In this guide I am going to introduce you to all classes, or more specifically, subclasses in Chivalry 2. We’ll go through their strengths and weaknesses and hopefully help you understand what each of them is good for. There are 4 main classes in Chivalry 2 and they are Archer, Vanguard, Footman & Knight.
Furthermore, these 4 main classes are then divided into 3 additional subclasses that help you specialize your playstyle. All main classes have their own stats such as health, speed and stamina, and subclasses follow this template (stats do not change).
However, subclasses often have access to different primary and secondary weapons, gadgets and utilities etc. Most of the classes are very well balanced and there’s maybe only one or two that I would recommend you skip playing until they get reworked in the future.
The class that you pick will depend on what you need it to do, or simply what you prefer to play the most.
Typically, people pick different classes to get access to different weapons but it’s also a good idea to consider the overall package of your setup and maybe sometimes utilize a different class that might be better suited for a certain role, depending on what stage of the map you’re on.
Stats (Health, Speed & Stamina)
It’s important to understand how all these classes function in terms of their overall stats and capabilities. Thankfully, these all stay the same between the subclasses so we can easily overview them as following.
Archers have 90 health, 100 speed and 50 stamina.
They are very squishy and susceptible to damage. They are faster than Knights but not by much and they can’t outrun other classes such as Vanguard and Footman.
To play this class effectively, it’s important to have good situational awareness and positioning. If someone closes the distance, switch to your secondary weapon and hope you’re a better player than your opponent.
Low stamina means you can’t block or dodge much so be careful and try to kill your enemy fast. Use the counter mechanic as much as you can to help manage stamina in that duel.
Vanguards have 130 health, 120 speed and 100 stamina.
These guys are not very tanky either but they have more speed and stamina, so they are agile and can move better than anyone else.
As a vanguard, you are mostly susceptible to other ‘cutting’ weapons such as swords (of any kind) because of your lower health.
These weapons might not have any damage modifiers (extra damage) but since your health is already lower, they are more dangerous anyway.
Footmen have 150 health, 100 speed and 80 stamina.
These guys can take a bit more punishment at the cost of speed and stamina. They also generally use long reach weapons, so it’s more of a crowd control type of setup that you’ll be playing here.
It’s also important to note that anything that resembles an axe (let’s say a halberd) deals some extra damage to them so their extra health does get taken away against certain opponents. You will see this in the weapon’s overview tab, it will say if it deals extra damage to a certain class.
Knights have 175 health, 80 speed and 80 stamina.
These guys are basically tanks, but don’t let that deceive you, they can also deal tremendous amounts of damage and have access to some really good setups. They do have lowered speed and stamina, so running away and dodging a lot is really not an option here.
However, they also have access to the strongest shield(s) in the game, although you can always pick up those on other classes as well, if you simply find them on the battlefield.
Also, the extra health knights have can and will easily be taken away via blunt weapons such as the maul, so be careful any time you cross paths with someone wielding any of those. It means they will kill you easier than if they fought another class with it. Except archers I guess. Even strong winds kill those.
This doesn’t mean that the extra health is completely useless, you’ll still be more durable against many other weapons players use, like for example swords.
Now that we know the general stats and archetypes, let’s move onto the subclasses in more detail.
Longbowman
This is a classic archer with a bow as his primary and a small selection of secondary ones. You also have a trap that you can deploy, but most of the time it will be useless.
Make sure you move a lot, watch out for other archers (those duels can be fun) and try not to get too close to enemies, because remember, you have low stamina and not so good secondary weapons.
Your special ability is the brazier, which is exactly what the name implies, a deployable brazier that allows you to put your arrows on fire to deal even more damage. This can also help other archers in the vicinity and you can use their braziers as well.
Headshots charge this item even faster.
For your secondary, I would recommend the short sword, because it’s one of the best secondary weapons in the game. Even as a primary on some other classes.
