The Titans are the eponymous stars of Titanfall 2, despite the game's pilots arguably being the most fun humans to play as in any first-person shooter. Pilots have the ability to wall run and double jump, making for two of the best mechanics in any FPS for ground-based play,
Despite that and their array of weapons, it's not hard to see why Titanfall 2 Titans get all the spotlight. They're the largest, most in-your-face, and most iconic features of the series, after all. Some are objectively better than others for certain situations, though – ultimately, the strength of a Titan depends greatly upon the skill of the person controlling it.
Updated July 16, 2023 by Erik Petrovich: In Titanfall 2 all Titans have strengths and weaknesses, and some only become good when players learn how to work with – and exploit – each Titanfall 2 Titans' quirks. The Monarch, for example, is ranked the lowest on this list of the best Titanfall 2 Titans, but that's not to say it's a terrible class when played optimally. The learning curve for many Titanfall 2 classes is steep, but a handful of them, like the Ion and Tone, serve just as well in the hands of a new player as a veteran Pilot. Take some time to try out a few different Titanfall 2 Titans to see what suits your playstyle best.
7 Monarch
- Weapon: X016A2 Chaingun, an automatic rifle with armor-piercing rounds
- Ordnance: Rocket Salvo, a non-targeting rocket swarm
- Tactical: Rearm, which reduces the cooldown of abilities
- Defensive: Energy Siphon, which slows enemies and charges shields based on damage done
- Core: Upgrade Core, which increases the Titan's effectiveness the longer the player stays alive
This titan from Titanfall 2 was introduced through its own DLC, the Monarch. This titan is literally made from the remains of two destroyed Vanguard-class titans, salvaged and put together. In terms of lore, this might explain why it's not the strongest Titan in Titanfall 2. For all that players know, it might just be held together with a little duct tape and a lot of hope.
Its abilities are interesting, but the way the Upgrade Core works makes it very frustrating to die late in the game. The Chaingun rips through enemies at close to medium range, and the Rocket Salvo is handy too. Making use of this Ordnance and the Energy Siphon ability, which slows enemies and recharges the Titan's shields, means paying attention to the cooldown on Rearm.
This ability reduces the cooldown on Ordnance, Defensive, and Dash abilities, but has a long cooldown itself. It's important to time correctly and only use it whenever multiple cooldowns are counting down. The Monarch is a class very much intended for veteran Titanfall 2 players, who may find that the right strategies and Upgrade Core survivability can turn this class from a confusing mess to a dominant force deserving of its royal name.
6 Legion
- Weapon: Predator Cannon, a minigun that takes time to get to full shooting speed.
- Ordnance: Power Shot, which has two modes. Short Range will knock enemies back, while Long Range will explode distant foes.
- Tactical: Mode Switch, which allows the Legion to switch between short and long-range rounds.
- Defensive: Gun Shield, which protrudes from the Legion's minigun and defends the titan in the direction faced.
- Core: Smart Core, which makes the Legion's minigun automatically lock onto targets.
The Legion is a titan that excels at both very long-range and super close-range battles, though it suffers in areas without cover. Though it's one of the slowest classes in Titanfall 2, it has two different firing modes for its Ordnance Power Shot. The first is a shotgun-like firing mode, which is perfect for Titans or pilots trying to get the jump on you. The second firing mode is more like a sniper rifle, able to pick apart enemies from a longer range.
The Legion's defensive ability is Gun Shield, which is mounted on your weapon and only defends from the direction you are looking. The Smart Core ability is extremely powerful but can be thwarted by enemies who move behind cover.
The Legion is decent but can take a lot of damage fighting at every range if the Gun Shield isn't put to proper use. Players will likely need to have a teammate heal them regularly throughout a fight – especially against enemies who can out-maneuver the cumbersome Legion.
5 Northstar
- Weapon: Plasma Railgun, which functions as a sniper rifle that requires charge.
