Rogue Legacy 2, the successor to the Roguelike action platformer from 2013 and one of the best retro-styled Roguelike games, is currently in early access with more updates planned for the future. In its current state, however, there are many Classes available to players that can greatly affect a run, either positively or negatively depending on playstyle and preference.
Each Class has their own Weapon, Talent, and Passive combinations that change gameplay, and some will be picked every time and others may be passed over in favor of a better run.
Bard
The Bard’s weapon of choice is the Lute, which fires a Musical Note that damages as it passes through enemies, and then stays in place, pulsing and damaging enemies near it. The overall damage is low and it takes a few seconds to get the much-needed Skill Crit damage, making it feel underwhelming. The Bard’s Talent, Crescendo, damages enemies in a large area and turns projectiles into Roses which can be bounced off of like Musical Notes. But getting the most out of the Musical Note damage this way will be dependent on where they are placed, and the fact that they are static when placed and enemies move around means it won’t always be consistently safe to bounce off them. These kinks in the Bard’s playstyle leaves it among the lowest ranks of Classes.
Assassin
The Assassin Class evokes a flavor from some of the best Assassin's Creed games. Their Weapon, the Dual Blades, relies on a three-hit combo, playing out a full three hits with each button press. The only way for the Assassin to Skill Crit is to land the third hit of their combo, which sounds easy enough but isn’t always doable in practice, especially with airborne enemies. This class’s Talent, Obscura, makes the Assassin cloaked for 4 seconds, during which they move faster, and can pass through enemies, projectiles, and hazards harmlessly. This is perhaps the biggest draw for the Assassin, as it makes them very useful for completing Fairy Challenges easily and acquiring more Runes and Red Aether. However, this state is ended early upon attacking making it more of an escape than an offensive move. This class lacks the survivability and consistent damage output needed for a good run.
Gunslinger
Gunslinger is a ranged Class with a rapidly firing pistol. Though it can deal a lot of damage quickly, the Kinetic Revolver has a relatively short range and needs to reload. This creates a bit of a speed bump in the flow of gameplay. Additionally, the Weapon requires some aiming with the control stick, and while shooting the player is stuck in place on the ground or the air, making them vulnerable to projectiles and enemy attacks.
Their talent, Makeshift Explosive, is a nice way to deal extra damage, and has an extra little hop that’s useful for traversal and movement in general, but the area covers a limited area and takes time to explode. This Class’s mechanics make it more susceptible to projectiles, and it has no real way to deal with them.
Dragon Lancer
The Dragon Lancer’s Charge Lance does good damage, and can be charged up to charge across the screen and Skill Crit enemies. However, the attack sticks the player in place, making them more liable to be hit by projectiles and enemies. The Bastion Talent is supposed to mitigate the danger of projectiles but it only blocks from the front, has a relatively short duration, and its recharge depends on killing enemies. The Dragon Lancer’s passive 20% armor boost adds a nice bit of survivability, but overall the combination of its Weapon and Talent leaves it feeling a bit lacking when compared to other Classes.
Mage
In the Mage’s Weapon slot is the Wand of Blasting, which fires a projectile straight ahead of the player and explodes after a certain distance. Damaging enemies with this attack triggers the Mage’s passive, Siphon, which applies a debuff to enemies that restores Mana to the player. The Mage has no Talent ability, and instead gets a second Spell in its place. As such, the performance of this Class is largely dependent on what spells the Heir randomly receives. A lower health pool than most other classes makes for a higher probability of a shorter run. The Mage has a fun playstyle but ultimately is not the most reliable for a run.
Ranger
Ranger is one of the few ranged Classes in the game. Its Weapon, the War Bow, fires in an arc which can at times be difficult to aim precisely with a control stick. However, it does good damage, and can Skill Crit with a perfect release at the moment the arrow flashes while nocked. The Ivy Canopy Talent is effective at blocking projectiles from below and empowers the Ranger’s shots with poison damage, but to get the most out of this talent players will have to find their way to the top of the room, which is not always feasible. This class’s ability to play at safe range and situational talent puts it in a middling rank.
