There’s no great way to stay out of trouble in Fatshark’s Vermintide . Surviving might be something you get used to, but it never comes without struggle. Have you jumped in a game with guys level 15 or higher and wonder “how did they do it?” There’s a chance that they have a pretty good grip on a few very basic concepts in this game. Read below for some beginner tips to making it through a Skaven-slaying session alive.
1. Take time to find Tomes
Tomes are hidden throughout each of the 13 missions in Vermintide , and they are incredibly valuable. When in a player’s possession at the end of a mission, the team will get bonus die to roll towards the loot table, increasing the value of the loot reward you’ll get. There are three tomes per mission, and each character can only hold one, so you’ll need three volunteers from the party to be tome carriers. This is a big deal because tomes actually take up an inventory slot, namely the space where health restoring items are supposed to go. So the risk of carrying a tome means you won’t actually have health handy whenever you need it. Let greed push you through the pain.
Grimores also alter your end reward for the better, and don’t cost an inventory slot. Instead, it lowers the team’s max health for the duration of the mission. There are a total of two, so ball out of control at your own risk.
2. DO NOT STRAY
You’ll hear one person say it probably every other matchmaker session, but do not stray from the group. This is among the best advice you can get in this game and is imperative to passing a mission or failing miserably when you decide to take risks like collecting tomes and grimores. It’s way too easy to get abducted by Packmasters, pinned down by Gutter Runners, or lit up by Ratlings. The best way to stay on top of these threats is to be close enough for the group to handle it as quickly as possible. There wont always be time to back track through a level to find your kidnapped body when a wave is coming. And it’s safe to say that your party doesn’t want to be left a member down when a Rat Ogre strikes.
3. Be smart with healing, ammo, and potions
It is all too easy to run into a room, crack open a chest, and immediately down the first healing potion you see. In the realm of getting matched up with randos, it may feel like every man for themselves. Erring against that impulse may be the decision that saves you, down the line. If you don’t have a tome in your hands, and see a team mate needs health, it may be a better decision to wrap them up with medical supplies, instead of using them on yourself. They don’t have to drop their very important item that helps the team out, and you can feel like you did your good deed of the day.
Same with potions or ammo. Someone like the Waywatcher, whose ranged attack is pretty useful in all situations, should probably get first pick of the not-bottomless ammo. If the Empire Solider has a great hammer, maybe he doesn’t need the Potion of Strength, but could benefit from the movement and attack speed buff of the Potion of Speed.
4. Bring plenty of Armor Piercing
Scattered among your party members is a smattering of equipment options and potential combinations to handle most of the issues the Skaven menace will throw at you. The equipment box in the Inn and at the beginning of every mission serves as a subtle reminder to make sure you are all diversifying your damage output. The most important of this options is arguably Armor Piercing, and there should be a prevalence of it among the four of you. You don’t all have to possess an armor piercing weapon, but most of you should. Be it the Empire Solider‘s hammer or the Witch Hunter‘s Crossbow, your team should be able to deal with armored enemies like Stormvermin and Ratling Gunners quickly, without having to aim for the head every time. That becomes very difficult when being bombarded by bullets, or swarmed by Slaves and Clanrats.
5. Audio cues will save your life
The many characters of Vermintide have a great amount of chatter among themselves. Much of it is the subtle narrative that brings them all together, but that doesn’t mean you should tune them out. Sometimes, these characters are very astute and aware.
A character will shout when they see a pick up like potions or ammo. You may hear your hero say there’s a potion nearby before you actually see one. I know that has been the case for me, as I usually have to stop and search for the items that I apparently just saw. More importantly though, characters will call out the presence of special enemies. Sometimes this is overt – the Bright Wizard may scream that a Rat Ogre is in here sights. Other times they’ll make non specific comments that sort of mean the same thing, like mentioning gunpowder in the air, or smelling something worse than the sewers. Often times, the creatures will give themselves away by their sounds. You will usually hear a Gutter Runner before you see them, as they will be chattering to themselves about how they’re about to stab one of you to death. I’d criticize the technique of giving your element of surprise away, but it hasn’t seem to effect his performance, so far.
Take heed of this little tips and you may find more and more success in your early adventures. Need more advice? Come to the Official Vermintide Wiki and tweet at @CurseGamepedia with your war stories.