The war against the Tyranid legions and the armies of Tzeentch doesn’t end once you roll credits on the Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 main campaign. Once Titus’ story has wrapped, it’s time to create your own Space Marine and hop into either Operations – the cooperative PvE experience of Space Marine 2 – or Eternal War – the competitive PvP setting where Loyalist troops face off against the Traitor Legions. Said Space Marines can be one of six classes and one of the hardest classes to master is the Bulwark.
Bulwark, like Assault, is a melee-focused class in Space Marine 2. Armed with a simple secondary and one of three deadly melee options, the Bulwark specialises in close-ranged combat and, specifically, parrying and blocking enemy blows with their massive Storm Shield. With a high-risk, high-reward playstyle, the Bulwark excels in both offensive and supportive capabilities with two main builds focused on reliably parrying and punishing opponents or blocking anything and everything the ga
Here’s everything you need to know about playing the Bulwark class in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.
The Salamander Bulwark
Bulwark Class Overview in Space Marine 2
The Bulwark is one of the melee-heavy classes in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Armed with only a secondary weapon and a melee weapon, the Bulwark’s main standout feature is the heavy shield they wear on their left arm. This shield can block ranged attacks or dampen the blows of combatants in close range, and the Bulwark can even strike out at their opponents with a Sheild Bash that can momentarily stun struck foes.
The Bulwark’s class ability is the Chapter Banner. When cast, the Bulwark will plant a radiant standard onto the battlefield, its glory driving back the foes of the Imperium while empowering and healing those loyal to it. Within a small radius of the Chapter Banner, all squad members will steadily restore their Armour.
Between the Chapter Banner and the Shield, the Bulwark is a multifaceted class that can excel at both offence and support. With specific perk combinations, you can deflect damage back at your foes, revive allies by simply planting your Banner beside them, create fields of lightning around you on successful parries, and much more. However, if you find yourself preferring the guns and ranged combat of Space Marine 2 or just don’t like the idea of having to parry or block attacks constantly, the Bulwark might not be the class for you.
The Bulwark, Shield of the Imperium
Bulwark Tips and Tricks
First and foremost, most of your engagements as the Bulwark will be fought at close range so don’t get too attached to your Armour or rely too much on your secondary (it’s there as a backup tool and not a workhorse weapon). Instead, most of your time should be spent hacking away at enemies with your melee weapon as you survey the surrounding environment. Playing an expert Bulwark means keeping one eye on your target and the other on potential incoming threats.
All of the enemies you’ll encounter in Space Marine 2 have a very obvious tell for when they’re about to leap at you for an attack and that’s something you’ll want to always keep an eye out for. The Tyranids are arguably the easiest faction to combat as the Bulwark as they have long wind-up animations but the Thousand Sons also have a wide variety of easy tells. At the end of the day, more parries mean more Gun-Strikes and more Gun-Strikes mean more Armour and more Armour means you can fight for longer and parry more.
Never Give In
Secondly, your shield can take quite the beating, especially from ranged attacks, and you should use that to your advantage to safely close in on pesky opponents. Sniper enemies such as the Guardsmen of the Thousand Sons or the acid spitters of the Tyranids are some of the most annoying in all of Space Marine 2 but, as the Bulwark, you can simply hold up your shield and stride towards them without fear. Heavier ranged attacks will make you stumble slightly but you’ll block most, if not all, damage from the attack.
Finally, as a melee fighter, the Bulwark is your front line of defence which means that they can make expert use of Melta Bombs (Shock Grenades are also preferred for a reason we’ll mention later). You can draw in massive swathes of opponents, blocking their damage with your shield, before planting the bomb and back-pedalling out of there. In the same vein, the Bulwark’s proximity to danger also means that they are a big liability when it comes to handling the optional Gene-Seed collectables so let a Tactical, Sniper, or Heavy player take care of those.
The Storm Shield
Best Bulwark Weapons
Without the option to wield a primary weapon, the Bulwark has only two options for ranged combat: the Bolt Pistol or the Plasma Pistol. Both have their uses and can make for great workhorse weapons at any difficulty level, so long as you remember their strengths and weaknesses.
