All Classes In Starship Troopers Extermination, Ranked

A colorful collection of cadets, here's how they rank in strength.

Service guarantees citizenship soldier, and there are plenty of ways you can do your part in Starship Troopers: Extermination. This long-awaited early access game from Offworld Industries has been hotly anticipated by many as it's the first game to capture the absolute chaos of the Mobile Infantry from the cult classic Starship Troopers movies.

RELATED: Things We Wish We Knew Before Starting Starship Troopers: Terran Command

Though the game is a bit barebone at the moment and a little rough around the edges, there's plenty of potential on show to warrant a watch or addition to your Steam Wishlist. Plus the different classes add a fair amount of variety to your playstyle to keep things more interesting than just a bunch of bog-standard soldiers versus big bugs. If your trigger finger is itchy or you're just anxious to see what all the fuss around this game is about, here's every class so far in Starship Troopers: Extermination, Ranked.

First up on the firing line is the Bastion. This burly blast-padding-wearing specialist is your standard heavy weapons user, and normally they would be perfect for cutting down wave after wave of overgrown insects, but unfortunately, the arsenal in the game is a little small at the moment, and without support, this soldier has a bit of a hard time. Hopefully, this is remedied in the long run with updates, but for now, they're a tiny bit underpowered.

The perks of the Bastion are all about taking punishment and dishing out an absolute wall of bullets. Here's every unlockable perk for the Bastion.

Unlock

Perk

Description

Level 4

Hardened Ceramic Plates

Halves damage taken from ranged bug attacks.

Level 7

Magazine Bandolier

+2 rifle/pistol mags, +1 machine gun, marksman rifle mags.

Level 10

Synthetic Underarmor

Halves damage taken from melee attacks.

Level 15

Powered-Up Build-Tool

Build and Repair speed is doubled.

Level 18

Improved Grenade Cooldown

Reduces grenade cooldown.

Level 20

Extended Magazines

Increases magazine size by 50 percent.

Similar to the Hunter, the Bastion doesn't have a lot of guns to play around with just yet. Like the other two they have access to the Morita and the MK1 Carbine, but their party trick is the MK3 SAW. This projectile firehose is not the most accurate and requires iron sights and being stationary to be effective.

RELATED: Starship Troopers: Extermination - Beginner Tips

But if you combine it with the Bastions portable cover, the accuracy becomes pinpoint, so you can easily turn yourself into a one-soldier turret with just a button press. Though make sure you have access to an easy ammo refill from a fellow soldier as the SAW only has one extra mag before it's empty. At the rate it chews through rounds, you can find yourself out of ammo very easily.

Similar to the Hunter, they're missing a bunch of interesting tools and toys. Their utility collection is semi-decent, like the Hunter, as they have access to some interesting explosives like Nukes, det packs, and a handful of grenades in different flavors; there's still a lot missing.

Their SAW is also a real danger if not supported. Whilst it can dominate in base defense, it chews through bullets, and it can take a lot of rounds to take down just a handful of bugs. So you can often be ammo starved. They're also pretty lumbering and slow when firing, so you'll be overwhelmed quickly without support. There are notes in-game saying that a bunch of items are coming in the future for the Bastion, but for now they're not a great pick. If you have to use them, stay with their Morita and a magazine buff, otherwise, you'll just be out of ammunition and dead, a lot.

Next on our list is the Hunter. They're a jack-of-all-trades class that most players will gravitate to as it's a pretty simple and fun role to run around as. Their main job is that of an assault soldier, so they're ideal for dashing around to points of interest to activate refineries or providing backup to sections of walls that are getting overwhelmed by bugs.

The jetpack and high movement speed are the biggest selling points to selecting this soldier. Though the jump pack is a little fiddly and can't really be directed much, it's handy for reaching vantage points or escaping the clutches of a bug ambush at the last second. Combined with their faster movement speed means, you've got a zippy scout soldier that can perform recon or fast hit-and-run assaults on arachnid patrols. Ideal for those that like to play aggressively.

The perks for the Hunter aren't too complex or varied like the others, but they do provide a lot of benefits to your mobility, durability, and overall survivability in the field. Here's every unlockable perk for the Hunter.

Unlock

Perk

Description

Level 4

Pain Boosters

Movement speed gets a temporary 1.5x boost on damage taken.

Level 7

Magazine Bandolier

+2 rifle/pistol mags, +1 machine gun, marksman rifle mags.

Level 10

Bloodlust

Regenerate health after every successful melee hit.

Level 12

Improved Grenade Cooldown

Reduces grenade cooldown.

Level 16

Synthetic Underarmor

Halves the damage taken from bug attacks.

Unfortunately, when it comes to firearms, the Hunters toolbox is a little on the tiny end. By far, their most useful is the Morita, and whilst it doesn't dump a ton of damage, it has the most magazine reserve and is a solid workhouse for the Hunter's overall needs.

RELATED: Starship Troopers: Extermination - Which Class Should You Choose?

