Fatshark released Vermintide 2 on 8 March 2018 and it still runs on the same five heroes: Markus Kruber, Bardin Goreksson, Kerillian, Victor Saltzpyre and Sienna Fuegonasus. Each has four careers, three unlocked through levelling and one sold separately, which gives 20 loadouts built on one first person melee system. Difficulty climbs through Recruit, Veteran, Champion and Legend, with Cataclysm added by the Winds of Magic expansion in August 2019.
This walkthrough takes you from your first session to endgame content. Each phase has specific goals, priorities, and milestones. New to the game? Start with our beginner's guide first.
Quick Progression Summary
| Phase | Area | Focus | Role | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Start | Righteous Stand | Temporary health from damage dealt basics | Bardin Goreksson | 1-2 hours |
| 2. Early | Screaming Bell | Stamina shields and push attacks mastery | Bardin Goreksson | 3-5 hours |
| 3. Mid | Athel Yenlui | Dodge count per weapon + gear | Markus Kruber or Bardin Goreksson | 5-10 hours |
| 4. Late | Against the Grain | Build optimization | Markus Kruber | 5-10 hours |
| 5. Endgame | Skittergate | Min-max | Markus Kruber or Sienna Fuegonasus | Ongoing |
See our maps guide for detailed area breakdowns.
Phase 1: Getting Started (Righteous Stand)
The usual first map, running through Helmgart's streets up to a cathedral finale on a defensible platform. The layout is generous with sight lines, which makes it the best place to learn to spot specials before they reach you.
Level/Difficulty: Recruit to Legend Key Rewards: Three tomes, two grimoires, an easy end event to hold
What to Do in Righteous Stand
- Learn Temporary health from damage dealt. Most careers take a talent that converts damage into temporary health, triggered on kills, on cleaving several enemies at once or on critical hits. Spend your first session getting comfortable with this.
- Pick Bardin Goreksson as your starting role. See our builds guide for why.
- Block, push, then heavy attack is the core loop of the entire game. Pushing costs stamina but staggers everything in an arc in front of you, and the heavy attack that follows lands before anything recovers, which is how one player holds a corridor against a horde.
- Acquire your first weapons upgrade: Drakefire Pistols or whatever's available.
- Clear all main content before moving on.
Phase 1 Checklist
- Understand Temporary health from damage dealt fundamentals
- Bardin Goreksson selected and functional
- Righteous Stand main content cleared
- Ready for Screaming Bell
Phase 2: Early Game (Screaming Bell)
A vertical Skaven map with tight interiors and an end event beneath a great bell. The corridors punish two handed weapons and reward anyone who took a shield, since there is rarely room to dodge sideways.
Level/Difficulty: Veteran to Cataclysm Key Rewards: Three tomes, two grimoires, heavy Skaven elite pressure
What to Do in Screaming Bell
- Work on Stamina shields and push attacks. Blocking spends stamina shown as half circles above the crosshair, and a shield weapon carries several more of them than a two handed weapon does. This system becomes critical from here on.
- Farm for Drakefire Pistols if you haven't already. It's the key upgrade for this phase.
- Take a temporary health talent on every career you play. Between medical supplies there is no other healing, and the temporary health you generate from cleaving a horde is often larger than the total health pool you started the map with.
- Complete all objectives before pushing to Athel Yenlui.
- Consider whether Markus Kruber might suit your playstyle better than Bardin Goreksson.
Phase 2 Checklist
- Stamina shields and push attacks integrated into gameplay
- Drakefire Pistols acquired
- Screaming Bell fully cleared
- Ready for Athel Yenlui
Phase 3: Mid Game (Athel Yenlui)
Elven ruins with wide open ground and long approach lines, which makes it one of the better maps for ranged careers. The open space also means patrols are visible early enough to route around them.
Level/Difficulty: Veteran to Cataclysm Key Rewards: Three tomes, two grimoires, good sight lines for ranged builds
What to Do in Athel Yenlui
- Master Dodge count per weapon. Every weapon allows a fixed number of effective dodges in sequence before the dodge stops moving you far enough to matter. This unlocks a new layer of gameplay.
- Start working toward Halberd. It's the best weapon and becomes accessible around now.
- Learn the sound cue for each special before you learn any build. The Packmaster's chuckle, the Gutter Runner's chittering leap and the Ratling Gunner's spin up all announce themselves seconds before they act, and calling them out is worth more to a group than any weapon property.
