Warhammer: Vermintide 2: VT2’s New Player Classes, Weapons, Builds, Talents, Guide

This guide is intended as a handbook for a new player.

Check the date this guide was made in: 18.03.2024. Future patches may change the balance.
The current patch as of writing of this guide is 5.3.5
I have 150 hours in Vermintide 2 and I play on Legend.

To progress in Vermintide you have to increase your power. Your power is your level + the average of all your 5 items. Since the maximum level is 35 and the maximum item power is 300, the maximum possible hero power is 650.

Level up is self-evident, you can get 350 power by just being level 35.

As for items. Each time a player opens a chest or crafts an item in the forge, the item’s power is randomized (-5 ; +10) of the average power of the best 5 items the player has in all 5 slots in their inventory. So you don’t need to have them equiped.

If you have a power 200 sword, but use a power 150 sword, and then power 100 everything else. It’s (200 + 100 + 100 + 100 + 100) / 5 = 120, so you will get items between 115 – 130 power.

The only exception is red items since they are always 300 power. I used to have about 210 power, and then I got lucky and found 2 reds in a chest. With (300 + 300 + 210 + 210 + 210) / 5 = 246 therefore 241 – 256. And then (300 + 300 + 246 + 246 + 246) / 5 etc; you can see that I got to 300 in no time after that. You don’t even need 2 reds, just 1 red to boost you to 300 asap. But don’t worry about that, worry about reds when you can play consistently on Legend or Cataclysm, and even then they are rare.

So simply put, just open chests. That’s how you increase your power.

There is a minimum required power for each difficulty:
– 12 for Recruit Difficulty (balance point -15) – yes negative 15, you will always be above par.
– 115 for Veteran Difficulty (balance point 175)
– 215 for Champion Difficulty (balance point 335)
– 415 for Legend Difficulty (balance point 655) – max power is 650, by design, it’s meant to be hard.

Balance points means that for example, Legend will never be as easy as Champion at 335 power.

Hero power means the damage you deal with every single attack. The dummies in the home base are always balanced for your balance point, so you will always deal the same damage to them.

There is also a balance factor, if your hero power <115 than the balance point, you get nerfed.

Sounds complicated but it really isn’t.

Don’t worry about weapon quality that much, worry about getting power 300 on your items, you’ll get much more powerful this way. Just make sure you always have the weapon that you like on each level.

Don’t bother with properties & traits until you make power 300, won’t make much of a difference. As I said, power is more important.

Properties is something like +5% attack speed while traits is something like “when you attack with this weapon you have a chance for magic to happen”.

From white to orange they are plentiful. Only red is rare. Cosmetic is cosmetic. And Wave is only 1 game mode specific.

So as I said, just worry about:
1. Having high power on your items.
2. Leveling up.
3. Having the melee and range weapons you feel comfortable with.

Until you get to power 300 you have no reason to worry about rarity, properties and traits. A white 150 power weapon is better than an orange 140 power weapon.

There are 4 game modes:
1. Adventure
2. Chaos Wastes
3. Wave
4. Versus (upcoming)

– Adventure is the most fun in my opinon. You get to play the story and such. There your power, meaning your level and the power of your items, matters.

– Chaos Wastes is great for farming, because IN CHAOS WASTES YOUR POWER DOESN’T MATTER.

The only thing that matters in Chaos Wastes are the talents you get at level 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30. But you will already get a lot of talents in Chaos Wastes, so they don’t really matter that much in the grand scheme of things.

So if you want to level up fast, you can always play Chaos Wastes on higher difficulties. Since the fact you are low level doesn’t give you a disadvantage there. Provided you are skilled enough.

But Chaos Wastes is also high-risk high-reward. If you die at any point on your journey, you lost and have to start from the begining of the journey.

Wave is the least popular mod (mainly because it’s locked behind a DLC) and Versus is yet to come.

You can consider yoruself “fully done” when you are level 35 with red items on all 5 slots. Getting level 35 isn’t that hard. I made my first character, Victor Saltzpyre, level 35 in 40 hours, granted, I was also lucky to get 2 reds but it isn’t that game where you have to spend 300+ hours to get fully maxed out. Although some people complain that the grind cap is too small, to which I’m like WTF? I’d rather have it no levels and no power, I hate grind in games, but Vermintide 2’s grind is manageable.

To get reds, you have to be good enough to get Emperor’s Chest on Legend. But before you do that, you have to get to power 300 normally by opening chests and end up with 5 orange items on each slot on power 300.

After you made your first character power 300 the other ones are really easy, because all characters share 3 items slots. So if you have sword power 5, bow power 5, necklace power 300, charm power 300, trinket power 300, you’ll get the sword and bow power 300 in no time. I think it took me like 5-7 chests before I also got the sword & bow to power 300 on all other characters.

But really, once you have level 35 and orange items of power 300 on all 5 slots, you are at 95% power. There’s very little difference between orange items of power 300 and red items. Only difference is red items have perfect properties (always 5% attack speed, no 1-5% range) and are always power 300 (which most oranges are also always 300). So you can consider yourself maxed out at that too.

What do you do then? Legend and Cataclysm. Most people you’ll meet in this game are maxed out, because it’s not that difficult to max out, given that most play for fun.

And I understand the appeal for a little grind, so that you don’t have people who never played the game pick Legend or Cataclysm. Or people who were carried by 1 friend in Legend have legend unlocked. Granted, you can have bad players of level 35 and power 300, but it’s a much lower chance.

This is not the best class in the game, this is the best & easy to master tier list. Classes who are very good, but also very easy to master. Because believe me if we would consider only the best classes irrespective how hard to master they are the list would look very different. So it’s a mix between how easy to learn the class objectively is, and how powerful the class objectively is.

Witch Hunter (B) -> The perfect mix great at everything. Objectively the best class in the game. Huge damage, huge support, great tanking, huge special killing. Aaaand, is hugely difficult to play well. I mean he’s easy to play but insanely hard to master. This is why he’s only B tier.

Bounty Hunter (F) -> The ranged one. Used to be the GOAT against bosses, then got nerfed, still good but nothing special. But that’s only if you’re really good at hitting headshots, if you have good aim you’ll be above average, if you have bad aim you will be terrible. So not one of the best classes but insanely hard to master. F tier.

Zealot (B) -> The melee killing machine. Zealot’s biggest skill is killing a lot of enemies and never dying. He offers 0 support and 0 anything else. The best thing about Zealot is that you don’t have to rely on your team and they hardly expect to rely on you. So I would say B tier but from reasons completely different from the Witch Hunter.

Warrior Priest (DLC;S) -> Tank with frenzy and immunity. Easy S tier. Your passive is very powerful, turning you into a killing machine like the Zealot. Your ultimate is once again, very powerful, granting temporary immunity and you are the tankiest of all human inquisitor 4 classes. Even a Warrior Priest that sucks is a great addition to the team. A blast to play with, easy to learn, easy to master. S tier.

