Story-wise, Fireteam Elite 2 tries to present a more compelling narrative. You’re back on the UAS Endeavor, and after rescuing 2nd Lieutenant Ko Feiyan, it quickly becomes apparent that Weyland-Yutani is up to no good, yet again. Except this time, a rogue scientist, Lily Pierce, is the main villain, conducting experiments for an unknown purpose. As you work through the Prologue, four “campaigns” of three missions each, and the final mission culminating in the game’s sole boss fight (guess who it is and get a gold star), you’ll debrief with different characters.

"I could deal with all that if the missions themselves offered up something unique. The Prologue started well enough, showcasing the larger spaces and how a four-player fireteam could function within them."

What starts as a seemingly cheesy throwback to 80s action movie writing devolves into conversations I struggled to care about. As a Year 1 Destiny player, it’s the Tower. Every key NPC is either a vendor or a vacuous individual with too much dialogue. The only difference is that I can’t skip any of it when trying to jump into the next mission, and their banter during the same offers only the slightest modicum of clever writing. Also, there are cinematics which mysteriously vary wildly in terms of performance. And no, you can’t skip them either, even when replaying them.

I could deal with all that if the missions themselves offered up something unique. The Prologue started well enough, showcasing the larger spaces and how a four-player fireteam could function within them. Seeing the Xenomorphs crawling across walls and ceilings, sometimes leaping over cover and other times dodging and weaving against our attacks made for some initially enjoyable battles. From there, the first campaign offered up shorter missions and some notable twists, like throwing Synths into the mix, but it quickly became apparent that Fireteam Elite 2 has a very limited gameplay loop to fall back on.

You’re either traversing spaces and stopping to clear out the hordes, standing in one spot with your team, or activating terminals and standing in one spot to clear out the hordes with your team. There are a few exceptions – like having to activate multiple terminals, very occasionally trying to beat a timer, or trying to disable some automated turrets while dodging their fire (by, you guessed it, activating a terminal). And I can’t even fault the environments for the linearity because you’ll eventually experience some truly fantastical architecture, and that same lack of imagination when it comes to objectives rears its ugly head. Where is the “teammate picks up something and you need to protect them” objective? What about an actual mini-game for bypassing certain terminals? Or perhaps trying to navigate a crumbling spaceship à la Alien: Earth? It’s simply mind-boggling.

Cold Iron Studios at least opens things up for those who enjoyed the first game. Weapons can have Augments, and they go beyond simply throwing on elemental rounds (which come with the tradeoff of reduced stopping power, ensuring that the dedicated consumables remain viable). You can almost universally use Traits across every weapon once a gun has been leveled enough. The Perk Grid expands to allow more Core options and modifiers. Then there’s the Specialist, which lets you mix and match different Core Perks for some great combos like the Machinist’s turret for supporting fire and Combat Stims to keep my team topped off with temporary health whenever possible. And since there are limitations to the Core Perks it can equip, the other classes remain viable, excelling at their niches, even as you grind to fully maximise their kits.

So understand my disappointment when I say it sometimes feels wasted, given how many of the missions actually play. And I could forgive the lack of variety if the gunplay were satisfying, but it really isn’t.

"I could probably deal with all its shortcomings if Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 were more polished. The occasional microstutters didn’t kill it for me – I actually experienced relatively solid performance for the most part."

To clarify in case there’s any confusion: There are plenty of weapons which can do different things. The Type 99 Incinerator, which is essentially a flamethrower in the primary slot. A signature plasma emitter which requires heat sinks. The HNT-1 El Alamein revolver rifle. The F4AA Pulse Rifle with its impossibly large magazine and slight Smartgun properties.

And as good as some of them sound, many of them feel a little too rudimentary. You would think that each assault rifle would have more than a marginally different kick, much less feel good to fire, but that’s not the case. I can’t say I’m under or overwhelmed – just whelmed.

The fact that weakpoint damage and exploiting elemental damage is all that really matters further devolves the gunplay into simply dumping dozens upon dozens upon dozens of rounds into enemies as everyone crowds around the trauma station with their turrets and drones until the wave ends. It’s predictable, repetitive and ultimately unsatisfying. Add on the lack of cover-to-cover movement, and even playing tactfully against Synths can feel awkward. Don’t even get me started on the sheer number of environmental objects you can’t take cover on, outright gutting some of your Core Perks in the process.

