I’ve Played Over 1,000 Hours in Warhammer: Vermintide 2 — And I Still Don’t Trust the Elf

This month, the Swedish studio Fatshark is celebrating ten years since the release of Warhammer: End Times — Vermintide, the foundation upon which the popular Warhammer: Vermintide 2 and the more recent Warhammer 40,000: Darktide were made. And while I’m only loosely familiar with the first game, the newer ones are dear to me: Steam shows nearly 300 hours in Darktide and a staggering 1,100+ in Vermintide 2. The number surprises even me, someone who generally isn’t the biggest fan of online titles. So what’s the magic of Vermintide 2? What’s the secret sauce of Fatshark’s tide-games? Let’s dive in.

My fondness for Vermintide 2 actually goes much further back, to when I was obsessed first with Left 4 Dead and then with Left 4 Dead 2. In the late 2000s, Valve’s hits were a revelation for countless players and quickly became the gold standard of co-op games.

The Left 4 Dead series struck a delicate balance between accessibility and depth. Its core loop becomes clear after just a couple of runs (get from the start to the end of a level while fending off hordes of zombies and special infected), yet behind this simplicity lies two harsh games that punishe even the smallest mistake.

Both Left 4 Dead entries are best described with one word: “unpredictable.” At the heart of each is a revolutionary mechanic — the AI Director, which dynamically adapts each mission to the players. It tracks the team’s condition — health, ammo, pace of progress — and even estimates theoretical stress levels. Then, based on those inputs, it adjusts the intensity of the run. When players are on the brink, the Director eases the pressure; when things are going too smoothly, it unleashes zombie hordes, more special infected, and reduces the number of medkits.

The very idea that among legions of standard enemies special ones appear periodically is genius and keeps you alert. These foes can flip the situation in seconds. Hugging a wall and mowing down waves is a dubious strategy when a spitter can flush you out of an “unassailable” position with acid puddles, or when a smoker can yank a survivor away with its tongue.

And Warhammer: Vermintide 2, like its predecessor and also Darktide, borrows this Left 4 Dead formula almost wholesale — some might say “shamelessly.” Same idea (move through a level while fighting off hordes), same AI Director, same focus on special enemies that inject chaos into missions.

But it feels wrong to accuse Vermintide 2 of simply copying. First, the game is entirely different in spirit: largely thanks to the fantasy Warhammer setting. Instead of modern cities, you get mystical forests, castles, and medieval towns. And the heroes battle through these gothic landscapes against humanoid ratmen, goat-headed beastmen, daemon-worshippers, and monsters from other dimensions.

Second — and this is crucial — Fatshark doesn’t just replicate the Left 4 Dead formula; it expands it. Warhammer: Vermintide 2 offers far greater replay value thanks to weapon crafting, random end-of-mission rewards, challenges, classes with ultimate abilities and skill trees, plus additional modes like Chaos Wastes, which transform the game into a roguelike through procedural runs. There’s enough content here for hundreds of hours.

Of course, after 1,000 hours there’s not much left to grind: the hardest challenges are cleared, all skins unlocked, characters and classes fully leveled, and gear optimized to perfection. Yet Vermintide 2 still pulls you back because each session delivers an avalanche of vivid moments.

On the micro level, the game captivates with its superb combat. Among all first-person titles, it boasts one of the best melee systems out there. Creating satisfying melee combat from a first-person viewpoint is notoriously difficult — just look at The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, where you need dozens of mods to make fights feel right. Vermintide 2 nails it out of the box.

Every melee weapon — hammers, axes, falchions, rapiers, two-handed swords, dual blades, and many others — feels hefty yet responsive. You see, hear, and register every impact of your chosen tool of destruction against the skull of an unfortunate skaven who wandered into your mighty swing.

Each weapon also features a wide arsenal of attacks that can be chained into powerful combos effective in different situations: dueling an armored Chaos Warrior or clearing a swarm of weaker enemies. And in battle you must think not only about combos but also about dodging and blocking, which drain stamina.

On the macro level, it’s the thrill of Vermintide 2’s hardcore nature that grips you. I’ve been playing exclusively on Cataclysm — the highest difficulty. Not for the rewards: they’re identical to the loot you’d get on the easier Legend. Cataclysm attracts because of its gameplay: it demands full engagement from all four players. You need perfect knowledge of maps, enemies, weapons, your class, and must function with teammates as a single unit.

For me and many veterans, Cataclysm is a personal challenge — “how far can we push ourselves?” — not a chase for rare loot. That’s why failing a mission doesn’t sting; the journey matters more than the outcome.

Even though Vermintide 2 takes place during the apocalyptic end of the Warhammer Fantasy universe, the game has a surprisingly cozy atmosphere. Primarily due to its cast of charming, irrepressible heroes. Bardin Goreksson the dwarf, Sienna Fuegonasus the mage, Victor Saltzpyre the witch hunter, Markus Kruber the mercenary, and Kerillian the elf form not just a band of comrades-in-arms but practically a family — a slightly dysfunctional one, but still a family.

Listening to their banter, jabs, jokes, and commentary during runs is a constant pleasure. But what’s most amusing is how many Vermintide 2 players seem to match the archetype of their chosen character.

Over hundreds of hours, I’ve developed a positive stereotype about everyone who picks Bardin: almost always they are careful support players you can rely on in the tensest moments. Meanwhile, I regard those who prefer Kerillian with mild distrust by default — amusingly mirroring the game’s own narrative, where the party treats the elf with caution. I have no hard data, but years of experience make me feel Kerillian has dealt more friendly fire to me than any other character — and has run off and died more often than the rest.

The game design explanation is simple. Bardin is helpful because two of his most popular classes are built around support. Kerillian, meanwhile, is one of the primary damage dealers — naturally attracting overconfident players who enjoy topping the scoreboard. I know this well, because I’ve spent more hours in her shoes than in any other character’s.

Right now is the perfect moment to dive into Warhammer: Vermintide 2: oceans of content, DLC careers, free campaigns, multiple modes, and most major flaws long since patched. But getting here took painfully long. This slow pace is the root of most of my grievances with Vermintide 2: for years it was frustrating to watch how reluctantly the developers listened to the community and how slowly they implemented fixes or expanded the game.

Fatshark first announced a versus mode (PvP) back in 2019, but released it only five years later. In 2020, the studio began rolling out paid careers for characters, yet fans of Sienna Fuegonasus had to wait three years before it was finally her turn.

Today none of this matters, but the bitter aftertaste remains. It’s still unclear why such a talented company was so hesitant to capitalize more quickly on bonus content.

Even with Fatshark’s sluggish pace, it doesn’t change the fact that Vermintide 2 is a masterpiece of cooperative gaming. Possibly the best successor to Left 4 Dead. Or one of the two — Warhammer 40,000: Darktide shouldn’t be left out. Its launch wasn’t flawless, but over the years Fatshark dramatically improved it, and I now find myself launching Darktide more often than Vermintide 2. But that’s a topic for another article.

Have you played Vermintide 2? What do you think of the game? Share your thoughts in the comments.