Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 has six classes, which the game calls kits: Marauder, Duelist, Machinist, Hunter, Medic and Specialist. The first five each have fixed abilities and signature weapons, while the Specialist is a build-your-own kit that mixes abilities and perks from the others. Squads now hold four marines instead of three, so the real question is less "which class is best" and more which role your fireteam is missing.
This breakdown is based on Cold Iron Studios' six official class showcases and the Patch #3 notes on Steam, the Steam store description, GamingBolt's hands-on preview and the PS5 trophy list, all checked in November 2026.
The Six Kits at a Glance
Every kit has two ability slots, each with swappable modifiers that change how the ability behaves, plus a perk board and a weapon pool. Cold Iron's Steam description sums up the sequel's pitch: expanding from three to four players, "new and improved classes" with distinct playstyles, and a "fully customizable Specialist class" that lets you mix and match major and minor abilities from every available class.
| Kit | Role | Key abilities | Signature weapons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marauder | Frontline damage | Blast Cannon, Titan Rockets | M12A1 Rocket Launcher, OCAP-91 Volcan |
| Duelist | Explosive burst damage | Burst Configuration, Shrapnel Grenade | BD-48 Daittyo Heavy Rifle, HNT-1 E1 Alamein Revolver Rifle |
| Machinist | Area denial and support | Sentry Turret, Bodyguard Drone | SMB-94 Zephyr Plasma Emitter, EDS-93 Zadak Plasma Discharger Mk.2 |
| Hunter | Control and elite killing | Particle Pulse or Cryo Pulse, Stasis Bolt | BD-03 Djinn Personal Railgun, Type 111 Directed Particle Emitter |
| Medic | Healing and buffs | Adrenaline Surge or Overclock, Advanced Trauma Station | X1 Fireball, Type 21 Tactical Shotgun Mk.II |
| Specialist | Flexible hybrid | Any unlocked class ability | L56A3 Smartgun, M41A2 Pulse Rifle |
Kits level separately, and each kit's ranks unlock its abilities, modifiers and perks. That makes your first few hours a choice about where to invest, because a second kit starts from scratch. Weapons level on their own track, which our Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 weapons guide covers in detail.
Marauder and Duelist: The Damage Kits
The Marauder is built, in Cold Iron's words, to go head to head against the toughest Xenomorphs. Its Blast Cannon takes modifiers such as Blastwave or the Thermal Cannon, which turns it into a portable flamethrower, and its rocket ability can fire Titan Rockets to thin a horde or be swapped to Rocket Mines that you set as traps. The showcase highlights two perks. Rampage stacks on every kill and, at 25 stacks, greatly increases fire rate, reload speed and movement speed for 8 seconds. Reactive Charges fires a concussive blast that knocks back nearby enemies whenever you take a melee hit.
The Duelist trades the Marauder's area damage for explosive bursts and mobility. Its Burst Configuration ability takes Fragment or Precision modifiers, and the Shrapnel Grenade exists to create distance by clearing a cluster of Xenos at the flip of a switch. Stay On Target rewards you for keeping fire on one target, while Mobility raises movement speed and stun recovery for players who like to run and gun. Patch #3 fixed the Duelist's Remote Detonator doing double friendly fire damage, which mattered a lot on difficulties where friendly fire is enabled.
Both kits shine when the squad has someone else covering healing and crowd control. Two damage kits in a four-marine team is common; three usually leaves the team short on sustain once Wardens and Praetorians start knocking players over.
Machinist and Hunter: Control and Precision
The Machinist brings energy weapons, a modifiable Sentry Turret and a Bodyguard Drone. The turret can run as a Gas Turret or Rumble Turret, and the drone can be an Artillery Bodyguard for range or a Shredder Bodyguard for close quarters. Its showcase perks are support-minded: Cross-Platform Synergy gives allies near your turret 10 percent damage resistance and adds 5 health per second to the turret's regeneration while you are in range, and Scalable Machine Learning gives you 10 percent reload speed and stability each time your machines get a kill, stacking up to five times.
Patch #3 tidied up the Machinist too: Hyperlocal Logistics now raises turret health regeneration by the 10 percent it promises instead of doubling it, and the Rumble Turret now displays its correct size, radius and fire rate for other players in the squad.
The Hunter is the kit for slowing enemies down and deleting priority targets. Its pulse ability has several configurations, including Cryo Pulse to freeze Xenos, and its Stasis Bolt leaves trapped enemies slowed and vulnerable. The October patch buffed the Particle Pulse heavily: maximum damage went from 800 to 1,000, stopping power from 600 to 750, maximum charge time dropped from 2 to 1.5 seconds, and the explosion's damage, stopping power and radius all rose. The Supercharged perk now adds 20 percent to charge time instead of 50 percent. If you tried the Hunter at launch and found it weak, it deserves a second look.
Medic: The Kit Every Squad Wants
The Medic's job, per its showcase, is to keep you and your team alive "a while longer". Its first ability slot holds either Adrenaline Surge, which grants increased damage resistance and immunity to knockback, or Overclock, which raises fire rate for you and your allies and speeds up your own reload. The second slot is the Advanced Trauma Station: as a Buffing Station it increases damage and damage resistance for allies in range, and as a Poison Station it damages enemies over time with a 5x multiplier to energy gained.
