Every class in Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, compiled from the official game site, Cold Iron's Steam News class showcases, IGN's hands-on preview coverage and developer statements. Where a detail comes from pre-release coverage rather than live in-game verification, we say so.
The class roster at a glance
Fireteam Elite 2 launches with five core classes — Marauder, Duelist, Machinist, Hunter and Medic — plus a sixth unlockable class, the Specialist. The official site describes the lineup as "five unique classes with major upgrades, plus a new Specialist endgame class for fully custom Marines" (official site). Squads now field up to four Marines instead of the first game's three, so class composition matters more than before (Wikipedia).
Marauder is the heavy force-multiplier evolved from the first game's Demolisher. It pairs a rifle with heavy weapons and brings two shoulder-mounted kits: the smaller Blast Cannon for close pressure (modifiable into Blastwave or Thermal Cannon variants) and Titan Rockets for big explosive answers (with options such as Phosphorous Rocket and Rocket Mines). Heavy weapons shown for the class include the returning M12A1 Rocket Launcher and the OCAP-91 Volcan heavy flamethrower (AvP Central).
Its two signature perks define an aggressive rhythm: 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 answers melee hits with a concussive knockback blast on a 30-second cooldown (AvP Central; G2A class guide based on Steam News). Marauder is the Marine you bring when corridors stop being rooms and start being hives — the natural answer to Exploder packs and Horde-mode waves.
Duelist replaces the original Gunner and is built around flexible, sustained weapon damage — AvP Galaxy's reporting notes the Duelist can run two primary weapons (AvP Galaxy). The official Duelist showcase describes the class as built to dish out explosive damage, headlined by Burst Configuration — modifiable into Fragment or Precision Configuration — and a Shrapnel Grenade for throwing explosive pressure into clustered Xenomorphs to create distance (G2A, summarizing the Steam News Duelist showcase).
Its perks reward aggression with an escape hatch: Stay on Target rewards sustained damage on a single enemy, while Mobility increases movement speed and stun recovery — the combination that lets a Duelist keep firing through a Drone rush and still relocate when the room turns bad.
Machinist replaces the old Technician with a more offensive tech kit built around energy weaponry, a modifiable Sentry Turret, and a flying Bodyguard drone. Cold Iron's showcase highlights the SMB-94 Zephyr Plasma Emitter and the EDS-93 Plasma Discharger Mk.2 as signature plasma tools; the Sentry Turret can be configured into Rumble Turret or Gas Turret variants, and the Bodyguard drone comes in Shredder and Artillery kits (AvP Central).
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 per second; Scalable Machine Learning grants 10% reload speed and stability whenever your machines score a kill, stacking up to five times (AvP Central). Machinist is the class for holding space: plant hardware in a corridor and cover flanks while the squad focuses priority targets. Wikipedia's gameplay summary likewise confirms the Machinist can deploy stationary turrets (Wikipedia).
Sustained shred
Hunter
Hunter is the remade Lancer role, rebuilt around continuous fire and burst damage. Hands-on preview coverage puts Hunter on SMGs and shotguns, using volume of fire to shred packs and cut down rushers before they reach the squad (AvP Central). The class can also place electric traps to slow enemies (Wikipedia). In a four-player squad, Hunter is the mid-range shredder that keeps the lane of fire alive while someone else reloads or repositions — less explosive than Marauder, less gadget-dependent than Machinist, but reliable sustained DPS when Drones commit to a rush.
Medic is the updated Doc class and remains 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 (AvP Central, citing IGN's preview). That combination matters more in the sequel because enemies actively break formations: Exploders force movement, Sirens call reinforcements and Wardens punish grouped squads, so a Medic is what keeps a collapsing push alive long enough to reset.
Endgame class
Specialist
The Specialist is Fireteam Elite 2's headline buildcraft class: a fully customizable Marine that can mix major and minor abilities from every other class (official site). According to the Steam News Specialist overview, it unlocks after you level up the other classes — it is a progression reward, not a day-one menu option (G2A, summarizing Steam News; AvP Galaxy).
Practically, that means the Specialist rewards roster knowledge. A normal class is built around one clear identity; a Specialist can be built around the mission, the enemy lineup, or the gap in your current squad — swarm control, heavy-target damage, recovery, or mobility. It is the class this site's Build Planner is designed around.
Class choice is only one layer of a Fireteam Elite 2 loadout. Per the confirmed gameplay systems (Wikipedia; official site):
Three weapon slots — a primary weapon, a sidearm with infinite ammo, and a Signature weapon such as smart guns, flamethrowers or rocket launchers. Weapons are further customized with attachments, fire modes, Augments and unique Weapon Traits.
Four elemental ammo types — fire, cryo, electric and piercing — each targeting different enemy weaknesses, so ammo choice can patch a class's bad matchups.
Challenge Cards modify mission parameters with perks and debuffs, which shifts which class tools are valuable on a given run.
Four-player squads (up from three) with cross-platform play and voice chat — one extra Marine means one more role slot to cover.
Editorial guidance, separated from the sourced facts above: if you are new, Medic and Hunter are the most forgiving — healing forgives positioning mistakes, and sustained SMG fire forgives aim mistakes. Marauder is the highest-impact pick for Horde mode. Machinist rewards map knowledge because turret placement is everything. And treat the Specialist as your long-term project: level the five core classes first, then assemble the Marine your squad actually needs. For a step-by-step first-session plan, see the beginner guide.
