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, 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
The sequel seems to be set in the End Times, but an indeterminate amount of time has passed since the last game. After falling into the Grey Seer's trap, the Heroes of Ubersreik (or the Ubersrek Five, or Four, doesn't matter) have ended up in their own castle, banded together again to face the Skaven forces of Clan Fester, along with their new allies: a Chaos Warband dedicated to Nurgle known as The Rotbloods. Both forces have their eyes gazed on the fortress town of Helmgart (the border town Bretonnia always conquers within the first 10 turns of an Empire Total War: WARHAMMER campaign).
Due to the presence of a Nurgle-aligned warband, it is possible that the game is set during/after the Fall of Marienburg. What we know so far is that the Skaven are up to their usual hijinks, like trying to build something called the Skittergate, which apparently can warp in large numbers of soldiers, explaining how the Skaven and their new allies overran Helmgart and the surrounding area so quickly. The Rotbloods are here to help the Skaven with murder-fucking everyone in the Reikland and bringing great death-death to poor Helmgart. Clan Fester's also out for blood as payback for Ubersreik, even though Ubersreik apparently fell anyway.
So far, there are 12 maps confirmed for launch spanning either three or four Acts. What we've seen so far in the betas are: the town of Helmgart itself, where the heroes create a diversion at the Temple of Sigmar before the Hammerman himself purges it of vikings and rats. An Elven temple ruin in the woods where the gang uses a slow-moving puzzle to raise a magic shield. Ussingen, a farming town where the heroes rescue prisoners and later blow up a Chaos supply cache. A Nurgle-blighted canyon with a fortified Chaos Lord's tomb, which the gang destroys to stop the Rotbloods from harvesting his energy. And a dense swamp, where the heroes assault the Rotbloods' main war camp and slay their leader, a Nurgle Champion.
The heroes now travel via their own gate, the Bridge of Shadows, maintained by returning Kislevite witch Olesya and totally-not-a-wizard Lohner, who returns as the boss of sorts for the group.
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: The deaths of several Captains over the course of the End Times has allowed Victor to rise in rank, but he has had to accept that the Witch Hunters won’t recognize the fact that there’s an entire fucking empire of ratmen just below their cities; Saltzpyre now uses his new political position to fight the menace in secret. 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.
- Unique passive ability: Witch Hunt- Enemies attacked by Victor take extra damage from allies' attacks, blocking light frontal attacks does not consume stamina, critical hit headshots instantly kill human-sized enemies
- Unique active ability: Animosity- All nearby allies have their critical rate enhanced for 8 seconds.
- Bounty Hunter: When his order attempted to cover up what happened at Ubersreik, Salty removed his heraldry to fight the Skaven himself, taking odd-jobs on the side to pay for his endeavors. As a Bounty Hunter, Victor gains heavier armor and focuses on ranged weaponry to blast away Skaven and Chaos Warriors alike.
- Unique passive ability: Blessed Shots- Guaranteed ranged critical every 8 seconds or after a melee kill, double ammo capacity, improved reload rate
- Unique active ability: Locked and Loaded- Fires a powerful shot that pierces multiple enemies.
- Zealot: The horrors of Ubersreik have caused Victor to place his trust in Sigmar alone, with the rest of the world fit only to be cleansed in righteous fire. Victor as a Zealot favors the use of flails in combat, and while his armor is less than ideal it's nothing a heaping helping of faith and holy rage can't fix - after all, the end is upon us, why not shed as much blood as possible before it goes?
- Unique passive ability: Fiery Faith- Attack power increased by 5% for every 25 health lost (up to 20%), heavy attacks cannot be interrupted, can survive an attack that would do lethal damage
- Unique active ability: Holy Fervor- Charge forward and gain 50% attack speed boost for 5 seconds.
Markus Kruber
- Mercenary: The life of a mercenary has suited Markus well, in no small part due to not having to answer to incompetent leaders like he used to. 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.
- Unique passive ability: Paced Strikes- Hitting 3 enemies in 1 swing boosts attack speed by 10% for 6 seconds, attacks hit more enemies per swing, improved critical rate
- Unique active ability: Morale Boost- Staggers nearby enemies and grants nearby allies temporary bonus health.
