When you die in Rogue Legacy 2, you’ll have the choice between three (or more with certain upgrades) new classes. At launch, there are 15 different classes to choose from and each of them comes with its own weapon, passive ability, and talent. Of course, you’ll also have to keep in mind the different genetic traits that can be added, and each class can be “leveled up” by unlocking a special version of the class via the Soul Shop that opens relatively early in the game. That said, at the base level, there are definitely some characters that are generally better than the others. That doesn’t mean you can’t be successful with any class, but there are a few that we’ve found to be more useful while adventuring through the castle. Below, we’ll give you a loose ranking of all 15 classes, giving you some insight on which to target.
Duelist
The Duelist is our favorite class largely because of its talent. Combat Roll lets you roll through any damage and only has a two-second cooldown. Compared to other classes whose talents reset after a specific number of hits, that’s incredibly quick. This ability makes several of the early- and mid-game bosses trivial and lets you safely make your way through much of the castle.
On top of that, the Duelist’s saber weapon is one of the quicker weapons in the game. That means you can deal a ton of damage and then use your roll to dart away. If you’re struggling with any boss, consider using a Duelist.
Assassin
The Assassin has a similar talent to Combat Roll called Obscura. The difference is that Obscura resets after 10 hits instead of a timer. While Obscura is probably the stronger talent (you become cloaked, get a movement boost, and apply Vulnerable on enemies you attack from Obscura), Combat Roll can be used much more often, making it more helpful against bosses.
We do love the Assassin’s Dual Blades because they let you attack quickly, which helps reset Obscura more often. You’ll be getting more critical hits, which means even more damage. We may prefer the Duelist, but the Assassin is also very strong.
Valkyrie
Our love of the Valkyrie largely comes down to the ability to aim your attacks in different directions. This makes it easy to attack enemies through walls, making the Valkyrie a phenomenal class for gold farming. You can absolutely use them for boss progression, but the Valkyrie shines against basic enemies.
The Valkyrie also has a talent called Deflect. This is on a 5-hit recharge and lets you destroy mid-sized projectiles. Again, this comes in handy during exploration by giving you something of a “get out of jail free” card.
Gunslinger
The Gunslinger is another class with an attack that you can aim. In fact, it’s even more versatile than the Valkyrie in that regard. You can also keep enemies at arm’s length by using your ranged attacks to keep them back.
We have the Gunslinger below the Valkyrie because we don’t like their talent as much. Makeshift Explosive does damage in a large cross formation, which can be good against bosses, but isn’t as strong as some of the other talents in the game. That said, the Gunslinger is the last character we would put in our top tier of Rogue Legacy 2 characters.
Barbarian
This class may feel a little slow compared to everyone else, but we still think it’s pretty strong in most situations. On the ground, the Barbarian deals quite a bit of damage, and each hit restores Mana. In the air, your attack spins around you, dealing damage to everything in your path.
The Barbarian’s talent is Winter’s shout, which destroys large projectiles around them. This comes in handy when you’re surrounded by enemies or need to clear a safe spot for yourself against a boss. The talent also resets when you’re hit, so if you have high health or armor, you can get it back very quickly.
Knight
Of the starting classes, we’ve had the most success with the Knight. This is the most bread-and-butter class in the game, which means it doesn’t really excel in anything, but can hold its own in just about every situation. The great sword is a fine weapon that lets you attack while moving and the Shield Block talent comes in handy regardless of who you’re fighting.
If you don’t want to bother using too many abilities, the Knight is a great option. While their kit isn’t as interesting as other classes, Knights have a low skill ceiling, making them a great starting character.
Ronin
Ronin’s biggest positive is that their weapon has the largest range of any melee class. You can attack through walls easily, keeping you out of harm’s way in most situations. They also have access to the Immortal Kotetsu talent, which lets you teleport around a room, dealing damage to anything you pass through.
These are both excellent tools to have at your disposal, but the Ronin is the worst class in terms of mana recovery. If you’re not going to use your spells much, the Ronin is great. For everyone else, we think the other classes are a bit stronger.
