Warhammer 40,000: Darktide's Class Overhaul: Making up for past missteps

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has not been the game many hoped it would be since it was first revealed. While there were problems with bugs, equipment, and more from launch, it was immediately clear that there wasn't the depth in the class system that was promised. We could have one class, with set abilities, which felt even worse given that our classes weren't tied to charming, individual characters this time around but were instead given to soulless characters we made ourselves. We were given freedom in what we looked like, but no choice at all when it came down to the abilities we had.

That is, until now. Or, October I should say, as this is not only when Darktide finally makes its way to Xbox, but it is also the time when the class system is getting entirely overhauled. No longer will you be stuck with one style of playing for each class you pick, as you'll now have fleshed-out skill trees which allow you to specialise into one of a few different styles of play. The Veteran, for example, can now be a leader figure, bolstering the rest of your party with damage buffs and resistances, or they can slink off into the shadows, gaining the ability to turn invisible and deal big damage when coming out of it.

Does this immediately fix the problems with the game's classes? Well, we'll see. It certainly adds a lot of fresh variety, making you feel like you can actually make a build rather than just follow a linear path. You're not just given a choice of three abilities, and you can mix and match certain passives, actives, and more to create a character that feels like your own in more than just looks. Interestingly as well, due to player feedback Fatshark have actually tuned up the difficulty in Darktide, as by creating your own builds you're going to have a much stronger character than you did before. You're also going to be able to change up the strengths of your characters on the fly, as when you load into a game you can see the abilities your teammates have chosen. Essentially, this means even if all four random players manage to choose the same base class, they can have entirely different loadouts and abilities. This brings a freshness to Darktide that I haven't felt since I first began playing the beta.

The depth here is rather impressive, and we can't understate how much of an overhaul this is. It's not just covering the game with a Vermintide 2 coat of paint either, as the skill trees are vastly different from the subclass and talent options in Fatshark's other horde-based action game. Instead, I'd compare Darktide's skills more to something like Borderlands, where in the days, weeks, and months after release we'll be seeing plenty of content on the powerful ways you can combine your skills to make the most potent Reject possible. It's also not just a case of follow a line all the way to the bottom and you'll have a great time, as the developers informed me that through their testing they've found a lot of the community like to take different skills from each path in order to create balanced builds rather than one character that's really good at one specific thing.

There's still a lot of work to be done in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide before I'd say it's a worthy replacement of Vermintide 2, but the game is getting there, and as usual, Fatshark's commitment to improving its games remains incredibly impressive. This class overhaul is a big step in the right direction, even if it doesn't solve every problem.