Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Chaos Wastes Guide

It's finally here. After months and months of waiting, the much-anticipated Chaos Wastes expansion for Warhammer: Vermintide 2 is finally here and boy was it worth the wait. Not only do we have an insanely expansive new game mode to try out, but it's also 100% free. Not to mention the fact that it's so immensely huge that wrapping your head around the whole thing might be more challenging than actually playing the game in some ways. Fear not, oh brave rat slayers, we're here to give you a rundown of all the little things you need to know about Vermintide 2 Chaos Wastes. 

Vermintide 2 Chaos Wastes Guide — How to access it.

The first thing you'll probably be wondering about is how you actually get to the new game mode. Well, all that renovation that Taal's Horn Keep has been undergoing lately isn't just for show. In the area that used to be the armory, you'll find a new door that leads to a huge underground cave which serves as the main way to access the Chaos Wastes DLC. When you spawn into the game walk forward into the main area of the keep and look to your left to find the door that you're looking for. 

There are quite a few additions in this new area. Firstly, you'll have access to all of the important parts of the main keep such as the chest opening screen, your armory, and of course the forge. It's quite a good thing too, as getting to and from this section of the keep requires you to go through a loading screen. Now when you're done playing a match you can mess about with your new drops without having to wait through a Dwarven lifetime. Also, Franz's new dialogue through the speaking tube is just sort of hilarious. 

Another new addition is 5 areas devoted to different gods, one for each of the main heroes. These different areas don't seem to have a mechanical use, as far as we can tell, but you do get a little background on each of the different deities. Unless of course, you're a huge nerd and already knew what all of them were about anyway. The final segment you can take a look at is towards the entrance of the new area and it features a brief explanation of the special potions and coins you can find in the Chaos Wastes but doesn't go so far as telling you what they actually do. 

Vermintide 2 Chaos Wastes Guide — What's Different?

 There are a few new features in Vermintide 2 Chaos Wastes that you'll need to get a handle on to enjoy the experience to its fullest. Firstly, Chaos Wastes' expeditions into the titular realm of chaos have you completing a series of matches in a row, each taking place in a different location. As you complete the matches you journey further into the chaos wastes and gain buffs and special items or abilities that you can only use on that specific expedition. The mode is also rogue-lite, meaning if you die, you lose all of your progress in that specific run, but get to keep certain collectible to use next time. 

As you journey through the wastes, you'll come across two types of locations. The first is regular maps that function much the same as a regular level in the game, but usually a little shorter. Once completed you go back to the map, and must pick a new one. Some of these maps will be cursed by a specific chaos god, and depending on the god in question will have various modifiers or special conditions you'll need to watch out for. For more information on those, check the list below. As well as cursed maps, you'll also come across shrines. These shrines to various gods give players a list of effects they can spend their coins on, some affecting the entire party, some only affecting the buyer. 

Curses of Tzeentch:

Crystal Egg: Crystal eggs repeatedly spawn on the map and must be reached and destroyed before a timer runs out or the eggs spawn a random monster.

Twin Blight: Certain enemies have a 1 in 4 chance of splitting into two weaker enemies once you kill them. 

Bolt of Change: Random bolts of lightning fall from the sky, hurting players and buffing enemies. Doesn't effect boss monsters. 

Curses of Nurgle: 

Infested Foes: The map will be filled with enemies shrouded in poison who will create a poison cloud when they're killed. 

Skulking Sorcerer: As you play through the level, you'll constantly be hounded by a sorcerer who respawns every time you kill it. 

Miasma of Pestilence: Cursed clouds fill the level. As you gain stacks of curse you slowly lose max health. Can be purified by special torches. 

Curses of Khorne:

Blood God's Fury: Certain enemies buff those around them, doubling their health. 

Blood Tornados: Tornados roam the level, doing massive damage and inflicting the bleeding effect. 

Skulls of Wrath: Enemies have a chance of dropping a skull token that explodes when they die. 

Curses of Slaanesh

Glory to Greed!: No pickups are found in the level, but certain enemies will drop special packages upon death. 

Unquenchable Thirst: You take damage constantly, but potions restore your lost health. The effect stops when your health gets too low. 

Baleful Empathy: Damage you take is shared amongst your nearby teammates. 

Chaos Potions, Alters, Chests of Trials, And Pilgrim's Coins

As you play through Vermintide 2 Chaos Wastes, you'll come across some new features that aren't spawned in regular maps. Chaos potions replace the regular buff potions that you'd find in a normal level and come with some interesting new effects. YOu can learn more about the effects of each potion in the list below. You'll also come across Pilgrim's Coins, special coins that can be used to pay for various effects, such as the boons in shrines, and the alters you'll come across in the levels. 

Alters offer various boons depending on the symbol above them. Some shrines offer you boons, the player-only effects you can also purchase from shrines, but in this case, they're completely random. The other types of alter offers you a new ranged or melee weapon or an upgrade for your current weapons. These new weapons will disappear at the end of your run but have power levels that are above the normal limit of 300 power per item. Be careful with these weapon alters, as the weapons and upgrades you get are completely random, so you might get something that you're not familiar with. 

The final major new features of Chaos Wastes are Chests of Trials. These special chests contain powerful boons, but to gain access to these boons you'll need to beat the monster that spawns when you open the chest. Be careful when you decide to open them, as spawning a powerful monster mid-horde is something best left to the game's cruel hand of fate, and you might end up with some pissed-off teammates. Once the creature is defeated, you can select from one of three special boons by returning to the chest you opened. 

Chaos Potions Effects: 

Potion of Poison Aegis: This potion will make the drinker immune to all poisons for a short period of time. 

Potion of Agility: Does exactly what it says on the tin, doubling your dodge distance after 3 seconds. 

Potion of Lifesteal: Each enemy you kill while under the potion's effects will grant you some health. 

Potion of Lifeshare: Each enemy you kill will restore some health to your allies for around 10 seconds. 

Potion of Stealth: Makes you invisible for a short period of time. Also boosts damage in a similar way to Kerillian's Shadewalk ability. 

Potion of Endless Bombs: Gives you infinite bombs for a short period of time, but also reduces your movement speed. 

Potion of Wrath: Doubles your damage output briefly. 

Potion of Prophetic Strike: Doubles your weapons power for a brief moment. This doubles your damage, stagger, and cleave. 

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 Chaos Wastes

That should be everything you need to know to make your way through Vermintide 2 Chaos Wastes without too much pain. Keep an eye out for the new character frames and portraits you can unlock by completing various expeditions on different difficulty levels and with different characters.