- This area is the main skill check. If you can clear it, you're ready for late game.
- Start investing in Tomes and grimoires as loot penalties for the tactical depth you'll need going forward.
Phase 3 Checklist
- Dodge count per weapon mastered
- Halberd acquired or in progress
- Athel Yenlui fully cleared
- Ready for Against the Grain
Phase 4: Late Game (Against the Grain)
Farmland and barns with an end event defending a burning building. The middle section has several ambush points where a horde and a special can arrive together, which is where most runs on this map fall apart.
Level/Difficulty: Champion to Cataclysm Key Rewards: Three tomes, two grimoires, a demanding hold at the finale
What to Do in Against the Grain
- Finalize your build. You should be running Markus Kruber or Bardin Goreksson with optimized gear.
- Halberd should be your primary. If you don't have it yet, prioritize getting it.
- Walk around patrols rather than fighting them. A Skaven or Chaos patrol on Legend contains enough elites to wipe a full health team in under thirty seconds, and every map has room to slip past if the group crouches and stops shooting.
- Specials and monster spawns optimization starts here. Small improvements compound into massive advantages.
- Farm this area for the resources needed to push into Skittergate.
Phase 4 Checklist
- Build fully optimized
- Halberd upgraded to max
- Against the Grain fully cleared
- Ready for Skittergate
Phase 5: Endgame (Skittergate)
The campaign finale, longer than any other map and ending in a boss fight against Rasknitt. It is the most punishing map to attempt with both grimoires because the run time gives the health penalty far more chances to matter.
Level/Difficulty: Champion to Cataclysm Key Rewards: Campaign completion, boss encounter, best end of run loot
What to Do in Skittergate
- Skittergate tests everything. Come prepared with your best build and gear.
- Carry the potion type your team lacks rather than the one you prefer. Strength potions belong on the highest single target damage career for the boss fight, speed potions belong on whoever is reviving people, and concentration potions belong on careers with a strong ultimate.
- The endgame loop: run Skittergate, optimize gear, push harder content.
- Experiment with Sienna Fuegonasus for a fresh take once you've mastered the standard builds.
- This is where Specials and monster spawns mastery separates good players from great ones. See our tips guide for advanced strategies.
Phase 5 Checklist
- Endgame content on farm
- Best-in-slot gear acquired
- Skittergate fully cleared
- Ready for challenge content
Common Progression Mistakes
- Fighting a patrol on Legend instead of crouching past it, which is the single most common cause of a full team wipe.
- Taking both grimoires on a public run, then losing at 60 percent reduced maximum health to damage the team would normally survive.
- Attacking into a horde without blocking and pushing first, so the surrounding enemies get free hits from angles nobody is watching.
- Chasing a fleeing Gutter Runner away from the group and being pounced with nobody in range to help.
- Playing a two handed weapon like a dagger, chaining dodges the weapon does not support, and walking into the attack instead of out of it.
Key Tips for Smooth Progression
- Block, push, then heavy attack is the core loop of the entire game. Pushing costs stamina but staggers everything in an arc in front of you, and the heavy attack that follows lands before anything recovers, which is how one player holds a corridor against a horde.
- Take a temporary health talent on every career you play. Between medical supplies there is no other healing, and the temporary health you generate from cleaving a horde is often larger than the total health pool you started the map with.
- Learn the sound cue for each special before you learn any build. The Packmaster's chuckle, the Gutter Runner's chittering leap and the Ratling Gunner's spin up all announce themselves seconds before they act, and calling them out is worth more to a group than any weapon property.
- Walk around patrols rather than fighting them. A Skaven or Chaos patrol on Legend contains enough elites to wipe a full health team in under thirty seconds, and every map has room to slip past if the group crouches and stops shooting.
- Carry the potion type your team lacks rather than the one you prefer. Strength potions belong on the highest single target damage career for the boss fight, speed potions belong on whoever is reviving people, and concentration potions belong on careers with a strong ultimate.
For more advanced strategies, see our tips & tricks guide.
More Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Guides
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Overview
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Best Builds
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Tier List
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Beginner's Guide
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Tips & Tricks
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Weapons Guide
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Combat Guide
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Boss Guide
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Maps & Locations
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Crafting Guide
- Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Classes & Characters
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