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Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 keeps the co-op bug-hunt fantasy of the first Fireteam Elite, but the class roster has been rebuilt rather than copy-pasted. Cold Iron Studios is launching with five remade USCM roles - Marauder, Duelist, Machinist, Hunter, and Medic - plus Specialist, a customizable sixth class unlocked by progressing the others. Every class still builds around a primary weapon and a signature toolset, while the sequel adds customizable sidearms, bigger perk grids, and deeper weapon augments. Below is a class-by-class roundup based on the current developer showcases and preview coverage.

Marauder

Marauder is the heavy force-multiplier class evolved from the original Demolisher. It pairs a rifle with a heavy weapon and brings two distinct shoulder-mounted kits: the smaller Blast Cannon for close pressure, and larger Titan Rockets for big explosive answers. Blast Cannon modifiers include options like Blastwave and Thermal Cannon, while Titan Rockets can lean into effects such as Phosphorous Rocket or Rocket Mines. Returning heavies already shown for the class include the M12A1 Rocket Launcher and the OCAP-91 Volcan heavy flamethrower, alongside access to smartguns and other swarm-clearing tools from the wider Colonial Marine weapons arsenal.

Two signature perks define the class. Rampage stacks on kills and, at 25 stacks, spikes fire rate, reload speed, and movement speed for eight seconds at the cost of stability. Reactive Charges answer melee hits with a concussive knockback blast on a 30-second cooldown. Marauder is the marine you bring when corridors stop being rooms and start being hives.

Specialist

Specialist is the big new endgame class and the clearest sequel fantasy. Instead of locking you into one role, it lets you mix and match unlocked abilities, weapons, and perks from the other classes into a custom marine. You do not start there. Cold Iron has been clear that Specialist progression depends on leveling and unlocking kits through Duelist, Machinist, Marauder, Hunter, and Medic first. Once those pieces are unlocked, Specialist becomes the buildcrafting class for players who want a private loadout tailored to Horde mode, specific enemy packs, or a friend's squad composition.

The Specialist showcase also revealed how wider loadout systems are changing. Classes use primary weapons and signature weapons instead of the old secondary-weapon pattern, sidearms are now customizable, weapon stats are more detailed, guns support three decal slots, and fully upgraded weapons gain augments for ammo modifiers. The perk grid expands from 32 to 42 slots, which is a big reason Specialist can become so personal once the other classes are leveled. That flexibility also matters against the expanded enemy list covered in our Fireteam 2 Xenomorph types guide.

Duelist

The Duelist is the renamed and reworked successor to the original Gunner, built around sustained rifle combat, mobility, and explosive answers. Unlike the first Fireteam Elite, where each class was locked to a fixed primary and secondary pair, Duelist carries two primary weapon slots. That means two rifles into a mission, with mid-fight swaps between styles as enemy packs change. Cold Iron's showcase highlights the DB-48 Daittyo Heavy Rifle for stable sustained fire and the HNT-1 E1 Alamein Revolver Rifle for accurate, high-damage precision shots, alongside returning favorites like the M41A "Classic" Pulse Rifle.

Two passive perks reward staying aggressive. Stay on Target ramps Duelist damage the longer hits keep landing, while Mobility boosts movement speed, improves stun recovery, and extends the Stay on Target bonus so the damage streak lasts through longer fights. Signature tools lean into adaptable offense: Burst Configuration can be tuned toward Fragment Configuration for explosive area damage or Precision Configuration for sharper single-target output, and the class Shrapnel Grenade upgrades into either a cluster grenade or a remotely detonated charge for swarm control. If your squad needs a marine who can hard-focus big targets - from synthetics to heavier Xenomorph variants - without giving up rifle flexibility, Duelist is the starting point.

Machinist

Machinist replaces the old Technician with a more offensive tech kit. Where the first game leaned hard on deployables and pistol play, Fireteam Elite 2's Machinist brings energy weaponry, a modifiable Sentry Turret, and a flying Bodyguard drone into the main combat loop. Cold Iron's showcase highlights the SMB-94 Zephyr Plasma Emitter and the EDS-93 Plasma Discharger Mk.2 as signature plasma tools, while the Sentry Turret can lean into Rumble Turret or Gas Turret variants. The Bodyguard ability is a machine-gun drone sentry with its own kits: Shredder Bodyguard and Artillery Bodyguard.

Two unlockable perks reward playing around your hardware. Cross-Platform Synergy gives allies near your turret 10% damage resistance, and standing near it yourself regenerates the turret for 5 health every second. Scalable Machine Learning grants 10% reload speed and stability whenever your machines and item-based turrets score a kill, stacking up to five times. That makes Machinist the class for holding space: plant hardware in a corridor, melt denser packs with plasma, and cover flanks while the rest of the fireteam focuses priority targets. Against smarter Xenomorph variants, pathogen creatures, and synthetic crawlers, that deployable utility looks especially important.

Hunter

Hunter is the remade Lancer role, rebuilt around slowing prey and cashing in weak-point damage. Cold Iron's showcase puts the class on signature weapons like the BD-03 Djinn Personal Railgun and the Type 111 Directed Particle Emitter, with control kits such as Particle Pulse (Particle Beam / Cryo Pulse) and Stasis Bolt (Vlad Bolt / Arc Bolt). That makes Hunter the mid-fight controller: less boom than Marauder, less gadget zoning than Machinist, but strong once Drones and runners are frozen or pinned. Unlockable perks No Mercy and No Rest both lean into weak-point stopping power and damage.

Medic

The Medic is the updated Doc class, and it is still the squad's insurance policy. Cold Iron's showcase puts the class on Combat Stims (Adrenaline Surge / Overclock) and a returning Advanced Trauma Station that can upgrade into a Buffing Station or a Poison Station. Signature weapons lean close: the Armat X1 Fireball and Weyland-Yutani's Type 21 Tactical Shotgun Mk.2. Unlockable perks Bedside Manner and Surgeon's Hands speed up revives and stop knockback during pickups, so the class can keep a collapsing push alive against Exploders, Sirens, and Wardens instead of only healing after the line has already broken.

Conclusion

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is treating classes as real tactical identities again, not just cosmetic labels. Marauder brings the heavy boom, Specialist stitches the best unlocked pieces into one marine, Duelist handles flexible primary DPS, Machinist owns tech and plasma control, Hunter slows prey for weak-point kills, and Medic keeps the squad standing. Pair that roster with the sequel's expanded enemy list and four-player co-op, and squad composition looks like it will matter more than it ever did in the first Fireteam Elite. For the rest of what we know about the game, see our full Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 overview and the breakdown of new Fireteam 2 Xenomorph types. Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 launches on August 25, 2026.

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