To find the source of the sea’s corruption inSteamWorld Heist 2, you’re gonna need a full crew of hearty Steambots. To help you on your SWH2 journey, this guide covers how to recruit all Crewmates and the best Jobs and Skills to use to make the most of their unique abilities.
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How to recruit all Crewmates in SteamWorld Heist 2
There areten Crewmatesin SteamWorld Heist 2, and recruiting them all earns you theGonna Need a Bigger Boatachievement. The first two characters — Daisy and Wesley — are given to you at the beginning of the game, while the other 8 arerecruited from bars.
As you visit bars throughout the game, you’ll notice recruitable NPCs with the Gallon icon and a number above their heads. Talk to them and exchange your hard-earned Gallons to permanently recruit them as a Crewmate.
The crewmates who appear in bars are random on a daily basis, and their price is dependent on how many Crew members you have already. The number of Crewmates you can recruit increases as you progress the game, eventually allowing you to hire all ten.
Which characters should you recruit first in SteamWorld Heist 2?
I highly recommend recruitingTristan,Sol, andCorneliusbefore most other Crewmates. Tristan is a fantastic healer and saved my robotic butt more times than I can count. Cornelius is a bonafide tank and can redirect enemies off squishier bots. Finally, Sol has (arguably) the best Personal Upgrades in the game with the Eldritch Beam that damages, heals, and replenishes.
Wesley Hotchkiss
Wesley’s Personal Upgrades make him the perfectBoomer. With the right skills, Wesley can be built to deal considerable splash damage to weaker enemies, buffing himself for huge single target damage, perfect for boss stages.
Best Job Skills for Wesley
Boomers will hurt themselves when using a Rocket Launcher too close to an enemy.Blast Shieldminimizes self-damage in this situation, whilePaybackincreases damage when you’re a little too close to your own explosions. Wesley’s focus on splash and AoE damage makesMomentuman excellent passive damage increase.
Daisy Clutch
Daisy works well as aFlanker, focusing on high mobility to save the day with Stun Gun. Thanks to her Studious Upgrade, however, Daisy is the perfect blank slate to make various crazy combinations between all jobs due to a lower cog cost.
Best Job Skills for Daisy
The best Skills for Daisy will depend on your chosen job, though the Skills listed above synergize best with improving her movement and utility with Stun Gun.
Sola “Sol” Fathom
Solahas extremely powerful Personal Upgrades, with an Eldritch Beam that does huge damage, heals, reduces cooldown for each bot scrapped,andis a free action. Due to its sheer power and range, Sola is suitable forany jobyou like.
Best Job Skills for Sola
Surgical StrikeandHunter’s Markhelp to improve Eldritch Beam’s damage, whileCoolreduces its cooldown.Surgical Strikeis a nice increase to healing, making Sola tankier.
Dame Judy Wrench
Judyhas an interesting Personal Upgrade that allows her to hit any enemy for splash damage every three turns from anywhere on the map. Like Sol, Judy is suitable forany job, though you may want to keep her as aBoomerfor the “explosions” theme.
Best Job Skills for Judy
There are no Job Skills that directly benefit Judy’s abilities in a significant way. Tailor your extra abilities to the job you have chosen or your current level.
Tristan Torque
Tristan’sAlways Prepared Upgrade makes him the perfect healer as anEngineer. Ultimate Upgrade also means he’s great at Breaking multiple enemies and setting up defenses for the rest of the team.
Best Job Skills for Tristan
Tristan is best used to support the team, keeping them alive by healing them and keeping them out of danger.Slot Machinewill allow him to equip an extra healing item,Squeezegives them an extra use, andSmoke Bombcan keep both himself and others safe.Nimble FeetandSidestepcan be the difference between life and death, reaching Crewmates on the brink of being scrapped.
Cornelius “Hightower” Column
Cornelius is born to be a tank, making him the perfectBrawler. Building up this bot to be as beefy as possible allows him to soak up hits and turn them into pure damage.
Best Job Skills for Cornelius
Thick PlatingandMaintenace Protocolincreases Cornelius’ survivability, which is essential for his role as a tank. Since he will be regularly taking damage,Rageis a nice passive bonus. Finally,Light Stepmeans Cornelius can continue to be useful in stages with elemental hazards.
Beacon Potts
With his ability to teleport to vantage points and become invisible,Beaconmakes an idealSniper. Alternatively, Beacon can also be a greatFlanker. I recommend leveling both jobs and switching them to suit your current mission.
Best Job Skills for Beacon
FortifyandBuild Coverboth ensure Beacon can be behind cover while sniping.Coolreduces the cooldown of Scram, which usually takes 5 turns to recharge.
Poe Phroggi
Poe‘s Personal Upgrades aren’t particularly exciting, but they do make her a solidFlankeror Aura-basedEngineer
Best Job Skills for Poe
ShiftyandNimble Feetbuild upon Poe’s movement to likely make her the furthest-moving bot in your Crew. Since she can get around to any teammate quickly,Greased Up, Wide AuraandAmped Upare great choices to buff your crew.
Rosa “Chimney” Rivet
Once you unlock her Ultimate Personal Upgrade,Chimneyis a surprisingly goodReaper. Combined with skills like the Reaper’s signature Kill Shot and Harvest, Rosa will be able to attack multiple times throughout her turns. Tit for Tat also comes in handy to help her survivability and keep enemies out of her way.
Best Job Skills for Chimney
If you recruit Chimney later in the game, she’ll automatically be a Level 5 Brawler.Hard ShellandSecond Windboth help with survivability as a Reaper and, combined with Payback, allows her to take advantage of Tit for Tat.
Barbara “Crowbar” Crowe
Crowbarhas a very powerful Personal Upgrade that deals passive damage to enemies standing near her after attacking.She makes a powerfulReaperorFlanker, depending on which Job you’re lacking in your Crew.
Best Job Skills for Crowbar
ShiftyandMomentumtake advantage of Crowbar’s potential for scrapping multiple bots on her turns.Mineshas good synergy with Bad Vibes, making it lethal for any bot to get close to her. Finally,Light Stepprevents hazards from ruining multi-target potential from Bad Vibes.
With your Crew all decked out to do the most damage, don’t forget that they need to look the part, too. Check out our guide onevery hat in SteamWorld Heist 2 and how to get them.
Thomas Cunliffe
Thomas has been a writer in the games industry since 2021 and considers himself a connoisseur of all things Nintendo, Blizzard, and Marvel. Since amassing 152,000+ followers on a Facebook page about Diddy Kong with a backward hat, Thomas has become a trusted voice in the gaming community across publications such as PC Invasion, AOTF, and Gfinity.
His greatest achievements include catching every Pokémon, completing (almost) every quest in World of Warcraft, and naming his dog ‘Mass Effect 3.’
Thomas is extraordinarily passionate about the video game industry and its community. He enjoys writing about a wide variety topics, including popular games like Destiny 2, Fortnite, and WoW, as well as the latest Indie titles.
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