Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is out in the wild and going down very well with fans, but it is not without issues. One issue in particular is creating an awkward situation between players before they set out on a co-op mission — so awkward in fact that it’s making simply playing the class you want more frustrating than it should be.
Space Marine 2 includes three-player co-op missions as part of Operations mode. These co-op missions are set during the game’s campaign, but with different characters who are off doing other missions that tie in to the events that follow Titus and co. These missions are referenced in the campaign, but Operations mode lets you actually play them.
Operations mode only lets your squad include one Space Marine of each class. So, for example, it is impossible to have an all-sniper team (developer Saber has said this is a deliberate design decision to encourage “strategic variety.”)
That would be fine if it weren’t for the fact that Space Marine 2 will actively matchmake you into a group with a player who is the same class as the one you just picked to play as. In-game, there is an area of the Battle Barge where players must “assemble” before an Operations mode mission kicks off. The countdown only begins when all three players have selected a different class. This means you can end up in awkward standoffs where two or more players want to be the same class, each waiting for the other to blink first and switch.
I have first-hand experience of this myself. I’m currently leveling my Bulwark and so only want to play as this (really fun!) tank class, but I’m often matched with players who clearly had the same thought. So we just stand in the “assemble” area staring at each other. After a while, I usually get kicked from the group by the group leader, and have to go through the matchmaking process all over again.
The problem is exacerbated by Space Marine 2’s per class leveling system. You level up the class you play as only, as experience gained from a mission is not shared across all classes. Leveling is slow, too, which means if you’re a fan of one class and want to make progress with them, there really isn’t much point switching to another class.
Thankfully, it sounds like a fix for this problem is coming from the developers at Saber Interactive. One fan expressing frustration with this stand-off problem called for a system that auto-detects your class and matches you with those who are a different class. Creative director Oliver Hollis-Leick replied to say class matching “is definitely one we are going to deal with.”
Generally speaking, Space Marine 2 has enjoyed a huge early access launch with its global release set to go live today, September 9. IGN’s Space Marine 2 review returned an 8/10. We said: “Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 may not break the third-person shooter mold, but it looks amazing, makes good use of its Warhammer lore, and has brutal combat that just feels great.”
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.