Intro
As the title suggests, I am making this thread to discuss tactics and strategy for playing an Assault Marine in the online multi-player for Space Marine. Here I will outline some of the things I have learned and some of the progression you will go through while playing Assault, as well as cover some of the perks you will want to use along the way. I am by no means the highest authority when it comes to playing this game, so anyone else with experience playing an Assault Marine should feel free to comment and add to the thread!
Assault Marine Class Overview
The Assault Marine class can be unlocked at level 4, and to start you have a Bolt Pistol, Chainsword and Jump Pack, as well as Frag Grenades.
Jump Pack - The Jump Pack replaces the Combat Roll ability of the Tactical Marine, and can be used in several ways. Just tapping A while holding the control stick in any direction will give you a short burst of speed and you will dodge in that direction. Be careful when doing this during a sprint, because when you land it will end the sprint and you will have to re-activate it. This can be extremely useful for dodging grenades, or jumping out of the line of fire of someone who has you in their sights. Additionally, by pressing and holding A you can launch yourself high into the air to travel a great distance. When you do this, a red cross-hair will appear below you and you can press X to dive bomb to that spot, damaging nearby enemies. The Jump Pack has a limited number of these jumps that can be done before a brief cool-down period, during which it can only be used to dodge.
The Jump Pack gives you a significant tactical advantage over the other classes, and can provide you with an element of surprise. Considering you lack the durability of Devastators, and the ranged versatility of a Tactical Marine, mastering the use of the Jump Pack is vital to properly playing an Assault Marine. It can be disorienting to launch yourself in the air, especially if you have difficulty maintaining a good camera angle. There is very little difference between the Campaign Jump Pack, and the one in Multiplayer, so it might be a good idea to load the campaign to one of the Jump Pack missions and practice dive bombing Orks, picking targets, and executing strikes immediately after landing. One of the biggest challenges new players will have is the ability to quickly pick a target from mid-air, then accurately dive-bomb them and execute a chain of attacks before the target sidesteps, so practice in campaign can give you a bit of an edge when playing Multi-Player. It is also not a good idea to over-use the Jump Pack, due to the limited number of jumps before you basically become a sitting duck for several seconds. If at all possible, approach and spy out a target on foot, then launch into the air and dive bomb them. If you miss, you can immediately jump back into the air and either try again, or make a temporary escape to cover to regenerate fuel.
Chainsword - The Chainsword (or the Power Sword, if you unlocked it from Kill Team) is the first weapon a new Assault Marine has, and oddly enough it is probably the best weapon besides the Thunder Hammer. It's faster than any of the other weapons, and the delay between landing and being able to attack is shortest with this weapon. It also has a very fast attack chain, allowing you to overwhelm targets with a flurry of blows before they can respond, unlike slower weapons where you are unlikely to get a full attack chain before the other player reacts. The Chainsword makes for an excellent starter weapon, and combined with a few perks that I will discuss later, it can actually be an extremely strong alternative to the Thunder Hammer if you prefer speed over power.
Bolt Pistol - The Bolt Pistol is your starting ranged weapon, and only has a single upgrade later. Many Assault Marines have a tendency to forget they even have a ranged weapon, which is a mistake because the Bolt Pistol is actually a very strong weapon capable of killing any player with a single head-shot if they have no armor. In fact, there is one Assault Marine build I will discuss later that specifically uses the Bolt Pistol as the primary kill weapon instead of melee, which is only used if your target forces the issue.
Frag Grenades - Frag Grenades are extremely useful when you are first starting as an Assault Marine, since they are relatively forgiving to use and once you develop some aim with them, you can either soften your target so that it takes fewer hits to kill them, or potentially kill them outright from the air. That said, using them is VERY dangerous. The tendency for a new player is to point themselves at their target, then throw a grenade from the air, however this will often result in death because the player just threw a grenade directly onto his own landing spot. He might kill the target, but will kill himself in the process. When throwing grenades from the air, always pick a landing point that is a short distance away from your target, then turn in mid-air and throw the grenade while moving sideways. This way you throw the grenade away from your landing point and avoid suicide. Grenades can be effectively used to strip armor off a target, then followed up with a head-shot with the Bolt Pistol for the kill.
Progression
As you progress, you will unlock various perks that give you nice in-game abilities, or weapons that you can use in combat.
General Perks - General Perks are listed by class, and will affect basic class functions. These perks are unlocked as you level up, and you will automatically gain them without trying as long as you are gaining experience.
Weapon Perks - Weapon Perks are unlocked by actually completing challenges in game. Most are unlocked by performing a certain number of kills with the weapon in question, or a certain number of specific kills. Ranged weapons have two perks, the first of which is unlocked by killing 50 of any given enemy with the type of weapon in question. The second perk is uncloked by specific types of kills. Some require headshots, some require long-ranged shots, some require multi-kills, etc...Melee weapons on the other hand only have a single perk, and it is always unlocked by killing 50 enemies with the weapon in question.
