Space Marine 2 might have launched a new Operation this week but the latest patch really pissed off the players.
We covered the launch of the latest patch from Space Marine 2 and everyone was excited about the new enemy type as well as the new Operation – Termination. However, not everything in the patch was well received by the player base. The new Lethal Difficult was added but that wasn’t the only change. The baseline difficulty shot up as well thanks to some targeted nerfs that the players really didn’t like.
via Space Marine 2 Patch Notes (Steam)
There’s really three key points here:
- Fencing Weapons’ Perfect Parry window has been altered to make it harder to pull off.
- Basic Auspex Scan bonus Damage nerfed by 30% vs bosses.
- Melta Charges got nerfed by 70%.
These three changes combine for a pretty brutal set of updates. The last two are basically directly targeted at taking down bosses as the Auspex Scan’s bonus damage was seen as key for most bosses. And the fact that Melta Charges are one-shot (you can only carry one at a time) means they really aren’t worth taking into a boss fight now.
As far as the Fencing Weapons change, this one is really a timing issue. You’re now going to have to more perfectly parry to get that important counter off with these weapons. Before everyone starts saying “Well get gud” keep in mind we’re talking about something in the neighborhood of 10 frames when it used to be an entire animation (more than double that).
On top of these weapon nerfs, there were also changes to lower the effectiveness of player armor, too. Which just doesn’t feel great.
Space Marine 2 Player Backlash
Again, the Devs are saying these changes were because the previous patch made the Operations “noticeably easier” and they still think the current Operations mode “is a bit too easy. ” It seems the players strongly disagree.
There are more negative “Not Recommended” reviews on the Steam page, but you get the idea. While the game is generally well received it does appear this patch has angered some of the more invested players. There’s obvious comparisons to Helldivers 2 that similarly ticked off their player base with a string of nerfs before reverting many of those changes back.
Additionally, the new Lethal Difficulty added a new mechanic that players are finding worse than punishing: it’s just plain not fun. It’s the new coherency mechanic that requires you to be close to your allies in order to restore armor from finishers. In theory, this makes sense and might even be a nod to the squad coherency from the tabletop. Unfortunately, in practice, it makes completing objectives in Operations nigh impossible. Specifically objectives where you have to split up to different parts of the map to complete them.
“I always knew you were a failure…”
Subscribe to our newsletter!
Get Tabletop, RPG & Pop Culture news delivered directly to your inbox.
If that seems a tad unfair on paper you can probably guess how that plays out in game. Regardless, that’s how things are currently working with the new Lethal Difficulty for now.
Having said all that, developers have been keeping an eye on the feedback. We’ll see if the spike in negative reviews and player opinions catches there attention.
It might be time to tweak your standard operating procedures and update the Codex Astartes with this new patch in mind.
Writer, Editor, Texas Native, and now Tex-Pat, Adam covers all things Tabletop Gaming. Which includes Warhammer 40,000, Age of Sigmar, D&D, Board Games and everything else that involves dice, boards, cards and a table.
A hobbyist, player, and collector of miniatures and games, Adam’s current obsession are his Death and Chaos Armies for Age of Sigmar, his Blood Angels and Tyranids for 40k, an expanding collection of Marvel: Crisis Protocol minis, and his ever growing Arkham Horror: The Card Game Collection.