Players can become the sword and shield that their battle brothers need inWarhammer 40,000:Space Marine 2thanks to the Bulwark class, which can easily dominate with the right hands. This class is all about aggression,unleashing a swift and violent offenseon the battlefield to better protect the Ultramarines that shoot from behind the Bulwark’s shield.
When crafting the best Bulwark build forSpace Marine 2, there are a few things to consider. The weapons and perks can make or break a Bulwark build, so listed below are the essentials for a max-level Bulwark build that will easilyconquer Ruthless difficulty.
How Does the Bulwark Work?
To know the best Bulwark builds, players first need to learn a few things to come to grips with what compliments the Bulwark’s playstyle. Firstly, the Bulwark does not have a primary weapon, so players rely on a secondary weapon, a melee weapon, and a shield. The melee weapon should be the main focus of the build, as the cleaving potential will easily leave enemies as scattered corpses just as good as a Heavy Bolter. Here’s a look at the weapons used for this build:
Bulwarks come with a starting perk where their health is increased by 20%, further complimenting aggressive play with the siphon mechanic for health. As for the Bulwark’s ability, they make use of a Chapter Banner, which will restore armor toall Squad Memberswithin its area of effect. With the Chapter Banner, the Bulwark becomes an immovable object that can easily contest areas of defense and hold the line through enemy waves.
Best Bulwark Perks
Players can have 8 total perks for the Bulwark, with 3 in Core, 1 in Team, 3 in Gear, and 1 in Signature. The main purpose of the best Bulwark perks inSpace Marine 2is to ensure team proficiency whilst also maximizing the damage potential of the class to ensure solo players thrive equally to those with a supported team.
Description
Conviction
When your Armour is fully depleted, you take 25% less Health Damage for 5 seconds
Shock and Awe
Enemies in a Shock area take 25% more Damage
Defensive Advantage
A perfectly timed Parry creates a Shock area for 5 seconds. Cooldown is 30 seconds.
Contested Health fades 50% more slowly for all Squad Members
Focused Strength
Shield Bash knocks enemies back and makes them lose control for a longer period of time
Invigorating Icon
When the banner is activated, all Squad Members regain maximum Contested Health
Glory’s Shield
All Squad Members within the banner’s area of effect take 10% less Damage
Emergency Countermeasure
When your Armor is depleted, a reserve Shock Grenade automatically detonates at your position. Cooldown is 120 seconds.
The variety of perks from this Bulwark build will allow players a more forgiving window for lost health, whilst also ensuring maximum synergy with Shock Grenades. The fact that Shock areas will cause an extra 25% damage buff to enemies caught in the blast is huge, especially when further shock areas are created with parries and armor loss. The sacrifice of health for confident offense easily makes the Bulwark one of the best classes inSpace Marine 2.
If players struggle with parrying, feel free to use Steel Within instead of Defensive Advantage, as this perk provides players with 25% less Health Damage when their Health is less than 50%.
Best Power Sword Perks
Gathalamor Crusade
Players will easily see how much the Bulwark cancarry Operationswhen they access thebest Power Sword inSpace Marine 2, the Gathalamor Crusadesword. This sword is in the Relic category, requiring a Relic Armory Point and 17,000 XP to access, and its power is legendary.
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Defense
Fencing
There are some great Power Swords to use, but the Gathalamor Crusade sword has the Fencing style, which means parry windows are more forgiving. This is especially useful since the Bulwark’sparry can be a tad hard to pull off, as the game will usually treat a parry as a block due to the shield. With the Fencing sword, players might miss out on cleaving, but the strength and speed are as good as they can be.
When you have full Armor, Melee Damage increases by 10%
Master of Offence
After switching sword-combat Style, you deal 20% more Melee Damage for 5 seconds. Cooldown is 10 seconds.
Melee Damage increases by 5%
Tranquillity
While in Power Whirl Stance, you do not lose control upon taking Heavy Hits and you cannot be knocked back.
Power Style combo length increases from 3 to 4 strikes
Melee Damage against Tyranid enemies increases by 10%
Melee Damage against Chaos enemies increases by 10%
Hard Target
While performing a Light Combo, you take 15% less Ranged Damage
Reeling Blow
Enemies hit by Power Rake deal 30% less Damage for 4 seconds. Cooldown is 10 seconds.
Majoris Slayer
Melee Damage against Majoris-level enemies increases by 10%
The main focus of the best Power Sword perks is to increase the melee damage the weapon is capable of against both Tyranid and Chaos forces, as well as further experimentation with aggressive combos in both the Light and Heavy stances.
Best Plasma Pistol Perks
Ophelian Liberation
For the most optimal Bulwark experience,players should use the Ophelian LiberationPlasma Pistol, which is found in the Relic category and requires a Relic Armory Point and 17,000 XP with the Plasma Pistol.
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Magazine Capacity
120
The Plasma Pistol may not come with the most extensive ammo supply, and charging a shot will expunge 10 bullets, but it’s entirely worth it. The Plasma Pistol is a reserve, something to use on ranged enemies that cannot be charged down with a Power Sword, including Extremis enemies and boss enemies. Players can further improve the Plasma Pistol with Mastery Points, and the Plasma Pistol can have a total of 8Mastery Points that can be spent in the weapon’s Perk Tree. Here are the 8 perks we chose for the best Plasma Pistol inSpace Marine 2:
Weapons cool 15% faster
Rampage
After killing 10 enemies in rapid succession, you deal 25% more Damage for 5 seconds. Cooldown is 30 seconds.
Damage from a Charged Shot increases by 10%
Damage increases by 10% against Terminus enemies
Energy Reserve of Plasma Weapons increases by 20%
Charged Shots from Plasma Weapons use 2 less energy
Retaliation
After a perfectly timed Dodge, you deal 25% more Damage for 5 seconds
Fast Venting
These perks will provide players with further ammo, reduced charge-up time, extra damage from dodging to encourage a mix of parries and dodges, and faster cooldowns to make more efficient use of the Plasma Pistol.
