Hey gamers, how's everyone doing? Hope you're all great. Today I'm continuing my adventure in Chivalry 2, and when I say adventure I genuinely mean exploring the game in its entirety, understanding every corner of what it has to offer. And one thing I still had pending was finishing up my class exploration run, because up until today I had barely touched the Vanguard. So I decided to sit down and give it a proper go. The Vanguard class, just like the other three, has three subclasses: the Devastator, the Raider, and the Ambusher. Now I have to be upfront, I can only test two of these right now because the Ambusher requires you to be level 7 in the Vanguard class, and since I've barely played this class before today, that third subclass is locked for me for the moment. So we're going with the Devastator and the Raider, and let's get into it.
Before talking about the subclasses individually though, let me give you some context on the Vanguard as a base class because it's genuinely one of the most interesting starting points in the game. The stats here are 130 health, 120 movement speed, and 100 stamina. What that means in practice is that the Vanguard is the fastest class in the entire game, trading raw health pool for mobility and stamina. Vanguards have the highest speed and stamina of any class, but have less health than the Footman and Knight. And there's one more thing that every single Vanguard subclass shares regardless of which one you pick: the Leaping Strike. All Vanguards have a Leaping Strike special ability, which they can perform while running. This thing is an absolute game changer in combat because it lets you close distance at full sprint and deliver a massive hit that catches enemies completely off guard. It's one of those abilities that sounds simple but once you start using it properly it just clicks and becomes a core part of how you fight with this class.
First Up: The Devastator
The Devastator is the first subclass you get when you unlock the Vanguard, and the description the game gives it basically sells you on the whole concept immediately. This subclass is built around wielding the heaviest weapons in the game without suffering any movement speed penalty for doing so, which is a genuinely unusual combination when you think about it. The Devastator doesn't suffer from a movement penalty despite equipping some of the biggest weapons in the game, enabling you to quickly move from conflict to conflict without being lumbered down. So you're essentially a fast moving, hard hitting war machine, which in a game built entirely around melee combat is about as threatening as it sounds.
The weapons I've been able to try so far at my current level are the Battle Axe and the War Club, and both of them bring something different to the fight. The War Club in particular surprised me because despite how heavy it looks, it swings with a lot more agility than I expected. Combine that with the Leaping Strike and the Oil Pot ability and you have a kit that just complements itself naturally in battle. The Oil Pot, which works the same way as the one the Crusader Knight uses, lets you throw an incendiary that catches fire on impact and burns any enemy unfortunate enough to be standing in the area. His special item is an oil pot, which he can throw and ignite part of the battlefield with. What I found really satisfying is that the Oil Pot for the Devastator charges up specifically by landing sprint attacks and kills, which means the more aggressively and confidently you play, the more frequently you get to throw fire at people. It rewards exactly the kind of playstyle this subclass is designed for.
The one downside of the Devastator is that your only secondary weapon is a knife, the Devastator can handle heavy two-handed weapons without a movement speed penalty, but he only has a knife as a secondary. So if your main weapon somehow breaks during a prolonged fight, you're suddenly in a much worse spot compared to other subclasses that have more flexible backup options. It hasn't happened to me too often during my sessions but it's worth keeping in mind and making sure you're not recklessly blocking too many heavy hits with your weapon when you could just dodge them instead.
The Raider: A Different Beast Entirely
The Raider is unlocked at Vanguard class level 4, and from the moment you equip it you realize you're dealing with a completely different approach to the same speed-focused Vanguard identity. Where the Devastator is about massive heavy weapons and raw destructive power, the Raider is built around flexibility and keeping the pressure up on enemies no matter what situation you find yourself in. The defining feature of this subclass is that the Raider has the unique ability to equip two primary weapons, instead of a primary and different secondary. That means you're walking into every fight with two full-sized weapons ready to go and can switch between them depending on what the situation calls for.
The first weapon I tried with the Raider was the Dane Axe, which I have to say felt really good to use in practice. It's not as slow as some of the two-handed Knight weapons but it still swings with enough weight that you feel every hit connecting. It's quicker than a Greatsword and that extra agility makes a real difference when you're trying to fight multiple enemies at once, which as a Raider is basically your whole strategy. As Raider, you want to abuse your speed to weave around large crowds of enemies and unleash devastating swings on as many people as you can. It can be hard to chase you down, which can allow you to get some heavy hits in taking out large groups or just softening them up for your team while being hard to catch.
The other thing I really like about the Raider and what honestly made me warm up to this subclass faster than I expected is the War Horn ability. The Raider can carry two primary weapons and can heal their teammates with the Trumpet. This is basically the same rallying ability the Knight's Officer subclass has, where you activate it and nearby teammates get a health regeneration boost for a short window. Having that kind of team support ability on a class that's also one of the most aggressive frontline fighters in the game creates this really cool dynamic where you're not just a damage dealer, you're also actively keeping your teammates in the fight while you're in the thick of it yourself. In the 64-player mode especially this combination of personal aggression and team support is genuinely powerful.
Why I Consider the Vanguard One of the Best Classes
After spending real time with both subclasses today, I can confidently say the Vanguard has jumped up my personal ranking of the four classes in this game, and the reason comes down to one thing above all else: speed and agility in a game that's almost entirely about melee combat.
Think about what Chivalry 2 fundamentally is at its core. It's a melee combat game. Everything revolves around closing distance, reading swings, timing blocks, and punishing mistakes. In that kind of environment, being the fastest class on the battlefield is not a small advantage, it's a massive one. The Vanguard Class in Chivalry 2 is mainly made for players who love fast combat. With this class, you have a max health of 130, speed of 120 and 100 stamina. With these stats, it's pretty easy for you to dodge and deal quick retaliatory slashes. The ability to reposition quickly, close gaps before enemies can reset, and dodge out of situations that would leave a slower Knight completely stuck makes the Vanguard feel incredibly responsive compared to everything else I've played in this game.
The Footman also has good agility in some of its subclasses, which is part of why I liked that class too, but the Vanguard takes that concept and pushes it further in every direction. You're faster, your stamina pool is bigger so your attacks keep coming even in prolonged exchanges, and the Leaping Strike gives you a mobility tool that no other class has access to. When you land a Leaping Strike on someone who didn't see you coming at full sprint, the damage and stagger it causes genuinely turns the fight in your favor almost instantly. The speed and stamina given to the Vanguard subclasses, combined with the Devastator's heavy weaponry and Leaping Strike, make this subclass excellent at breaking enemy lines and ruining formations.
I still haven't unlocked the Ambusher subclass yet, which by all accounts is the most skill-demanding of the three since it's built entirely around flanking enemies and hitting them from behind for massive bonus damage. The Ambusher subclass is a little inspired by the Raider class and gets a 35% extra damage bonus for attacking opponents from behind. That one will have to wait until I've put in enough time with the class to reach level 7, but based on everything I've tried so far with the Devastator and Raider, I'm genuinely motivated to get there. The Vanguard has earned its place as one of my favorite classes in Chivalry 2, and if speed and aggressive combat is your style, this is absolutely the class you should be spending your time with. See you in the next post gamers!
