So, you’ve found a class you like. You may have picked the tanky Foot Knight or the stealthy Shade, and you’re wondering how to get the most out of that class. This guide will show you some of the best weapons to equip for each class (sorted numerically, not ranked). This is by no means definitive– some weapons not on this list may shine on different builds. This list simply showcases some generally good weapons for each class.
19. Unchained
Vermintide 2 YouTuber chocoB shows off the destructive power of the Flaming Flail and the Fireball Staff.
Unchained’s best weapons tend to be the same as those of Sienna’s other classes. Her niche comes in through her passive stacking of melee power, which grants her greater stagger strength than her other classes. As such, her best weapons are those that can take advantage of this stagger strength.
Unchained’s best weapons are:
- Flaming Flail - In addition to good damage, the potential for stagger on this weapon is immense. With the correct build, the Flaming Flail can stagger Chaos Warriors, some of the most dangerous enemies in the game, even while they’re in the middle of their devastating overhead swing. As a bonus, it completely ignores enemies’ shields.
- Dagger - Despite its lackluster name, the Dagger is one of Sienna’s most powerful weapons. Its first heavy attack is a wide sweep that applies a burn and heavy stagger to anything it hits, with no limit to its cleave. With her boosted melee power and health-on-stagger perk, the Dagger is a dangerous weapon and an invaluable survivability tool for Unchained.
- Mace - While not an obvious choice, the Mace has a lot of potential in the hands of the Unchained. It deals high armor damage and has good cleave for hordes, and its damage and stagger both only get stronger in the hands of the Unchained.
18. Pyromancer
chocoB again showcasing the deadly Crowbill and overwhelming Firestorm Staff.
Pyromancer’s best weapons are those that play best off of her strongest traits: her boosted crit chance and increased ranged capability. Her “Deathly Dissipation” trait allows her to use her staff for free for 10 seconds after killing an elite or special enemy, and through perk selection and conditions, can boost her crit chance by a whopping 40%.
Pyromancer’s best weapons are:
- Fireball Staff - This weapon is capable of very high damage on fully charged projectiles. In conjunction with her perks, Pyromancer can unleash devastating fireballs onto the battlefield, destroying both hordes and elite enemies alike.
- Dagger - Again being a top pick, the Dagger grants the rather fragile Pyromancer some crucial mobility and good survivability with its high-cleave heavy attack. It’s a great pick for ranged-focused Pyromancers who want a melee weapon that doesn’t distract them from what they do best.
- Crowbill - While the Crowbill is a terrible weapon for managing hordes, only being able to hit a single enemy at a time, it is capable of dealing massive damage to armored elite enemies. When boosted by Pyromancer’s crit chance, the Crowbill can bring some of the most dangerous enemies down in just a few swings. When combined with her health-on-kill perk, killing high-health enemies can give Pyromancer lots of health back.
17. Battle Wizard
chocoB dominating a solo game with the Fire Sword and Coruscation Staff.
Battle Wizard is a very strong class for Sienna for several reasons. She has access to boosted damage on full-charged spells, boosted burn damage, and stacking damage reduction when burning enemies. Her best weapons are those that take the most advantage of these perks.
Battle Wizard’s best weapons are:
- Fire Sword - This weapon stands out for its first heavy attack, a claw swipe that deals low direct damage but applies heavy stagger and burn damage with infinite cleave. In combination with her “Famished Flames” perks which boosts burn damage by 150%, this is capable of racking up extreme damage over time on hordes of enemies, as well as healing her very quickly with her health-on-stagger perk. Combine this with “Soot Shield,” which can grant up to 30% damage reduction when burning enemies, and Battle Wizard becomes virtually invincible to hordes.
- Coruscation Staff - This is sort of like the staff version of Fire Sword. Its charged spell allows Battle Wizard to summon small fire tornadoes which deal high-stacking burn damage to any enemy that walks through it. In combination with “Famished Flames,” it’s capable of dealing immense damage to hordes of enemies. This also works with her “Soot Shield” perk.
- Bolt Staff - While some of her burn-oriented weapons are plenty powerful, the Bolt Staff is worth mentioning for its combo with “Volcanic Force” which boosts fully-charged spell damage by 40%. When taking the appropriate weapon properties and this perk, the Bolt Staff can kill a Chaos Warrior with a single fully-charged bolt to the head.