The Bolt Pistol is your standard secondary weapon with decent all-round stats, good for finishing off weaker targets at a distance or for interrupting foes that are calling in reinforcements. However, remember that this is only your backup weapon and that all of your time spent as the Bulwark will be trying to get into close-range engagements: the Bolt Pistols fire and forget nature helps get you into that headspace.
On the Bolt Pistol’s Perk Tree, start by taking Perpetual Precision (which gives you less spread to make your weapon more accurate) and Elusive Precision before switching to the lower path with IronGrip after grabbing Gun Strike Reload. From there, pick up Divine Might and Extended Magazine before switching back to the top path with Head Hunter. The main perk you want for the Bulwark is Elite Hunter which increases your Bolt Pistol’s headshot damage by 50% for 5 seconds after you kill a Major-level or higher enemy with a Melee Weapon, something you’ll be doing very often with the Bulwark. This combination of perks will make your Bolt Pistol hit harder, be far more accurate, and synergise excellently with the main Bulwark playstyle.
Bolt Pistol Perk Tree
Then there’s the Plasma Pistol which, strictly speaking, is likely going to be the stronger option if you’re looking for a little more firepower. With the ability to charge your shots, the Plasma Pistol will be able to kill opponents in a much lower amount of time compared to the Bolt Pistol. The main downsides to the Plasma Pistol are that it can overheat if you aren’t paying attention to it and that the more mobile playstyle of most Bulwark builds can make wielding the Plasma Pistol feel cumbersome.
The Plasma Pistol’s perk tree is a lot simpler than the Bolt Pistol’s tree. The main downside to running the Plasma Pistol is how long it takes to charge and how that can interrupt the overall flow of the Bulwark. Well, if you take the top path on the Plasma Pistol – starting with Common Cooling and continuing down to Perpetual Velocity – it will not only charge faster but also generate less Heat (letting you shoot consecutively for longer) and have a much wider radius on the Charged Shots. Both of the perfect dodge perks on the Plasma Pistol aren’t as integral to the Bulwark so, from there, simply choose whichever path suits your preference.
Plasma Pistol Perk Tree
Meanwhile, when it comes to melee weapons, your choice of weapon doesn’t matter too much. Chainswords are, generally, better at dealing with Tyranids and large hordes thanks to their sweeping stomp combos. In contrast, the Power Sword and Power Fist are often stronger against meatier single targets.
However, the one thing you need to be aware of is your weapon’s Defence trait as that completely changes how you play this class. If you prefer parrying and want to go for a Bulwark build centred on that in Space Marine 2, make sure that your melee weapon has the Fencing trait. Weapons with Fencing have massively increased parry speed, allowing you to react much later and still get off most parries if you’re aware. In turn, this can let you dominate both Minor and Major enemies alike in close combat.
On the other hand, there is another option for those who prefer the tanky nature of the Bulwark. If you’d prefer to just soak up damage with your shield, ensure that your melee weapon has the Block trait. This will, unfortunately, remove your ability to parry attacks but, in return, you’ll be able to block a much more substantial amount of damage. Pair this with the Bulwark’s shield and his variety of perks focused on reflecting or mitigating damage and you have an excellent combination for simply enduring massive levels of punishment.
Block and Fencing Defence Traits
Bulwark Parry Build in Space Marine 2
There are two main paths your Bulwark can go down in Space Marine 2 and the first is a parry-focused build. This is a much riskier style of play where you will engage enemies on the frontlines in mostly melee combat, always vigilant for an opportunity to quickly parry or Gun-Strike an opponent to keep the fight going for as long as possible.
For your secondary weapon, we recommend going with the Bolt Pistol. While the overall damage compared to a fully charged Plasma Pistol is significantly less, the spray-and-pray nature of the Bolt Pistol pairs excellently with the parry Bulwark’s highly mobile style of fighting. As for your melee weapon, choose the tool of war which best suits your personal preferences while ensuring that it has the Fencing Defence trait for quick, reliable parries.