Weapon Progression - As you level, you will gain access to new types of weapons that become unlocked at even levels. I will not cover the complete list of weapons and equipment that you can unlock at various levels, because most Assault Marine builds use either the Thunder Hammer, or the Chainsword/Power Sword.
Perks
As mentioned above, perks are unlocked either by leveling up, or getting kills with various weapons. You start with the ability to use a single perk, and at level 15 you gain a second perk slot. Here is a complete list of General and Weapon perks in the order they are unlocked, as well as a description, and some additional comments for those that I found the most useful:
General Perks
Furious Charge - Charge causes increased damage. I don't find this one particularly useful, but it is the first perk you unlock so you will likely use it to at least some extent.
Blast Off - Engine exhaust when jumping away causes damage to enemies. I never used this perk, so I cannot really comment on it. Once I noticed I had unlocked it there were so many better options that fit my style of play. If anyone uses this for any decent builds, feel free to post them in the comments
Sure Strike - Increases the damage of your interrupts. Another perk I never noticed I had unlocked until I had replaced it with something else. Again, if anyone has a build that uses this perk to decent effect, please post it below.
Impenetrable - Reduces damage taken from ranged weapons. This perk is one of the better perks at lower levels, and can make combat more forgiving against experienced Tactical Marines and Devastators. I often used it as a secondary perk once I got my second perk slot up until I got Killing Blow with the Thunder Hammer.
Final Vengeance - When you are killed, your jump pack explodes, causing damage to nearby enemies. Take this per. Always. Once you get the hang of the Jump Pack, it can be used to dive-bomb a cluster of enemies that you know can kill you, trading one death for several kills and potentially clearing an opening for teammates to take a control point (on capture and control). Also, you very likely will receive extra experience for a revenge kill if you catch your target(s) in the blast, as your killer will probably be amongst them.
PRO TIP - Assume that EVERY ASSAULT MARINE has Final Vengeance, and play accordingly. If you kill an Assault Marine, get used to jumping away immediately to avoid death from the explosion. After all, you are banking on your enemies being too slow to avoid yours. They are banking that you are too slow to avoid theirs!
Death From Above - Increases the damage of your ground pound. This can be useful for stripping armor off a target on the landing so that your melee attacks kill much more quickly. It can also be used in conjunction with the Bolt Pistol to get head-shot kills more easily. This perk is commonly taken as a secondary perk alongside Final Vengeance until you unlock weapon perks, and sometimes it is preferred over weapon perks depending on what weapon you are using, and what strategy you are aiming for.
True Grit - Equip the bolter in place of the bolt pistol, holding it in one hand. This perk is not unlocked until late 20's if I remember correctly, but there are a few builds I have seen that use it quite effectively, giving the Assault Marine some ranged damage options. Once you unlock some of the Bolter weapon perks, this can be a very viable option.
Air Cooled Thrusters - Increases the jump pack recharge rate between jumps. Another highly effective perk used with some of the speed builds. Hit-and-run players love this perk, and I've even seen some Thunder Hammer wielders use it in lieu of Final Vengeance. It's very useful when using Grenades.
Weapon Perks
Plasma Heat Sink - Increases the amount of time it takes for the plasma pistol to overheat. This one is nice once you unlock it since the Plasma Pistol does so well at stripping armor, but it does take 50 kills to unlock so if you are not all that good with pistols it can take quite some time.
Bolt Pistol Magazine - Increases the amount of ammo for the bolt pistol. I see this one used if people are doing a Headshot build sometimes, but more often they prefer Final Vengeance and Death From Above.
Swordsman's Zeal - Regain a small amount of health with every attack. See Below.
Axeman's Zeal - Regain a small amount of health with every attack. See Below.
Power Swordsman's Zeal - Regain a small amount of health with every attack. All of these perks do exactly the same thing, and all can be quite useful if you know what you are doing. The healing is not massive, but can be significant if you chain successful attacks together, and can be used to keep you alive through an enemy onslaught long enough to kill them.
Killing Blow - Strikes with the thunder hammer or daemon maul kill all opponents with a single, direct blow. This one is probably the single best weapon perk for Assault Marines, if not in the game. It is commonly used alongside Final Vengeance and possibly Blind Grenades when wielding a Thunder Hammer, and if used right it can rack up some impressive kill streaks.
Builds
With the information above in mind, here are a few builds I have used, or seen used, to devastating effect:
Chainsword/Power Sword + Bolt Pistol + Impenetrable + Frag Grenades
This is an early build and can be used as a raiding tactic on groups. The idea is to launch yourself over the targets and throw grenades down on them from the air to strip armor, then land and use the Bolt Pistol for head-sots. It requires good aim and proficiency with the Jump Pack, but once mastered it can be an effective means of dealing with Devastators, who are otherwise very difficult to kill.
Chainsword/Power Sword + Bolt Pistol + Death From Above + Final Vengeance + Blind Grenades
This build uses Blind Grenades to disorient targets while you dive bomb them, strip their armor with Death From Above, and cut them to pieces with your sword. If executed properly you can kill the target before the blind wears off, so he never even sees what killed him until the screen comes up and asks him if he wants to copy your loadout. I see many people using this build in place of the Thunder Hammer build at high levels because it offers much more speed an efficiency. Sometimes I see Final Vengeance replaced by Air Cooled Jets, which increases the number of jumps you can make before the Jump Pack needs to re-charge.
