New Player Guide - Heroes
Heroes,
This is Fatshark Quickpaw, Community Manager and long time player of Vermintide 2! With the Versus Beta being open to anyone, we expect a lot of new players to try out the game for the first time, which is why we wanted to prepare guides for how to get started with playing Vermintide Versus! This guide is focused on the Hero side, but we’ve also just published a similar guide for the Pactsworn side.
Vermintide 2 is, overall, a First Person Hack & Slash and Shooter hybrid set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe. The Heroes must cleave through endless hordes of enemies while also fending off the lethal Special enemies, Monsters, Elites and so on, all while they carry on through the levels to complete objectives and make it through to the end!
Players familiar with Left 4 Dead, Darktide or similar games should feel right at home!
In Versus specifically, the game turns from a PvE co-op game into a PvP+E mayhem! 8 players will take turns playing as Heroes in what is otherwise a normal game of Vermintide, and as Pactsworn - where they control the Specials and try to stop the Heroes from progressing! By killing them dead-dead.
How the Heroes play
When playing as the Heroes, your job is to advance through the level and get to the exit! Your team earns points for advancing through the level, completing objectives and surviving through the round! The further your team makes it, the more points you earn that round.
Controls
Movement
Default movement keys: WASD.
Jump (default: Spacebar),
Dodge (default: Spacebar + Any direction besides forwards) and
Crouch (default: Left Ctrl).
Communication
As both Heroes and Pactsworn, you can also tag enemies and locations (Default: T), highlighting important enemies or places to keep an eye on. You can also hold down the tag button to open up the Social Wheel, giving you some quick messages to communicate with your team.
Opening the chat (Default: Enter) lets you write out text messages to your team. You can also communicate with both teams by opening All Chat (Default: Shift + Enter).
The game also features in-game Voice Chat!
“All Chat is a thing, this opens up a lot of avenues in terms of psychological warfare. I was told not to elaborate on this.” ”
Weapons
Each Hero carries two weapons, typically a Melee weapon in the first slot (Default: ‘1’) and a Ranged weapon in the second slot (Default: ‘2’). Your Melee weapon is used for defence and for killing enemies up close. In general, you will be relying on your chosen melee weapon for most enemies.
Most careers have access to a ranged weapon with limited ammunition. Different Ranged Weapons have different strengths and weaknesses; different things they’re good at. However, for Versus, it’s a good idea to pick a ranged weapon that is good at killing Specials, since they will be your main threat! These are weapons that are easy to aim, can reliably hit targets at range, and deal high damage in a few shots.
Ammunition for ranged weapons can be found throughout the level as pick ups to refill any missing ammo.
““The Skaven can jump around and try to juke your shots. Take your time aiming, make sure you won’t miss!” ”
Attacking
With melee weapons, tapping the Attack button (Default: Left Mouse Click) lets you perform Light attacks. Holding the Attack button lets you do Heavy attacks. For most weapons, it doesn’t matter how long you hold the Attack button for; it’ll deal the same damage. Each weapon has a series of Light Attacks and Heavy Attacks you can chain together. Wide, sweeping attacks tend to be good against Hordes of weaker enemies, while vertical slams and potent thrusts tend to be best against tough and armoured enemies. Experiment with your weapon to find the best attack chain for the job!
With ranged weapons, you will have a Primary Attack button (Default: Left Mouse Click) which shoots a basic shot, and a Secondary Attack button (Default: Right Mouse Click). These are usually a specialised way to fire that deals more damage and lets you aim better. Hold down the Secondary Attack button and then hit the Primary Attack button to shoot in this second method.
Defending
Holding the Block button (Default: Right Mouse Click) will raise your weapon to block attacks! The ‘shields’ displayed represent your Stamina! Blocking attacks consumes Stamina, and you will be guard broken if you run out. Ranged attacks can only be blocked with shield weapons!