If Cold Iron deserves credit for recreating anything from the Aliens franchise, it’s retro-futuristic computer systems and UI, combined with the smoke effects. Even if it feels a little mid-budget when it comes to the character models – try not to pay too much attention to characters’ mouths during dialogue sequences – at least the locations felt accurate to the films. Then there’s the music, which feels like it’s doing all the heavy lifting in terms of generating tension and intrigue. Play with it off, and the difference is enormous.

I could probably deal with all its shortcomings if Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 were more polished. The occasional microstutters didn’t kill it for me – I actually experienced relatively solid performance for the most part. The macrostutters were curious, though I attributed that to locations with more environmental effects. But then you see Xenomorphs getting stuck in environments. Running into each other on the walls. Standing around, waiting for something to happen. Occasionally, enemies will clip into the environment.

"Even if you’re a fan of the original, despite addressing the original’s shortcomings, it doesn’t feel like a meaningful evolution, much less a compelling Aliens story."

Other times, their animations jank so much that they become difficult to track. During one wave of Horde, I couldn’t access the consumables locker. The next wave, it started working again. I’m not sure how much of that is related to connection quality, but I’ve seen it happen while playing solo as well. And while we’re on the topic, I’d love to know how joining in progress works because it’s seemingly absent. I’ve never had other players join a mission, leaving me with Alpha, Beta, and sometimes Gamma to pick up the slack. Which I wouldn’t mind all that much if they possessed actual abilities, didn’t try to facetank Synths with gatling guns, or didn’t count towards my Coordinated Assault Challenge Card.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is a difficult game to sum up, because even if you’re a fan of the original, despite addressing the original’s shortcomings, it doesn’t feel like a meaningful evolution, much less a compelling Aliens story.

Perhaps the best way to describe it is through one encounter where I cut through a door, and it opened to reveal a Xenomorph standing tall. For several painfully long seconds, non reactive, even as the entire team proceeded to light it up until it seemingly got into character. And as someone who remembers the sheer terror it inspired while playing Aliens Versus Predator in 1999, that really says it all.

This game was reviewed on PC.

It’s a great showcase of everything that’s had us excited about this one, from nasty Xenomorphs looking to make your squad their next meal to weapons and class-based abilities designed to help you stem the tide of ruthless creatures coming at you. You’re going to have to work together and do it well to stand a chance at surviving, although getting your hands on that Specialist class should turn the tide in your favor.

However, getting there is going to take some work, and the developers are pretty enthusiastic about this one letting you find creative ways to work with what your teammates can do once you dive in. Finding synergies and taking advantage of them is cruial to your survival, and is a great way to get familiar with upgrade paths that bring a lot of new functionalities to your toolkit no matter which of the game’s classes you’re playing.

It helps that this one’s performance targets are pretty indicative of a smooth, intense fight once things go south on your missions.

On PS5 Pro, you can expect 4K/60 FPS while Xbox Series S sits at the bottom of the pack at 1080p/30 fps. All of this sounds good on paper, but achieving it all has been challenging.

“Maintaining those targets during our largest four-player encounters has definitely been one of the challenges of development,” said Lim. “We establish performance budgets for things like encounter complexity, environments, characters and effects, but as the game evolves and everything comes together, we’re constantly profiling real gameplay and making adjustments to stay within those targets.”

He noted that the biggest performance impact would originate from effects like cryo mines and flamethrowers, especially against hordes of enemies. However, these are “exactly the kinds of scenarios we’ve been profiling and optimizing—looking at everything from effects and rendering to what happens when weapons interact with large numbers of enemies simultaneously.”

Lim notes that it’s an “ongoing process of finding those hotspots and optimizing them while preserving the scale and intensity we’re aiming for.” It also probably explains why console performance numbers haven’t been nailed down until closer to release.

As far as scope goes, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is bigger than its predecessor, but not just in the additional player in co-op. Environments had to be redesigned to accommodate four-player teams, and with even crazier build options available (see: The Specialist), it’s a miracle that everything runs smoothly. Stay tuned for more details when the third-person shooter arrives later today, and check out the latest trailer detailing the different types of Xenomorphs.

Obviously, this isn’t the final build, but the atmosphere and tension of the classic films were unmistakably out in full force and drew me into the trials of the UAS Endeavor’s Colonial Marines. It also offered a chance to try out the new systems and gameplay features, including the new Classes, ahead of launch. Here are ten new things you should know, starting with…

Meet the Crew

The UAS Endeavor is back, and this time, there’s a lot more back-and-forth in conversations with the crew. Starting with Raptor, our pilot, who ran comms during the Prologue mission, there’s Captain Ko, who you’ll often debrief with, and Shipp, the commanding officer from the previous game. Other characters abound, and multiple dialogue options will come up, though they’re often more for flavor and learning about them than narrative consequence (at least right now). But I quite liked each character, whether it’s Ko mixing seriousness with the odd smack talk here and there or Raptor’s unfunny yet charmingly positive demeanor. Seeing the protagonist, codenamed Hotshot, communicating back and forth while dropping cheesy one-liners just made my Aliens-loving heart swell all the more.