When it comes to perks, the most important Bulwark perks for a parry build include:
- Intimidating Aura (Core, Column 1)
- Shock and Awe (Core, Column 2)
- Defensive Advantage (Core, Column 3)
- Advanced Conditioning (Team)
- Rapid Regeneration (Gear, Column 1)
- Invigorating Icon (Gear, Column 2)
- Rejuvenating Effect (Gear, Column 3)
- Defensive Mastery (Signature)
Parry Bulwark Build
There are two key components to this parry-focused Bulwark build in Space Marine 2 with the first being the parry component. Intimidating Aura, Defensive Advantage, and Defensive Mastery all empower your parries, making them stronger and have more utility which, when paired with a Fencing weapon, make a lethal combo. Additionally, because we’ll be less focused on blocking, you’ll want to stay mobile at all times, which is why we recommend Rejuvenating Effect and Rapid Regeneration to augment your Chapter Banner as they let you heal and revive without needing to stand still.
Then we have the second half of the build focused on Shock. With Defensive Advantage (as well as Emergency Countermeasure at lower levels), you’ll be dropping Shock AoEs onto the field at a very regular cadence. Shock’s damage per second is relatively low but it quickly ramps up over a few seconds, obliterating any enemies who cannot escape in time. What’s even better is that with Shock and Awe active, you’ll deal increased damage to opponents within a Shock AoE, giving you clear and wide windows for punishment on both hordes and chunkier single targets.
Of the two main Bulwark builds in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, the parry build is certainly the higher risk, higher reward build. If you aren’t on top of your parries or don’t know when to roll out of an engagement, you’ll quickly lose all of your health and armour without many ways to get it back. If played poorly, the Bulwark is actually one of the game’s weaker classes. Played well, though, and your Bulwark will be a CQC master as well as an excellent support option who can efficiently clear large hordes for their allies while also healing and reviving them when things get too heavy.
Parry Away the Pain
Bulwark Block Build in Space Marine 2
The second Bulwark build you can choose to invest in is one focused on blocking rather than parrying. The Bulwark’s shield lets him block all manner of attacks, including the deadly ranged barrages which often take most Space Marine classes off guard. If you can master the shield, as well as its useful Shield Bash, you can become a tank to rival even the Heavy, wading into legions of Tyranids or the army of Tzeentch to draw aggro from your allies as you carve through any who dare oppose you.
Unlike the parry build, we recommend choosing the Plasma Pistol for your block Bulwark build. The slower, bulkier nature of the block Bulwark lets you more reliably charge it up for maximum damage, especially once you add on all of the additional damage reduction effects available to the class. Then, for your melee weapon, simply make sure that it has the Block Defence trait and you should be good to go.
As for your perks, make sure to have the following equipped if you want to run a block-based Bulwark build in Space Marine 2:
- Conviction (Core, Column 1) / Forward Momentum (Core, Column 1)
- Armour of Contempt (Core, Column 2)
- Steel Within (Core, Column 3)
- Unyielding Ceramite (Team)
- Focused Strength (Gear, Column 1)
- Merciless Resolve (Gear, Column 2)
- Glory’s Shield (Gear, Column 3)
- Armoured Advance (Signature)
Block Bulwark Build
Similar to the parry build, the block-based Bulwark has two primary components to it, as well. The first is the damage mitigation portion of the build. With a Block melee weapon, you can soak up massive amounts of damage with the Bulwark’s shield, letting you serve as the wall which holds back the horde for your allies. Meanwhile, Conviction and Steel Within are there to intrinsically decrease your damage taken at high-risk moments, ensuring that you’ll be able to stay alive and stay in the fight.
On the other hand, this Bulwark build also has a heavy focus on the Shield Bash. Forward Momentum, Focused Strength, and Merciless Resolve are all there to reward you for using your Shield Bash by either giving you extra melee damage, a significant amount of knockback, or the ability to stay standing against even the most debilitating blows. Shield Bash, as an attack, is far from the strongest tool in your arsenal but if you use it as a bloody punctuation mark at the start and end of engagements, you can use it to greatly increase your offensive and defensive effectiveness.
The block Bulwark build in Space Marine 2 is almost the exact opposite of the parry Bulwark build. Instead of constantly moving to find openings while keeping an eye on the crowd, the block Bulwark just marches into enemy lines to hold back the flood. With a wide array of damage mitigation buffs and the ability to turn enemy attacks back on themselves, the block Bulwark is perfect to pair with Snipers or other ranged classes.
Your Shield Protects All
That was the ultimate Bulwark class guide for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.
