As a hardcore gaming enthusiast with over 20 years of experience annihilating virtual foes, I‘ve explored the depths of Steelrising‘s dark world extensively since the game launched. I‘m ready to share my detailed guide on the top tier classes that will give you the best chance to survive Steelrising‘s gritty alternate history Paris.
As an avid Souls-like gamer, I immediately felt right at home with Steelrising‘s methodical combat, chilling atmosphere, and potent sense of danger lurking behind every corner.
After pouring over 50 hours into unlocking the secret depths of each class, I‘ve parsed out the standout strengths of the Bodyguard, Alchemist, Dancer, and Soldier classes. Take it from a battle-hardened Steelrising veteran – these four classes represent the pinnacle of killing potential.
I‘ll cover what makes each class uniquely powerful, showcase key stats and abilities, and reveal optimal weapons and upgrades. Consider this your inside scoop to class domination! Let‘s dig in.
4. The Death Dealing Dancer
Dancers live up to their name as some of the fastest and most agile warriors in Steelrising. Many foes fall prey to their swift, precisely aimed strikes before they can even lift their weapons up.
As a long-time rogue class fanatic across multiple iconic RPG titles like Skyrim, Dragon Age, and Elden Ring, I fell hard for the Dancer‘s hit-and run playstyle that perfectly aligns with my preferred approach of cutting enemies down before they can retaliate.
Here‘s a full dossier breakdown of what gives the Dancer its lethal blend of speed and power:
Core Strengths
- Extremely high attack rate – strikes up to 3x faster than Soldier
- Supreme agility translates into superior evasion and mobility
- Specializes in locking down and eliminating priority targets
When playing the Dancer well, you feel almost untouchable, effortlessly flowing between enemies and leaving massacred bots in your wake.
Key Stats
| Agility | 9/10 |
| Combo Damage | 8/10 |
| Cleave Rating | 6/10 |
| Mobility | 10/10 |
As you can see, extreme levels of Agility and Mobility allow Dancers to grossly outmaneuver opponents. Paired with solid Combo Damage, most enemies collapse after getting caught in a Dancer‘s bladed whirlwind.
Their only relative weakness lies in subpar Cleave ratings – meaning Dancers thrive best against small groups of standard enemies rather than massive swarms. Nonetheless, their strengths far outweigh this minor deficiency – plus Dancers still outpace every other class easily in their ability to shred ranked foes and bosses.
Ideal Weapons
All Steelrising classes benefit from a diverse array of brutal weapons scavenged throughout the world. But for Dancers, Razorsteel Fans offer the perfect complement to their graceful, yet utterly vicious fighting ethos.
These upgraded steel fans reward record Agility ratings with a matched chance to land Guaranteed Critical Strikes – resulting in colossal damage detonating vital points throughout enemy frames. Paired with the Dancer‘s penchant for chained attacks, the onslaught of precise Razorsteel Fans rapidly overwhelms defenses.
Throw on Impact Frame armor upgrades to further amplify the Dancer‘s sublime offensive talents – increasing Combo Damage and Weak Point Exploitation to capitalize on those guaranteed crits. Augment defenses with a Thermal Backpack to offset the mediated armor – providing a huge boost to Energy Shields that will prevent a stray bullet or grenade from breaking the fun.
Complete the package with Hexplosive Grenades and few enemies will endure more than seconds once caught in the Dancer‘s elaborate demolition choreography.
Verdict: For gamers who thrive off momentum and perfectly executed sequences, no other class empowers you to become an angel of death quite like the Dancer. If you want to dance through the ruins of retro-futuristic Paris at blinding speeds, shredding any enemy daring to block your path, then strap on those Razorsteel Fans!
3. The Unstoppable Bodyguard Juggernaut
While the Dancer operates as a force of surgical precision – the stalwart Bodyguard utilizes the alternate approach of withstanding ridiculous amounts of enemies punishment through near-impenetrable defenses. This class essentially operates as a futuristic walking tank.
As the resident team medic and support player in my regular gaming friend group, I‘m quite comfortable with non-glamorous roles focused on damage mitigation and ally protection. Though make no mistake – Bodyguards can unleash their fill of whupass when built right!
Let‘s inspect the key stats and gear that enables Bodyguards to thrive as Steelrising‘s undisputed damage sponges:
Core Strengths
- Practically invincible with maxed out protection upgrades
- Unmatched disruption and crowd control capacity
- Strong ally enhancers like targeted shield projection
Bodyguards excel at inserting themselves between deadly enemies and fragile teammates – allowing damage dealers room to breathe and do what they do best. But they take a licking themselves without flinching!
Key Stats
| Protection | 10/10 |
| Melee Resistance | 10/10 |
| Shield Recharge Rate | 7/10 |
Simply put, no other class can take – or avoid – excessive damage on par with Bodyguards. Maxed Protection and Melee Resistance attributes effectively negate most enemy attacks.
Rapid Shield Recharge ensures their robust Energy Shields quickly replenish the few points ever knocked off. Combine these epic survival capacities with solid emergency team heal abilities, and Bodyguards rightfully live up to their name.
Ideal Weapons
For personal damage output (which all Bodyguards still need), The Seismic Hammer stands tall as the ultimate accompaniment. These tower-smashing mauls inflict devastating collisions alongside knockdown effects.
Bodyguards thrive in the heart of the fray – using disruption to open attacking angles for the team. The Seismic Hammer provides ideal crowd control functionality – scattering mobs of enemies to isolate priority targets without needing to slow down for careful aim.
Further complement protection stats with Phase Armor upgrades granting huge bonus health pools and hazard immunity. And pick Null Sphere Grenades to strip away enemy shields and amplify subsequent blows.
