Welcome, my brothers, It’s Librarian Husky, to the most complete Warhammer 40K Space Marine 2 guide on the internet. In this article, we’ll dive into everything you need to know to play the game without frustration, such as game modes, unlocking gear, upgrading weapons, all of the classes, all of the weapons, maximizing your XP, and more. Remember, the Emperor provides, and the Emperor protects. Now, let’s get this thing started!

Understanding Game Modes

The first thing you’re going to want to understand in Space Marine 2 is the different game modes that this game has to offer. You will be able to interact with a station to see three game modes: Operations, Campaign, and Eternal War. I recommend starting with the Campaign, as it provides a great story experience. It features amazing cutscenes, excellent voice acting, and is perfect for anyone who enjoys a good Warhammer story. If you’re unsure whether you like Warhammer stories, this is the ideal place to start, and you might discover your love for Warhammer 40K narratives.

Campaign Overview

The Campaign will take you through about 10 hours of content. You can play through it solo or group up with up to two other friends, forming a party of three. A nice feature is that if your friends complete the entire campaign with you, they receive all the same achievements that you do during your story playthrough.

Operations Mode

Next, we have Operations, which is the co-op PvE mode. This is where you will likely spend most of your time after completing the campaign. Currently, there are six different missions to choose from, with more on the way. This mode allows for collaborative gameplay, making it an engaging experience for friends and players alike.

Campaign Communication and Operations

When you were playing through the campaign as Titus, you were constantly in communication with other squads participating in the same mission as you, but in different locations with different objectives. Sometimes they were taking down a big boss while you were focused on something else. Operations represent what those squads were doing. In each operation, you get to play as the other team you communicated with during the campaign. These missions are replayable, allowing you to play them over and over again. This is where you will level up all of your weapons, classes, and unlock cosmetics. This activity serves as the endgame PvE content and is tons of fun.

Eternal War Mode

The third and final mode is Eternal War. This is the PvP mode. Similar to Operations, you can hit quick match and get paired with someone else, or you can choose specific modes to jump into, such as Seize Ground, Capture and Control, and Annihilation. These modes are exactly what they sound like. If you prefer PvP content, you can come here and unlock items through competitive play.

Scoreboard Insights

The first thing to be aware of is that when you’re playing the game, you can open the scoreboard at any time. This scoreboard provides a wealth of important information, the first of which is your current objective. For example, it will indicate where you need to go or what you need to do next in the game.

Understanding the Scoreboard and Mission Information

The scoreboard informs you about your current objective, guiding you on where to go next. This screen also displays other important information, such as the mission description in the top left corner. Additionally, it provides details about your squad, including the names of all group members, their ultimate abilities, and what those abilities do.

Essential Items on the Map

Now, let’s go over some essential items that you’ll find on each map. You’ll encounter ammo caches like the one shown here. Whenever you see one, get into the habit of using it, as you can use these as many times as you want, unlike other forms of ammo in the game. Additionally, you will find stims, which are crucial for keeping you and your party alive. Whoever picks them up can use them, and currently, there’s no way to pass them to someone else, so ensure that the person who needs it collects it.

Stim Pack Healing Effects

To give you an idea of how much a stim pack heals you on basic difficulty, I’ll use it now. It provides about two health bars when used. On harder difficulties, it only restores one health bar, making it vital to manage your shield effectively in this game. Whenever your shield is depleted, enemies will start chipping away at your health.

Managing Shields and Exploring Side Areas

It’s just a matter of time before you run out of shields. We will jump into shield management shortly. When playing the campaign in co-op mode, it’s important to check the side areas. You’ll notice little paths off to the side where you can find different weapons, weapon upgrades, or alternative weapons that may not be better but offer variety. Additionally, you can discover data slates that provide extra lore about the mission.

Finding Upgrade Materials

While weapon upgrades, ammo, and stim packs are fantastic finds, the best items in these side areas are your upgrade materials. These materials allow you to upgrade your guns from gray to green, then to purple, and finally to gold, known as Relic status. Note that you won’t find these upgrade materials in the campaign; they are available in Operations mode.

