With these Space Marine 2 tips, you’ll be an Adeptus Astartes veteran in no time, cleaving through Tyranids and Chaos forces with ease. Mastering the ways of bolter and melee combat is crucial in Space Marine 2, and there’s certainly a lot to master, with lots of little mechanics and useful tricks to remember to help you overcome Tyranid hordes. Although, with proper practice, good teamwork, and effective use of every tool available to you, you and your allies will be nigh unstoppable in the face of xenos and heretic foes. Steel yourself and remember these tips and tricks that we wish we knew before starting Space Marine 2.
1. Learn melee weapon combos to fight more effectively
While there are only five melee weapons in Space Marine 2, they all work quite differently and have their own mechanics on top of all the other combat systems. To get the most out of each melee weapon, I highly recommend learning the attack combos displayed on the pause menu, paying specific attention to which attacks can break an enemy’s guard. In short, don’t button-mash and attack with purpose!
2. Parry at every possible opportunity
Whenever you see the light-blue indicator ring or hear the pinging noise, press the parry button immediately and you’re pretty much guaranteed to deflect, or even kill, whatever’s coming your way. Smaller enemies are crushed with a successful parry and nearby enemies are also knocked back, giving you a bit of breathing space.
Larger enemies are staggered when parried, often interrupting their attack patterns and leaving them vulnerable to a follow-up beating. You can also parry any melee attack from a larger enemy (not just attacks with the blue indicator) to stagger them and mark them for an easy Gun Strike.
3. Don't panic dodge in hordes
When a ravenous horde of Tyranid Hormagaunts and Warriors is approaching, it's often better to stand your ground and thin their numbers with constant attacks and parries. Hormagaunts are especially fast and agile, so outrunning them isn’t really an option and they can easily surround you no matter how much you roll away.
Dodging is, however, perfect for evading ranged attacks and unblockable attacks telegraphed with a red indicator ring. Additionally, perfectly dodging any melee attack marks the attacker for a Gun Strike, letting you get an easy kill or tear a chunk of health out of an enemy. Bear this in mind when fighting bosses too.
4. Perform executions whenever you can
Never waste an opportunity to execute a dazed and enemy that’s flashing red. Each execution you perform provides a bar of armor for some additional protection, so if you chain executions together, you can easily regenerate your armor mid-battle. Additionally, you can initiate an execution from surprisingly far away – not just when the “Execute” prompt pops up – triggering a running animation that makes Titus completely invincible, which can help you avoid deadly attacks. The exception to this rule is to let your allies perform executions instead if they really need the armor and you don’t.
5. Change your primary weapon often, to match what's coming
The enemy variety and constant changes in scenery in Space Marine 2 mean you always want to have the right tool for the job. While most primary weapons can perform capably in most encounters, it’s still a good idea to try something else if you’re about to head to new area or if you find a convenient weapon pod ahead.
In the campaign, I noticed that the weapons in these pods often hinted at what was to come, providing long range weapons for open areas with lots of gun-toting Tyranids, or close-range carbine weapons or Melta Rifles for close-quarters fights. As for Operations, these weapon pods instead allow you to swap between the three loadouts for your current Space Marine 2 class, so it's worth considering a switch depending on what's ahead.
6. The Plasma Pistol is the best secondary weapon
The Plasma Pistol definitely feels like the best secondary because you don’t have to reload it, it packs a solid punch and fire rate, and you can overcharge shots for extra damage that help you quickly stagger an enemy for an execution or just blow their head off. It has very few downsides aside from its low ammo capacity and overheat risk, but carefully managing your shots and rapid cooling by pressing the reload button will help mitigate both issues. Make sure you add it Titus’ loadout as soon as you can in the campaign and give it to your Bulwark and Heavy Space Marine 2 classes in Operations and Eternal War.
7. Don't forget to use grenades
It’s always tempting to hold onto grenades for a big battle in the campaign and Operations, but they’re quite generously supplied, letting you toss them out often. Each type functions differently, so, as above, swapping out your grenades even if you’re not empty is often a good idea. Combat areas are often littered with them, so if you’re able to wander around as you fight, you might be able to collect more to explode some horrible bugs and daemons.
8. Healing is limited but fighting aggressively can save your life
Medicae Stimms are the main way you heal in Space Marine 2. Using this consumable item restores a modest chunk of your health bar, potentially saving you from going down for a short while. They’re also quite rare, so you need to be very careful about not using them unless you absolutely must – additionally, when playing Operations, make sure you don’t hog them!
Remember that you have a chance to regenerate some lost health (the white part of your health bar) by counterattacking an enemy and, as mentioned, executions restore armor, so aggression helps you stay alive. Furthermore, specifically for the campaign, Titus’ combat ability restores a lot of health over time, which can be a lifesaver, though it’s on a long cooldown – using it by accident outside of combat can be a big problem.
9. Smash Imperium crates for extra supplies
As you charge through levels, you might come across stacks of dark green Imperium-branded wooden crates which just look like part of the scenery but can actually be smashed – roll into them rather than waste your ammo. Doing so usually uncovers small ammo packs to help you stay topped up, but occasionally you can find grenades and even Medicae Stimms.
10. Look off the beaten path for powerful weapons and items
While missions in Space Marine 2 are linear, there are plenty of hidden routes and nooks that hold valuable resources and interesting collectibles for you. Scouring areas can help you find dataslate collectibles and Medicae Stimms. If you’re playing the campaign, you can also find extremely powerful heavy weapons such as Heavy Bolters and Multi-Meltas, but if you’re in Operations, you’ll instead want to look for Space Marine 2 Armory Data Servo Skulls.
Furthermore, one of the most important things to look out for during either mission type, particularly if you’re playing on a higher difficulty, is Guardian Relics, which give you a self-revive opportunity for when you get knocked down. You can hold one Guardian Relic at a time and using it removes a Mortal Wound and regenerates a significant amount of health. They’re very rare but well worth looking for to get yourself out of a bad situation.
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