Crossbowman
This subclass is pretty much identical to the longbowman but this time your primary weapon is the crossbow. You can also run around zoomed in while aiming, which is a handy feature. The main drawback is that firing each shot requires a reload (compared to the bow which is faster), but you also do a lot more damage and headshots from a large distance will kill almost anyone.
Same gameplay style, just a personal preference as to which weapon you prefer. I would say if your aim is really good, go with this subclass. Otherwise, keep practicing with the bow.
Crossbowman also has the banner as its special ability, which is very useful (it heals you and allies). Deploy it in the right location and you’ll help your team a lot.
While longbowman has a trap as its deployable, here you will get a special shield that you can put down on the ground and hide behind. This can be very helpful for creating cover when fighting other ranged players and there’s nothing else to hide behind.
Skirmisher
This is an interesting subclass because it kind of mixes ranged and melee. It’s a hybrid subclass. However, it doesn’t excel at anything really. Your primary weapon can be either a javelin, which you can use to fight with or throw at your enemies, or throwing axes. If you go with the axes, you’ll get an extra one.
Make sure you visit the ammo crates often to resupply. These throwables do high damage and are very fun to play, but overall the subclass is not very strong because your melee capabilities are really bad.
You still suffer from low stamina and health, plus the shield that you carry is the smallest one and it breaks easily. But it’s good for throwing as well. 🙂
Play this class if you really enjoy the idea of a mixed arsenal, but don’t expect anything much from it.
The special ability that you get here is the quiver which will replenish all ammo. You also get a deployable bear trap which can be very useful in certain situations. You can also perform a leaping strike while sprinting and your tertiary weapon is the light shield as I’ve mentioned.
It’s one of the more interesting classes to play.
Devastator
This is the first Vanguard subclass and it comes with some really good weapons such as the greatsword, maul, executioners axe etc. The main problem with this subclass is that you only have one secondary weapon and it’s kind of bad.
However, this shouldn’t be that much of a problem because you’ll be moving and doing a lot of damage to quickly dispatch enemies to their maker. I often play this class because of the maul, which is a phenomenal weapon in big battles.
Your special is the oil pot, which can be useful in chokepoints, and sprint attack kills charge this faster. Tertiary weapon is the mallet, which is not that bad really, and you can also throw it (you get two).
Play devastator if you want to equip the biggest weapons without any movement speed penalties.
Raider
This subclass is similar to the devastator, except that you get access to some different weapons and you have no small secondary weapon because it’s the only subclass that can equip two primary weapons.
This allows you to specialize against different types of enemies. For example, you can use a blunt weapon as your primary and a cutting one as your secondary. Maybe a messer and a two handed hammer etc.
Or, if you go with the same weapon for both slots, you can have an identical backup if you get disarmed.
You do have one small tertiary weapon, so technically you ‘have’ a secondary, but there’s really no choice there.
Raiders also have the trumpet, which is a very useful ability that heals you and allies around you. I believe it charges faster than the banner, but I could be wrong.
Ambusher
The last Vanguard subclass which is kind of opposite of the raider, is the ambusher. Here you get no primary weapons, you play with secondary ones exclusively, but you also get throwing knives and they’re really good actually. And you get a lot of them too.
This subclass plays fast and can be very tricky to deal with in the hands of a competent player.
If you want to play something that’s kind of hit and run style, this is for you. You also have the quiver to restock ammo, and special attack kills charge it faster.
So go behind someone and try to kill them with a special attack any chance you can.
Poleman
The first footman subclass on our list is the poleman, which is a very good crowd control and medic class. Healing and reviving other players will charge your special ability, which is the bandage. You can have up to two of those, so throw it either on the ground to heal yourself, or at an ally.
Of course, you also have one extra ‘standard’ bandage that all players carry with themselves, so you should be able to last longer than most others.
In addition, you have access to some really good weapons, including the longest one in the game, the mighty halberd. You can also sprint charge and even tackle enemies to the ground.
