Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 Classes Explained
Meet all six Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 classes, learn their squad roles, and understand how the five base classes lead into Specialist. Verified.
The launch roster has five base classes—Marauder, Duelist, Machinist, Hunter and Medic—plus Specialist, a customizable endgame class unlocked through progression in the others.
How the class system works
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 starts with five base classes: Marauder, Duelist, Machinist, Hunter and Medic. They are not simple name changes from the first game. The supplied class material describes each as a rebuilt successor to an earlier role, with a clearer job in a four-Marine fireteam.
Specialist is the sixth path, but it is not another fixed role to pick at the start. It unlocks through progression in the base classes and lets a player combine unlocked abilities, weapons and perks. That makes Specialist an endgame buildcrafting option, while the five base classes remain the clearest way to learn the game’s individual jobs.
Choose a class by the job your fireteam needs
Marauder is the heavy force-multiplier: the material consistently frames it around heavy firepower and controlling crowds. Duelist is the reworked Gunner and stands apart because it is described as using two primary weapons. If your group needs a player focused on clearing pressure or a more direct all-round shooting role, those two identities are the relevant starting point—not a promise that either one is universally strongest.
Machinist is the offensive technology role, with a modifiable Sentry Turret and a Bodyguard drone named in the public information. Hunter is the weak-point specialist: its kit is described around slowing a target and turning that window into focused damage. Medic is the team’s support insurance. It is the class to consider when keeping teammates alive and stable is more important to the squad than adding another damage-focused role.
What changes when you build a loadout
Class is only one layer of the choice. The public information supports a loadout with a primary weapon, an infinite-ammo sidearm and a Signature weapon, plus attachments and traits. It also reports fire, cryo, electric and piercing ammunition as a way to match damage to enemy weaknesses. The ammunition system is useful context, but it is not presented here as a complete official stat table.
This is why a class page should not pretend that one weapon list is a finished build for every player. A Hunter, for example, can be understood from its control-and-weak-point role before exact perk values are known. A Duelist’s two-primary identity changes how it approaches weapon choice, but the public information does not verify every optimal pairing, damage breakpoint or unlock requirement. Use the role first, then verify the current in-game values before committing resources.
The confirmed tools that define each role
The class material gives each role a concrete identity beyond its label. Marauder is shown with Blast Cannon and Titan Rockets, while its named heavy options include the M12A1 Rocket Launcher and OCAP-91 Volcan heavy flamethrower. Duelist’s showcase names the DB-48 Daittyo Heavy Rifle, HNT-1 E1 Alamein Revolver Rifle and M41A “Classic” Pulse Rifle, then pairs its flexible rifle role with Burst Configuration and Shrapnel Grenade variants.
Machinist’s named plasma tools are the SMB-94 Zephyr Plasma Emitter and EDS-93 Plasma Discharger Mk.2, alongside Sentry Turret and Bodyguard variants. Hunter is shown with the BD-03 Djinn Personal Railgun and Type 111 Directed Particle Emitter, plus Particle Pulse and Stasis Bolt variants. Medic’s named close-range tools include the Armat X1 Fireball and Type 21 Tactical Shotgun Mk.2, while its kit material names Combat Stims and Advanced Trauma Station. These names describe available class equipment; they do not prove a universal ranking between weapons.
A practical starting point for a new four-Marine squad
Start by giving the squad distinct jobs instead of trying to copy a tier-list letter. A team that expects sustained swarm pressure can look for the Marauder’s crowd-control identity; a group that needs a steadier safety net can reserve a role for Medic; and a squad that wants targeted pressure can use Hunter’s control window. Machinist and Duelist fill different offensive needs, so their value depends on the rest of the fireteam rather than a universal ranking.
Treat that as a role-selection method, not a prescribed “best team.” The public information do not establish a universal composition, a mission-by-mission meta, or exact optimal perk grids. A good guide should help a player make the next decision with the evidence available, then clearly stop where the evidence stops.
Named perks are examples, not a complete build sheet
The supplied class roundup gives useful examples of how role-specific perks reinforce an identity. Marauder’s Rampage is described as stacking from kills and, at 25 stacks, improving fire rate, reload speed and movement for eight seconds at the cost of stability; Reactive Charges answers a melee hit with a concussive knockback blast on a 30-second cooldown. Machinist’s Cross-Platform Synergy is described as protecting allies near the turret, while Scalable Machine Learning rewards machine and item-turret kills with stacking reload speed and stability. These are source-reported behaviors, not a recommendation to treat every number as permanent after patches.
