Space Marine 2's latest patch adds a death ray laser pointer

Following patches that have spent more time walking back unpopular difficulty changes than adding new things, Space Marine 2's 4.5 patch finally gets to add something shiny: the Neo-Volkite pistol.

A classic sci-fi raygun that sets people on fire, after which they explode, the Neo-Volkite pistol has been added to the loadouts of assault, bulwark, and vanguard marines in the PvE Operations mode, and will be added to PvP Eternal mode in a subsequent update.

Volkite weapons were the original weapon of choice for space marine legionaries back before the Horus Heresy, but by the time of Horus's betrayal they'd been replaced by cheaper and easier-to-produce bolt guns. They've been brought back in Neo-Volkite form by Belisarius Cawl, the same tech-priest responsible for the Primaris marines.

Patch 4.5 also rebalances a variety of existing weapons in Operations mode, giving a scope to the oculus bolt carbine and increasing its bonus to headshot damage, increasing the maximum ammo of the auto bolt rifle, and adjusting the damage falloff curve for the bolt carbine (SMG), among other changes.

Among the bug fixes and tech improvements in the patch are a fix for DLC cosmetics you'd unlock being locked again after a restart, the sniper's Targeted Shot perk not working after you swapped weapons, and various improvements to stability and connectivity.

The next major update, as well as adding the Neo-Volkite pistol to Eternal War mode, will bring a new enemy, a new map for Operations mode, and cosmetics based on the Dark Angels chapter of marines.