It’s one of the more fun subclasses in my opinion, and very useful in certain areas of the maps where players are often grouped up together. Sweeping many enemies at once with the halberd is great.
Poleman also has a 25% extra damage bonus to sprint attacks and a deployable trap (like the archer).
Man at Arms
Don’t let the name deceive you, all footman subclasses are also medics, and this one is a really interesting one too. These guys are agile and fast. They have a 10% movement speed bonus with one handed weapons, and a medium shield by default.
For your primary and secondary weapon you can choose two different types of one handed weapons to kind of specialize like the raiders do. Or just pick whatever you enjoy the most, they’re all decent weapons.
Everything else is pretty much the same, you get the bandages and sprint charge, but this subclass also has a 50% reduced dash (dodge) cooldown, so it’s easier to get out of tricky situations.
Good players will absolutely be a pain in the ass to kill when playing this subclass, even when outnumbered.
Just a couple of hours ago before writing this guide, I witnessed a great player keep a bunch of enemies engaged even while completely surrounded, by simply moving and dodging like a real pro. He even killed me while doing so.
I completely underestimated him and thought I’d make quick work of him. But thanks to him, I can now tell you just how good this subclass can be in the hands of a competent player.
Thank you, you unsung hero you! 🙂
Field Engineer
This subclass is arguably the weakest one, but if reworked in the future, could be one of the most interesting to play.
These guys, in addition to being medics are also loaded on gadgets and they do 100% extra damage to breakables, which can be useful in certain stages of certain maps. Like when you’re destroying enemy gates, catapults etc.
However, the gadgets that they carry are also very good because if there’s multiple players playing this subclass in end stages of (let’s say) the siege of Rudhelm, the heir can be protected by a bunch of beefy shields and traps and pretty much guaranteed to survive the onslaught.
I’ve seen it done once and it was really impressive. It was like navigating a weird maze of shields and traps while fighting in a chaotic battle all at the same time.
The weakness of this subclass is that you have no secondary weapon (none whatsoever), and you only have 3 primary ones to choose from. These are the sledgehammer, pickaxe and the shovel. All these are kind of decent in my opinion, they’re certainly not as ‘bad’ as some would have you believe.
The secondary slots are traps. You get a regular one like the archers have and a bear trap as an alternative choice. And you get a tertiary slot where you have a deployable barricade which is pretty good.
I guess this subclass is kind of terrible most of the time, but when the time comes, it can be invaluable.
Officer
Our first knight subclass, the officer is a pretty good one. It mixes ranged and melee and has the trumpet as its special. The problem here is that your dash (dodge) cooldown is actually increased by 50%, so don’t expect to do much of that.
But generally speaking, you have some good weapons for your primary and secondary slots, and also a good supply of throwing knives.
I like this subclass even though I barely play it (only because I play the last one the most).
Guardian
These guys are the typical tanks you’d expect to see on the frontlines. Their tertiary is the heavy shield, which is terrible when thrown, but the most durable when it comes to absorbing damage. They also have the 50% increased dash cooldown, but it doesn’t really matter because they’re hands down the beefiest setup in the game.
You get high health with a heavy shield and all that’s left now is to practice your counters and try not to get surrounded. If you can do that, you’ll last a long time on the battlefield. Unless a good player with a maul pays you a visit. 🙂
Their special ability is the banner, which is excellent if deployed tactically.
Crusader
The last subclass on the list, and the one I play the most, the mighty crusader. These guys are similar to officers, with a few differences. You get some different weapons to choose from, and you don’t have the trumpet, but the oil pot.
You also have throwing axes which deal more damage than throwing knives (and are cooler in my opinion), but you only get two of them so be careful when using them.
All weapons that officers and crusaders have are good, so typically players will play the subclass that has the weapon that they want to play the most at that time. However, I do prefer having the trumpet rather than the oil pot, but both of these are fine in the end so I won’t complain.
And that’s it, you’ve made it to the end, congratulations. Now go and kick some ass! 🙂