Cleaving Potential and Defence Guide: Melee Weapons

Master melee combat in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. Understand Cleaving Potential for AoE attacks and Defence types (Block, Balanced, Fencing) for parrying.

Melee weapons in Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 have fewer stats than ranged weapons, making them less intuitive. While Strength and Speed are straightforward, Cleaving Potential and Defence are crucial and often misunderstood. Unlike ranged weapon upgrades which offer minor stat boosts, melee weapon variants can drastically alter gameplay. A fast, low-damage weapon with high Cleaving Potential and 'Block' Defence plays very differently from a slow, high-damage weapon with low Cleaving Potential and 'Fencing' Defence.

You can view weapon stats by hovering over them in-game.

Cleaving Potential Stat

Cleaving Potential determines a weapon’s ability to hit multiple enemies with a single strike, essentially defining its Area of Effect (AoE). This stat is most effective against large groups of weaker enemies. While Speed and Strength also contribute, Cleaving Potential is key for crowd control. Combat Knives typically have low Cleaving Potential (1-3), while Thunder Hammers boast high Cleaving Potential (6-7). Other melee weapons usually fall between these values (3-4), though some variants may excel in Cleaving Power at the cost of other stats. If your loadout includes a ranged weapon for handling groups, high Cleaving Potential might be less critical, depending on your class and build.

A Thunder Hammer with the 'Balance' Defence type offers no inherent advantages or disadvantages compared to a standard Thunder Hammer.

Defence Stat: Block, Balance, Fencing

The Defence type is a vital but often perplexing stat. Equipping a weapon with 'Block' Defence, for instance, disables perfect parries, which are essential for scoring Gun Strikes. The game indicates these types with text color: 'Fencing' is positive (green), 'Block' is negative (red), and 'Balanced' is neutral. Hovering over the stat reveals the specifics:

• Fencing: Increased Perfect Parry window.
• Block: No Perfect Parry window.
• Balanced: Moderate Perfect Parry window.

Weapons with 'Block' Defence remove the ability to perform perfect parries, making Gun Strikes much harder. 'Balanced' is the most common type. 'Fencing' makes perfect parries easier. Some weapons compensate for the lack of perfect parries by offering superior stats in other areas. If you prefer dodging over parrying, sacrificing the parry function for better core stats can be a viable trade-off.

Weapons with 'Fencing' Defence often come at a premium, typically sacrificing Strength, Speed, or Cleaving Potential. This incentivizes mastering parry timing to effectively use 'Balance' weapons and enjoy perfect parries with weapons that have higher base stats.

With a 'Block' weapon, you cannot perfect parry.