Starting Tips for Warhammer Vermintide 2 Warhammer Vermintide 2 Guide and Walkthrough

Last update: 02 August 2018

The following page contains helpful advice for Warhammer: Vermintide 2. Practical starting tips will help you get around the game and enjoy success faster. The following list will show you how to play, what to avoid, and what's worth remembering.

• Taal's Horn Keep
• Don't forget about blocking
• Make your healing count
• Chest rewards depend on your current character class
• Running out of health doesn't equal game over
• Saving an ally enables auto-blocking
• Use bombs and your surroundings
• Enemies' weak points
• Remember that you're playing a co-op game
• Hero's Power
• What is the best class?
• Item colors

Taal's Horn Keep

There is no classic menu in the game, where you could choose missions or craft items. Instead, you will be transported to Taal's Horn Keep. It's a main place in the game, where you can perform all desired activities and upgrade your character. Here is the full list of features:

1. Opening chests
2. Launching missions
3. Receiving rewards and browsing Okri's Challenges
4. Forging and item crafting
5. Equipping new items and arms
6. Selecting talents and perks

All activities can be performed by standing near specified objects. For example, the forge allows you to open the crafting menu, and when you stand next to the map, you can select and start a mission. You can also use a button shortcut to do something immediately.

Don't forget about blocking

The dynamic, bloody battles of Vermintide can suck you in and lead to the forgetting of a very important thing - blocking the enemy attacks. Although the desire to constantly massacre your enemies may be strong, you must remember to defend from their blows. Otherwise, the enemy will bury you under their swords, which may not end well for you. When fighting against the weakest creatures, the danger is not that dire, but an attack from an elite opponent will quickly bring the hero to their knees.

Each melee weapon has its own Stamina - it determines how many blows you can block. The Stamina is visible as a number of shield icons - each stroke reduces the number of shields, and when the number falls to zero, you take damage. Remember that the stronger the opponent is, the more Stamina it will take - Attack of the weakest Skaven can take for example only half the shield, and hitting the elite boss all. The Stamina is renewed when blocking is discontinued.

For blocking it is also worth to add evasion, which is especially useful in the fight against free but powerful enemies. However, you can't use dodges infinitely and their number differs between weapons. For example - a sword and a shield allow you to use two dodges in a row while a rapier allows you to use six dodges. They also have one additional function - they remove all penalties that affect movement. You should also assign dodge to a separate button (in default, dodge is assigned to the same key as jump) - this will allow you to use dodges with greater ease.

Note - when blocking, you do not have to go directly against the direction of enemy attack. When in blocking mode, you will block even attacks to your back. However, you have to remember about the efficiency of your block range which is presented next to Stamina of a given weapon - attacks dealt outside of your block range (e.g. aimed at your back) consume two times more shields.

Make your healing count

The basic source of healing are healing draughts and medical supplies. The supplies restore more health, but take longer to use. Remember to use these items wisely - you will not find too many of them on the map, so do not use them until you have very little health. It is worth mentioning that you can also heal your companions - with the help of medical supplies you can heal them directly, and healing draughts can be given.

Chest rewards depend on your current character class

The only way to get new equipment and thus increase the hero's Power level is to open chests. - thanks to that you will get better equipment or crafting materials (by salvaging items) that can be used in creating better gear. You will get them for completing tasks and challenges, as well as for increasing the level of your characters. Chests can be opened in the center of the fortress or in the "Spoils of Wars" menu. Remember, however, that the prizes are based on the character class you are playing when opening the chest. For example, if you open a chest as a Mercenary, you will receive equipment meant for a Mercenary. How to get lootboxes? Check the page "How to get new equipment?".

Running out of health doesn't equal game over

It is likely that your hero's health bar will often drop to zero. But that doesn't mean the end of the game - when your hero falls, you'll see an additional health bar. Admittedly, you can't perform any actions at this point, but if one of your companions manages to save you (i.e. lift you from the ground), you can continue the game.

Saving an ally enables auto-blocking

Remember to save your companions - without that you have no chance of winning. It's worth knowing that when you rescue a team member, your hero automatically starts blocking, so you don't have to worry about the enemy attacks. Or at least until you run out of Stamina. You will find more information in FAQ, in the "How to save and rescue allies?" section.

Use bombs and your surroundings

You'll have to fight a lot of enemies as you play. To be successful, you need to use bombs found on the map - either explosive or incendiary. They are extremely useful for eliminating large groups of enemies - one bomb is enough to blow up even a dozen or so creatures. Also remember to use the nearby environment - it's much better to pull enemies into a narrow passage than to fight them in the open field. Would you like to know more about the battle with your enemies? Please refer to our "Combat" section of this guide.

Enemies' weak points

In Warhammer: Vermintide 2 you'll meet not only weak Skaven, but also powerful, armored enemies. During fights with them you should focus on their weak points. For example - a Stormvermin's weak point is its head while a Mauler's weak point is its belly. Attacks with a weapon that doesn't have penetrating attacks that are aimed at an enemy's armor (which isn't their weak spot) will be ineffective.

For more information about elite and special opponents and bosses, see our "List of enemies and bosses" section of the guide.

Remember that you're playing a co-op game

A good team is a key to successfully completing the mission. You need to focus on working with your companions - mindless pushing will not have a very good effect, and it certainly doesn't make any sense if you play at higher difficulty levels. Remember that every character excels under different conditions - if you play as a Mercenary, hold on to the front of the team and focus enemy aggro on yourself, and if you play with the Battle Wizard, take a place at the back and shower your enemies with projectiles. Save your allies, but also support them in their fight.

Hero's Power

Hero Power is the only attribute of your character. This stat has an impact on damage dealt, the number of enemies you damage with one strike, and the level of instability that allows enemies to fall on the ground - of course, the higher the hero's power, the better.

The hero's power is increased every time you level up and by using better equipment - for more information, please visit the "Combat" section of this guide.

What is the best class?

This is a question that many players are asking themselves, but there is no way of giving one specific answer. All the characters, and even their classes, are very different and require a different approach and gameplay style.

The recommended hero for beginners is Markus Kruber, and more specifically his Mercenary class, a versatile and universal character who can cope in any given conditions. It's true that he doesn't deal as much damage as Sienna Fuegonasus or Kerillian, but a lot of health combined with decent damage is a great compromise at the beginning of the game.

Do you want to play as a Bounty Hunter, Iron Breaker or Shade? Refer to the "Characters" section to see what you can get with our suggested builds. You'll also find a detailed description of each character, so you can decide which character class is going to be best for you.

Item colors

Not every weapon in the game is the same - they differ in colors (they are shown in the item icons), which in turn are related to the item' properties. Properties are additional bonuses offered by an item like increased attack speed or increased damage. Any item can have the properties of a melee weapon, a ranged weapon, a necklace, trinket or even a charm. The only requirement is that the item should be at least green in color. The ranking of colors is as follows (from the worst to the best):

1. White color
2. Green color
3. Blue color
4. Orange color
5. Red color

Do you want to create an orange weapon for yourself? Check out the "Crafting" page to learn all the secrets about creating and improving items. Red equipment can't be crafted - you can only obtain it from chests that you can get by completing missions on "Champion" or "Legend" difficulty levels.