- Ordnance: Cluster Missile, which explodes repeatedly on hit.
- Tactical: VTOL Hover, which allows the Northstar the unique ability to fly above enemies.
- Defensive: Tether Trap, which traps enemies in place.
- Core: Flight Core, which allows the Northstar to unleash a barrage of rockets at the ground while hovering.
A Titan with the power of flight, the Northstar was built around the ability to do one thing, and that is moving around the battlefield like a giant mosquito. The mosquito analogy doesn't just end at flight, though, as this titan can sting like one too. Its Plasma Raillgun fires a weak long-ranged blast if fired quickly, but becomes much more powerful when charged. The maneuverability of the Northstar makes it stand out amongst the rest, too.
Its Cluster Missile Ordnance ability is very good at medium range, though it works best when enemies stay still. The Northstar's Defensive ability Tether Trap does exactly this by snaring enemies in place for a few seconds. The Flight Core ability launches a wave of missiles at a medium-sized AoE area, essentially a better version of the Cluster Missile. The downside to this Titan is its survivability - it's one of the most fragile Titans in Titanfall 2, so don't spend too long hovering in one place.
Of all Titanfall 2 titans, the Northstar is among the most dextrous, able to dart around particularly slow enemies with ease (like the Legion). Typically, a good Northstar strategy Titanfall 2 players will follow is to stay away from close combat, keep to the skies near obstacles for avoiding targeted fire, and be selective with their targets.
4 Scorch
- Weapon: T-203 Thermite Launcher, which creates pools of flammable thermite and deals low damage.
- Ordnance: Firewall, which releases a straight line of damaging fire.
- Tactical: Incendiary Trap, which are triggered by both titans and pilots alike.
- Defensive: Thermal Shield, which nullifies some incoming damage and hurts enemies close by.
- Core: Flame Core, which unleashes a wave of fire that deals massive damage to anything in its way.
Scorch is exactly what it says on the tin: a Titan built around scorching enemies to ash. The Scorch excels when playing in tight close-ranged areas, where a distant enemy Titan can't pick them off. One of the downsides of the Scorch is the double-edged sword of being slow and large, making for strong attacks but making the Titan an easy target thanks to a larger hitbox. The Defensive ability Thermal Shield can mitigate this somewhat, but it's still best to operate a Scorch in close-quarters, low-visibility areas like clusters of buildings.
Taking enemies by surprise around corners and taking on multiple foes at once are the best ways to effectively use the Scorch without becoming the biggest target on the server. Its Firewall Ordnance doesn't do much damage on the initial hit compared to some abilities, but it effectively locks off an area. The Incendiary Trap is great for covering your rear as enemies try to close in on you, and of course the main Thermite Launcher weapon is ridiculously good against enemy Pilots as it deals a small explosion of flame rather than a pinpoint hit.
Choose the Scorch titan when you anticipate facing a lot of Ronin and enemy pilots outside of their mechs, because this class excels in close combat. Titanfall 2 Titans will crumble to this in melee to mid range, and pilots are trivial – but be sure to keep to closed-in areas and away from places where the Scorch would be vulnerable to long-distance attacks.
3 Ronin
- Weapon: Leadwall Shotgun and Sword melee attack, which are used interchangeably at different ranges.
- Ordnance: Arc Wave, which slows enemies upon hit.
- Tactical: Phase Dash, which lets the Ronin phase out of reality to totally avoid damage and being seen.
- Defensive: Sword Block, which reduces projectile damage by a massive amount.
- Core: Sword Core, which increases the effectiveness of every Ronin ability hugely, including boosts to melee damage, damage reduction, and ability damage.
The bronze medal goes to the Ronin class titan. This titan is one of the most versatile in the series as it is able to fulfill many roles for a team, from being a fast and mobile scout to a front-line damage dealer. With evasive maneuvers and careful timing of abilities, the Ronin can sustain itself long enough to act as a pseudo-tank. This titan specializes in dealing massive amounts of damage in short, quick bursts.
