Highlights
- Diversity is key in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide to overcome the weaknesses of individual operatives and take advantage of auras that allow them to support each other.
- While all operatives received substantial overhauls in Patch #13, some classes still excel more than others, with certain classes consistently topping the damage charts.
- The Zealot, Psyker, Ogryn, and Veteran each have unique traits and abilities that define their playstyle, with the Psyker having the opportunity to turn a single-target strike into a group damage ability. The Veteran, however, did not receive any keystone talents and is primarily focused on damage with potentially some support.
There is a successful case to make regarding the best teams in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide having one of each unique operative. Because of the auras, they can all lend each other some help. Balance is indeed important to the game; diversity becomes strength by overcoming the weaknesses of single operatives.
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All that being said, there are operatives that are constantly at the top of the damage charts. Some classes feel impossible to kill. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide might say they've given equal love to all of their operatives, but a couple of them just don't have it in them to be as strong as the others.
Updated on October 8th, 2023 by Hodey Johns: What is officially Patch #13 feels more like Patch 2.0 with all operative classes receiving substantial overhauls. Additionally, many changes to gameplay, combat, and leveling have been implemented, making for an experience that shakes up all but the core experience of playing each class. Now, not only are all classes different, but they've got new talent trees that allow for various builds. This makes ranking operatives much more difficult as the best builds for each class are all fairly competent. Even so, there does still seem to be some classes that succeed regardless of build choice while others need a bit more care to carry teams at the highest level.
4 Veteran
Unique Trait | Name | Description |
Ability | Volley Fire | Enter a ranged stance for 5 seconds. When in Ranged Stance, the Veteran instantly equips a ranged weapon and deals +25% Ranged Damage and +25% Weakspot Damage. The Veteran's Spread and Recoil are also greatly reduced. Cooldown: 25 seconds. |
Ability | Executioner's Stance | Enter a ranged stance for 5 seconds. When in Ranged Stance, the Veteran instantly equips a ranged weapon and deals +25% Ranged Damage and +25% Weakspot Damage. The Veteran's Spread and Recoil are also greatly reduced. Elite Enemies and Specialist Enemies are highlighted for 5 seconds. Cooldown: 25 seconds. |
Ability | Voice of Command | Replenishes the Veteran's Toughness and Staggers all Enemies within 9 meters. Cooldown: 45 seconds. |
Ability | Infiltrate | Replenish all Toughness and enter Stealth for 6 seconds, gaining +25% Movement Speed. Leaving Stealth Suppresses nearby enemies. Attacking makes the Veteran leave Stealth. Cooldown: 60 seconds. |
Blitz | Frag Grenade | Fragmentation grenade that explodes after a short fuse timer. |
Blitz | Shredder Frag Grenade | Throw a frag grenade that explodes after a short delay. Applies 6 Stacks of Bleed to all Enemies Hit, causing Damage over time. |
Blitz | Krak Grenade | Throw a grenade that deals devastating Damage. Sticks to Flak Armoured, Carapace Armoured, and Unyielding Enemies. |
Blitz | Smoke Grenade | Throw a grenade that creates a lingering smoke cloud for 10 seconds. The cloud blocks line of sight for most enemies and reduces the sight range of enemies inside it. |
Aura | Scavenger Hunt | Replenish 0.75% Ammo for the Veteran and Allies in Coherency whenever anyone kills an Elite or Specialist Enemy. |
Aura | Survivalist | Replenish 1% Ammo for the Veteran and Allies in Coherency whenever anyone kills an Elite or Specialist Enemy. |
Aura | Fire Team | +3% Damage for the Veteran and Allies in Coherency. |
Aura | Close and Kill | +5% Movement Speed for the Veteran and Allies in Coherency. |
The Veteran is good at just about everything and has been the almost undisputed top dog in the rankings since release. However, this is the only operative that didn't receive any keystone talents and now finds itself in the role of doing almost pure damage with maybe some support. The class is still good, it just didn't get the same buff that the rest of the operatives got.
