Finally!

It’s been approximately three weeks since the pre-order crowd gained access to Warhammer End Times: Vermintide. I was a member of said beta crowd, and the initial maps were splendid, but only a mere sample of what the game would have to offer. I’ve been playing pretty regularly ever since, and can report that I’ve officially “beaten” it, on normal difficulty. It would be fair to say that this is just the tip of the iceberg though.

Once the game was officially released (one week after the pre-order beta started), Eri had joined in on the fun, and the two of us played through the entirety of the game in co-op. I had this initial impression that we were getting close to the end, but more new maps kept opening, until the final level opened; this one called “The White Rat.” The intro cinematic shows the final boss in all of his glory, and the final level consists of a gauntlet of Skaven, traps and various mechanics (basically a combination of everything we had seen to that point) before culminating in a final onslaught. We played the level several times, and never could get the right combination of classes, levels, and gear together (not to mention cooperative skills) to beat the bastard. If you’ve been paying attention to my YouTube channel, I’ve been uploading edited clips of our adventures in the game thus far (part one here). I didn’t play much over the past few days, and was completely engrossed in Fallout 4 (which by the way, was what most of you voted on in my last post).

Tonight, I’ve finally done it. I decided to randomly try, and at first I began the match by myself with bots. One player joined in, and we failed the mission. Upon restarting, our party was rounded out, and quite well. There was me, the Witch Hunter, a Dwarf, Elf, and the Mage. The mage had a very effective AOE staff that seems damn near mandatory for that level. The small amount of bombs strewn about is offset by her staff. The Elf and I would handle threats at a range when necessary, and the Dwarf was a very good shield wall. As you can see in the screen above, having both the Dwarf and the Soldier both wielding sword/board was less optimal. I simply loved that mage. It turns out that during previous runs with Eri we had actually been very close to the end of the level, but always died just a bit short. The ending cinematic was short and sweet, but leaves the game wide open for expansion, mentioning Chaos and Undead. Eri had mentioned reading about those being future foes that will be added to the game, and that basically confirms it in my mind. Speaking of expansion, the first DLC was just announced, and looks to add a slew of new weaponry, new game play options, a new shrine for the Inn, and new game modes (survival sounds like a grand ol time), all for free!

I captured the run where I beat the final level, so here’s that for your viewing pleasure: