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Tactical Marines make up the backbone of most squads inWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.They have the largest selection of weapons available and the most powerful debuff tool in the game. Needless to say, a skilled Tactical player can turn the tide of any Operation in their favor.
But to create the ultimate Tactical Marine build, you must first understand how they work. This guide explains how their signature ability works, which perks to choose from, and the best weapons you can pair with the Tactical Marine. If you love melting Extremis and Terminus units in seconds, this class is for you.
How To Play The Tactical
Tactical Marines are strategists who excel at target prioritization. Their signature ability,Auspex Scan, debuffs all enemy targets marked by the Tactical Marine, increasing all damage they receive from the squad. With the right perks, marked targets takethree timesas much damage from your entire squad. No other class can debuff enemies to this degree, let alonea spec that’s so easy to play.
This class also has a vast arsenal of weapons to choose from, including theBolt Rifle, theMelta Rifle, and thePlasma Incinerator. Tactical Marines excel in all engagement ranges and are invaluable in harder difficulties, making them one of the most sought-after classes in endgame PvE content.
Tactical Perk Tree
You may only select one perk per column.
This table is inverted, so column options are listed in rows.
Pick one per row
Balanced Distribution
Primaries deal 10% more damage, but secondaries deal 10% less damage.
Plasma Boost
While the Plasma Incinerator is 50% overheated, deal 30% more damage.
Bolt weapons penetrate 1 more enemy.
Heightened Vigour
After a perfectly timed dodge, you cannot be staggered for 5 seconds.
Relentless Pursuit
After a Gun Strike, deal 25% more ranged damage for 5 seconds.
Versatility
Switching to your secondary increases your pistol damage by 20%. Lasts until you reload or swap weapons.
Recoil is reduced by 10%.
Emperor’s Vengeance
Killing a Majoris+ foe fully restores your primary weapon’s magazine. 30s cooldown.
Pick one
Vital Data
Scanning an Extremis or Terminus-class enemy refunds 50% Auspex Scan charge.
Priority Targeting
Your Auspex Scan lasts +8 seconds, but it now ignores Minoris enemies.
Target Lock
Targets marked by your Auspex Scan take 25% more equipment damage.
Marking 20 enemies in one scan restores a grenade charge.
Precise Calibration
Enemies marked by Auspex Scan take 75% more damage, but your scan radius is 25% smaller.
Close Targeting
While Auspex Scan is on cooldown, deal 50% more melee damage to Minoris targets.
Expert Timing
Enemies marked by Auspex Scan take 100% more damage, but your scan lasts -4 seconds.
Concentrated Fire
Enemies marked by Auspex Scan take 100% more damage, but the mark no longer lingers when enemies exit the scan radius.
A melee finisher deals significant AoE damage. 90s cooldown.
Marked For Death
If you mark a Majoris or Extremis-class foe, a headshot will instantly kill them. 120s cooldown.
The Tactical’s perk tree is fairly backloaded, but their later perks include some of the largest damage bonuses in the game. Every optimal Tactical build in PvE will run these three perks:Priority Targeting, Precise Calibration,andExpert Timing.With all three perks, yourAuspex Scanis a massive300% damage multiplierfor your entire squad. No other skill comes remotely close to Auspex Scan’s power.
Your choice in your remaining perks is more down to personal preference, but there are some standouts here.Emperor’s Vengeanceis downright broken when paired with theBolt Rifle (Master-Crafted with Grenade Launcher)orPlasma Incinerator. Since the underbarrel grenade launcher and Plasma weapons have one large magazine, a Majoris kill willfully restore your ammo, and you can do this every 30 seconds. Ammo ceases to be an issue.
Balanced Distributionis also great for most loadouts, giving you a free 10% damage boost to all primary weapons. If you plan on using a grenade launcher, runKraken Penetrator Roundsinstead to tag more enemies with the explosion. Your passive and signature perk options aren’t great as a Tactical, so pick anything that suits your playstyle.
Melee
Tactical Marines have the largest array of primary weapons to choose from. Virtually all Bolt weapons are available for use, notably theBolt Rifle (Master-Crafted with Grenade Launcher). This weapon is just as effective as a Frag Grenade but has a deep ammo reserve. If traditional firearms aren’t your thing, Tactical Marines also have access to theMelta RifleandPlasma Incinerator.
Grenade Launcher Ammo
Grenade launcher reserves are tracked in one magazine, so any magazine perks in your skill tree will increase your grenade launcher reserves.
Perks that fully restore magazine ammunition (such as Emperor’s Vengeance) will fully restore your GL ammo.
Unfortunately, that flexibility doesn’t extend to your secondary and melee weapons. Tactical Marines must use the standard issueBolt PistolandChainswordin all of their loadouts. Bolt Pistols are solid for killing Minoris-tier forces if you can land headshots, while the Chainsword is a solid crowd control weapon if you build for stomp attacks.
Best Tactical PvE Build
The images above are for a Level 11 Tactical Marine. Our perk recommendations below are for a Level 25 endgame build.
Class Perks
This setup focuses onbuffing yourAuspex Scanability as much as possible. We usePriority Targeting, Precise Calibration, and Expert Timingto buff your damage output by a whopping 300%.Pair this with a good Sniperor Heavy build, and you can melt Extremis and even Terminus-class enemies in a few seconds.
For clearing fodder units, we recommend theMelta Rifle (Gathalamor Crusade).It disintegrates Minoris-class enemies in a single blast and greatly harms larger targets.Balanced DistributionandEmperor’s Vengeancefurther buff your primary weapon with bonus damage and occasional bonus ammo. AnyBolt PistolandChainswordwork fine here. If you struggle with parrying, use a fencing melee weapon to extend your parry window.
For our remaining perks, we takeRelentless Pursuitfor a damage bonus upon landing Gun Strikes,Transhuman Physiologyfor extra contested HP restoration, andRadiating Impactfor some strong cleave potential when we perform a finisher. These perks aren’t mandatory for this build to work, so feel free to experiment.
