Space Marine 2 Patch 15: Chaos Siege, Crucible and Thunder Hammer Changes
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| Author Games & Culture
Patch 15, billed as Anniversary Update II, reached Space Marine 2 on October 1, 2026, and Chaos Space Marines became playable for the first time. Their Siege mode has Heretic Astartes fighting Tyranids and Loyalists at once. The patch also reworked the Tactical class and added a One-Handed Thunder Hammer, a weapon the developers describe as one of the community’s most requested. Both hotfixes since have rebalanced it.
Content
What Patch 15 added
Most of the patch is a free update. Only the two Season Pass 3 packs at the bottom of the table cost money.
| Addition | What it does | Where it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Chaos Siege Mode | Play as Heretic Astartes, backed by Cultists and a Helbrute, against Tyranid Hive Fleet forces and Loyalists | Siege, new Hive map on Avarax, free update |
| Crucible | Endgame PvE mode where self-applied Penances earn Crucible XP and customisation rewards | Level 25 classes, launched from PvE Operations, separate matchmaking pool |
| Tactical class expansion | Reworked class perks and three new melee weapons | PvE |
| One-Handed Thunder Hammer | Fast weapon that stores charges and spends them on heavier attacks | Tactical, Assault, Bulwark, Techmarine |
| Trials of Resolve #3 | New Ordeals for the Vanguard and Heavy classes, plus PvP and Siege challenges | All modes listed |
| Wargear 2.2 | Separate tabard and cloak slots, paintable cloth, more colors, Sniper cloak patterns | Customisation |
| Heroic items | Power Axe (Frost Axe, Balance), One-Handed Thunder Hammer (Power Maul, Balance), Auto Bolt Rifle (Iron Hands); Crusade Ancient Shoulder Pad, Assault Iron Halo, Mark VI Corvus Shoulder Pad | Unlocked with Accolades |
| Season Pass 3 packs | Space Wolves Champion Pack (Wolf Guard Bulwark skin, hammer skin) and Exorcists Cosmetic Pack (helmets, pauldrons, gauntlets, breastplate) | Paid cosmetics |
How Crucible works
The patch notes call Crucible the game’s first true endgame activity. Players launch it through PvE Operations on a level 25 class and stack Penances, which are debuffs and negative modifiers, to make a mission harder. Each cleared mission pays Crucible XP, and progression unlocks the armour parts of the Lamenters set. The mode uses its own matchmaking pool.
Hotfix 15.1 raised the Pandemonium Penance from 15% to 25% and added a warning when too few Penances are selected. Hotfix 15.2 stopped PvE Quick Match from dropping players into Crucible. In the October 29 community update, Game Director Dmitry Grigorenko said progression will stay tied to each class. Its speed and the balance of specific Penances “will be adjusted if necessary” once more data is in. A level lock for Hard Stratagems and Hard Siege is planned.
The Tactical rework in detail
Auspex Scan lost some of its damage bonus, and the notes say Kraken Penetrator rounds now come with the class by default while most primary weapons were buffed to even things out. Bolt weapons also penetrate one extra enemy and deal 20% more non-headshot damage. Hotfix 15.1 restored one behavior, since Auspex Scan again boosts Gun Strike damage by default, as it did in Patch 14.2.
| Old perk | Replaced by | New effect |
|---|---|---|
| Exigency Charge | Passive Chambering | Any unequipped ranged weapon reloads after 10 seconds |
| Kraken Penetrator Rounds | Armour Reinforcement | Non-finisher Gun Strikes restore 1 armour segment |
| Steady Aim | Focused Strike | During a Gun Strike you keep control on Heavy Hits, cannot be knocked back and take 30% less damage |
| Priority Targeting | Pulse Auspex | Auspex Scan fires a single pulse with 2 charges and a 25% smaller radius |
| Target Lock | Mobile Auspex | Scan centers on you, radius up 30%, lasts 4 seconds longer than the 5 second base |
| Signal Jammer | Tactical Reserve | Your secondary weapon is replaced with a Primary Bolt Rifle |
| Secure Stockpile (kept) | Cooldown change | Cooldown rises from 60 to 90 seconds |
The class also gained three melee weapons, the Power Sword, Power Axe and One-Handed Thunder Hammer. Equipping any of them blocks the Primary weapon slot.