Tapping Attack while blocking will let you do a Push. These consume 1 shield of Stamina and deal no damage, but they’re extremely quick and safe and they push everyone in front of you away. Good for making space when you’re being overwhelmed! Just don’t run out of stamina…
Beyond blocking and pushing, Dodging (Default: Spacebar + any direction other than forwards) is vital to your defensive toolkit. It lets you avoid attacks without spending stamina, and is the only way to deal with attacks that you can’t block. Sprinkling in a sideways dodge while you attack is a nice way to stay on the offensive and avoid attacks at the same time! But be careful, you can only dodge so many times without pause before your dodges become short and ineffective.
Career Skill
Each Hero has their own Career Skill (Default key: F), a powerful ability that recharges over time (Check the purple bar in your HUD!). These are powerful, career-defining abilities that can do anything from saving a teammate, knocking back a monster, track and eliminate a Special, and more!
Consumables
Spread around the map are various consumable items that Heroes can use. You can pick up items with the Interact key (Default: E). Once picked up, you can them similar to weapons (Default ‘3’ for medical items, ‘4’ for Buff Potions and ‘5’ for Bombs) and then either Use them (Default: Left Mouse Click) or give them to an ally (Default: Right Mouse Click).
All consumables are extremely powerful, make sure to be on the lookout for them! Each round, the starting area also has a set of potions and bombs for the Heroes to equip themselves with.
Health and Healing
Every round, Heroes will start with a filled out health bar! How much maximum health you have depends on your Career. As you take damage, you obviously lose health!
““HP is a resource, sometimes map progress is more important.” ”
Temporary health
Every career has access to talents that give them a way to gain Temporary Health through different methods in the very first row of each talent tree, all of which involve getting into melee. This temporary health will look White in your health bar, contrasting with your ‘Permanent’ health, which looks green.
““If playing a ranged horde clearing career like Battle Wizard, don’t burst down hordes! Killing hordes too quickly denies your team Temp HP and makes them more vulnerable to enemy attacks; Instead, engage hordes in melee so you and your team can build THP, and save your massive horde killing to deny the enemy’s ambush!” ”
Knockdown and revives
When a Hero loses all their Health, they don’t immediately die! Instead, they are Knocked Down and must be revived by an ally. To Revive an ally, approach them and press the Interact button (Default: E).
A Hero has a limited amount of times they can be Knocked Down! These are called Wounds. When a player is on their last Wound, their vision will be in grayscale. The next time they go down, they will die. Heroes that die will not come back for the rest of the round. However, next round they will be back as normal once it’s their team’s turn to play Heroes again.
Healing items
Scattered throughout the map you can find various healing items. Healing Draughts are swift to use (it’s a quick drink!) and heal you for a set amount, but only the Hero carrying it can benefit from it.
Medical Supplies take longer to apply, but heal a percentage of missing health and can be applied to an ally! Both of these healing items restore Permanent Health.
On top of that, using a medical item (whether it’s a Healing Draught or Medical Supplies) restores all of the healed players’ Wounds! That means it resets the counter of how many times they can go down before dying.
Things to Keep in Mind
Teamwork is key
For the Hero team, Teamwork is absolutely essential. The Pactsworn team relies on exploiting vulnerabilities in the group, which is cakewalk if you don’t work together to begin with! Protect your allies, coordinate and communicate with your team, and cover each other’s weaknesses. Some specials have abilities that “disable” a Hero, requiring an ally to rescue them.
““Protect your special snipers! If you have an Engineer or Waystalker on the team, protect them at all costs so they can put the hurt on the Pactsworn (and be willing to give up your healing to them, should they need it!)” ”
Stick Together
Heroes that are alone or don’t have support from teammates are easy pickings for the Pactsworn team. Stick together! Help each other out! Advance as a group, complete objectives as a group. Cover your teammate’s backs, rescue them if they’re ambushed or surrounded. The Pactsworn team exploits weaknesses, make them work for it!
“Together, together and together! A bad situation can be made infinitely worse should you find yourself alone.”
The Enemy - Pactsworn Specials
The Pactsworn team consists of the other four players picking between 5 Specials, whose goal is to disrupt the Hero team and kill them. Their toolkits all help them either create openings and vulnerabilities (by distracting, confusing or separating the Heroes) or exploit them in deadly ambushes!
