I'm writing this guide, tired of ingenious tactical decisions of newbies trying PvP mode for the first time. In the game, there is no matchmaking separation, so experienced players and newbies often end up on the same team. Which is annoying for both sides.

Here I'll review Versus' main ideas and give general advice on how to play the game. Separately for the hero side and the skaven side. The guide is relevant for Vermintide version 6.2.1.

Some basic tips:

• Mark your enemies. This way you help the whole team.
  
• Use chat. Shift+Enter to open global chat.
  
• Don't stand afk. It is better to leave the game at once.

This guide is a translation of my Russian guide with some additions.
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3369275374

Choosing the right characters and gear is very important factor for success.

Below is my subjective tier-list of the current meta. Choose characters according to your mood, but I don't recommend taking C-tier and lower. Ranks from best to worst: S, A, B, C, D.

When choosing a character, focus on the ones already taken by your allies. There should be at least 1 in the team:

1. Tank, a character with high health and a shield.
   
2. A ranged shooter, capable of killing at medium ranges.
   
3. Monster Killer. Can be replaced by a sufficient number of characters with high damage.
   
4. Team THP Generator (Mercenary/Ranger Veteran...)

Melee weapon is not so important, but you should always take a shield if there is one for this hero. Try to choose weapons that are a good match for your chosen temporary health talent.

Originally posted by Immortal Dwarf:

The combination of a shield and temporary health (THP) from stagger is incredibly powerful. Use heavy attacks at a crowd of enemies, and you're essentially immortal. Until you run out of enemies nearby

Another useful choice would be a weapon with a movement tech (using certain weapon attacks allows you to move faster). More detailed information about movetech can be found in this table.[docs.google.com] But here's a short example of weapons with this feature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWEZiLxZZk8
Next, you need to choose talents. The most important tip: choose at least something, don't go with an empty talent list. The most important 1st talent is the choice of what you will get temporary health from. The best option is from stagger (not available to everyone). Otherwise, pick talents that reduce damage or restore health. Second important talent choice comes at level 15 (3rd row). Here you should NEVER take Bulwark or Mainstay, as they are useless (benefits are too little to be useful compared to other choices). If your character is meant to be a ranged damage dealer, stick to Enhanced Power (flat power increase, can't go wrong). If you're a Melee player (such as GK or Slayer) take Smiter. Considering Versus is scaled to Veteran difficulty, dealing with any non-special enemy is easy. Therefore you can take Enhanced Power on any class with a ranged weapon. To put it simply:

• Warrior Priest takes Enhanced Power
  
• GK & Slayer take Smiter
  
• Shade takes Assassin
  
• Any other class takes Enhanced Power

Advice on choosing ranged weapons:

1. Don't take basic crossbows and bows. They were nerfed back in the betas.
   
2. There is a lot of ammo on the map, do not focus on the ammo capacity of the weapon.
   
3. My recommendations for long-range weapons: handgun for Kruber, shotgun/handgun for Bardin, throwing spear for Kerillian, conflagration staff for Sienna, brace of pistols for Victor.
   
4. Weapon damage is different from the classic PvE mode, you can test it on dummy in the lobby, near the store.

An example team composition could be:

• Footknight Kruber
  Serves as a mobile frontline with his high mobility and durability. Handgun is a reliable way to take down enemy specials even at range (1 Headshot, 2 Body). Has no problem generating THP, has multiple shield weapons which let him get safe revives on teammates against ratling gunners.
  
  
• Handmaiden Kerillian
  The most mobile character in the game. Spear and shield is a must if you want this character to be perfect. Performing a Movetech with her weapon lets her be basically everywhere at once. Javelin as a secondary weapon lets her snipe any special from afar. Invisibility with a dash serves as a quick way to disorient the enemy team or make clutch plays.
  
  
• Outcast Engineer Bardin
  THP on stagger talent, shield, insanely high DPS output and a Troll disabler. Take Trollhammer Torpedo, drink a strength potion and you are safe to 1v1 a Troll with no problem. His only weakness is his lack of mobility.
  
  
• Warrior Priest Viktor
  Yet again, meta due to his insane durability, ability to revive teammates quickly (denying possible game ending scenarios) and surprisingly mobility, granted you take the Skullsplitter and Tome weapon. This way, you can dash around the map and even push through warpfire's flames. His only weakness is the lack of a ranged weapon.

At the beginning of the match, don't forget to take potions and bombs located in the starting area. They are never unnecessary.

Here are examples of effective builds for all characters. But remember that there is no one true choice. You can choose talents and gear according to your playstyle.

