Best Remnant 2 Melee Builds

Melee builds were exceptionally powerful in From The Ashes, but since some bosses in Remnant 2 can fly out of reach, it’s almost impossible to create a pure hack n’ slash character for this sequel. You still have to use your firearms from time to time. That being said, I’ve gathered some of the best Remnant 2 melee builds that put these short-range weapons at their core.

Related: Remnant 2 – All ring locations by PCI

Best Remnant 2 Melee Builds

• Ornate Flail Challenger
• Smolder Blaze Hunter
• Dreamcatcher Medic
• Labyrinthian Medic

Ornate Flail Challenger

The Ornate Clail Challenger build focuses on the charged spinning attack of the Ornate Flail weapon, which generates extra stamina whenever you hit an enemy. It also has a critical hit chance of 11% and weakspot damage of 100%, so you’ll deal tons of damage this way.

Armor Set: Leto Mark II

The best Remnant 2 melee builds are generally more vulnerable to incoming damage than ranged builds, which is why you need to be as tanky as possible to be able to survive all that pain. Leto Mark II is very heavy armor, but you don’t need to be light for this build, and you’ll be seriously well-protected. You can find the set alongside the Chicago Typewriter.

Amulet: Matriarch’s Insignia

The Matriarch’s Insignia is the best amulet for almost any melee build, as it increases melee damage by 35% and restores your stamina as well. You can find it in Widow’s Court in Yaesha as a drop from a corpse.

Best Rings

• Rerouting Cable
• Drakestone Pearl
• Berserkers Crest
• Dying Ember

Best Traits

• Siphoner
• Recovery
• Barkskin
• Fortify

Related: Best Rings in Remnant 2

Smolder Blaze Hunter

If you want to go for a more traditional melee build with a sword, then the Smolder Blaze Hunter is one of the best in the game. The Smolder Blade is a unique sword with the Burning effect that deals 150 fire damage with a 4% critical hit chance and 95% weakspot damage.

Armor Set: Radiant

This armor is slightly lighter than Leto Mark II by about 30%, resulting in possible medium rolls instead of heavy, fat ones. It also loses some of the defensive qualities of the Leto Mark II set, but I recommend applying the Shielded Heart relic, which will effectively double your overall defense.

Amulet: Difference Engine

The Difference Engine amulet works only with the active Shield, increasing your damage by 20% and granting a 1.5% of Lifesteal. You can get this amulet during the Supply Ship Event on N’Erud.

Best Rings

• Generating Band
• Rerouting Cable
• Alumni Ring
• Probability Cord

Best Traits

• Vigor
• Endurance
• Spirit
• Barkskin

Related: All Remnant 2 Armor Sets and How to Get Them

Dreamcatcher Medic

Dreamcatcher is one of the most unique melee weapons in Remnant 2, and it has a built-in AoE attack in addition to its charged attack that deals 250 damage. You can also use it to slow down enemies or even make sleeping NPCs drop rare loot, making the Dreamcatcher Medic a fantastic melee build (not to mention the Archetype’s inherent healing abilities).

Armor Set: Red Widow

The Red Widow armor set is perfect for the Medic class due to its relative lightness and high defense stats that protect you from Bleeding damage. I also find this set to be the most stylish-looking in Remnant 2, although you might get hurt more with it than with any other heavier armor sets. You can get it by completing all of the Lament puzzles in Yaesha.

Amulet: Indignant Fetish

Indignant Fetish is a truly fantastic amulet that reduces all incoming damage by 10% and automatically increases your own damage by 25% whenever your character gets hit. Indignant Fetish can be found as a random world drop on Losomn.

Best Rings

• Burden of the Divine
• Blessed Ring
• Black Cat Band
• Generating Ring

Best Traits

• Vigor
• Spirit
• Skill Cooldown
• Barkskin

Labyrinthian Medic

The last of the best Remnant 2 melee builds on our list is similar to the Dreamcatcher, but this one focuses on the Labyrinth Staff as your melee weapon. Just like Dreamcatcher, this staff has its own AoE attack, but instead of Lifesteal, it grants you a 50% bonus to Mod Power. It also has a slightly higher critical hit chance of 8%.

Armor Set: Bruiser

I actually recommend combining the Bruiser Helmet and Boots for this build with the Leto Mark II Torso and Gauntlets. This’ll make your armor both resilient and a bit lighter, but you could go all in and equip the full Leto Mark II armor set, just like the Challenger build mentioned above.

Amulet: Indignant Fetish

Since this melee build functions in almost the same way as the Dreamcatcher Medic, the amulet also stays the same. You’ll need to reduce all incoming damage, and the rings listed below should help with that, too.

Best Rings

• Grounding Stone
• Encrypted Ring
• Hardcore Metal Band
• Ring of Grace

Best Traits

• Vigor
• Spirit
• Expertise
• Siphoner

That’s our Remnant 2 best melee builds list. There’s much more to learn about Gunfire Games’ sequel to From the Ashes, and we’ve got plenty over in our R2 guides hub.