Best Bulwark build in Space Marine 2: Weapons, perks & how to play

Space Marine 2’s Bulwark is a lean, mean, fighting machine, with a focus on getting up close and personal with any Tyranids, other players, or enemies. But they’ll only stay alive if they’re built correctly.

Sure, Space Marines may be genetically enhanced humans decked out in eight-foot armor, but they’re not unkillable. Space Marine 2 certainly makes that statement accurate, as if you don’t master the controls and build the perfect character, you’re sure to succumb to those annoying Tyranids.

So, if the Bulwark looks like the class for you, we’ve got the best build you’ll want to run, from the ideal weapons, perks, grenades, and how best to play it.

Recommended build for Bulwark

Category	Item
Weapon	– Bolt Pistol – Chainsword
Grenade	– Frag Grenade
Perks	– Conviction – Armor of Contempt – Defensive Advantage – Advanced Conditioning – Rapid Regeneration – Focused Strength – Invigorating Icon – Rejuvenating Effect – Inspiration – Emergency Countermeasure

Best weapons explained

Secondary weapon – Bolt Pistol

Perk	Description
Great Might	Damage increases by 10% against Terminus enemies.
Retaliation	After a perfectly timed Dodge, you deal 25% more Damage for 5 seconds.
Gun Strike Reload	After a Gun Strike, the equipped Weapon instantly reloads.
Perpetual Precision	Maximum Spread decreases by 10%.
Head Hunter	Headshots deal 10% more Damage.
Elite Hunter	After killing a Majoris-level or higher enemy with a Melee Weapon, Headshots deal 50% more Damage for 5 seconds.
Extended Magazine	Magazine size increases by 15% of the maximum.
Divine Might	Damage increases by 10%

Since the Bulwark doesn’t have a Primary Weapon, you’ll need to focus on having a powerful yet useful Secondary, which is where the Bolt Pistol comes in.

When compared to the alternative, a Plasma Pistol, the Bolt doesn’t quite deal the same damage. But it makes up for it with the increase in Ammo Reserve, added Piercing, fantastic Reloading Speed, and added Rate of Fire. After all, damage isn’t really the aim with your secondary, as the Bulwark mainly focuses on damage through the melee weapon.

Of course, we recommend grabbing Gathalamor Crusade when you’re high enough level, but for the most part, any will do.

As for the perks, we suggest following the selection outlined above. You’ll want to focus on increasing the power of your weapon based off the Bulwark’s favored design, which is Melee combat, making Retaliation Gun Strike Reload, and Elite Hunter a perfect choice. The rest will help you deal a little more damage from range when you need it.

Melee weapon – Chainsword

Perk	Description
Armored Strength	When you have full Armor, Melee Damage increases by 10%.
Crushing Heel	Enemies hit by Stomp deal 30% less Damage for 4 seconds. Cooldown is 10 Seconds.
Perpetual Strength	Melee Damage increases by 5%.
Reverberating Impact	Stomp area of effect radius increases by 50%.
Chaos Slayer	Melee Damage against Chaos enemies increases by 10%.
Hard Target	While performing a Light Combo, you take 15% less Ranged Damage.
Trampling Stride	After performing a Stomp, hold the attack button to perform an additional Stomp.
Extremis Slayer	Melee Damage against Extremis-level enemies increases by 10%.
Kill Streak	After killing 10 enemies in rapid succession with a Light Combo, you do not lose control upon taking Heavy Hit and you cannot be knocked back for 5 seconds. Cooldown in 10 seconds.

As previously explained, the Bulwark is a tanky Melee fighter, so you need to pick the right weapon for the job, which is undoubtedly the Chainsword.

The Chainsword perfectly combines speed with brutal death. It’s got impressive Strength, a fantastic Cleaving Potential, and will make your character feel as deadly as a Space Marine should. When you get to the Relic level, we suggest choosing the Aquilan Dedication Chainsword. Its Fencing Defense and massive increase in strength is well worth the slight drop in Cleaving Potential.

When it comes to perks, you’ll want to hammer down (pun absolutely intended) on increasing the effectiveness of your Stomp, as it’ll deal great damage and push enemies away, hence the Crushing Heel, Reverberating Impact, and Trampling Stride. On top of this, Armored Strength is a great first choice, as it pairs perfectly with the Bulwark’s skill.

