Warhammer 40,000: Darktide eliminates the scripted heroes of Warhammer: Vermintide 2 and replaces them with player-created characters, permitting the participant to decide on their very own origin, persona, and sophistication. It makes for some unbelievable barks and witty banter, nevertheless it additionally provides gamers the welcome choice to double up on helpful roles as an alternative of forcing every celebration member to be distinctive.
Whereas it’s pleasant to spend time with most of those characters, it’s robust to get a way of how they really play with out taking them into some higher-level matches and unlocking their signature arsenals. Based mostly on developer Fatshark’s earlier work, it’s secure to anticipate additional stability adjustments to return down the road, in addition to new lessons and archetypes as eventual DLC. However for now, right here’s how the category roster stacks up in Darktide’s launch interval.
Veteran: Sharpshooter
The Veteran is a member of the Imperial Guard, solid right down to prisoner standing and freed solely as a result of luck of being in the fitting place on the proper time. Don’t really feel too dangerous for the Veteran, as a result of they presently stand on the high of the pile of Rejects. Their core fantasy could be very easy to elucidate and comprehend: They’re actual good at gun. Proper now, they’re good at every little thing else too.
The chainsword is a strong melee device for going by way of hordes of baddies like a knife by way of butter, and naturally, the Veteran additionally has entry to an arsenal of ranged weaponry. Their fight stance highlights particular enemies, which makes them adept at taking out precedence targets like Poxbursters or Scab Snipers. Whereas, not like the damage-dealing Psyker, they require quite a lot of ammunition, they’re additionally a lot much less of a glass cannon than their comrade. Proper now, the Veteran is simply good at every little thing, and a dependable decide in any respect ranges of play.
Picture: Fatshark
Ogryn: Brute
The Ogryn is an attention-grabbing distinction to the Veteran. Whereas the latter is a jack of all trades, the Ogryn is particularly a grasp of being a giant, thicc tank. His defend provides him a strong device to take care of the sport’s hardest enemies (just like the Daemonhost), by absorbing injury and blocking staggers. There are few higher emotions in Darktide than blocking a chokepoint with the Ogryn, having your sharpshooters crowd round you to search out clear photographs, and holding the road whereas your comrades shred the heretics at hand.
The Ogryn’s massive strengths are paired with massive, apparent weaknesses. He’s an unwieldy man, and with out a Veteran or Psyker at his aspect, he’s going to battle towards Snipers, Poxbursters, and Gunners. His explosive power doesn’t carry over to long-range options, making the Ogryn the final word staff participant.
Psyker: Psykinetic
The Psyker triumphs at decrease ranges of play, and is without doubt one of the most enjoyable lessons to make use of proper now. As an alternative of a grenade, the Psyker makes use of a mind burst to blow up a heretic’s head in a bathe of gore and inexperienced smoke. After a couple of ranges, they commerce of their gun for a pressure workers that shoots Palpatine lighting or manifestations of psychic pressure.
The Psyker takes extra work to play than the Veteran, largely due to the Peril system. Because the Psyker casts, their Peril builds. At 100%, they’ve the nasty tendency to explode. Additionally they get a stacking buff each time they kill an enemy with a mind blast. That buff slowly decreases over time until they carry on poppin’. The Psyker is excessive upkeep, squishy, and falls off at larger ranges — however they’re additionally probably the most satisfying class in my guide.
Picture: Fatshark
Zealot: Preacher
Right here we’re with the weakest Reject within the present crew: the Zealot. The Zealot falls behind the Veteran at sustained injury, the Ogryn at frontline utility, and the Psyker at eliminating precedence targets. There are adjustments that I can see making the Zealot extra partaking — maybe giving their particular capacity a lock-on, à la the Vanguard in Mass Impact 3’s co-op, or buffing their signature melee warhammers to outpace the Veteran.
Whereas the Zealot is my favourite class when it comes to sheer taste — I cackle each time my Zealot howls reward to the God-Emperor with the fervor of a Twitch streamer — the category is simply… OK. The flamer’s enjoyable, and the warhammer has a meaty swing, however in the event you pressured me at lasgunpoint to remove one of many lessons, it’d be the Zealot.
