Space Marine 2: 6 Tips For Success In Operations (2025)

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is the long-awaited sequel to the critically acclaimed title, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. It centers around Titus, a former Ultramarine Captain who finds himself accused of heresy and banished to the Deathwatch. Alongside the campaign that continues the story of Titus, Space Marine 2 has two other modes, a 6v6 PvP mode called Eternal War and a cooperative PvP mode called Operations.

The Operations mode is the more fleshed-out of the two alternate modes, offering six Operations levels to be completed on a range of difficulty levels, alongside an array of classes, each with its own skill trees. Operations are incredibly compelling, with each Operation tying into a campaign level. That being said, Operations are certainly a difficult experience, especially at higher levels, and thus, players must ensure they enter the mode equipped with ample knowledge.

1 Keep Moving

Dodging Is Your Friend

Operations, much like the campaign, quickly see the player(s) swarmed by hordes of enemies. Tyranids, especially, have the propensity to gather quickly, with Tyranid Warriors often stun-locking players who fail their dodges or parries. This means it is very easy for players to be caught off guard and have their health whittled down, especially when traversing from one point to another.

The campaign teaches players to dodge and dodge-roll when they see a red indicator, signifying an attack that cannot be parried. Players should always be mindful of the heavy attack indicator, but not exclusively save their dodge roll for that. Players can find themselves eluding swarms of Tyranids and escaping combat if they simply spam their dodge-roll, helping them avoid melee and ranged attacks alike. This means it is also far less likely for players to get stun-locked. This method of traversal is especially useful when needing to travel from one point to another, especially if players are not fighting back at that moment, often being far safer than just running.

Easy Class Leveling

In Operations, players can gain experience with their weapons and obtain mastery levels. These mastery levels give weapons a nice cosmetic, but more importantly for Operations, they provide the weapons with better stats. While the classes in Space Marine 2 are distinct, there are a handful of weapons that are shared between them. A notable example is the chainsword.

Players can use weapon leveling, combined with the nature of shared weapons, to give themselves an advantage when leveling subsequent classes. If players level up a weapon in one class, they can use that leveled weapon on another and retain the benefits. This means that once players have leveled one of their classes, they can have a faster and easier time leveling another, presuming they share a weapon that was used to level the first.

3 Do The Class Trials

Set Up For Success

The Class Trials in Space Marine 2 are small self-contained challenges that test players on their general aptitude as well as on their class and class ability knowledge. Each class has three challenges, each with three ranks to earn, either A, B, or C. For example, the final Tactical Class Trial has three objectives required to get all ranks. These are Scan a Lictor with Auspex Scan, Complete in 60 seconds, and Kill 5 enemies with headshots.

Before embarking into the Operations mode, it is advised that players complete the Class Trials for every class. This is so players can gain a level of understanding of the class they intend to play, as well as obtain the rewards for completing every challenge. At a minimum, players will obtain requisition points that can be spent on class upgrades or cosmetics, but if players reach A-tier in these challenges, then they can also obtain Master-Crafted Armory Data.

4 Target Priority

Take Out Larger Targets First

Tyranid hordes can quickly become overwhelming, especially when playing an Operation on a harder difficulty. The assortment of enemies, whether they be the smaller Hormagaunts or the larger Tyranid Warriors, will cause players immense difficulty. The diversity of these enemies is what makes Operations so difficult, as players must contend with varying sizes of enemies and different ranges, meaning they are constantly switching targets and fighting on the back foot.

This is why players should always keep target priority in mind. While there may be significantly more Hormagaunts, they are easy to deal with and often go down with a couple of melee strikes or bullets. The same can't be said for the tougher enemies, who will stun players and draw their attention, leaving players at the mercy of the smaller but more abundant enemies. This is one reason that players must target the larger enemies. Another is that enemies like the Tyranid Warriors will kill or stun those around them when killed, given the hive-mind controlling the Tyranid ranks. This is why players should always focus on the larger enemies, allowing them to deal with the weaker ones uninterrupted, or even kill them en masse with the well-timed demise of a Tyranid Warrior.

5 Know When To Use Grenades

Get The Most Bang For Your Buck

In Space Marine 2 Operations, grenades are a limited yet infinitely valuable resource that can aid players in their survival. The game features four types of grenades: Frag Grenade, Shock Grenade, Krak Grenade, and Melta Bomb. Each grenade serves a different purpose and has different characteristics that will aid players situationally. Players may only carry one type of grenade at a time.

There are a few crucial moments within Operations that will allow players the best opportunity to use grenades efficiently. The first example of when grenades are incredibly useful is when objectives prompt players to defend a location, and Tyranid hordes stack up to climb walls. Hurling a grenade into these groups will not only maximize kills but will throw any other Tyranids from the wall, slowing down their advance. The second example is specifically for the Krak Grenade, which sticks to opponents. A great use for the Krak Grenade is to quickly dispatch the Neurothropes, the flying psychic enemies that have a significant amount of health.

6 Use Environmental Hazards

A Creative Way To Save Ammo

The levels in Space Marine 2 are intricately designed, be it in their atmosphere, layout, or spawn locations of enemies. Each provides a solid amount of challenge along with endless cinematic displays of combat, be it a light romp through easier difficulties or the adrenaline high of attempting to tackle high-level Operations. One oft overlooked element of Operations is the environmental hazards, such as red fuel barrels or plasma stores, that explode when shot.

These environmental hazards, while initially appearing to be fun details that can be used to create a pretty explosion, are incredibly useful tools in the hands of knowledgeable players. Shooting an explosive barrel may take down hordes of smaller enemies instantly, allowing players to stay at range or conserve ammo. More importantly, players can use these environmental hazards to either directly take down large enemies, again conserving ammunition, or players can use them to put enemies in the execution state, allowing them to regain armor too. Keeping an eye out for environmental hazards is a subtle but incredibly useful strategy to succeed in Operations.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine II

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Third-Person Shooter

Hack and Slash

Systems

OpenCritic Reviews

Top Critic Rating:82/100 Critics Recommend:86%

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

September 9, 2024

Developer(s)

Saber Interactive