Patch 14.0, the Confrontation Update, closes out Year 2 of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 with more than just new maps and cosmetics. Saber Interactive reworked how several weapons hit, stripped weapon progression out of Eternal War, and retuned class abilities and Siege Mode income. Below is a full breakdown of what changed and how it affects your loadout.
Quick answer: In PvP, all weapons and equipment now unlock at Level 1; in PvE, the Heroic Bolt Pistol gained 15% more damage and all six new Heroic weapons received targeted buffs; Siege Mode’s Tech Priest income was cut sharply while wave rewards rose.
PvE firearm and melee changes
The most direct fix targets the Heroic Bolt Pistol, which was long criticized for weak per-shot output. Its base damage now climbs by 15%. A handful of other weapons received range and ammo adjustments, and one burn interaction was removed.
| Weapon / effect | Change |
|---|---|
| Heroic Bolt Pistol | Damage increased by 15%. |
| Secondary Bolt Carbine | Maximum ammo increased by 2 magazines for all versions (added 2 instead of 1). |
| Pyrecannon | Range increased by 15% in both stances. |
| Burn damage | Auspex Scan no longer affects Burn damage. |
| Omnissian Axe | “Explosive Strike” perk now triggers an energy explosion at the point of impact. |
| Ultima Ratio (Heroic Omnissian Axe) | Time to reach maximum additional damage reduced by 35%. |
Buffs to the six new Heroic weapons
Every new Heroic weapon shipped with adjustments based on Public Test Server feedback. The changes fix broken perk activations, raise damage numbers, and tighten a few animations.
| Weapon | Changes |
|---|---|
| Salamanders Power Sword | Perk fixed to affect only light attacks; max stacks raised from 5 to 6; stacks gained per perfect parry raised from 1 to 3. |
| Combi-Flamer Bolt Carbine | Bolter barrel damage up 20%; faster burn accumulation on the flamer barrel; flamer ammo refill fixed. |
| Deathwatch Stalker Bolt Rifle | Body shots to activate perk reduced from 5 to 4; perk now triggers on any body shots; headshot multiplier matched to Relic versions; perk bonus set to 30% vs minoris, majoris and extremis and 10% vs terminus. |
| Salamanders Melta Rifle | Damage fall-off range increased; damage up 10%. |
| Deathwatch Power Fist | More responsive entry into melta blast stance; tracking fixed; direct melta blast damage greatly increased; wider burn AoE; directional input added. |
| Lord Executioner’s Axe | Now properly restores contested health with new attacks. |
The Power Sword deliberately skips a burning blade effect, with the team noting that only Guilliman gets to wield one. On the perk side, the Techmarine’s “Methodical Destruction” now works with the Prometium Can, and a larger Tactical class rework is planned for the following update.
Eternal War drops weapon progression
The headline PvP change removes locked progression entirely. Every weapon and every piece of equipment is now available from Level 1, so you can test any loadout the moment you jump into Eternal War instead of grinding levels to unlock a gun.
Grenades were also retuned. The Shock Grenade blinds a much smaller area for less time, while the Krak Grenade is now a guaranteed counter to the Heavy’s Iron Halo.
| Item | Change |
|---|---|
| Progression | All weapons and equipment available from Level 1. |
| Shock Grenade | Blindness radius reduced from 9 to 4 meters; duration reduced from 1.5 to 1.1 seconds. |
| Krak Grenade | Now always destroys the Heavy’s Iron Halo. |
Class ability tuning in PvP
Assault Ground Pound
Ground Pound’s damage radius shrank across every melee weapon, though some outer radii were partially restored from the more aggressive PTS values. The ability also charges slower.
| Weapon | Inner radius | Outer radius |
|---|---|---|
| Chainsword | 2 → 1.5 | 4 → 3 |
| Thunder Hammer | 2.5 → 2 | 5 → 3.5 |
| Power Fist | 2 → 1.5 | 4 → 3 |
| Power Sword | 2.5 → 2 | 5 → 3.5 |
| Power Axe | 2 → 1.5 | 4 → 3 |
Compared to the PTS build, the outer radius was pushed back up to 3 for the Chainsword, Power Fist, and Power Axe. On top of that, ability charge cooldown rose from 12 to 16 seconds, and the Ground Pound charge aim max angle was fully reverted to 38 degrees from 50.
Vanguard and Bulwark
Vanguard’s ability became far more available and more punishing, while Bulwark is now easier to knock out of shield stance.
- Vanguard ability charge cooldown reduced from 30 to 18 seconds.
- Vanguard ability damage increased from 10 to 25.
- Vanguard ability charges increased from 2 to 3.
- Bulwark’s damage cap to break shield stance reduced from 300 to 200.
Siege Mode and Ordeal adjustments
Siege Mode’s economy was rebalanced so the Tech Priest is no longer the dominant income source. Wave and side-objective rewards rose to compensate, and enemies now hold more toughness deep into a run.
- Tech Priest base max income now starts at 720 for the team and gradually falls to 300 at wave 30 and beyond, matching other income sources.
- Wave completion and side objective resource rewards increased by 20%.
- Enemy Damage Resistance cap on high waves raised from 60% to 72%.
- Kills required for the new Eternal War Ordeals reduced to 50/200/500 versus the earlier test requirements.
Taken together, these tweaks reward coordinated wave clears over camping a single income unit, while the higher resistance cap keeps late waves lethal.
Saber has signaled these are not the final passes. A larger Tactical class rework and a “very big” Eternal War feature are both on the roadmap as the game moves into its third year of post-launch support this September.