Two perks define how the Medic feels in a firefight. Bedside Manner picks up downed allies twice as fast, and Surgeon's Hands makes you immune to knockbacks while interacting, reviving or using items. GamingBolt's preview also detailed the Guardian kit perk, which grants 20 temporary health to you and an ally you defend, plus 20 percent damage resistance for that ally for three seconds, with modifiers that boost the ally's or your own share by 50 percent.
If you only learn one support kit, make it this one. It is useful with bots, with random matchmaking and with a coordinated group alike, and our Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 trophy guide explains why a Medic makes the harder difficulty trophies far more forgiving.
Specialist: Building Your Own Kit
The Specialist is the sequel's headline addition. Cold Iron's showcase says it has access to all unlocked class abilities and perks, and its example build pairs a Shredder Bodyguard drone (using Force Multiplier or Concussive Multiplier modifiers) with a Particle Beam running Compatibility Matrix or Increased Uptime. Perks such as Focus Fire and Doctor's Orders show how freely it borrows from the damage and support trees.
There are limits. GamingBolt's preview explains that first abilities go on the left side of the Specialist's perk grid and second abilities on the right, so you cannot run a Bodyguard Drone with a Blast Cannon, or a Sentry Turret with Titan Rockets. Because it draws on what you have unlocked elsewhere, the Specialist gets stronger the more you level the other kits. Patch #3 also corrected two Specialist perks: Unyielding now grants its full listed health bonus, and Hard to Hit grants 20 percent damage resistance after a dodge rather than the bugged 100 percent.
Picking a Kit and Leveling It
For a first character, pick the role you enjoy and let the squad sort itself out. A practical four-marine lineup is one Medic, one control kit (Machinist or Hunter) and two damage kits, with the Specialist filling whatever gap is left. Solo players running with AI companions tend to get more from kits that protect themselves, because bot teammates are slower to react; Push Square's review was blunt that the companions lack tactical awareness.
The enemy mix should shape the choice as well. The official Xenomorph dossier rates the Siren as a low threat on its own whose danger lies in the waves it summons, describes the Exploder as a runner that detonates when it gets close, and warns that the Crusher's frontal armor punishes head-on fire. A Hunter's slows and Stasis Bolt buy time to flank a Crusher, a Duelist's Shrapnel Grenade breaks up the packs a Siren calls in, and a Marauder's Rocket Mines can catch Exploders before they reach the line. Synthetics are a different problem: GamingBolt notes that headshots drop them quickly, which suits the precision rifles the Hunter and Duelist carry. Building the squad around those threats beats stacking whichever kit currently tops a tier list.
- Two trophies mark milestones worth chasing early: "Seasoned Veteran" for leveling any kit to Rank 10, and "Maxed Out" for filling every slot in a perk board.
- "Custom Made Marine" asks for five completed missions with the Specialist kit.
- Patch #3 rebalanced the Drive perk family (5 percent cooldown reduction per elite kill, 2 percent per Special), so older build guides that stacked Drive are out of date.
If you are coming from another squad shooter, the role logic transfers well. Our Space Marine 2 class rankings and co-op squad tips use the same idea of covering roles before chasing damage. For a broader verdict on the game itself, see our Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 review roundup.
Every Kit Maxed From Day One
Leveling six kits to the top, then filling their perk boards, is the longest grind in the game. The Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 modded save lists all six loadout kits at Max Rank (Duelist, Machinist, Marauder, Hunter, Medic and Specialist), kit perks unlocked with 99 of each available for your perk boards, Prestige Rank 100 with all 10 Prestige rewards claimed, and Character Rank 50. That gives the Specialist the full pool of abilities to draw from on the first day.
The save is for PS5 and PC, not Xbox. It requires your own copy of the game and replaces your current save, and it does not include trophies or achievements. The Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 hub has the full listing next to the PS5 platinum service.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many classes are in Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2?
Six: Marauder, Duelist, Machinist, Hunter, Medic and Specialist. The Specialist borrows unlocked abilities and perks from the other five instead of having a fixed set of its own.
What is the best class in Fireteam Elite 2?
There is no single answer. The Medic is the most universally useful, the Hunter got a large buff in Patch #3, and the Specialist becomes the most flexible once your other kits are leveled.
Is the Specialist available from the start?
The Specialist draws on abilities and perks you have unlocked on the other kits, so it only becomes strong after you level them. Cold Iron has not published an exact unlock breakdown, so check the kit menu on your save.
Which class is best for solo play with bots?
Kits that can protect themselves work best, since AI companions react slowly. A Medic with Surgeon's Hands or a Machinist with a turret and drone both reduce how often you need a bot to save you.
What changed for classes in Patch 3?
The 22 October patch buffed the Hunter's Particle Pulse, fixed the Duelist's Remote Detonator, corrected Machinist turret values, fixed two Specialist perks and rebalanced the Drive perk family.
What trophies are tied to classes?
Seasoned Veteran (a kit at Rank 10), Maxed Out (fill every slot in a perk board) and Custom Made Marine (five missions with the Specialist kit).