Medic’s Bedside Manner and Surgeon’s Hands are described as helping revives and pickups, while Hunter’s No Mercy and No Rest are tied to weak-point stopping power and damage. Those examples make the role descriptions more concrete: the support class has tools for recovering a collapsing push, and the weak-point class has perks aimed at turning control into damage. They still do not tell us every modifier, every placement rule in the perk grid, or the single best combination for a given mission. That is where the correct editorial answer is not published rather than an invented meta.
What is still not safe to claim
One launch-day video transcript reports a 42-slot perk grid, compared with 32 slots in the first game. Because the figure comes from a single transcript rather than a consistently published official specification, it is a useful version signal rather than a permanent rule. The public information also does not consistently confirm exact perk numbers, complete unlock requirements, damage breakpoints or a best build for each class.
That limitation is deliberate in this guide. It is better to give the confirmed class roles, named tools and decision logic than to fill the page with invented numbers. When an official build sheet, a patch note or a clearly attributable in-game source verifies those details, they can be added to the relevant class section without rewriting the page around speculation.
What is confirmed
Marauder is the heavy force-multiplier evolved from the original Demolisher role.
Duelist replaces Gunner; Machinist replaces Technician; Hunter rebuilds Lancer; and Medic updates Doc.
Specialist is not a sixth fixed job: it can mix abilities, weapons and perks from the five base classes after they have been progressed.
The supplied class roundup identifies Marauder as the heavy force multiplier, Duelist as the two-primary-weapon successor to Gunner, Machinist as an offensive technology role with a modifiable Sentry Turret and Bodyguard drone, Hunter as the weak-point specialist, and Medic as the squad’s support insurance. These are role descriptions, not a promise that every class performs equally in every mission or difficulty.
The sequel’s loadout context matters when choosing a class: public information supports a primary weapon, an infinite-ammo sidearm, and a signature weapon slot, plus weapon attachments and traits. Four elemental ammunition types—fire, cryo, electric and piercing—are reported as part of matching damage to enemy weaknesses; that system is supported at medium confidence rather than as a published class-stat table.
One launch-day video transcript reports a larger 42-slot perk grid compared with 32 in the first game. Because this is a single available information rather than a consistently published official specification, treat the number as a useful version signal, not a permanent rule.
Class choice determines squad role and toolset; exact balance can change with patches.
Core data
| Class | Confirmed role |
|---|---|
| Marauder | Heavy force multiplier built around rockets, heavy weapons and crowd control |
| Duelist | Reworked Gunner with two primary weapon slots and sustained rifle combat |
| Machinist | Offensive tech role using plasma weapons, a modifiable Sentry Turret and Bodyguard drone |
| Hunter | Weak-point specialist that slows prey and converts control into focused damage |
| Medic | Team support built around healing, revives and stabilizing a collapsing push |
| Specialist | Unlockable sixth path that combines abilities, weapons and perks from the other classes |
Step-by-step
- 1
Learn the five base roles before Specialist
Start by reading Marauder, Duelist, Machinist, Hunter and Medic. Each one has a clear job in a four-Marine fireteam, and the class material names their confirmed tools: Marauder with Blast Cannon and Titan Rockets, Duelist with two primary slots, Machinist with Sentry Turret and Bodyguard, Hunter with Particle Pulse and Stasis Bolt, and Medic with Combat Stims and Trauma Station.
- 2
Match the class to the mission problem
Decide what the fireteam needs most. Marauder and Machinist answer dense waves and held space, Duelist covers flexible rifle damage, Hunter answers a dangerous priority target, and Medic keeps a collapsing push alive. The tier-list overlap supports choosing by role instead of copying one ranking letter.
- 3
Use Specialist only after unlocking class tools
Specialist is not a starting class. It combines unlocked abilities, weapons and perks across the other classes, so the useful path is to level base roles first. Once those pieces exist, Specialist becomes the endgame path for a custom Marine rather than a sixth fixed kit.
Frequently asked questions
Which class is the best starting choice in Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2?
Duelist is the flexible all-round pick described as easiest to learn, while Marauder is the strongest answer to dense swarms and Medic is the dependable survival role. There is no single official best class; choose the answer your next mission needs.
Do the class roles change in a four-Marine squad?
The extra fourth slot lets a squad cover one more job, but the confirmed roles do not disappear. A balanced group still benefits from Marauder for waves, Hunter for a priority target, Machinist for held space and Medic for recovery.
Do exact class values or visible screenshot UI exist for every class?
The material names the confirmed tools, weapons and perks, but it does not publish a full version-1.0 stat table or a verified UI capture for every class. Use the names to identify equipment, then verify current values in-game before committing resources.
Limits and current status
Exact perk values and optimized builds were not consistently confirmed in the public information, so this overview does not invent them.
Sources used for this page
Sources were collected and checked on August 26, 2026. Store, balance and service information can change.