Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Hotfix 4.1 Reverses Controversial Nerfs
Following significant player backlash, Space Marine 2 is releasing hotfix 4.1 on October 24th, reversing many of the nerfs introduced in Patch 4.0. The developers, Saber Interactive, also announced plans for public test servers, slated for early 2025.
The decision to revert changes comes after widespread negative feedback, including negative Steam reviews. Players criticized the Patch 4.0 nerfs as making the game less enjoyable.
Saber Interactive explained that Patch 4.0 aimed to increase enemy numbers, rather than boosting enemy health, in response to feedback that the game was too easy, even on the highest difficulty. However, this negatively impacted lower difficulty levels.
Hotfix 4.1 will address this by reverting the "most pressing" balance changes. Specifically:
- Extremis enemy spawn rates will return to pre-Patch 4.0 levels on Minimal, Average, and Substantial difficulties, and will be significantly reduced on Ruthless difficulty.
- Player armor on Ruthless difficulty will receive a 10% increase.
- Bot damage against bosses will be increased by 30%.
Additionally, the Bolter weapon family will receive a substantial buff across the board:
- Auto Bolt Rifle: +20% Damage
- Bolt Rifle: +10% Damage
- Heavy Bolt Rifle: +15% Damage
- Stalker Bolt Rifle: +10% Damage
- Marksman Bolt Carbine: +10% Damage
- Instigator Bolt Carbine: +10% Damage
- Bolt Sniper Rifle: +12.5% Damage
- Bolt Carbine: +15% Damage
- Occulus Bolt Carbine: +15% Damage
- Heavy Bolter: +5% Damage (x2)
The developers will continue monitoring player feedback following the release of Patch 4.1 to ensure the "Lethal" difficulty remains appropriately challenging. The introduction of public test servers in early 2025 aims to provide a more collaborative approach to future balance updates.