Warhammer 40,000: Darktideoffers players four classes. The Veteran Sharpshooter, Zealot Preacher, Psyker Psykinetic, and Ogryn Skullbreaker each have their own abilities, characteristics, and even some weapon types that are unique to them. Add this to the game’s character creator that lets players customize their characters' backstories, voices, and names, andWarhammer 40,000: Darktideensures that no two player avatars will be the same. One of the skill types available inWarhammer 40,000: Darktideis the Blitz.
Better known as the grenade ability, each of the classes has a unique Blitz ability that affects enemies differently when used. Some Blitz abilities are great for crowd control while others excel at dealing massive single-target damage. Each of the available Blitz abilities serves its purpose when it comes to dealing withWarhammer 40,000: Darktide’s many enemies.
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The Veteran Sharpshooter
The Veteran Sharpshooter’s Blitz abilityallows them to carry up to four Fragmentation Grenades at a time. A tried-and-true classic, the Fragmentation Grenade deals a large amount of damage in a wide area. They are mostly used for thinning out hordes of enemies and drawing ranged foes from out of cover, but Fragmentation Grenades are also great at dealing damage to high-value targets like elite enemies and bosses. No matter the situation, it is always handy to have a Veteran Sharpshooter with a couple of frag grenades ready to get a strike team out of tough spots.
The Zealot Preacher
Unlike the Veteran Sharpshooter’s Fragmentation Grenade,the Zealot Preacher’s Stumm Grenadedeals very little damage, which it more than makes up for with its ability to stun enemies in its effective radius. Zealot Preachers can hold up to 3 Stumm Grenades, each capable of stunning enemies for 6-7 seconds. The ability is best used to create openings so that strike teams can attack, reposition themselves, heal up, or reload. Players get the most value out of their Stumm Grenades when used against hordes. They can also be used against bosses and elite enemies, but these foes are better left to the other classes with more single-target damage-based Blitz abilities.
The Ogryn Skullbreaker
Whereas other classes throw their grenades one at a time,the Ogryn Skullbreaker’s massive sizeallows them to throw a whole box of grenades. Big Box of Hurt lets the Ogryn carry 2 boxes of grenades that can be thrown at a single target for massive damage. The ability may feel lackluster because the box doesn’t explode, but the satisfying thunk players hear when the ability hits an enemy ensures that it did its job. Big Box of Hurt can be upgraded with a feat in the Ogryn Skullbreaker’s skill tree, allowing the box to explode when it hits a carapace-armored enemy. The ability is best used on high-health targets, as a Big Box of Hurt will only damage the enemy it is thrown at.
The Psyker Psykinetic
The Psyker Psykinetic’s Blitzis currently the only one that isn’t a grenade. Rather than chucking an explosive at enemies, the Psyker uses their Brain Burst ability to pop the heads of any foe they lock onto. All the Psyker needs is line of sight on an enemy when they activate the ability, and they can hold down the Blitz button. Tougher enemies like elites and bosses may need more than one Brain Burst to kill them, but the ability is great in that ignores armor and deals direct damage to the target. Psykers also don’t have to pick up grenades in the world, as their ammunition comes from their minds.
The trade-off for the Psyker’s power is that using Brain Burst and other Warp abilities builds up Peril. Too much Peril causes a Psyker to get knocked down, so players much carefully manage their Peril percentage to get the most value out of Warp abilities. Players can also use Brain Burst on weaker enemies to momentarily increase their damage during a fight before deciding to pop the heads of bigger, more challenging foes.
Warhammer 40K: Darktideis available now for PC with an Xbox Series X/S version in development.