Playing the pactsworn
Specials live short lives, but Pactsworn players get to pick a new one and respawn shortly after death. They are unending and will keep harassing the Heroes until they wipe them out or the Heroes get to the exit.
Want to learn more about playing the Pactsworn?
Stay alert
Have a keen ear! The Pactsworn Specials all have unique sound cues when moving around and attacking. Learn the tells and pay attention: recognizing when a Packmaster is approaching under the cover of a Horde to hook and drag away an unsuspecting Hero, or when a Globadier has tossed poison gas that is about to hit you, it can mean the difference between a deadly surprise ambush and a dead, foiled Skaven.
“Specials need to be a short distance away and out of a hero's line of sight to spawn. This gives some opportunity for heroes to listen out for sound cues when moving around the map and let the heroes be ready to deal with the special before they have an impact on the team.” ~ Combine00, Community Champion
“Don't be reactive to specials, be proactive. Consider where they can attack you from at all times, and use sound queues to aim at them before they start their strikes!” ~ Lonk1442, Community Champion
The Ubersreik Five
The stars of the show, these are the Hero characters you will be playing! The same Hero can’t be in the same team twice, each Hero is unique!
But on top of that, each Hero has four Careers - these are equivalent to ‘Classes’. They determine your unique abilities, what weapons you can pick, health, and specialised roles!
Each career also has its own Talent Tree, letting you pick extra abilities or modify existing ones through your choices. There’s 6 different rows of talents, and in each row you must pick 1 out of 3 options. Try to pick talents that synergize with your intended loadout and playstyle!
If the choices are overwhelming at first, each career also has two premade loadouts that you can pick before every round of Versus through the Equipment chest. These loadouts have a combination of talents and weapons tailored to fit one of two builds we’ve prepared for you.
But who are these Heroes…?
Markus Kruber
A Human Soldier, avid drinker and heart of the team. No matter what Career you pick, Kruber has access to powerful, meaty weapons fitting for a man of such an impressive beard.
MERCENARY CAPTAIN
A melee frontliner career that provides major support to the team in the form of buffs and healing, while being able to cleave through countless enemies in a way no other career can, no matter how tough the enemy is.
“I'd say my go to is Mercenary. I can keep teammates alive by giving temporary health with my ultimate and the Strike Together talent is great for giving the team some extra attack speed to bonk those rats even quicker.” ~ SlashKex, Community Champion
His Career Skill is a shout that staggers enemies and gives Temporary Health to every nearby ally (and himself!).
“Use Mercenary's ultimate to thwart enemy ambushes by staggering Specials through walls just before you walk up some stairs or around a corner.” ~ SlashKex, Community Champion
If you want to be in the thick of the carnage, chopping enemies and boosting your team while you fight, then this career is for you!
HUNTSMAN
A ranged specialist that deals high damage from afar. This career relies on landing headshots to maximise your damage AND your ammunition sustain, which combined with its focus on critical hits lets it be a terrifying damage dealing monster… If you can land those headshots!
His Career Skill lets him go invisible for a limited time, and any shots done while invisible are guaranteed crits. Specials and Monsters beware of any Huntsman ready to snipe…
Players that want to dish out high ranged damage and be greatly rewarded for their good aim will find great satisfaction in playing Huntsman.
FOOT KNIGHT
A stalwart protector! This career specialises in staggering enemies and saving his teammates. The Foot Knight has an aura effect that increases the defences of nearby allies, and his Career Skill lets him plough through any number of enemies, knocking even the biggest monster back!
If you want to bulldoze through all enemies and be the team’s bodyguard, play Foot Knight!
“Pick the invulnerability during your charge and have it reset every time an ally is incapacitated and you'll become an unstoppable force. Choose a weapon with a shield and no one will ever get through you. Why be a steam tank driver when you can literally become the train?” ~Pontus, Backend Programmer
GRAIL KNIGHT
A high damage melee smiter! This career cannot use ranged weapons at all, instead letting you bring two different melee weapons!
His Career Skill is on a short cooldown and consists of a quick, single strike of a divine greatsword. Only the toughest of monsters can survive even a single strike from this, and they’ll still feel its pain.
