Summary
Saber Interactive has released the new 5.0 update forWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, bringing a host of large changes to the game. The newWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2update is now available to download on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.
Space Marine 2was released earlier this year, and instantly ranked among thebest co-op games of 2024. It offered a unique brand of chaos that few other games could live up to, and thanks to frequent updates, it has only gotten more polished since its September launch. The game blends third-person shooter gameplay with hack-and-slash elements, with players facing off against Tyranid hordes alongside two other players. Gamers don’t even need to have an interest inWarhammerto enjoy this - it’s an absolute blast regardless.
The latestWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2patch notesdetailed the newly-released 5.0 update, with plenty of massive changes. The first addition is a newSpace Marine 2Operation, titled Obelisk. Here, players will face off against a new enemy called the Tzaangor Enlightened, a new melee/ranged hybrid that flies around on a disk. The Dark Angels Chapter Pack has been released for the Season Pass, adding new character and weapon skins for players to collect. New customization options have also been added, with 15 color patterns available for helmet lenses.
That’s all for the significant new additions. Now, the balance changes (and there are lots of them). Melee damage has been “increased across the board,” while Blocking Weapons have been given a major overhaul. Now, players “will accumulate up to 3 stacks of Melee Damage buffs. Attacking while having those stacks of buffs will spend them and will result in massive AoE Damage discharge.” This is to rebalance howmelee combat inSpace Marine 2currently functions, which Saber was previously unhappy with. While no changes were made to firearms in this update, the patch notes do hint at minor tweaks coming in Patches 6 and 7.
This update will also be a winner among team carries. Saber has added a new Extermination Bonus, which provides an XP bonus in Operations mode for players killing the most enemies. Killing more than 85% of spawned enemies gives a +120% XP bonus, more than 60% is +110%, and less than 60% is +100%. All of this comes along with numerous quality-of-life changes, including the addition of spawn protection inWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2PvP.
NEW FEATURES
New Operation: Obelisk
In this new Operation, you’ll be sent to Demerium and your mission is to rotate a replica of the obelisk to disrupt the flow of energy protecting the Aurora device. This operation takes place in parallel to the final events of the campaign.
To reach the console control of the obelisk, you’ll have to make it through a tomb plunged into darkness.
New Enemy: Tzaangor Enlightened
A new Majoris enemy can spawn in all Operations featuring the Thousand Sons.
Note from our Game Director:“The Tzaangor Enlightened is a disk-flying, melee/ranged-hybrid unit. They are fearsome opponents, especially when met in greater numbers. However, catching them after parry or during a long animation makes them an easy target.
We strongly advise you to use Target Lock to face this enemy!”
GAMEPLAY & BALANCING TWEAKS
Melee
Note from our Game Director:“The melee system has been our main focus recently. The issue that we saw is that, on higher difficulties, the melee combat relied too heavily on the “Parry -> Gun Strike” flow. This also made Fencing Melee Weapons a universal choice for almost all situations, and we want to give players more options. To try and achieve that, we’ve made the following changes.
First,normal Melee Damage has increased across the board, so there will be more options instead of just Parry -> Gun Strike.
Second,we are drastically changing how Blocking Weapons work. In short, by blocking enemy attacks, the player will accumulate up to 3 stacks of Melee Damage buffs. Attacking while having those stacks of buffs will spend them and will result in massive AoE Damage discharge.
With these changes, Fencing Weapons will still be great versus limited numbers of enemies, Balanced Weapons will be good versus big crowds, and Blocking Weapons will become ‘damage dealer’ type weapons.”
Perfect Block
All Block Weapons have been reworked with a new mechanic:Perfect BlockandAdrenaline Surge.
Perfectly timed blocks grant up to 3Adrenaline Surgestacks.Adrenaline Surgestacks greatly increase Melee Damage and are consumed after the next melee attack.
Attacking with 3 stacks ofAdrenaline Surgedeals massive AoE Damage, staggers enemies, and restores 1 Armour Segment.