The Armory and Hundreds of Cosmetic Items

There’s also Wrench, who runs the Armory, selling weapons and attachments for Requisition Credits, which you’ll find in caches and as post-mission rewards. His selection is limited in the early going – Optics only became available after finishing the first campaign – but he’s also your source for cosmetics. That includes outfits, weapon colors, emotes, outfit patterns, decals, and more, all available for Credits. You’ll find more than a few references to the greater franchise, though once again, certain categories are locked behind mission completion. However, you can also find cosmetics throughout missions in special crates, and based on the Collections tab, there are hundreds of unlockables to earn through gameplay. No microtransactions.

Class Modifiers

Having seen all the different Classes, I was a little concerned about the number of Core abilities in each. Granted, Core Perks added some more variety, but I was hoping for something more. That is, until the Modifiers tab, which unfurls several options to further customize each Class. For instance, the Medic’s Guardian Kit Perk grants an ally you defend and yourself 20 temporary health (while they gain 20 percent damage resistance for three seconds). This can be supplemented by Ally Support, which grants them an additional 50 percent temporary health when you defend them. Not feeling particularly generous? Go for Self Support, which instead boosts your temporary health by 50 percent.

Keep in mind that this is only one Kit Perk and two modifiers in a sea of options, and that’s without factoring in how all of this can be mixed with the Specialist. More on that in a bit.

Swapping Weapon Traits

Weapon Traits return, and much like the original, they offer stat boosts for weapons with a one-star ranking (earned by using them more often). The Smartgun gets a 15 percent boost to aim assist; the M41A2 gets 10 percent less recoil; you get the idea. What’s interesting is that Weapon Traits can be swapped across different guns, even if they aren’t the same type. Fancy a lower spread on your shotgun? Use the M4 Service Pistol’s Trait on it. Looking for subtle boosts to handling and aim assist while slightly reducing spread and recoil? The Standard Issue Trait should help. All in all, this opens up weapon customization and encourages using each weapon enough to unlock Traits (though some are also available in the Armory to buy).

Respect the Combat Rating

In your character’s loadout, you’ll notice the Combat Rating. Missions recommend a certain amount, and the higher the difficulty, the greater your Combat Rating should be. Thankfully, like the original, this isn’t about Gear Score or finding the highest tier loot to equip on your Marine. Instead, you need to upgrade your weapons and equip them with more attachments, unlock their Augment slots, equip more Perks and modifiers, use minor items like grenades, and yes, even upgrade your pistol. All of this contributes to your Combat Rating, and its benefits can make a big difference, especially if you need more weakpoint damage, stacking damage buffs or survivability.

Fear the (Smarter) Xenomorphs

Even if you’re going into a mission on Standard difficulty, don’t underestimate the Xenomorphs. Throughout my time in the first campaign, I encountered returning types such as the Prowler, Spitter, Drone, and Runner, and to say they could prove overwhelming would be an understatement. While the Spitters hang back and pelt you from afar, Drones rush you as the Prowlers attempt to leap onto a single ally and pin them down. The Xenomorphs would also climb the walls and the ceiling, dodging left and right when taking fire and leaping over cover, making them that much trickier to fight, especially in more open spaces. Even more terrifying is that they have no qualms about flanking your squad from behind, so paying attention to the Motion Tracker is paramount.

Synth Madness

Then there are the Synths, challenging in their own right since they can utilize cover. Once again, all the classics return, from the grunts to the riot shield, baton-touting types that slowly close in. From afar, Synth Snipers attempt to gun you down while Synth Incinerators and Heavies soak up damage, raining firebombs and wielding miniguns, respectively. Aiming for their heads to quickly dispatch them is advised; anywhere else, and they’ll short-circuit before exploding in a short area, which can hurt you. As annoying as they can sometimes be, it’s not a bad idea to hang back and let them deal with any Xenomorphs in the area (and vice versa).

