Mere days after Helldivers 2 finally figured out how to make its players happy (by making guns and gear powerful, generally), Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 has pushed out its patch 4.0, which has the community up in arms. Spoiler alert: it has to do with the amped-up difficulty systems.
To be clear, patch 4.0 does include some genuinely good and exciting additions to the game, such as a new Operation, Photo Mode, and various assorted QoL improvements. The problem lies in the balancing aspect of the update, which not only comes with the all-new “Lethal” difficulty mode but also a series of serious nerfs. A prime example is the frankly massive nerf to the Fencing weapons’ perfect parry window, which brings them in line with Balanced weapons.
Space Marine 2 players are not keen on the new 4.0 patch
The thing about Space Marine 2‘s Operations mode is that it was downright punishing at times. To begin with, the game’s progression and weapon modification systems are built around nudging the player into ever-higher difficulties. At the same time, a surprising number of “chaff” melee enemies can tank shots while ranged attackers shred the Marines’ armor in mere seconds.
Bumps in difficulty were softened a tad with the previous Patch 3, though it appears to have gone beyond Saber Interactive’s plans: “With Patch 3 we have noticed that Operations mode became noticeably easier, especially Chaos operations,” says the comment on the latest patch notes. “We are happier with what we have right now compared to what we had on release, because before Patch 3 Chaos missions were unpopular. Still, we think that currently Operations mode is a bit too easy.”
Patch 4’s nerfs were, however, on the more egregious side of the balancing horseshoe:
I would argue that Space Marine 2‘s Operations Mode was a fair bit more hardcore by default than Helldivers 2 was, even before the latter’s 60-day patch fixed things up. This means the community was more willing to accommodate Saber’s attempts to balance things out and keep Operations on a knife’s edge.
Patch 4 has introduced a whole series of problems, regrettably:
- Armor tether forces players to stay extremely close to one another, and it goes against the Sniper and the Vanguard’s gameplay mechanics.
- Lethal difficulty is generally overtuned across the board.
- Nerfs to Melta Charges and Fencing melee make both questionable to use in action.
It’s not hard to see why this might lead to an increase in negative reviews and a general sense of unease in the community.
The not-too-bad thing to consider here is that most of the difficulty changes Saber pushed out with Patch 4 can be avoided or at least lessened by sticking with lower difficulties. Most players seem to currently agree that Lethal Difficulty isn’t worth playing as the rewards are purely cosmetic, but still.
It will be interesting to see what takeaway Saber Interactive takes from this situation. There are only two ways forward, and as we’ve seen with Helldivers 2, it’s a very questionable road for a co-op PvE game to take.
