Space Marine 2’s Vanguard build is centered around the classic Primaris style of Astartes, who serve as the Emperor’s modern Angels of Death, effectively superseding Tactical Marines. Here’s how to create and effectively utilize this build.
Players familiar with the Warhammer 40K tabletop game will recognize that a Vanguard Marine represents the latest model of Adeptus Astartes. After his ten thousand-year slumber, Ultramarines Primarch Robute Guilliman introduced these new upgraded Space Marines and encouraged all Chapters to adopt them.
In Space Marine 2, all Marines are Primaris, with the main combat style, “Intercessor Primaris,” represented by the Vanguard build. In the game’s campaign, Titus has recently upgraded to a Primaris after undergoing the “Rubicon surgery.”
Titus is a newly minted Primaris Marine.
Recommended build for Vanguard
Here are the optimal weapons, items, and perks for the Vanguard build:
| Category | Item |
|---|---|
| Weapon | – Auto Bolt Rifle – Chainsword |
| Grenade | – Frag Grenade |
| Perks | – Moving Target – Duellist – Melee Mastery – Conviction – Honed Reactions – Consecutive Execution – Emperor’s Blessing – Retribution |
Best weapons explained
Primary weapon – Instigator Bolt Carbine
The Instigator Bolt Carbine is perfect for scouting missions.
While more perks are available, these are the best for the Instigator Bolt Carbine:
| Perk | Description |
|---|---|
| Head Hunter | Headshots do 10% more damage. |
| Magazine Restoration | When health drops below 30%, ammo reserve is restored by a full magazine. |
| Fast Reload | Reload all weapons 10% faster. |
| Adamant Reload | When health drops below 30%, the equipped weapon instantly reloads. |
| Perpetual Fire | Fire rate increases by 10%. |
| Fast Regeneration | Killing an enemy restores armor 0.5 seconds earlier. |
| Perpetual Range | Range is increased by 1 meter. |
| Extended Magazine | Magazine size increases by 15% of the maximum. |
These perks allow you to deal more damage to enemies while keeping your armor replenished regularly. We’ve prioritized perks that enhance reload speed and ammo capacity for prolonged engagements.
Secondary weapon – Bolt Pistol
The Bolt Pistol is an effective backup in Space Marine 2.
The Bolt Pistol is ideal for the Vanguard build; consider these perks:
| Perk | Description |
|---|---|
| Great Might | Damage increases by 10% against Terminus enemies. |
| Retaliation | After a perfectly timed Dodge, damage increases by 25% for 5 seconds. |
| Gun Strike Reload | After a Gun Strike, the equipped weapon instantly reloads. |
| Perpetual Precision | Maximum Spread decreases by 10%. |
| Head Hunter | Headshots deal 10% more Damage. |
| Elite Hunter | After killing a Majoris-level enemy with a Melee Weapon, headshots deal 50% more damage for 5 seconds. |
| Extended Magazine | Magazine size increases by 15% of the maximum. |
| Divine Might | Damage increases by 10%. |
The Bolt Pistol serves as your secondary weapon but can be made formidable with the right perks. Instant reload, increased damage, and enhanced magazine capacity transform it into more than just a sidearm.
The Elite Hunter and Retaliation perks make the Bolt Pistol a powerful tool when part of a combo, enhancing your overall combat experience.
Melee weapon – Combat Knife
The Combat Knife excels in close combat.
The Combat Knife is the fastest melee weapon in the game, making it perfect for the Vanguard build. Recommended perks include:
| Perk | Description |
|---|---|
| Armored Strength | When at full armor, melee damage increases by 10%. |
| Sharp Impact | Right and Left Skull Crusher AOE damage radius increases by 50%. |
| Perpetual Strength | Melee damage increases by 5%. |
| Chaos Slayer | 10% damage increase against Chaos enemies. |
| Reeling Blow | Enemies hit by Whirlwind Slash deal 30% less damage. |
| Hard Target | While performing a Light Combo, take 15% less ranged damage. |
| Tyranid Slayer | 10% damage increase against Tyranids. |
| Extremis Slayer | Melee damage against Extremis-level enemies increases by 10%. |
| Kill Streak | After killing 10 enemies rapidly with a Light Combo, you do not lose control upon taking a heavy hit for 5 seconds. Cooldown in 10 seconds. |
The Combat Knife is designed for quick enemy takedowns, but its limited reach makes it less effective than the Chainsword for crowd control. This weapon enables rapid kills, allowing you to swiftly return to ranged combat.
We have focused on perks that increase damage while also incorporating defensive benefits to enhance your overall effectiveness, especially against various enemy types.
Best grenades for Vanguard – Frag grenade
Frag grenades are the most commonly used explosives in Space Marine 2, serving as excellent crowd control tools while remaining effective against elite enemies. They can be restocked quickly, making them a reliable option compared to Melter Bombs and Krak grenades.
We recommend using Frag grenades as your primary explosive throughout your missions and tossing them liberally, especially against slower, more cumbersome enemies.
Best perks for Operations
Vanguard Marines possess perks that make them difficult to kill.
In Operations mode, you receive character perks, which are essential for crafting a powerful Space Marine. We suggest prioritizing the following perks for the Vanguard build:
| Perk | Description |
|---|---|
| Moving Target | Each melee attack reduces ranged damage by 1%. |
| Duellist | Perfect Parry Window increased by 50%. |
| Emperor’s Blessing | Taking lethal damage restores all armor instead of incapacitating you. |
| Conviction | Take 15% less health damage when armor is depleted. |
| Melee Mastery | Melee damage increased by 10%. |
| Honed Reactions | When health is below 50%, your Perfect Dodge window is doubled. |
| Consecutive Execution | Killing 10 enemies rapidly restores Equipment Charge by 1. |
| Retribution | Deal 20% more melee damage after getting knocked back for 10 seconds. |
These perks enhance your Vanguard skills and weapons. Together, they maximize your combat effectiveness, focusing on enhancing your damage output while ensuring agile maneuverability.
How to play the Vanguard
The Vanguard build is designed for a fast-paced and agile gameplay style, prioritizing speed and maneuverability over brute strength. The combat knife serves well for close engagements, allowing for quick takedowns before returning to ranged attacks.
We recommend embracing melee combat and leveraging your buffs to efficiently deal with Tyranids while maintaining mobility. Although not as powerful in extended melee confrontations as other builds, the Vanguard setup is ideal for players who prefer the Intercessor Marine style, capitalizing on all the advantages this combat approach offers. Your strategy should be to move, shoot, stab, repeat.
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