Chivalry 2, the long-awaited follow-up to 2012’s Chivalry, puts you right at the heart of medieval warfare as you hack and slash your way to victory. Described as a first-person shooter with swords instead of guns, post-launch reviews of Chivalry 2 have been quick to call it the game of the summer. Players have a variety of classes to choose from, each with three subclasses of their own.
So, which Chivalry 2 class is best for you? In this guide, we’ll go over every class in Chivalry 2, along with their strengths, weaknesses, and special moves.
Chivalry 2 classes overview
There are four main classes to choose from in Chivalry 2. They are the Knight, the Archer, the Vanguard, and the Footman. Each comes with a unique set of weapons to choose from, with a little crossover between classes. For example, both the Knight and the Vanguard can wield the Messer Greatsword, a weapon that’s quickly become a Chivalry 2 fan-favorite.
Those four classes break down into three subclasses, which we’ll go over in-depth later on. While the subclasses maintain the same base stats like total Health and Stamina, their special moves, passive traits, and class abilities change.
You can change classes at any time in-game and even edit your subclass loadouts. However, you can only change your cosmetics in the Armoury from the main menu. Unlock more cosmetics for your classes by leveling them up in-game and purchasing them for gold or Crowns, Chivalry 2‘s two in-game currencies. Players earn gold by leveling up their overall rank. Crowns, however, must be purchased with real money.
You’ll start with the first base subclasses for each primary class. To unlock more subclasses and weapons in Chivalry 2, you have to level up that specific class. The second subclass unlocks at Rank 4. The third unlocks at Rank 7. So, if you strictly play as the Knight, you’ll never unlock anything for the Archer or Vanguard.
You can level up everything in Chivalry 2, so don’t be confused by class rank, weapon rank, and global rank. When it comes to unlocking new weapons and subclasses, class rank is the only one that matters.
Each subclass comes with unique special moves and passive traits. For example, the Officer, the first subclass available for the Knight, comes with the Trumpet signature move, which will heal teammates in your line of sight when triggered. The Officer can also use Tackle to charge enemy players and knock them to the ground.
The Knight
The Knight will be the first class most players learn to play when they boot up Chivalry 2. They have the largest pool of health and can wield many weapons once their subclasses are unlocked. The Knight’s base stats are as follows:
- Health: 175
- Speed: 80
- Stamina: 80
While Knights are weighed down by their heavy armor, they can tank plenty of damage as they hack and slash their way through enemy lines. Just be careful when blocking incoming damage; the Knight’s stamina pool won’t last very long.
The Knight’s subclasses
The Officer is the Knight’s base subclass and, as mentioned, comes with the Trumpet signature move. The Officer is the most balanced class for players to learn with before they branch out to other characters. You can charge your Trumpet by absorbing damage. So, the more the Knight fights and defends himself, the more often he can heal his teammates.
To use the Trumpet properly, fall back behind your teammates. You’ll see tiny green plus signs appear over the heads of those who your Trumpet will heal. Blow the horn to heal yourself and the teammates in range. It’s best to use the Trumpet when multiple teammates are engaged in a choke point. Bringing them to full health will allow them to push through with ease.
The Guardian comes with a shield and a variety of weapons with wholly different stats. The Guardian can place a Banner, their signature ability, which acts as a healing beacon for them and their teammates. It’s best to place the Banner behind the battle so teammates can retreat to it and heal. Placing it in the middle of the fray will see it destroyed almost instantly by wayward strikes. As you learned in the tutorial, shields will auto-block most incoming arrows. We say most because there are a few instances where an accurate Archer can shoot you in the back or an exposed area.
The Crusader is the final subclass unlocked for the Knight, but it doesn’t make it the best. The Crusader comes with the heaviest and highest DPS weapons in the game. However, they are slow to swing and will leave an inaccurate player susceptible to damage. The Messer, and any other weapon with max damage, can one-shot enemies with a heavy attack.
Learning how to space yourself properly can make for a deadly Crusader. The Knight and the Vanguard share many of the same weapons and signature abilities. The Crusader can throw an Oil Pot as their signature move, which will set a small area on fire along with anyone that walks through it. This includes teammates, so make sure to throw the oil pot behind your enemy’s side of the line.
