Which Class Should You Pick First?

Remnant 2’s Class system is a massive departure from how it worked in the original game, Remnant: From The Ashes. In this sequel, the Starting Class or ‘Archetype’ that players pick has a lot more impact than it did previously with the Scrapper, Hunter, and Ex-Cultist as it’s a Class they’ll be stuck with for quite a while once they start their adventures across all the Realms the Worldstones are connected to.

Additionally, outside of the 5 Starting Classes, there are 7 more hidden Archetypes for players to find throughout their runs and choose to start their next character as, if they so desire. So with that in mind, let’s go over what Archetype players should start out with first in Remnant 2, both from a playstyle and mechanical point of view.

Updated December 4th, 2024 by Jacob Buchalter: The way Archetypes work in Remnant 2 is so inherently interesting. Instead of having Set Bonuses like they did in the previous game (Remnant: From the Ashes) or set classes like most other RPGs or MMORPGs do, Remnant 2 instead uses the Archetype/Engram system. This allows players to swap their builds entirely at any time they want, creating completely unique combinations due to the ability to equip two different Archetypes in either the Primary or Secondary slot. And, when a new player is first starting out in Remannt 2, it can be confusing to figure out which starting Archetype they should go with and why. So, with that in mind, let’s take an expansive look at all the possible starting Archetypes in this game, what they offer, why they’re worth picking, and even how starting Archetypes work for the classes players unlock during their time with Remnant 2.

Archetypes & Starting Classes Overview

How Multiclassing Works & Differences Between Primary And Secondary Archetypes

Before getting into anything else, players should know that there are more Archetypes in Remnant 2 than just the starting ones, far more in fact. And, this matters because players will be able to un-equip and equip different Archetype items into their Engram slots after a certain amount of progress is made at the start of the game. They’ll have two Engram Slots overall, one for their ‘Prime’ Archetype (AKA their ‘main’ class) and one for their Secondary Archetype.

The one key difference between these Engram Slots is that, when the second Archetype is equipped, players will receive all the Skills, Perks, and even the Trait of that second Archetype, but they won’t receive its Prime Perk, as that is exclusive to their Archetype slotted into the Primary Engram Slot.

As an example of how Multiclassing works:
If a player has Medic as their Primary and Hunter as their Secondary, they’ll have access to the Archetype Traits, Perks, and Skills of both Classes, but the only Prime Perk they’ll have active is Medic’s.

This is all to say that the Primary Archetype AKA the one you spawn as is the Prime Perk they’ll start with, and they won’t be able to switch for at least an hour or so.

Which Archetype Should I Pick?

Next up let’s go over each Class individually, what choosing them as the Starting Class grants the player, and what type of players/people would likely gravitate towards that class. However, before that, let’s just give a succinct overview of each Remnant 2 starting Archetype in a few words for people who just want the simplest of simple answers:

Gunslinger

The Quick-Draw Gun Specialist

The tables for each Class’s starting Traits and Perks either use a non-descript X for aspects that change when that Class levels up, or use the numbers that Perk/Trait would have at Class Level 10. Basically,
assume that any bolded text in the Descriptions below are aspects of the Perk/Trait that may change based on Archetype Level.

Let’s start things off with the Gunslinger, the Class that any player who pre-ordered Remnant 2 will have access to as a starting Class (and one that the Ultimate Edition players got even earlier access to). The Gunslinger is a Class built around the classic idea of a ‘Western Cowboy’, as it starts with:

The Gunslinger is a DPS class that tears through Ammo Reserves in exchange for high overall DPS and weapon handling. Thankfully, the Ammo Reserves Trait is built to counteract this while the Loaded Prime Perk also helps with Ammo Capacity (and also works for allies in co-op as well). Overall, the Gunslinger Class is the one players should pick if they’re fans of Westerns or Cowboys in general, prefer faster play styles that prioritize high attack speed with lower damage per hit, or players who like the gunplay side of Remnant: From the Ashesmore than the Weapon Mods/Skills side.

Hunter

Stealth, Crits, & Long Distance Sniping

Next up is the Hunter, which appears to be ‘designed’ to be the game’s Sniper class or Thief class. All of the promotional material has shown this class taking out unaware enemies from afar or using invisibility to dip in and out of gunfights. And, while that may be the ‘intended playstyle’ of this Starting Class, there’s a lot of wiggle room thanks to the general usefulness of this Archetype’s Perks and Skills. Hunter starts with:

The Ideal Weapon Range increase of the Archetype Trait is a big part of why this Class is a lot more flexible than players might have initially expected and is a great argument in favor of starting with this Class.