At full build, no other class can even come close to matching the Bodyguard‘s comprehensive durability while still packing respectable personal offense. Enemies break themselves against your armor!
Verdict: For the selfless gamers focused on taking bullets for their friends, or simply those who enjoy slowly advancing through waves of enemies while unleashing pure chaos, Bodyguards represent the apex of sustainable frontline fighting.
2. Alchemical Warfare Specialists
My own favorite class, Alchemists make up for physical fragility with an extensive arsenal of concoctions and chemical weaponry that debilitate foes. They act as force multipliers – crippling enemies to enable allies enhanced offense.
In other titles I‘m partial toward magic and abilities over basic melee. So naturally I fell in love with the Alchemist‘s gadget-driven, DoT-focused toolkit upon first sniffing those pungent vials…
Here‘s what makes these chemical-toting warriors utterly deadly despite their misleading squishiness:
Core Strengths
- Unrivaled variety of DoTs and debuffs
- Can inflict multiple penalties simultaneously
- High sustain and ranged harassment
Alchemists can wash entire mobs with damage-over-time fluids or strip the armor from imposing tanks – opening them to punishment from heavy hitting allies. Few foes withstand prolonged exposure to their insidious mixtures.
Key Stats
| Alchemy Damage | 10/10 |
| Damage Over Time | 9/10 |
| Debuff Strength | 10/10 |
Alchemists unique scaling focuses on amplifying the potency and duration of all debilitating concoctions. This enables them to effectively neuter threats like heavily armored Enforcers and make progression markedly smoother.
Their raw damage rates modestly, but applied properly, Alchemist debuffs empower teammates to horas ahead massively in overall damage contribution. Support powerhouses!
Ideal Weapons
My personal weapon of choice lies with the Glass Knuckles – spiked fist weapons enchanted to shatter hardened defenses. Their unique Finishing Move delivers battering ram blows to demolish rune-protected enemies after repeated application of Alchemical Damage.
Throw on Decay Accelerator upgrades to increase damage, rate of fire, and radius for all flask abilities. Alongside Resistance Reducer improvements that weaken enemy saves – zero protections will withstand long once struck by an Alchemist‘s punishing ambushes.
Round things out with handy Cryo Grenades that freeze foes for easy pickings after being brutally softened up beforehand.
With the right gear, no other class can equal an Alchemist‘s sheer damage amplification and battlefield manipulation capacities. Send enemies whimpering for mercy!
Verdict: For cunning strategists who enjoy systematically pulling enemies apart through attrition, Alchemists enable intricate management of the most challenging engagements. Why face brutes head-on when you can melt their armor off first?
1. Soldier: Dominating Instrument of Destruction
As any veteran gamer knows, straightforward damage values reign supreme in most titles. And no class delivers utterly devastating damage potential on par with the Soldier. Backed by a balanced array of self-buffs and heals, Soldiers crush all enemies through raw might.
Years spent charging headfirst as a weapon-toting maniac in games like Gears of War and Doom hardened my affinity for overwhelming firepower. While I tend to prefer either extreme mobility or defensive ability nowadays, Soldiers offer that perfect middle ground I can always appreciate.
If you love getting bloody in close quarters combat, Soldiers are your perfect vector of violence:
Core Strengths
- Peerless base damage production
- Strong self healing capacities
- Wellington balanced mobility and protection
Soldiers consistently output the highest damage values per strike thanks to their extreme Physique and Impact attributes. Their innate healing allows them to soak reasonable damage when needed while restoring lost health quickly. And they move quicker compared to heavily-armored classes while retaining solid protection against lighter attacks.
Jack of all offensive trades, master of heavy damage numbers!
Key Stats
| Physique | 10/10 |
| Impact | 10/10 |
| Healing Rate | 8/10 |
With raw damage potential completely maxed out, no other class competes with Soldiers for deleting tanks and bosses with extreme prejudice. Their strong innate healing combines with balanced mobility and protection for excellent survivability in the heat of action.
While Soldiers lack specialized utilities like allies buffs, their phenomenal damage more than makes up for it. Who needs a support class when all enemies get erased immediately?
Ideal Weapons
The legendary rifle Aktug offers ideal synergy with Soldier builds. This plasma spewing beast builds energy through repeated attacks, then decimates targets with high-powered blasts.
The unique Overdrive ability creates beam chains between marked enemies for multiplied damage. Given Soldier‘s penchant for close engagements against multiple tightly packed foes, Aktug truly exemplifies its description as the "ultimate crowd killer"!
Further improvement comes from slotting Impact Amplifiers for even more damage stacking and a Second Wind Module granting substantial injury-triggered healing – making Soldiers near impossible to take down. Nano Grenades add helpful armor and shield reduction against beefier enemies.
Kitting Soldiers with these ideal weapons and upgrades finishes cementing their place as Steelrising‘s undisputed damage champions. No other class competes!
Verdict: For gamers craving the classic power fantasy of wading into the thick of action while dishing out mountainous damage, look no further than the Soldier. Grab some heavy weaponry and experience the joy of utterly dominating all who stand in your way!
While every class brings something unique to the table, Soldiers STILL stand tall as Steelrising‘s #1 damage dealing choice. However, I suggest trying each class before settling on a main. Every playstyle empowers you to approach combat differently.
Maybe you‘ll discover an affinity with razordance combat utilizing Dancer‘s awesome mobility. Or enjoy slowly advancing as an unbreakable shield alongside allies as a Bodyguard. Either way, mastering any of these four elite classes will grant you godly powers against Steelrising‘s challenging enemies!
I hope this passionate overview better highlights what makes each class special based on key stats, weapons, and upgrades. Let me know in the comments which one sounds like your preferred flavor of destruction!
