After updates that spent more time rolling back unpopular difficulty changes than adding novel things, Space Marine 2 Patch 4.5 finally adds something shiny: the Neo-Volkite gun.
A classic sci-fi ray gun that sets people on fire before exploding, the Neo-Volkite Pistol has been added to the Assault, Bulwark, and Vanguard trooper loadouts in Operations PvE and will be added to PvP Eternal in the next update.
The Volkite weapon was the original weapon of choice for Space Marine Legionnaires prior to the Horus Heresy, but by the time of Horus’s betrayal it had been replaced by cheaper and easier to produce firearms. They were restored in Neo-Volkite form by Belisarius Cawl, the same tech-priest in charge of the Primaris Marines.
Patch 4.5 also rebalances various existing weapons in Operations mode, increasing the range of the Oculus Breech Rifle and increasing its headshot damage bonus, increasing the automatic rifle’s maximum ammo, and adjusting the damage falloff curve for the SMG (Sielet Rifle), among other changes.
Among the bug fixes and technical improvements in the patch are a fix for the DLC cosmetics you unlock after restarting, the Sniper’s Direct Shot feature not working after switching weapons, and various stability and connectivity improvements.
The next major update, as well as the addition of the Neo-Volkite pistol to the Eternal War mode, will introduce a novel enemy, a novel map to the Operations mode, and cosmetics based on the Dark Angels Marine chapter.