Note that the right wrist glows in yellow after the Parry, which signifies that the Adrenaline Surge is ready to use. When used, a red explosion detonates on the enemy hit, deals AoE Damage, and regenerates an Armour Segment.
Unarmed/Firearm Melee:
Firearms
Note from our Game Director:“We are quite happy with recent updates to firearms. Pretty much all firearms are viable on the hardest difficulties now, and our win rate/pick rate data shows drastic improvements.
Still, there are a few weapons that are better than the others, andminor tweaks will be coming with Patch 6.
Further into the future,with Patch 7, we are planning to focus onreworking Weapons Perks. Weapons Perks are underwhelming compared to Class Perks right now, and the issues with some weapons are actually a result of them having a bad Perk tree rather than their basic stats.
The other big outstanding problem that we have is theGrenade Launcher. There are quite a few bugs/misconfigurations that make it the way it is.
If we approach this directly and fix all 3 bugs, it will make the Grenade Launcher useless and will hurt the entire Tactical class. We will be very careful with how we address this issue.We do want to keep the fun element of destroying entire waves of enemies with the Grenade Launcher.At the same time, no other weapon can match a Grenade Launcher with potentially unlimited Ammo.
Because of these complications, we want to take the time to carefully analyse and make the best decision possible about the Grenade Launcher, so we’re not modifying it in this patch.”
Neo-Volkite Pistol
Note from our Game Director:“We unified enemy sensitivity to Volkite Damage with Bolter Damage. This means a massive damage buff to certain Majoris and Extremis enemies that were more resistant to Volkite Damage than others.”
Volkite Damage sensitivity has been increased from 1 to 1.5 for these enemies:
Bolt Carbine:
Extermination Bonus
Note from our Game Director:“This change simply increases the amount of XP players are getting in Operations mode if they are zealously exterminating enemy waves.
This aims to:
incentivise players to not skip encounters, without punishing those who want to skip, and
makes the game less grindy in preparation for new features coming down the line (e.g., Prestige Ranks).”
Added a new feature that increases the amount of XP players gain based on % of enemies killed during an Operation:
*The rank is common to the party, everyone gets the same.
PERKS
Note from our Game Director:“In this patch, we are only fixing bugs with existing Perks, but trust me, we are seeing the issues with them. A lot of the Class Perks are not as good as we wanted them to be, and some Perk tree choices are really more efficient than others. With Patch 6, we are planning to massively rework a bunch of lacking Perks to make more builds viable.”
Quality mode
1080p - 1440p with upscale FSR to 4K
1080p - 2160p with PSSR
30 FPS
720p - 1080p with upscale FSR to 4K
1080p - 1440p with upscale PSSR to 4K
60 FPS
Added: FSR 3 / DLSS 3: Support of “Frame Generation” component for DLSS and FSR. For more details about FSR and DLSS, checkour FAQ.
MOD SUPPORT
Please note that starting from 5.0 update, mods will no longer be supported in public lobbies. You can find the complete explanationhere.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II
WHERE TO PLAY
Your Craft is Death.Embody the superhuman skill and brutality of a Space Marine, the greatest of the Emperor’s warriors. Hold at bay the horrors of the galaxy in epic battles on far-flung planets with your deadly abilities and devastating weaponry. Uncover dark secrets to drive back the everlasting night and prove your ultimate loyalty to humanity.Crush the Tyranid swarms. Defend humanity.Purge the relentless Tyranid swarms as legendary Space Marine Titus in a spectacular new campaign. Play solo or with up to 2 friends in 3 player co-op.Enjoy intense, gory and fast-paced third-person action with hundreds of enemies on screen, from the creators of blockbuster co-op shooter World War Z.Defend the Imperium as your own Space Marine in an endlessly brutal and replayable PvE missions up to 3 players featuring 6 classes, unlocking new skills and cosmetics.Wage eternal war on your enemies in ferocious 6v6 PvP matches and bring glory to your faction!
