Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2 is all about its hero characters

A look at how Cognition changed and what the Necrons can do

Bulwark Studios / Kasedo Games

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus, which was released in 2018, is one of a kind. You initially get the game for some turn-based tactical combat action and then end up buying a vinyl of its OST, listening to it up and down while burning some incense to honor the Omnissiah. Mechanicus 2, the sequel currently in development at Bulwark Studios and Kasedo Games, is bringing back composer Guillaume David for another dose of his mesmerizing work alongside the two nemeses from the original game, the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Necrons.

However, Mechanicus 2 is thinking bigger than its predecessor, as I’ve seen at Gamescom 2024. Instead of only making the Cult of the Machine God playable, a Necron campaign will be available as well. Gameplay, too, underwent some evolutions.

Mechanicus 2 is bringing back the original’s Cognition mechanic, which represents Tech Priests gaining knowledge about the enemy as they fight, leading to greater understanding of their weak points. However, it works a little differently this time. Kasedo wants to steer players towards the most efficient ways of using certain units, rewarding them with Cognition Points for doing so. 

Your Servitors, for instance, can earn Cognition Points for the squad by tanking damage – that’s what mindless worker drones are there for, after all. Your Skitarii Rangers, on the other hand, generate Cognition Points by attacking over a certain distance.

Another change has been made to unit activation: Units no longer have fixed positions on the initiative order. Instead, you can activate any unit of your choice when it’s your turn, as long as they haven’t taken action in this round yet. Only the enemy retains fixed initiative positions.

“We think this change adds a lot of strategic depth to the game,” the developers explain. “Activating the right unit at the right time can make the difference between victory and defeat.”

In Mechanicus 2, the war with the Necrons is not only fought in their dusty tombs. / Bulwark Studios / Kasedo Games

Both the initiative and Cognition changes feed into what is now the key feature of battles: They are dominated by your hero characters and pretty much everything you do during your turn is about setting up as powerful an activation for these as possible.

Cognition Points are used to activate your squad leader’s unique Canticle (these are no longer picked before a skirmish, now instead being tied to hero characters), which in turn reflect their personality. Scaevola, for example, provides a damage boost to all Mechanicus troops. Other Cognition Points uses include powering up the hero characters themselves, enabling them to move further and use more of their abilities.

“Leaders are really at the core of the gameplay for both factions,” the developers say. “We think it’s almost our unique take on the tactical genre. All other units are really there to amplify your leader’s turn.”

The Necrons, of course, have their own mechanic to boost their leaders: Dominion. Whereas the Mechanicus’ Cognition is all about understanding their enemy, the Necrons’ Dominion is a reflection of their desire to dominate and reconquer – they gain points for dealing damage.

“When we designed the Necron mechanics, we wanted this sense of escalating power,” the developers describe. “When you accrue enough Dominion Points, you go up a Dominion Level. At set Dominion Levels, you get various bonuses.” For example, each Dominion Level boosts the chance of the Necrons’ Gauss weapons to inflict additional damage.

Other additions include new environmental effects and the introduction of cover. The latter works a little differently from other tactics games: Instead of reducing incoming damage or the chance to hit, it completely blocks the line of sight and prevents attacks from happening. Cover is only useful to the Mechanicus, though – the Necrons, being undying machines, don’t care so much about being hit and will want to get cover removed from the map with their powerful attacks.

Players can expect “pretty much the full infantry range from the tabletop” as playable units for both available factions, which is pretty exciting for those with Mechanicus or Necron armies at home.

“We’ve gone through great efforts to diversify the objectives,” the developers tell me, addressing one of the more common critiques of the first game: a lack of mission variety. This aspect of the game will be helped by the new strategic war map as well, from where players can send all their squads to missions – but I didn’t get to see much of that at Gamescom, since the prologue was mostly focused on combat and introducing the principal characters of the story for both sides.

Aside from tactical battles, strategic decisions await players on the war map. / Bulwark Studios / Kasedo Games

Narrative events in the campaign will be associated with things like establishing outposts and getting upgrades, but there will be success and failure chances for each decision as well, so players must choose wisely. Based on feedback from the first game, Kasedo wants to provide players with as much information as possible about the consequences and rewards of these choices.

Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus 2 is planned to be released in 2025 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.