People seem to refer to this as Dark Souls combat design. I have to take their word for it, since I never actually played the Souls games, though I've seen a fair number of gameplay videos.

But what is clear beyond the shadow of a doubt is that this combat system doesn't make any sense for superhuman giants in power armor, and makes even less sense than that (somehow) for Tactical Marines specifically.

1. Dodging Simulator

This is the absolute worst element of this whole combat system.

• Giant Space Marine in power armor, being swarmed by Hormagaunts, gets completely locked out of attacks, whether with a bolter or melee weapon, requiring constant dodging.
• Sheer number of enemies makes performing the Dodge & Strike maneuver the only actually viable way of avoiding being a victim of point #2 below.
• You dodge to move, you dodge to attack, you dodge to avoid boss-generated, map-wide hazards, you just keep dodging like a short, lithe ninja warrior, despite being built like a mythical deity and equipped in immensely heavy armor.

This is fundamentally at odds with the power fantasy of a space marine. Does that fantasy mean the space marine has to be barely able to move and never perform any maneuvers? Not at all. But this "Souls-like" thing is just not the way a space marine operates, and even more so, definitely not how Tactical Marines in particular operate, since you can at least argue some extra mobility on the part of melee-focused marines, but Tactical is Tactical. It's supposed to be about positioning and firepower so intense that you simply don't need extensive melee engagements at all.

2. In the Grim Darkness of the Far Future, There is Only 5% Health

• At any given moment, when your armor is gone, because there just isn't anything to execute nearby, you can be instantaneously reduced from 100% health down to 5%.
• Hilariously, while using the one ability you have that allows you to regenerate health, you can be locked up and lose all the health you just regained again.
• Health packs are extremely rare and limited.
• As a result of the above points, every new mission section and boss fight you start at 5% health, and that just seems like a really unpleasant experience, but even more hilariously, the first point above means you're likely to end up at 5% even if you start at 100%, so at that point it's a philosophical question of whether anything really matters in life.

3. Tactical Marines Have Pockets With Portals Into the Warp

A Tactical Marine is one who wields a bolter rifle of some kind. We know from a multitude of other Warhammer games that Tactical Marines do not have melee weapons.

They use shoulder charges and stomping, empowered by their power armor, in the infrequent situations where they absolutely have to perform a melee strike. We actually see this exact behavior from the Tzeentchian Chaos Tactical Marines. They shoulder bash you, not pull out a sword out of nowhere and stab you with it.

What Tactical Marines in general do not do is pull a sword and pistol out of thin air, put the bolter rifle away into a pocket dimension, and pretend all of that makes sense.

• I pick the standard Bolter Rifle, or the Heavy Bolter, I start a mission, I hit the melee button and... my bolter rifle vanishes into the Warp (clearly machinations of the Lord of Change) as I pull out a melee weapon and a pistol.
• Where did the heavy bolter go?
• Who thought it would make sense and be immersive to switch between a rifle that requires both hands to wield and a melee weapon on the fly?
• Worse yet, hitting the Switch Weapon button cycles not between two but between three weapon options: Melee Weapon, Melee Weapon + Pistol, and Heavy Bolter.
• This means you have to hit Switch Weapon twice, not once, making it not a toggle (implying two states) but rather a convoluted stepper.
• But in that stepper, why would there ever be an entry with just the melee weapon and a separate entry with the melee weapon and the pistol, when you would always be wielding the pistol when you're wielding the melee weapon?

Conclusion

What are the chances the fundamental combat mechanics will actually be revamped into something that at least meets the space marine power fantasy half way?

Probably low, but if nothing is done, is this all Space Marine 2 will ever be? Dark Souls 6: Space Marine Boogaloo?

I fully agree with No.3

Facts.

If you don't want to dodge, use a Fencing melee weapon and parry the gaunts.  You kill them and create space at the same time.

I agree with everything but I give leeway to this  ring a game for the pulling weapons out of its butt

And the parry system is just as awful as the dodge BECAUSE OF THE OVERRELIANCE ON THEM

If you could do it a few times per fight that would be cool, but being forced to roll and parry everything is just boring

I agree with op, yet another voice pointing out the awful mechanics of this game that people just ignore 

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FatherGoose wrote:

If you don't want to dodge, use a Fencing melee weapon and parry the gaunts.  You kill them and create space at the same time.

By sheer amount of enemies on higher difficulties it is not too viable option, also not all of the blockable/parryable attacks are telegraphed by the game, for example you can still parry block the second attack in the enemy combo, after you mess up the first telegraphed one, but game doesn't tell you that. First you have to somehow get to know that you can do that and secondly perform perfect parry, withouth any indicator.

Would love to see armour bar depleting a bit slower, because feels like on diff3 and beyond single chaff enemy can drop one bar in a single attack, which is a bit of overkill I think.

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Rubickk wrote:

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FatherGoose wrote:

If you don't want to dodge, use a Fencing melee weapon and parry the gaunts.  You kill them and create space at the same time.

By sheer amount of enemies on higher difficulties it is not too viable option, also not all of the blockable/parryable attacks are telegraphed by the game, for example you can still parry block the second attack in the enemy combo, after you mess up the first telegraphed one, but game doesn't tell you that. First you have to somehow get to know that you can do that and secondly perform perfect parry, withouth any indicator.

I run Ruthless as Assault with the slow Thunder Hammer.  Parrying is not just viable, it turns you into an invincible God.  Try using a Fencing weapon and get a feel for using it against gaunt regular attacks.  Not only do you kill them in droves as they try to hit you, but you create space to follow up with more attacks. 

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Rubickk wrote:

Would love to see armour bar depleting a bit slower, because feels like on diff3 and beyond single chaff enemy can drop one bar in a single attack, which is a bit of overkill I think.

Personally I think if they tweak the armour a bit and adjust the bullet spongeness of enemies it’ll solve a lot of what can at times make board clearing on higher difficulties feel overwhelming.