16. Warrior Priest of Sigmar
chocoB crushing a DLC map with the Holy Great Hammer and the Flail and Shield.
Warrior Priest is a melee powerhouse of a class, being very tanky both in health and in perks and talents. Wielding two melee weapons and no ranged weapon, he is capable of picking melee weapons that handle different situations, and as such, should take weapons that are specialized.
Warrior Priest of Sigmar’s best weapons are:
- Holy Great Hammer - The Reckoner Great Hammer is a beast of a weapon. It’s capable of both wide swings and crushing overheads and deals tremendous damage to armor. While its cleave is low, making it weak when fighting mixed hordes, its single-target damage is immense, making it great for killing high-health armored targets.
- Flail and Shield - Another weapon unique to Warrior Priest, this weapon is a fantastic horde clearer. It has one heavy attack in its chain which is nearly identical to the spinning sweep of the regular flail, but with the advantage of blocking while it is held. It even has a decent enough cleave to handle mixed hordes. Its downside is low single-target damage, but even so, it is a powerful weapon, especially when paired with another weapon which has high single-target damage. Hint hint.
- Paired Skull-Splitters - A pair of small hammers, these weapons are versatile and dangerous. They have decent armor piercing and single-target damage, as well as good horde clear with their wide swings on both normal and power attacks, in addition to good mobility on certain attacks. The Paired Skull-Splitters are a versatile weapon and great at dealing with hordes.
15. Zealot
chocoB faces off against hordes of enemies with the Axe and Falchion and the Brace of Pistols.
Zealot is a high-risk high-reward character who gains several buffs while his green health is low. Temporary health is not counted for these buffs, and so a Zealot who wants to still be survivable will want to gain as much temporary health as possible. The best Zealot weapons are those which synergize well with his perks and which afford him the most survivability.
Zealot’s best weapons are:
- Paired Skull-Splitters - Good for the same reasons as on Warrior Priest: great horde clear (and therefore temporary health gain), good single-target damage, and good mobility. The Paired Skull-Splitters are a great offensive weapon that also affords the user great amounts of survivability.
- Billhook - An unusual weapon, the Billhook is capable of doing many things. Although its optimal attack combos are complicated, it is capable of performing wide swings against hordes and deadly overheads and stabs versus single targets. Its special attack uses the hook itself to grab an opponent, causing a stagger on any non-boss enemy, making it capable of stun locking dangerous enemies like Chaos Warriors.
- Axe and Falchion - The Axe and Falchion are an effective pair of weapons, being both capable of dealing with hordes and armored enemies. Their wide swings are good for killing hordes and devastating twinned heavies deal high damage to armored single targets. Plus, they feel amazing to use.
14. Bounty Hunter
chocoB fights off hordes of rats and northlanders with the Rapier and the Griffon-Foot pistols.
Bounty Hunter is Victor Saltzpyre’s range-focused class, and as such specializes in secondary weapons. His melee weapons must be those that complement his long-range gameplay or grant him higher survivability, and his ranged weapons must be those that fit his perks.
Bounty Hunter’s best weapons are:
- Griffon-Foot - This unusual style of paired pistols is very powerful for a Bounty Hunter who wants to deliver devastating close-range blasts and mow down waves of enemies with his guns. Although they have low damage beyond medium range, these paired shotgun pistols can take down Stormvermin in a single shot at close range and can kill many smaller enemies at once in just one blast.
- Rapier - Saltzpyre’s iconic melee weapon proves its worth as a great weapon for Bounty Hunter. Its X-shaped attack pattern is great for triggering headshots and clearing hordes quickly, and its variable-charged heavy thrusts are lethal when dealing with armored enemies. It is a weapon that offers Bounty Hunter great survivability.
- Crossbow - This simple weapon is perfect for a Bounty Hunter who wants to focus on hunting specials and elites with his ranged attacks. The Crossbow deals high single-target damage and its bolts can pierce armor and multiple enemies. It is an easy-to-use weapon for Bounty Hunters who prefer their sniping to fast gunplay.
13. Witch Hunter Captain
chocoB takes on the skaven hordes with the classic Rapier and Brace of Pistols setup.
Witch Hunter Captain is a versatile class with proficiency in both melee and ranged weapons. His headshot perks apply to both weapon types. The best items for Witch Hunter Captain are those that can take full advantage of his available perks.