It has a wide-spread but low damage Leadwall Shotgun for its primary gun, but its weapon of choice is its Sword. The Ronin is best at melee range, constantly dancing in and out and chasing down enemies who try to get away. The Arc Wave Ordnance helps with this as it slows down enemies hit. The Phase Dash ability is incredibly powerful for getting out of sticky situations, too. The Sword Block ability negates most incoming bullet damage, and the Sword Core essentially makes the Ronin go Super Saiyan, making every ability and attack immensely more efficient.
To many, the Ronin is by far the worst class, thanks to its utter lack of survivability when out of abilities. However, players well-versed in all Titanfall 2 Titans, and who know how to evade and anticipate different Titanfall 2 Titans' attacks, will find the Ronin's strengths far outweigh its squishy appearance.
2 Ion
- Weapon: Splitter Rifle, a single-fire rifle that can shoot three shots at once.
- Ordnance: Laser Shot, which shoots a rapid beam directly at the reticle location.
- Tactical: Tripwire, which the Ion can use to trap areas with mines.
- Defensive: Vortex Shield, which turns enemy projectiles against them.
- Core: Laser Core, which obliterates just about anything it hits.
The silver medal goes to the Titan known as Ion. Ion is a fairly beginner-friendly Titan, being a solid all-rounder with some mechanics that train the player to play the game efficiently. This Titan, similarly to the Ronin class, can play many different roles in the game. The Ion's Vortex Shield is a powerful defensive/offensive ability that reflects enemy missiles back at them, and the Tripwire Tactical ability makes defending an area much simpler.
The Splitter Rifle shoots three shots at once in a small cleave area, and the Laser Shot Ordnance is a low-cooldown beam that hits exactly where the reticle is aiming. The only problem is that overall, this Titan's damage output isn't the strongest, and running out of energy mid-fight practically leaves it completely defenseless.
Like the Tone, the Ion is a good all-around pick, one that players can easily familiarize themselves with as they learn about all Titanfall 2 Titans. Though others have more specific strengths, they also have specific weaknesses, and the Ion is a good balance of all things Defensive and Offensive, though it might not excel at any one thing.
1 Tone
- Weapon: 40mm Tracker Cannon, which shoots explosive rounds that grant the Tone lock-on for its abilities.
- Ordnance: Tracking Rockets, which must lock on to a target in order to be launched.
- Tactical: Sonar Lock, which reveals nearby enemies and grants a portion of Lock-On.
- Defensive: Particle Wall, which totally blocks incoming fire without stopping the Tone from shooting outward.
- Core: Salvo Core, which unleashes a swarm of high-damage missiles that go where the player guides.
The best Titan in Titanfall 2 is almost certainly the Tone. This Titan earns its number one spot for a few different reasons. It is the most popular Titan, crowned by both a vote by the community and by in-game play stats. It shines at medium and long range with its Tracker Cannon, which deals good chunks of damage and builds Lock-On. The Tracking Rockets shoot missiles at a target, but it must be Locked On to work. The Tactical Sonar Lock ability reveals the nearby area and gives at least one point of Lock-On. The Particle Wall is a one-way shield that only stops incoming bullets.
The Salvo Core ability launches dozens of rockets wherever the players guide them. This doesn't require Lock-On, and continuously shoots as the player turns and aims at different enemies. The Tone's only major downfalls are its mobility and straightforwardness. Other Titans are able to move around much easier than the Tone, and while it's arguably the easiest Titan to learn and excel with, its simple playstyle leaves the adrenaline-craving gamer wanting.
Choose the Tone if you want a relatively simplified, but exciting, approach to combat that is just as effective as – if not outright better than – all other Titanfall 2 Titans. Other class mechanics are fun to use and can be rewarding, but the Tone requires so little effort in comparison that it's the default choice for many Titanfall 2 players.
Titanfall 2 is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One