Fatshark has announced that preorders for Warhammer: Vermintide 2 – Winds of Magic are now live on Steam. The expansion will release on August 13th.

This first big expansion for the game introduces the Beastmen as a new enemy type, as well as new weapons, increased level cap, the Cataclysm difficulty setting, and more. Anyone who preorders will also get access to the game’s beta ahead of launch. You can check out a new trailer above.

The base game also received a major update to prep the game for the expansion. You can read all the details here.

Here’s a rundown of the game:

The first expansion for Warhammer: Vermintide 2 brings a brand new enemy faction and new challenges to the game. As a meteor crashes down in the Reikland, Beastmen emerge from the depths of the Reikwald forest and rush to the epicenter to claim it as a Herdstone. It is up to the five heroes to stop them before a dreadful disaster strikes the Empire.

Key features:

• New Enemy Faction: Beastmen – As grotesque hybrids of humans and beasts the Beastmen have the intelligence of a man and the cunning of wild animals. These savage warriors embrace Chaos willingly and will show no compassion or nobility. With profound malice for order and reason, these Children of Chaos want to end the world in bloody carnage.
• New Higher Difficulty – Cataclysm is back, now even harder.
• Raised Level Cap – Raised from level 30 to level 35, and with new talents to match.
• New Progression System – All new, and separate Winds of Magic specific progression system along with Weave Forged versions of all weapon types.
• 5 New Weapons – One for each hero
  • Kerillian has a shield and spear.
  • Sienna can swing her flames with a flaming flail.
  • Bardin has a new set of throwing axes.
  • Saltzpyre now has a billhook.
  • Kruber can use a heavy spear.

New Adventure Level: Dark Omens – Fight the mighty and strong Beastmen together with your friends in a challenging new level.
New Game Mode: Winds of Magic – Bring your friends and try to complete a new set of challenges with increasing difficulties in the weaves of the eight Winds of Magic.

The winds of magic are made up of different “weaves” and will be a combination of:

• Map: A chunk of an existing adventure map.
• Wind: The different Winds of Magic will affect and modify the map.
• Objective: Each map will have a specific objective for players to complete.
• Finale: If the objective is completed the players will face the final challenge.
• Difficulty: As players progress the difficulty will increase.