Warhammer: Vermintide 2 has been on the market for over a year now. Our author Benedict enjoyed it at launch – but then lost interest. Now he is back and can’t get enough of the wild monster slaying. In the current Steam Summer Sale, it’s even available at a significantly lower price.
This has been my experience with Vermintide 2 so far: After its release on March 8, 2018, I played Warhammer: Vermintide 2 quite extensively. Despite work and studies, I racked up around 70 hours in just a few weeks.
I was captivated by how good the game looks and how much fun it can be to slash through the hordes of Skaven and Chaos followers with the five different classes.
I quickly fought my way up to the second-highest difficulty, Champion, and met many new teammates and friends along the way. However, they became increasingly rare, and Vermintide 2 languished unplayed in my Steam library for a long time.
So why am I playing again? Vermintide 2 always stayed in my mind as a fantastic pastime. When I saw the first articles about the upcoming expansion Winds of Magic, my interest was reignited.
I was even able to encourage some friends to play, but they didn’t stick around for long. However, Vermintide 2 has drawn me back in with its great changes since the release, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming content.
What has changed in Vermintide 2 since release?
These are the changes to gameplay: Over the past months, Vermintide 2 has received numerous free updates and DLCs. These include:
- A quest system with weekly and daily challenges and rewards
- Achievements for areas, missions, difficulties, heroes, and more
- New customization options for Taal’s Keep
- The “Shadows over Bögenhafen” DLC with two new missions
- The “Back to Uberstreik” DLC with old missions from Vermintide 1 reimagined and an endlessly repeatable “Last Stand” mission
These are the changes to the heroes: The heroes mainly saw adjustments in talents and balance. There are too many to list them all, but all heroes now play a bit smoother and more pleasantly.
Additionally, almost every career now has its own usefulness and justification for existing, especially in a well-coordinated team. However, even in random groups or alone, any combination can be made to work.
Each hero, however, has also received a new weapon, expanding their range of options. This opens up the potential for new play styles and combinations.
Why are the changes good? For someone who has taken a long break, all the changes feel new. This means that Vermintide 2 now has much more to offer.
For me, especially the daily and weekly challenges are extremely attractive. They motivate me to check in and play every now and then – usually for several rounds, which then turns into one or two hours spent.
The missions are quite entertaining, and most tasks naturally run alongside. They don’t require much attention to solve, but they are good for getting started.
Why is Vermintide 2 so much fun?
This is what makes the game great: Generally, the gameplay of Vermintide 2 is designed for quick rounds and intense action. I enjoy the huge numbers of enemies that need to be dealt with quickly and efficiently to avoid being completely overrun by them.
The minibosses (monsters) and elite enemies provide great variety against the hordes, requiring strategy, especially at higher difficulties, and promoting teamwork – every hero has strengths and weaknesses.
The difficulty level can be customized roughly via the sliders for the actual difficulty (strength of the enemies) and further refined in the game itself. Those who carry more grimoires and tomes have a harder time but also receive better loot.
For me, Vermintide 2 also impresses visually. The enemies have a decent level of detail, and the game is just brutal and bloody. Flying body parts and blood-smeared visuals tell me: Yes, this is entertainment for adults.
This is what I’m really enjoying at the moment: Recently, I’ve started replaying all the old content – namely Bögenhafen and Ubersreik. In the process, I’ve finally leveled all heroes.
Here begins the real fun: The heroes feel different in play, and the different specializations need to be learned and mastered. On the highest difficulty, Legend, skill can be tested.
I particularly enjoy trying out new classes or builds on Legend and discovering new combinations, strengths, and weaknesses.
Does it really work well alone?
This is how well Vermintide 2 works solo: The most time I spent when I started again was playing solo. This has several advantages:
- I can get to know the maps again
- I can play what and how I want
- Other players don’t interfere with specific goals like achievements or deeds
A major disadvantage is that higher difficulty levels pose a real challenge when playing alone.
Is “Legend” also doable solo? It can work, and many players even prefer this way of playing. There are builds for various heroes that are based on the fact that you play solo on the highest difficulty.
I primarily played solo for relaxed rounds. For grinding and effective “endgame”, I joined public groups – which works well even without friends and fixed teams.
In general, I would recommend playing solo in endgame only if you have really become good. Until then, it’s quite feasible to train alone.
Here is how to return games on Steam.
Where can I get Vermintide 2?
This is where the game runs: Vermintide 2 is available for PC, Xbox One, and recently for PS4 as well. There’s still no version for the Switch.
Here you can get Vermintide 2 cheaper: If you play on PC, you can even secure a hefty discount. In the currently ongoing Steam Summer Sale 2019, there’s a 66% discount on Vermintide 2 and the Collector’s Edition. The base game now costs only €9.51. The DLCs are also discounted by 25%, €5.99 each.
Visit the offer for Vermintide 2 on Steam.
The future brings
For August 2019, the new expansion Winds of Magic has been announced. This will include:
- new enemies, the Beastmen with new elite and special units
- a higher level cap
- an even higher difficulty
- new weapons
Additionally, at the E3 2019, a PvP mode was announced if you want to compete with other players:
