Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Beginner’s Guide

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 can be a very unforgiving game and being new to the series can be quite challenging, especially if you aren’t running with an established team who knows what they are doing. The good news is that not all hope is lost and this Beginner’s Guide for Vermintide 2 will help you get on your feet and into the battle. Once you know the basics it will be much easier to do well in the game, so read on to see everything we have in our Vermintide 2 beginner’s guide.

Vermintide 2 Beginner Tips

There are a lot of important things to keep in mind when you first start playing Vermintide 2. Like the first game, the enemies of the game rely upon their sheer strength and numbers to overrun our heroes, which means you will need to do everything you can to strategize and control those numbers. The good news is, this isn’t nearly as hard as it might seem, you just need to know what you’re doing. That’s where we come in.

Head on a Swivel

One of the most important things to keep in mind when playing through missions in Vermintide 2 is that the AI system that the game uses changes up the spawns every playthrough. This means that each encounter you have throughout the game will always differ, so you’ll need to stay on your toes. Enemies can come from anywhere, so keep your head on a swivel and look out for enemies trying to sneak up behind you. Stragglers may not do serious damage, but every hit that you take adds up in the end, so you’ll need to minimize those hits as much as possible.

Forward Progress is Key

One of the biggest things we see new players doing is holding back and refusing to move up as they take on hordes of enemies. This is a huge mistake and can end a run as quickly as it began. You’ll always want to keep progressing through the level. Don’t rush it, but make sure you aren’t going too slowly either. Moving slowly through the level will cause more AI to spawn, including specials and other hard-to-kill mobs. Vermintide rewards progression, so make sure you’re always progressing. If you’re trying to find Tomes or Grimoires, then make sure you check out our guides on all tome locations and all Grimoire locations to help make your fight easier.

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work

This statement has never been truer than in Vermintide 2. Even venturing away from your team for thirty seconds can change the outcome of the battle exponentially. There are multiple special enemies in the game that can incapacitate you, locking you in their grasp until an ally frees you. Moving away from your party can open you up to these attacks, many of which you may not even see coming when you’re first starting out. Stick close by your party and work together to keep moving forward through the level.

Get Up Close and Personal

Each hero in Vermintide 2 has both a ranged and a melee weapon. While it can be tempting to stick out of the battle and try to shoot enemies with your ranged weapon, you’ll need to break this habit early on. Your main method of killing in Vermintide 2 is melee, not ranged. While ranged weaponry definitely has its uses, you’re going to want to get up close and personal and make use of any melee weapons that you have to take enemies out. Ranged weapons are extremely situational, so make use of them when it makes sense, otherwise keep them stowed and your melee weapon in your hands, ready to bash in some heads.

Learn to Block, Dodge and Push

Blocking and pushing are two of the most important things you can learn to do in Vermintide 2. Since you’ll usually be fighting a massive group of enemies at any given time, knowing how to block their attacks, and how to push them away from you will be key to you surviving these encounters. When in combat—with your melee weapon out—press the right mouse button to block. From here you can also push enemies away to give you room to work.

Dodging is also extremely important, as this will get you away from enemies. You should be blocking, pushing, and dodging away from enemies constantly. Do not attack constantly. Instead, try to get into a rhythm and attack, dodge, block, or push enemies away after a few swings. Not only will this reduce the damage you take, but it will also keep enemies from being able to swarm around you and trap you—just in case you need to make a speedy getaway.

Don’t Waste Health Items

We’ve all been there. You’re at half health and you’re tempted to use your Medkit before heading into the next battle. Don’t do it. Instead, hold off on using that Medkit until you’re well below half-health. Medkits give a certain percentage of your health back (most people within the community believe them to grant you 80%, as that’s what players received in Vermintide 1). This means that using a Medkit while at half health technically wastes a large percentage of it. Instead, make use of potions, which you’ll find quite a bit more throughout the game. You’ll also want to keep other players in mind when deciding how to divvy up health items, and make sure you grant them to the Support/Damage takes first if needed.

If you can keep these things in mind, then you’ll be well on your way to getting a grasp on Vermintide 2. Combat isn’t easy, and nothing is going to be handed to you here. Get ready for a fight, don’t waste your health items, and always keep your head on a swivel. Remember to dodge, block, push, and make use of the full force that your melee weapons have to offer. Be sure to return to our Vermintide 2 guide for more in-depth content about the game.