Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is a well-beloved action co-op game with a world and characters that are begging to be made into a TV adaptation. With the variety of gameplay styles you can achieve, it's basically impossible to pick out any one of the base-game classes as being the best. It's a truth that resonates with any Vermintide player since the strength of your class depends on how you build it.
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The best class talents complement both the passive ability and career skills and take into account class-specific weaponry. You'll notice that most of the talents listed have low-level requirements, none greater than twenty. This is by design, as the value of these talents lies in how they can be built upon for powerful builds.
15 Mercenary Kruber: The More The Merrier!
If you're a Mercenary main who loves to use the halberd, you need this talent. The More the Merrier stacks damage for nearby enemies, something you want when using a sweeping crowd control weapon. This method of front-lining without all the defensive perks of a tank is worth it with a passive ability like Paced Strikes, which increases attack speed after killing multiple enemies with one swing.
If you don't want to fall quickly, though, you'll need Enhanced Training and Stand Clear, which increase attack speed and dodge range effectively. This talent ranks so low simply because it works best with a very specific kind of Mercenary build, a challenging glass cannon that isn't for everyone.
14 Waystalker Kerillian: Drakira's Alacrity
The Waystalker class is a great support class, whose talents can enable her to be a handy healer with a powerful career ability. This class is flexible when it comes to ranged and melee combat, easily shifting wherever needed most. For ranged support, however, Drakira's Alacrity is great for dealing heavy damage from afar.
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Combined with Assassin, which amplifies bonus damage on headshots, Waystalker can glide around the action and intervene to heal her teammates using Rejuvenating Locus. This talent ranks low, not due to its inefficacy, but simply because it isn't what will make or break a great support build.
13 Pyromancer Sienna: Ride The Fire Wind
The Pyromancer is definitely not a "one build fits all" sort of class. This is due to the liberal nature of her talents: her passive (Critical Mass) increases crit chance based on overcharge, and her career skill (The Burning Head) is basically a missile. The Beam Staff pairs best with Ride the Fire Wind, which increases ranged power by 1% every second for 20 seconds max.
Combined with the overcharge buff, the weapon becomes far more powerful and capable of dealing precise damage from a distance. The talent ranks low on the list, however, due to the specificity of the build and how it can limit your play style significantly.
12 Huntsman Kruber: Makin' It Look Easy
The Huntsman's passive ability - Waste Not, Want Not - rewards ranged headshots with ammunition. It isn't hard to center your build around this cycle of efficiency: close-quarters, precision aim with high-damage ranged attacks. That's where Makin' It Look Easy ties the build together, increasing the critical hit chance after a headshot by 25%.
Combined with One in the Eye, which grants bonus headshot damage, the Huntsman becomes a pretty heavy hitter with a career ability active. This talent doesn't rank higher simply because it doesn't account for HP loss or melee damage, both important when you're in the thick of it.
11 Veteran Ranger Bardin: Master of Improvisation
Veteran Ranger Barden is a versatile class that focuses primarily on ranged kills and support. The career talent, Disengage, temporarily leaves Bardin undetectable and boosts attack power for ranged weapons. The value of Master of Improvisation depends on how heavily you rely on the career skill, which is preferred for sticking to the sidelines and picking off the horde.
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Combined with the level 30 talent Exhilarating Vapours - which grants allies in the smoke cloud +8% attack speed- it enables Bardin to support teammates who are in the thick of battle without putting himself at risk. What keeps this talent low on the list is that it certainly won't make or break a build, and can be a burden if you aren't focused on using your career ability.
10 Shade Kerillian: Cruelty
The Shade class is one that excels primarily in stealth, specifically in the realm of melee. This is a bit of a change from Kerillian's other classes, which both have veritable ranged-only builds. For the Shade, high damage per strike is essential; best not to stay in the fray for too long when you're so reliant on stealth.
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For that reason, Cruelty is the catalyst for a successful Shade; it increases bonus damage from critical strikes significantly. Pair with Chain Killer for increased damage on charged backstabs, and you've got a great build for boss killing. Cruelty, despite being made so perfectly for a melee stealth build, ranks low due to its lack of versatility.
9 Barden's Ironbreaker Class: Rune-Etched Shield
Barden's Ironbreaker class was built to last against hordes of enemies, a stalwart shield that combines strong defense with deafening damage. To fully embrace the tanky nature of the Ironbreaker class, the Rune-Etched Shield is your secret weapon. It increases both Bardin's melee and nearby allies' melee after he blocks an attack.
Rune-Etched Shield is a seemingly-small time talent that will be a boon for both offensive and defensive-focused builds but is especially powerful when combined with Gromril Curse and Booming Taunt. Rune-Etched Shield ranks high for being the secret ingredient to Ironbreaker's tank build, but it isn't the best since it relies heavily on blocking.
8 Bounty Hunter Victor: Assassin
Assassin is a talent for multiple ranged classes, but it perhaps works best with the Bounty Hunter. This talent deals greater damage to staggered enemies and boosts the amount of damage caused by ranged headshots and crits. Bounty Hunter is another class where flexibility is key, meaning you're rewarded for combining melee with ranged combat and end up with a horde breaker that's great with elites.