Your goal is to move through the map. Not to kill as many specials as possible, but to complete objectives that give you points. The worst thing a newbie can do is fall behind a team. This will make them come back leave you behind after seeing your level, losing momentum and giving the skaven a chance to attack again. The worst scenario is for allies to return one at a time to rescue a hero who has fallen behind. If someone is lying far behind and you are with the rest of the team, don't go back.

How do you avoid such situations? It's simple - move forward all the time. Do not stop when you hear another special behind you - he will not get out while you are watching. Keep up with the team. If you realize you are about to die - try to move to the nearest ally.

Another popular mistake is to linger on places on the map that you need to jump from. If you are standing alone (or even two) on such a ledge, and the others have already jumped off - immediately follow them. Otherwise you will be caught within 10 seconds. Even if there is a ladder nearby, you will lose a lot of health when the heroes arrive to rescue you.

Please remember to kill any special before you start reviving. This sounds logical, but a lot of people don't actually do this. For example, gutter runners do not have a cooldown on their pounce after they down your teammate, so the chances of you reviving someone that just got downed are very slim. Make sure you're on top of the situation beforehand.

Originally posted by Hero who likes to jump:

On Engines of War map, don't fall off that damn bridge. Do not forget that heroes can jump

Some useful tips on how to save a fallen ally:

• Don't stand at the edges of the map, or you will soon be dropped down by a warpfire thrower or ratling.
  
• Don't try to lift up a hero hanging on the edge while the cause of the drop is still alive or a warpfire thrower or ratling is heard nearby - he will drop you too as soon as you start rescuing your ally.
  
• Don't revive knocked down heroes if you don't have a shield and there is a ratling nearby. The only time you can do this is right after he finishes firing and leaves to reload.
  
• Revive knocked down heroes immediately if you have a shield and a ratling nearby. This is your role on the team. The shield blocks shots if you are looking in the direction of the ratling.
  
• Kill the assassin or packmaster before you rescue the hero they caught. Their attack cooldown is very fast.
  
• If you have a move-oriented ult, immediately revive the knocked down hero and press the ult button without stopping to revive. You will perform an ult animation while saving an ally at the same time.

What should you do if you become the target of a special? Let's look at each case individually:

1. Ratling. A hero under the fire of a ratling slows down and his aim become desoriented. You have a chance to kill a ratling by shooting back only in the first few seconds - after that, it's just too hard to aim correctly. When under fire, move sideways from the firing line and dodge as often as possible. Try to get to cover. If you have a shield, cover yourself with it, but remember that you won't have enough stamina to withstand a full magazine of ratling. If the ratling is firing from afar and you're out of effective dodges, crouch down, this will reduce your hitbox.
   
2. Warpfire thrower. Shoot at it, don't try to get close. The warp stream will obscure your view, but the skaven itself is somewhere to the right of the center of the warp flame coming at your face. Shoot him there. Or try to get to cover.
   
3. Poison Wind Globadier. Just don't stand in the gas. If you have enough temporary health, you can safely run through it or pick up a fallen ally. Remember that gas damage increases with every second you spend in it.
   
4. Gutter Runner (Assassin). He will fly in from where you don't expect him to come. However, the assassin has a hard time aiming, so he often lands nearby, preparing to make a second decisive jump. At that moment, try to deal damage to interrupt his animation. Also watch the sky: experienced assassins practice vertical jumps, dropping right on your head.
   
5. Packmaster. If you see a packmaster, shoot him and move back to your allies. It's impossible to dodge his grapple. The only chance is to provoke him to grab too early and dodge back, breaking the distance.

Summarizing the above - stay together, help your allies. If a cloud of gas separates you from your team, it's often better not to wait and run right through it, sacrificing health. Staying close to your allies is the most important thing.

The encounter with monsters such as the Bile Troll or the Rat Ogre is particularly dangerous for an inexperienced team. Here is the order of actions necessary to successfully defeat them:

1. Gather the entire team together. This is very important for a safe fight against the monster.
   
2. Either way, immediately drink potions and throw all available bombs at the monster. Its quick elimination is worth it. It is advisable not to use non-fire bombs during the match in preparation for a monster.
   
3. If a troll or a ratogre attacks you, keep a block and try not to move far away from your team. A monster will never break a block on its own, even if you have zero stamina.
   
4. If a monster has knocked down an ally, only revive them when the monster is not attacking you. A monster attack will always interrupt a hero save. The exception to this is to start a save and use an ult with movement.
   
5. Understand your role in the team. If you are a tank and can't do much damage, don't try to hit the monster. Instead, protect your allies with high damage.
   