Lifetime Stats

If you want to track everything about your career thus far, then the Lifetime Stats is your guide. While Collection will highlight all the different attachments, weapons, items, and intel gathered thus far, Lifetime Stats outlines your favorite Class, total kills, damage dealt, and more (including how often you healed allies). You can also check stats by each loadout and the different enemy types encountered, including how much damage you received from them and your preferred weapon against them.

Specialist Impressions (and One Limitation)

I didn’t toy around too much with the Specialist, especially since a good chunk of the kit is tied into the progression of other Classes, but suffice to say that it’s very impressive. I opted for a shotgun and railgun as weapons, the Machinist’s Sentry turret for longer-range fire (which I stayed near to help it recover health courtesy of the Cross-Platform Synergy perk). My second ability was the Marauder’s Blast Cannon, a short-range wave that could kill smaller enemies and stagger larger opponents. Then I just added 30 more health – not the cleanest kit, I’ll admit, but the potential already looks limitless.

However, there are some caveats. Each Class has a first and second ability, right? Well, the Specialist can only equip their first abilities on the left of the Perk Grid and their second abilities on the right. This means the Specialist can’t equip the Machinist’s Bodyguard drone and the Marauder’s Blast Cannon at the same time, because they both occupy the right ability slot on the Grid. In the same vein, you can’t equip a Sentry Turret and Titan Rockets at the same time, because they’re both left-coded. This was probably done for the sake of balance, but even with this limitation, the Specialist is still the be-all, end-all class…once you’ve put some time into everything else.

Accessibility Options

In the original Fireteam Elite, there were options for Colorblind Mode, subtitle size, ADS mode, and so on, along with the ability to enable a center dot at all times, outline targets, enable the Motion Tracker, and various floaters for damage and kill confirmation. Besides bringing all those options to the sequel, Fireteam Elite 2 greatly expands on accessibility. You can enable outlines for interactables, friendlies, downed allies, and so on; toggle sprint and cover FOV adjustments; adjust the camera shake strength; and much more.

You have the classic Drones, who swarm players and attack before quickly getting away, and usually navigate environments through the vents. The Facehuggers are different, hanging out on floors or near some eggs. Flamethrowers are a good solution, but if you attach to you, a well-timed shot from a teammate can take them out.

The Warden is new and is skilled at melee combat. Don’t let its appearance fool you, as it can move surprisingly fast and even fire acid from afar. And if you don’t want to attract a slew of Xenomorphs, take out the Siren ASAP since it will scream for backup.

Xenomorphs generally dislike fire, but carrying a combination of different weapons, be it firearms and explosives, is the key to beating them (or at least living to fight another horde). Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is out on August 25th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Cold Iron Studios drops dossiers on the Synths and Pathogen-afflicted foes.

Well, the Specialist is a great way to go about that. We’ve seen a glimpse of this endgame class that lets you mix and match between all abilities and perks from other classes, with the potential for truly devastating setups. Well, Cold Iron has taken to Steam to show off one such combination, which blends the Machinist’s area control with the Hunter’s raw damage output, along with the appropriate upgrades and perks lined up to make short work of any hostiles.

It’s clear that this class is going to take a while to get your hands on, but what’s impressive is that the developers are as eager as they are to get you started on creating builds ahead of the game’s release, although it’s only a week away at this point. We’re wondering what we can come up with, and can’t wait to see what the best of you bring to the fight against Xenomorphs, Synths and whatever else is lurking in the dark.

The Pathogen Returns

Very little is known about Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2’s plot, though you will return to the UAS Endeavor from the first game. And while narrative designer Jake Kriegman didn’t want to give too many details away, he told AVP Galaxy in a recent interview at SDCC 2026 that the pathogen is back. What pathogen? Oh, just the one that mutated the Xenomorphs on LV-895, resulting in untold horrors. It apparently holds the key to connecting both games, so finding out the “how” and “why” could form the crux of the Colonial Marines’ latest excursion.

Less Than Silent Observer

A big change from the original is that your Marine is now more vocal. Instead of simply calling out certain things in missions, they’ll now speak to NPCs on the Endeavor, and even banter among each other. It may even add a bit more charm to the cutscenes, seeing as we’re going from a silent protagonist to a bona fide Marine (with hopefully enough quips to bear).

Appearance Customization

The character customization has also seen upgrades with separate lower and upper-body options, helmets, and a range of decals for decorating equipment (including a colorway for the chest armor). Even your guns can look incredibly distinct with three decals, allowing for even more slick possibilities.

