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This Empire mercenary is a common first pick due to his versatility and popularity as a starting character. But it soon becomes apparent that Markus is only as good as his weapons will allow. And some of his weapons are just good for tickling rats. The following weapons in Warhammer: Vermintide 2, however, might just give Sigmar a run for his warhammer.

8 Mace and Sword

When it comes to dealing with hordes in Warhammer: Vermintide 2, be it rats, Chaos men, or Beastmen, one can go long and hard if they give up defense. That’s practically what the Mace and Sword imply though it still has a block move.

What gives the Mace and Sword the undeniable advantage over the typical shielded or two-handed options is that it’s fast. Markus is swinging two weapons here, after all. The block angle is poor, but when it comes to dealing against multiple enemies or heavily-armored Chaos Warriors, the Mace and Sword do both with flying colors.

7 Bretonnian Longsword

For those who want something a little more robust or encompassing than merely dual-wielding short sticks, then the Bretonnian Longsword might just be an upgrade. It can take a while to unlock if players are still new since it’s tied to the Grail Knight career, but it’s worth it.

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In terms of damage, this weapon will not fall short; it’s a long sword, after all. It’s highly versatile at everything. One thing to note is the impractical mixup of attack chains or combos, not exactly ideal for taking out hordes and armored enemies if done in a chain.

6 Tuskgor Spear

The Tuskgor Spear is mostly preferential since it’s a good weapon overall. Players can’t go wrong with it, and if they like the moveset, which has little to no disadvantages, then the Tuskgor Spear is a worthy investment for a lot of matches.

It’s still great for horde attacks due to the high Cleave values of the light attack combos. And having more distance from enemies keeps players safer, especially against enemies with short weapons. Just don’t expect to kill too many heavily-armored elites with this one.

5 Spear and Shield

If players want to stay even safer with their spears, then having a shield to go with it is always a smarter way to deal with Vermintide 2’s Chaos incursions. The Spear and Shield can practically turn players into tanks that still deal decent damage and horde clearing.

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Due to the shield, the block angle is narrower compared to the other polearms but players will be able to block more and stronger attacks. Again, it’s not the best weapon for dealing with armored targets. Players might have to switch to their guns for that special occasion.

4 Halberd

Players didn’t really need to go too far for a good weapon for Markus. As early as Level 2, they get to have the Halberd, which is the most versatile polearm in the game. If players have this, they usually don’t need to switch weapons too much anymore since it has an attack for any enemy, be it lightly armored hordes of hulking elites.

The downside is that these attacks are a bit slow and they don’t exactly interrupt the enemies. So trading blows with the Halberd is a high risk though it’s also a high reward. It certainly won’t make the players tanky since the block angle is poor, that’s one thing to keep in mind when using this weapon.

3 Blunderbuss

The Blunderbuss is a shotgun, straight and simple. The only problem is, it’s an early model of a shotgun and thus comes with a measly clip size of just one shell. Players will need to reload every shot, but it’s worth it if they’re dealing with hordes in a cone-shaped field of view.

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It’s great if players are using melee weapons with less-than-ideal horde-clearing combos. Switching fast to this weapon and clearing packs is almost always satisfying if it hits. Forget about using it for anything other than point-blank range, however.

2 Repeater Handgun

The closest thing that players can get to a machine gun or gatling gun in the game would be the Repeater Handgun. This portable war crime has a good rate of fire (relatively) though it lacks some damage against elites or heavily-armored enemies.

But against hordes, it’s a great weapon, especially if players are left frustrated with single-shot ranged weapons that have long reload speeds. At the very least, the Repeater Handgun is a decent emergency weapon for distancing against dangerous targets.

1 Longbow

Players who want Kerillian’s general ranged playstyle paired with Markus’ melee prowess will find plenty to like with the Huntsman career and its signature weapon, the Longbow. This is the Warhammer Fantasy equivalent of a sniper rifle and it can take down heavily-armored enemies with ease.

The ammo supply is good enough and the weapon deals high damage. The only downside is that a full draw will leave Markus immobile, severely hampering his mobility. But seeing as it’s an awesome boss killer, it’s easy to excuse the Longbow.

Warhammer Vermintide 2 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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