Understanding Enemy Forecasts

This game features different types of enemy forecasts. For instance, a red forecast indicates that an enemy is about to attack, and if you see an enemy turn red, it means you should dodge that attack. Conversely, when an enemy turns teal, you can counter it. By hitting the parry button, you can regain a bar of armor, which is crucial in the more difficult versions of the game. After countering, you can use your pistol to deal significant damage to enemies, which is particularly useful for executing tougher opponents.

Recovering Armor and Health

You can regain armor by executing enemies. On easier difficulties, executions can grant you up to three bars of armor, while on the hardest difficulties, you only receive one bar of armor for killing difficult mobs. The only way to recover health is by using stim packs. Additionally, when you take damage, some of it appears as a white health bar temporarily.

Melee Attacks for Health Recovery

If you melee enemies, you can recover the missing white health as long as you regain it before it disappears. An easy way to recover this health is by countering an attack. For example, if you take a bit of damage and see that white health bar, you can melee to bring it back. Executing enemies will also restore some health. If you’re missing health, try to land a few melee attacks to regain it. For armor recovery, make sure to execute a few enemies.

Weapons and Grenades

Most characters will have a primary and a secondary weapon, typically a pistol and a melee weapon. You’ll also have grenades, which come in various types throughout the game. Depending on the grenade type, you can carry a different amount: three frag grenades, two shot grenades, and one melta bomb. Similar to most first-person shooters, you can choose to hip-fire for less accuracy or aim down sights for improved accuracy.

Ultimate Abilities

Lastly, you will have an ultimate ability, which you can activate on PC by pressing the Q key. The ability that activates depends on your class while playing through the campaign.

Class and Abilities Overview

Currently, you don’t get to choose your class; you will be playing as Titus. Titus has a unique ability that temporarily increases both his attacking potential and durability, allowing him to deal more damage while taking less. Your ultimate ability automatically regenerates over time, so you don’t have to do anything special to get it back. However, certain classes have mechanics that can speed up this regeneration.

Importance of Executions

Executing enemies is crucial for several reasons. Not only does it restore your white health and armor, but it also provides iframe protection. This means that during the execution animation, you are immune to damage, giving you a moment to regroup. Plus, executions look impressive, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.

Melee Combos and Variations

Another important aspect of combat is knowing your melee combos. On PC, you can access the menu by pressing escape to view the available combos for your melee weapon. You can perform a light combo by clicking the right mouse button repeatedly or execute a heavy combo by holding the first click followed by two light clicks. Alternatively, you can deliver a heavy swing simply by holding down the button once. There are various combinations to explore, making melee combat dynamic and engaging.

Melee Combat Techniques

You have access to a distance stab while evading or sprinting. By pressing the right mouse button, you can perform this maneuver, which varies between different melee weapons. Each melee weapon will have its unique set of combos, and they will behave differently depending on the weapon type.

Choosing Your Class in Operations

When you enter operations, you will have the opportunity to choose your class from Tactical, Assault, Vanguard, Sniper, and Heavy. Each class plays very differently, and they are balanced uniquely. Some classes may feel stronger or weaker than others, especially during the game’s launch. Currently, Assault seems to be the weakest class, while Vanguard, Sniper, and Heavy appear to be incredibly strong.

Heavy Class Features

The Heavy class can utilize powerful heavy weapons that do not require reloading. Your primary weapon allows for continuous fire until it runs out of ammo, providing big, impactful shots that feel satisfying. Anytime you encounter an item with “melta” in its name, such as a Multi Melta or a Melta Rifle, these weapons are exceptionally powerful, performing similarly to shotguns. In the current version of the game, these are some of the strongest weapons available for most content.

Heavy Class Weapons and Abilities

In the Heavy class, you can choose from three primary weapons. The Heavy’s ultimate ability creates an Iron Halo, which forms a powerful barrier that blocks all ranged damage. This is particularly useful when facing multiple enemies at a distance, allowing you to close the gap while providing protection for your allies.

Armor and Combat Mechanics

The Heavy class starts with three bars of armor, while other classes, like the Sniper, only begin with two. Although the Sniper cannot use a melee weapon, they can swing their heavy weapon like a melee weapon, which is effective but not as powerful as having a dedicated melee weapon. Typically, the Heavy class will rely on their primary weapon to eliminate enemies rather than engaging in melee combat.

