Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Rolling in Your Role

Hey There, A Friendly Precursor (feel Free To Skip)

This is not a "YOU MUST DO THIS" guide, this is just me pointing out very, very unique things for each class. Yes, ANY class can fill ANY role with enough determination or the right weapon rolls, but each one is also unique in their own ways. In this guide, I'm going to highlight how each is unique and capitalize on it for the best synergy.

For example, the Ogryn can solo-tank monstrosities and the (one) boss better than anyone else, and can hold a stair or choke point against massive incoming damage by pressing one button and then using the other hand to scratch their butt or eat a sandwich (probably but hopefully not in that order). It's NOT the most fun you can have as an Ogryn, but it's the most unique ability to him besides his ranged AoE stagger (apart from the Veteran's Holy Bolter, but that's not really the Bolter's best use AT ALL and it shouldn't be used for that).

At another example, although the Veteran is MASSIVELY powerful at dealing damage in most situations, they are really best suited for having -- without any comparison -- a combination for the highest DPS burst in the game by using the bolter, Sustained Fire, and the Power Sword. This lets them handle those annoying times when the game director says, "lol how about 4 Bulwarks, 2 Ragers, a Crusher and 2 Maulers." 30 Bolter rounds in rapid succession, 15 of which with extra damage because why not, and then all the perks flying off that come from killing enemies with ranged damage and killing specials and elites...it just works! (sorry had to) But for real, it's frackin' devastating and there is no other way in the game to burst that much damage at once, then switch to a power sword, energize it, and mop up the leftovers.

And the Zealot? With the right weapon+blessing combo, you get not only infinite cleave at high damage, but you're functionally immortal while doing so if you have even rudimentary block and dodge capabilities. What a monster!

The Psyker is easily the best sustained DPS, and is a bit of a jack-of-all-trades but master of none. Yes, you can warp-sword one-hit most specials or pop their skulls from a distance, but it's not as fast, efficient, or useful as Veteran or Zealot. Yes, you can tank ANYTHING with the Blaze Force Sword and Deflector (40k Jedi Mode, activated), but you're still subjected to your Stamina bar unlike the Ogryn. Yes, you can mass stagger and CC with your Purgatus staff, but the Zealot is a living CC and their grenade is just more effective. However, despite all these negative "yes, but," scenarios, there's also a positive caveat to each. Yes, the Veteran and Zealot are more efficient at special and elite killing, but the Psyker can do it more safely and with less resource expenditure. Yes, the Ogryn has infinite block stamina with their shield special, but the Psyker can stay mobile while blocking and do so with a much quicker reaction. Yes, the Zealot's grenade is the best CC in the game, but those grenades are a very limited resource. The Psyker is there to either double up a party's needs while at full staff, or to fulfill any role that gets taken out of commission, and that makes them ABSOLUTELY invaluable.

Ogryn

This big boy is easily the best solo tank. His shield special is an infinite-stamina block, and his grenade gauntlet does good heavy attack damage and has a ranged AoE attack with heavy stagger and heavy impact damage. It's a boring setup for the lug, but it's where his utility comes in best. Essentially the two things he offers that nobody else has is ranged AoE stagger and infinite stamina block. Those aren't the most fun uses of his kit, but it's the most unique and the two things that nobody else can do. For his support use, he can take advantage of his massive health pool and push through damage pools (fire, acid, etc) or enemies with his charge to pick up a downed ally without being interrupted (except by explosions, hounds, nets, or mutants).

So, shield out to tank specials and bosses. Grenade gauntlet to deal heavy damage and ranged AoE stagger (for melee I recommend light attack into heavy attack for mobs). If an ally gets downed, charge to said ally and revive them, leaving the other classes to keep clearing the waves.

Zealot

This psycho has the best grenades in the game and does not give a care about pain. When played well, you will be managing wave clearing by being in the thick of it, keeping the masses piled around you while dodge-dancing and decapitating them, and grouping them up to allow the rest of your crew some breathing room and an easier way to clear the heretics out. In choke points, the Holy Flamer shines well enough. When things get too hairy or you need to pick someone up in the middle of the mess, the concussion grenades will give everyone a few seconds to collect themselves. You are a monster at the mob-tanking role insofar as you will be managing the heretical tides that crash against your team, pulling aggro and deploying crowd control while still dealing out very respectable damage. You are the break upon which the dark tides crash against, and you love it.

For a melee weapon of note, the Antax MK V with Brutal Momentum is effffffing incredible. It is a decapitation machine, letting you sit in melee and dodge-dance while slapping across the hordes. With the Brutal Momentum blessing on it you ignore enemy hit mass after hitting an enemy weak spot (ie a headshot, which the axe is specifically built for). This makes the brutal momentum axe have -- essentially -- infinite cleave. Now you have a weakspot-hunting, infinite cleave, armor-eating melee monster weapon that has a heavy attack which is just a juiced up version of the light attack.

For a ranged weapon, the Holy Flamer is my favorite go-to just for the CC compliment and the fact that it is a gol-dang freakin' flamer. It has a great AoE stagger effect (albeit at a closer range) and it's just FUN. However, you take what you want, and having something like a lasgun to handle ranged is probably a LOT better. You're going to be in melee hopefully 90% of the time, but yeah having a ranged attack is probably useful...but I mean that's what the Veteran and Psyker are for, right?

A good idea is to take Enemies Within, Enemies Without to keep your toughness regenerating while in melee (and you'll always be in melee, that's your job) which helps to also mitigate incoming ranged or non-melee damage. Benediction is just a great bonus all-around as it gives everyone +15% damage reduction to incoming toughness damage. Holy Revenant will make you feel like a true champion of the Emperor, coming back from the brink of death with a full stack of health to get you through some of the toughest waves that Damnation will throw at you. Rising Conviction is essentially just +20% damage throughout the wave so long as you don't have to stop to pick someone up or interact with an objective.