Ranger Veteran (B) -> Great support and range class. He can give your team ammo, potions, temporary health, attack speed. He is one of the best support classes in the game. He is more support than he is range so don’t expect to do any miracles with the range weapons. B tier.
(Like: Bounty Hunter but worse in range)

Ironbreaker (S) -> The tankiest tank in the game. The easiest non-DLC class to master, while also being one of the best. You get 30% damage reduction. And while he got nothing special shining and fancy like Necromancer, Grail Knight or Warrior Priest. He is rock solid, literally. If you have 0 DLC, just play the dwarf, and at level 7 switch to Ironbreaker, it’s the best non-DLC class to try to get to level 35 with.
(Like: Warrior Priest)

Slayer (C) -> The melee insane guy killing machine. Just use your F to leap into the horde and murder everything. Much like the Zealot, offers 0 in terms of support, but unlike the Zealot he doesn’t have a range weapon. He is very good at killing things but that’s about it. And the leap can help you save downed allies. But overall, kind of lacking in my opinion. C tier.
(Like: Zealot but no range and instead leaps)

Outcast Engineer (DLC; F) -> Range machinegun killing machine. Outcast Engineer was buffed in recent patches, and went from one of the worst classes in the game, to a class that can be one of the worst classes in the game or one of the best classes in the game depending who is playing it. If you’re a bad Witch Hunter you are going to be mid. If you’re a bad Outcast Engineer you are going to be literally the worst. So while it’s a good class if played correctly, it’s very difficult to play it correctly and I cannot recommend it to a new player for that. Easy F tier.
(Like: Bounty Hunter but better in range)

Waystalker (A) -> The good both melee and range killing specials squeaky. Good damage, good in both melee and range. One of the best specials killing in the game with her F. She’s not the best at saving others and the opposite of tanky, quite fragile. You need to learn to position yourself well since she is very fragile, but if you can do that you’d be great at melee and great at range and can easily kill specials. A tier.

Hand Maiden (A) -> The good both melee and range but I need to survive. Imagine if you traded some of that damage and instant killing specials for survivablity. That is Hand Maiden, she has more health than Waystalker and can dodge better, block better, revive better. But she’s no longer the bane of specials although her damage both melee and range is still good.
(Like: A more defensive Waystalker)

Shade (F) -> The assassin class. Forget fighting hordes and specials in the thick of it. You are going to go on the back and stab them on the back. So, what do you want, offense or defense? if your answer is backstabbing pick Shade instead. Unfortunately, you need to be very good at dodging, even more aware of your positioning than the Waystalker because now you need to get behind the enemies not just simply fight. She offers 0 support to her team. With a good player she can clear the map, but this ain’t a good player but new player that we talk about, so F tier.
(Like: Slayer and Zealot if they were solo assassins instead of solo killing machines)

Sister of the Thorn (DLC; B) -> The support Elf. Good crowd countrol with her F, okay damage, all other 3 elf classes have better damage but she amplifies the damage her allies offer. And she is good with both melee and range. She is very good at support but lacks in the other departments. I will say B tier, very weird to place her but your team gets to benefit a lot from your regardless whether you are a good or bad player, much like the Warrior Priest, except the Warrior Priest is also very powerful himself. So Warrior Priest is great support and warrior, Sister of the Thorn is mostly great support by virtue of just playing without doing much else.
(Like: Ranger Veteran)

Mercenary (A) -> Good melee and range damage and support. His damage is good, he is not going to contend with Grail Knight or Zealot but is good enough, his range is good enough, he is not going to contend with Bounty Hunter or Waystalker. And his support is really amazing to the point where I recommend if you play with bots your no.1 bot must be an Ironbreaker but your 2nd bot must be a Mercenary. Yes the Grail Knight kills bosses like no other but the Mercenary offers support like no other. And Mercenary is one of those classes like Witch Hunter where if you’re bad with him you’re mid if you’re good with him you’re godlike level of skilled. Except bad with Mercenary is not really mid because he offers a lot of support for the team regardless.
(Like: Witch Hunter but better than mid if you’re bad with it because he offers support)

Huntsman (F) -> Looks really cool but is really bad. He’s the range guy who is not so great at being range. Bounty Hunter at least can do huge damage if you’re good with it and always hit your target and do headshots most of the time. The Huntsman has a lot of ammo saving which, eh. He has an aura that gives the team +5% crit chance which is good but at the same time also his biggest quality. Why would you pick Huntsman over any other ranged class in the game like Bounty Hunter, Ranger Veteran, Outcast Engineer or all Elf classes? Heck, why would you pick Huntsman over Mercenary and Foot Knight who are still good with ranged weapons? He’s not just bad for a new player, he’s bad generally.
(Like: Bounty Hunter but bad even if you’re good with it)

Foot Knight (A) -> A mini-tank that is verstaile. Good with both melee and range and quite ressistant. Not as ressistant as the Ironbreaker but he can make do. And lacks the flashy things of the Warrior Priest but he can make do. He also has a range attack unlike Warrior Priest. He doesn’t do the damage of the Ironbreaker but has amazing crowd control. Really, with Markus you have 3 great options and the Huntsman. Foot Knight’s problem is that Mercenary and Grail Knight are so good. But if those classes didn’t exist, he’d still be a solid option.
(Like: Mercenary but more focused on tankiness than support)

Grail Knight (DLC; S) -> The best damage dealer in the game. He is a great tank, he offers some good support with his quests and potions drop, but his main thing is that he deals a lot of damage. Not limited to but especially to the bosses. He is also very easy to play with. S tier. Both as a good class and in being easy to play with.
(Like: Warrior Priest but focused on damage over more tankiness and support)

Battle Wizard (B) -> Some of the best damage. With her F she can either escape or save someone, she can take the Bolt Staff and be a special sniper or elite killer, she can melt hordes with the Coruscation Staff, she can melt bosses with the Beam Staff. She only lacks in support. That being said, she is squishy, and unless you’re good at moving around a lot dealing massive damage, you are going to die a lot with her. It’s just funny how the devs put some of the best classes in the game as the level 1 ones, but they are easy to learn and hard to master. B tier.
(Like: Witch Hunter and Mercenary in terms of being insane if you know what you’re doing. Also like Grail Knight but ranged)

Pyromancer (F) -> She is supposed to be the ranged Witch, but the lack of teleportation F costs you a lot. She is once again, a bad class, like the Huntsman. Huntsman is a bad class by itself, is not great at what he is doing. The Pyromancer is a bit different, she makes it very easy to play with Sienna range, but Battle Wizard does pretty much the same thing but better, so why would you take Pyromancer? she makes it easier to play range but the sacrifices of mobility from Battle Wizard’s F and horde control due to being worse at melee than Battle Wizard. And she is not more insane in range, just easier to play with in range. She’s like an easy mode but worse. F tier.
(Like: Battle Wizard except easier to play with on range but no teleportation or good melee horde control)