Overview of the Sniper Class

The Sniper is one of the favorite classes in the game, offering unique advantages in combat. Imagine commanding over 25,200 tanks, planes, helicopters, and ships from ten major nations, ranging from vehicles of the 1920s to modern fighter jets and battle tanks. This variety enhances the gameplay experience, making it an exciting option for players.

War Thunder: An Epic PVP Experience

In War Thunder, you take command of some of the most powerful war machines of our time. Join 70 million players in epic PVP battles featuring an unmatched wealth of high-quality content to explore. The game boasts one of the most sophisticated vehicle damage models in gaming, with every vehicle intricately modeled down to individual components like engines, fuel tanks, weapons, and crew, all susceptible to damage from enemy fire.

Realistic Damage and Customization

If a vehicle is destroyed, War Thunder reveals the destruction in X-ray view, showing exactly where the shell penetrated, which components were affected, and what ultimately led to the vehicle’s demise. Additionally, the game features a deep customization system with countless camouflages, historical markings, and decorations for all vehicle types.

Performance and Accessibility

War Thunder is heavily optimized to run smoothly, even on lower-end machines, and the best part is that you can play it for free on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. New and returning players who haven’t played in the last six months can claim a massive Bonus Pack, including multiple premium vehicles and the exclusive vehicle decorator, Eagle of Valor.

Sniper Class Overview

The Sniper class offers a selection of rifles, a secondary weapon, and a melee weapon—a knife. Snipers excel at dealing high single-target damage, but they struggle in close-quarters combat against multiple enemies. Fortunately, they have an ultimate ability to assist them in such situations.

Class Overview: Elites and the Bullwork

In the game, certain classes can go invisible with Camouflage Cloak for a few seconds. Your role in the group will be to focus on Elites and put them into the execute state, allowing your frontline allies to finish them off. The Bullwork class is unique as it carries a shield, making it the only class with this capability.

The Bullwork Class Features

The Bullwork wields a sword in the main hand, but this can be swapped out for a power fist or a chainsword. While the power fist delivers impressive damage, it lacks the range of the chainsword and regular sword. Notably, the Bullwork has a secondary and a melee weapon but does not possess a primary weapon. This class is ideal for players who want to enhance survivability and defense for their group.

Ultimate Abilities and Group Dynamics

The Bullwork’s ultimate ability can restore armor to nearby allies and boost their damage output if the right perks are selected. Therefore, as the Bullwork, you should expect to contribute more defensively and support your team rather than focusing solely on offense.

The Vanguard Class: A Versatile Choice

The Vanguard is a well-rounded class, perfect for players seeking high damage and mobility. Currently, it stands out as one of my favorite classes in the game due to its balance between offense and versatility.

The Vanguard Class: Abilities and Strengths

The Vanguard class falls between the Heavy and the Sniper, with its ultimate ability being the Grapnel Launcher. This grapple hook allows you to shoot out and sling yourself into an enemy. It serves multiple purposes, including closing gaps quickly and eliminating foes simultaneously.

Importance of Interrupting Enemies

Using the Grapnel Launcher can also help interrupt enemies who are calling for reinforcements, indicated by a symbol above their heads. If you fail to interrupt them before the symbol fills up, reinforcements will arrive, which can significantly impact mission success, especially in harder co-op missions. Preventing reinforcements not only shortens the mission duration but also makes completing objectives easier.

Assault Class: Weapon Options

The Assault class is popular primarily for the Thunder Hammer, a weapon that many players find enjoyable. Alternatively, you can choose the fist weapon or chainsword. The Thunder Hammer and the jump pack enhance the combat experience, allowing for dynamic movement on the battlefield. In the pre-release version of the game, the jump pack performs exceptionally well in the campaign, although its effectiveness in co-op missions may vary.

Assault Class: Issues and Equipment

Currently, there seems to be a bug affecting the jump pack functionality in the Assault class. If you find that the jump pack isn’t responding as expected or not firing when you want it to, it’s not an issue on your end; it’s a problem with the game itself.

Secondary Weapon Choices

For secondary weapons, you can choose between the heavy bolt pistol or the regular bolt pistol, both of which provide good options for additional firepower.

