Best Space Marine 2 Bulwark build

The Bulwark class is a dedicated front line class in Space Marine 2. It’s a powerful class capable of holding the line and taking down swarms and most elites in both Operations and Eternal War modes. The class also offers versatility: you can play as a tank support unit or opt for a melee offensive build based around shock. Here’s a closer look at the best Bulwark build in Space Marine 2.

Bulwark tank support build

Weapons	Primary – Chainsword Secondary – Bolt Pistol
Core Perk 1	Armour of Contempt – Blocking Ranged attacks causes enemies in a ten-metre range to take the damage instead.
Core Perk 2	Steel Within – When your health is less than 50%, you take 25% less Health damage.
Core perk 3	Forward Momentum – After a shield Bash, melee damage is increased by 25% for 5 seconds.
Team Perk	Either Advanced Conditioning or Effective Formation, depending on whether you’re running a Terminus level, like Operations missions 2 and 4.
Gear 1	Focused Strength – Shield Bash knocks enemies back and makes them lose control for a longer period of time.
Gear 2	Purity of Purpose – Banner deals small damage to nearby enemies when in use.
Gear 3	Inspiration – All squad members within the banner’s area of effect deal 10% more damage.
Signature	Armour Advance – If you have Armour remaining, you do not lose control upon taking Heavy Hits, and you can’t be Knocked back.

This variation on the build turns the Bulkwark into a tank support unit focused on sustaining and mitigating incoming damage via armor buffs and HP damage reduction. It revolves around block weapons and the Shield Bash to trigger effects. It can handle swarms, deflect ranged attacks, and shrug off heavy sniper fire along with CC effects, ensuring you stay on the front line while your allies mop up

The Chainsword as a primary weapon allows you to manage swarms thanks to solid AoE. Pair it with top row perks that offer improved AoE stomp perks, block effects that damage enemies, and Contested Health restoration to keep your Bulwark alive whatever comes its way. We recommend opting for the Block Chainsword for improved base stats, though you’ll lose out of perfect parries but this isn’t a concern for this build. The build is further improved by a squad mate running a Tactical build to enhance Contested Health Restoration team perks.

The Bolt Pistol is your secondary weapon due to its versatility. It works well in most situations, such as picking through hordes, zeroing in on ranged Tyranids, and chipping headshot damage on pesky elites. Plasma is a decent alternative, but it struggles due to the charge time, especially when you’re up close to hordes and elites.

✓ Tip

Both variations of the build are viable, so take your pick. Do note that both struggle to handle Zeurothropes so ensure you’re paired with a ranged class when putting together your squad.

Bulwark offensive shock build

Weapons	Primary – Power Fist or Power Sword Secondary – Bolt Pistol
Core perk 1	Defensive Advantage – Perfectly times parry creates a shock area food 5 seconds. Cooldown is 30 seconds.
Core perk 2	Shock and Awe – Enemies in a shock area take 25% more damage
Core perk 3	Forward Momentum – After a shield Bash, melee damage is increased by 25% for 5 seconds.
Team	Either Advanced Conditioning or Effective Formation, depending on whether you’re running a Terminus level, like Operations missions 2 and 4.
Gear 1	Focused Strength – Shield Bash knocks enemies back and makes them lose control for a longer period of time.
Gear 2	Invigorating Icon – When the banner is activated, all squad members regain maximum Contested Health.
Gear 3	Rejuvenating Effect – When your banner is activated, it revives incapacitated squad members within its area.
Signature	Defensive Mastery – A perfectly times Parry instantly incapacitates a Majoris or Extremis level enemy. Coolodnw of 120 seconds.

The offensive shock build is all about chaining perfect parries to trigger ramping damage bonuses deep into a swarm. It transforms your banner into a Contested Health restorer, which is very useful when you’re swinging your weapon around. Land that parry, create a shock field, and stack damage multipliers. You’ll easily take out hordes and elites alike.

Use the Power First as a primary weapon, ideally the Balanced variant, and lean on powerful heavy attacks. Comboing Shield Bash and perfect parries with an easily charged Power Fist will ramp damage effectively. Opt for the bottom row perks to improve the Shield bash and perfect parry but also lower the charging time for heavy attacks.

As a secondary weapon, rely on the trusty Bolt Pistol. It can thin hordes well, take out ranged enemies, and pull off crucial heatshots on elites. It’s also a potent Gun Strike weapon to follow up all those perfect parries you’ll be pulling off with this build.

If you fancy a challenge, but with more modifiers, swap out the Fist for the Power Sword. Combat is a little trickier but you’ll unlock damage modifiers that stack with perks like Shock and Awe and Inspiration.