Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Tips & Tricks to Be the Best Ultramarine

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is officially out for users around the world to play, and having finished the campaign and played through the Operations, I think I have become adept enough to give some tips and tricks. If you're looking to start up and take on the challenge of higher difficulties, we've got you covered! Starting with...

Explore

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is mostly filled with linear missions that you get from point A to point B. Hidden throughout the areas are Dataslates that you can use to get more hidden lore and information about the story, but that's not what we care about in this case. Here, we're looking for something to fight against the Tyranid swarm.

If you go out of your way to look around, sometimes you'll find unique items. Though you may find healing to get you through a tough section or a self-resurrection that can save your hide (I managed to be the last man standing in a fight against a behemoth), what you'll really want is the third-tier weapons. Limited ammo armaments that deal massive amounts of damage, and they're usually scattered right before a difficult fight — it's a good telltale sign that horrors are coming.

Thin Out the Swarms

Saber Interactive's impressive Swarm mechanic from World War Z is back in full motion in Space Marine 2, and this means you'll often be fighting hundreds of enemies at a time — literally. While your melee weapons have great tools to thin out swarms, nothing will ever beat a good old bullet to the head... or several, in some cases.

I often like using my secondary weapons to thin out swarms, as gun reload timers are super short. Though Ultramarines don't interrupt reloads when dodging out of the way and have a lot of mobility even when changing magazines, a shorter reload period has often been the difference between life and death in some cases. Thin out the horde and kill out the stragglers with melee weapons, especially before facing the big bads.

Learn Parry Timers

Alright, here's one that's sure to upset a few people: git gud. Though I painfully jest at the times I've heard these two, heart-wrenching words before, I actually do strongly recommend learning the parry timers in order to do so.

There are several different types of foes, and all of them have different timers and attacks. Space Marine 2 is a great game, but the large variety of foes means they have, oftentimes, predictable attack patterns that you can easily discern. Even when fighting a Carnifex, learning their melee behaviour gives you openings to block attacks and perfectly avoid damage. Though, more important than parrying, you'll want to...

Learn Dodge Timers

Believe it or not, the most crucial tool in your Ultramarine arsenal will be fleeing — and fleeing properly. Whether you're avoiding a sniper's hit or ducking under cover, you want to be dodging at opportune moments, and most importantly, you'll want to dodge the unparryable attacks... or sometimes even the parryable attacks!

When you do a perfect dodge, you'll get the same opportunity you do when you perform a perfect parry — you get to shoot the monster in the head and deal a lot of damage. The dodging timer is much tighter than parrying, but in contrast, it always gives you the opportunity to shoot an enemy with those special counterattacks; this was the strongest tool I utilised when fighting Carnifex, and it makes fights much swifter... for either team depending on your proficiency at the time.

Play with Friends

No, this won't be a universal tip, and no, you don't need to listen to it if you don't want to or can't... but I do recommend it! Space Marine 2, at its Angel of Death difficulty, demands coordination, and that's when the game excels more — when you and either a friend or two manage to replicate that feel of unity.

Make sure you're filling each other's gaps — have a player focus on thinning out swarms and preventing long-range Tyranids from free-firing while another faces the big ones toe-to-toe. Watch each other's backs when using interactablesin the world to prevent enemy fire from hitting your unsuspecting Battle-Brother. There are many ways that Space Marine 2 excels at implementing cooperation and teamwork, and you just won't get that same feel in single-player.

Use the Environment to Your Advantage

Barrels, explosive barrels, seemingly explosive barrels (but this time, in blue!). The world design here is very telling, and it screams for you to shoot at it and utilise it to your advantage — with Tyranids swarming and entering choke points, you'll want to use these to thin the swarm as quickly as possible. 

The best use of explosives by far, however, is finding where they might be with long-range foes. Sometimes, there will be various snipers at a distance, making it difficult to advance, but a well-placed shot at a nearby explosive could be the thing that takes them out in one fell swoop. This will be a lifesaver at the tightest of spots.

EXPLORE!! Even Mid-fight

 

Picture this: you're being swarmed, an ally is down, everything is looking terrible, a Malanthrope is being a pest (as Malanthropes do because WOW they're annoying), and you're pinned by a sniper. Whenever a high-octane, nigh-impossible fight faces you, there's one thing you can rest assure of: you missed something and can right the wrong by finding out what quickly.

In this case, from the above tip, there's usually a great explosive hidden nearby to deal with the sniper. And Malanthropes? They can easily be killed by finding one sticky grenade somewhere, which, trust me, there's a sticky grenade somewhere, and you just didn't check well enough. The game has generous checkpoints, so try and try again until you succeed!

Try Out Every Class Before Committing

There are six classes you can take into the customisable modes (Operation and Eternal War), and truth be told, they play quite differently. Their abilities are vastly distinct, and you'll be rewarded for learning how to lean on the strengths, whilst also depending on your team to fill in the gaps where you simply cannot.

Though I understand the desire to lean towards one specific class and avoid others that seem suboptimal (looking at those with no primary weapon — YIKES), it's important you try at least one round with them. Whether you learn their weaknesses and playstyle to compliment those who you play alongside (or in the Eternal War, against) or you learn that they are your favourite class, it's never a bad thing to try them out.

Plus, you get to save yourself some Perk farming, so that's always a positive!

Have Fun!

Look, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is, ultimately, a game meant to be enjoyed. If Angel of Death difficulty just isn't doing it for you, then feel free to drop that down a notch, two, or even three! Feel the true power of being Lieutenant Titus by playing in the easiest difficulty and fret not about a health bar. If you want to feel the pain, then endure and adapt, and learn from your mistakes — just add scars to that long collection.

If your favourite class feels suboptimal, if you really like that weapon but haven't found an ammo cache, if you don't want to change from the sniper rifle even if Tyranid swarms aren't thinned as easily with them, then just play the way you want! The game has accessible difficulty options that should make it the Space Marine 2 experience you want it to be — either fighting for your life or making the enemy beg for theirs.