Hunter Class

We’ve already gone over all the new classes in Fireteam Elite 2 and how they’re effectively evolutions over the previous game. While we’re yet to dive deep into the Medic, the Hunter’s kit has finally been revealed. Wielding a railgun and particle emitter as its signature weapons, it also has a Particle Pulse that can be upgraded into a beam or a Cryo Pulse to slow enemies. Meanwhile, the Stasis Bolt further encumbers them and increases damage dealt. If you’re a fan of weak point damage, then No Rest is the perk for you, while No Mercy increases stopping power for the same.

Machinist Class

But that’s not all, as even the Machinist has finally been detailed. As an evolution of the Technician, you have the plasma emitter and plasma discharger as signature weapons alongside a Sentry Turret, which can be upgraded into a Gas Turret or a Rumble Turret to slow enemies. Your Bodyguard Drone can either dish out artillery or shred enemies, and Perks like Cross-Platform Synergy let you provide much-needed damage resistance and healing for teammates near your turrets.

Alpha and Beta, Meet Gamma

Veterans from the first game will remember that it didn’t always send you out to die alone. If no other players were available, the AI-controlled Synths named Alpha and Beta would join the fray, sometimes for the worse in Hardcore Mode with friendly fire on. Well, they’re back and now have defined roles. Alpha fights at mid-range while Beta stays even further back with a sniper. They’re also joined by Gamma, who’s described as the “nutcase” that keeps a shotgun for close encounters.

Three Enemy Factions

What would an Aliens game be without a variety of live targets? In keeping with offering the same number of missions as the first game and its expansion combined, Fireteam Elite 2 also includes all their enemy types: Xenomorphs, Pathogen-Mutated Organisms and the Weyland-Yutani Combat Synths.

New Enemy Types

But while you’ll be spraying and shooting against familiar threats, several new types have been added to the mix. The Harbinger, for example, is a Pathogen-Mutated Organism with multiple arms and an enormous mouth, capable of chasing and pinning Marines. The Xenomorph Siren functions to alert nearby allies, so you’d best take it down quick. Even the Synths brought some backup with the Bulwark Automaton, which boasts heavy armor and can knock players down up close.

Difficulty Changes

Of course, how easy of a time you have will depend on the difficulty as much as your teammates. Casual, Standard, and Intense return as the default difficulties alongside Extreme and Insane, which should once again require completing the campaign to unlock, as before. However, they don’t play the same as before. On the higher end, friendly fire is still a thing, but abilities can also hit allies. Ammo boxes also have a limited supply of ammo, and while enemies have less health, you can expect higher Threat Level enemies to appear in greater numbers.

Crouching

Reviving allies and meleeing enemies who get too close are tenets of the core gameplay, but Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 adds a completely understated new tactic: Crouching. Yes, it may seem simple at first, but it opens up a whole new dimension of combat at higher difficulties, since ducking beneath friendly fire means more ways to control chokepoints without the frustration of hurting your teammates. Just don’t turn into too much of a sitting duck for the Xenomorphs.

Elemental Damage and New Types

Incendiary and Electric damage from the original return, once again bringing damage over time and stuns to enemies while offering varying degrees of effectiveness (Xenomorphs canonically hate fire, for example). However, Cryo rounds have also been added to the mix, freezing enemies for maximum crowd control potential, while Piercing damage is great for getting through armor. Interestingly, it seems there are other types to look forward to in the late game, including Morphic damage.

New Horde Mode Maps

Horde Mode returns and this time, it offers three brand-new maps – Blacksite, Crash Landed and Crusher. Each offers a distinct experience, whether it’s a more open space to fight in or numerous floors that maintain the claustrophobic hallways, recreating that classic Alien feel. You may even find a few cinematic references here and there.

Horde Mode Changes

Of course, Cold Iron Studios has fundamentally changed how Horde Mode plays. Challenge Cards are available from the outset, and all of them will be activated in a match. Also, rounds now consist of five increasingly difficult waves, though you can always continue fighting for the chance of better rewards. With all factions randomly thrown into the mix, this is the mode where coordination and min-maxing will truly shine.

PC Requirements

In terms of hardware required on PC, you’ll need an AMD Ryzen 5 2600 or an Intel Core i5-8400 with, oddly enough, 10 GB of RAM and an Nvidia RTX 2060 at the very minimum. This allows for 1080p/30 FPS gameplay on the Low setting. Recommended specs include Ryzen 5 5600G or a Core i5-12600, 16 GB RAM and a Radeon 6700 or an RTX 3070 for 1080p/60 FPS on High settings. Overall, not too shabby, but regardless of your configuration, 35 GB of installation space is mandatory.