Chainsword/Power Sword + Plasma Pistol + Final Vengeance + Swordsmans Zeal + Blind Grenades
This one is an endurance build, and can also be used with the Power Axe, but due to the reduced speed almost nobody uses the Axe. The build can be used on individuals or small groups, and can overwhelm them with a flurry of attacks while you heal yourself of any damage they cause. The Blind Grenades disorient them as you approach, allowing you time to line up your attacks and cause maximum damage. As you swing and hit targets, you will recover some health, allowing you to remain alive through some enemy fire while you kill them off. Tactical Marines with Meltaguns can still 1-shot you, and Devastators that use the Heavy Bolter well can sometimes out damage you if they know what they are doing, but usually if you prioritize these targets and act quickly you can overwhelm them before they have a chance to act. A good friend of mine favors this build and uses it to excellent effect against almost any target.
Thunder Hammer + Plasma Pistol + Killing Blow + Final Vengeance + Frag Grenades
This is the current build I am using, and it has given me the best results of any build so far so I have spent a little more time explaining the tactics I use here. Progression to this build takes quite some time as you need to get 50 kills with the Thunder Hammer, which is not even unlocked until level 18. This might not sound like much, but the Thunder Hammer is a VERY slow weapon, and often you cannot get a full attack chain off on a target prior to death. Once Killing Blow is unlocked, however, it becomes a vicious hit-and-run build.
Tactics prior to Killing Blow - Prior to getting Killing Blow with the Thunder Hammer, your Tactics should be to prey on individuals that you can catch alone. It is VERY important to note that when using the Thunder Hammer, you should NEVER make more than a single attack unless you are CERTAIN you have caught your opponent off guard, and that he has no buddies waiting to kill you. The tactic is to dive-bomb, swing, then jump away. If you miss your target, and get locked into a chain attack, you will very likely be killed before you know what happened. Similarly, if you swing and kill an Assault Marine with Final Vengeance and get locked into a chain, you will often die from the blast because you cannot jump away in time. Be very conscious of the number of times you hit the attack button when targeting a player, and only ever strike once if you think your target is aware of your presence. It's better to miss and try again than to hit once, have them dodge, then kill you with a Meltagun or something. If attacking with a group this can often give you a large number of assists, or you can pick targets who have been damaged by friendlies and kill them with a single swing.
One tactic is to use Blind Grenades on lone targets to allow you more time to position your attack, but be very careful doing this because you can easily blind yourself as well as the enemy. Another tactic is to use a frag grenade on approach before jumping to strip their armor, then dive bomb and swing for the kill. This can be improved by using Death From Above as a secondary perk. Between the Thunder Hammer, Death From Above, and Grenades, you should be able to overwhelm single targets, and at least disorient groups so that Final Vengeance kills one or two of them.
Tactics with Killing Blow - Much like without Killing Blow, you still want to make single strikes, but as long as your aim is good it is MUCH easier to score kills and rack up kill streaks with the Thunder Hammer. Since Killing Blow allows you to kill ANYONE with one hit, you can choose your targets much more freely. Even attacking groups you can often dive-bomb them, swing and kill one, then launch away and throw a grenade (frag or blind, depending on preference), which should set you up for another jump and strike. Note that the time you spend on the ground throwing the attack is usually enough to kick-start the regeneration of your jump pack, so you get more mileage out of it than just making three rapid jumps in succession. An Assault Marine working together with a Devastator or a Tactical Marine using this tactic can overwhelm even larger groups, especially if the Tactical Marine is proficient with the Vengeance Launcher.
Tips for quick progression
When leveling up, it is by far a better choice to play Capture and Control rather than Death Match. In Death Match you only get experience from kills and steaks. In Capture and Control you get 50 Experience for uncapping an opposing control point, and 200 Experience for capping a point. Completely uncapping and re-capping an enemy point is worth 5 kills! It's also much more forgiving to newer players as often people travel in groups from control point to control point, and you can easily tell where teammates are attacking by watching for enemy symbols on your screen to flash. The extra experience allows you to be more selective about picking your battles, giving you a better chance for a stronger KDR (Kill
eath Ratio) in the long run.
Even if you don't score many kills, you can follow the group around and take pots shots for assists, then capture points when they are clear to boost leveling progression. Once you are max level, or have unlocked everything you want, you can go to Death Match and play if you prefer that game mode, but you will not get anywhere near the experience you would get in Capture and Control.
Final Thoughts
Overall I have been very pleased with this game. I am by no means a hardcore player, but I thought I might share some of the things I have learned over the last week and a half since the games release. Hopefully this will help newer players that are struggling with Assault to find a build that they enjoy and that works for them. Again, anyone else that has a lot of experience with this class can feel free to add anything they like.
Thanks for reading!
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