Best weapons for the Knight
Many weapons in Chivalry 2 are left to player preference. The weapon balancing is pristine and doesn’t lead to metas and must-use weapons like in Call of Duty: Warzone. That being said, let’s talk about a few that shine among the others.
- The Falchion, a Guardian weapon, makes for quick close-quarters combat. In a 1v1, the Falchion can outpace most other weapons because of its increased speed. It also puts out a fair amount of damage and makes for a dealy Guardian with a shield in the off-hand.
- The Messer is a beefy greatsword that pumps out the maximum amount of damage possible among two-handed weapons. It’s perfect for taking on multiple enemies at once with faster and stronger slashes.
- The Battle Axe, like the Messer, pumps out the most damage possible and is excellent against shielded enemies. The Battle Axe comes with faster combo times and powerful overhead attacks.
The Archer
No medieval battlefield would be complete without its bow-wielding Archers. Chivalry 2 does an incredible job of making Archers a valuable part of the battle without being overpowered. The server caps the number of Archers in play at any given time, so you’ll never face an entire team of arrow-happy players. The Archer’s base stats are:
- Health: 90
- Speed: 100
- Stamina: 50
The Archers are panes of glass compared to the other classes in Chivalry 2, and players should not be charging into battle with their Archers. Stay back and rain arrows down on your enemies while your fellow Knights and Vanguards clean up the kills. That, or aid your teammates by finishing off enemies. If you see a teammate deadlocked with an enemy insistent on defending themselves, punish them with arrows. Remember, arrows can’t be blocked unless they hit a shield.
Arrows do suffer from damage drop-off and slow travel speed. The Archer is best used behind the front line, leaving room to retreat if needed. Just be careful not to shoot your teammates. Team damage is very real in Chivalry 2.
The Archer’s subclasses
The Longbowman comes with, you guessed it, a longbow. They’re more mobile than their crossbow-wielding counterparts and will also shoot more arrows per minute. The Longbowman can place a flaming Brazier down once charged and use it to light their arrows on fire. Hitting an enemy with a flaming arrow will set them ablaze and deal damage over time on top of the base damage already suffered. Use the Brazier wisely though, don’t place it somewhere too far away from the fight.
The Cudgel is the last weapon unlocked for the Longbowman and the best secondary they can equip for a secondary. Though it doesn’t deal much damage, it’s quick enough to finish off an incoming enemy you’ve already hit with an arrow or two.
The Crossbowman comes with a crossbow that will deal more damage than the Longbow but suffers from immobility. You have to stand still to pull back another bolt, forcing you to take your eye off the enemy. While the Crossbowman can deploy a shield to keep themselves covered, they’ll have to be as accurate as possible. The Longbowman is more versatile and will land more shots than the Crossbowman. The Crossbowman, like the Knight’s Guardian, can place a Banner to heal themselves and nearby teammates.
The Skirmisher comes with a handful of javelins that work as throwables and melee weapons. However, they must be thrown like you’d thrown any other weapon in the game and cannot be aimed. For this reason, they aren’t as effective at ranged combat as the Longbow and Crossbow. Coupled with a small pool of health, the Skirmisher is of no use to anybody unless they have mastered the art of throwing weapons. They do have access to the Falchion and come with a small shield. However, their minuscule stamina pool will see that shield break almost instantly.
Best weapons for the Archer
If it wasn’t clear enough, the Longbow is the best Archer weapon. It’s more versatile than the crossbow, and you’ll be able to take more shots from a distance. The Longbow will keep Archer’s safe, as they don’t have to look at the ground to reload. They’ll be able to see an enemy charging at them and can pull out their secondary to defend themselves.
While on the subject, the most important part of playing the Archer is knowing when to draw your secondary weapon. Don’t let an enemy get too close. Once they’re within 10 to 15 meters, pull out your secondary and defend yourself until backup can arrive. However, in most cases, an Archer charged by a Knight isn’t going to last very long.
The Vanguard
While they aren’t as squishy as Archers, the Vanguard still has less health than the Knight and the Footman. However, they are the fastest class in the game and have the most stamina. In short, they can block more damage before their guard breaks, opening more opportunities for counters and ripostes.
- Health: 130
- Speed: 120
- Stamina: 100
To play the Vanguard best, you’ll have to master the blocking and combo mechanics of Chivalry 2. Yes, that same logic applies to every other class, but it’s essential for the Vanguard.