Unchained (C) -> She is supposed to be the melee Witch. The witch but focused on melee. The more overcharge she has the better in melee she is. She is very tanky unlike Battle Wizard and Pyromancer, and she has good damage. She can also quickly get rid of overcharge with her F. But her blood magic passive can work against you if you end up with overcharge due to being hit but no F available yet. So a bit more complicated to play, but a bit easier in some aspects. C tier.
(Like: Slayer and Zealot except you also have to keep your Overcharge in check)

Necromancer (S; DLC) -> Most recent DLC. Have you noticed the pattern where DLC characters are really easy to play regardless? except Outcast Engineer? While 3/5 although not the best in the game (the best in the game would be Witch Hunter, Mercenary and arguably Battle Wizard) are top tier and also easy to play at the same time? well, you have 6 skeletons that you summon and they play the game for you. Her damage is fantastic especially against specials, she is right there with the Grail Knight and Battle Wizard. She is no tank, but she is no squishy like Battle Wizard, Pyromancer and literally all 4 Elf classes. She is both good in melee and in range, she has great options for special sniping. As for support? you have 6 skeletons tanking damage, if that’s not support I don’t know what is.
(Like: Warrior Priest in terms of how many flashy gimmicks he has)

1. Ironbreaker -> Dual Hammers/ Coghammer/ Axe n’ Shield & Masterwork Pistol/ Handgun
2. Mercenary -> Spear n’ Shield/ Bretonian Longsword & Handgun/Repeater Handgun
3. Warrior Priest/Zealot -> Paired Skullsplitters/ Axe/ Fachon & Frail n’ Shield/ Brace of Pistols
4a. Sister of the Thorn -> Sword n’ Dagger & Longbow
4b. Grail Knight -> Bretonnian Sword/ Mace n’ Sword & Bretonian Sword n’ Shield
5. Unchained -> Flaming Flail/ Flame Sword/ Dagger / Reaper & Bolt Staff

Disclaimer: Bots are not the smartest folks out there, so don’t think that best bots = best classes. Rather the classes that is best used by a bot. Sometimes the same weapons are the best for the player, but not always, since the weapons are selected to be easy to use by a bot.

Melee:
Rapier (S) -> Is one of the most powerful weapons in this game. Arguably the most powerful weapon in the game alongside Elf’s Sword and dagger. You fire the pistol with middle mouse button that can kill both normal and armored enemies, you have attack speed, good block, good mobility, good dodge, fast attacks, extra heatshot damage. It’s just a beast of a weapon. Not the best at killing armored, but can definetly do it with both the sword and the pistol. Recommended as Witch Hunter & Bounty Hunter’s 1st weapon.

Paired Splitters (Zealot & Warrior Priest only; S) -> These are the equivalent of Bardin’s dual hammers and are just as good. You will absolutely annihilate hordes with this weapon. Low damage vs armored but you have other ways to deal with them, given how amazing it is against non-armored it’s really worth it. Recommened as Zealot & Warrior Priest’s 1st weapon.

Frail & Shield (Warrior Priest only; S) -> This weapon compensates for everything the Paired Splitters lacks. It can kill armored units and defend you against ranged units which are the double melee weapons (Warrior Priest, Slayer, Grail Knight) classes weakness. Recommened as Warrior Priest’s 2nd weapon.

Axe & Falchion (A) -> A good weapon. Seems like a great mix of the benefits of the Axe and of the Falchion. It’s a good weapon, a decent weapon, but definetly not top tier.

Bill Hook (B) -> Not the best damage but the reach is definetly cool.

Tome & Hammer (B) -> The weirdest weapon of them all. I don’t know how to feel about this weapon, on paper looks good but I haven’t seen anyone using it effectively. So I’m putting it as a maybe, one this is clear, it’s a complicated weapon so avoid it as a new player.

Flail / Falchion (C) -> Lower damage than the Axe but better against hordes, they are both more balanced versions. Out of the 2 I’d recommend the Falchion especially with the Zealot.

Axe (C) -> I have to talk about this because it was my favorite when I started the game. Bardin also has this axe. It can cut through armored units like no other. So definetly easy to play, I would recommend it for that alone for new players because I used to struggle with armored. But, as Saltzpyre you always have the 2nd weapon that is either range or something really good against armored preferably with a shield to deal with them. So objectively is bad, especially when dealing with hordes you’re going to have a really bad time, but also really easy to use, which is why I still recommend it despite being F tier.

Greatsword (F) -> Not great against hordes, not great against specials, bad against armored.

Skull Splitter Hammer (F) -> Budged paired splitters. Does the same thing but worse.

Spitter n’ Shield (F) -> The same but with a shield. You sacrifice the damage for protection that you don’t need in the first place because you have other ways to deal with that. Such as the range weapon or the 2nd weapon being anti-armored and with shield for Warrior Priest. What adidafs is to adidas, Spitter n’ Shield is to Frail & Shield.

Holy Great Hammer (F) -> Is like an axe but with lower attack speed and more damage. It looks fun when you use it and there’s definetly some combos for it, but you simply have simpler and better options.

Range:
Brace of Pistols (S) -> Best weapon for Saltzpyre. Looks cool, good damage, good fire rate, good accuracy. No need to shoot at point blank to deal good damage. The only thing it lacks is super long range sniping but having that too would just make it broken.

Crossbow (S) -> Crossbow is the opposite of Brace of Pistols. It deals massive damage and has a longer range. It’s fire rate is still good but clearly not Brace of Pistols level. It is good at long range sniping of specials but not only that. It’s nowhere near Brace of Pistols level short range but can definetly handle it. So the question is, would you like to be stronger on long range say sniping specials or short range say fighting armored or patrol or a horde? depending on that I recommend either Brace of Pistols or Crossbow.

Volley Crossbow (B) -> Is like the Brace of Pistols except with less damage. Yes you can snipe with this, but the snipe does ridiculously low damage so don’t bother. It tries to be a mix between Brace of Pistols and Crossbow but it fails at both, not being good enough in either case. It’s only saving grace is more ammo.

Repeater Pistol (C) -> It hurts me that I have to put the Axe and Repeater Pistol so low on the tier lists because they were my favourite weapons back when I started playing Vermintide, but they are bad weapons. They are very fun, so 100% recommend it to try it if you want a fun build. But not very good. It has mediocre damage and low accuracy, you have to be at point blank to do a decent amount of damage, which isn’t really the point of a range weapon. The only way you can use this weapon effectively is if you make a Bounty Hunter build with critical shots.

Griffonfoot Pistols (C) -> Brace of Pistols but shotgun. It’s really good against hordes. And that’s it. And even that is not so great, you’re much better clearing the horde with a melee weapon. And against armored units is just terrible. Maybe there’s a Bounty Hunter critical hit build out there but with this weapon who knows, fat change.

Recommened:
Witch Hunter: Rapier / Axe n’ Falchion & Brace of Pistols / Crossbow
Bounty Hunter: Rapier / Axe n’ Falchion & Brace of Pistols / Crossbow
Zealot: Paired Splitters / Rapier / Axe n’ Falchion & Brace of Pistols / Crossbow
Warrior Priest: Paired Splitters & Flail n’ Shield.