Best grenades for Bulwark

• Frag
• Melta

From the offset, it’s worth noting this is primarily for the 6v6 PvP mode, you don’t get the chance to choose your grenade in Operations.

Nevertheless, we recommend choosing the Frag grenade as a beginner, and then grabbing the Melta grenade once you get to a high enough level. Stun grenades are great, but AoE damage isn’t much good when the players are also aware of its effect, they’ll quickly move out of the way. Frag grenades are a classic and will decimate enemies early on. However, the Melta is the perfect upgrade and should be the end goal.

Best perks for Operations

While PvP gets a choice of grenade, the Operations get character perks, which can be perfect for expertly crafting a powerful Space Marine. Thankfully, you can grab multiple — and we’d suggest prioritizing the following ones for the Bulwark:

Perk	Description
Conviction	When your Armor is fully depleted you take 25% less Health Damage for 5 seconds
Armor of Contempt	When you Block a Ranged Attack, enemies within a 10-metre radius take the Damage instead.
Defensive Advantage	A perfectly timed Parry creates a Shock area for 5 seconds. Cooldown is 30 seconds.
Advanced Conditioning	Contested Health fades 50% more slowly for all Squad Members.
Rapid Regeneration	The banner restores Armor 300% faster, but its Duration is reduced to 5 seconds.
Focused Strength	Shield Bash knocked enemies back and makes them lose control for a longer period of time.
Invigorating Icon	When the banner is activated, all Squad Members regain maximum Contested Health.
Rejuvenating Effect	When the banner is activated, it revives Incapacitated Squad Members within its area of effect.
Inspiration	All Squad Members within the banner’s area of effect deal 10% more Damage.
Emergency Countermeasure	When your Armor is depleted, a reserve Shock Grenade automatically detonates at your position. Cooldown is 120 seconds.

Since there are so many perks to choose from, it’s really up to you regarding the ones you pick. However, we suggest choosing perks based on Health and melee fighting, like Defensive Advantage, Conviction, or Invigoration Icon. On the topic of the team perks with Invigoration Icon, thanks to the speed of you skills recovery, choosing the aforementioned perk and Rejuvenating Effect is a fantastic decision, especially in trickier missions.

Your Banner is your best friend when a swarm arrives, so granting bonuses to that through Rapid Regeneration and the team perks is key to your success.

How to play the Bulwark

So, now you have the best Bulwark build in Space Marine 2, it’s time to dive in and play the character. However, before you do that, it’s important for you to understand how the Bulwark fights.

Their description reads: “Sword and Shield: A Bulwark Space Marine defends both the members of their Squad and the ideas of the Imperium.”

As such, you act as the tank for the team. Your skill allows for more armor, and your melee focus lets you parry, stomp, and stun your way through enemies. It takes a lot of perfecting, and plenty of understanding regarding the combos, but when you’ve got a handle on that, you’ll be slaying Tyranids with ease.

When it comes to using your skill, we suggest dropping it down just as a horde begins to overwhelm the team. Once you’ve upgraded your perks, the skill won’t last too long, so you need to make it count. Luckily, it has a pretty quick regen time, so you’ll be able to use it in the next battle.

As for boss fights, this is where you come into your own. It’s easy to stay back and shoot them from a ‘safe’ position, but one look at their health bar and you’ll see it’s pointless. For this, you need to get up close and personal. Keep smashing the boss with your melee weapon and be prepared to parry and dodge at a moment’s notice. As previously mentioned, the more you’ve perfected the combos, the more deadly you’ll be.

Lastly, when it comes to PvP, you’re working much the same way as smaller enemies. Don’t be afraid to run right up in the enemy’s face and swing your Chainsword, most of the time the other classes aren’t prepared for close range, which is where you can topple them. Also, support your team, there’s always a place for dropping your skill down and then running into the enemy alone, that way you’re all safer.

So, that’s how to build the perfect Bulwark in Space Marine 2. Naturally, each build can be adapted if your playstyle doesn’t match, but this is the ideal all-rounder for both missions and the PvP adventures. If the Bulwark isn’t for you, check out our build guide for the Assault class.