Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Chaos Waste Preview – Not Going to Argue With More

If you haven’t played Warhammer Vermintide, you are seriously missing out. The game plays like Left 4 Dead with the cast of Lord of the Rings. It’s frenzied fun, bloody over-the-top four-player co-op madness.

Now just shortly after the 3rd anniversary of Vementide’s release, Fatshark has released a free update: “Chaos Wastes.” With 15 new areas and a new roguelite game mode, “Chaos Wastes” is more like an expansion than just an update. Warhammer is rich in history and lore but don’t worry about being a beginner to the series; you won’t be missing out on anything if you haven’t played the first Vermintide or any Warhammer games for that matter. Jump right in and prepare with your team to fight hordes of Clanrats, Gutter Runners, and Stormvermin on your way to the Citadel of Eternity.

The Chaos Wastes is a physical location found in the Warhammer universe, “created eons ago with the collapse of the warp gates of the old ones.” The expansion itself introduces a roguelite risk-reward style gameplay mode. The further you get, the greater the reward, but failure could cost you everything.

This new game mode consists of procedurally generated levels of 15 new locations that provide players with new experiences on every adventure. New paths, as well as item and enemy locations, change with each playthrough. There are also new cursed areas that will provide challenges that will dramatically change how you approach each area.

Players get hours of new gameplay and replay value with these new locations; they are as varied as they are beautiful. From floating stone libraries to frozen ship graveyards, each new location truly feels unique. There are new Weapons, Boons, and Miracles. But most of them still have the same feel.

There are cursed chests you can purify that spawn elite monsters. It was nice to be able to gear up before you had to take one on, or if you were low on health, you could bypass the challenge altogether. You can even take on the cursed chests and end up facing several Elites at once, which can be a bigger challenge than anticipated.

In this new game mode, the only rest you get are levels where you can spend pilgrim coins. This new currency allows you to purchase Miracles and Boons. To successfully reach the citadel, you need to beat five to seven of the new locations. Health does not return between locations, so be ready to sink a considerable amount of time if you wish to finish and get all the rewards.

It took well over an hour to reach the Citadel on one playthrough. Newcomers to the series will get to experience all that Vementide has to offer along with the free expansion. Fatshark has shown its love by providing something for its existing fanbase to chew on but is this enough to tide them over until the release of their next big project, “Darktide”? From my experience with Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Chaos Waste, it only builds on what makes this series so bloody fun.

The update will be included in the base game for free on PC on April 20 and “as soon as possible” for consoles. The update will also act as a remaster and decrease disk space.