Many of us will recall that Warhammer: Vermintide 2’s Versus mode was announced quite early in the game’s life before vanishing for years prior to its recent emergence. This lengthy absence led some players to lose hope of ever getting their fill of Warpstone-fueled PvPE, but with a successful alpha test under its belt, publisher and developer Fatshark has announced that the highly anticipated mode enters open beta today.
Set to last until September 2, 2024, this Vermintide 2 Versus beta test features a rotation of three maps and welcomes everyone with a Steam account. Directly inspired by Left 4 Dead’s eponymous mode, Vermintide 2’s iteration pits two teams of four players against each other across three distinct rounds. During each round, teams switch between the Ubersreik Five and Skaven elites, with bots stepping in to fill empty player slots.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Versus Open Beta
The mode reuses maps from the base game, but they’ve been reworked to better suit its altered structure, being split into three segments separated by safe rooms that grant temporary respite.
Although matches revolve around gaining more points than the opposing team, each side has different goals, fueling the asymmetrical gameplay. The now-familiar heroes must complete objectives and push as far as they can, ideally reaching the safe zones and maximizing the amount of points earned.
On the other hand, the Skaven must stop the heroes from completing their objectives, thus limiting the amount of points they gain. Although it wasn’t explained in-game during the hands-on match I played earlier this month – aspect which the devs are looking to address –, this is a rather interesting dynamic. Since teams swap sides every round, one poor performance isn’t the end, as you can potentially regain the upper hand later.
While the Ubersreik Five feel very familiar, prioritizing sticking together and helping each other – as the moment they all die the round ends –, the Pactsworn (as the forces of Chaos are called) shake things up to an extent. The servants of the Horned Rat are frail – aside from the Bile Troll, which tends to weather some punishment and is a joy to use – but can respawn quickly and freely select their spawn points, provided they’re not too close to the heroes.
This not only enables the ratmen to set up ambushes by climbing to spots the heroes can’t normally reach, but also maintain constant pressure. Every time you respawn, you get a choice between two randomly-picked specializations from a total of the existing five.
They play identically to their base game counterparts. The Ratling Gunner shoots devastating flurries of bullets from afar, while the Warpfire Thrower roasts enemies from up close. The Poisoned-Wind Globadier excels at area denial, the Gutter Runner leaps over great distances and quickly stabs foes, while the Packmaster traps and isolates opponents.
The only “new” element is the inclusion of a Horde ability that charges over time and summons grunts to your aid, although I can’t say it felt particularly effective during my time with Vermintide 2’s Versus mode. Generally fun to use and able to create intense encounters when they pull off ambushes or exploit heroes going off on their own, the Pactsworn can also feel a bit clunky.
As a Gutter Runner, you can find yourself leaping helplessly in the air while in full sight of your foes if you miss your target and your invisibility-granting smoke bomb happens to be on cooldown. The Packmaster’s weapon felt a bit inaccurate in my hands, as I had trouble approximating the exact range required to grab enemies, even if visually it looked like my attacks should have connected.
On the flip side, successfully coordinating strikes alongside your teammates is often exhilarating. Separating the heroes using a gas grenade and watching them scramble to reassess the situation as a Gutter Runner pounces on one and a friendly Bile Troll drapes the others in corrosive vomit before smashing them with its massive club feels awesome as it unfolds – doubly so if it concludes that round, leaving the opposing team at a notable point disadvantage.
While my failings as a novice ratman were likely the result of being thrown right into a match without prior experience with Warhammer: Vermintide 2’s Versus mode, the Pactsworn do feel a little shallow. This is, in part, by design, as developer Fatshark wants Versus gameplay to replicate that of the main game at a base level. Having actual players controlling these Skaven elite units also makes them behave more cunningly than their AI-controlled counterparts.
Yet, one-to-two abilities won’t rival the sheer amount of variety the Ubersreik Five have in terms of builds and weapons. I asked whether or not the team is worried about the staying power of the Pactsworn, which is when I learned that they’re “looking at it, for sure” and debating internally if there’s more that needs to be done to make the baddies feel as interesting and deep as the heroes.
While no changes are immediately planned, the developer remains “open to the idea,” especially if feedback from the open beta reflects a need to do more on this front. The first solution it would turn to is adding more special enemies from the base game, “which would give players more freedom to choose from different Pactsworn.”
Looking towards the potential future addition of the Beastmen, that remains a “maybe,” depending on whether the team can “find a sweet spot for gameplay purposes.” As for making less potent units like the Stromvermin/Chaos Warriors playable, that may not happen, since “if we were to balance them in a way that made sense for the heroes they would be super overpowered,” as they’re meant to be more easily dispatched.
On a different note, I also got confirmation that we won’t need to grind for weapons and gear again when Vermintide 2’s Versus mode launches, as it shares progression with the other existing game modes. Furthermore, there will also be some “new, shiny cosmetics” to unlock while taking up the PvPE mantle.
Warhammer: Vermintide 2’s Versus mode is currently planned to make its long-awaited debut on PC at some point in late 2024 or early 2025, but Fatshark has noted that its exact release date will be influenced by the feedback obtained from the open beta session that kicks off today.
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