Warhammer: ‘Vermintide 2 Versus’ Open Beta Adds New Way To Play
If you have Warhammer: Vermintide 2 on Steam it might be time to fire up the game and jump into the new Versus Beta.
Vermintide 2 is a lot of fun. It’s first-person hack-and-slash fun set in the Old World against the backdrop of a Skaven invasion. You take on the role of one of the heroes that’s fighting against the ever rising Vermintide. But you probably know this already as the game isn’t exactly new. First released back in 2018 it’s considered to be rather long in the tooth in video game years. But Fatshark has released a constant stream of updates for the game and the newest one could be it’s biggest change yet.
Vermintide 2 Versus
There are a few things you should know going into Vermintide 2 Verses. First up, you actually don’t need a copy of Vermintide 2 to participate in the beta test. You’ll just need to download the Steam application to give it a go. Secondly, Windows 7 and 8 aren’t supported. Sorry.
Anyhow, enough with the technical stuff, you might want to know what the heck Versus is all about. It’s a new game mode for Warhammer: Vermintide 2. It’s an asymmetrical PvP+E mode that introduces 4v4 action. Here’s the official description:
Versus is a free new Game mode for Warhammer: Vermintide 2! It’s an asymmetrical PvP+E pitting up to 4 Heroes against our AI enemies and up to 4 special players, what we call Pactsworn. A match will take place over several rounds, with each team swapping places between playing the Heroes and the Pactsworn each round. To simplify, each round the Hero team must play a regular game akin to Adventure mode, while the Pactsworn players have to stop them.
Fatshark has been tinkering with this mode for a while. There’s already been the close testing and this is the Open Beta now. If you’re already familiar with Vermintide 2 then you’re probably familiar with the Heroes side of things. In essence, as the Heroes your job is to make it to the end of the level. You’ll be tasked with completing objectives and surviving to the end. The further you make it the more points your team scores.
What’s new is the new Pactsworn side of the house. This is where you’ll be taking on the role of the Skaven’s version of Heroes. As the “specials” you’re job is to, well, kill the Heroes! Your side doesn’t earn points. Your sole job is to stop the Heroes from progressing so they score as few points as possible that round.
At the end of the round, players swap sides and play as the other team. Best score wins!
Honestly, this isn’t exactly a “new” formula as a game mode. Left4Dead had a very similar setup for it’s PvP mode. I’m not saying this as a BAD thing. It worked quite well for L4D so I’m excited to see how this plays out in Vermintide! I certainly can see the potential and the appeal of having live players as the opposition in these types of games. Playing against other players who can communicate, plan, and adapt on the fly is what makes this mode so interesting!
If you’ve got Steam and are a fan of Vermintide 2, it’s worth checking out the Open Beta going on right now. You will have to request access but that been a pretty quick turn around. So enjoy the mayhem until September 2nd!
Get in there and kill-kill the heroes!