Tactical Class: Versatility and Skills

The Tactical class serves as a jack-of-all-trades, offering standard soldier capabilities. With a variety of rifles and a sidearm, as well as a chainsword for melee combat, this class excels in adaptability. Its ultimate ability, Aspect Scan, reveals enemies in a selected area, making them more vulnerable and effectively weakening them.

Armor and Weapon Recommendations

The Tactical class starts with three bars of armor, providing a solid foundation for survivability. It also features great melee options, including the chainsword, and ranged weaponry such as the melta rifle. While the plasma incinerator was recently nerfed from previous playtests, it remains a fun weapon to use.

Weapon Choices and Recommendations

I definitely recommend giving the various weapon classes a try, but my personal favorite is the melta due to its hard-hitting nature. You can charge up plasma weapons; by long-pressing your attack, you perform a charged attack that consumes more ammo but deals significantly more damage.

Class Differences

The biggest differences between the classes lie in the weapon selection available to you and your ultimate ability. However, the ultimate ability is not nearly as noticeable as the weapon selection since you don’t use it as frequently as your weapons in the game.

Weapon Progression System

Now that we’ve covered the classes, let’s discuss how to progress through the various weapons in the game. You can level up and unlock new weapons by equipping them while participating in multiplayer missions. As you complete these missions, a progress bar fills up.

Unlocking New Weapons

Once you fill up the first progress bar, you can spend a green core, which is a currency unlocked in the first two difficulties. To unlock new weapons, long-press the bar at the top. Some weapons may require a gold core and additional experience before they can be unlocked.

Choosing Mastercrafted Weapons

When selecting a mastercrafted weapon, you will hover over each option to see its unique pros and cons. For example, one weapon may increase strength by one while decreasing it by another, and improving speed by two. Others may boost strength by three but decrease speed by one.

Weapon Strengths and Weaknesses

Each weapon possesses its own set of strengths and weaknesses, and some may have a smaller strength without any weaknesses. Once you choose the weapon that suits your playstyle, you can unlock and equip it.

Experience Points and Mastery

While your chosen weapon is equipped, you will begin earning experience points (XP) for it. As you fill the XP bar, you unlock artificer-grade weapons, which operate similarly. For example, an artificer weapon might show that it is 60% mastered, indicating that you have 1,655 out of 2,600 mastery points.

Mastery Points and Passive Skills

Each time you master a weapon, you earn a mastery point that can be spent in your perk tree. To master a weapon, you need to have it equipped while defeating enemies. Additionally, there is another set of passive skills specific to each weapon that you can develop. You can start from the top or the bottom and work your way through these skills.

Leveling Multiple Weapons

The reason to level more than one mastercrafted weapon is that, although you may primarily use one, having multiple options allows for greater versatility in gameplay.

Mastering Weapons for Enhanced Skills

Your favorite version of a weapon may either deal more damage or attack faster, but the goal is to master all variants. By doing so, you earn three mastery points to spend in your perk tree, rather than just one on your path to unlocking artificer weapons.

Unlocking Artificer Weapons

As you progress, you’ll unlock and level all four types of weapons to gain four additional points for further investment in the perk tree. Eventually, you’ll reach the Relic stage while continuously filling your mastery bars, which fill much faster than other experience bars.

Efficient Mastery Progression

Earning mastery points is straightforward; simply run more missions to fill the bars quickly. You can easily max out one weapon, unlock the next, and then fill its mastery bar too. This makes it simple to accumulate more mastery points and enhance your character’s abilities.

Customizing Weapon Appearance

Additionally, the weapon upgrade system allows you to change the appearance of your weapon. You can modify it to look like various designs, though some options may not be unlocked yet. Once you obtain the Relic version of a weapon, you can slot a cosmetic appearance to customize your gear further.

Leveling and Mastery Overview

This weapon upgrade system functions uniformly across all weapons, allowing you to level each one specifically to earn mastery points for the perk tree. As you continue using the weapons, you will enhance their standard and advanced forms, making your character more formidable in battle.