Witch Hunter Captain’s best weapons are:
- Rapier - The Rapier is an extremely versatile weapon and is iconic for the Witch Hunter Captain. Its diagonal swings tear through enemies like a blender and synergize well with his headshot damage perks. The Rapier is proficient in dealing with hordes and single armored targets alike.
- Brace of Pistols - Saltzpyre’s iconic dual flintlocks are a great sidearm for Witch Hunter Captain. Their high ammunition and quick speed make them great for dealing quick damage to swarms of elites or a boss, and synergize well with both his headshot perks and the bonus critical strikes from his skill “Animosity.”
- Billhook - The Billhook is great for the same reasons as it is with Zealot. It’s a weapon that deals with hordes and single armored targets well, and its special skill that stun locks deadly enemies can be invaluable for dealing with foes that could otherwise do lots of damage to your team.
12. Sister of the Thorn
chocoB defends the weave with the Sword and Dagger and the Deepwood Staff.
Sister of the Thorn is a deadly class that is capable of attacking quickly and applying lethal poisons and bleeds to enemies. Her best weapons are those that play to her strengths or provide significant utility to her class.
Sister of the Thorn’s best weapons are:
- Sword and Dagger - This weapon is just good on every Kerillian career. It does high damage versus armor and hordes on heavies, attacks very fast, and is mobile. It’s capable of applying Sister of the Thorn’s poisons and bleeds very effectively due to its speed, and is in general a very good weapon.
- Deepwood Staff - This is a highly powerful weapon due to its utility. Its charged spell lifts any non-boss enemy into the air for about 10 seconds, leaving them unable to attack or defend themselves. This can be extremely useful for taking a dangerous special or elite enemy out of the fight while the team focuses them down.
- Briar Javelin - Another favorite for all of Kerillian’s careers, the Briar Javelin is a weapon that requires no ammo pickups and hybrids as both a high-damage ranged weapon and a quick melee weapon. Through perk combinations, the Briar Javelin can be used to spread Sister of the Thorn’s poison with its deadly ranged crits.
11. Shade
chocoB cuts through hordes of enemies with the Dual Daggers and the Hagbane Shortbow.
Shade is one of the highest-damage careers in all of Vermintide 2. Shade is sneaky and uses her stealth to deal massive damage to unsuspecting enemies. The best weapons for Shade to use are those which are as quick and nimble as she is, and also capable of getting the best results from her damage boost.
Shade’s best weapons are:
- Dual Daggers - These are for what Shade does best: killing high-health targets extremely quickly. By entering stealth and taking advantage of the guaranteed backstab criticals, the Dual Daggers’ high-damage power attacks can instantly kill most elite and special enemies in the game, as well as deal extremely high damage to bosses, killing them in seconds.
- Dual Swords - These are similar to the dual daggers but more balanced. While the Daggers deal high single-target damage, they struggle against hordes. The Dual Swords have wide sweeping attacks which are more suited to horde killing, while still having powerful heavies for use with Shade’s backstabs.
- Briar Javelin - While the Javelin doesn’t really play to any of Shade’s strengths, being entirely a melee career, there really aren’t any other melee weapons you need for Shade other than the previous two listed, and the Javelin is just a very powerful ranged weapon, making it an easy pick.
10. Handmaiden
chocoB charges forth with the Spear and Shield and the Moonfire Bow.
Handmaiden is a powerful support career who also has high strengths in the form of boosting her attack speed. This attack speed boon can be beneficial to virtually any weapon, but there are some that take extra bonuses from this strength.
Handmaiden’s best weapons are:
- Sword and Dagger - Here’s a hint, in case you haven’t noticed yet: this weapon is extremely strong. Its praises have already been sung twice over, but to review: they have good attack speed, good horde damage, and good single-target damage. With Handmaiden’s attack speed buffs, it only becomes even stronger.
- Spear and Shield - This weapon is unique to Handmaiden, and she can use it to great effect. By picking the proper properties and traits, the Spear and Shield can interrupt any medium-sized elite with just a simple block-shove, and follow up with empowered attacks for a quick kill. Elites, especially Plague Monks and the Chaos Berserkers, are capable of killing players extremely quickly with their high-damage multi-hit combos. Having a weapon that can completely shut these enemies down is indescribably useful.
