Space Marines are the bringers of Death in Warhammer, and that’s no different in Space Marine 2, especially when you bring death from above with the Jump Pack Assault build.
While the campaign lets you try out a variety of classes, missions, and PvP require the player to fine-tune their creations, forming a specific class into a death machine against Tyranids, Chaos Marines, and all the other enemies you’ll come across on your adventures.
However, sifting through all the weapons, grenades, and perks can be pretty overwhelming. So, if you’ve chosen the Assault class, which is commonly known as the Jump Pack class, we’ve got the best build for both the Operation and PvP, so you can dominate anything.
How to play Assault
As an Assault you’ll act as the primary melee DPS for the team, flying and stomping your way through hordes. However, perfecting the parry, heavy attacks, Ground Pound, and various combos is vital. Without those, you’re no more than a slightly squishier Bulwark.
When it comes to your Skill, you’ll want to time this perfectly. Luckily, the jump resets quickly. We suggest timing the jump to either land on an approaching horde or stun a powerful enemy. Power up your attacks, drop down, and reign havoc.
In boss fights, you’ll still want to be upfront occasionally. The best shout here is to shoot from afar while your skill recoups, and then jump and slam onto the boss when it’s back. Your secondary weapon is strong, but doesn’t hold up against many other ranged fighters, so your position is at the front when you have the skill to back you up.
When it comes to PvP, the air is your best friend. Don’t be afraid to get close to the enemy, as most are better at range. Simply use your skill, slam down, and be ready to parry, dodge, and heavy attack until they’re downed.
Best Assault build
| Category | Item |
|---|---|
| Weapon | – Heavy Bolt Pistol– Chainsword |
| Grenade | – Frag grenade |
| Perks | – Winged Fury– Retribution– Act of Attrition– Strategic Strikes– Smiting Angel– Wings of Flame– Aerial Grace– Ascension |
Space Marine 2 best Assault weapons explained
Secondary weapon – Heavy Bolt Pistol
| Perk | Description |
|---|---|
| Great Might | Damage increases by 10% against Terminus enemies. |
| Death Strike | After killing a Majoris-level or higher enemy with a Melee Weapon, you deal 25% more Damage for 5 seconds. |
| Close Combat | Enemies at a distance of no more than 15 metres take 10% more Damage. |
| Adamantine Grip | Recoil is reduced by 25%. |
| Iron Grip | After a Gun Strike, Recoil is reduced by 35% for 5 seconds. |
| Head Hunter | Headshots deal 10% more Damage. |
| Adamant Hunter | When your Health is below 30%, Headshot deal more Damage. |
| Honed Precision | Equipped Weapon’s Maximum Spread decreases by 25% when firing without aiming. |
| Tyranid Eliminator | Damage against Tyranid enemies increases by 10% |
Since the Assault class doesn’t have a Primary Weapon, you’ll need to focus on having a powerful Secondary for when you have no other option, which is why we’ve chosen the Heavy Bolt Pistol.
The increase in Damage, high Accuracy, fast Reload Speed, and decent range make it extremely versatile and perfect if you’re hesitant to jump into the fray. Sure, damage isn’t your aim with an Assault class, but speed and accuracy certainly are.
We recommend grabbing Ophelian Liberation when you’re high enough level, but until then, any will do the job.
As for weapons perks, we suggest following the selection outlined above. The focus here is increasing the weapon’s Damage and Recoil. While you’re primarily a melee character, grabbing a well-timed headshot with low Recoil and tons of damage is always a good backup. We’ve also focused on up-close damage too, with the perks Close Combat and Honed Precision coming in useful.
