Space Marine 2 is set to release hotfix 4.1 in response to the community's strong reaction to the gameplay changes introduced in last week's update. In a move to address player concerns, developers Saber Interactive have announced the upcoming launch of Space Marine 2 Public Test Servers.

Space Marine 2 “BS” Nerfs Prompt Patch Update & Public Test Server

Changes Will Be Reverted Starting October 24

Scheduled for release on October 24, Patch 4.1 for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 will revert the controversial nerfs introduced in Patch 4.0. The developers have also announced plans to introduce Public Test Servers in early 2025, following significant fan backlash.

Saber Interactive has acknowledged the community's feedback and is set to undo the "most pressing" balance changes from the 4.0 update. "We’ve been closely monitoring your feedback since the release of Patch 4.0 last Thursday and have decided to address your most pressing concerns with a new balancing update, set to launch this Thursday," stated game director Dmitriy Grigorenko. He further emphasized the importance of community input, announcing the establishment of Public Test Servers to be rolled out "around early 2025."

The backlash against Space Marine 2 has been intense, with players expressing their frustration through negative reviews on Steam. One review humorously remarked, "Saber Interactive saw the Helldivers 2 nerf controversy and must have said to themselves 'Yeah, let's nerf the fun like Arrowhead Studios did.' This is a classic Spongebob 'How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?' moment."

In a subsequent community update, Saber Interactive explained that the intent behind Patch 4.0 was to adjust the game's difficulty based on feedback that it had become too easy, even at its highest setting. "With Patch 4.0, our aim was to tweak enemy spawns to increase the overall number of enemies rather than reverting to buffing their Health," they clarified. "Unfortunately, this had an unintended impact on the easier difficulty levels as well."

With the reversion of Patch 4.0 changes, Extremis enemies’ spawn rates will return to pre-Patch 4.0 levels across Minimal, Average, and Substantial difficulties, and will be "significantly reduced" in Ruthless difficulty. Additionally, player armor at Ruthless difficulty will see a 10% increase, and bots will deal 30% more damage to bosses.

Today's hotfix will also include a comprehensive buff to Bolt weapons, which the developers noted had been underperforming. Here are the specific changes players can expect in hotfix 4.1:

• Auto Bolt Rifle: Damage increased by 20%
• Bolt Rifle: Damage increased by 10%
• Heavy Bolt Rifle: Damage increased by 15%
• Stalker Bolt Rifle: Damage increased by 10%
• Marksman Bolt Carbine: Damage increased by 10%
• Instigator Bolt Carbine: Damage increased by 10%
• Bolt Sniper Rifle: Damage increased by 12.5%
• Bolt Carbine: Damage increased by 15%
• Occulus Bolt Carbine: Damage increased by 15%
• Heavy Bolter: Damage increased by 5%

"We will continue to monitor your feedback after the deployment of Patch 4.1 to ensure that Lethal difficulty remains both challenging and rewarding," Grigorenko concluded.