If you played the original Titanfall, the sequel's new approach to its giant mechs might come as a surprise. Out goes the old Titan chassis with freely-configurable arms and abilities, in come six new Titan types with preset weapons, though you can still customise them with abilities and perks.
On the downside, this limits your ability to bolt whatever weapons you want to a chassis, but on the upside you get a wider and more interesting range of Titans, better suited to different roles and play styles.
Want to find the Titanfall 2 Titan that fits yours? Read on.
Tone
Primary: Semi-auto Cannon
Secondary: Tracking Rockets
Abilities: Particle Wall, Sonar Lock
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Core Ability: Salvo Core
Tone seems to be a good all-rounder, especially if you like a defensive style of play.
The Particle Shield gives you good coverage against frontal attacks, and the semi-auto cannon and tracking rockets make for a killer combo at most ranges, though the latter needs a good, solid lock before it fires. To help, you can use the Sonar Lock ability to track nearby Titans and get a partial lock prepared.
Tone's Core ability, Salvo, sends out a devastating swarm of homing missiles. It can be brutally effective.
Scorch
Primary: Grenade Launcher
Secondary: Firewall
Abilities: Thermal Shield, Incendiary Trap
Core Ability: Flame Core
Scorch works well for aggressive short-to-mid-range scraps.
The Thermal Shield isn't the most effective barrier in the game, but it blends defensive and offensive properties – it can actually burn nearby enemies. Despite its slow-ish rate of fire, the grenade launcher is a pretty nasty piece of work, particularly against grunts and pilots, while the Firewall sends a wall of blazing thermite down the path, doing hefty amounts of damage to Titans and even heftier amounts to ground troops.
Scorch can take some punishment as well as dish it out, and the Flame core is a vicious thermal shockwave that's always good when you're going toe-to-toe. Scorch won't be for everyone, but if you love a brawl, you'll love Scorch.
Ion
Primary: Splitter Rifle
Secondary: Laser Shot
Abilities: Vortex Shield, Tripwire
Core Ability: Laser Core
Core is a versatile Titan, big on interesting tactical choices. For a start, the primary weapon – the splitter rifle – has two modes, a straight, fairly powerful single-shot mode or a more potent, triple-shot mode that does more damage but drains much faster.
The Vortex Shield is great for soaking up incoming fire then blasting it back out again, while the Laser Shot is a slow but horribly efficient medium-to-long range weapon. Ion's Tripwires are great for setting up traps in narrow, frequently travelled channels, softening up enemies before they get a chance to close-in.
The Laser Core, meanwhile, is one of the most feared Core abilities in the game, dishing out a devastating beam of high-energy badness that can ravage enemy Titans in a matter of seconds. If you're smart, you hear it spinning up, then run for the hills.
Ronin
Primary: Leadwall Shotgun
Secondary: Arc Wave
Abilities: Sword Block, Phase Dash
Core Ability: Sword Core
The clue is in the name, here. Like the samurai it's named for, Ronin is all about close combat and melee, but reliant on speed, stealth and aggression; you really have to make each attack count. If you can close on your enemy, they're in serious trouble, but closing can be difficult when Ronin's armour is relatively puny.
Your friend here is the Sword Block, which reduces incoming damage, and the Arc Wave: a shock-attack that slows and disrupts your foes. Use this to stun your prey, and you can close in with the Phase Dash – a sort of short-range warp – before letting loose with the Leadwall.
Ronin's Sword Core ability boosts your melee attacks and enables you to take down foes in a flurry of near-unstoppable blows. It's not a pleasure to be on the wrong end of it.
Northstar
Primary: Railgun
Secondary: Cluster Missile
Abilities: Tether Trap, VTOL Hover
Core Ability: Flight Core
Northstar isn't much cop in a toe-to-toe scrap, but keep your distance and she's a star. The Railgun is superb for picking off enemies at distance, while her homing cluster missiles give you a strong back-up option as enemies close in.
The VTOL hover capability can be useful for recon, Titan-spotting or sneaky sniper-blasting, and the Core Ability, Flight Core, puts you up in the air, raining heavy fire on all and sundry. What will make Northstar notorious, though, is the Tether trap.
This little mine tethers Titans to the ground, making them easier for Northstar and any comrade Titans to blast away at. Put one in place, retreat to a safe distance, pick off an easier kill….
Legion
Primary: Predator Cannon
Secondary: Power Shot A
bilities: Gun Shield, Mode Switch
Core Ability: Smart Core
Legion is tough. He's one heavily armoured Titan, and while his Predator Cannon – think enormo-minigun – is slow to spin up, it dishes out vast amounts of firepower once it's spinning. The trick to using Legion is to understand how the Predator Cannon works.
Effectively, Legion's Mode Switch ability tells it to focus on short-range or long-range targets, giving you the choice of a weapon that's more effective at range versus one that amps up the damage when you're at close quarters.
What's more, your mode effects your Power Shot secondary, so that it either knocks back nearby enemies or damages every enemy in line-of-fire. Legion's gun shield isn't massive, but it does a great job of soaking up frontal damage.
Finally, Legion's Smart Core ability is another Titan-finisher, not just boosting the power of the Predator Cannon but turning on a smart auto-aim to boot. Kick it in and listen to your enemies cry.