- Briar Javelin - Handmaiden, like Shade, doesn’t really have any boosts to ranged weapons. In this case, the Briar Javelin is a solid ranged weapon that doesn’t require much thought or effort put into its use. It’s just strong.
9. Waystalker
chocoB plays Waystalker with the Sword and Dagger and the Hagbane Shortbow.
Waystalker is a career that focuses heavily on ranged damage. Waystalker’s melee weapons should be solid, dependable weapons that function well on their own, and her ranged weapons should be able to take full advantage of her range of talents.
Waystalker’s best weapons are:
- Dual Swords - Same points again. Good damage, good speed, good single target and group damage. A solid, reliable melee weapon.
- Hagbane Shortbow - A weapon that seems unusually weak, especially for a bow, at first, the Hagbane is quite powerful under the right circumstances. Its charged arrows deal a low-damage explosion that staggers enemies and puts a stackable poison on everything it touches. Its drawback, its limited ammo pool, is not a problem when playing with Waystalker, who has natural bonus ammo and generates more with her career skill. With its stacking poison explosions, the Hagbane Shortbow is capable of melting hordes down quickly.
- Briar Javelin - Again, the Javelin is just a strong weapon in its own right. When combined with Waystalker’s boosted ammo capacity and doubled effective range, the Javelin is capable of extremely high burst damage.
8. Outcast Engineer
chocoB wields the iconic Cog Hammer and Masterwork Pistol.
Outcast Engineer is a class heavily focused on his own performance regardless of weapons with his unique Crank-Gun skill. However, he still has access to perks and talents that grant him advantages to both his melee and ranged weapons. On this note, weapons that suit Outcast Engineer well are those that are already strong on their own.
Outcast Engineer’s best weapons are:
- Dual Hammers - Identical to the Warrior Priest’s Paired Skull-Splitters, Bardin’s Dual Hammers are reliable and versatile. They have great horde clear, good single-target damage, and high survivability. They are a useful weapon for whenever the Outcast Engineer is surrounded by enemies and can’t use his ranged options.
- Cog Hammer - This weapon is a great pick for any Bardin class. Its lights deal high stagger to small enemies and have decent cleave, in addition to being rather swift. The Cog Hammer’s heavies use a blade on the back side of the hammer to deal very high armor damage, very frequently being capable of killing elite enemies in a single blow to the head. The Cog Hammer is great at dealing with light hordes and single targets but struggles against mixed hordes due to its lights being stopped by most elite enemies.
- Masterwork Pistol - This little steampunk revolver is one of Bardin’s most powerful ranged weapons. While its damage is identical to the slow and powerful handgun, it also fires much more quickly, and even has access to a close-range fan-the-hammer move capable of dishing out tons of damage in a burst. Its downsides are that its normal shots have to charge up before firing, making it ineffective at quickdraws, and it has enormous damage falloff. However, its damage and speed more than make up for any downsides it carries.
7. Slayer
chocoB hacks away with the Dual Axes and the Great Axe.
Slayer is a melee powerhouse, with berserker-style gameplay which involves jumping right into the fray and laying waste with fast and powerful melee strikes. Slayer has access to perks that increase attack speed and damage. Equipped with two melee weapons like Warrior Priest, Slayer is best when using two weapons that cover different areas.
Slayer’s best weapons are:
- Dual Axes - Exclusive to the Slayer class, these axes are capable of dishing out extremely high levels of damage to single targets and dealing with hordes effectively. Their light attacks are swift but have little cleave, while their heavies cleave through smaller enemies well. Their swiftness makes them very effective at dealing with spongy enemies, and their devastating heavies make them powerful elite-killing weapons.
- Great Hammer - A staple of nearly every Bardin class, the Great Hammer is a strong weapon capable of good horde damage, good elite damage, and very high survivability. Its sweeping heavy attacks have high cleave and stagger, making it a very good temporary-health-generating weapon when fighting hordes. Its overhead lights also deal high damage to armor, making it good at fighting off tougher elite enemies.
- Great Axe - The Great Axe is similar to the Great Hammer in attack patterns, but more damage-oriented than crowd control-oriented. Its sweeping heavies have decent cleave and high damage and stagger, and its light attacks are fast and devastating versus armor. When picking power perks for Slayer, the Great Axe is capable of staggering most elites in the game with its heavies, making it a good defensive option too.