Melee:
Dual Hammers (S) -> The equivalent of Saltzspyre’s Paired Splitters. Do I need to say again how good this weapon is? you absolutely destroy hordes, you melt hordes down. You have low damage vs armored but again there are other ways to deal with them, the range weapon or the 2nd melee weapon if you’re Slayer. I recommend it on every dwarf class, everyone? EVERYONE! (see that Most Wanted reference?)

Coghammer (S) -> Bardwin’s second best weapon by far, right after the Dual Hammers. It doesn’t have the same dodge or stamina, but is the Dual Hammers in every other way. It deals more headshot damage than Dual Hammers and its easier to get heatshots with it. But wait, if it’s just a budget Dual Hammers why is it S tier? Because a Lamborghini Huracan may not be the best Lamborghini but it’s still a Lamborghini.

Great Axe (A) -> Fast, high damage, low defense. This is a weapon that compensates everything the Dwarf lacks. It doesn’t have the same killing power of hordes like Dual Hammers and Coghammer but it is good against armored and it is still fast. It’s also not a bad weapon to use against bosses. Great Hammer deals more damage but this one is faster. Recommened for Slayer as the 2nd weapon.

Axe and Dual Axe (B) -> Decent weapons. Fast and with good damage and can kill elites. Dual axe is faster, single axe has better defense. But more or less the same weapon. Good vs hordes and good vs elites, but doesn’t melt hordes like Dual Hammers or Coghammers and doesn’t melt elites like a Great Axe or Great Hammer even if the latter is slow. If you want a balanced weapon, jack of all trades, these are good.

Axe & Shield (C) -> Has more damage than Hammer & Shield and can actually hit armored, but it’s rather slow. Is the equivalent of Kruber’s Sword & Shield. Is just better than Hammer & Shield in every single way but it’s not great. It’s supposed to be a high damage slow defensive weapon. But the dwarf is already good with that. Might as well get weapons that are good at what he generally lacks.

Hammer (C) -> The equivalent of mace on Kruber. You trade some of that defensiveness from Hammer & Shield for speed, which is good, but not enough to make a difference. It’s not a bad weapon, so no F tier, but it’s no a good weapon either, it’s just mediocre, below average.

Great Hammer (C) -> Not great, slower than the other and not enough of a high damage to justify the difference, might as well use the Axe & Shield and have more defense for lower attack. Both can break armor although the Great Hammer faster, and when dealing with hordes both aren’t great but the Axe & Shield is definetly superior. The only exception is a certain build on Slayer with his extra attack speed and bonus damage.

Hammer & Shield (F) -> Not a lot of damage, has good stagger because of the hammer but any shielded weapon has stagger. Is the equivalent of Kruber’s Mace & Shield.

Warpick (F) -> Do you like memes? do you like to suffer? then pick Warpick. Warpick has an insane right click damage. And that’s it. That’s its only saving grace and its thing. Other than that it’s the worst elements from Hammer, Axe, Hammer and Shield and Axe and Shield combined. This is supposed to be great for Slayer due to extra attack speed and bonus damage, but when Slayer Dual Hammers exist you can left click everything into oblivion and for armored do the same thing but with Great Hammer.

Range:
Masterwork Pistol (S) -> The name gives it away, it’s a masterwork. It’s one of Bardin if not Bardin’s best weapon. Insane damage. Pinpoint accuracy on the left click, great for sniping, rapid fire on the right click for close situations. The downside is that it does have damage falloff unlike the Handgun, but it’s only gets bad when the enemy is super super far so 9/10 cases you can snipe very well with this, and it takes a second to fire, it’s not instant fire.

Crossbow (S) -> This crossbow is not the same as Saltzpyre, is slightly worse. But it’s still very good. It does the same job as Masterwork Pistol, high damage, single target, the difference is that Masterwork Pistol deals higher damage but Crossbow doesn’t have that second delay when you fire, so you can fire with it much faster. Granted, the damage is also lower, and while it doesn’t have perfect accuracy at long range without right-click, it’s much more accurate than the Handgun.

Handgun (A) -> Identical to Kruber’s handgun. Huge damage but very inaccurate long range unless you right click to aim. If it had accuracy by default long range it would have been an S tier weapon, like the Crossbow and Brace of Pistols for Saltzpyre. But this downside, it really shows, and it really makes it bad. I can’t decide between A tier or B tier so I went A tier.

Trollhammer Torpedo (A) -> A very special weapon. I wouldn’t put it S tier because it’s not consistently great. But on some builds it is really great. You deal huge damage to everything hordes or armored in an area of effect, but has a slow fire rate, slow reload and little ammo. Trollhammer Torpedo is the nuclear option, which on some builds it can work great.

Drakegun (B) -> Very fun to use. Good at clearing hordes, decent but not great against armored. You can only fire 5-6 times before it overheats and then you’re going to have to wait a lot. It’s a good short range weapon, mainly because of it’s AoE, don’t even think about using this gun long range, if this is a B tier weapon then denfinetly the Handgun deserves the A tier. I mean you can try some unique builds with it, but the issue is that the Dwarf is already very good at clearing hordes in melee. So it’s a gun that makes you good at what you’re already good at.

Drakefire Pistols (C) -> Very fun to play with. But kind of a mediocre weapon. It deals little damage to armor, it’s good for clearing hordes but not great, you have better options in melee for clearing hordes, way better options, and it is a thermo weapon which means that you’re going to have to wait for cooldown. Which is a lot worse than the weapons with ammo, since most of the time you can find ammo, especially if you play premade. On the bright side, it has good range and you can shoot specials, although not that accurate.

Grudge Raker (C) -> Decent short range, uselss don’t even try it long range. And at short range, it’s okay for hordes, it’s okay for armor. Nothing that will blow your mind, it’s just eh.

Throwing Axes (F) -> Remember the meme build with the Warpick? the 2nd weapon for the meme build is Throwing Axes. Is just a worse version of the Elf’s javelins. Also have great friendly fire damage, because just being a bad weapon wasn’t enough.

Recommened:
Ranger Veteran: Dual Hammers / Coghammer & Masterwork Pistol / Crossbow
Ironbreaker: Dual Hammers / Coghammer & Masterwork Pistol / Crossbow
Slayer: Dual Hammers / Coghammer & Great Axe
Outcast Engineer: Dual Hammers / Coghammer & Masterwork Pistol / Crossbow

Melee:

Elf? EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLFF!!!!!
Sword & Dagger (S) -> Saltzpyre’s Rapier and Kerillian’s Sword and Dagger are arguably the best weapons in the game. Is insanely fast, has good dodge, deals good damage, extra attack speed, headshot damage multiplier, extra critical change on the 3rd and 4th swing, bleed chance on the dagger hit. It can even take out armored although not as fast as other weapons.

Dual Daggers (A) -> Slightly faster than Sword and Dagger but slightly lower damage than Sword and Dagger and less defense. But has even higher headshot damage. Don’t get me wrong, this weapon is still very good, we’re comparing it with the S tier here. Their biggest flaw is that they struggle with hordes, comparative with Sword and Dagger.