The Vanguard’s subclasses
The Devastator will give players one of the best weapons in the game, the Battle Axe, off the rip. However, the Devastator lacks a powerful sidearm as they only come with a tiny knife. The throwable mallets aren’t great either, and getting stuck with them out is a sure-fire way to get yourself killed. Weapon swapping in Chivalry 2 isn’t the smoothest mechanic in the game, especially on console. Like the Knight’s Crusader, the Devastator comes with an Oil Pot charged by killing enemies with sprint attacks. Of course, sprint attacks aren’t easy to land and will leave the Vanguard open to damage if they whiff.
The Raider is the best Vanguard subclass, hands down. They can carry two primary weapons and can heal their teammates with the Trumpet. The best way to play the Raider is to equip them with a ranged weapon like the Glaive and a mid-range weapon like the Messer or Dane Axe. Breaking one primary weapon after too many blocked attacks leaves the Raider with a fresh one to pull out. Remember, you can always pick weapons up, then short on killing power.
The Ambusher is all about flanking your enemies, which is easier said than done in Chivalry 2. The 40 and 64 player servers leave little opportunity to sneak up on multiple enemies. The Ambusher gets a 35% damage boost when hitting enemies from behind, but they’ll be ambushed themselves pretty quickly. You don’t want to be turning your back to the enemy in Chivalry 2, and the Ambusher will find themselves exposed too often with little ability to defend themselves. Their Quiver signature ability will restock their throwing knives, but that doesn’t really help the team, does it?
Best weapons for the Vanguard
The Vanguard is all about DPS. If the Ambusher can manage to get in and out from behind enemy lines, they can rack up a handful of kills. However, the best Vanguard is a Messer and Glaive-wielding DPS machine ready to charge forward and literally devastate their enemies. The Battle Axe still holds its own, while the Greatsword is the most balanced heavy weapon in the game once you accommodate for its slower windup time.
The Footman
The Footman will keep their enemies at bay, making easier targets for their Archers. The Footman’s subclasses divide into three different playstyles, all with the ability to heal their teammates like Medics in Battlefield games. Perhaps those medics will work the same in Battlefield 2042 coming in October 2021?
- Health: 150
- Speed: 100
- Stamina: 80
Well balanced with various weapons and traits, the Footman offers the best variety of playstyle among the four classes in Chivalry 2. They won’t block much incoming damage with their smaller stamina pool, but they ought to be staying out of range of incoming attacks when using long-reaching weapons.
The Footman’s subclasses
The Poleman is all about keeping your enemies out in front of you. They can use the farthest-reaching weapons in the game, like the Halberd and Spear. Every Footman subclass comes with Bandage Kits that can be thrown at teammates to heal them. The Footman can also throw the Bandage Kit on the ground to heal themselves if they must. You can charge the bandage kit by healing teammates and reviving downed players. Think of it this way, the more supportive you are, the more often you can support.
The Man at Arms is a close-quarters Footman that gains 10% movement speed when wielding a one-handed weapon. They do come with a small shield for added protection. The Man at Arms is a well-balanced class but lacks single-shot potential. A fully charged attack on an artificial intelligence-controlled enemy won’t kill them. However, the Man at Arms can bob and weave out of fights and, with proper spacing, can take out an opponent 1v1.
The Field Engineer is best used to deal objective damage, as they are granted 100% damage bonus damage to breakables. This includes barriers, cages, banners, and doors. Stick with the Sledgehammer for the most offensive output, but utilize the Field Engineer’s Spike Traps and Bear Traps to block off doorways and make chokepoints more deadly for incoming enemies. Don’t use the Field Engineer in direct combat. Instead, focus more on defending and destroying objectives.
Best weapons for the Footman
It boils down to how you’re playing the Footman when it comes to choosing their best weapons.
The Polehammer, while it doesn’t have as far a reach as the Halberd, is faster and deals more special damage. Special attacks are necessary to drain an opponent’s stamina and breakthrough shields. The Halberd will teach you how to play the range Footman, but the Polehammer will make you deadly.
The Falchion should be used by any subclass that can get their hands on it. The Man at Arms is one of those classes. However, players should just use the Knight’s Guardian for more health, protection, and healing capabilities.
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