6. Ironbreaker
chocoB takes on one of Vermintide 2's newest maps with the Axe and Shield and the Drakfire Pistols.
A powerful tank class, Ironbeaker’s main focus is on survivability and buffing up his team’s survivability and power. Ironbeaker’s best weapons are those that focus on his ability to crowd control the enemy and survive as long as possible, in addition to taking whatever utility possible.
Ironbeaker’s best weapons are:
- Hammer and Shield - This pair of weapons is an extremely powerful tool for crowd control and stagger. This weapon (and most other shield-type weapons) has a shield bash for its first heavy. While it doesn’t do extremely high damage, it has very high cleave and very high stagger, and by chaining this into itself or into a block shove, can farm temporary health extremely quickly. With enough power, the shove attack -> light attack combo can even stun lock Chaos Warriors.
- Axe and Shield - This weapon combo is similar to the Hammer and Shield, sharing the same powerful shield bash attack. Its difference comes in the form of its axe attacks, which are more focused on single-target armor-piercing damage instead of low-damage cleaves like with the Hammer and Shield. This weapon is more of a single-target alternative for those who prefer killing potential to crowd control potential, while still keeping some of that powerful crowd control.
- Trollhammer Torpedo - This powerful ranged weapon is essentially a free grenade. It does massive area damage per shot and is affected by any trinket traits that buff grenades. This grenade launcher one-shots Chaos Warriors and every special, while also dealing tremendous damage to bosses, though it is very slow to reload and only holds a few shots.
5. Ranger Veteran
chocoB fights through rat hordes with the Masterwork Pistol and the Hammer.
Ranger Veteran is a very powerful ranged class that focuses on high-damage single-target attacks. The best items to give a Ranger Veteran are melee weapons which give him strong defensive power and survivability, and ranged weapons which best capitalize on his damage amplification and ranged buffs.
Ranger Veteran’s best weapons are:
- Masterwork Pistol - This weapon is capable of tremendous damage output when in the hands of a Ranger Veteran. His “Disengage” skill amplifies ranged damage by 35% while active, and after tossing a bomb at a monster with the “Shrapnel” trait which boosts damage by 20% for 10 seconds, Ranger Veteran can kill a full-health monster in just two mag dumps- which is very fast with the Masterwork Pistol’s fan-the-hammer move.
- Dual Hammers - Making yet another appearance, these weapons are a very versatile offensive and defensive option. While Ranger Veteran is unable to boost their power or damage under most circumstances, they still perform well enough on their own to make for a good melee choice for the class.
- Crossbow - The Crossbow is a quick and high-damage ranged weapon that is best used at medium ranges to quickly dispatch important targets. With a well-placed headshot, the Crossbow can instantly kill most specials and elites in the game, and its generally fast speed makes it a good weapon when fighting in the fray. Despite not having the range, damage, or hitscan of the Handgun, the Crossbow is a great weapon for killing specials and elites alike.
4. Grail Knight
chocoB fights in the Lady's name with the Bretonnian Longsword and the Bretonnian Sword and Shield.
Grail Knight is a class like Slayer and Warrior Priest of Sigmar who only wields melee weapons. He has access to a variety of perks that amplify his melee power and grant his team a variety of buffs. The most useful weapons for a Grail Knight are those which fulfill different niches.
Grail Knight’s best weapons are:
- Bretonnian Sword - The Bretonnian Sword is a versatile and powerful melee weapon. It has sweeping attack combos for both its light and heavy attacks, as well as combos for single-target armor-piercing attacks with both lights and heavies. This sword is capable of taking on a variety of enemies with its defensive heavies and high damage and stagger on attacks.
- Executioner Sword - This high-power sword is more niche in its use, but still a very viable and powerful weapon. Its heavies are slow but have great mobility and extreme damage, which benefits heavily from the weapon’s headshot damage multiplier. When charged with stacks of Grail Knight’s “Virtue of the Ideal” perk, a headshot heavy can instantly kill a Chaos Warrior. The sword’s wide-sweeping lights can tear through hordes just as well.
- Mace and Sword - This paired weapon is great at clearing through hordes of enemies. Its light attacks are fast sweeping swings, and its heavies swing both weapons at once for high damage and stagger. “Virtue of the Ideal” gives this weapon the power it needs to instakill some of the tougher elites with headshots and to swing through dense hordes of enemies.