Dual Swords (A) -> They do really really really well against hordes but really really poor damage against armor. This sounds like a good weapon, but given that Sword & Dagger can deal with hordes as well and even Dual Daggers although less than the other, it makes it nothing special and only the fact that is the weakest against armor stand out. Still a very good weapon, especially if you enjoy the melting hordes of Saltzpyre and Bardin’s dual hammers.

Elven Spear (B) -> Is a lot like Saltzpyre’s Bill Hook. The long reach weapon. Slower attack speed and lower damage than others, but compensates with a longer reach. Can deal damage to armor but it’s nothing special. Not fantastic, but definetly better than Dual Swords. Good vs hordes although again, nothing special. It’s very good on a Shade build where you can backstab and delete hordes.

Elven Axe (C) -> It’s okay. Not as good as Dual Daggers due to lack of headshot multiplier and bleed, it’s damage output isn’t as high as dual dagger and it’s attack speed isn’t as high either. But it’s good point is that it’s first attack is overhead and that makes it really really easy to headshot. Generally it’s attack pattern is only good for headshots. So yeah, an attack weapon that is only good for headshots.

Greatsword (C) -> Greatsword was bad on Saltzpyre, but is good on Kerellian. With a Handmaiden attack speed build this weapon is a beast. If boosted with attack speed, this one is great for clearing out hordes, otherwise not that impressive. Good versus hordes but slow and terrible versus armor.

Spear and Shield (C) -> Is a lot like the Elven spear except is a bit better at single target damage and a bit worse at horde damage when compared to Elven Spear, that’s not to say it’s bad at horde damage, it’s still pretty okay. But it’s biggest downside and the reason I considered it for tier C is that it doesn’t have a shield bash for some reason like all other shields in the game.

Sword (C) -> It feels like a lesser Sword & Dagger. Yes, it has armor damage but so does Sword & Dagger. It would not be a bad weapon by itself, but it’s literally budget Sword & Dagger.

Glaive (C) -> Has better reach than a sword but worse reach than Elven Spear. However, Glave has lower attack speed than Elven Spear, lower damage vs armored than Elven Spear, and lower dodge than Elven Spear. So why would you take Glave over Elven Spear? because of hordes? yes, but it’s not significant enough to compensate.

Range:
Longbow (S) -> Insane headshot damage. If you can deal consistent headshots, this is your weapon. It deals good damage even if you hit the body but in headshots it shines. Moonbow used to be overpowered but was nerfed, now it’s worse due to termo and not being as good at sniping as this weapon is and having lower damage.

Braiar Javelin (S) -> You can use R to regenerate javelins. Hello, welcome to the corner of shame where you can’t deal consistent headshots. There’s no shame in being a worse player, this weapon is just as good. It has the highest body damage, so if you miss the head no worry. It’s only issue but also good point is that (a) it has only 1/2 ammo so you’ll run out very quickly but (b) you can regenerate ammo by holding R so you will never really be out of ammo. I’d say use it occasionally when you have to snipe something.

Volley Crossbow (Shade only; S) -> Great damage, both against hordes and armored, it does have a significant damage fall off so you want to be close to an armored if you want to deal significant damage, fast fire of rate, high accuracy. But the right click, with the right click attack you can snipe with no issue because it fires mutliple bolts.

Deepwood Staff (Sister of the Thorn only; A) -> It’s okay, but not terrible. The left click damage is not much, it fires 3 bolts and is good for sniping, not amazing but deals okay damage when sniping, it’s very good versus hordes because again multiple shots, but you can clear hordes better with melee and specials or armored with Longbow or Javelins, although the Deepwood Staff is more forgiving. You can fire about 13-14 times before overcharged, which is a lot, and then you “wait for the ammo”. It’s okay occasionally but not as good as the main weapon. And the right click I find useless because instead of stuning enemies you might as well kill them with another weapon like Longbow or Braiar Javelin. Still, a solid choice for armor or when times get bad.

Hagbane (B) -> Hagbane is the anti-horde bow and that’s about it. It sucks against armor.

Swiftbow (B) -> The other horde clearing bow. Hagbane is much easier to use due to its area of effect damage. It has more ammo and does more damage to compensate for the lack of area of effect, but its armor damage is even worse than the Hagbane, so slightly better versus horde provided you can aim well otherwise Hagbane is still the better, and slightly worse versus armored although the Hagbane isn’t good versus armor either. These are the horde clearing bows, don’t deal with these if you’re fighting armor.

Moonbow (C) -> Used to be great, not anymore, the longbow is better in any other way. Including ammo, because after 5-6 arrows you have to wait for the Moonbow to recharge. Moonbow used to be like a Hagbane but for long range, it was too OP and then got nerfed to oblivion. How far have you fallen.

Recommened:
Waystalker: Sword n’ Dagger / Dual Dagger / Dual Swords & Longbow / Javelin
Handmaiden: Sword n’ Dagger / Dual Dagger / Dual Swords & Longbow / Javelin
Shade: Sword n’ Dagger / Dual Dagger / Dual Swords & Longbow / Javelin / Volley Crossbow
Sister of the Thorn: Sword n’ Dagger / Dual Dagger / Dual Swords & Longbow / Javelin / Deepwood Staff

Melee:
Bretonian Longsword (S) -> Very good versus hordes, deals good damage to armor with right click. Very fast.

Mace & Sword (S) -> Fast, very good versus hordes, you have both mobility and attack speed, good damage, and even some damage versus armor. This weapon has everything. When compared to the Bretonian Longsword I would say the Bretonian Longsword is slightly better against armor while Mace & Sword are slightly better against hordes, although both of them can easily do both.

Great Hammer (A) -> Great Hammer is that weapon that melts armor. It has insane damage versus armor, you will see enemies fall off. Although I would not recommend it as a solo weapon because you have issues dealing with hordes, it can be a great addition as the 2nd melee weapon for Grail Knight for when you have to deal with elites. Bardin has an equivalent with the Great Hammer that works really well with the Slayer with his extra attack speed and bonus damage, and while Kruber doesn’t have that, the fact it deals good damage to armor makes it a good situational melee weapon.

Bretonian Sword and Shield (A) -> Very good damage versus hordes, low but existant damage versus armor. It has a weird attack pattern but is good. I wouldn’t recommend it as an only weapon because it doesn’t deal well with armor, but definetly a good weapon to use in a combination for the Grail Knight because it provides good defense and good horde clearing and you can simply use something else for dealing with armor. It’s not Dual Hammers level of melting hordes but it’s a solid weapon. It also has a very good shield bash. Definetly try to rapid bash.

