Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 - Best Bulwark Class Build (PvE & PvP) (2025)

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  • How To Play As The Bulwark Class

  • Every Available Bulwark Perk

  • The Best PvE Bulwark Build

  • The Best PvP Bulwark Build

One of the most potent classes in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is the Bulwark, a melee-focused warrior whose builds in PvE and PvP modes best reflect an aggressive style of combat. This class acts like a tank for a team, staying in the thick of fights. With the right Perks, you can customize your build to support allies as a defensive powerhouse ready to stop all threats.

As you choose a class in Space Marine 2, it's worth noting that the Bulwark archetype does not get a primary weapon. Instead, you get a shield that can be used to block damage and bash enemies from a short range. When combined with buffs for your melee weapon, you'll always be on the front lines of your team as the first line of defense against Tyranids or Chaos forces.

How To Play As The Bulwark Class

Rely On Parries And Build Armor For Your Team

Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 - Best Bulwark Class Build (PvE & PvP) (1)

Before you start creating a PvE or PvP build, you need to know how the Bulwark class plays. Again, you start with a shield without any primary weapon, but you still have a secondary and melee weapon you can use to fight. This shield stops everything except unblockable attacks, even projectiles when you sprint with the shield being held up in Space Marine 2.

The shield of the Bulwark can be activated in your off-hand using the parry button. It is worth noting that blocking with a shield counts as a parry, but does not trigger a gun strike when performed. In PvP, this shield cannot block enemy melee attacks.

Another core aspect of the Bulwark is the class' Chapter Banner ability, which is the signature perk you receive as part of the archetype. When you activate this skill, you restore armor to yourself and all squad members within a small radius, giving emergency protection to your allies. No matter what content you explore in Space Marine 2, Chapter Banner is extremely useful to keep your friends alive in a fight.

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Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 is an excellent adaptation for longtime fans, and the perfect entry point for anyone curious about the franchise.

You have very few ranged options as the Bulwark since you only have the Bolt Pistol and Plasma Pistol weapons as gun options. The Bolt Pistol has a higher rate of fire and is perfect for wiping out smaller enemies in PvE modes. However, the Plasma Pistol is usually the better option for its ability to stun targets with charged shots, making it great for PvP matches.

Alongside these tools, you can choose between the Chainsword, Power Fist, and Power Sword as your melee weapon in Space Marine 2. The Chainsword swings very fast, allowing you to build up damage fast against single targets. On the other hand, the Power Sword is much slower and deals heavy damage with its strikes, while the Power Fist does the same over a slightly wider range.

Every Available Bulwark Perk

Choose Passive Abilities From Different Categories

Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 - Best Bulwark Class Build (PvE & PvP) (3)

Builds for various classes in Space Marine 2 are created around Perks, which are unique for every archetype in the game. You will have to choose eight total Perks for your build to customize a collection of passive abilities that mesh with your chosen weapons. Four categories of Perks available for the Bulwark are called the Core, Team, Gear, and Signature Perks.

Core and Gear Perks are divided into three groups of three, where only one Perk can be selected from a column of skills tied to the Bulwark. There are only three total Team and Signature Perks respectively, so you only need to pick one from those groups. The available Perks for each category have these effects:

For the intent of these tables, you can only choose one Perk from each row from a specific category.

Perk Category

Perk #1

Perk #2

Perk #3

Core 1

Conviction - When your armor breaks, you take 25% less HP damage for five seconds.

Intimidating Aura - A perfectly timed parry deals AoE damage in a 5m radius.

Forward Momentum - After a shield bash, you deal 25% more melee damage for five seconds.

Core 2

Armor of Contempt - When you block a ranged attack, that damage is redirected to enemies within a 10m radius.

Shock and Awe - Enemies in a shock area take 25% more damage.

Scrambled Targeting - While surrounded by 5+ more enemies, take 20% less damage from ranged attacks.

Core 3

Defensive Advantage - A perfectly timed parry creates a shock area for five seconds, with a 30-second cooldown.

Steel Within - While under 50% HP, you take 25% less HP damage.

Armor Reinforcement - Non-finisher gun strikes also restore armor.

Team

Unyielding Ceramite - Armor recharge delay is reduced by five seconds for all squad members.

Advanced Conditioning - Contested HP fades 50% slower for all squad members.

