In Heroes of Hammerwatch 2, players can choose from seven distinct classes, each offering unique playstyles, builds, and customization options. At the game’s outset, you can select from four classes: Warrior, Wizard, Paladin, and Ranger. The additional three classes—Rogue, Warlock, and Sorcerer—must be unlocked through gameplay.
The Guild Title system provides permanent stat improvements for all your characters based on their level, making it beneficial to level up at least one character from each class. If you’re looking to choose a main character, you’re in the right place. Below, we’ll explore each of the seven classes, highlighting their starting skills, mastery options, and play styles.
Warrior
The Warrior is a melee-centric brawler with significant health and physical damage capabilities. Proficient in various strength-based weapons, this class allows for a broad range of playstyles. The Warrior excels at getting up close to enemies, dealing damage, and absorbing hits.
Starting Skills:
- Whirling Axes: Hurl two axes that cause physical damage to enemies in their path.
- War Cry: Boosts Weapon Speed and Movement Speed for you and allies within range.
- Warrior’s Constitution: Enhances your health and poisons resistance.
- Killing Spree: Gain stacking damage boosts for every enemy you defeat; all stacks vanish when the effect ends.
The Warrior’s three Class Masteries are Berserker, Primalist, and Tyrant.
Wizard
The Wizard is a ranged spellcaster known for its diverse elemental attacks and decent survivability due to the ability to generate barriers. With options to specialize in Fire, Lightning, or Ice damage through specific staves and wands, the Wizard offers plenty of build customization.
Starting Skills:
- Magic Missiles: Launch several missiles that home in on enemies.
- Fireball: Send out a fireball that detonates, causing Fire damage.
- Arcane Intellect: Increases Mana and Intelligence.
- Barrier: Generates a protective barrier over time that reduces damage taken from the next attack.
The Wizard’s Class Mastery options include Conjuration, Transmutation, and Evocation.
Paladin
The Paladin is a melee fighter that emphasizes defense. With skills like Lay on Hands, the Paladin can heal both itself and nearby allies, offering the only dedicated AoE healing capability in the game. This makes the Paladin a strong character choice for beginners due to its survival aspect, whether playing solo or in multiplayer.
Starting Skills:
- Blessed Strike: Inflicts physical damage in a circular area.
- Lay on Hands: Heals you and your nearby allies.
- Armored Knight: Boosts Armor and block chance.
- Conviction: When using melee attacks, it has a chance to restore Mana.
The Paladin’s Class Masteries are Divine, Justice, and Radiance.
Ranger
As a ranged specialist, the Ranger excels at engaging enemies from a distance. Capable of kiting foes while dealing damage, the Ranger is ideal for players who enjoy a mobile combat style.
Starting Skills:
- Marked Shot: Fire an arrow that deals physical damage and marks enemies, increasing damage from your attacks on them.
- Trap: Deploy a trap that damages and slows enemies that activate it.
- Rhythm: Enhances Weapon Crit Chance; critical hits accumulate stacks that further boost crit chances and damage.
- Survivalist: Provides a damage reduction buff when you take hits.
The Ranger’s Class Masteries are Beastmaster, Warden, and Marksman.
Rogue
The Rogue is a fast-paced melee attacker capable of dashing in and out of close-range combat. With both melee strikes and ranged knife throws, the Rogue suits players who enjoy quick, aggressive gameplay.
Starting Skills:
- Fan of Knives: Release several knives that cause physical damage.
- Flurry of Blades: Launch melee attacks against surrounding enemies.
- Slice and Dice: Attacks build stacks that increase Weapon Speed temporarily.
- Sidestep: Grants evasion and a chance for guaranteed evasion after cooldown.
The Rogue’s Class Masteries are Poison, Demolitions, and Blades.
Warlock
The Warlock blends spellcasting and melee combat. With abilities like Drain Essence for sustainability and Aura of Atrophy for enhanced survivability, they are versatile in offensive and defensive capabilities.
Starting Skills:
- Demon’s Tail: Inflicts physical damage along a line while slowing foes.
- Dark Ritual: Channel a damaging ritual that hits enemies in the area with a follow-up strike once completed.
- Drain Essence: Inflicts damage while stacking Essence for increased health and mana.
- Aura of Atrophy: Reduces damage taken from nearby enemies.
The Warlock’s Class Mastery choices are Summoning, Souls, and Chaos.
Sorcerer
Similar to the Wizard, the Sorcerer is heavily reliant on high damage output with little in the way of defensive skills, making it a glass cannon character. It favors a high-risk, high-reward strategy for players eager to obliterate enemies quickly.
Starting Skills:
- Discharge: Release a cone of lightning that strikes enemies.
- Elemental Orb: Deploy a slow-moving orb that deals continuous elemental damage.
- Innate Power: Enhances spell critical strike chance.
- Elemental Affinity: Grants increased damage for a chosen elemental type based on the last spell cast.
The Sorcerer’s Class Mastery options include Lightning, Fire, and Ice.
Ultimately, each class brings something unique to the table, allowing players to tailor their experience based on their preferred style of play. Whether you prefer frontline combat, spellcasting, or ranged attacks, there’s a fitting option in Heroes of Hammerwatch 2.