If you'd like something that goes bang in a different flavor, they also have access to the Mk1 Carbine, and, finally the Hawkeye. So you can switch to a more swift run-and-gun role or sniper perched on a super high nest thanks to the jetpack ability.

In general, the Hunter in Starship Troopers: Extermination is a solid middle-of-the-road pick. They don't have as much complexity as the Operator, but they have more to provide to the team than the Bastion.

For example, their jetpack and high movement speed makes them ideal for scouting parties and fast-landing reinforcements. Plus, their buffs will keep you alive longer during that mad dash to the Dropship or if you find yourself cornered by ambushing bugs, as they're better at fighting their way out than the other classes.

Their lack of extra moving parts also makes them ideal for onboarding new players as they tend to be the default shooter man pick for most. On the other hand, the dearth of weaponry and small utility variety means you'll often get bored of them after a while. Plus, their movement capabilities are rendered pointless should you be carrying a canister.

The Jetpack is also badly in need of tweaking as it requires a constant button hold to activate, causes clipping on slopes, seems temperamental on how high it will take you, and requires momentum in a direction before use otherwise you just go straight up. Essentially, you can't really steer it, and should you accidentally let go of the button, you'll drop back down like a rock onto some snarling bugs below as you wait for the pack's cooldown to finish. It takes some time to master, and even then, it's more situational.

Last on the list and possibly the best class so far, we have the Operator. This sturdy soldier is a mix of medic meets support roles wrapped up in tactical body armor with a few bonuses to boot. The primary role in the early game of the Operator is as your standard run-of-the-mill Medic.

You're given a drone that does a burst heal when it activates and as it hovers around you, it'll zip to any nearby downed soldiers and automatically revive them should they be incapacitated. As a nice bonus to keep you mobile, the drone will also revive its owner as a pseudo "second wind" should you get downed. It's a neat trick that makes this class much more useful for squad members that decide to go solo or if you get bogged down by bugs whilst trying to evac at the end of a match.

At higher levels, the Operator gets access to a bunch of super helpful support toys. Such as deployable ammo and first aid stations to let your teammates heal or stock up on bullets whilst you tend to other injured troopers. All in all, a great class with a lot of versatility in the right hands.

The Perks for the Operator are another thing that makes them stand tall above the rest, as they've got some handy buffs to unlock once you hit those level requirements. Here's every unlockable perk for the Operator.

Unlock

Perk

Description

Level 4

Powered Up Build Tool

Increases construction rate.

Level 7

Magazine Bandolier

+2 rifle/pistol mags, +1 machine gun, marksman rifle mags.

Level 10

Improved Grenade Cooldown

Reduces grenade cooldown.

Level 12

Pain boosters

Movement speed gets a temporary 1.5x boost on damage taken.

Level 15

Extended Magazines

Increases magazine size by 50 percent.

Level 20

Utility Satchel

+1 to all utilities.

When it comes to firearms, the Operator has arguably the most guns as well as the most varied, which is ideal as it just makes them more multi-functional on the battlefield. For low-level Operators, you have access to the Morita battle rifle, which is a sturdy workhorse, the high-powered Hawkeye that allows for long-range support snipers, and the fast spraying Mk1 carbine for holding the line with others or dumping DPS on the big bugs.

Finally, unlike the other two classes, the Operator gets access to the Chi-Hong Grenade Launcher. When running solo, this weapon will just get you killed quickly, but if you're hanging around a huge group of mobile infantry mates, it becomes godlike. The Grenade Launcher can saturate a small area in high explosive grenades that will instantly kill smaller insects, dismember warriors into gooey green mist and scattered limbs, and seriously dent the hardened chitin of the tanky Shooter and Plasma bugs.

But by far its biggest selling point is the sheer amount of carnage it can reap on big bunched-up hordes. Like the Pilar Rocket Launcher, the Chi-Hong is best used on large groups of aggressive arachnids that are clogged in choke points or built up around a particular section of wall.

The Operator is by far one of the best classes at the moment as there are a lot of positive reasons for using them. There's the extra weapons, tons of perks, drone revival, and they can carry two canisters at once without the movement penalty. They also have a ton of great utilities like an ammo vendor, a healing station, and a healing beacon.

However, they're far from perfect, as they do have some downsides. Front and center is their survivability, which is pretty low. Without backup, an Operator will get absolutely diced by the bugs. So solo players will have a hard time. Unlike the Hunter, who can jetpack away, or the Bastion, who can just tank the hits and dump damage, an Operator's only hope is that they can get enough hits in, quickly use the drone's revival for another escape attempt, or pray that help comes quickly.

Since Starship Troopers: Extermination is still in development, this ranking order is subject to change. To keep on top of the latest changes, make sure to check back in the future.

NEXT: The Best Horror Games To Play With Friends

An experienced Freelancer that's worked on a number of sites over the years. Matt's passion for gaming covers a range of titles and topics, plus he streams on Twitch under Digi_Matt.