Effective Formation - All squad members take 20% less HP damage from Terminus-level enemies.

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Perk Category

Perk #1

Perk #2

Perk #3

Gear 1

Concussive Force - Shield Bash deals more damage.

Rapid Regeneration - Your banner restores armor 300% faster, but its duration is reduced to five seconds.

Focused Strength - Shield Bash knocks back enemies and makes them lose control for a longer duration.

Gear 2

Purity of Purpose - Banner deals damage over time to nearby enemies.

Merciless Resolve - After a Shield Bash, you cannot be staggered for five seconds.

Invigorating Icon - When the banner is activated, all squad members regain maximum contested HP.

Gear 3

Rejuvenating Effect - When the banner is activated, it revives incapacitated squad members and grants all lost HP as contested HP.

Glory's Shield - Squad members near your banner receive 10% less damage.

Inspiration - Squad members near your banner deal 10% more damage.

Signature

Emergency Countermeasure - When your armor breaks, spawn a Shock Grenade at your location. 120-second cooldown.

Defensive Mastery - Perfectly-timed parries incapacitate Majors and Extremis-level enemies. 120-second cooldown.

Armored Advance - While you have armor, you cannot be staggered or knocked down.

Some of the strongest Perks here are Invigorating Icon, Armored Advance, and Rejuvenating Effect. Despite the Bulwark's aggressive melee-focused nature in combat, you would be surprised to see just how many support options the class has. The combination of these Perks forms strong builds, but some are better designed for PvE, while others are better for the changed PvP from the first Space Marine game.

The Best PvE Bulwark Build

Focus On Keeping Allies Alive

The best Bulwark PvE build should focus on keeping allies alive through defensive Perks that enforce the Chapter Banner ability. Armor granted from the Bulwark almost acts as temporary health, which can save your squad members at the last minute. Alongside strong weapons, the best PvE build for the Bulwark may look something like this:

Equipment

Core Perks

Team Perk

Gear Perks

Signature Perk

  • Plasma Pistol
  • Power Sword
  • Intimidating Aura
  • Shock and Awe
  • Defensive Advantage
  • Advanced Conditioning
  • Rapid Regeneration
  • Invigorating Icon
  • Rejuvenating Effect
  • Emergency Countermeasure

This build, as you can see somewhat in the above video by YouTube creator Fervor Gaming, focuses on creating AoE shock damage to crowd control large enemy groups. While doing this with the right perfect parry timing, you can always dictate the flow of combat in a way to help your allies. You should always be trying to build the armor of your squad to keep them alive for as long as possible.

The Best PvP Bulwark Build

Never Fall Against Your Enemies

Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 - Best Bulwark Class Build (PvE & PvP) (5)

Even though you still want to stay defensive, a good Bulwark PvP build should revolve around dealing huge damage and becoming an unkillable war machine. The survivability of you and your squad members should be your main focus with this build in Space Marine 2. This way, you'll be able to outlast enemy teams during a match and rack up twice as many kills as it takes for them to defeat you once.

Equipment

Core Perks

Team Perk

Gear Perks

Signature Perk

  • Plasma Pistol
  • Power Fist
  • Forward Momentum
  • Armor of Contempt
  • Steel Within
  • Unyielding Ceramite
  • Focused Strength
  • Invigorating Icon
  • Rejuvenating Effect
  • Armored Advance

When on the offensive with this build, you need to wait for the perfect moment to Shield Bash enemies and stagger them with the Focused Strength Perk. From there, you can unleash Power Fist strikes to shred through enemy health bars before they can realize what happened. This build does take some time to master, as you still have to rely on your positioning and blocking damage to find the right opportunities to strike.

Feel free to experiment with different Perks for both PvE and PvP, as some builds may be better depending on specific Operations or matches. No matter what build you make for the Bulwark class in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, your core strategy for the archetype should remain the same as you become your team's tank.

Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 - Best Bulwark Class Build (PvE & PvP) (6)
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II

Third-Person Shooter

Hack and Slash

Franchise
Warhammer 40K
Platform(s)
PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released
September 9, 2024

Developer(s)
Saber Interactive

Publisher(s)
Focus Entertainment

Multiplayer
Online Co-Op , Online Multiplayer

ESRB
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence
Warhammer 40k Space Marine 2 - Best Bulwark Class Build (PvE & PvP) (2025)
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