Warhammer 40k Darktide Class Overhaul All 4 Rejects

Warhammer 40k Darktide Class Overhaul is aiming to revitalize Fatshark’s horde FPS, which still has great potential.

Warhammer Vermintide and Vermintide 2 are regarded as some of the best horde shooters after the true classics like the Left for Dead series, Killing Floor 2 or the Zombie modes of Call of Duty games. That why Vermintide developers’ latest entry to the genre, Warhammer 40k Darktide was one of the most anticipated games of 2022 – even though that was the year games such as God of War Ragnarök and Elden Ring released.

While Darktide was received well by fans and critics alike, the hype for the game died out quickly. The core aspects such as the gunplay, the levels and the enemies – and the atmosphere, the most important aspect of and Warhammer 40k game – were great, they were very shallow, and the game didn’t offer much variety with it’s 4 classes and handful of weapons. The crafting system was nothing like the developers promised. Players also didn’t like the predatory microtransaction system that Fatshark implemented, and while you could only get cosmetic upgrades through the real currency store, you couldn’t earn much outside of recolors of basic outfits.

While Warhammer 40k Darktide had a rocky start, the developers didn’t leave it in the dust (as they held onto both parts of the Vermintide series, which also started out a bit rough), and now, it seems like the next update could be big enough to revitalize the game. After Fatshark added new weapons, new maps and revamped the crafting system, they are ready to give us new classes – by reworking the talent system from the ground up, opening up way more build variety for the existing ones!

Warhammer 40k Darktide Class Overhaul

While the current (and soon to be “old”) system of Darktide also had some talent trees, you couldn’t really change your build up as the different Perks didn’t provide as big of a bonus. You might’ve built your Zealot completely different from another player’s Emperor-crazed fanatic, but during the missions, both of you played roughly the same. In order to provide a more meaningful experience, Fatshark will add true Talent Trees to Warhammer 40k Darktide, where all 4 classes will receive three distinguishable routes to pick from with Combat Abilities, Blitz Abilities, Keystones, Auras, Talents and Stat Nodes – so you can really customize each of your characters.

Fatshark revealed the Combat, Blitz and Keystone abilities for all 4 classes to give us a taste of what’s to come – and it’s awesome, so let’s take a look at some of the new Darktide Talents!

Veteran Sharpshooter

The dedicated ranged class of Darktide will get some great tools in a few days:

• Executioner’s Stance lets the Veteran enter a Ranged Stance which gives them +25% Ranged Damage, Ranged Weakspot Damage and higher Accuracy, while also highlighting the Elite and Specialist Heretics.
  • This ability resembles his current ability, but it’s improved up to the new standards of Darktide
• Voice of Command refills the Toughness of the Veteran while also Staggering every enemy nearby, making space to reload.
• Infiltrate let’s the Veteran enter Stealth, moving faster and gaining back their Toughness. They can exit Stealth by Attacking, Suppressing every enemy nearby.
• The Veteran’s Blitz abilities alter his Frag grenade to be more versatile:
  • Shredder Frag Grenade applies a Bleed effect to enemies hit,
  • Smoke Grenade blocks Line of Sight and Obscures Vision for all that stand in it,
  • While Krak Grenade deals huge amounts of damage, sticking to the toughest targets find on Tertium.

Zealot Preacher

On the other end of the spectrum is the Zealot, who focuses on melee combat to serve the God Emperor of Mankind the best. While he kept his berserker identity, he will be a more versatile combatant after the update drops, capable of buffing allies:

• Fury of the Faithful is similar to the current Zealot ability, as it let’s the Emperor’s strongest soldier dash forward, gain some Toughness back while also getting some Attack Speed, with a guaranteed Crit for the next Melee Attack.
• Chorus of Spiritual Fortitude buffs everyone around the Zealot, giving them Stun Immunity and Invulnerability, while also replenishing their Toughness and making them go over the 100% Toughness cap if they hit their max Toughness.
• Shroudfield is another Stealth ability which gives the Zealot Movement Speed, Backstab Damage, Finesse Damage and Critical Chance, so the Preacher can become a whirlwind of death in the heat of battle.
• The Zealot also had their Blitz abilities revealed, which change his grenades similarly to the Veteran:
  • Stunstorm Grenade is similar to the current grenade of the Zealot, only stronger,
  • Immolation Grenade is like a holy Molotov Cocktail, which deals damage and Staggers every enemy in its radius,
  • Blades of Faith is the most interesting Blitz Ability of the Zealot, as it lets them throw a holy knife at an enemy, dealing heavy damage. The knives can be replenished by killing Elites and Specials, so you’ll never run out of ammo!
• The Zealot is the first class to have some Keystones revealed:
  • Blazing Piety gives the Preacher extra Critical Change when in Fury, which triggers when 25 enemies die around them – which shouldn’t be that hard with a two-handed chainsword,
  • Martyrdom gives extra Melee damage the lower Health the Zealot has,
  • While Inexorable Judgment makes you into a human wrecking ball, letting the Zealot gain momentum for a Frenzy while moving, gaining up to 20% Attack Speed and Damage

Psyker Psykinetic

Psykers are the most unique class on Tertium as they don’t use regular weapons but rather the forces of the Warp to Smite the heretics back where they belong:

• Venting Shriek sends out a shockwave Staggering enemies in front of the Psyker, while also bringing down the Peril meter to keep the Psykinetic’s mind in one piece.
• Telekine Shield puts up a wall of Psychic Energy protecting from bullets, but it doesn’t stop your squad mates from shooting back!
• Scrier’s Gaze lets the Psyker enter a trance, gaining 20% Critical Change and 10% Damage, while also gaining ramping Damage up to 30% – but while you’re in Scrier’s Gaze, you continuously build Peril.
• The Blitz abilities are a bit different for the Psyker:
  • Brain Rupture is the upgraded version if the current Brain Burst, which deals more damage,
  • Assail throws homing psychic energy projectiles which are effective against lightly armour targets,
  • While Smite can be used as a beam or a bang, throwing lightning at one or multiple target!
• The Keystone abilities of the Psyker have also been revealed, taking the Psychic might of the class to another level:
  • Warp Siphon empowers your next Combat Ability after you kill an Elite or a Specialist enemy by up to 30%,
  • Empowered Psionics buffs your Blitz abilities after Kills,
  • and Disrupt Destiny marks enemies randomly, granting the Psyker Toughness, Movement Speed and a Precision bonus after killing them, which can stack granting Damage, Crit Damage and Weakspot Damage.

Ogryn Skullbreaker

The biggest, toughest – and nicest of the four classes, the Ogryn had the flashiest new ability revealed in the Talent Tree Update trailer: the big guy throws a literal nuke at the force that threaten Tertium. The Skullbreaker class (as weird as it sounds) was not the primary tank of Darktide until now, as the Zealot could soak more damage, but the Ogryn takes the crown of the crowd control king. After the update, the tides could shift however, as the 4^th class got some great new skills as well:

• Indomitable is an upgraded version of Bull Rush, which now gives Attack Speed and Movement Speed after knocking everyone aside.
• Loyal Protector makes Ogryn a true tank, as he can Taunt nearby enemies to give some breathing room for his friends,
• Point-Blank Barrage promotes the Skullbreakers ranged build, as it grants him 25% Rate of Fire and 70% Reload Speed so he can let hell loose with his big caliber guns.
• The Grenade for the Ogryn was already unique (and very funny, as the big guy just threw a box of grenades at an enemy), and the new Blitz abilities take it to the next level:
  • Big Friendly Rock let’s the Ogryn collect rocks to throw at enemies, holding up to 4 at once,
  • Bombs Away is the upgraded version of Big Box of Hurt, with the box falling apart to let the grenades explode,
  • Frag Bomb is like a Frag Grenade, only size-accurate for an Ogryn – he basically throws a little tactical nuke from the Fallout games.
• The Ogryn also had his Keystones revealed, which emphasize their 3 playstyles even further beyond:
  • Heavy Hitter gives extra Damage on Heavy Attacks which stacks,
  • Feel No Pain (clever) grants the Ogryn 2 Stacks, which gives extra Toughness Replenishment as well as Damage Reduction,
  • while Burst Limiter Override can help the Ogryn spare ammo when doing ranged attacks.

Overall, the developers at Fatshark seem to be hitting the mark with the Class Overhauls. While Darktide has been plagued with issues, at it’s core, it’s an incredibly fun game which deserves a second chance – hopefully, this update is the first step towards it!