Hey, fellow Space Marines! 🫡 If you’ve been grinding through Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, you’ll want to hear about the latest update. The 6.0 Datavault Update isn’t just a little patch; it’s packed with fresh content and quality-of-life improvements that promise to change how we play!

This update is like opening a new box of toys, so many fun things to explore! Let’s break down what’s hitting the battlefield from new maps to more formidable enemies.

Patch Notes

Hi Space Marines! 🫡

The 6.0 Datavault Update comes with a whole lot of quality of life improvements and brand new features. Check out all of the additions, features and updates listed in our patch notes below!

In order, we will detail:

The new features

Battle Barge Extension: Datavault
New PvP Map “Tomb”
New enemy Biovore
Emotes System
Armoury Data Refinement
New PvE Difficulty: Absolute
FOV Slider
Opt in PvP Crossplay option for consoles
New Finishers
Additional Mastery for Full Progression
Quick Match Bonus

New Season Pass Content

Salamander Champion Pack
Raven Guard Cosmetic Pack

Gameplay & Balancing

Perk Update (in order: tactical, assault, vanguard, sniper, heavy, bulwark)
Weapon Perks (Melee Weapons Update / Firearms for PvE only, etc)
Gameplay QoL

Let’s deep dive into it! 👇

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀New Features

Battle Barge Expansion: Datavault

The Datavault is a new area on the Battle Barge. Players can complete Ordeals in Campaign, Operations and Eternal War modes to challenge their skill and earn Research Data currency. In the Research Center players can unlock

Exploration in the Research Center is rewarded with different rewards: 4 new icons for the right pauldron, 2 new weapon skins and 2 new armour parts.

New PvP Map: Tomb

This PvP map is based around a similar structure to our other maps, but utilizes a different approach to the design of battle zones. Overall, Tomb is the smallest map of all the PvP maps.
The map design includes fast routes on the flanks and a close-quarters central battle zone, which can be attacked from all the sides.

New Enemy: Biovore

We have added a new Extremis enemy for the Tyranids, the Biovore. It is a fast, mobile living-artillery creature that can keep the distance, fortify and shoot spore mines in its enemies.
But it is far from defenseless in close combat, and can attack with its legs, performing a series of fast melee attacks.

Emotes System

We have added an in-game emote system that includes a pound to the chest, a battle cry, and even a stoic handshake. You can use any of the 6 emotes in any game mode via the emote wheel.

Armoury Data Refinement

We added a new Tech-Priest workshop in the Armoury of the Battle Barge. It is an exchange point where the player can:

Exchange low tier Armoury Data to higher tier variants.
Sell Armoury Data in exchange for Requisition points.

This will allow players to obtain relic armoury data without having to beat higher difficulties.

New PvE Difficulty: Absolute

This difficulty is focused on new, more diverse enemy packs that bring extreme challenge. Resources and ammo are aslo limited.

FOV Slider

Players will now be able to modify the camera’s field of view for a more personalised experience.

Opt in PvP Crossplay option for consoles

We have lifted the restriction on cross-play for PvP across PC and consoles, now players can choose whether or not they wish to play with the wider community. You must be in the title screen settings to toggle this option.

New Finishers

New finisher animations have been added to purge the xenos and traitors with style:

1 for Zoanthrope;
2 for Rubric Marines;
1 for Scarab Occult Terminator.

Additional Mastery for Full Progression

When a weapon is fully upgraded, the player is now awarded an additional mastery point (works retroactively).

Quick Match Bonus

Players will now receive additional bonus XP if they play in Quick Match, as a compensation for not being able to select the Operation they’re playing.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀New Season Pass Content

Added: Salamanders Champion Pack (Sniper class)

Added: Raven Guard Cosmetic Pack

Customisation

Shared slots for Skins Recolour:

Added a new slots tab in the customiser for Shared Colour Presets. This preset can be used across any class and any game mode

Chapter decals are now available for right pauldrons (for the Deathwatch fans!)

