Fatshark took the Warhammer series by storm when it released Warhammer: Vermintide 2 back in 2018. In 2019, Winds of Magic was released as a Vermintide 2 DLC which offered players new campaigns.
Following its predecessors Shadows over Bögenhafen and Back to Ubersreik, is Winds of Magic worth the investment in another Vermintide 2 DLC?
The Story So Far
Possibly one of the most anticipated aspects of Winds of Magic was the introduction of Beastmen. As Reikland gets hit by a large meteor, these beasts clamber out of the forest to claim the epicenter as their Herdstone.
It’s up to the five heroes of Vermintide 2 to stop them in their tracks.
The new mission, Dark Omens, encourages the heroes to investigate the meteor crash site.
We’ve had a meteor crash down, with all the usual death, destruction and creepy-crawlies coming out of the woodwork. My thumbs are prickling about this one. We can’t leave it alone, that’s for sure. Time to do your thing.
Franz Lohner
As the heroes get nearer to the crash site, they quickly discover a new campsite named Skaven. Those responsible for this unknown site are the Beastmen.
Winds of Magic New Locations
Along with the mission, the Winds of Magic DLC offers the following locations to explore:
- Barony of Maisberg
- Encampment
- Old Muntz Mine
- Drakkenbach Creek
- Forlorn Pass
- Eastern Maisberg Mine
- von Ahlsee Estates
- Rhya’s old Pilgrimage
- Eastern Tunnel
- Untermais Ruins
- Burning Forest
- Hillside Climb
- Meteor Impact Site
- Beastmen Ritual Site
Who are The Beastmen?
Resembling that of a humanoid, the Beastmen display a bestial appearance. The color of their hide and horn size represents their status in society. Even at full size, those with smaller horns are considered lesser beasts.
Variations
In Winds of Magic, you’ll find different types of Beastmen, including:
- Ungor – Also available as Archers, these lightly armored beasts are generally weak
- Gor – Standard melee units
- Bestigor – Heavily armored with charge ability
- Wargor – Places a Beastmen banner to buff nearby troops
- Minotaurs – Boss-type enemies that are agressive and use their axes to swing
Winds of Magic Level Up
The Winds of Magic DLC boosts the level cap from 30 to 35. A minor boost, but a boost nonetheless. When you reach level 30, you can choose an additional talent.
While the increased level cap is nice, it didn’t feel like it made that much of a difference; at least not that of a fresh DLC.
In addition to the level cap, Winds of Magic introduces one new map in the expansion. Unlike previous DLCs, this felt pretty deflating.
Weaving In and Out
Winds of Magic offers up a new game mode known as Weaves. Players must complete Weaves of the Eight Winds of Magic with weave-forged weapons. Sounds exciting?
Unfortunately, Weaves don’t offer new maps; instead, they offer hashed clips of existing maps that don’t offer anything unique.
This game mode doesn’t allow you to bring any of your existing equipment or talents along for the ride. Instead, you’ll start from scratch and unlock your set as you go.
Although it seems like an interesting concept on the surface, it didn’t feel very well thought out. In fact, I might be tempted to call it lazy. Given the latest Steam reviews, I don’t think I’m on my own on this one.
Going Solo
In honesty, Winds of Magic felt like it was trying to be something it’s not. The leaderboards felt completely out of place for a Warhammer game, especially considering you can’t tackle any of the challenges with your CPU allies.
The only way to progress along the Weave chart is to find other random team members that are trying to complete the same Weave level.
You might think that would be easy, like joining an instance in WoW. Nope, it’s an unbearable process that doesn’t offer any intuition and frankly, I found it frustrating.
Vermintide 2: Winds of Magic Doesn’t Hit the Spot
As a fan of the Vermintide games, Fatshark didn’t fulfill my fantasies this time.
Winds of Magic felt extremely disconnected, offering just one new map to explore. The Weaves game mode was laborious and didn’t offer any kind of victorious feeling.
The entire expansion felt unnecessary, and I really hope they don’t make the same mistakes again.
