u/NatauschaJane

I find myself wondering if Primaris are so much more of an upgrade from Firstborn Marines that they really can go toe-to-toe with Terminators the way we do in SM2 where you can theoretically solo one, hell 2-3 if you're good enough, and defeat all of them.

Bearing in mind the whole reason Terminator, AKA "Tactical Dreadnaught" armor exists was to afford more protection in clearing Space Hulks than normal Marine armor could provide, but also within the tight confines of ship corridors, therefore you couldn't bring an actual Dreadnaught (EDIT: apparently it's also to withstand the radiation found on said Hulks). There's also a reason you need special honors to wear Terminator armor, the Crux Terminatus.

So by default the Primaris armor should be weaker than Terminator armor, with the possible exception of Straban, because I may have read somewhere that his Mark X Gravis armor is like, one small step below Terminator armor in terms of strength and durability. So following that logic, the only Marine in SM2 who should be able to pick up Terminators over his head and slam them so hard they shatter is Straban, the Heavy/Devastator.

Now obviously Demetrian Motherfucking Titus is his own thing, but at the end of the day, he's still not rocking Mark X Gravis armor. So why is he picking up Terminators over his head. Why are any of us.

And also, if your now normal Marines can slaughter Terminators at will, why even bother having (Loyalist) Terminators?

Also also, if we were to have Terminator armor - which we won't, at least not in SM2 - what would be the point if your average Tactical Marine can square up with a Terminator and all he needs is Primaris armor? What would be the point of Terminator armor in-game?

Now I will also admit, and most likely answer my own question with this: there's a reason why their page here calls them Primarysues and Chadmarines and such, and I am aware that it is possible that Primaris Marines were marketed as Space Marine-ier Space Marines (to sell TT models, breathe new life into the franchise, advance the plot, etc.) so much that no one really stopped to ask just how much stronger they were than normal Marines. And of course, true fans of the franchise know that GW is about as consistent as <hysterical laughter> so I could be just reading far too much into it because GW be GW. But still I do wonder.

In other words, bring back Marines sounding like this.

At least for me there was something about how unnaturally deep their voices sounded that really drove home what is touched on a few times in the lore: that the Astartes have been so throughly augmented and transformed that they're not even really human anymore. Since we're getting different dialogue packs, I hope one of them is bringing back Marines sounding like they're about to kill the Third Sister.

...

Also, slightly unrelated, I find myself realizing that this screenshot is old enough to walk into a bar and order a beer...in the US. My knees immediately started hurting.

"Death or healing. I care not which you seek."

I'd like to think they'd have some sort of base AOE heal like the ones in Dawn of War, a base amount of HP per second that adjusts for level/prestige, and difficulty. If that's too game-breaking, could also be their class power to supercharge everyone's base and/or contested health for a certain amount of time. I also remember an Apothecary - Gordian - being a hero unit in DOW2 but I forgot if he had any bonuses with him, maybe one of those as well.

Otherwise they're essentially healer Techmarines. Weapons are various bolter variants or the plasma gun, and they have a built in melee weapon, as often as they're depicted with a short chainsword, no doubt used to cut open their brothers' ceramite and retrieve the progenoid glands. But just as the Techmarine has its power axe variant, he has his chainsword variant.

Only thing I could see go wrong here is there are already so many perks that boost health - the Bulwark's banner being the best example - and make it so that you can return to full health instantly, or in seconds. Same as whichever strategem is like "one of you is blessed, giving this brother a handshake restores all health". And they'd have to balance the Apothecary's natural role as a healer with not basically making it so that having one makes ops, even Absolute or Hard Strategems, game-breakingly easy. I also imagine Saber would want people to not be lazy about picking certain classes every time, just like the Techmarine has its own perks and advantages, but nothing that makes it so that having one on the team is always encouraged.

Would also be good for all the Bulwark mains who already fancy themselves the unofficial Apothecaries of the game, might as well make it a thing.

"Who requires my aid?"

EDIT: Had another idea, Apothecaries that recover the gene-seed, since that is their canonical role in the first place, give a boost to the amount of exp you gain from it.