Heroes and Pactsworn, welcome to the official launch of Versus!
This F.A.Q will contain all useful information about how to play the Versus game mode, and be regularly updated with answers to common questions. If you have any further questions please feel free to ask them below, or in the Vermintide Discord.
How to enter Versus:
- Similar to Chaos Wastes, Versus can be played by entering its own bespoke hub, the Versus Keep. Players can do this either by choosing the ‘Versus’ option in the Main Menu or by taking the route down to the basement in the Adventure Keep.
- Once inside, you can approach the map table or press the hotkey (Default: M) to open the matchmaking menu and find a match! Choosing Quickplay will find you (and your party) an open Versus Dedicated Server to start a match right away!
- You can also choose to create a custom game lobby to let you and up to seven friends play a Versus match amongst yourselves. Custom games do not use Dedicated Servers and will instead be hosted by the lobby host.
- Please adhere to the code of conduct! We reserve the right to ban you if you don’t behave or adhere to the EULA. In short, treat each other well and with respect. Have fun!
- Blatantly abusing exploits beyond what’d be necessary to discover, record and report an exploit, is also considered a bannable offence.
- Please keep in mind that mods might not work correctly at first. We’d recommend turning off mods for Versus’ launch, until the modders have had time to fix any issue that might’ve come up.
FAQ
Do I need to own Vermintide 2 to be able to play Versus?
- Yes, Versus is an additional game mode to Vermintide 2.
Do I need to purchase Versus?
- Nope! Versus is a FREE addition to the game!
How Do I Access the Versus game mode?
- Launch Warhammer: Vermintide 2
- From the new Main Menu, you should see the option to launch Versus.
- Pick the Versus option OR, if you picked Adventure, go down to the elevator near the Mission Map.
- You will be taken to a new hub for Versus. Enter matchmaking from this hub to find a Versus match.
- Up to 3 friends can join your party before entering matchmaking.
Can I play on controller?
We’ve now fully added controller / gamepad support, so yes! Please give us any feedback you have regarding how the game feels with controller.
What is Versus?
- Versus is a free new Game mode for Warhammer: Vermintide 2! It’s an asymmetrical PvP+E pitting up to 4 Heroes against our AI enemies and up to 4 special players, what we call Pactsworn. A match will take place over several rounds, with each team swapping places between playing the Heroes and the Pactsworn each round. To simplify, each round the Hero team must play a regular game akin to Adventure mode, while the Pactsworn players have to stop them.
Will the style of match be like Adventure mode or will it be like a Survival thing?
- At the moment we are only exploring Adventure map style gameplay, but with a mix of objectives.
How many players will there be in a Versus match?
- Up to 8 (4 v 4) but with bots taking the place of absent Heroes. We will have some mitigation on the Pactsworn end if that side has fewer players.
How Do I Play With a Party of Friends?
If you want to play as a party of 2-4 you will need to use Steam’s ‘Join Game’ with one another in the Keep before you queue for a match.
Will Versus work in other game modes, like Chaos Wastes?
- No, it will be its own separate mode.
How does the scoring system work? How do you win a match of versus?
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Versus maps are based on Adventure counterparts, but split into multiple sections.
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Heroes progress through a map section, completing objectives as they go. For each objective they get a certain amount of points.
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The Pactsworn goal is to try to stop the Heroes by killing or disabling them (which stops them from getting points). When the Hero team has either reached the end of the map section or have been fully disabled, the teams switch sides, competing for points over multiple sections and rounds.
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The team with the most points after a match wins.
Will this be available on console?
- Versus mode will only be available on PC.
Will there be separate balancing between Versus and base game? How will you balance Versus?
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Yes. However we will strive to have it as close to Adventure as we can so that the experience is as close as possible. We will not do balance changes to Adventure in favour of Versus.
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We will look at Hero weapons and talent balancing, but also looking at, for instance, buffing or tweaking the Pactsworn side. We’ll be relying on player and internal feedback, as well as our statistics to achieve a good point of balance, but it will be an ongoing task, for sure.
What difficulty setting or settings will be used for Versus?
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Currently Versus is only one ‘difficulty’, custom built for Versus balanced separately from Adventure. The goal is that difficulty mainly comes from the opposing Pactsworn team.
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This is something we aim to iterate on together with the community leading up to the release.
What can you play as when you play as the Pactsworn?
- Currently it is only the Skaven specials: Gutter Runner, Warpfire Thrower, Packmaster, Globadier and Ratling Gunner.
- When it’s time for a monster to spawn, one of the pactsworn players will also get to play as the Bile Troll.
Will there be a ranked system or leaderboards?
- We are focusing on a more casual PVP experience.
Can I play with just my friends? How does matchmaking work?
- Right now you can make a party of up to 4 players to join you in the keep, just like in the base game, and try to find a match that way as one team. Or, you can quickplay on your own into a match.
- Instead of choosing Quickplay, you may also create a Custom Game, where you can invite friends to join both teams, for a full 4v4 of just your friends!
Will there be official dedicated servers or is it host based peer to peer like the base game?
- We are using dedicated servers for Versus.
- However, you can also create custom games with your friends. These custom matches are player hosted.
Why was Versus originally delayed?
- It is a mix of things. Part of it is that we announced it way too early! But also, during our initial testing we weren’t happy with the results, so we put the project aside to focus on other content while regularly revisiting it. Because of this, we’ve had a solid foundation for quite a while, but it was only last Spring that we jumped back into full development on the project and said “Let’s actually do this!”
Why make Versus?
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This is a big question, for sure. The super short answer is: because it is really fun.
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The long answer is this: We want to fulfil that fantasy of: What would it be like to be the Pactsworn? What does it feel like being a Gutter Runner?
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We want to provide a fresh challenge to Vermintide players. It isn’t harder enemies - it’s smarter enemies.
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Technically, we land in the territory of PvP+E, which means that it’s not as far away from PvE as it might sound. For the Heroes it plays out like a PvE game, it’s just that you play on another tactical level.
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Lastly, just as we love L4D, we love L4D2’s Versus mode. Modern asymmetric PvP games have been taking a slightly different route, but we have the means to explore this one. Who knows what we’ll find out together?
Known Issues:
- On the legacy UI, players can attempt to craft items while in the Versus Hub, leading to a backend error and a disconnect. (To clarify, players are not supposed to be able to craft items in Versus)
- Joining a friend while you are in the new Main Menu does not work properly. Player has to click start game and choose a game mode, then friend joining will continue normally.
- Some players have Cataclysm difficulty locked when it should not be, with progression appearing to be incorrect/missing
- Currently unable to set a custom Versus lobby to Private. This feature was held back due to complications and should hopefully be reimplemented soon!
- Team chat does not currently work in Quickplay.