What is the Class Archetype System in Remnant 2?

Guide to Class Archetype System in Remnant 2

In Remnant 2, your starting class matters! They’ve totally revamped the class archetypes in the sequel and in this article, I’m going to give you the full breakdown of the new system, including dual archetypes! If you’d rather watch/listen to a video, check out my YouTube video!

This time around, in Remnant 2, your class archetype choice determines how you play the game, giving you cool skills and special perks unique to your archetype. Plus, each class earns XP and levels up on its own, unlocking even more awesome abilities along the way. There are currently 5 starting class archetypes – Gunslinger (with preorder only), Handler, Medic, Challenger, and Hunter. With more to discover in the procedurally generated world of Remnant 2.

Each class gets 3 unique weapons, 3 skills to choose from, 5 passive perks, and 1 trait that levels up with your class. And don’t worry, you’ll be able to switch between your found archetypes, respec traits, and equip new skills to experiment with different combinations as you progress through the campaign.

Perks

First, let’s talk about the five unique passive perks each archetype gets as you level up. These perks include Prime, Damage, Team, Utility, and Relic. You unlock them in that order as you gain XP.

Let’s start with the Prime perk, which is the core identity of your chosen archetype. It provides a special benefit that no other Archetype or gear piece can provide! This perk is so crucial that it plays a significant role when you decide to add a second archetype to your character, but we’ll get into that in more detail later. An example of a Prime Perk is the Handler’s Bonded perk which allows their companion to revive them when they’re downed. The Gunslinger, on the other hand, gets an instant reload and infinite reserve ammo for 15 seconds. If you want to learn more about all the classes, check out my ultimate starting class guide.

Next up is the Damage perk, and you guessed it, it’s the perk that increases the damage output of your class. These perks also scale as you level up. The Challenger’s damage perk is called Close Quarters and provides a ranged and melee damage buff and increased critical chance to close enemies. Even the medic gets a damage buff granting an increase to all damage along with increased critical chance.

The third perk is the Team perk. It will affect you and your group whether you are playing co-op or not. For example, the handler boosts team movement speed and the medic increases relic potency and healing effectiveness.

Next is the Utility Perk. This one provides some quality of life to your class. For the Challenger class, this means less stamina cost and stamina regen delay.

Last is the Relic Perk, which is a temporary effect that is active for a short period after using a relic. These effects can be very strong, but also limited  by the number of Dragon Hearts you have available. For instance, when the gunslinger uses a relic, it reloads his equipped firearm and increases ranged damage. We also know in Remnant 2, there are other relic behaviors besides set healing from dragon hearts, so there may be some interesting relic perk combinations, especially with the medic, since that class can regenerate relic charges.

Traits

Your class archetype in Remnant 2 has a special trait that you can level up alongside your character level, and the best part is, it’s free! You gain the benefits of this trait as you level up your character. Once you reach level 10 with each archetype, you can even use this unique trait on other classes, but it comes with a cost. To use the trait on a different class, you’ll need to spend trait points to unlock it. Be careful though, because you only have a limited number of Trait Points to spend, so you’ll need to plan your choices wisely. This change in Remnant 2 is fantastic in my opinion because it encourages creating different builds and finding synergy between traits, skills, and items, making your character even more powerful.

Skills

Speaking of skills, each archetype has three of them that you unlock as you level up. They all operate on a cooldown as opposed to the weapon mod power buildup that we’re used to from Remnant: From the Ashes. However, you could argue that they are more powerful than weapon mods! You can only slot one skill at a time but can freely switch between your unlocked skills when out of combat at no cost. These skills, paired with weapon mods, let you tweak your build on the fly to fit the situation. I remember doing this with weapon mods in the first Remnant when we fought a boss that my dog couldn’t reach or I needed a heal for my team. My class guide will go further into the skills for each archetype, so check that out here.

Believe it or not, you can also swap your archetype on the fly as well! However, you need to unlock them first, which means exploring the procedurally generated worlds of Remnant. I know I’ll be looking in every nook and cranny as soon as the game launches on Friday for early access, so if you want to join me, stop by my live stream at twitch.tv/abbyhour.

Now that you know almost EVERYTHING there is to know about class archetypes in Remnant 2, let’s talk about dual archetypes. Yes, in Remnant 2 you can combine 2 archetypes together for one mega-awesome super class! After you progress through the campaign enough, you will unlock the ability to equip a secondary archetype. They will bring all their perks, skills, and traits to the party as well. With the exception of the Prime Perk. Whichever archetype is in the first slot, their prime perk will be activated. So consider your starting archetype when the game launches. Take a look at my ultimate class guide to decide which prime perk you like best. Each combo of 2 archetypes will also have a unique name, like “loaded mercenary” for the combo of gunslinger and challenger.

When combining archetypes, you’ll have access to all 6 skills, but can only equip one from each archetype. Something to keep in mind when planning out your build.I think the medic and the challenger will be popular dual archetype picks due to their survivability skills. However, you could also combine the Gunslinger and Hunter to maximize your damage output or perhaps go full glass cannon. The class system in Remnant 2 will bring so much buildcrafting and replayability to the franchise I’m excited to get my hands on it.

What class will you start with in Remnant II?