Vermintide 2 is getting a progression rework in time for the official release of Versus mode (2024)

Vermintide 2 is getting a progression rework in time for the official release of Versus mode (1)

Darktide enjoyed a progression rework earlier this year, and it's Vermintide 2's turn next. As design director Joakim Setterberg explained in a developer blog, with Versus mode on the way Fatshark has decided to smooth out the way Vermintide 2 welcomes new players and how its progression mechanics keep them around.

To that end, it's unlocking some of the restrictions on difficulty. In private games, you'll be able to play with your friends regardless of their Hero Power, making it easier to carry beginner pals with your high-level characters. In public games, the Hero Power restriction has been taken off Veteran difficulty. As Setterberg says, "We believe that Veteran can be a suitable entry point for players familiar with similar games, like Darktide, and are looking for a more challenging experience." Personally, I've seen players who finished the first Vermintide struggle with Veteran in Vermintide 2. You should probably try the easier Recruit difficulty first, but it's still nice to have the option.

Playing on higher difficulties will now give bonus experience points, with rewards going up by a quarter of their value for each difficulty above Recruit. (Vermintide 2 actually had XP multipliers based on difficulty earlier in its life cycle, but they were removed in a 2019 patch that brought all XP rewards up to the level you'd earn from playing Legend difficulty.)

Loot will be changing as well, with items in chests now being based on your level when you earn them rather than when you open them, meaning there will no longer be a reason to hoard. The rarity of loot will also change, and no longer take your level into account. "You will now almost always have a chance to get Common, Rare, Exotic, and even Veteran items from a game," Setterberg wrote, "but by playing on higher Difficulties and upgrading your Chest Tiers you will simply increase your chances for the rarer items." You'lll also have a chance to find DLC weapons in chests, once you've unlocked the requirements for being able to use them.

Item-crafting will likewise be based on your level. The cost of crafting upgrades will change, requiring less Scraps but adding a Dust cost. "To balance this we will be giving players more Dust when converting higher rarity Dust into lower rarities." All these changes will be communicated by having extra info on the difficulty-selection screen, as well as when you're opening chests, "where the Item Power range and rarity percentages are clearly visible."

Communication will also be improved for new players by the Handbook, a way of explaining the mechanics Vermintide 2 previously kept hidden. Where you currently have to read an FAQ to learn about timed blocks, or optimal weapon properties, it would be nice to have that information available in-game.

Fatshark plans to have this progression rework ready for the release of Versus mode "later this fall." It's also got another of Vermintide 2's annual Halloween events planned, with double XP, new challenges, returning rewards from previous years, and nurglings. That'll run from October 31 to November 10.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.

Vermintide 2 is getting a progression rework in time for the official release of Versus mode (2)

Weekend/AU Editor

Jody's first computer was a Commodore 64, so he remembers having to use a code wheel to play Pool of Radiance. A former music journalist who interviewed everyone from Giorgio Moroder to Trent Reznor, Jody also co-hosted Australia's first radio show about videogames, Zed Games. He's written for Rock Paper Shotgun, The Big Issue, GamesRadar, Zam, Glixel, Five Out of Ten Magazine, and Playboy.com, whose cheques with the bunny logo made for fun conversations at the bank. Jody's first article for PC Gamer was about the audio of Alien Isolation, published in 2015, and since then he's written about why Silent Hill belongs on PC, why Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale is the best fantasy shopkeeper tycoon game, and how weird Lost Ark can get. Jody edited PC Gamer Indie from 2017 to 2018, and he eventually lived up to his promise to play every Warhammer videogame.

More about action

Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered reviewExploring the 'twisted road' of Irrational's doomed XCOM game—from fighting aliens 'the size of entire city blocks' to a multiplayer mode where you could be the aliens

Latest

ColdRidge, the game about cowboys doing 4x-style exploration, hits release
See more latest►

See comments

Most Popular
You're not going to see 'Peter Griffin or anime characters coming to Hunt,' says Crytek in response to fears that its Scream crossover means it's Fortnite now
Diablo 4 boss asks if the new class dealing billions of damage should be 'fixed' or not
This surrealist horror game made entirely in PowerPoint will get your Halloween started right
US copyright law 'forces researchers to explore extra-legal methods' for game preservation, say historians who are 'disappointed' after being denied a DMCA exemption
Cancel your weekend plans because this cozy cowboy life sim just went into open beta and you can play it for free
The next Helldivers 2 Warbond is going full baddies mode with armor and weaponry from the Ministry of Truth
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is effectively banned in Kuwait, so Activision is issuing refunds for pre-orders: 'We remain hopeful that local authorities will reconsider'
Capricious Valve fixes 17 year-old Team Fortress 2 bug that made Scout's pants the wrong color, almost immediately un-fixes it
The boxing game that only exists because most big publishers won't touch the sport has now sold over a million copies
Deadlock adds 6 new heroes only available for veteran players, but none of that matters anymore because Valve has renamed Slork
New SteamOS makes Steam Deck a better machine with bug fixes, microSD improvements, and even 'improved battery life by up to 10%' in some situations
Vermintide 2 is getting a progression rework in time for the official release of Versus mode (2024)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Twana Towne Ret

Last Updated:

Views: 6215

Rating: 4.3 / 5 (44 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Twana Towne Ret

Birthday: 1994-03-19

Address: Apt. 990 97439 Corwin Motorway, Port Eliseoburgh, NM 99144-2618

Phone: +5958753152963

Job: National Specialist

Hobby: Kayaking, Photography, Skydiving, Embroidery, Leather crafting, Orienteering, Cooking

Introduction: My name is Twana Towne Ret, I am a famous, talented, joyous, perfect, powerful, inquisitive, lovely person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.