In addition, the Grail Knight has a system of Quests, small tasks your team can complete to earn a powerful boon for the rest of the round.
Players who seek to focus entirely on melee and dealing extremely high damage per swing should try out the Grail Knight!
Bardin Goreksson
bardin Goreksson
A stout Dwarf, stalwart friend, and… enthusiastic singer! What Bardin lacks in height he makes up for in hardiness and strength.
RANGER VETERAN
An ever-resourceful ranged specialist and team support! This career constantly generates ammo for the whole team and can grant buffs and supplies through talents!
His Career Skill lets him drop a smoke bomb that makes him invisible for as long as he stays in that cloud. The detonation of the smoke bomb also staggers weaker enemies, making some room when overwhelmed.
If you want a ranged career that will always have an answer for any situation, Ranger Veteran might be for you!
“My favorite is Bardin Veteran Ranger! Being able to snipe using a handgun, bring a shield to block incoming Ratling Gunner rampage, go into stealth AND produce ammunition for the team is top tier imo.” ~ Emil, Game & UX Designer
IRONBREAKER
The immovable mountain. Ironbreaker Bardin is practically impossible to kill and will usually be the last one standing.
His Career Skill is a shout that will make all nearby enemies switch their attention to attacking Bardin and also increases his already ridiculous defences to make him nearly impervious to damage for a while.
On top of his usual weapons, Ironbreaker also has access to a powerful flamethrower to incinerate hordes, and the Trollhammer Torpedo! The latter has very limited ammunition and reloads extremely slowly, but there are few things that can withstand even a single shot of this in their general direction.
If you want to be unkillable and be the pillar that props the team up, pick Ironbreaker!
SLAYER
A frenzied berserker! This Career has NO access to Ranged Weapons (with the exception of Throwing Axes, if you so choose!), instead letting you bring two different melee weapons to cover different situations. This career also has no access to shields!
“Why have a ranged weapon when you can be the ranged weapon? Run dual axes for ultimate speed and 2h for horde clear, tmp health gain and career skill build up to jump on any pesky pactsworn you see hiding about” ~ Joakim, Quality Assurance Lead
No, Slayer Bardin is for throwing yourself at the enemy and chopping them to tiny little pieces in a blur of carnage and fury. His Career Skill lets him leap forwards to quite literally jump to the fray. He also has a Passive ability that gives him buffs as he lands attacks in melee, urging him to attack and attack and attack!
For players who want to attack like maniacs and decimate anything they come across, try out the Slayer!
“Playing Slayer for the thrill of melee with the highest of stakes” ~ Janfon1, Community Fan Animator
OUTCAST ENGINEER
A unique Ranged specialist, this Career doesn’t have a traditional career skill. Instead, pressing the Career Skill button lets him pull out his third weapon: a steam minigun! Shooting it drains his Career Ability bar, and he must recharge it by ‘reloading’ the minigun to crank up the steam pressure, which builds his ability bar back up over time.
This Career is extremely deadly at range, but often struggles under pressure and shines the most when the team can keep him safe so that he can operate in peace. Although, the extra bombs he can carry do help out with that!
For those seeking unrivalled ranged firepower and can rely on their team to cover them, try Outcast Engineer!
KERILLIAN
An arrogant Wood Elf with a sharp tongue and sharper arrows. Kerillian is nimble and lethal, with all of her careers dealing high damage both at range and in melee. However, she’s not the sturdiest, relying on her mobility to avoid blows when she can.
WAYSTALKER
The most keen-eyed archer one can ask for. Waystalker is a ranged specialist that excels at taking down Specials and other high value targets.
Her Career Skill lets her shoot a small volley of enemy-seeking arrows that will curve mid-flight to reach their target, even around walls! By holding down the Career Skill button, you can highlight an enemy in red. Once you release it, no matter where you aim it at, the arrows will track the last highlighted enemy.
Those of you who want a ranged specialist that can quickly and easily dispatch Specials and Elites, Waystalker is for you!