Astromancer
The Astromancer is probably the class that feels the most different from other classes. Their weapon shoots out a black hole that deals damage over time to nearby enemies and their talent turns them into a comet, which lets them fly around and deal damage on impact. In veteran hands, they’re going to be very dangerous, but it can take some time to get acclimated given how different their playstyle is.
To that end, the Astromancer has the highest variance on this list. If they fit your playstyle, they’re probably much higher in your personal tier list. If they don’t, you’ll probably push them down the list. We’ll put them in the middle of our list to reflect that.
Pirate
If we’re just going off of how fun their talent is, Pirates might be on top. You get to summon a pirate ship that you can fly around the room with. It constantly shoots out cannonballs and you can even launch it forward to use as a high-powered grenade.
However, the Pirate’s weapon is one of our least favorite in the game. It’s just so slow. Yes, it deals heavy knockback damage and you can shoot your cannon after hitting someone with it by holding down the attack button, but it feels like dealing damage takes so much longer with this class. That doesn’t mean the class isn’t great, it just doesn’t rank very highly for us.
Dragon Lancer
The Dragon Lancer has access to a Flying Joust, which should almost always be used over its basic weapon attack. To do so, you just need to hold down the attack button. This lets you fly through the air and deal damage. It’s a great gap closer but can get you into trouble because you can still be hit by projectiles. If you fly into Scout, you’re likely to take damage.
Past that, the Dragon Lancer has the Bastion talent, which is kind of like the Knight’s Shield Block. We found it to be less useful than the normal shield, but it definitely has its place. Like many classes further down our list, the Dragon Lancer is perfectly viable, we just prefer the classes above it when given the choice.
Boxer
We love that the Boxer can keep up their attack combo while attacking and jumping. The uppercut attack is also very helpful for attacking enemies from below. Plus, their talent can be used all the time because of how fast they attack.
Our issue is that they don’t have much range, making them a bit tougher to use safely. Once you’ve upgraded your base health, that starts to matter a lot less, but it’s worth noting. The Boxer is at the bottom end of what we consider mid-tier. Everything below it is weaker in our experience.
Mage
This is another one of the classes you’ll unlock very early, and we’re obviously not too fond of them. It’s not that the Mage is terrible, but several other classes feel better to us. Part of this is that the Mage’s talent is somewhat random as it gets one of the game’s spells as its talent. That gives the class more variance than others because you never know what kind of Mage you’re going to get.
The Mage also is one of the only ranged classes that can’t aim their shots. This makes them a bit weaker for us at the base level. Obviously, you can build around these weaknesses, but for us, the Mage ranks near the bottom.
Ranger
It’s not so much that the Ranger is a bad class, it’s more that it takes some finesse and practice to really get the most out of it. The class can shoot arrows at any angle, making them great at attacking from distance. However, there’s a bit of wind up to their attack if you want to deal the most damage. You also have to time your attack with an on-screen flash to get a perfect release and get a critical attack.
Their talent gives you a platform to attack from, which can be helpful in certain situations, but is definitely one of the weaker talents.
Chef
The Chef’s weapon is pretty weak compared to most classes. It’s also delayed, which means you might feel a bit slow. It does reflect projectiles if you hit them, so it has some impressive utility against ranged attackers.
The issue comes in the Chef’s talent. Stew lets you regain health and mana, which is great for exploration runs. However, in boss fights, we like something a little more active. This, in tandem with the slower attack speed, makes the Chef one of our least favorite characters.
Bard
The Bard’s gimmick is that they shoot out musical notes that deal damage to enemies around them. This damage is very small, so you need to spin kick the notes to deal more damage as kicking them makes them explode. That makes Bard’s one of the tougher classes to use until you get used to them.
Their talent turns mid-sized projectiles into music notes, giving you even more options for exploding notes on your enemies. Again, this can be tough to use for newer players, making them one of our least favorite classes. In the right hands, they can be very strong, but most players will be better served elsewhere.