After 10 levels, players can then switch to a different Primary Archetype and make Hunter their Secondary if they’re not fans of the playstyle, but this way they’ll get the maximum Ideal Range bonus either way which will make every weapon in the game feel a lot better to use by default. The Hunter Class is the best option for FPS Veterans (AKA Counter-Strike and Valorant pros), players who love sniper-type Classes, or players who have bad situational awareness (or have friends with bad awareness) as the Hunter’s Mark Skill helps compensate for this.

Challenger

The Tank & Close Range Specialist

Moving on to the closest thing to a ‘tank’ starting Class in Remnant 2, the Challenger Class. The Challenger is pretty much the classic example people think of when they imagine a Dark Souls veteran trying to play Remnant. It’s a Class that starts with an Armor Set following a very medieval-esque aesthetic, has an emphasis on melee combat, and Skill/Perks focused around close combat. Specifically, it starts with:

Anyone who tried a full melee build in Remnant: From the Ashes or likes the world of Remnant, but has less love for the gunplay, should try out Challenger since the dev team at Gunfire Games was exceedingly ambitious with fixing the issues around melee combat in this sequel.

It’s both the best close-range option and the go-to tank option for any co-op party. In general, the Challenger Class is the best choice for Melee Combat lovers, Tank/Bruiser Class veterans in RPGs and MMOs, or players who love close-combat Guns and/or Heavy Armor.

Handler

The Earliest ‘Summoner’ Class

Not only is the Handler Class the most popular starting class overall (likely because it comes with a Dog), but it’s also the starting Archetype that has a little bit of everything in it. The dog companion functions as a pure attack dog, an aggro-pulling tank, or a healer, depending on which Skill the player has equipped. Additionally, the players themselves can build the Handler in vastly different ways based on their play style. It’s a Class that starts with:

In general, the Handler is meant to be a Support-type Class alongside the Medic, but with more of a focus on team buffs and general utility than healing. The Handler Class is a perfect choice for players who love dogs or animals in general, enjoy playing summoner-type Classes in games (AKA Mechromancer in Borderlands 2), and just overall newer players to the Remnant series.

Medic

Support With A Lot Of Options For Offense

And for the last of the selectable starting Classes in Remnant 2, let’s go over the Medic. Like Healers in most other games, the Medic is primarily a class built around healing allies whenever needed. But, where Remnant 2 separates its Medic Class from other Healers is that it also innately buffs an ally’s ability to heal themselves, as well as rewards the Healer for doing their job thanks to the Regenerator Prime Perk. It starts with:

After reading all of this Class’ Perks, Traits, and starting Weapons, it might seem a bit different than one might expect for a ‘healer class’. And it’s true, the Medic does have some emphasis on general survivability and a few damage buffs, and this is primarily so it can still be a worthwhile choice in a purely solo playthrough.

That said, this Class is still not recommended for any players who don’t plan to use the online aspects of Remnant 2 much. Players who love to support, play Healers in MMORPGs, or want to play a Class that will make a co-op playthrough fun for everyone, check out the Medic.

Unlocking New Starting Archetypes

And Which Ones Are Best to Start a New Character With

Including the 5 starting Archetypes, there are a total of 14 playable Archetypes in Remnant 2 and its 3 DLC additions, The Awakened King, The Forgotten Kingdom, and The Dark Horizon. The Awakened King added the Ritualist Archetype to the game, The Forgotten Kingdom brought with it the Invoker, and The Dark Horizon introduced the Warden. And, once players unlock each of these Archetypes by collecting their associated Engram, they also unlock the ability to start a new character as that Archetype, which is pretty wild. Being able to start fresh as something as overpowered as, say, the Ritualist, can make new characters feel incredibly overpowered. However, with the ability to re-roll and refresh the Realms and campaign itself in Ward 13, why would someone even want to make a new character?

Well, for two reasons. One, they want a fresh character to play with a friend or family member who has just also jumped into Remnant 2. And two, they’re attempting a Hardcore Run, which is the penultimate challenge of Remnant 2 in which any death results in the end of the run and the permanent death of that character. So, just in case someone who is attempting a Hardcore Run is reading this guide to see which class is best to start with, here is the order in which we would recommend them.

1. Engineer
2. Medic
3. Challenger
4. Handler
5. Invader
6. Alchemist
7. Warden
8. Archon
9. Ritualist
10. Summoner
11. Hunter
12. Gunslinger
13. Invoker
14. Explorer

There’s just an incredibly overpowered combo using both Engineer and Medic, and most of the rest of the higher recommendations are there because they have some sort of absurd innate survivability skill (such as Challenger’s Die Hard Prime Perk). The worst Archetypes to start with should be pretty obvious as something like, say, Explorer, has almost no viability in keeping a Hardcore Run character alive.