Barbarian
The Barbarian’s Weapon, the Labrys, attacks in a large arc while grounded, and has the added benefit of Skill Critting while both feet are planted. In the air or while dashing, the Barbarian performs a spinning attack that rapidly damages enemies in an area around the player. Their Winter’s Shout Talent covers a massive area, destroys projectiles, and freezes enemies. This is a highly effective talent to deal with an overwhelming screen, but it requires taking damage to recharge. With the Barbarian’s large health pool, this is not too much of a problem but it still is not optimal to take damage when players could be avoiding damage.
Duelist
This class has decent overall mobility and damage. The Duelist’s Weapon, the Saber, attacks a short distance and only in front of the player, and it does keep them in place when doing so but the recovery time is so quick that it allows the player to move around between attacks. The Combat Roll Talent allows players to roll through enemies safely while damaging them, and it has a relatively low cooldown. Plus, due to the Duelist’s passive which makes any attack after using a talent a Skill Crit, players can easily dish out high damage quickly. However, the invulnerability window on Combat Roll is briefer than players may like, and while the cooldown is low it still requires some playing around.
Boxer
The Boxer compares to some of the best representations of boxers in videogames. This Class’s Weapon, the Boxing Gloves, attacks rapidly and builds up stacks of Combo. It automatically Skill Crits after reaching 15 Combo stacks, but isn’t an entirely reliable damage source as punching rapidly requires the player to stand in place. The Boxer’s Biggest and most reliable damage source is their Talent, Knockout Punch, which damages enemies in a large area, does damage based on the number of combo stacks built up, and causes enemies to go flying into each other or walls or projectiles to receive extra damage on impact. Its large health pool and Passive makes Boxer a decent pick.
Knight
The Knight is what players will be more familiar with as the default playable Class from the start of the game. Their Greatsword Weapon attacks in a large arc, and the player is able to move while attacking, giving them good mobility to play with. The Shield Block Talent is quite powerful, as it allows the player to reduce an instance of damage and send out a shockwave that destroys projectiles, damages enemies, and leaves them vulnerable, making any damage done to them Skill Crit.
What’s more, is there’s no penalty for using it and not blocking any damage, it only goes on cooldown once an attack is blocked. The Knight may appear to be more of a middle ground in terms of ranking amongst others, but it is actually a bit more than decent.
Ronin
The Ronin has high damage output with their Katana, which Skill Crits enemies that hit at the edge of its range. This mechanic makes the Ronin able to keep a safe distance from enemies while dealing high damage. Its angle of attack is somewhat limited as it cannot reach directly above or below the Player. However, this blindspot is compensated for by the Ronin’s Talent, Immortal Kotetsu, a dashing attack that can be aimed in any direction and damages all enemies in its path. The kicker for this Talent is that its cooldown resets if an enemy is killed with it, making it useful for clearing out smaller enemies quickly. Though it has lower health, the Ronin’s passive 20% damage increase coupled with its high damage abilities makes it one of the better picks for a run.
Valkyrie
The Valkyrie’s Fauchard Weapon has decent reach and can attack in four directions, allowing it (in some cases) to poke at enemies through walls and floors. The Deflect Talent is also one of the best in the game, as it destroys projectiles and damages enemies, with the added benefit that it recharges instantly if it successfully is used to destroy projectiles, making it extremely useful when getting overwhelmed with bullet-hell-style projectiles. Additionally, destroying projectiles refills the Valkyrie’s mana, allowing them to get more use out of their passive boost to Magic Crit Chance and Magic Crit Damage. Valkyrie is an all-around great pick.
Chef
The Chef is one of the game’s more quirky Classes, wielding one of the most impractical video game weapons, a Frying Pan. This Weapon is one of the most effective in the game as it does decent damage and triggers the Chef’s passive which lights enemies on fire and does damage over time. It also reflects projectiles with each melee strike, which in turn charges its next strike to be a Skill Crit. The Projectile reflection is invaluable, as the game is frequently littered with projectiles. The only setback on this weapon is the slow windup, which is easily played around. Another big draw for the Chef is the Stew Talent, which can recover a substantial amount of health and mana for the player. What’s more is it recharges whenever players pick up a health or mana drop, more than doubling the potential health gain over the course of a run through the castle. With its excellent survivability and good damage, Chef is far and away the best Class for maintaining a long run.