- Foot Knight: For his part in the defense of Ubersreik, Markus was made a knight of the Order of the Reikshammer. Markus may not have been aiming for the position, but his heavy armor and ability to use either a great weapon or a sword-and-shield combo makes him an excellent melee fighter and tank as a Foot Knight.
- Unique passive ability: Protective Presence- Reduced damage taken, generates damage resistance aura, improved stamina
- Unique active ability: Valiant Charge- Charges forward, knocking back any enemies hit by the charge
- Huntsman: After Ubersreik, Markus found a degree of inner peace by devoting himself to Taal and Rhya, the gods of nature. As a Huntsman, Markus trades away his access to heavier armor for greater proficiency with ranged weapons of all kinds as well as boosted mobility.
- Unique passive ability: Waste Not, Want Not- Ranged headshots return 1 ammo, no ranged damage falloff, critical rate boost aura
- Unique active ability: Hunter's Prowl: Become invisible for a short time
Kerillian
- Waystalker: Frustrated with the clumsiness of her companions, Kerillian has resolved to further hone her skills to compensate further for the "lumberfoots". As a Waystalker, Kerillian further specializes in her longbow, both for precision sniping and for raining arrows on enemies.
- Unique passive ability: Amaranthe- Automatically regenerate health, doubled ammo capacity, no ranged damage falloff, can zoom in when using ranged weapons
- Unique active ability: Trueflight Volley- Fires a volley of homing arrows.
- Shade: One of Kerillian's dreams spoke of an ancestor of hers who dwelled in Clar Karond, and with it came the voice of Khaine urging her to reclaim the mantle of her ancestor. 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 to it.
- Unique passive ability: Murderous Prowess- 50% damage bonus when attacking enemies from behind, critical hit backstabs instantly kill human-sized enemies
- Unique active ability: Infiltrate- Become invisible and intangible for 10 seconds, or until performing an attack
- Handmaiden: Through the subtle guidance of the Everqueen, Kerillian came across a long-lost shrine to Isha and gave herself up to serve her. Kerillian's Handmaiden Career focuses primarily on direct melee combat, using spears to keep enemies at a safe distance.
- Unique passive ability: The Dance of Seasons- Longer dodge distance, stamina regeneration aura, cannot be interrupted when reviving allies
- Unique active ability: Dash- Quickly dash forward through enemies
Bardin Goreksson
- Ranger Veteran: Karak Zorn is yet to be found, but the defense of Reikland currently comes first for Bardin. 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.
- Unique passive ability: Survivalist- Special enemies always drop ammo on death, double ammo capacity, increased reload speed
- Unique active ability: Disengage- Drops a smoke bomb that hampers enemies' vision
- Ironbreaker: Bardin used to be an Ironbreaker in Kazak Norn, and following the defense of Ubersreik he took up his old oaths and gromril armor once more. The heavy armor and shield of the Ironbreaker makes Bardin a superb tank that can take whatever the enemy can dish out, and then return it in kind.
- Unique passive ability: Gromril Armor- Negates all damage from 1 hit every 20 seconds, reduced damage taken, increased stamina, increased stun resistance
- Unique active ability: Taunt- Taunts enemies within 10 units; also improves defense and provides ability to block normally unblockable attacks for 10 seconds
- Slayer: Something broke in Bardin at Ubersreik, and by the time the Skaven came to Helmgart he had taken up the Slayer's Oath in the hopes of an honorable death. 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. He may not have much in the way of armor, but on the other hand dying in battle is part of being a Slayer anyway.
- Unique passive ability: Trophy Hunter- Stacking damage buff gained upon hitting an enemy, increased attack speed
- Unique active ability: Leap- Leap forward, stunning enemies and gaining a temporary boost to attack speed
Sienna Fuegonasus
- Pyromancer: While far from having the control of a proper Battle Wizard, Sienna has enough self-awareness to restrain herself from the most ostentatious of fire magic. Sienna the Pyromancer favors powerful single-target spells that incinerate even the toughest of enemies in an instant.
