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Project Warlock 2 is one of the best shooters to jump into Early Access in a long while. It’s possibly one of the best shooters to release this year. It’s fast, explosive, gory, and incredibly satisfying to play. The thing is, it’s also harkening back to a bygone age. Basically, it can get pretty darn difficult.
If you haven’t had much experience messing with old-school shooters, then Project Warlock 2 might be quite the wake-up call. It pulls no punches, and it expects a lot. Overcoming the game’s challenges is very doable, however, especially if you go in with a bit of pre-knowledge on how the game works.
10 Use Your Workhorse Weapons
One thing you need to do early is to recognise which weapons are your workhorse weapons. The weapons that you will default to no matter the situation. These are not the strongest weapons in the game by a long shot, but they are reliable, easy to use, safe, and come with plenty of ammo.
In Project Warlock 2, the workhorse weapon is absolutely the Rifle. In all of its forms, the Rifle is excellent at clearing out hordes of enemies, and when upgraded, it can even one-shot some of the stronger enemies too. Its ammo is by far the most plentiful, and it’s always a safe bet to use. The Super Shotgun is a close second.
9 Quick Weapon Swapping
The strongest weapons in the game tend to have the longest reload times. This makes using them a bit awkward. For example, the Cannon is ludicrously powerful, but it takes an age before you can fire a second shot. This is where quick weapon swapping comes in.
You don’t want downtime - ever. You want to be unleashing as much DPS as you possibly can, and to do that, you need to swap your guns out. Guns in Project Warlock 2 reload when not in use, so the idea is to fire a cannonball, swap to something else, fire that, and then go back to the cannon. The easiest combo to pull off is the Cannon/Harvester combo. Simply fire your cannon, swap to The Harvester and use alt-fire. Swap back to the Cannon, and repeat.
8 Use Every Weapon
There are NO bad weapons in Project Warlock 2. There are only five weapons in total, but each one is a key piece of the puzzle and you should always swap to the best weapon for the job. There is no need to waste ammo ineffectively shooting an enemy who could be one shot with something else.
If you are facing melee hordes? Use the Claymore, or Shotgun to clear a path. Big enemies? Aim for the head with a Cannon. A variety of enemies in a blob? Try the Fireball Staff and watch them all burn. You have your workhorse, sure, but sometimes you need to use your noggin.
7 Never Stop Moving
Staying still will quickly kill you in this game. Enemies are fast, their projectiles are faster, and if you plant your feet and stand and shoot, you are likely to get overwhelmed. Not only that, but enemies often spawn behind you, punishing you for hiding in a doorway.
Because of this, you want to be on the move at all times. Your base movement speed is pretty high, and you can quite easily jump over many humanoid enemies to increase your mobility even further. The classic “circle strafe” will be your friend in larger arenas.
6 Search For Secrets
Ammo can be pretty hard to find - especially for your more powerful weapons. The best way to restock and refuel is to look for secrets. Each level is jam packed with them, and the rewards for finding them range from fairly minor to amazing.
You can get your hands on weapons early, you can find higher-tier ammo, you can find better armour and even some extra health kits. Secrets are hard to spot, but some things to keep an eye out for are cracks in walls and stained glass windows. Fire your shotgun at these, and you might find something hidden behind them.
5 Fill Your Bestiary
Learning how to kill each enemy effectively can take time. Project Warlock 2 has an elemental system under the hood that makes some enemies resistant to different effects. Some are resistant to explosions, magic, lightning, or even bullets. If you want to be the best demon slayer around, you need to know who is weak to what.
This is where the Bestiary comes in. It starts blank, but as you find hidden pages (usually in secrets) you will unlock detailed entries on each enemy - including the best way to kill them. Look for pages, check your Bestiary, and use that knowledge to slaughter more effectively.
4 Upgrade Everything
Your base arsenal is pretty darn good. It’s more than capable of tackling the hordes of hell. The thing is, you can always get more powerful, and there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t seek out that power. Each level has several Upgrade Stations that allow you to customise your weapons.
These upgrades offer substantial power increases, and once fully upgraded, weapons will gain alt-fire modes. This further expands your options when fighting, and simply makes the game more interesting. Who doesn’t want a quad-barrel super shotgun in their back pocket?
3 Don’t Underestimate The Claymore
It’s easy to forget the Claymore. It’s the only weapon that is more or less locked to close-range combat, and you have a Shotgun that covers that role more explosively. The Claymore just exists and is awkward to use if you are in it for the boomsticks.
The thing is, the Claymore is really bloody powerful. Not only does it have an AOE attack as it slices horizontally, but it also deals huge amounts of damage. It can even out-damage the Shotgun. Once upgraded, it gets even better, changing its damage type, or unlocking Executions. Finally, it doesn’t cost any ammo - pretty handy if you find yourself in a bind.
2 Magic Is Always An Option
Similar to the Claymore, Magic can be forgotten about. In the heat of battle, you could easily get lost in the guns and gore, and forget you have arcane options just waiting to be unleashed. They are even on a short cooldown, so using them costs you very little.
Guns Akimbo literally doubles your damage and turns any weapon into an overpowered death spitter. Freeze allows you to effortlessly kill enemies who dared get too close. Your fire magic is just a nuke. Anything in your way is very quickly turned to ash. Find them. Use them.
1 Aim For The Head
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This one might seem obvious, but aiming for the head is nearly always preferable. This will not only deal more damage, but it will also allow you to save on ammo. In later levels - especially on harder difficulties - the game can get very stingy with its supplies. When every bullet counts - shoot for the dome.
This is especially true for bigger enemies, as they can often take a lot of killing. A single shotgun blast to the head of a Knight, for example, will kill it. It takes 3-4 shots to the body. Just do it. Run up to things, ram your barrel into their mouth, and pull the trigger.