The newest addition to the Warhammer series has finally arrived, packed with a continued storyline, newer mechanics, stellar graphics, and enhanced combat systems.
To stand a chance against the enemy hordes, it is best to equip yourself with the knowledge that will allow you to stand victorious after the battle is over. To help you in that pursuit, here’s our beginner's guide to Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.
Headshots deal more damage
While there are numerous opponents in Warhammer 40,000, they’re not necessarily difficult to defeat. You can conserve ammunition for enemies with lower health by eliminating them efficiently with headshots. This strategy allows you to save stronger weapons and firepower for tougher opponents.
A headshot guarantees a single-shot kill (in most cases) and helps you defeat weaker opponents faster.
Understanding game modes
Players can choose between three game modes in Warhammer 40,000:
- Campaign
- Operations
- Eternal Mode
While the Campaign and Operations follow a PvE format, the Eternal Mode is based on PvP. In Operations, players need to be more conscious of their health.
Operation Mode works a bit differently compared to other game modes. You are granted a limited number of revives, which varies based on the difficulty level. Once these revives are exhausted, you will face permanent death.
After each revival, you will receive a Mortal Wound, reducing your overall health or abilities and making the next stages of the mission more challenging. Gaining a Mortal Wound means you cannot be revived again, ultimately dying after being downed.
Collect medicinal resources
The fight against your enemies isn’t easy, considering the difficulty and pace of the game. It is vital to always keep an eye on your health bar. There are two resources players can use to heal and revive themselves:
- Medicae Stimms
- Guardian Relics
Medicae Stimms restore your Space Marine’s health bar—partially. However, you can only equip two medicinal items at a time.
Guardian Relics don’t improve your character’s health, but they’re essential because their consumption “allows self-revival from Incapacitation.”
These supplies are found in every mission, so finding them shouldn't be a problem.
Execute whenever you get the chance
While Warhammer 40,000 focuses on melee and long-range combat, melee often has the upper hand in close-quarter engagements, where precision and speed can determine the outcome of a fight.
There are two main reasons for you to execute an enemy whenever you get the chance:
- You instantly heal recent damage taken from the enemy. When you take damage, a small window shows the depleted health in white. This can be regained by executing enemies or engaging in combat. In such cases, moving in for quick execution and finishing off the enemy grants players the fastest (and the most efficient) health gain.
- You gain immunity while performing an execution. This is helpful for obvious reasons and complements the first argument favoring this tactic.
Understanding your Melee weapons
Since melee combat is a crucial aspect of the game, having fundamental knowledge about a melee-specific loadout is vital.
While on the weapons screen, you’ll see a yellow-red bar on the left-hand side. This bar indicates whether the weapon is better suited for single-target precision or handling multiple targets simultaneously. If the white cursor approaches the yellowish region, the weapon will work on individual enemies and vice versa.
There are stats for every melee weapon that showcase its attributes.
Know your Melee weapon’s stance
You can perform both light and heavy attacks with your melee weapons, and while the former is beneficial to land quick blows, it isn’t always effective. On the other hand, heavy attacks deliver more damage but are slower and can be less ideal in fast-paced situations.
In such cases, you can use a combination of both light-heavy combos to trigger an AoE attack. To do so, initiate your offensive strategy with light combos and follow it with heavy attacks.
Choosing the correct loadout
Many players have stated that your initial loadouts aren’t up to par with the game's difficulty—this is intentional, mainly because Warhammer tends to lean more towards a player’s skillset.
Selecting a loadout that aligns with your play style is crucial. At present, there are six classes of weapons you can choose from.
- Tactical
- Assault
- Vanguard
- Bulwark
- Sniper
- Heavy
Upgrade your weapons periodically
The previous section discussed the mediocrity of your starting load-outs in Space Marine 2. Therefore, you must level up your weapons as soon as possible. This can be done through the rewards you gain from the Operations Mode.
Each upgrade can provide a significant buff to your weapon. It enhances your current weapon perks and can unlock new ones.