PvE weapon damage after Patch 15
Patch 15 raised base damage on almost every primary, to make up for the weaker Auspex bonus that the notes say all weapon balance had been built around. A Tactical on the Bolt Rifle sees +10% base damage from this table. The new starting perk adds 20% on non-headshot hits, so Tactical gets part of what Auspex Scan lost back through its guns.
| Weapon | Base damage change |
|---|---|
| Auto Bolt Rifle | +15% |
| Occulus Bolt Carbine | +15% |
| Bolt Rifle | +10% |
| Plasma Incinerator (common shot) | +10% |
| Pyreblaster and Pyrecannon | +10% each |
| One-Handed Bolt Carbine | +10% |
| Bolt Carbine and Instigator Bolt Carbine | +7.5% each |
| Heavy Bolt Rifle and Heavy Bolter | +5% each (Heavy Bolt Rifle excludes the Heroic Auxiliary Grenade Launcher version) |
Melta rifles hit harder and reach less far
Melta weapons had been overtaken by other guns, and Patch 15 answered with a large damage boost, a steeper fall-off and fewer shots, which makes them point-blank weapons. The first hotfix gave part of the range and ammo back.
| Weapon | Patch 15.0 (October 1) | Hotfix 15.1 (October 8) |
|---|---|---|
| Melta Rifle | Base damage +65%, ammo 15 to 10, fall-off now starts at 2 m instead of 5 m (Standard-Issue), maximum reduction 30% instead of 50% | Fall-off starts at 3 m, ammo pool +2 (now 12), magazine +1 (now 6) |
| Melta Rifle, Master-Crafted Alpha | Fall-off starts at 2.5 m instead of 8 m | Fall-off starts at 5 m |
| Heavy Melta Rifle | Base damage +60%, ammo 20 to 16, fall-off starts at 2 m (Standard-Issue) | Fall-off starts at 3 m |
| Heavy Melta Rifle, Master-Crafted Alpha | Fall-off starts at 3 m instead of 8 m | Fall-off starts at 6 m |
| Combi-melta (Heroic Bolt Rifle) | Melta barrel damage +65%, fall-off starts at 2 m, reduction 20% instead of 30% | No change listed |
Three releases for the One-Handed Thunder Hammer
Every release since launch has touched the hammer. The forced stagger left its charging stances in Hotfix 15.1, with a promise that it would return once it was less spammable. The 15.2 notes are silent on it. The direction is clear from the table, since damage went up in both hotfixes and the heroic Power Maul stopped scaling with charges.
| Release | Change |
|---|---|
| Patch 15.0 (Oct 1) | Added for Tactical, Assault, Bulwark and Techmarine. Fast weapon that builds charges and spends them on stronger attacks |
| Hotfix 15.1 (Oct 8) | Base damage +10%, Underhand Swing +67%, Echoing Swing waves +100%, Energised Strike +100% damage and +50% radius, charged attacks +25% with better cleave. Charge Overflow lasts 20 s, Rapid Recharge cooldown 15 s, Deflective Charge cooldown 20 s |
| Hotfix 15.2 (Oct 20) | One charge takes 1.25 s, Energy Loop can follow Charged Impact with +100% damage, Underhand Swing +30%, Charged Impact +15%, Perfect Reprisal bonus 50% on Light Attacks only, Preparedness restores 5% |
| Heroic Power Maul (15.2) | No longer scales with charges. Charged Impact works with 1 to 2 charges, Ground Slam needs 3, forces stagger, deals 30% more damage across a radius up 100%. The in-game descriptions still show the old text |
PvP and Siege changes
The scope camera now sits closer to the character, so you can no longer shoot from behind cover while staying fully hidden. Heavy’s Iron Halo loses 25% of its health. Techmarine’s class ability comes back 16% sooner. On guns, the Melta Rifle fires 10% faster and the Sniper Bolt Rifle 9% faster, while the Instigator Bolt Carbine gives up 12.5% base damage and the Auto Bolt Rifle 7.5%.
In Siege, Cursed Relic is out of the Atonement pool for now. In Chaos Siege, the summonable Hellbrute lost 30% melee damage in Hotfix 15.1.
Patch 16 and Patch 17
The October 29 community update says Patch 16 brings six Heroic weapons: Omnissian Axe, Heavy Bolt Pistol, Bolt Rifle, Las Fusil, Plasma Incinerator and Infernus Heavy Bolter. A Mortifactors Cosmetic Pack was teased. The Victrix Honour Guard Storm Shield, a Twitch Drops reward that required a purchase and drew complaints, moves to the Refinement and Redemption shop for Requisition Points with Patch 17. Neither patch has a release date in that update, which also marked 15 million players.
Chaos fans can find the tabletop side of the faction in our Chaos Space Marines datasheets, and the class rework above feeds directly into our Space Marine 2 class tier list.
Last updated November 9, 2026. Source: Space Marine 2 announcements on Steam from October 1, 8, 20 and 29, 2026 (Saber Interactive and Focus Entertainment). Image: official Space Marine 2 screenshot, Focus Entertainment / Saber Interactive, via Steam.
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