Warhammer: Vermintide 2is a well-beloved action co-op game with a world and characters that arebegging 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.
15Mercenary 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.
14Waystalker 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.
13Pyromancer 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.
12Huntsman 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.
11Veteran 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.
10Shade 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.
9Barden’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.
8Bounty 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.
7Battle 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.
6Handmaiden 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.