- Unique passive ability: Critical Mass- critical chance increases based on overcharge level, ranged damage boost
- Unique active ability: Homing Firespear- A powerful homing fire blast.
- Battle Wizard: Ubersreik taught Sienna the value of self-control, and while she was reluctant to do so she has learned to control the flame for the first time. 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.
- Unique passive ability: Tranquility- Overcharge is removed automatically after 8 seconds of not casting spells or taking damage, overcharge increases spell charge rate, increased ranged damage
- Unique active ability: Fire Walk- Quickly teleport forward, leaving flames in your former location
- Unchained: Sienna's addiction to magic has finally overwhelmed her, and now she lives only from one magical high to the next. 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.
- Unique passive ability: Blood Magic- Taking damage grants overcharge equal to 50% of damage received, no overcharge slowdown, high overcharge increases melee attack power, can expend overcharge to reduce block cost on high overcharge
- Unique active ability: Living Bomb- Expends all overcharge to produce a massive explosion that damages all nearby enemies
Enemies
Bosses
- Grey Seer Rasknitt: The same asshole in charge of invading Ubersreik is back. Having captured the heroes in the first game, he attempts to sacrifice them to fuel the Skittergate, a portal contraption capable of bringing in huge armies in a flash. With it, he and the Rotbloods swarmed Helmgart and the countryside, though as is typical of technology made by mice, it breaks in the prologue. Much of the game seems dedicated to destroying it however, so it's likely that it can still function. During the final showdown, he sent his precious Stormfiends (also the only death rattler in the game, for now) against you, only to call it a worthless pricey junk after the heroes killed it. He then attack the heroes with his Skaven magic, teleport around in lighting speed, then blown the fuck up once the rat bastard's health is at its end.
- Chaos Champion Bödvarr Ribspreader: Here to spread ribs and smiles in Papa Nurgle's name, Ribspreader is a Champion of Chaos and the scary dude on the box cover. The leader of the Rotbloods, who are said to be insane even by Chaos Warbands' standards, he's here to slaughter and destroy, and has allied himself with Rasknitt for that purpose. He berates the Grey Seer for the portal's failure, but interestingly enough doesn't rip his spine out for it. After hitting a breaking point as the heroes foil his plans and kill his men and free his slaves, he sends out his army to scout for and attack the Keep, but thanks to Lohner reading the script, they learn about this, attack his lighter-garrisoned camp, and kill him in his own arena. Despite claiming that he can take care of the heroes all by himself, he displays cowardice when he starts losing and calls his warriors for aid, with a horde attacking as he loses health. Interesting to note that despite being a Nurgle worshipper, he has a magic axe (which the axe itself is alive, noted by the growing eye skull on the axe) that he can will it back to him if he ever throw it out against the players.
- Burblespue Halescourge: The Nurgle sorcerer lord that was accompanied Ribspreader. Has a good manner like papa Nurgle himself and he can do everything that the Nurgle sorcerer can do in the game (AKA like drain & Nurgle Vortex) only tougher and more AOE green plague in the oxygen.
- Skarrik Spinemanglr: The Skaven Warlord in charge. Seem to be heavily inspired by Queek Headtaker in both his looks, size and unskavenly bravery, although he uses more traditional halberd alongside Duel shortswords. Can perform every nasty abilities that the elite melee Skaven like the packmaster and eshin assassin can do to the players. Just like Queek, he is the largest non-monster Skaven of them all, towering over the players. Unlike the Ribspreader he actually does have the balls to fight you alone rather then wussing out and calling the horde once his health drops low.
- Gatekeeper Nagfahr: A Ribspreader look alike, even shares the same axe design. Responsible for guarding the skittergate key staff. Was blessed during the battle and turned into......whatever the hell what's its name.
- Baron Francke: Not an enemy you fight but nonetheless important to the plot. Besides the Skaven having a portal underneath Helmgart, Fucko Francke is the other reason Ussingen and the countryside were overrun so quickly. It's revealed he made some kind of deal with the Rotbloods and Clan Fester, and like a lot of shitty nobles, might've been in league with the Chaos Gods even before the invasion. His fortified mansion, the only undamaged building in Ussingen, is blown up accordingly by the heroes. His fate is unknown.
