On October 17, a new update for Space Marine 2 called patch 4.0 was released by Saber Interactive. This update included a harder difficulty option, a new co-op mission, and various changes to enemy spawn rates, armor, and ammo management. However, many players were not happy with these changes and found the game to be frustrating and difficult across all difficulty levels. Saber Interactive acknowledged the negative feedback and promised to address the complaints with a new update.
The director of Space Marine 2, Dmitriy Grigorenko, posted patch notes for update 4.1 on October 23. In these patch notes, Grigorenko provided detailed explanations for the controversial changes that were made in the previous update. One of the changes that received a lot of criticism was the increase in the number of deadlier enemies, which made the game harder in an annoying way. As a response to the feedback, Saber decided to roll back this change on all difficulty levels below the hardest one, Ruthless. Additionally, the spawn rate on the Ruthless difficulty was adjusted to be somewhere between the 4.0 update and the previous version.
Apart from reverting some of the changes introduced in the last patch, update 4.1 also addressed the long-standing request from players to buff all Bolt Guns in the game. These weapons, which are iconic in the Warhammer 40k universe, were considered weak in the sci-fi shooter. The update increased the damage of various Bolt Guns, such as the Auto Bolt Rifle, Bolt Rifle, and Heavy Bolt Rifle, among others.
Another unpopular addition in the 4.0 update was the “Tight Formation” mechanic on the game’s hardest difficulty, which required players to stick together at all times to recover armor. This mechanic has been removed in the 4.1 update, with the director explaining that it was a test for gameplay modifiers. While the studio still plans to introduce modifiers to the game, they will ensure they are fully ready before implementation.
Grigorenko expressed that the feedback and frustration from players after the 4.0 update made him realize that once the game is released, it belongs to the players. To prevent similar situations in the future, Saber Interactive announced that public test servers will be available in 2025. These servers will allow players to try out major balancing updates before they are officially released, ensuring a smoother gaming experience for all Space Marine 2 enthusiasts.