HANDMAIDEN
A mobile Career capable of making it through the worst situations, whether it be to escape from a bad spot or to rescue an unlucky teammate!
Her Career Skill is a dash on a very short cooldown, letting her quickly reposition at will. Handmaiden also has access to a passive ability that lets her revive downed teammates faster, and teammates revived by her get back up with extra health!
Unique to Handmaiden is also the Spear & Shield, making it the only career for Kerillian that has access to a shield!
For those who want a melee/ranged hybrid with a focus on mobility, look no further than Handmaiden.
“Love me some Handmaiden gameplay. Being able to dash right through the enemy team's big, smart plans is just too much fun.” ~ Teodor, Game Designer
SHADE
A deadly assassin, capable of taking down even the toughest of foes with a swift stab to the back!
Shade’s Career Skill lets her go invisible for a few seconds, and the next melee attack she does while invisible will deal massive damage. Perfect for assassinating a tough enemy, or approaching a Pactsworn Special to deliver a lethal blow.
Anyone who wants a nimble, stealthy fighter with access to extremely high bursts of damage should give Shade a try!
SISTER OF THE THORN
Becoming one with nature, Sister of the Thorn gains access to powerful magic without losing even a bit of lethality.
Her Career Skill lets her raise a wall of bushes wherever she aims, sturdier than it looks! Perfect for stopping the Horde, or blocking the shots of a Pactsworn Ratling Gunner.
She also has a passive ability that increases the healing received by the entire team, increasing the survivability of the Heroes drastically.
Finally, the Sister of the Thorn has unique access to a magical Staff as a ranged weapon, should you choose to pick it. The primary fire of this weapon shoots a volley of darts, while the secondary fire lets her temporarily disable any enemy by lifting them up and leaving them hanging in the air uselessly.
For those wanting to wield the lethality of Kerillian while also providing ample support to their team, Sister of the Thorn will be perfect.
““Between her increased THP gains and melee damage she can help in putting out both the healing and hurting, and her deepwood staff can really help to expose that pesky globeider poking his snout out from a roof. Not to mention her wall is a fantastic tool to grant your team on demand cover and force ratlings and warpfires out of advantageous positions.” ”
VICTOR SALTZPYRE
A devout follower of Sigmar and a zealous Witch Hunter, Saltzpyre’s single remaining eye will judge the Heretics and put them to the flame.
WITCH HUNTER CAPTAIN
A versatile all-rounder that deals extra damage on headshots (both melee and ranged!) and enhances the entire team’s ability to deal damage to valuable targets.
He has a passive ability that increases the damage taken of any enemy that the Heroes tag (Default: T). It’s already important to use the Tag to highlight important enemies, but with a Witch Hunter Captain around it’s extra valuable!
His Career Skill is a shout that staggers nearby enemies and massively increases the critical hit chance of nearby allies (and himself!).
For those wanting a versatile and lethal melee/ranged hybrid with a focus on critical hits and headshots, try out Witch Hunter Captain!
Bounty Hunter
BOUNTY HUNTER
A ranged specialist that deals high damage with precise shots. Bounty Hunter’s key ability is a Passive that makes the next ranged attack a guaranteed critical hit on a cooldown, making this career excellent at sniping enemies at opportune moments.
His Career Skill lets him pull out a gun that fires both a single high damaging shot and a cone of pellets. The pellets will wipe out weaker enemies before him and the high damage shot will take down all but the toughest of enemies in a single shot.
Bounty Hunter is perfect for anyone seeking a ranged specialist that will deal high damage and take down enemies even through the sturdiest of armours.
“I love playing xbow bounty hunter. You're a bit fragile but the ability to body shot kill specials with blessed shots is super fun.” ~ Hurrvs, Community Streamer
ZEALOT
A fanatical melee frontliner, ready to show his devotion through pain.
This Career is defined by its Passive ability that increases his Power the lower his Health is, increasing the damage and impact of his attacks. Note: Temporary Health does not count as Health for the purposes of this passive.
His Career Skill is a dash that gives him a temporary boost to attack speed, making it useful both for mobility and to prepare for a vicious encounter!
