The Pit of Shades

Lore & Background

The Pit of Shades is a natural fissure in the earth, located in the outskirts of the Reikland, not far from Ubersreik. The Skaven, ever drawn to dark and hidden places, have claimed this chasm as their own, transforming it into a hub for warpstone refinement and storage. The pit's name derives from the perpetual gloom that hangs over it — a sickly, shifting darkness born of both its depth and the corrupting influence of warpstone, which pulses with a green, feverish light that disorients intruders and casts dancing, malevolent shadows. Local legends whisper of the pit being a place of ancient evil, a mouth to some forgotten underworld, but the Skaven have only amplified its malevolent aura with their ceaseless industry, filling the air with a haze that stings the lungs and a constant, chittering echo.

In Their Own Story

The air grew thick with the stench of warpstone and decay as Kruber peered over the edge of the Pit of Shades. Below, flickering green lights danced in the abyss, illuminating the scurrying forms of ratmen hauling crates of the glowing mineral. 'By Sigmar, they've been busy,' he muttered, gripping his halberd. Beside him, Sienna's staff crackled with fire, casting a brief glow that revealed a network of rope bridges and wooden platforms clinging to the chasm walls. 'They think this hole keeps them safe,' Bardin growled, loading his crossbow. 'Let's show 'em different.' With a battle cry, they descended into the darkness, the sounds of Skaven chittering rising to meet them.

Reader's Guide

As a player, the Pit of Shades is a relentless vertical descent into a green-lit hell. You start at the rim of a massive chasm and spiral down through a jumble of Skaven scaffolding, rope bridges, and natural rock ledges, with warpstone crystals jutting from walls and floors like diseased teeth. The oppressive, green-tinged light creates deep, shifting shadows that hide ambushers and make every ledge a gamble. Narrow pathways and sudden drops punish carelessness — one mistimed dodge can send you tumbling into a warpstone pool that eats away your health. Enemies swarm from all angles: hordes of Clanrats and Slave Rats pour from tunnels chiseled into the rock, while Stormvermin lock down key chokepoints. Special enemies like Gutter Runners and Packmasters thrive here, using the verticality to drop on your head from hidden alcoves or drag you off a bridge. Environmental hazards include pools of liquid warpstone that damage on contact and collapsing bridges that can separate the party mid-fight. This area feels distinct from a generic Warhammer setting because of its dizzying verticality and the constant, visceral presence of warpstone — the air shimmers, the ground pulses, and every step is a fight against both the Skaven and the terrain itself.

Did You Know?

• The Pit of Shades is one of the few maps in Vermintide 2 that forces players to constantly descend, creating a unique sense of depth and vulnerability.
• The warpstone in the Pit of Shades is so concentrated that it creates a visible green haze in the air, which can be seen from the surface as a faint, sickly glow at night.
• Skaven in the pit use the darkness and verticality to their advantage, often attacking from hidden alcoves or dropping from above without warning.
• The map's design was inspired by classic fantasy descents into the underworld, blending natural cave formations with crude Skaven engineering to create a space that feels both ancient and defiled.