Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 Builds

Cover the hole, do not stack the name

Four Marauders is a legal Fireteam and still a rescue hole. Two Duelists plus AI fill can clear Standard and still fail Intense when nobody picks up. Pick the job the briefing or the Horde card makes expensive. Named “best class builds” that ignore the hole are just a load-screen.

Ammo is part of the kit

Incendiary vs Xenomorphs, Electric for stun, Cryo to hold, Piercing vs Synths / plates. Morphic stays TBA. A Smartgun with the wrong element is still the wrong kit. Pack the magazine on the Endeavor from the enemy preview — elements owns the chart; this page only needs you to stop treating ammo as cosmetic.

Campaign and Horde ask those jobs on different clocks. That is the split.

Campaign: the preview is the loadout screen

If the card shows Xenomorphs, Incendiary plus a trash kit is the starting rule. If Synths / heavy plates show, Hunter or piercing ammo belongs on someone. Pathogen packs still want a pin answer (Harbinger) and control. Full mission names stay TBA on missions — do not invent a 15-row “best build per mission” list.

Horde: the door is the kit

Blacksite, Crash Landed, and Crusher ask you to hold, not to speedrun a biome. Machinist’s sentry is a lane. Challenge Cards all apply — a card that buffs explosives makes Grenadier brilliant or a wipe. Keep piercing in the Fireteam because Synth waves can rotate in. Layouts and ammo-box counts stay TBA on horde.

The next table picks a class for a scene. It is not a rank.

Duelist and Medic are first-week kits, not ranks

Duelist (ex-Gunner) is the teaching rifle kit: two primary slots, Stay on Target while you keep hitting. Medic (ex-Doc) is insurance: Trauma Station, Combat Stims, Bedside Manner. Neither is a verified “best class build.” They are the kits that still work when the Fireteam is learning crates.

Six class builds without a ladder

Duelist — Campaign teacher; Horde as a second rifle if Machinist already owns the door. Marauder — Campaign hive rooms; Horde density cards; Insane only after the squad crouches. Machinist — solo and Horde holds; sentry is the no-FF gun. Hunter — Synth / elite briefings; Horde armor waves; Insane control without filling the doorway with splash. Medic — any scene where downs already happen; Horde five-wave collapses. Specialist — after parts exist, to patch the hole the four-stack still has.

Marauder is a squad weapon from Intense up

Blast Cannon and Titan Rockets clear packs and cook teammates. Crouch the front Marine. Machinist sentries are the no-FF hold. Hunter control (Cryo Pulse, Stasis / Arc Bolt) makes elites hittable without filling the doorway with explosives. If the scene is Insane, the “fun” explosive kit is the wrong kit until the squad already calls lanes.

Rank one base class, not six

Specialist is fed by source-class progress. Scatter one mission on each kit and the hybrid board stays empty. Push the job you actually play until abilities and replacers show, then import. Full path: specialist.

Base class until the pool exists

Abilities and replacers unlock on Duelist, Marauder, Machinist, Hunter, and Medic first. A level-10 Medic is the official example that a whole kit can transfer. Sitting on Specialist on mission one is an empty board. Rank the role the Fireteam lacks, import it, then switch.

Friendly fire is a hybrid problem

Paladin’s Blast Cannon and Grenadier’s rockets are the two showcase tools most likely to delete a crouched teammate once difficulty turns friendly fire on. Elementalist is the kit that makes the ammo chart mandatory. Gunfighter is the least explosive of the four — still not a ranked winner.

If a thumbnail promises a best build percent, close it. The next section is the ban list.

The notepad is not a loadout

The noindex build planner exists so you can jot Major / Minor ideas. It does not validate slot conflicts, Signature legality, or whether a Grenadier mix will cook the Marine in front. Use it after you can name the scene.

Stop hunting a ranked thumbnail

If the briefing is Xenomorphs, a trash kit plus Incendiary is the starting rule. If Synths show, piercing belongs on someone. If downs pile up, Medic is the kit. Come back when the Horde card or the slider changes — not when a list invents an S-tier.