Players who want a melee bruiser that gets stronger the more he fights, Zealot will serve you well!
WARRIOR PRIEST
A warhammer-wielding warrior blessed by Sigmar himself! The Warrior Priest is an extremely tough Career that can boost the entire team through passive abilities picked through his talents.
This Career has no access to ranged weapons, instead letting you choose two different melee blunt weapons to bring with you, complementing each other’s strengths.
His Career Skill lets him bless an ally or himself with a divine shield that makes them invulnerable for a few seconds and then explodes in radiant light, dealing high damage to nearby enemies. No matter how far away an ally is, an opportune use of this Career Skill will save the day!
“Warrior priest's clutch revives makes up for lack of ranged potential.” ~ Theodor, Gameplay Programmer
Warrior Priest is perfect for those who want to play as a stalwart champion, providing both support and buffs while being a powerful melee bruiser.
SIENNA fuegonasus
Instead of traditional ranged weapons, Sienna’s entire ranged arsenal consists of various Staves that allow her to cast different types of magical ranged attacks. Attacking with her staff will increase her ‘overcharge’, and filling it up entirely will make her explode from the uncontrolled magic. You can manually ‘vent’ her overcharge by pressing the Reload button (Default: R), or you can let it decay over time slowly.
BATTLE WIZARD
This Career excels at dealing damage to multiple enemies at once through powerful area of effect attacks. Her Career Skill lets her teleport forwards a fixed distance, causing a fiery explosion on both ends and leaving behind a trail of fire that doesn’t hurt allies!
Her passive ability makes her overcharge dissipate faster if she hasn’t used her staff in a while, giving her easier control if she can hold herself back.
If you want to chuck fireballs and set hordes on fire indiscriminately, pick Battle Wizard!
PYROMANCER
A ranged specialist that can deal high damage per shot through her improved critical hits. Her Passive ability gives her massively increased critical hit chance the higher her Overcharge is. She also has a bigger Overcharge bar than the other Sienna Careers, letting her focus on discharging a barrage of powerful, high damage magic.
Her Career Skill conjures a magical flaming skull that can track enemies! By holding down the Career Skill button, you can highlight an enemy in red. Once you release it, no matter where you aim it at, the Skull will track the last highlighted enemy.
For those who want to snipe enemies with a powerful burst of magic while being careful not to go too far, Pyromancer is for you!
“I prefer to play Pyromancer almost exclusively. Her ult is very strong with Bonded Flame, and I love how the fireball staff is a high-skill option for midrange sniping!” ~ Lonk1442, Community Champion
UNCHAINED
Sienna’s most melee-inclined Career with very high risk, but also very high reward.
Unchained is defined by two passives. One increases her melee power the higher her Overcharge is. The other transfers half of the damage received to her Overcharge. Combined, this means that this Career is a powerful and tough melee combatant, but must always carefully manage her Overcharge to not explode.
Her Career Skill lets her immediately vent all of her current Overcharge into an explosion that scorches nearby enemies, but it has a long cooldown.
Anyone wanting a powerful melee/ranged hybrid that deals high damage and is tough to kill, but risks exploding at the slightest mistake, should give Unchained a try!
Necromancer
NECROMANCER
Picking up a different school of magic, Necromancer represents a drastic change in how Sienna plays. She still has access to her fire magic, but this Career also has skeletal minions to aid her!
Her Career Skill summons 5 skeletons to fight for her until they die or until she uses her Career Skill again. These skeletons follow Sienna and fight enemies near her, but can be given orders with the Skull of Command (Default: 4). Pulling out the Skull lets her tell her skeletons to attack an enemy by aiming at it and pressing Attack, or to defend an area by holding Block, aiming at a spot and then pressing Attack.
Be careful, though! If Sienna goes down or is disabled, so are the skeletons!
As a bonus, enemies set on fire by the Necromancer take increased damage while they’re on fire!
For those who want to play the puppet master while still being a deadly wizard, Necromancer will be ideal!
That’s it for now!
Hope this will be a helpful resource to pick up the game, pick the Careers you want to try and have a blast with Versus!