The true allure of Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2 is the chaos, whether or not the Emperor's keen to it it. Xeno guts fly. Chainswords roar. Your comrades bark orders or fall at your side. Amid the death and destruction, there's a sense of pure exhilaration; of life. But, at the moment, you can only experience the heat of battle with two other friends as part of a three-person squad. What if you could experience it as a twelve-stack? Well, modder 'Warhammer Workshop' has answered your prayers, and it's chaos of the best kind (not that there is a good kind, of course).
While I loved multiplayer game is, of course, the co-op Operations missions. I've plowed days of my life into slaying Tyrannids with my partner, happily popping heads as the Sniper from the backline. While some couples play Baldur's Gate 3 and cozy games, we're busy tearing Xenos asunder and discussing which big gun is the actually the biggest.
But Warhammer Workshop's new Space Marine 2 mod takes that sense of enormity and dials it up to a hundred. Imagine 12 hulking Space Marines, taking down monsters in a tidal wave of viscera and having a great ol' time. That's exactly what you'll be able to do very, very soon.
As you've likely gathered, Warhammer Workshop's mod allows you to play Operations mode with up to twelve players, quadrupling the normal total. It works in tandem with the modder's pre-existing Astartes Overhaul – specifically designed to rebalance the game and add extra classes and weapons – and can be ed as an add on.
It's worth noting that it's still in its initial testing phase, however, so you're likely to experience fps drops and some general jankiness, as noted by 'Chapter Master Valrak' in the video above. Enemies aren't currently balanced, either, meaning that you'll tear through even the toughest of foes like they're paper. In many ways, Valrak compares it to a MMO dungeon: it's a squad of battle brothers doing what they do best.
As confirmed on the Warhammer Workshop Discord, Sabre has OK'd this mod, despite it previously banning mods in online play to combat server instability. "Huge thanks once again to the Saber team," Warhammer Workshop writes. "This is a massive step forward, and they absolutely deserve all the praise."
The 12-player co-op Space Marine 2 mod is available now to Warhammer Workshop's ers, but note that this is an early, paid build. According to Warhammer Workshop, "we're aiming to drop a working build of Astartes Overhaul: Expanded Customisation, and 12-player co-op this weekend." That will be Saturday May 3 or Sunday May 4. You can it via the Modding Hub Discord, and if you're looking to Warhammer Workshop's work directly, you can do so here.
If you're looking for something completely new to play with your pals, then check out our list of the best Warhammer 40k games.
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