With the release of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Update 4.1, the community is rallying against “gatekeepers” who have called on developer Saber Interactive to retire a reward given only to those who complete all PvE missions on the hardest difficulty.
Update 4.1, out now, follows hot on the heels of last week’s controversial Update 4.0, widely criticized by Space Marine 2 fans for making the game significantly harder. The backlash to Update 4.0 even spread to Space Marine 2’s Steam page, where disgruntled players review-bombed the game.
Update 4.0 added the Lethal difficulty to Space Marine 2’s PvE Operations mode, and with it exclusive rewards. One of these rewards, the Survivor’s Helm, is highly coveted by the community because all PvE missions must be completed on Lethal to unlock it.
Before today’s release of Update 4.1, Lethal difficulty was not only brutally hard, but unfairly so. It included the universally hated ‘Tight Formation’ system, which forced players to stick close together in an almost impossible fashion. Update 4.1 has stripped this mechanic out from Lethal mode entirely, with developer Saber admitting its mistake.
The rollback has caused some players who own the Survivor’s Helm to not only “act superior” online because they obtained it when Space Marine 2 was at its hardest, but to demand Saber now retire it or prevent it from displaying on characters who obtain it post 4.1. Some have even asked for yet another reward exclusive to those who completed a Lethal Operation on 4.0.
The Space Marine 2 community accused one player who said those who get the helmet post-4.1 “don’t deserve it” of “gatekeeping.” “As someone who already has the helmet, who cares if people know?” said redditor veqtro. “I know I got it before the patch and that’s all that matters. I’m proud of myself and I don’t need others to be proud of me. Everyone deserves the chance to earn it.”
“It’s literally just a helmet in a game,” added Bantabury97. “You can be proud of your achievement but to act superior because of it is just sad. One day, this game will be offline, and your achievement will be lost to time. Worthless. Nothing to show for it. It carries no weight nor worth. If you come here to say you got it, great man, good for you for beating the challenge. But if you come here to dunk on others for NOT getting it, then you’re part of the problem and need to go outside and touch grass.”
“Anyone who says this should automatically have their precious helmet turned into a Leandros face,” joked kidmeatball.
One of the (many) silly things about gatekeeping this Space Marine 2 helmet is that it might have been obtained by cheesing the Bio-Titan boss on the new PvE map, as one player managed to do solo on Lethal.
This isn’t the first time a video game community has rallied against gatekeeping of virtual items and it won’t be the last. Indeed the communities for FromSoftware’s infamously hard action games often deal with gatekeeping around how the likes of Dark Souls and Elden Ring are “meant to be played.”
Meanwhile, most Space Marine 2 players are excited to jump back in now the game is less stressful across all difficulties, and Bolters have finally been given a buff.
IGN has plenty more on Space Marine 2, including a deep-dive on the game’s burgeoning modding scene and accompanying complications. Last month, Saber Chief Creative Officer Tim Willits told IGN how the breakout success of Space Marine 2 had “changed everything” for the company. And eagle-eyed fans have spotted the Space Marine chapter now all-but confirmed to get a cosmetic pack after the Dark Angels, and even an unannounced new Thousand Sons enemy type.
Image credit: MrCha0s1 / reddit.
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.