All base chapter decals are now available for the right pauldron. (These only need to be unlocked once, allowing you to place them on either pauldron)

Customisation Bug Fixes

Fixed a bug with a Pauldron emblem from the Dark Angels DLC not having a colour option
Fixed a bug where loading into a match while previewing a locked piece of armour could result in this piece being equipped after the match ends or player leaves it
Fixed a bug with Champion’s backpack that caused incorrect colouration after switching, in some rare cases

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Gameplay & Balancing

Class Perks Update

“Balancing wise, the focus of this update was to review perk trees of all classes. There were clear outsiders that didn’t get picked. While there are some nerfs in the list, the vast majority of changes are buffs that should benefit different playstyles. With the next patch we will be focusing on weapon perks and weapons class restrictions.”

Overall:

Fixed damage bonuses from multiple Auspex Scan perks stacking incorrectly.

Note: We found that several Auspex Scan perks were not stacking correctly when used together. This had to be fixed to ensure functionality. We will be watching for Auspex Scan and will make adjustments in the future if this fix makes the ability not as effective as it originally was

Heightened Vigour:

Knockback immunity effect duration increased from 5 to 10 seconds
Added melee and gun strike bonus damage effect

Communion of Fire:

Recoil reduction bonus increased from 20% to 25%
Added a ranged damage bonus effect against Extremis-level enemies

Close Targeting:

The perk effect has been reworked, the new version is: “When Auspex Scan is in cooldown, Melee Damage increases by 15%” from “When Auspex Scan is in cooldown, Melee Damage increases by 50% against Minoris-level enemies.”

Note: This perk was originally intended to be used to crush hordes of Minoris-level enemies, but we decided to expand its effect to other enemies, lowering the bonus a bit to avoid overpowering it.

Signal Jammer:

Added an effect of automatically killing an enemy who tries to call for reinforcements

Note: The original perk was not very effective, and we wanted to add some greater utility to it.

Plasma Boost:

Activation threshold lowered from “50% Overheated” to “30% Overheated”
Bonus damage increased from 30% to 40%
Added an effect to reduce the energy cost of charged shots by 1

Steady Aim:

The perk effect has been reworked, the new version is: “Weapon Spread and Recoil is reduced by 20%, and Ranged Damage against Terminus-level enemies is increased by 10%” from “Recoil is reduced by 10%”.

Aligned Aim:

Fixed a typo that stated the perk provides 5% bonus damage instead of the actual 15%.

Improved Efficiency:

Changed the perk activation condition from “Scanning 20 enemies with one Auspex Scan restores Equipment Charge by 1” to “Scanning 10 any enemies or 3 Majoris-level or higher enemies with one Auspex Scan restores Equipment Charge by 1”.

Note: This is a great perk, but we found that it performed worse on higher difficulties and against Chaos in particular. The new effect should fix that difference.

Expert Timing:

Bonus damage reduced from 100% to 75%
Fixed incorrect perk effect (reducing zone’s duration instead of mark’s duration)

Note: This perk has performed much better than we originally planned, especially with the bug that was causing incorrect stacking of damage from multiple perks, so we want to try nerfing its bonus damage a bit while buffing adjacent perks. It should provide more build options to experiment with.

Radiating Impact:

Increased perk’s damage from 75 to 100
Increased perk’s radius from 5 to 10
Added effect radius in description
Added damage scale by difficulty

Note: Damage-dealing perks previously did not scale with difficulty. We planned to keep this to make enemies harder to defeat, but we found that on higher difficulties these perks rarely made a significant contribution. So now several of these perks will have higher damage as difficulty increases.

Versatility:

Bonus damage increased from 20% to 25%

Emperor’s Vengeance:

Fixed restoring grenades for the Grenade Launcher (now restores one grenade per activation).

Note: Unfortunately, restoring a full set of grenades every 30 seconds was never intended to be the case and has proven disastrously effective. We understand that this will significantly nerf the perk and will be watching if this makes it less popular. If so, we will make changes in the future.

Target Lock:

Bonus damage increased from 25% to 75%

Precise Calibration:

Fixed a bug where this perk affected equipment damage.