Sword and Shield (B) -> Is like Bretonian Sword and Shield with slightly faster attack speed but slightly lower damage and no damage versus armor. And a better attack pattern. The shield bash also works. It is a great mix between attack and defense. The reason I think Bretonian Sword and Shield is better, is because it’s more versatile because it can also deal with armor. And while Sword and Shield can deal with hordes better, it’s not the best against hordes, might as well use Greatsword or Mace & Sword. Usually when you use the shield, you are in tense sitaution. If you are in a tense situation either because of horde or armor you can make due with Bretonian Sword and Shield since it can kill both, but if you are in a tense situation with Sword and Shield and happen to be attacked by armor, good luck.

Tuskgor Spear (B) -> It’s a decent weapon, not great not terrible. Good block, good attack patterns, good single target damage, good versus hordes. It’s the long reach weapon.

Executioner Sword (B) -> Is a lot like the Greatsword except it has lower attack speed and lower mobility. But it has higher damage, right? nope. Same damage. Then what’s the Executioner Sword’s gimmick? it’s the headshot weapon. With right click is very easy to deal headshot that deals massive damage. That’s this weapon’s thing, you execute with it.

Sword (B) -> It’s Sword and Shield but you trade defense for mobility. The damage is roughly the same, both are bad against armor. But you have better speed and dodge with Sword.

Shield and Spear (B) -> You know the drill, you have the reach and the damage of the spear, but you trade some of that movement speed and good dodge for a shield that gives you more protection. This one is decent both against hordes and both against armored without being a master of none. I would have used it on Grail Knight as the 2nd weapon had it have been equipable on the Grail Knight since armor killing & shield works amazing with another horde clearing weapon.

Mace (C) -> It’s the Mace and Shield but trading defense for speed and mobility.

Halebard (C) -> Is like Tuskgor Spear, also a reach weapon, but with lower attack speed compensated by the fact that you can hit more targets at the same time.

Greatsword (F) -> Slow, low damage, bad damage versus armor. Saltzpyre also has a two-handed sword and is bad for him as well. You have a lot of weapons that are faster and can deal better damage. And weapons that are good versus armor.

Mace and Shield (F) -> Is like a worse Bretonnian Sword and Shield, same attack speed, so lower than Sword and Shield, but in spite of being a mace is bad versus armor, beating armor is supposed to be the reason you take a mace. But this one is bad versus armor. Is like Bretonnian Sword and Shield but also bad versus armor, so why would you take this one?

Range:
Repeater Handgun (S) -> One of the best ranged weapons in the game. When I first started playing the vermintide series, I just loved the repeaters both on Saltzpyre and Kruber, Saltzpyre’s repeater is actually bad although looks very cool. But Kruber’s repeater is hands down one of the best ranged weapons in the game. It has insane fire rate, if you want you can make it even more insane with right click. Little to no damage fall off at distances. Melts hordes and deals good damage to armored even at long distances. The only thing that beats this is the Longbow and Handgun in damage at long range against armored. Everything else, Repeater Handgun clearly sueprior. And even in that scenario, Repeater Handgun isn’t bad, it’s just that Longbow and Handgun are better at that particular thing.

Longbow (A) -> Only useable on Huntsman, very good versus hordes, decent versus armor. Except when you use right click, when you use right click to aim this thing becomes a beast against armor. Don’t ask me how that works, must be some weird quantum mechanics at play.

Handgun (A) -> Handgun is a good weapon. It’s mean to be the 1 shot kill weapon for specials and elites. You can snipe with this gun, and unlike the bow you don’t have to right click for the weapon to kill armor, can kill armor whether you aim or not. At long range it doesn’t have perfect accuracy, but it doesn’t have bad accuracy either, so it’s a good sniping gun.

Blunderbuss (F) -> Aka shotgun. It can deal with hordes at close and long range. And it can deal with armor at close range. When compared with Saltzpyre’s shotgun, the Griffon-foot, the Griffon deals better with hordes but significantly worse with armor and has faster fire time. It’s better than the Griffon because as I said, you usually want to deal with the hordes with your melee weapon, but it’s anti armor abilities aren’t that impressive either mainly because you have to be close range which breaks the whole point of a ranged weapon. It’s not that good at horde clearing, the worst when compared with that other shotgun, and for armored you have to be close where you might as well use your melee weapon’s right click attack at that point. Not a good weapon. There’s no reason to play Blunderbuss other than it’s fun to use a shotgun. Using the Blunderbuss would be a blunder.

Recommended:
Mercenary: Bretonian Longsword / Mace n’ Sword & Repeater Handgun / Handgun
Huntsman: Bretonian Longsword / Mace n’ Sword & Repeater Handgun / Handgun / Longbow
Foot Knight: Bretonian Longsword / Mace n’ Sword & Repeater Handgun / Handgun
Grail Knight: Bretonian Longsword / Mace n’ Sword & Bretonian Sword and Shield

Melee:
Ensorcelled Reaper (S) -> Good reach, good versus hordes although not the best, amazing versus armor. It’s a slow but versatille and powerful weapon. Because of its attack pattern the first hit is almost always a headshot.

Mace (A) -> The two-handed mace is a deceptively good weapon. It has faster attack speed than Ensorcelled Reaper, although deals less damage, it can still deal with armor although not as good as Ensorcelled Reaper. Is the version of the reaper that will be better against hordes due to higher mobility and attack speed but weaker against armor. If you use this weapon with the Pyromancer’s attack speed and critical chance it becomes an absolute beast of a weapon. Like the reaper its first attack is an over the head allowing you to do a good headshot. I would say this weapon is borderline S tier and A tier, somewhere as the middle ground between Ensorcelled Reaper and Mace in terms of attack speed and damage including damage versus armor. All 3 weapons have good attack speed and good damage versus armor. None of them suck at any. For the mage class she has very good melee.

Flaming Flail (A) -> It’s another one of those weapons like the dual hammers that melts hordes. But unlike dual hammers it can also deal damage to armored units, not as good as Ensorcelled Reaper or Mace but it can still deal a pretty good damage. While the hold left click attack does some small aoe damage and also breaks shields and also ignores shields. How is the Ensorcelled Reaper better against armor if that’s the case? because the Ensorcelled Reaper just don’t care about the armor, it kills you directly.

Flaming Sword -> Goes even faster than the Flaming Flail but with even lower damage. The issue is, although this is probably the best weapon against hordes, which isn’t much because Mace and Flaming Flail are very close to that level of good against hordes, it really struggles against armor. I mean Flaming Flail struggles a bit when compared with Mace and especially Ensorcelled Reaper that just melts them, but flaming sword really has issues in this department. I really like this sword, but to be honest, doesn’t deserve A tier or B tier.

Sword (B) -> The Sword is equivalent to Kruber’s sword in every single way, but is better because of Pyromancer. Good versus hordes, mobility, can deal some damage to armor although not much. When you can get attack speed and critical chance in a weapon it just makes that weapon better and Pyromancer’s attack speed and critical chance boosts the sword from average to actually good. You can also run it on Unchained and do pretty well because of extra power increase. The FIaming Sword does more damage over time while the Sword does more direct damage. The Flaming Sword has slightly faster attack speed although not much but the Sword deals more damage to armor, to the point where it’s actually doable. Both the Sword and Flaming Sword are really good and would put them honorary tier A weapons, but I have to make a difference. May consider it as borderline A tier but not sure. I like it more than the Flaming Sword but that’s probably just taste.