3. Foot Knight
chocoB bullies enemies with the Mace and Shield and the Repeater Handgun.
The Foot Knight is the king of crowd control. While not quite as tanky as Bardin’s Ironbreaker, the Foot Knight is capable of bullying some of the most resistant enemies in the game. The best items for this class are those that can take advantage of his stagger buffs.
Foot Knight’s best weapons are:
- Mace and Shield - Identical to Bardin’s Hammer and Shield, the Mace and Shield is a fantastic and easy-to-use crowd-control weapon. The shield bash heavy and shove are great generators of temporary health, and the push attack -> light attack combo stun locks even Chaos Warriors to death. While its horde clear capabilities are subpar (look to the Sword and Shield if you want a more balanced option), the Mace and Shield is a great weapon that takes advantage of Foot Knight’s kit perfectly.
- Halberd - A complicated weapon to use, the Halberd is a decent horde clear and high single-target weapon that benefits from Foot Knight’s toolkit well. His perk “Crowd Clearer” synergizes well with the Halberd’s optimal single-target combo, push attack -> light attack. The Halberd works well in Foot Knight’s hands.
- Mace and Sword - Already mentioned under Grail Knight, this weapon stands out for the same reason. It has great horde clear and decent single-target damage. “Crowd Control” also works well with this weapon since its push attack is an X-shaped double swing that does both high single-target and horde damage.
2. Huntsman
chocoB hunts enemies with the Tuskgor Spear and the Repeater Handgun.
Huntsman is a ranged-focused career for Kruber and is considered one of the best, but also hardest to play, classes in the game. On top of great ammo conservation and generation, he has lots of synergy with crits and can amplify his ranged damage significantly. Therefore, his best weapons are those that let him play at range by clearing out melee enemies easily and those that take advantage of his ranged skills.
Huntsman’s best weapons are:
- Longbow - Exclusive to Huntsman, the Longbow is a medium-speed, high-damage weapon. With perk bonuses to critical chance and damage and headshot damage, when combined with his ultimate, the Longbow is capable of dropping Chaos Warriors with a single charged headshot. It also does great damage versus specials and elites and can take down groups of dangerous enemies quickly.
- Repeater Handgun - This rifle is a quick-firing low-damage gun that synergizes well with Huntsman’s ammo generation. Huntsman is always refunded 1 shot into the magazine when landing a headshot, which by itself means that the Repeater never needs a reload as long as every hit is a headshot. Combining this with “Keep Them Coming” which causes every fourth hit to not use ammo, the Repeater Handgun can empty shot after shot into enemies in rapid succession.
- Tuskgor Spear - This spear is a versatile and high-damage weapon. It has powerful thrusts which deal high single-target damage as well as wide-sweeping attacks which deal great damage versus hordes. Although it is a tricky weapon to play, having unusual combos, mastery of this weapon yields great results.
1. Mercenary
chocoB executes enemies with the Executioner Sword and the Handgun.
The Mercenary is a reliable soldier, capable of buffing his attack speed and damage versus hordes alongside his high cleave. While this skill set is capable of benefiting basically every weapon available to him, some do stand taller than the rest. The Mercenary is at his strongest when equipped with weapons that see the most benefit from his natural skill set.
Mercenary’s best weapons are:
- Bretonnian Longsword - This weapon is just as strong on Mercenary as it is on Grail Knight. It is versatile enough to face many situations, has good damage, and works well versus hordes, only amplified further by Mercenary’s bonus attack speed, damage, and cleave. The Bretonnian Longsword is a weapon as adaptable as the Mercenary.
- Executioner’s Sword - This weapon is very strong again on Mercenary. Its horde clear is boosted by Mercenary’s skills, making it perform very well. Its ability to one-shot enemies may not be as high as on Grail Knight, but it is still a great weapon for both hordes and single-target damage.
- Mace and Sword - While it’s a bit boring to have the same weapon tier list as another class, they’re good weapons for a reason. The Mace and Sword especially, already being a good horde-killing weapon, becomes even better on Mercenary, the class made for killing hordes. There’s not a lot new to say: they are good at killing groups of enemies, and Mercenary’s bonuses to attack speed, damage, and cleave just make them even stronger.