Concentrated Fire:

Bonus damage increased from 100% to 120%
The duration of the Auspex Scan zone is now extended by 40%

Winged Fury:

Bonus damage increased from 25% to 40%

Overcharge:

Bonus damage increased from 15% to 25%

Retribution:

Bonus damage increased from 15% to 20%
Effect duration increased from 10 to 20 seconds

Ascension:

Added damage scale by difficulty.

Armour Reinforcement:

Fixed incorrect armour restoration and updated localisation to better reflect the intended effect of the perk (1 armour segment restored per non-lethal Gun Strike).

Note: Initially the armour restoration effect was equal to the finisher, which allowed this perk to restore all armour on any gun strike to bosses. It allowed almost infinite armour restoration. We will be watching this perk and will make adjustments in the future if this fix makes it too ineffective.

Consecutive Execution:

Cooldown reduced from 180 to 90 seconds
The perk no longer goes on cooldown when a player has a full pack of equipment

Proven Efficiency:

Bonus damage reduced from 50% to 30%

Note: This perk has performed much better than we originally planned, so we want to try nerfing its bonus damage a bit while buffing the adjacent Strategic Strikes perk (Squad Cohesion should be pretty great as is). It should provide more build options to experiment with.

Aerial Grace:

Bonus damage increased from 25% to 30%
Effect duration increased from 5 to 10 seconds

Moving Target:

Damage reducing bonus increased from 1% to 2% by attack
Maximum bonus increased from 15% to 20%
The time for the next attack has been increased from 3 to 5 seconds
This time no longer counted during finisher animations

Retribution:

Bonus damage increased from 20% to 25%
Effect duration increased from 10 to 15 seconds

Restless Fortitude:

Damage reducing bonus increased from 10% to 20%

Zone of Impact:

Increased perk’s damage from 20 to 50
Increased perk’s radius from 5 to 10
Added damage scale by difficulty

Thrill of the Fight:

Damage reducing bonus increased from 15% to 20%
Effect duration increased from 3 to 5 seconds

Tactical Prowess:

Now it also allows the Grapnel Launcher to activate Finisher on enemies, who have less than 25% HP (without this perk, the Grapnel Launcher can do it only with incapacitated enemies).

Note: Grapnel Launcher has had a hidden mechanic this whole time – when used on an incapacitated enemy, Vanguard would automatically activate a finisher on them. It is not a life-important feature but pretty neat in combat. We would like to highlight it with this perk.

Close-Combat Focus:

The perk effect has been reworked, the new version is: “You take 20% less Ranged Damage” from “You take 20% less Melee Damage but 10% more Ranged Damage”

Note: This perk was supposed to exchange one type of protection to another, but over time we were unable to make this exchange pleasant for players. So we decided to just give a bonus in this perk.

Consecutive Execution:

Cooldown reduced from 180 to 90 seconds
The perk no longer goes on cooldown when a player has a full pack of equipment

Unmatched Zeal:

Health regeneration bonus increased from 5% to 20%
Perk now works against Terminus-level enemies as well.

Shock Wave:

Added damage scale by difficulty.

Tenacity:

Bonus damage increased from 25% to 40%
Effect duration increased from 10 to 15 seconds
The cooldown was removed

Grim Determination:

Increased bonus damage from 10% to 15%.

Emperor’s Blessing:

Cooldown is reduced from 180 seconds to 120 seconds.

Note: The Emperor appreciates your hard work in exterminating the enemies of humanity and now grants His Blessing a little more frequently.

Upper Hand:

Effect duration increased from 5 to 10 seconds.

Conviction:

Damage reducing bonus increased from 15% to 25%.

Inner Fire:

Added condition of finishing Majoris-level enemy or higher to activate the perk.

Note: This is a good perk both in terms of effect and balance, but finishing off very weak enemies allowed the ability to be restored too effectively, so we added a limitation here.
Collateral Damage:

Increased perk’s damage from 5 to 15
Added damage value to perk description
Added damage scale by difficulty

Adrenaline Rush:

Health restoration is reduced from 10% to 5%.

Note: This is a great perk, but unfortunately it allows experienced Vanguards to solo all their problems and leave their team to be torn apart by the enemy. Our test shows that even despite significant numerical reduction this is a very, very strong perk, and as always will be watching to see if this perk is nerfed too much.

