Weapon: Plasma Pistol (Ophelian Liberation – Alpha)
- Fast Venting: Reduces heat buildup, allowing for more frequent shots.
- Rampage: Increases damage after a kill, making it ideal for crowd control.
- Supercharged Shot: Boosts the damage and radius of charged shots, perfect for clearing groups of enemies.
- Relic Mastery: Enhances your Plasma Pistol further, allowing you to deal more damage to elite targets and bosses.
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Melee Weapon: Power Fist (Aggamedes's Gift – Beta)
- Perpetual Strength: Increases melee damage, making you a force to be reckoned with in close combat.
- Heavy Preparation: Reduces the charge time for heavy attacks, allowing you to land powerful blows more quickly.
- Tyranid Slayer: Increases damage against Tyranid enemies, making it a must-have perk for PvE.
- Relic Mastery: Further enhances the Power Fist, allowing you to deal massive damage to groups of enemies and elite targets.
Endgame Strategy:
At this stage, your job as a Bulwark is to be the unshakable frontline for your team. Use your Power Fist to crush elite enemies and your Plasma Pistol to take down groups of enemies from a distance. Your Storm Shield remains your best defensive tool, allowing you to block incoming attacks and control the flow of battle. Make sure to use your Chapter Banner strategically to keep your team alive during tough encounters, and always be ready to parry and stun elite enemies with perfectly timed Shield Bashes.
This expanded version covers each phase of the game and provides more depth on strategies, weapon builds, and how to utilize the Bulwark class to its fullest potential. Let me know if you’d like to add even more detail or if there are specific areas you’d like to explore further!