Outside the simple shooting and slashing in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide's moment-to-moment gameplay is a surprisingly complex (if not convoluted) RPG system that can have players scratching their heads. Heading into a mission with reckless abandon works most of the time, but those who want to min-max their characters will need to learn how these RPG mechanics work.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide - Best Talents For The Ogryn
The Ogryn is the main frontliner in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, capable of handling any situation with the right talents.
Finesse is a term that players may have noticed on their skill trees and weapon stat sheets. While it could mean anything, it refers to a very specific part of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide's damage formulas, and focusing on building this weapon stat can lead to very powerful melee builds. Here's what it is and how it works.
What is Finesse in Darktide?
Finesse is not a damage type, per se. It is a stat that determines the strength of a weapon's damage on Critical and Weakspot Hits. It also affects the speed of both light and heavy attacks. Higher Finesse values mean quicker hits, stronger crits, and better weakness exploitation. Players can see exactly how much Finesse affects their weapon by hitting the Inspect button while in the inventory menu.
Not all weapons come with the Finesse stat. Players can usually find these on light blades like Maccabian Dueling Swords, Atrox Tactical Axes, Catachan Combat Blades, and other similar weapons. This stat is commonly seen on weapons that focus on single-target damage, though this isn't always the case.
Finesse only affects attack speed and damage values. It will not increase the crit chance of weapons. Players who want to crit more often will have to invest in relevant passives in ther character's skill tree or equip weapons with Blessings that specifically increase their critical hit chance. Blessings that further increase Weak Spot Damage and Critical Hit Chance stack nicely with high Finesse weapons. Keep an eye out for the following:
- Brutal Momentum: Increases Weakspot Damage; Weakspot Kills causes weapon to ignore Enemy Hit Mass (infinite cleaving)
- Precognition: Increases Finesse Damage after a successful dodge
- Uncanny Strike: Enemy Weak Spot Hits have increased Rending
Despite Weakspot and Crit Damage being powerful DPS modifiers, these are not the end-all be-all when it comes to preferred weapon stats. Cleave, Mobility, and outright Power are also important stats to consider when choosing a melee weapon. In the end, it all boils down to using what complements a playstyle most. When using Finesse weapons, it is often best to use an anti-horde ranged weapon like Flamethrowers, Autoguns, and Heavy Stubbers to account for a possible lack of Cleave damage and Crowd Control.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is available now on PC and Xbox Seriees X/S.