The Ultimate Guide to Warhammer 40,000: How to Unlock Powerful Boltgun Upgrades

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, the newest addition to the franchise, ventures into the booming boomer shooter genre. Players step into the Power Armour of Malum Caedo, a Space Marine dispatched to the planet Graia on a critical mission. Although the storyline may not be very memorable, the game's first-person gameplay is the primary attraction.

In keeping with the boomer shooter style, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun opts for a pixelated art style and straightforward run-and-gun combat instead of realistic graphics and modern gameplay mechanics. The game offers a multitude of weapons scattered across several levels for players to wield against their foes. However, the game's simplistic style fails to offer much in the way of progression.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Gives Players a Strong Space Marine from the Start

Upon exiting Malum Caedo's drop pod, players are immediately armed with a Chainsword as their only melee option. While this weapon is effective against unarmored and low-health enemies, players will quickly discover more powerful Chaos-eliminating options as they progress through the game. From the Bolter to the devastating Grav-Cannon, there is a weapon suitable for any combat scenario. However, as players advance through the game's three chapters, they will find themselves stripped of all weapons except the Chainsword and Bolter. This limitation is not a significant hindrance, as both weapons are formidable from the start. Furthermore, players will eventually regain their arsenal while also acquiring new weapons as they progress through later chapters.

The Scarcity Of Upgrades Makes Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Feel Like It's Lacking Progression

In addition to the standard arsenal of weapons, ammo, health, armor, and grenades, Warhammer 40,000 also features 7 different power-ups known as Relics. These Relics offer temporary buffs to players, ranging from increased ammunition storage and melee damage to devastating weapons like the Vortex Grenade. However, one of the most powerful Relics is the Machine Spirit, which allows players to upgrade their weapons with various buffs tailored to each individual weapon. For example, the Plasma Gun can receive a magazine and fire rate increase, as well as the ability to avoid overheating, making Malum Caedo an even stronger Space Marine.

Unfortunately, the Relics' active duration is limited to the mission in which they are discovered, leaving players to lose all equipped buffs upon mission completion, necessitating rediscovery in future missions. The game categorizes some of the more potent Relics as Secrets due to their scarcity and difficulty of obtaining. Maximizing their potential requires players to locate them within a level and determine the most advantageous combat scenarios to employ them. For instance, the highly sought-after Infinite Ammo Relic has a mere 30-second lifespan, compelling players to equip their most powerful weapons before utilizing it against formidable adversaries.

The temporary and fleeting nature of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun's limited power-ups may leave players feeling unsatisfied with their overall level of strength. Though these boosts may provide a brief sense of empowerment at the beginning, their short-lived duration can leave players craving more personalized and long-lasting enhancements. The game is accessible on a variety of platforms, including PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.