Dagger -> Insane mobility and damage over time. But as you can expect from a dagger, low damage to hordes and the damage to armor is a joke. I don’t know whether Dagger or Flaming Sword has worse damage against armor. I mean you can damage armor with the stab but that’s only after 2 hold left click attacks so yeah don’t bother.

Crowbill -> Sienna’s version of one handed axe. It’s just like Saltzpyre’s axe, sounds good in theory but in practice is kind of meh.

Range:
Soulstealer Staff (S) -> Necromancer only. This one is just a beast, it’s left click deals a little amount of damage but you can spam a lot of them and its right click deals an insane amount of damage instant killing elites and specials.

Corucsation Staff (S) -> I don’t like this weapon, but I have to admit, it has the highest damage potential of any of Sienna’s staffs. It’s left click is a shotgun and right-click raises fire from the ground that melts everything as long as it stays in the area. The right click damage stacks, so if you can spam those you can anihilate everything. Its weakness is that is a bit weak on defense.

Beam Staff (A) -> My love. It has a left click that melts bosses and armor not to mention hordes. And a right click shotgun that you won’t ever use because it just sucks. It’s already good versus bosses, but with a certain build with Battle Wizard using the Flamished Flames talent and weapon trait Barrage you melt bosses.

Bolt Staff -> The generic staff. The default one. It has multiple small damage missiles with left click and one moderate damage missile with right click. Both are good both against hordes and armor, it’s just that ones costs less charge and does less damage the other costs more and does more damage. I mean it’s all right. The right click works great with Battle Wizard’s talent Volcanic Force.

Fireball Staff -> The Fireball Staff is like the Bolt Staff except with even higher increase in damage and charge time. Fireball’s left click is like Bolt Staff’s right click and Fireball’s left click takes even more charge and time to prepare and does even more damage. I mean it’s all right.

Conflagration Staff (C) -> It’s left click are some bolts that deal decent damage, both versus hordes and armor, and its right click is an area of effect explosion that is good against hordes. Is not good, is not bad, is mediocre, kind of below average.

Flamestorm Staff (F) -> Is like Bardin’s Drakefire gun on Sienna. It melts hordes but sucks versus armor. It’s not a bad weapon per se, but you have so many so much better options with Sienna.

Recommended:
Battle Wizard: Reaper / Mace / Flaming Flail & Corucsation / Beam
Pyromancer: Reaper / Mace / Flaming Flail & Corucsation / Beam
Unchained: Reaper / Mace / Flaming Flail & Corucsation / Beam
Necromancer: Reaper / Mace / Flaming Flail & Soulstealer / Corucsation / Beam

You have noticed that you have 5 items for each character.
– Primary weapon.
– Secondary weapon.
– Necklace.
– Charm.
– Trinket.

The use of necklace, charm and trinket is that they provide traits and properties, that the primary and secondary weapons also provide.

Until you reach power 300 with orange weapons, don’t worry about these, it’s not worth it, just put whatever has the highest amount of power at the moment on you, as long as you like the primary and secondary weapon. That’s it.

If you’ve made power 300 on all 5 items and they are orange. Let me explain you what traits and properties are and why necklace, charm and trinkets are important.

Traits:

Swift Slaying (S) -> Is amazing if you pair it with the increased critical chance property from the melee/ranged and trinket. Giving you 15% chance for a critical chance with each attack. Some classes can go even higher due to their talents. And when you hit that Swift Slaying makes you a beast in melee.
Recommened on: Everyone unless said otherwise.

Resoruceful Combatant (A) -> Although Swift Slaying is really damn good, some classes have ultimates that really change the game, and with the same 15% chance for a critical chance you can get your F back in no time.
Recommened on: Bounty Hunter (Sometimes), Warrior Priest (Sometimes), Mercenary (Sometimes), Grail Knight (Always), Waystalker (Sometimes), Battle Wizard (Sometimes), Pyromancer (Sometimes), Unchained (Sometimes).

Opportunist (S) -> But you have to be really good to take advantage of it.

Hunter (S) -> If you hit a critical, your next attack against similar targets will be increased. Good for when dealing with armors or hordes. Not so good when you snipe specials.
Recommened on: Everyone unless said otherwise.

Thermal Equalizer (S) -> If you have a weapon that has overcharge, this is a must, ignore Hunter, you take this on that weapon.
Recommened on: Every weapon that has overcharge.

Resoruceful Sharpshooter (A) -> Although Hunter is good sometimes, some classes have ultimates that really change the game, and with the same 15% chance for a critical chance you can get your F back in no time. Would not recommend it over Thermal Equalizer ever. But would recommend it over Hunter if it makes sense sometimes. Hunter is weaker than Swift Slaying.
Recommened on: Bounty Hunter (Sometimes), Warrior Priest (Sometimes), Mercenary (Sometimes), Grail Knight (Always), Waystalker (Sometimes), Battle Wizard (Sometimes), Pyromancer (Sometimes), Unchained (Sometimes).

Barrage (A) -> If you have a range weapon that deals constant damage to the same target, or deals small damage and you have to spam the target to kill it, this is amazing.
Recommened on: Ranged weapons with small damage but high fire rate.

And now if you run out of ammo, if you don’t happen to have this issue ignore this one:

Conservative Shooter (B) -> You have good aim and can headshot for 1 ammo.

Scrounger (B) -> You have bad aim and can’t do constant headshots but would still like some ammo.
Barskin (S) -> Gives you tons of survivablity. Things that would deal constant damage to you like specials, won’t deal that much constant damage to you anymore. Allows you to survive more in critical situations.
Recommened on: Everyone unless said otherwise.

Boon of Shallya (A) -> Yes better healing, but the key ingredient of this one is better temporary healing. If you have a character that has huge temporary healing, this one increases that temporary healing by 30%. This one will help you in non-critical situations, Barskin will help you in critical situations.
Recommened on: characters with good temporary healing gain.

Decanter (S) -> Best general choice.
Recommened on: Everyone unless said otherwise.

Concoction (A) -> Forget the speed and power, you’re only using this for the purple that refills your ability bar. And with 5 seconds it means that from now on, no matter what potion you use you will have a free F to use. You know the drill, decide whether you want to use this one or Decanter. I would say for Grail Knight if you combo it with Virtue of the Penitent talent to spam potions but for everyone else is a maybe depending on your playstyle. This is only good for characters that have a good ultimate, otherwise not worth it. And yes Necromancer has a good ultimate but you don’t have to spam it so she’s not here.
Recommened on: Bounty Hunter (Sometimes), Warrior Priest (Sometimes), Mercenary (Sometimes), Grail Knight (Always), Waystalker (Sometimes), Battle Wizard (Sometimes), Pyromancer (Sometimes), Unchained (Sometimes).