3 Ogryn
Unique Trait | Name | Description |
Ability | Bull Rush | Charge forward with great force, knocking back Enemies and gaining 25% Attack Speed and 25% Movement Speed for 5 seconds. Charge is stopped on collision with Carapace Armoured Enemies, Unyielding Enemies, and Monstrosities. Cooldown: 30 seconds. |
Ability | Indomitable | Charge forward with great force, knocking back Enemies and staggering them. Gain 25% Attack Speed and 25% Movement Speed for 5 seconds. Charge is stopped on collision with Monstrosities. Cooldown: 30 seconds. +100% distance of Bull Rush. |
Ability | Point-Blank Barrage | Swaps to and reloads the Ogryn's Ranged Weapon. The Ogryn has a +25% Rate of Fire and +70% Reload Speed for the next 10 seconds. Cooldown: 80 seconds. |
Ability | Thick Skin | +20% toughness damage reduction and a +20% health damage reduction. |
Blitz | Big Box of Hurt | Throw a box of grenades with great strength and enthusiasm for high Damage against a Single Enemy. |
Blitz | Big Friendly Rock | Toss a big rock or hunk of junk at a Single Enemy. Reduced effectiveness against Carapace Armoured Enemies and Unyielding Enemies. The Ogryn picks up a new rock every 60 seconds and can hold up to 4 rocks at a time. |
Blitz | Bombs Away! | Throw a box of grenades with great strength and enthusiasm for high Damage against a Single Enemy. Hitting an Enemy causes the box to break open, releasing 6 grenades around the target. |
Blitz | Frag Bomb | Throw an Ogryn-sized (the only proper kind!) frag grenade with a 16-meter blast radius, dealing increased Damage at the center. |
Aura | Intimidating Presence | +7.5% Heavy Melee Attack Damage for the Ogryn and Allies in Coherency. |
Aura | Bonebreaker's Aura | +10% Heavy Melee Attack Damage for the Ogryn and Allies in Coherency. |
Aura | Stay Close! | +20% Toughness Replenishment for the Ogryn and Allies in Coherency. |
Aura | Coward Culling | +20% Damage against Suppressed Enemies for the Ogryn and Allies in Coherency. |
Keystone | Heavy Hitter | +5% Damage for 7.5 seconds on Heavy Attack Hit. Stacks 5 times. |
Keystone | Feel No Pain | The Ogryn is blessed with 10 Stacks of Feel No Pain. Each Stack grants +2.5% Toughness Replenishment and +2.5% Damage Reduction. Taking Health Damage removes one stack. Stacks are restored every 6 seconds. |
Keystone | Burst Limiter Override | 5% chance of triggering Lucky Bullet and not consuming Ammo when making Ranged Attacks. |
The Ogryn's tanking capabilities have been even more enhanced and the character can now shrug off excessive damage.
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The more notable change is that the character is now capable of using the best ranged weapons for the class with some competency.
2 Psyker
Unique Trait | Name | Description |
Ability | Psykinetic's Wrath | Unleashes a wave of warp energy that Staggers Enemies in front of the Psyker. Cooldown: 30 seconds. |
Ability | Venting Shark | Unleashes a wave of warp energy that Staggers Enemies in front of the Psyker. Quells 50% Peril. Cooldown: 30 seconds. |
Ability | Telekine Shield | Spawns a psychic shield in front of the Psyker for 15 seconds. The shield blocks Enemy Ranged Attacks, while the Psyker and Allies can still shoot through. Cooldown: 40 seconds. |
Ability | Scrier's Gaze | Triggers Scrier's Gaze. When entering Scrier's Gaze, the Psyker gains 10% Damage and 20% Critical Chance. For every second in Scrier's Gaze, the Psyker gains 1% Damage up to a maximum of 30%. This effect lingers for 10 seconds after leaving Scrier's Gaze. While in Scrier's Gaze, the Psyker builds up Peril. Build up is temporarily slowed down by enemy Kills. At 100% Peril, Scrier's Gaze ends. Cooldown: 30 seconds. |
Blitz | Brain Burst | Charge up the Psyker's Psychic Power and release it to deal high Damage to a Single Enemy. Effective against Flak and Carapace Armoured Enemies. |
Blitz | Brain Rupture | Charge up the Psyker's Psychic Power and release it to deal immense Damage to a Single Enemy. Effective against Flak and Carapace Armoured Enemies. +50% Damage over Brain Burst. |
Blitz | Smite | Unleash a torrent of Bio-Lightning. Charge to deal high Damage and high Impact to an Enemy on release, or channel a continuous stream that deals low Damage but high Impact over time, spreading between multiple Enemies. |
Blitz | Assail | Throw swift, homing projectiles formed of psychic energy. Less effective versus Carapace Armoured Enemies. |
Aura | The Quickening | +7.5% Ability Cooldown Reduction for the Psyker and Allies in Coherency. |
