Vermintide 2
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This is a /v/ related article, which we tolerate because it's relevant and/or popular on /tg/... or we just can't be bothered to delete it. |
Vermintide 2 is the sequel to The End Times: Vermintide, made possibly due to the fact that the first game surpassed expectations and did pretty fucking well for a relatively niche title (2 million fucking copies sold!). Fatshark sensibly shortened the name from "Warhammer The End Times: Vermintide 2" to avoid sounding like a Japanese light novel.
On October 10th, Vermintide 2 was announced (dropping the End Times part of the title for understandable reasons), bringing a host of new additions. Most notably the Warriors of Chaos are being added as an enemy type. Specifically the jolly ones that don't mind being pox bloated messes. Along with the new enemy race, the Skaven also have a few new additions, such as the Storm Fiends. The main website also displays the two enemy races in a small, looping video including a Chaos Warrior and a Stormvermin at the forefront which also suspiciously has the right side of the foreground rather bare, possibly indicating another enemy faction is set to be announced.
Beta sign-ups are open, and the game's release date is on March 8 2018.
Setting
Still set during the End Times, but set a couple years after the events of the first game ( which took place before Auric Bastion was made by Balthazar Gelt ). The Heroes of Ubersreik have banded together again to face the Skaven forces of Clan Fester, along with their allies: A Chaos Warband dedicated to Nurgle known as The Rotbloods. Both forces have their eyes gazed on the fortress town of Helmgart.
Due to the presence of a Nurgle-aligned warband, it is possible that the game is set during/after the Fall of Marienburg. The fact that the Rotbloods desire to take over Helmgart, coupled with the fact that they are deep in the territory of Reikland indicates that the early stages of the Siege of Altdorf are underway, and the Glottkin are likely marching to Altdorf.
Gameplay
Aside from the new enemy types there are a couple of other new features, such as specializations for the classes (referred to as "careers") which have their own active and passive ability. For example, the Dwarf can be a Slayer, or the Wood Elf can be a Shade, each one apparently representing alternative plotlines and events for each character after the successful defense of Ubersreik. Along with a talent tree for each character, and new weapons to go around for everyone. Speaking of weapons, the loot system is apparently getting an overhaul too, with the devs acknowledging the first game's system was kind of bullshit. Hopefully they didn't take the means of improvement to be lootboxes like every other dev under the sun is using as a "solution"...though their community manager has stated that lootboxes/keys are absolutely not happening in the sequel, at least. A "Heroic Deeds" system has also been announced, consisting of consumable quests that mix gameplay up by dramatically changing objectives, mix of enemies faced or limiting your own tools. Aside from those additions, aside from the quality of life improvements it seems to mostly be the same game, which is okay since most people just wanted it to be the first one with more stuff to begin with. That said, the fact they also included mod support from the get go is a nice cherry on top.
Characters and Careers
Each character now has three different Careers, which affect their weapon choices, abilities, and talent trees, allowing a great deal of customization for each one.
Victor Saltzpyre
- Witch Hunter Captain: In addition to a fancier hat, Victor as a Witch Hunter Captain can do everything he could in the first game and also gets some considerable mobility boosts.
- Bounty Hunter: As a Bounty Hunter, Victor gains heavier armor and focuses on ranged weaponry to blast away Skaven and Chaos Warriors alike.
- Zealot: Victor as a Zealot favors the use of flails and maces in combat, and while his armor is less than ideal it's nothing a heaping helping of faith and holy rage can't fix.
Markus Kruber
- Mercenary: Being a Mercenary allows Markus a good degree of versatility, with medium armor that grants protection without losing maneuverability and a balance between melee and ranged skill.
- Foot Knight: Markus may not have been much for social advancement, but his heavy armor and ability to use either a great weapon or a sword-and-shield combo makes him an excellent melee fighter as a Foot Knight.
- Huntsman: As a Huntsman, Markus trades away his access to heavier armor for greater proficiency with ranged weapons of all kinds.
Kerillian
- Waystalker: As a Waystalker, Kerillian further specializes in her longbow, both for precision sniping and for raining arrows on enemies.
- Shade: Kerillian as a Shade is an assassin, best used to swiftly dispatch powerful enemies that are either unaware of her presence or too distracted to react.
- Handmaiden: Kerillian's Handmaiden Career focuses primarily on direct melee combat, using spears to keep enemies at a safe distance.
Bardin Goreksson
- Ranger Veteran: Bardin the Ranger Veteran favors the use of ranged weaponry to punish foes from a distance, but he's more than able to hold his own in melee if a hail of crossbow bolts doesn't do the trick- Cousin Okri would be proud.
- Ironbreaker: The heavy armor and shield of the Ironbreaker makes Bardin a superb tank that can take whatever the enemy can dish out.
- Slayer: As a Slayer, Bardin can't use ranged weapons at all but becomes a melee powerhouse, using either a pair of axes or a single greataxe.
Sienna Fuegonasus
- Pyromancer: Sienna the Pyromancer favors single-target spells that incinerate even the toughest of enemies in an instant.
- Battle Wizard: The greater degree of self-discipline Sienna has as a Battle Wizard allows her to use a variety of area-of-effect spells that burn hordes to a crisp.
- Unchained: As an Unchained, Sienna eschews long-range spellcasting for magically-boosted melee, like generating flame armor to protect her from damage or causing a fiery explosion that immolates anyone too close to her.
Enemies
Skaven
- The roster from the first game all make a return, but with a few new enemy types
- Plague Monks:
- Warpfire Thrower: A Skaven with a flamethrower strapped to its back, which it uses to spew out gouts of fire at anything in range. Though it's near-suicidal to engage it in close combat, the big chunk of warpstone on their backs that they carry as a fuel source looks rather unstable...
- Stormfiends: If you thought the Rat Ogres from the first game were huge pain in the asses, say hello to their upgraded cousins, the masterwork of Clan Moulder and Clan Skyre! They are equipped in heavy armor and twin warp-fire throwers attached to their arms. Their major weakness is the smaller Skaven acting as a second brain that's stuck on their backs.
- Stormvermin (Sword & Shield): Exactly as it says in the tin, a new variant of the stormvermin who wield swords and shields.
Warriors of Chaos
- Plague Zombies:
- Chaos Marauders: Plague-ridden warriors that come in four flavors: Raiders (one-handed weapons), Bulwarks (shields), Savages (dual-wielding weapons) and Maulers (great weapons). They are the basic units for the Chaos Forces, and fulfill a similar role to the Clanrats, but they are significantly more durable than the former.
- Chaos Warriors: ASININE MORTALS!! toughest enemy in the game. Tougher than Stormvermin, so much that their armor is hard to penetrate by any normal attack. Even gunpowder weapon had trouble to do so.
- Chaos Sorcerers of Nurgle:
- Bile Trolls: Chaos Trolls of Nurgle. Wield huge blunt weapons and spew acidic bile on their foes. They can also heal themselves over time, so either take them out quickly or not at all.
- The Unnameable Beasts: They......are tough boss monsters that like to chew you. THAT'S ALL.