Leveling Up Mastercrafted Weapons

To level up your mastercrafted experience, you need to use mastercrafted weapons. This will eventually unlock the artificer stage, allowing you to gain mastery points that will help you unlock Relic weapons. It’s a straightforward process that becomes easier once you get the hang of it.

Utilizing the Perk Tree

Don’t forget to use your perk tree once you earn mastery points. Each weapon has its own perk tree and progression system, which can enhance your gameplay. Some classes share overlapping weapons; for instance, multiple classes can use the bolt pistol.

Shared Progression Across Classes

When you upgrade a weapon like the bolt pistol in one class, its progress benefits all classes that can equip it. However, some weapons, like the multimelta, are exclusive to certain classes, such as the heavy. This means only that class will benefit from its upgrades, making it essential to consider your playstyle if you plan to use various classes.

Choosing Which Weapons to Level Up

If you intend to play many different classes, think carefully about which weapons you choose to level up. Prioritizing shared weapons can enhance your overall effectiveness across multiple classes, while focusing on class-specific weapons can help you specialize and maximize your performance with your preferred class.

Weapon Overlap Across Classes

Many classes can equip weapons like the chainsword and bolt pistol, providing significant overlap that can be strategically advantageous. This shared access allows players to adapt their loadouts based on team composition and mission requirements.

Understanding Currency Types

It’s essential to understand the different currency types in the game to fully engage in the progression system. You need green currency to unlock mastercrafted weapons, pink currency for artificer upgrades, and gold currency for Relic enhancements.

Participating in Operations

To earn these currencies, you will participate in operations. You can either quick match with random players or select specific missions. Once you choose a mission, you can easily set it up and jump into action.

Threat Levels and Difficulty Recommendations

You can change the threat level before starting a mission, with minimal and average difficulties yielding green cores for upgrades. The third difficulty, substantial, provides pink cores, while ruthless difficulty offers gold cores for final upgrades. Keep in mind that the recommended levels are just suggestions; with the right loadouts and a solid team, you can tackle missions sooner than indicated.

Advantages of Team Play

When you team up with real players, missions become significantly easier than when playing solo with NPCs. Human players tend to perform better and often utilize more powerful weapons, such as melta rifles, which can give your team a substantial advantage. Don’t hesitate to group with random players to complete missions more efficiently.

Optimal Farming Strategy

To farm upgrade materials effectively, focus on the first mission, Inferno. Hovering over this mission reveals that you can earn 1,260 XP, 95 credits, and discoverable Armory data, which is essential for upgrades. In contrast, playing on the lower difficulty yields significantly less, so aim for the highest difficulty you can handle comfortably.

Understanding Armory Data

You can skip lower-tier green Armory data and go straight for the pink Armory data, allowing you to purchase the green items directly. The Inferno mission is especially efficient for farming both experience and upgrade materials, providing two Armory data items—one found on the ground and another from a boss.

Maximizing Experience Gain

Completing missions like Inferno not only gives you essential Armory data but also offers opportunities to gain gene seedlings. These gene seedlings provide additional XP, allowing your character to level up more quickly and unlock more passive abilities. This approach will accelerate your progress significantly.

Choosing the Right Mission

I’ve run all missions once or twice, and I’m ready to progress as fast as possible. Inferno is the best option to run repeatedly since it offers the fastest results. Don’t hesitate to skip enemies on your way through, as you do not receive extra XP for killing every foe. The XP awarded is fixed, regardless of the number of enemies defeated.

Understanding XP Rewards

You might earn small bonuses, like 10-point extras for excelling in specific tasks, such as dealing the most ranged or melee damage. However, these bonuses are minimal compared to the overall XP you receive, so it’s more efficient to prioritize objectives over clearing the map completely.

Efficient Gameplay Strategy

Keep in mind that Tyranids are an unrelenting swarm, and not all of them need to be defeated. Focus on objectives rather than exterminating every enemy. On the ship, there are three main locations: the Data Slate Depository, the Launch Bay, and the Armory Hall.

Collecting Lore and Data Slates

The Data Slate Depository tracks your progress as you collect data slates found throughout the maps. You will discover these slates hidden in various corners. If you are a completionist who enjoys lore, you’ll want to run missions repeatedly until you’ve collected all of them.