Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is still going strong on Steam and 4.5 million players later the sci-fi shooter is finally getting its first new operation since launch. Patch 4.0 adds a new multiplayer mission on the planet Kadaku called Termination as well as some notable changes to the underlying gameplay.
Available in Operations, Space Marine 2‘s randomly rotating online mission mode, Termination will have players make use of new artillery to fight back the alien hordes. The mode is also getting a new “Lethal difficulty” setting that limits the number of times players can get ammo refills and only restores shields after finishers if players stay close to one another. The reward is a new set of armor cosmetics. Plus players can now access a photo mode when they’re playing Operations solo with bots to snap pics of how much cooler they look after unlocking it.
The developers at Saber Interactive also say that Operations got noticeably easier after patch 3.0, so they are introducing changes to keep the challenge level more consistent across various missions and loadouts. Fencing weapons’ perfect parry window has been reduced, charged attack perks will grant significantly more damage, and the Basic Auspex Scan and Melta Charge now both do a lot less damage to bosses. Enemy variety within waves will also be less random while the differences between waves will be bigger.
Elsewhere, the following changes will be implemented:
PVP
- Increased delay between announcer messages in PvP.
- The starting animation of the Grapnel Launcher for the Vanguard is shorter in PvP.
- Fixed Power Fist in PvP dealing too much damage with short charged attacks.
AI
- Enemy Dodges: Globally replaced full invulnerability on dodge moves of enemies with heavy melee damage resistance.
- Rubric Marine with Boltgun: Disengage teleport max distance is slightly reduced.
This is Space Marine 2‘s third notable content update since launch, with previous patches adding private lobbies, ultrawide monitor support, and a PVP arena. The developers still have big plans for the future of the game though, with ongoing support including new classes and possibly even story expansion DLC. With tons of lore to mine from the Warhammer 40K universe, fans are buzzing over all of the factions and refences that could still get added to the game in the future. Though at some point Saber will no doubt begin work on prototyping Space Marine 3.
