The vast and grim universe ofWarhmmer 40,000is not for the faint of heart. Horrible aliens, vengeful daemons, and the vastness of space all vie to be the deadliest thing imperial citizens have to deal with. InWarhammer 40,000: Darktide, players get only a small taste of this, but it’s more than enough.
The hordes of enemies test the strength of even the toughest fighters, and that’s just on the normal difficulties. The game gets much harder once you take on the forces of chaos on Damnation difficulty. Thankfully though, there are some tips that will help you at least stay alive for longer, and maybe the Emperor will approve.
8Your Favored Class
The Emperor’s Chosen
You have the option of a few different classes at the onset of the game, of which you can hop from one to another for each mission. Whether you’re a fan of the long-ranged Veteran, or the heavy-duty Ogryn is more your speed, it doesn’t matter much. What does matter is what you’re comfortable with.
Even a squad of all the same character will have a fair amount of difference to make everyone have their own specialty. It all falls apart though if you don’t know your character. Make sure to get plenty comfortable with them before jumping into Damnation, and maybe give your skill tree a once-over before the match to remind yourself what you can do.
7Sound Queues
Sounds Like Trouble
One thing that can be overlooked easily, especially in the thick of fighting, is sound. Quite a few of the specialist enemies have specific sounds that play when they either enter the battlefield or begin their attacks.
The Sniper, Tox Flamer, and Pox Bursterare just a few of the enemies that keen ears will give you hints about. You will also hear a specific sound-effect play when an enemy is about to land an attack from behind. Keep an ear open, and you may be able to time your dodges or attacks to get rid of these enemies before they get the drop on you.
6Coherency
Work As A Team
Your team is strongest, well… as a team. Each of your players will have a certain coherency range and buffs depending on their skill trees. As long as everyone is within a certain distance of each other, then you’ll have at least three unique buffs on top of the ones your own skill tree gives you.
It is easy to stay close starting off, but as the tides of battle change it can be easy to get dragged off. Don’t chase wild-hares, the enemy will most likely come to you and your team, and then you can concentrate fire on them.
5Markers and Communication
Look Over There
Communication goes a long way in the underhive. Thankfully, you have plenty of ways to communicate with your teammates. The most straightforward is with your mic, but you also have the faster alternative of pinging locations and enemies with a simple button press.
As well, your characters will also communicate with one another on their own, and while many of these quips are more funny than anything, some do have important info about your enemies' movements. Combined, you should be able to get a pretty clear picture of what’s happening around you, no matter how hectic it gets.
4Max Out Curios
Holy Trinkets For Sale
Weapons may seem like your main focus, and they’re definitely important, but don’t forget about curios. They have the opportunity to boost your stats rather impressively if you stack them right. Each of these can hold three perks and one blessing, and you’re able to carry three of them at max level.
That’s a dozen different boosts to whatever you deem necessary. More health, more wounds, better accuracy; whatever you think you need an extra hand at, curios are how to get it. Make sure to find what your favorite effects are and combine them.
3Focus Fire
Superior Firepower
This goes hand-in-hand with proper communication. As you move throughout the levels in the game, you’ll be sure to run into various specialist (or deadlier) enemies. When this happens, it’s best for everyone to focus-in on taking these heretics out.
In Damnation, one Bomber or Tox Flamer can easily take down an entire squad of players, this goes doubly if they’re already bogged down by a horde of enemies. It doesn’t have to be the whole team either, aVeteran and Psykeror other pair of players with some ranged skills can be enough to make short work of special enemies.
2Block Interact
Keep Your Guard Up
Whether this is a bug or something the developers meant to work, there is a way to give yourself a bit of extra defense when interacting with an object. You can actually block with your melee weapon before you interact with an object in the world.
Whether it’s a data-interrogator or picking up a downed ally, blocking minimizes the damage done to your character. This is a big help for when there are too many enemies to clear a path, or you have a ranged unit in the distance harassing you while you heal a teammate.
1Weakpoints & Strafing
Hit ‘Em From Behind
Many ofthe toughest enemieshave plenty of resistance and mighty big health bars too. While they may seem imposing, especially at Damnation level, a little bit of accuracy can help out big time. Most enemies, with health bars or otherwise, have weak spots. For most of the human enemies it’s the head, but that isn’t always the case.
The Beast of Nurgle for example has a large pustule on it’s back that delivers massive damage if hit. It can be a good idea for one or two players to draw bigger enemies’ attention while the others hit the weakspots with abandon.