Shrapnel (S) -> Clear hordes like a normal grenade and then boosts damage against armor or bosses so it makes the grenade good even if it barely scratches the bosses. The other one, Expolsive Ordinance, the grenade is already good at clearing out hordes, so you hardly need it.

Properties:
Attack speed & critical chance are amazing. Sometimes you may want to take stamina instead of either critical chance or attack speed, but most of the time attack speed & critical chance are the best.
Critical chance is amazing, power versus armored is amazing because these are usually the hardest to crack. And if you want to double down on it, you can sometimes get rid of critical chance and simply have power versus armored & power versus chaos; the reason being that chaos are usually much stronger than skaven and also includes Beastmen. So you’ll do tons of damage against armor.
Health is the best thing ever. And then it’s either stamina or cost block reduction. I would say stamina beats cost block reduction because you can be more offensive with it, bashing shield will cost you less. But if you just want to purely block, then cost block reduction is better.
Ah, the charm, charming isn’t it? attack speed and power versus armor are amazing. But again, just like the range one, if you want to anihilate armored take power versus armor and power versus chaos which also includes Beastmen.
Critical chance is amazing, and then it depends:
– Are you going to take grimmores? Curse resistance no question.
– Want to be faster? want to have you F faster? want to regenerate shield faster?
I would say stamina regeneration is objectively the best, but not much of a difference, I like the Cooldown Reduction more.

These are the kinds of questions I’m going to answer here.
Think of it as something helping you understand talents better.

– Use Damaging Multiple Enemies on weapons good against hordes but also weapons you aren’t exactly sure of. Pretty much every weapon gets good use of it. 1 HP per enemy hit up to 5 enemies.
– Use Melee Killing Blow on weapons with high damage and good versus armor, you get 1 HP per horde, 20-50 HP per elite and special, 50 HP per monster, if you’re using high single target damage weapon this is perfect. Or weapons with really high killing power in their horde. Hordes are good too, but the aim is to focus on elites with like Axe or weapons with high damage against hordes that can kill trash skavens instantly like Great Axe.
– Use Staggering Enemies on weapons with low damage, you get 1 HP per staggered enemy up to 10 enemies but if you kill the target instead of staggering you don’t get any HP. Works best on weapons like shields or stuff like the Firesword or the Great Hammer.
– Use Melee Critical Strikes and Headshots on weapons that you can consistently headshot and do critical damage with, and even then it requires skill. Theoretically it is just a straight upgrade. 2 HP per headshot or critical, or 4 HP for a critical headshot. However, if you aren’t aiming for those headshots you will get less HP than the other 3 options. Good for easy headshot and high critical chance weapons such as Double Dagger or Rapier.

TL;DR version is:
Damaging Multiple Enemies -> Is the most consistent on most weapons.
Melee Killing Blow -> Has the highest potential gains but you need high damage anti-armor.
Staggering Enemies -> Has high generation for certain weapons but is less consistent, low dmg.
Melee Critical Strikes and Headshots -> High skill version, get the most HP but you need to consistently hit headshots or criticals.

– Use Mainstay on weapons that have general horde damage.
– Use Bulwark on shields and the same weapons you’d use for mainstay for when you want to boost your team’s damage instead of your own.
– Use Smiter on weapons that have little to no horde killing power and high single target damage to maximize your elite and special killing potential.
– Use Assassin on weapons that have finesse multiplier to get the most out of the extra critical and headshot damage.
– Use Enhanced Power on ranged focused careers for when you want to boost your own ranged damage instead of the melee damage.

TL;DR version is:
Smiter -> Enemies always take +20% damage, then +20% on the 2nd and 40% damage on the 3rd hit. So it’s like a permanent +20% damage boost. Good for single target damage.
Mainstay -> Enemies take +0% damage on 1st hit, +40% damage on 2nd hit and +60% damage on 3rd hit. Good for general horde damage.
Assassin -> Enemies take +0% damage, then +20% on the 2nd and 40% damage on the 3rd hit. But also 40% damage on critical hits or headshots.
Bulwark -> Enemies take +0% damage, then +20% on the 2nd and 40% damage on the 3rd hit. If you hit them with a shield, they take +30% on the 2nd and 50% damage on the 3rd hit from everyone.
Enhanced Power -> Your main weapon is range.

*2nd and 3rd hit provided you stagger them, which is like debalance them.

Naturally, your best talents will depend on your best everything else. But now that you know the 16 classes, the best and worst weapons for each class and the traits and properties of weapons and all 3 other weapons, you can make an informed choice what talents are best for you.

But it never hurts to have a few recommened ones just in case.
Disclaimer: there are many good builds, these are just a few recommened ones.

Here you can find tons of good builds – https://www.ranalds.gift/

1.1) Master Witch Hunter
This is the ultimate pro build. You have your Rapier and Brace of Pistols. As for the talents you can see them next to the health and cooldown. Everything is focused on dealing headshots and critical damage. If you can consistently hit headshots and criticals, you are a beast with this.

1.2) Not so Master Witch Hunter
This one is more chill. Not as powerful as the first, but easier to play with. You get temporary HP from damaging multiple enemies rather than headshot, enemies hit bleed, still have a bonus to headshots and criticals from Assassin mainly for armored but it’s more forgiving, helping the party, using pushes, and melee strike.

2.1) Boss Killer:
I’m going to stop commenting on them, you can read what each does. You don’t have to copy-paste them, they can serve as inspiration, although you can definetly copy-paste them.

2.2) Boss Killer 2:
Brace of Pistols Variation:

3) Zealot

4) Warrior Priest

5) Ranger Veteran
6) Ironbreaker
7) Slayer
8) Outcast Engineer

9) Waywatcher
10) Handmaiden
11) Shade
12) Sister of the Thron

13) Mercenary
14) Huntsman
15) Foot Knight
16) Grail Knight

17) Battle Wizard:
18) Pyromancer:
19) Unchained:
20) Necromancer:

Warning: This is the objectively best maps list, if you have a different opinion that simply means you are wrong.

I wish we got a “Back to Ubersreik 2.0” at some point… Just so we could revisit more of the old maps. Garden of Morr and Engines of War weren’t really on my “want them in Vermintide 2” list.

I mean Wizards Tower, Trial of the Foolhardy, The White Rat and Waylaid.

I would rate the DLC like this:
*The Curse of Drachenfels is also free content but was incorporated in the base game.
– You have 3 free DLC by just getting the game: Chaos Wastes, Dwarves-themed, Ice-themed.
– Shadows Over Bögenhafen is short with only 2 maps, but those 2 maps are really good.
– Necromancer, Warrior Priest and Grail Knight are some of the most fun classes in the game.
– Back to Ubersreik has 1 really good map and 2 bad maps.
– Sister of the Thron and Outcast Engineer were not as cool as the other 3 but still fun to play.
– Winds of Magic unlocks Cataclysm and gives you 1 okay map and 1 ignored gamemode.
– Forgotten Relic gives you 5 weapons, only Coruscation Staff and Trollhammer Torpedo are good.