Melee weapon – Chainsword
| Perk | Description |
|---|---|
| Armored Strength | When you have full Armor, Melee Damage increases by 10%. |
| Crushing Heel | Enemies hit by Stomp deal 30% less Damage for 4 seconds. Cooldown is 10 Seconds. |
| Perpetual Strength | Melee Damage increases by 5%. |
| Reverberating Impact | Stomp area of effect radius increases by 50%. |
| Chaos Slayer | Melee Damage against Chaos enemies increases by 10%. |
| Hard Target | While performing a Light Combo, you take 15% less Ranged Damage. |
| Trampling Stride | After performing a Stomp, hold the attack button to perform an additional Stomp. |
| Majoris Slayer | Melee Damage against Majoris-level enemies increases by 10%. |
| Momentum Gain | Each consecutive Light Attack increases Light Attack Melee Damage by 3% (up to 30%) for 3 seconds. |
The Assault’s primary role is to tank hits and deal high damage in return with their melee weapon. Unlike the Bulwark, this class has some useful secondary guns, but its real power comes from the close-quarters Chainsword.
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Combining speed with damage, it’s got great Strength and some fantastic Cleaving potential, and will make your character feel as deadly as a Space Marine should. When you get to Relic level, we suggest choosing the Aquilan Dedication Chainsword. Its Fencing Defense and massive increase in strength are worth the slight drop in Cleaving Potential.
Sure, you could choose the Thunder Hammer, but its speed completely lets it down. If you weren’t relying so much on melee damage, this would be great, but as a primary weapon, it just doesn’t hold up.
When it comes to perks, you’ll want to hammer down (pun intended) to increase the effectiveness of your Stomp and melee damage, as it’ll devastate the enemies and push them away, hence the Crushing Heel, Reverberating Impact, and Trampling Stride.
Best grenades for Assault
- Frag
- Melta
It’s worth noting this is primarily for the 6v6 PvP mode – you can’t choose your grenade in Operations.
The best grenade for the Assault build in Space Marine 2 is undeniably the Frag grenade. However, as you level, you’ll want to opt for the Melta grenade. Both deal great damage and are perfect for faster, more knowledgeable enemies in PvP battles.
Best perks for PvE Operations
While PvP players choose their grenades, Operations get character perks, which are used to craft a powerful Space Marine. Thankfully, you can grab quite a few — and we suggest prioritizing the following ones for the Assault:
| Perk | Description |
|---|---|
| Winged Fury | Damage from Melee Attacks executed while sprinting or dashing increases by 25%. |
| Retribution | After you are grabbed or knocked back, you deal 15% more Melee Damage for 10 seconds. |
| Act of Attrition | Enemies hit by Melee Attacks take 10% more Damage fro 3 seconds. |
| Strategic Strikes | All Squad Members deal 20% more Melee Damage against Terminus-level enemies. |
| Smiting Angel | Ground Pound’s Damage increases by 10%. |
| Wings of Flame | Jump Pack Dash damages enemies along its trajectory. |
| Aerial Grace | After a perfectly timed Dodge using a Jump Pack Dash, you deal 25% more Damage for 5 seconds. |
| Ascension | Jump Pack Leap deals Damage to all enemies in the takeoff area. |
There are many perks to choose from, and your selection is primarily up to you, depending on your fighting style. However, we recommend selecting perks that boost Jump Pack. The likes of Wings of Flame, Aerial Grace, Ascension, and Smiting Angel all pair perfectly.
On top of this, the Assault class is all about melee damage. Choosing perks like Act of Attrition, Winged Fury, and Retribution is ideal, especially as you’ll be dealing plenty of heavy attacks and close-ranged hits.
While we’ve opted to use being grabbed or knocked back to our advantage – as it’s pretty common in a horde and tougher missions – you can avoid this perk and eliminate being knocked back using Hammer of Wrath or Perseverance. We just prefer using it to help the Assault rather than attempting to stop it from happening. That bonus damage from Retribution is ideal.
So, that’s how to build the best Assault in Space Marine 2. Builds can be adapted if your playstyle doesn’t match this, but this is the ideal option for PvE missions and PvP. If the Assault isn’t for you, check out our guides for Bulwark, Tactical, Heavy, Sniper, and Vanguard.