Camo Cloak class perk (Starting Perk):

Added bonus damage value to perk description.

Iron Grip:

The perk effect has been reworked, the new version is: “Weapon Spread and Recoil is reduced by 20% and Ranged Damage against Terminus-level enemies is increased by 15% for Bolt Sniper and Stalker Bolt Rifles” from “Recoil from Bolt Sniper Rifles and Stalker Bolt rifles is reduced by 30%”

Purification:

Now also restores all Contested Health when manually activating Camo Cloak.

Persistence:

Added heavy hit protection and knockback reduction effect
Effect duration increased from 5 to 10 seconds

Melee Mastery:

Bonus damage increased from 10% to 20%

Vantage Point:

Now also works on secondary weapons.

Dexterous Hands:

Reload speed increased from 15 to 20
Added Bolt Carbine’s spread and recoil reduction effect

Precision Targeting:

Spread reduction bonus increased from 20 to 25
Added a ranged damage bonus effect against Extremis-level enemies.

Efficient Readiness:

Now also provides a 20% movement speed boost effect while Camo Cloak is active.

Note: This was an effect we wanted to try out initially but only managed to do it now. Use it to reposition yourself and strike down enemies but not to abandon your teammates!

Adaptability:

Bonus damage increased from 15% to 25%
Effect duration increased from 5 to 10 seconds

Tactical Ambush:

Bonus damage increased from 100% to 150%.

Ambush:

Cooldown reduced from 30 to 25 seconds.

Pattern of Excellence:

Reduced the number of consecutive headshots required to activate the perk from 4 to 3.

Overcharge:

The perk effect has been reworked, the new version is: “Melee Damage increases by 30%” from “Damage from Charged Melee Attacks increases by 20%”.

Note: We like the possibility to cover Heavy’s almost only weakness – Melee Combat – with perks, so we decided to significantly improve this perk.

Encompassing Aegis:

Damage reducing bonus increased from 20% to 25%

Adamant Will:

Effect duration increased from 5 to 10 seconds

Saving Grace:

Added full armour restoration effect

Note: Selflessly saving your allies is a noble act that should be rewarded more than the ability charge used for it.

Offensive Capability:

Increased perk’s damage frequency
Added damage scale by difficulty

Consecutive Execution:

Cooldown reduced from 180 to 90 seconds
The perk no longer goes on cooldown when a player has a full pack of equipment

Field Adjustment:

Iron Halo durability reduction changed from 30% to 25%

Coolant Reserve:

Added 15% bonus damage effect

Auxiliary Ammunition:

Fixed incorrectly working cooldown

Strategic Stand:

Added heavy hit protection and knockback reduction effect

Power Regulator:

Iron Halo charge drain reduction changed from 15% to 20%

Wrath of the Imperium:

Increased perk’s damage from 50 to 100
Radius increased from 5 to 10
Added damage scale by difficulty

Conversion Field:

Fixed a typo that stated the perk worked at 100 meters instead of the actual 10 meters

Note: Sure, it was too good to be true. But we will be watching this perk in case it needs a buff.

Overall:

A few perks have been swapped.

Note: We noticed that players were making the same build for Bulwark with some minor differences and swapped two pairs of perks to provide players with more build options, making the perk sets in tiers more versatile.

Conviction:

Effect duration increased from 5 to 10 seconds

Armour of Contempt:

Added damage scale by difficulty

Focused Restoration (renamed from “Reinforced Ceramite”):

The perk effect has been reworked, the new version is: “Every 40 seconds, all Squad Members automatically restore 1 Armour Segment” from “The delay before Armour begins to passively regenerate is reduced by 5 seconds for all squad members”

Note: We noticed that this perk hardly works in combat, essentially only reducing the wait for armour to regenerate after combat. So we decided to try a different approach and made armour regenerate periodically.

