RELATED: Best Games For Fans Of Medieval History
However, Warhammer Vermintide 2 now boasts special careers that expand a Hero beyond their traditional RPG stereotype. With each career transforming the playstyle of their characters, which of them stands out the most?
Updated on November 8th, 2022 by Hodey Johns: Since the release of this article, two new careers have made it through that needed to be added to this list: Warrior Priest of Sigmar and Sister of the Thorn. After adding these two, it came time to address the overall list itself. Originally, very few of the careers could reliably win on Legend and Cataclysm difficulties. Now, gamers can make an argument that any of these characters is the best. They can all clear the toughest missions with nothing but some bots to back them up. Furthermore, they all have different roles. It’s tough to compare a support character and a stealthy assassin. This list has been reorganized to compensate for these differences, but be aware that player preference and experience are far more important than these rankings.
Pyromancer
The Pyromancer is lackluster, getting a minimum of three skills. The career skill is nothing better than what others have to offer and the passive ability only works if the Pyromancer is actively hurting herself with a high Overcharge. While some classes boost the whole team’s ranged damage, Sienna only helps herself. The Pyromancer is about two perks short of being below average which is why she lands where she does on this list. Barring a great mod for the game to nerf the Overcharge penalty, the Pyromancer’s dangerous play doesn’t have the benefits to match the risk.
Unchained
RELATED: Games To Play If You Love Medieval Fantasy
There is a community tradition of badmouthing careers that try to incentivize high Overcharges for a good reason. High Overcharge deals damage to the user. Extra damage is welcome, to be sure, but no ability in the game is worth taking damage. On higher-difficulty runs, this often results in instant death either from the Overcharge or from a loss of life. Most of the time, it’s just slowly losing due to the combination of both.
Handmaiden
The Dance of Seasons allows players to move out of area-of-effect abilities that would ordinarily hit Kerillian. But for advantage, her active ability has no damage tied to it, Renewal is only useful for block-heavy teams, and Ariel’s Bastion depends on downed players to be useful.
Shade
The Shade’s biggest drawback is hardly its fault; most careers are capable of killing enemies quickly after they get geared up so her tricksy damage against minions becomes somewhat unremarkable eventually. The Shade is one of the best classes for players who are just barely trying out tougher difficulties, but its stealthy gameplay borders on too slow to keep up with geared groups.
Ranger Veteran
The 10% ammo drops from Specials are a big deal. Ranged physical damage careers have a lot going against them already, being out of ammo constantly is a great problem to avoid.
Sister of the Thorn
Thornwake is a strange ability. It does block enemies from advancing but it also blocks allies as well, so it can be difficult to find a good use for it. However, An Attendance of Munificents is a good support skill and Blackvenom Blades is one of the best monster debuffs in the game.
Huntsman
The Huntsman draws lots of ire within the community due to its underwhelming active ability. It lacks the ability to take out Hordes and is only moderately effective against single targets assuming players are excellent at landing headshots. But for those who enjoy taking out enemies from long range and thinning out crowds before rushing into combat, some may use this as Markus’s preferred career calling.
Bounty Hunter
One of the biggest drawbacks for most ranged classes is the inability to shoot throw mobs, but Victor’s Locked and Loaded skill does the job. The guaranteed critical hits give him some potential against monsters and other bosses.
Battle Wizard
Sadly, all three of Sienna’s careers have a problematic incentive to try and get a high Overcharge, but thankfully Reckless Haste is not a core part of the class. The Battle Warrior’s automatic venting of Overcharge will allow her to cast more spells and recover between fights quickly.
Waystalker
RELATED: RPGs That Have Overpowered Magic Systems
Most of this skill set is a pretty basic archer layout, but special attention should be given to the Amaranthe passive. Regenerating health to half when low is a remarkable skill on tougher difficulty ratings, allowing her to carry on just fine when other ranged damage dealers would be on death’s door.
Slayer
Between Trophy Hunter and Path of Courage, Bardin should always lead the damage charts as a Slayer. He’s all offense and no defense, leaving him prone to getting surrounded or hit by bosses, but the upside is often too good to resist, especially in parties with supportive careers.
Grail Knight
Often considered one of the best frontliners, the Grail Knight gets a shield, extra damage, and some randomly selected buffs upon completion of a Duty. If there is any weakness here, the Blessed Blade is tough to land and the randomness of the Duties can be unfortunate depending on the party composition.
Outcast Engineer
One of the few players that can give himself a faster career skill, the Outcast Engineer’s only weakness is his sub-par play between ability cooldowns. The Utility Belt is great for monsters of persistent groups that somehow survive the barrage of his Steam-Assisted Crank Gun.
Foot Knight
Reducing the entire party’s damage taken by 15% and personal damage by 25% is the difference between winning and losing many of the game’s toughest encounters. The Foot Knight isn’t very exciting to watch and its success depends on a strong team but experts love it when they get matched with one.
Zealot
As perhaps the most popular career for hardcore gamers, the Zealot gives players more power when they are lower on life. However, unlike the Overcharge classes, Heart of Iron allows the Zealot to survive when initially taking lethal damage. The flail’s charge is fantastic against large mobs of enemies.
Mercenary
The Mercenary is blatantly designed to favor charged-up melee attacks. Unlike some other classes, it is possible to interrupt the attacks, but a good tank can give Markus the chance that he needs. Morale Boost is considered extremely strong and he is often tagged as a top-tier support career due to this skill alone.
Ironbreaker
The biggest drawback with having a main tank in the party is how enemies often ignore the tanks as they pour out from all angles. Impenetrable forces these enemies to attack Bardin, making good use of all those defensive boosts. There is no wearing down the Ironbreaker over time, cracking his defenses is just too tall a task for all but the toughest boss fights. Gamers can pour many hours into the game and keep coming back to the Ironbreaker because they’ll miss playing with an unkillable character.
Witch Hunter Captain
It’s hard to think of a better teammate than Victor as the Witch Hunter Captain. The 20% damage boost against targets he has attacked is truly a boss-killer. But he’s a force on his own as well, instantly killing any enemy that he strikes in the head and blocking any attack in front of him at no cost.
Warrior Priest of Sigmar
There will always be room for dispute, but if the community had a consensus pick for the best class, it would have to be Saltzpyre’s Warrior Priest of Sigmar. The 20% damage boost is permanent while players are pushing the action. The 20% mitigation is on par with other elite tanks and then the shield on top of it protects him during the worst moments of a fight. Once he gets the best gear, it is hard to argue for other classes.
MORE: Best Fantasy Games With The Most Playable Characters