Aura | Kinetic Presence | +10% Damage (Elite and Specialist Enemies) for the Psyker and Allies in Coherency. |
Aura | Seer's Presence | +10% Cooldown Reduction on Abilities for the Psyker and Allies in Coherency. |
Aura | Prescience | The Psyker and Allies in Coherency gain a 4% Critical Hit Chance. |
Keystone | Warp Siphon | Killing an Elite or Specialist Enemy gains the Psyker a Warp Charge for 25 seconds, stacking 4 times. The Psyker's next Combat Ability spends all available Warp Charges to reduce the Cooldown of that Combat Ability by 7.5% per Warp Charge. |
Keystone | Empowered Psionics | Kills have a 7.5% chance to Empower the Psyker's next Blitz. Empowered Brain Rupture: 100% Peril Cost Reduction, 50% Cast Time Reduction, +50% Damage. Empowered Smite: +30% Damage, 25% faster Enemy spread. Empowered Assail: 100% Peril Cost Reduction, +50 Base Damage, does not consume charges. |
Keystone | Disrupt Destiny | Every second, Enemies within 25 meters have a chance of being Marked. Killing a Marked Enemy Replenishes 10% Toughness, grants +20% Movement Speed for 2.5 seconds, and adds a Precision Bonus for 15 seconds. Each Precision Bonus grants +1% Damage, +2% Critical Damage, and +2.5% Weakspot Damage. Precision Bonus Stacks 15 times. |
Perhaps the most notable difference for the Psyker is the opportunity to take that single-target strike Brain Burst and turn it into a group damage ability.
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The Soulfire Psyker build is quite popular and this is one of the most rewarding operatives to play and master.
1 Zealot
Unique Traits | Name | Description |
Ability | Chastise the Wicked | Dashes forward, Replenishing 50% Toughness. The Zealot's next Melee Hit gains +25% damage and is guaranteed to be a Critical Hit. Base cooldown 30 seconds. |
Ability | Fury of the Faithful | Dash forward, Replenishing 50% Toughness & gaining 20% Attack Speed for 10 seconds. The Zealot's next Melee Hit gains 25% damage and is guaranteed to be a Critical Hit. Base cooldown 30 seconds. |
Ability | Chorus of Spiritual Fortitude | Wield a holy relic that releases pulses of energy every 0.8 seconds. While channeling, Allies in Coherency have Stun immunity and Invulnerability. Each pulse Replenishes 45% Toughness to Allies in Coherency. If the Ally is at full Toughness they instead gain 20 Max Toughness up to a total of 100. Base cooldown 60 seconds. |
Ability | Shroudfield | Enter Stealth for 3 seconds. While in Stealth gain 20% Movement Speed, 100% Backstab Damage, 100% Finesse Damage, and 100% Critical Chance. Base cooldown 30 seconds. |
Blitz | Stun Grenade | Throw a stun grenade that electrocutes and stuns all enemies within its blast radius. |
Blitz | Stunstorm Grenade | Throw a grenade that stuns all Enemies within its blast radius. |
Blitz | Immolation Grenade | Throw a grenade that leaves a layer of flaming liquid, Burning and Staggering enemies, and barring their path. Most effective against Unarmoured Enemies. |
Blitz | Blades of Faith | Throw a consecrated knife to deal high Damage to a Single Enemy. Very effective against most Enemies; less effective versus Carapace Armour. Quick Throw, killing Elite and Special Enemies in Melee replenishes one knife, and ammo boxes replenish knives. |
Aura | The Emperor's Will | +7.5% Toughness Damage Reduction for the Zealot and Allies in Coherency. |
Aura | Benediction | +15% Toughness Damage Reduction for the Zealot and Allies in Coherency. |
Aura | Beacon of Purity | Heal 1.5 Corruption from the current Wound for the Zealot and Allies in Coherency every 1 second. |
Aura | Loner | The Zealot always counts as being in at least two Coherency. |
Keystone | Blazing Piety | +15% Critical Hit Chance for 8 seconds when in Fury. Fury is triggered when 25 Enemies have died within 25 meters. |
Keystone | Martyrdom | Each missing Wound grants +8% Melee Damage, up to 9 missing Wounds. |
Keystone | Inexorable Justice | Moving grants the Zealot Momentum (Stacks 20 times). When the Zealot hits an Enemy, spend all Momentum, gaining 1% Melee Attack Speed, 1% Ranged Attack Speed, and 1% Damage per Stack. Lasts 8 seconds. |
With some of the best melee weapons in the game, the Zealot has a better capacity to both tank and support. The healing from Beacon of Purity may be small but it's passive and heals the group and not just the Zealot, meriting serious consideration for most builds.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is available now for PC and Xbox Series X/S.