Concussive Force:

Increased perk’s damage from 4 to 8
Changed perk’s description
Added damage scale by difficulty

Purity of Purpose:

Increased perk’s damage frequency
Added damage scale by difficulty

Intimidating Aura:

Added cooldown (5 seconds)
Added damage scale by difficulty

Note: This perk has been performing incredibly well on lower difficulties and with the damage scale it should be just as powerful on higher difficulties. We do not want to reduce the damage of this perk, so we decided to add a small cooldown only to prevent spamming it.

Steel Within:

Damage reducing bonus increased from 25% to 30%.

Rapid Regeneration:

Chapter Banner duration reduction is changed from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.

Merciless Resolve:

Added 15% bonus melee damage effect

Glory’s Shield:

Fixed the typo in description, which did not specify the ranged damage type
Damage reducing bonus increased from 10% to 20%
Added 20% bonus to banner’s duration

Forward Momentum:

Bonus damage increased from 25% to 30%
Effect duration increased from 5 to 10 seconds

Scrambled Targeting:

Damage reducing bonus increased from 20% to 25%

Armour Reinforcement:

Fixed incorrect armour restoration
Updated localisation to better reflect the intended effect of the perk (1 armour segment restored per non-lethal gunstrike)

Effective Formation:

Now works against Extremis-level enemies as well

Invigorating Icon:

Added effect of slowing by 100% the recharge time of the banner. (twice longer)

Note: We have noticed that this perk often encourages players to hold off on using Banner until the very last resort. We like this change in strategy, but the perk itself makes Banner overpowered. So we want to tone it down so that it requires more thoughtful timing when activating the ability.

Inspiration:

Bonus damage increased from 10% to 20%

Contingency Plan Perk (Multi-Melta; Heavy Bolter; Heavy Plasma Incinerator):

Fixed incorrect numbers in perk’s description.

Elite Restoration Perk (Multi-Melta):

Fixed incorrect display of enemy class in perk’s description.

Perfect Block (All melee weapons)

“We think blocking weapons were almost in a good spot. This is a significant buff that should make blocking weapons more viable versus Chaos enemies, because they don’t have a lot of melee combos, making it difficult to gain full damage bonus from blocking weapons.”

Adrenaline Surge stacks needed for maximum effect are decreased to 2 from 3.
Armour recovery from maximum effect is decreased from 2 to 1.

Power Fist

“Power Fist is one of the least popular melee weapons (despite being one of the coolest👊). We are making it more practical in combat by extending its AoE damage and making it easier to charge.”

Maximum charge time reduced from 3.9 seconds to 2.5 seconds for hold attacks.
Hold attacks can now be partially charged (it used to be 1 charge for full damage bonus, now it’s 2 quicker charges for 50% smaller bonuses).
Forward cone damage distance is increased up to 10 meters, making it more viable in mid range.

Bolters

“While Bolter weapons were finding their spot in the game we are making another round of very minor Bolter weapons buffs to make them viable on a new difficulty.”

Bolt Rifle: Base damage is increased by 8%.
Auto Bolt Rifle: Base damage is increased by 6%.
Heavy Bolt Rifle: Base damage is increased by 5%.
Bolt Carbine (SMG Versions): Base damage is increased by 7%.
Bolt Carbine (Marksman Versions): Base damage is increased by 5%.
Occulus Bolt Carbine: Base damage is increased by 10%.
Instigator Bolt Carbine: Base damage is increased by 5%.
Stalker Bolt Rifle: Base damage is increased by 7%.

Grenade Launcher Rebalance:

“Previously the artificer and relic damage values were set incorrectly, with a combination of buggy damage bonuses stacking from Auspex Scan. This resulted in insane damage values. While the damage reduction looks big on paper you can still obliterate entire waves with GL. However, with changes below, you won’t be able to 1-shot bosses anymore.”

Reduced the damage amount for AUX Grenade Launcher version (from 25/100/100 to 25/50/75).

Equipment

“These changes are made to make Terminus enemies more resistant to explosive damage, so they cannot be killed by GL that easily.
In return we are buffing equipment damage to make it more viable against Terminus enemies.”
Melta Charge Damage Buff:

Increased Melta Charge damage amount from 201 to 221
Reverted reduced damage to bosses introduced in previous patches.

