Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2continues to be a truly excellent third-person shooter in large part thanks to the immense post-launch support it continues to get from Saber Interactive. Whether it’s new Operations for players to sink their teeth into, towering new bosses to face, or powerful new weapons to blast Tyranids and Chaos forces alike,Space Marine 2continues to get plenty of love.

Its latest patch continues this tradition byadding a much-needed feature that improves Operations. It may feel like a small tweak, but it will greatly change how many players approach certain sections in Operations while ensuring that those who are content can keep playing the way they like.Space Marine 2remains one of the bestWarhammergames of all time, and it’s all thanks to updates like this.

Titus from Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 in front of a Space Marine battling Tyrannies and a futuristic clock.

PvE Missions Have Changed Forever Thanks To Patch 5

Players Will Want To Tackle Every Encounter

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’slatest patch hasintroduced a brand-new featurethat will get players engaging with each Operation more. In order to prevent players from skipping certain sections and encounters within an Operation,Space Marine 2will now award players with an Extermination Bonus. According to thepatch notes, players will earn a different Extermination Rank depending on how many spawned enemies they kill, with the higher ranks awarding significantly more XP.

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For example, to earn Rank A, players will need to kill more than 85% of spawned enemies. The reward for reaching this rank is +120% XP pre-patch value. Of course, players actively choose to skip certain encounters during Operations in order to avoid grinding against enemies and skipping to the more enjoyable sections. It’s an understandable choice, butthe new Extermination Bonus will make it so that these sections are actually worth doing. The game’s director, Dmitriy Grigorenko, explained the new feature in the patch notes:

The new Tzaangor Enlightened enemy attacking an Ultramarine from on top of a flying disk in Space Marine 2.

“This change simply increases the amount of XP players are getting in Operations mode if they are zealously exterminating enemy waves.This aims toincentivize players to not skip encounters, without punishing those who want to skip, andmakes the game less grindy in preparation for new features coming down the line (e.g., Prestige Ranks).”

Players who still want to skip those sections won’t be punished for doing so, but those who choose to engage with them or now decide they’re worth doing will be rewarded significantly. It’s a fair trade, one that proves, once again, that Saber Interactive is capable ofadaptingSpace Marine 2to meet its fans' needs and wants.

An Ultramarine and an Ork from Warhammer 40,000

More Highlights From Space Marine 2’s Patch 5

A New Operation & A Big Buff To Melee

Space Marine 2’sPatch 5 update has also added several other incredible features.The most important is theObeliskOperation, which sees players head to Demeriumduring the events of the end of the main campaign. It looks set to be as thrilling as the previous Operations, especially thanks to the new enemy type, Tzaangor Enlightened. It is a flying unit that zooms about on its hovering disk, launching ranged attacks at the player before getting up close and personal to finish the job. Players will want to focus on them first to ensure they don’t get wiped out.

The newDark Angels Chapter pack DLChas been added, giving players even more customization options for their hulking Space Marines. On top of that, there have been a number of balancing fixes that greatly improve combat, especially melee. Blocking weapons have been made more effective by allowing them to stack melee defense buffs before unleashing them as a deadly AoE attack that will knock enemies off their feet.Melee damage has also been increased across the board, making it more effective and ensuring players don’t rely on the same strategies in every Operation.

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Of course, all of this comes with general tweaks to the gameflow and various mechanics, including a handful of guns getting minor improvements. It is another update in a long line of terrific updates that work to greatly improveSpace Marine 2and ensure it is one of the most talked-about and played multiplayer shooters available.Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2is surviving thanks to this steady stream of Operations, fixes, and balance tweaks, and its dedicated fanbase couldn’t be happier.