Rain’s Jackson’s Star Pack

Perhaps the strangest part about Fireteam Elite 2 is that it has DLC that isn’t included with the Premium Edition. And this isn’t extra missions or such – instead, the Rain’s Jackson’s Star Pack, which costs $9.99, adds a modified Pulse Rifle with an underbarrel that deals Cryo damage and a Colony outfit inspired by Marie Raines Carradine from Alien: Romulus. There’s also, as Steam describes it, “a full loadout of traits, perks, augments, decals, and colorways.” Maybe these are early unlocks for traits, perks and Augments already in the game, but we’ll have to wait and find out.

These include Combat Stim, which can be upgraded to Adrenaline Surge, increasing damage resistance and knockback immunity. If you favor more DPS, Overclock is the way to go since it increases fire rate and buffs reload speed. Next is the Advanced Trauma Station – upgrade it to the Buffing Station, and you get even more damage resistance and damage.

However, it can also become a potent trap with the Poison Station. Enemies caught inside take damage over time, and energy gained increases fivefold. And when it’s time to get your own hands dirty, the X1 Fireball and Type 21 Tactical Shotgun Mk. 2 make for some fun close encounters.

Of course, there are also different Perks like Bedside Manner to pick up downed allies at double the speed and Surgeon’s Hands for knockback immunity while reviving, using items and so on. Remember: Just because you should do no harm to humans doesn’t mean Xenomorphs, Synths and Pathogen-mutated fiends are off limits.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 launches on August 25th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. It’s also coming to Nintendo Switch 2 this Fall. There’s only one class left in the Specialist, and we can’t wait to see what potent combos they can pull out.

The Marauder’s chaotic firepower is a sight to behold, while the Machinist makes dealing with vicious groups of enemies look easy with his plasma-based weapons. Of course, the Hunter’s always around to catch any strays, dispatching them with brutal efficiency while bringing useful crowd-control tools to the table. However, the latest co-op trailer for the game shows us one thing: none of these capable warriors will make it out on their own. There are a lot of situations where lone warriors get torn to shreds in this one, but the real magic is when the fireteam fights as a unit.

The potential for synergies, and the memories those moments can bring when they’re executed correctly, is certainly there for all of us to see, and we’re now more impatient than ever for its release on August 25th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC, and, as confirmed in the trailer below, Nintendo Switch 2 (though it’s out this Fall). Check it out below in case you want to see the fireteam in action for yourself.

The class is designed around the Particle Pulse ability, which can further be modified into either a Particle Beam or a Cryo Pulse. While the former can be used to dish out massive damage to incoming hordes of Xenomorphs, the latter can instead be used to provide support by freezing enemies in place.

Don’t mistake the supportive potential of the Cryo Pulse for a lack of damage, however. Frozen enemies are easier to kill, after all, and as the trailer showcases, players can simply shatter the frozen enemies by shooting them with their weapon of choice.

Players not interested in Particle Pulse can instead look forward to using the Stasis Bolt, which slows down enemies and makes them vulnerable through its two upgrade choices: Vlad Bolt and Arc Bolt.

These core tools are supported by the Hunter’s unique perks – No Mercy and No Rest. Both revolve around increasing damage dealt, with one focused on raw stopping power and the other on weapon damage. However, to make full use of these perks, players will need to make sure that their shots are accurate, since the damage boosts only apply to weak points.

The Hunter gets to choose from two signature weapons: the BD-03 Djinn Personal Railgun and the Type 111 Directed Particle Emitter. The former boasts an accuracy rating of 86 and a stability rating of 74, with its damage starting to fall off at around the 60-meter mark. The latter has a perfect accuracy rating of 100 and a stability rating of 87. Interestingly, it seems to have infinite range, with no damage falloff at all. For the purposes of balance, however, it would be safe to assume that the Type 111 Directed Particle Emitter likely offers more limited uses when compared to the BD-03 Djinn Personal Railgun.

Cold Iron Studios has showcased three of the other classes before – the Marauder, the Specialist, and the Machinist. The Specialist focuses on adding versatility to any given group thanks to its ability to mix and match between other classes. However, the downside is that the class has unique unlock requirements.

The Machinist gives players access to high-damage plasma-based weapons that can help any group tear through hordes of Xenomorphs. Its drones and turrets can also help when it comes to controlling the battlefield. Finally, the Marauder has been described as a “force multiplier” for the group thanks to its rocket launchers, concussive grenades, and other destructive tools.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. For more details on how it’s different from its predecessor, here are some of the most important things that have been changed up.