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 that fit classic Colonial Marine weapon fantasy.
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
Duelist is the renamed and reworked successor to the original Gunner. Its signature wheelhouse is carrying two primary weapons instead of one primary plus a more limited secondary slot, making it the class built for swapping between loadouts mid-fight. Preview coverage describes Duelist as a single-target damage role, and Cold Iron has already shown experimental Duelist weapons alongside returning favorites like the M41A "Classic" Pulse Rifle with a working under-barrel grenade launcher. If your squad needs a marine who can hard-focus big targets - from synthetics to heavier Xenomorph variants - without giving up flexibility, Duelist is the starting point.
Machinist
Machinist replaces the old Technician fantasy with a more offensive tech kit. Where the first game leaned hard on deployables and pistol play, Fireteam Elite 2's Machinist brings plasma weapons, attack drones, and turrets into the main combat loop. That makes Machinist the class for holding space: put hardware into 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 continuous fire and burst damage rather than just a single signature lance trick. Hands-on previews put Hunter on SMGs and shotguns, using volume of fire to shred packs and cut down rushers before they reach the squad. That makes Hunter the mid-range shredder: less boom than Marauder, less gadget zoning than Machinist, but strong sustained DPS when Drones and runners commit to a rush. In a four-player squad, Hunter is the class that keeps the lane of fire alive while someone else reloads or repositions.
Medic
Medic is the updated Doc class, and it is still the squad's insurance policy. IGN's hands-on preview showed a deployable healing device that restores nearby Marines over time, plus an adrenaline burst that boosts team damage for a short window. That combination matters more in Fireteam Elite 2 because encounters are being sold as smarter and more punishing: Exploders force movement, Sirens call reinforcements, and Wardens break formations. Medic is not just a healer after the fact. It is the class that keeps a collapsing push alive long enough for the fireteam to reset - especially when officers and rookies both end up bleeding under the same pressure that once defined Colonial Marine units.
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 shreds with sustained fire, 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.
External Sources
- AvP Galaxy: First Look at the Specialist Class
- AvP Galaxy: Marauder Class Showcase
- IGN First: Specialist Class Overview
- Official Marauder Showcase
Tag Categories: Alien Lore | Colonial Marine Lore | News