6. Prioritize the elimination of other specials during the battle with the monster.

Separate advice for the Bile Troll: when the troll vomits on you and inevitably hits you, completely blinding and immobilizing you, you need to get him off balance. Immediately throw a bomb in the troll's direction, or use a suitable ult for this purpose.

Rat Ogre, unlike a Troll, has more health, moves faster, and attacks faster. If he attacks you, you'll have to stand in a block the whole time without trying to hit between his attacks. It's also worth keeping an eye out to see if Ratogre has started preparing to leap - when he does, he freezes in place to charge this attack. A successful jump by Ratogre on a hero who isn't blocking at that moment does a huge amount of damage. Be especially careful if you're walking in a tight group and you hear Ratogre - he can lurk in a convenient place in front of you with a fully charged jump attack. And jump as soon as you step out from the corner.

I will describe the tactics of playing skaven in less detail, as practice is more important here. And no one is really watching how effectively you play skaven, as opposed to annoyingly weak allied heroes

Basic tips:

• The initial goal of the skaven team is to reduce the players' permanent health. Therefore, try to specifically deal damage rather than kill heroes. Preference should be given to assassin and ratling - these specials can deal good damage. But remember that the number of specials of different types is always the same in the end. If you give up the ratling now, the game will soon offer to take it to the next player.
  
• Immediately attack players who have broken away from the group.
  
• Watch experienced allies, memorize the places where they attack heroes from.
  
• Try to attack at the same time. Ambush yourself in a convenient place if you see other skaven gathering there as well.
  
• Use your Vermintide wisely, it's progression SAVES between rounds

Originally posted by Ratling:

Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta!

Let's move on to the individual types of specials:

1. Ratling. To shoot, try to get in the line of sight of only one hero. One hit on the enemy is enough slow down the enemy and to desorient his aim. Shoot at heroes trying to revive knocked down allies
   
2. Warpfire thrower. Lurk around the corner from behind which the heroes will appear. Try to fry as many heroes as possible at once. You'll probably get killed quickly, but the damage will be done. If there is a convenient edge of the map nearby, you can try to push the heroes off it.
   
3. Poison Wind Globadier. Throw gas, trying to split a group of heroes into pieces, cutting off their path. Especially effective in narrow spaces. Also, the gas cloud creates a veil in which other skaven can hide.
   
4. Packmaster. Attack by jumping down from an elevated area (roof) right next to the hero. Grab him and drag him away from the rest of the team. If other heroes are nearby, don't try to hoist the hero - it takes a long time. Normal dragging does damage as it is.
   
5. Gutter Runner (Assassin). Try to hit the hero after the longest possible jump. More jump - more initial instant damage (3 seconds = 20 points of damage). Practice jumping almost vertically, correcting the trajectory directly during the flight with the movement keys.
   
6. Bile Troll. The most important part of the game is getting hit with vomit. It will trap heroes and make them an easy target for your allies. Play with caution. If there are no horde and allied specials nearby, then retreat and wait for the right situation. The troll is a trump card, but can die very quickly if all heroes attack it. You should choose Troll over Ratogre on closed maps, for ambushes on ladders or near places where heroes can be thrown out by a charged attack.
   
7. Ratogre is tougher, faster moving and faster attacking than a Troll. But instead of a vomit attack, it has a jump, which is hard to use successfully. Choose the Ratogre to attack in open terrain where it is difficult to use the Troll's vomit attack effectively. Only attack together with a horde and allies - a lone Ratogre can't even break through a block of heroes. Finish off fallen heroes with heavy attacks - it won't take long.

As Heroes:

1. Never split from your team
   
2. If an ally drops to a new zone, then the team follows
   
3. Use hordes to generate THP
   
4. Save resources for crucial moments (objectives / troll)
   
5. Quickly dispose of ambient skaven

As Pactsworn:

1. Don't play safe, just deal damage, you have infinite respawns
   
2. Be aware of what your allies are doing and where they are
   
3. Communicate the target you want to focus with your teammates
   
4. Combine attacks with your allies (eg. ranged attacks on disabled Heroes)
   
5. Monsters aren't invincible, use them wisely to put pressure on enemies (vomit and hide...)

Here are all the basic tips for playing Versus mode. Remember that teamwork is the most important factor in winning.

Thank you for reading my guide. Write your most important game tips and/or suggestions in the comments.

Helpful links/resources:
Movetech Guide and Comparison spreadsheet[docs.google.com]

Thanks to:
Bobely for providing build screenshots