In Warhammer 40,000, everything is bigger: the soldiers, the wars, the weapons. Space Marine 2 is no exception. The world exaggerates with completely oversized cannons. Still, a primitive bug species breaches the defenses. How can this be? A player wonders, and the community explains why this is possible according to the lore.
What’s the deal with the Tyranids?
- Tyranids are somewhat like bug aliens whose only goal is to consume all biomass and reproduce. They are also the inspiration for Zergs in Starcraft.
- They invade planets and destroy everything they can use before moving on. In Space Marine 2, they are initially the main threat.
- In the lore of Warhammer 40k, the Tyranids have completely destroyed parts of the universe. If you need some tutoring: Here’s a summary of the lore for Space Marine 2.
The sheer mass of Tyranids even surprises streamers who think of the hordes as mere decoration. And the waves are indeed that massive:
That’s why the Tyranids are such a huge threat: A user on Reddit finds piles of huge cannons, all ready for use, in a mission in Space Marine 2. He wants to know: How can it be that the Tyranids get past such a defense?
The community helps, and just a few hours later, there are over 1,000 comments with explanations. One user sums it up: “Numbers overwhelm the defense.”
Tyranids simply throw so many of their own creatures against the human defenders until they either run out of ammunition or until the mechanics are clogged with blood and body parts. Literally.
In one of the missions of Space Marine 2, you can even experience this tactic live and must prevent the Tyranids from succeeding. Another fan draws a comparison to real life:
Can you defeat a rat in a fight? Sure. How about a million rats?
TheAllslayer on Reddit
However, the numbers of the Tyranids do not just reach the millions but go far beyond. In Warhammer 40,000, there are indeed so many Tyranids that they cannot be counted anymore. Their number is legion.
Saboteurs weaken the defense from within – years before the invasion
The users explain further: When the imperial army or even the Space Marines appear, the goal is no longer to repel the attack and save the planet. The goal then is just to get as many people to safety as possible and hold the invasion at bay for as long as possible before giving up the planet. It really gets tough when the Deathwatch has to show up.
A few more users provide additional insights into the lore of Warhammer 40,000. For the Tyranids themselves are not the only threat from the outside; the cults that some humans follow contribute significantly to the danger.
The “Genestealers” are humans who support Xenos, or aliens, and are dominated by the eponymous “Genestealers” of the Tyranids. This type of Tyranid infects humans, who, through the infection, desperately want to reproduce and spread the infection further.
In broad terms: Over generations, the humans become more and more like Tyranids, subject to the control of the swarm consciousness. These then infiltrate leadership positions within the Imperium to weaken the defense from there and prepare for an invasion.
This happens sometimes decades before an attack, as one user explains. There are even cases where Space Marines have been affected by this infection. Some fans regret that this Genestealer
cult is not getting more attention in the game. However, it now has a significant appearance in the Warhammer role-playing game: The role-playing game for Warhammer 40k on Steam gives me exactly what I’m missing in Space Marine 2