Krak Grenade Damage Buff:

Increased Krak Grenade damage amount from 110 to 120.

Bosses’ Explosive Sensitivity Rebalance:

Changed bosses sensitivity to equipment and grenade launcher from ~0.4 to ~0.25.

Gameplay QoL

Kick votes can no longer be launched in the final stages of an Operation.

Grapnel Launcher Ability:

Incapacitated enemies that were hit by Grapnel Launcher (which allows Vanguard to automatically finish off an enemy upon landing) can no longer be finished off by other players while Vanguard is being pulled
Vanguard can no longer take damage when pulled to an enemy

Jump Pack:

Fixed a bug with Assault flying up after using Jump Pack in some cases
Fixed a bug where character could hit the air when performing a ground pound in Story mode in some cases

Other:

Fixed an issue where Gunstrike may get canceled during usage
Fixed a bug where the Heavy class couldn’t turn on/off Iron Halo ability during the sprint
Fixed a rare issue where if Parry was pressed at the exact same time as melee attack – no action would take place

PvP

PvP. Match Ending:
Added short delay between post match screen and triggering of the win condition
Added smooth fade-in on the screen and lock on all inputs from the player

Fixed a bug where Heavy’s Iron Halo could stay if activated right before the death in some rare cases.
Fixed a rare bug where Iron Halo was not disabled when enemy Vanguard hooked at Heavy.
Fixed an issue where there was no shield sight mark while hitting the enemy shields with plasma.
Fixed a bug where Assault couldn’t hover on the jump pack after making a Ground Pound.
Fixed an Infinite loading screen onto the Battle Barge after the end of a PvP match in some rare cases.
Many small fixes in level geometry collision

AI

AI Synaptic shock and AI friendly fire damage now scales with difficulty

Zoanthrope & Neurothope Gun Strike:

Perfectly dodging Zoanthrope and Neurothrope “beam” attacks will now trigger Gun Strike

Neurotrope:

Fixed a bug where Neurothrope would freeze in the air when incapacitated after some attack

Carnifex:

Added more variations to his AI reactions to getting hit
Fixed an issue that would make Carnifex stay idle when getting shot

Tyranid Warrior Lash Whip:

Fixed a rare issue making the enemy enter idle state during combat after getting hit

Tzaangor Enlightened:

Dodge desirability and cooldown are increased, now it will use dodge less likely when it is under aim and will dodge rarely
Explosive spear attack damage reduced

Rubric Flamer:

Flamer shooting distance is slightly decreased
Slightly increased time for players to react the Flame attack

Rubric Bolter:

Slightly Increased time for players to react on precise shot attack
Burst fire attack length is slightly decreased

Scarab Occult Terminator Ranged:

Reduced the number of rocket barrages that Terminator can shoot in a row
Increased desired range for rocket barrage, now terminator will less likely shoot rocket barrage in the player that are close to him

Other

Lots of minor animation fixes for various enemies.

Operations

Fall of Atreus:

Fixed a bug that would cause enemies to not spawn in some areas of Fall Of Atreus

Obelisk:

Added notification about the chalice forgotten on the holder when leaving the location
Fixed VO bugs related in the cave part of the level.

Vox Liberatis:

Fixed a bug where dying on Vox Liberatis after interacting with the last altar may show Defeat Screen after Victory cinematic

All:

Many small fixes in level geometry collision and Terminus enemies getting stuck in some areas

Tech

Crash fixes and general stability improvements
General connectivity improvements
Slightly optimised memory consumption
Slightly improved performance
Slightly improved texture streaming speed
Improved Anti-Cheat

Render Improvements

Fixed an issue with capsule shadows tech

This update seems aimed at reshaping how we engage with the game—from customizing our characters even more to taking on epic challenges against formidable foes. What part of this update excites you most? Hit me up in the comments!

If you want all the nitty-gritty details straight from the developers themselves, check out their official announcement here:

I can’t wait to jump back into Sapce Marine 2! Much love to everyone, and have a great day! I am Mihaela, and I am glad to see you reading this piece!

Tags: Space Marine 2