Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Siege Mode Launches with Patch 8 – What’s New?
The highly anticipated Siege Mode for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is finally here, launching alongside Patch 8. This major update delivers a fresh new gameplay mode and a variety of technical improvements. Siege Mode is a take on the classic horde mode, where teams of three Space Marines fight off waves of Tyranids and Chaos Marines. It’s the first major content update since the game’s release, offering an exciting new co-op challenge for players.
Saber Interactive and Focus Entertainment have listened closely to player feedback, making significant changes to Siege Mode based on the Community’s criticisms. One of the biggest issues players had with the mode was the wave timer limit
. It was initially designed for technical reasons, but in the new build, optimizations have been made, allowing for longer and more challenging Siege sessions. According to the developers, the wave timer is now reworked into a session timer, giving players more time to prepare for the increasingly difficult enemy waves.
Siege Mode is not just about surviving waves of enemies. It’s also about strategic depth. Players will fight across three distinct sectors of a fortified Imperial stronghold on Kadaku, facing off against five waves of enemies in each sector before moving to the next. Side objectives like capturing key points or retrieving Data-slates from fallen allies offer players critical resources that can be spent on powerful reinforcements like Dreadnoughts or elite Space Marines. The battle ramps up quickly, and each fifth wave introduces tough boss fights. After completing 15 waves, players enter an endless mode where resources are scarce, and combat intensifies.
In addition to the new Siege Mode, Patch 8 introduces a range of new technical features, including Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion (RTAO) and DLSS 4 support on PC for enhanced graphics and performance, particularly for Nvidia 50xx series GPUs. Plus, the Thunder Hammer is now available for the Bulwark class, offering new tactical opportunities in combat. Although Patch 8 doesn’t introduce any new weapons or maps for the Operations mode, players can expect a new class, new game modes, and fresh Chaos enemies in upcoming updates.
Notably, the game has already sold over 7 million copies, marking a huge success for both Saber Interactive and Games Workshop. The game’s success has led to the announcement of Space Marine 3 back in March, less than a year after the release of Space Marine 2, proving that the game has had a significant impact on the industry.
As for future content, Patch 8 doesn’t include new Operations maps or weapons, but it does prepare players for the upcoming Season 4, which will introduce new game modes and a fresh Chaos enemy. There’s also a major update planned for character customization, with the ability to reuse Chapter Champion armor parts across different classes. Though this feature won’t arrive in Patch 8, it’s something to look forward to in the next major update.
Key Highlights of Patch 8:
- New Siege Mode offering wave-based survival battles against Tyranids and Chaos Marines
- Session timer overhaul based on community feedback
- Ray Traced Ambient Occlusion and DLSS 4 support for better graphics and performance on PC
- Thunder Hammer added to Bulwark class
- New Season 4 content with new modes, classes, and enemies on the horizon
- Future updates will focus on expanding customization options and reworking character perks
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 continues to evolve with these exciting updates, ensuring that there’s always something new for players to dive into.