Combine with Blessed Combat, which increases melee damage to staggered enemies, and Double-Shotted for high-damage shots that quickly recharge your career ability. Assassin is a great all-around ranged buff, but it doesn't rank any higher since it doesn't enhance any unique components of a class.
7 Battle Wizard Sienna: Famished Flames
Famished Flames is the core talent of any magic-centered Battle Wizard build. The talent increases burning damage by 150%, reducing the effect of all other damage, aka melee. With this talent activated, the Battle Wizard is a hovering back-liner, who can deal huge damage to hordes with the Coruscation Staff or break down elites with the Beam Staff. Combine with Soot Shield - damage reduction after igniting an enemy - for a more defensive approach.
This talent ranks the highest because it's versatile, powerful, and sits at the heart of any great Battle Wizard build. Whether a specialist or a heavy crowd hitter, Famished Flames is an incredible talent that boosts recharge for the Fire Walk career skill and breaks up hordes like nobody's business.
6 Handmaiden Kerillian: Asrai Alacrity
Handmaiden is a divisive class to be sure, but that isn't to say players haven't found a variety of instances where certain talents make for a balanced build. Enter Asrai Alcacrity which provides a bonus to attack speed and power after blocking or pushing, a buff that only takes effect when hitting an enemy with either melee or ranged.
It's high on the list due to its versatility, performing as well as a spear-and-shield tank as well as with dual daggers. Like any great skill, its usefulness is entirely dependent on the rest of the build, such as Willow Stance for a midline support or Birch Stance for a front liner. But the class it's associated with is a bit unwieldy, and it's in this limited play style that the talent loses points.
5 Unchained Sienna: Conduit
The best thing about the Unchained class is that it's a heavy hitter in both melee and ranged builds. For a ranged build, however, I prefer Conduit, simply because venting is a pain when you'd rather be burning folks to a crisp. Conduit increases the rate of venting and reduces damage, which means fewer and less punishing bouts of venting.
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This works great with the Frenzied Flame talent, which increases attack speed during overcharge, and you really feel the effect of the Enhanced Power talent if using the Fireball Staff. Higher damage means faster recharge on that career skill, so say goodbye to venting damage. The talent is great, but this high-risk build isn't for everyone, which is why it isn't at the top of the list.
4 Witch Hunter Captain Victor: Riposte
Witch Hunter is an easy class to pick up, but not an easy one to perfect. Both abilities encourage a full-frontal approach, which isn't easy without the right defensive talents. For a build focused on a balance between attack and defense power, Riposte is the key to success. The rapier is one of the best weapons for this class, which Riposte is perfect for. Critical hits are the specialty of this build, and Riposte rewards you with a guaranteed crit after blocking an attack.
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This talent makes incredible use of Victor's weaponry and abilities, but it isn't ranked higher due to the careful combat necessary to make it effective. Combine the damage-boosting effects of the Animosity career talent, buffed by the additional damage of I Shall Judge You All, for a precision-based heavy hitter.
3 Zealot Victor: Castigate
Zealot is one of a few high-risk high-reward classes where an all-or-nothing approach will get you the most out of it. Castigate compliments the Fiery Faith passive ability, the latter increasing your power the more health you've lost, while the former increases attack speed with low health.
But Castigate is great because it's useful with a number of build varieties, as all of them usually benefit from losing health. This must-have talent is ranked lower since you may prefer the Smite talent, which improves attack power.
The Foot Soldier class is practically engineered to tank, and we're here for it. Foot Soldier gets into the thick of it, but his greatest strengths are in defending his teammates, which makes Comrades in Arms such an important talent. This one is higher level than most, but it's high ranking because it pulls off the mission of this class: support for the other heavy hitter. Comrade in Arms disables the damage reduction of his passive talent for all but one ally, who gains incredible damage reduction and increased power.
Combined with the increased staggering power of Staggering Force, Foot Soldier's defensive measures more than makeup for his attack power. Comrades in Arms is ranked low simply because it's interchangeable with That's Bloody Teamwork, which depends greatly on the builds of your team.
1 Slayer Barden: A Thousand Cuts
There are few images more terrifying than that of a tiny, very muscular man speeding toward you with an axe swinging in each hand. That's the most fun part about playing Slayer Bardin, whose all-melee no-regrets style is embodied by his passive skill, Trophy Hunter, which grants a stacking damage buff for every hit.
The talent A Thousand Cuts is the most important ingredient for an absurdly strong build; increasing attack speed with dual weapons and amplifying Trophy Hunter's effects. This talent is ranked high due to how seamlessly it enhances Slayer's abilities. Combine this with Adrenaline Surge, which accelerates the recharge for Bardin's Leap career skill, and you've already got the makings of a high damage-over-time front-liner talent for more critical hits.
NEXT: Persona 5 Royal: Best Passive Skills