In summary, Antax MK V with Brutal Momentum and Holy Revenant makes you an undying melee monster, and your stun grenades will give you and your team a moment to breathe if needed.

Veteran

People think that playing the Veteran's DPS role is as simple as DPS in other games: ABCD - Always Be Causing Damage. However, that's not the crux of it, and in fact the sustained DPS should be left to the rest of your crew while you are focused on MASSIVE burst damage (I mean killing 4+ Bulwarks in less than 4 seconds) and special/elite target take downs. For wave clearing you DO have the massively devastating Power Sword, but you always need to be ready to nuke a high-value target or clear out any ranged nuisances at a moment's notice.

That said, your primary job is essentially to kill everything. If properly built, you can clear absolutely any non-monstrosity that is thrown at you with just a couple button presses and a steady stream of Bolter rounds, or well-chained sweeping energized Power Sword strikes.

I cannot stress enough just how highly I recommend the Bolter, Power Sword, and Sustained Fire combo. With these most holy of the God Emperor's arsenal, no foe shall stand against you. Toss in Covering Fire and you just became a toughness battery for your Zealot and Ogryn buddies. Your frag grenade is just a bit of stagger, and honestly I forget I have it most of the time. I use them to clear enemies off of a dying ally if it's in that last clutch moment before their death, but generally there's no reason to use them over the Power Sword or Bolter.

For the Bolter, keep in mind that reloading is essentially a 3-step process. There's the initial animation that can be cancelled out of to stop the reload. There's the second phase that drops the magazine and resets you to zero ammo. Then there's the final phase that seats a new magazine and racks the charging handle. It also has a 2-round burst for primary fire and a VERY accurate single-round fire while in alt ADS mode. The incredible accuracy and massive damage these rounds deliver make this an incredible option for taking out ranged targets and specials/elites. The immense stagger causes all but the most unrelenting of enemies (monstrosities) to become staggered after just a couple shots. If you see a group of "nope," just full-auto down to empty, hit Volley Fire for an insta-reload and increased damage, and continue your rampage. There is almost nothing the game will throw at you which you can't clear with 30 Bolter rounds. The resulting stagger that barrage throws out will give you time enough to reload and go back to ranged take-down duty. Although I do like Deadshot to give even more damage and accuracy to the Bolter's ADS, One After Another is definitely preferable for the +30% reload speed after you rip apart an Elite.

Your Power Sword will be likely your most-used weapon. While the Zealot is grouping up the horde and tanking the majority of the aggro, you energize your weapon and sweep in with brutality to just walk through the waves of enemies. Power Cycler and Rampage will keep your DPS peak uptime maximized to let you handle the chaff while being ready to nuke elites and specials alike. The energized feature lets you cleave through even Carapace armor, making this weapon an almost invaluable addition to any team's toolkit for wave clearing.

So, use the Power Sword, Bolter, and Sustained Fire, focus on specialist and elite take downs first then shift to wave clearing and helping out your Zealot or Ogryn as needed, and always leave at least one or two shots in the chamber to take out a special or elite you missed with your initial volley, and don't be afraid to use Volley Fire to reload mid-combat if you have to. And with Covering Fire you can essentially "heal shields" for allies in combat by "kill stealing" around them (and hey, Vets out there, if I'm getting swamped, PLEASE steal my kills and restore my Toughness by 10% a shot!)

Pskyer

This little guy is just incredibly useful. You're the actual jack-of-all, master-of-none. Anything you can do, someone else can do better, but nobody else can do as much as you can. If someone goes down, you fill that role. Versatility is the name of the game, and you are a master at that game.

Your Purgatus staff has great CC and sustained group DPS, while your Force Sword has great single-target burst damage and armor penetration. You pop skulls for massive damage at range (and from cover), and you can use your Force Sword + Deflector blessing to waltz through a war zone and deflect both melee AND ranged attacks. The Psyker is never going to be the best at anything, but you are ABSOLUTELY the best at doing everything.

As a Psyker, you have to be very aware of the situation at hand. If you're getting flanked by a gunner or some ranged spawns, you might need to step in and help out by going Jedi light saber deflection mode for a moment until that hazard is taken care of. Then a Specialist pops up and is threatening to harass your crew, but your Veteran is reloading -- time to squish that head for them. Zealot mistime their Until Death or just get rolled over by RNGesus because of funky specialist spawns? No problem, whip out your Purgatus staff and set everything on fire until they're back on their feet, or help keep them warm in the cold cold brutality of the battle.

This versatility makes the Psyker an INCREDIBLY necessary part of the crew. If any component goes down, you can step into that role and handle business while filling it for the time being. If any spawn group is overwhelming in a certain aspect or two, you can dance between roles to keep everyone going. And all the while, you're doing consistent, sustained damage so the enemy spawns are never going to become too overwhelming.

tl;dr the Psyker is a role substitution for anything, and a force multiplier for whatever is lacking, all while doing sustained DPS and having a hefty bag of tricks.

In Summary...

...everything is good! It just depends on what you value to determine what is "best." And EVERY class can equip different stuff and fill every role. All I wanted to do here is highlight the absolute most unique, powerful aspects to each archetype with the assumption of a 4-man crew that doesn't repeat itself.

Ogryn - Main tank

Zealot - Off tank

Veteran - DPS

Psyker - Support

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2924204611

Rolling in Your Role