Skaven
Clan Fester's back, and they're pissed. Sore after getting thwarted at Ubersreik, they want revenge.
- Skavenslaves: Still the most piss-poor enemies in the game. Even though they come in huge swarms they're only dangerous if they blindside you or if you're too busy dealing with actual threats.
- Clanrats: Rank and file of the clan Fester, only slightly better than slaves. Now come with a shield and hand weapon variant that could hopefully block one or two hits from the front and make dealing with the horde slightly more difficult.
- Plague Monks: A more durable Skaven with fast attacks designed to exhaust the player's stamina. Weak to ranged fire but hit like a freight train and knock you back. They let out a loud howl when they charge, but can be hard to spot in a swarm. Usually spawn in triplets and tend to focus a single target just to make sure even 7+ stamina would not be enough to withstand their attack.
- Stormvermin - The most common breed of Special Skaven, Stormvermin will spawn at random among the crowds of Clanrats seeded throughout the various levels. Unlike the rest of their ratty brethren, the Stormvermin have actual armor, actual weapons, and actual training, making them a serious threat. Their halberds do more damage than the standard Clanrat improvised weaponry, and hits against them that don't aim for the head (or have the Armor Piercing trait) will glance off their armor. Even blocking their attacks is difficult, since they do significant Stamina damage and therefore have a high chance of breaking your block and putting you into stun, making you an easy kill. At higher difficulties, they become one of the most significant threats in the game, and require careful combat to take down safely or make ranged weapons good at taking them down quick very desirable.
- Stormvermin (Sword & Shield): Elite troops who still sound vaguely like Bane, except some of them now have swords and shields that give them multiple attacks and near-immunity to frontal hits. All around assholes.
- The Stormvermin Patrol - Once or twice per map, if you're listening carefully, you'll hear the sound of rats shouting out a ratty little marching drill. And if you're smart, you'll hide. If you're not smart, you'll die, because the Patrol is a massive mob of Stormvermin that all aggro at once if they spot any of the heroes, and will never back down from a fight. On the highest difficulty, you'll be staring down something like twenty Stormies, all of whom kill you in a single hit. Yeah. Have fun with that.
- Gutter Runner - Representing Clan Eshin, we have these stabby little ninja-rats with warp-dust coated knives strapped to their hands. They lurk in the shadows, trying to find a hero that's cut off from the rest of the group or waiting for you to be otherwise distracted, then pounce and pin one hero to the ground while they stab and stab and stab until the puny man-thing stops moving. Once you're pinned, you're helpless. It's up to the rest of the team to save you. So if you hear that strange whispering in the distance, make sure to stay close to your team.
- Packmaster - Clan Moulder's representatives, the Packmasters have taken up capturing humans for slaving. To this end, they cart around giant spiked collars on poles; if they get close enough, they'll snap that collar shut around your neck, disabling you like the Gutter Runner. The good news is that the collar doesn't hurt nearly as much as the knives. The bad news is that the Packmaster will drag you off into the distance, probably through a mob of Clanrats, and then hang you up to die - or at least for the rest of their companions to stab while you wriggle helplessly.
- Poison Wind Globadier - A Skryre-rat in a gas mask, with a miniature plague factory on its back. At a distance, it will constantly lob spheres full of gas so poisonous that it eats into the skin like acid, covering the battlefield in green clouds of death. The good news is that these are as poisonous to the other Skaven as they are to our heroes. The bad news is that you'll still die like a bitch if you stand in one. And if you get too close, they'll rig the tanks on their backs to explode, taking you with them in one final kamikaze assault.
- Ratling Gunner - Clan Skryre is pulling overtime here. This rat's got a miniaturized, one-man version of the tabletop Ratling Gun strapped to its back, and the rest of its body is covered in heavy armor. When it finds a good firing line, it'll wind up that gun and then unleash a hellstorm of warp-shot onto one of the heroes, tracking them as best as it can. The good news is that it's not very accurate and tends to jam after a while. The bad news is that it's firing so many bullets that it's probably going to hit you anyway, and while it's not as powerful as a full sized "kill both knight and his horse with a single bullet" ratling gun it still hurt a lot. Got a significant buff compared to the original game by taking body amour and revving up his gun quite faster.
