Space Marine 2's Patch 15 finally lets you play as Chaos

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has spent two years pitching the Imperium against the Tyranids. Patch 15.0, live on October 1, adds a third party to the fight and lets you play as it.

Chaos joins in

Saber Interactive's patch notes describe the Tyranid invasion as having exposed Chaos activity on Avarax, with Heretic Astartes holding strategically vital positions inside the Hive City and attempting what the studio calls blasphemous rituals. In Siege mode you now get to be them, supported by Cultists and a Helbrute, fighting Tyranid Hive Fleet forces and Loyalist Space Marines at the same time. It is the first time Chaos has been playable in the game.

A third Trials of Resolve season arrives alongside it, with new Ordeals built around Vanguard and Heavy class challenges plus PvP and Siege objectives.

The Tactical rebuild

The bigger structural change is to the Tactical class, whose perk tree has been rewritten to support more than one build. Saber's stated aim is to make two-primary loadouts, Gun Strike play and close combat all viable. Auspex Scan's damage bonus is smaller than it was, but Tactical now gets Kraken Penetrator rounds by default and its starting perk makes Bolt weapons punch through one extra enemy, with non-headshot Bolter damage up 20 percent. The class also gets more melee weapons to choose from.

Melta weapons get the single loudest number in the notes. Saber says they were strong at launch and have been power-crept since, so base damage is up 65 percent across the board, including Heroic versions, in exchange for harsher damage falloff and tighter ammo. The studio's own framing is that they should now be lethal at point-blank range and much less useful at distance. Several Bolt weapons get smaller 5 to 15 percent damage bumps, while the Instigator Bolt Carbine and Auto Bolt Rifle are nudged down.

Cosmetics and housekeeping

Wargear customisation gains separate slots for tabards and cloaks, both paintable, with a wider cloth colour range and cloak patterns for the Sniper class. There is a Space Wolves Champion pack and an Exorcists cosmetic pack, new Accolade-unlocked weapon perks, and a scope camera change that makes it harder to shoot from behind cover while staying fully hidden. Saber has also flagged Patch 16 as the point where it revisits Siege mode Blessings and Atonements and some Stratagems battlefield conditions.

Why it matters

Playable Chaos is the thing players have asked for since launch, and putting it in Siege rather than the campaign is a sign of where Saber thinks the game's long tail lives. The Tactical rework matters just as much day to day: it is the class most people start with, and it has spent two years being the one with the fewest real choices.