Space Marine 2 // Precision Strike Assault is a Chaos Killer - Solo Ruthless, No Incapacitations

"Assault is bad vs Chaos"

This opinion gets thrown around a lot, but I feel like it's more a reflection of how people find Chaos tougher than the Tyranids in general. As a class, Assault actually has a lot of tools to regen armour and take out Rubric Marines quickly - with this build you can execute Chaos Marines with a single Ground Pound + Aftershock and gain back what armour you lost getting in on your target, or earn back all 3 armour points within a single engagement with a Terminator by regained armour on any gunstrike. Meanwhile, the amazing parry window and cleave angle on the Fencing Thunder Hammer means you can deal with the Tzaangor hordes easily even without the ground pound slam.

The main combo on Rubric Marines is a fully charged Ground Pound into a half-charged Aftershock - listen for the sound cue for the half-charge. When engaging them on the ground, half-charged Aftershocks and Ground Blow combos are key.

For Tzaangors, simply parrying them can be great for clearing several at a time, though for a more proactive approach, a Pommel Smash will lead directly to a Gun Strike execute for free armour. Spamming Ground Blows is good for the shielded Tzaangors, though you will take armour damage in big crowds, so be ready to cancel attacks into parries, and mix in those Pommel Smashes for the armour.

If y'all are interested in a full build guide and/or a run with commentary, let me know! Not sure if this would be my final Chaos killer build, the main switch would be the 10% Team Cooldown perk for the bonus Gun Strike damage, as I found there were fewer Gun Strike opportunities when parrying vs the Chaos in general. Even parrying during Helbrute fights doesn't trigger Gun Strikes, so it might be a better fit for a dodge / Jump Pack Dash build instead.

__________________

Build explanation:

I'm building my Ground Pound very differently on this one, going with PRECISION STRIKE for the massive damage buff to open up on Rubric Marines.

DILIGENCE gives me another buff to the damage to help with taht quick kill - I prefer it over the other methods since I can get that damage buff on my opener, and once you take out the Cultist snipers, the Bolter and Flamer Marines are surprisingly bad at hitting you in the air.

Since the AOE is reduced and I'm using it as an opener not a finisher, Zealous Blow is no longer the pick, and I'm going with MANOEUVERABILITY instead for the faster recharge.

ASCENSION helps to soften up targets for your 2nd Ground Pound, and can stagger enemies to make your escape a little safer.

You could pair this with SQUAD COHESION to help that jump pack cooldown, though I went with PROVEN EFFICIENCY on this one for the buffed Gun Strike damage.

Gun Strikes aren't quite as common vs Chaos as they don't tend to spam parryable attacks against you like the Tyranid Warriors do, but ARMOUR REINFORCEMENT can still come in clutch for generating Armour even on non-finisher Gun Strikes - most useful when dueling Terminators.

PERSEVERANCE is key for making sure you can land that Aftershock without interruption - just beware that certain blue/red strike moves can still knock you out of the attack, so have those parries / dodges ready.

CONSECUTIVE EXECUTION doesn't proc quite as easily as with the Zealous Blow build, but still comes in clutch - Krak nades and Melta Bombs are particularly invaluable for deleting elites.

__________________

00:00 Intro
00:15 Early Graves
05:00 Servitor Search
11:30 Servo-skull Escort
19:30 Bridge of Baleflame
30:00 Slaying the Heldrake
41:50 Mission Stats
42:20 Build & Perk Trees