- Warpfire Thrower: Another Skryre-rat, now with a flamethrower strapped to its back, which it uses to spew out gouts of green fire at anything in range. Good news is it have limited range compare to other weapon teams and gives even less fucks about torching other skaven and rotbloods in his path. Bad news is it hurts even more then ratling, blocks your vision, and if you happen to hit a warpstone crystal on its back it veiolently explodes leaving a sizeable puddle of the flaming warpstone on the ground, making engaging it in melee even more suicidal, especially if you use wide sweeping weapon.
- Rat Ogre - The triumph of Clan Moulder's scientific prowess. The Rat Ogre, like the Stormvermin Patrol, is a once-a-map event, barring special mission rules, and is always announced by a throat-peeling bellow of rage. It's a giant, hulking brute that rampages across the battlefield, pummeling and punching its way through any heroes it can find. It is possible to kite the Ogre, but the problem is that it's rarely alone; the true difficulty arises in managing the Ogre and the accompanying Clanrats at the same time, since they limit your mobility just by existing.
- Stormfiend: If you thought the Rat Ogres were a huge pain in the ass, say hello to their upgraded cousins, the masterwork of Clan Moulder and Clan Skyre! They are clad in heavy armor from the front and wield twin warp-fire throwers attached to their arms. Unlike the warpfire throwers on regular skaven these ones leave a burning trail on the ground for quite a time, turning a battlefield into a maze of green fire if you let it disengage and rain fire on you from distance. Their major weakness is the smaller Skaven acting as a second brain that's stuck on their backs.
- Sack Rat - A Skaven with a big sack full of loot. It doesn't attack on its own, but if you can kill it before it runs off you'll get to claim its stuff.
Warriors of Chaos
The Rotbloods, a Nurgle warband so fanatical for the Rot-Father that they make typical fanatics look tame. They're in league with Clan Fester to work on the Skittergate while plundering Reikland's countryside. They're generally tougher and hit harder compared to Skaven, but come in smaller groups, are slower on the flat ground, even slower at climbing vertical obstacles and most importantly spawn from sane points rather than crawling from every nook and crannie including those on the ceiling.
- Nurgle Cultists: Your typical cannon fodder of Nurgle about as tough as a Clanrat. Fill the same role as Skavenslaves in the Chaos horde.
- Chaos Marauders: Plague-ridden warriors that come in four flavors:
- Raiders (hand weapon) and Bulwarks (hand weapon and shield) 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.
- Savages (dual-wielding weapons) are pretty much carbon copies of Plague Monks and work exactly the same.
- Maulers (great weapons) huge guys with huge axes and huge horned helmets. Fill the niche of a Stormvermin in Chaos horde, leading packs of marauders and acting as a primary threat in them, except they hit even harder, depleting all the stamina in one hit, are only armoured on the head, and have more health.
- Chaos Warriors: ASININE MORTALS!! The great axe variant. The toughest non-boss enemy in the game. Tougher than Stormvermin, so much that their armor is very hard to penetrate, even for guns. They can down you in a hit or two from full health but are very slow targets. For extra fun, they sometimes spawn two or three at a time.
- Chaos Patrol: when you thought Stormvermin patrol was bad, these guys come in with their chaosy march song... Include at least two Warriors and Maulers even at the lower difficulty with the rest filled with Raiders and Bulwarks.
- Chaos Sorcerers of Nurgle: Come in two variants The Life Leech (also known as "Chester the molester" by many players) who teleport around and attempt bind a character to leech their health, and the Blightstorm Caller who cast a Nurglely flavored green vortex spell that sucks in both the enemies and player characters, damaging and preventing them from moving. (The Blightstormer also likes to talk about how Papa blessed them with sneezeies and brings forth much joy.)
- Bile Trolls: Chaos Trolls of Nurgle. Wield huge blunt weapons and spew acidic bile on their foes. They can also heal themselves over time unless burned, so either take them out quickly or not at all.
- The Unnameable Beasts: They......are tough boss monsters that like to chew you to regain their health. THAT'S ALL.
