Darktide’s new patch brings big bludgeons, necessary nerfs, and beefs up the crafting system
Power mauls, but absolute power mauls absolutely.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
The grim dark of the future hits version 1.0.20 today.Warhammer 40K: Darktidehas anew patch, and it’s brought with it new weapons, updates to the crafting system, and a much-needed nerf that will no doubt still make someone very angry indeed.
First up among the patch’s additions is a pair of new weapons. The Zealot and the Ogryn are each getting a shiny new power maul: A two-handed “Indignatus Mk IVe Crusher” for the former, and a one-handed “Achlys Mk I Power Maul” for the latter. Big sci-fi hammers for big sci-fi people, in other words. If you like, you could try out your new toys in the mission the patch introduces, the catchily-titled “Comms-Plex 154/2f,” in which you’ll have to “Get to the roof of the HL-19-24 Archivum and transmit a message to your allies in the Imperium”.
But what Fatshark gives with one hand, it takes away with the other. The Munitorum Mk III Power Sword, which was strong enough to turn Darktide’s ranged-focused Veteran class into a melee savant, has been nerfed. The cleave on its attacks and its “damage falloff for targets beyond the third on heavy activated sweeps” have both been tuned down. It’s for the best: The community has beenlamenting the Veteran’s melee aptitudefor a while now. This ought to even the odds a bit.
Finally, in an update less directly related to stone-cold murder, you can now refine perks in the Shrine of the Omnissiah. Refining a single perk on a weapon will lock others, and each refine action taken on a perk will reduce its resource cost. Plus, perks will now show their tier (ranging from 1 to 4) in the item card view. Darktide’s crafting system was a little undercooked when the game initially released, butFatshark told PCG it has a step-by-stepplan to beef it up when we spoke to them recently. The addition of refining brings that plan about halfway to completion.
There are many, many more tweaks and additions in the patch—including a new private play mode and a new condition—and you can read about them in the full patch notes below. It’s good to see necessary changes getting the attention they deserve. We scored Darktide 80% in ourWarhammer 40K: Darktide review, but noted that it was a “solid foundation” that could “blossom into a truly excellent game” if Fatshark put the work in. It looks like that’s just what the studio intends.
Here are the full, voluminous patch notes. Get ready to scroll.
The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
One of Josh’s first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he’s been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He’ll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin’s Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you’re all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.
The reigning Pope of 1-bit mystery games is back with a Halloween treat: a haunted house game you can play in your browser
Return of the Phantom, which is basically The Phantom of the Opera but with time travel, is free on GOG
I desperately hope Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Baldur’s Gate 3 and Disco Elysium inspire more RPG devs to reject the traditional drip, drip, drip of DLC and expansions
