With the initial release of Fatshark’s new horde shooter Warhammer 40K: Darktide behind us, its time to get out your lasguns, rev up your chainswords, and make your way to the world of Atoma Prime on board the Mourningstar. The Warhammer 40K universe is a dangerous place, and Hive Tertium is obviously no exception. With that in mind, the right talents and gear issued to you by the glorious Astra-Militarum can be the difference between life and death. Not to mention the fact that your superiors aren’t too confident in your abilities as a soldier. It’s time to prove them wrong with these builds for the Veteran Sharpshooter and the Zealot Preacher. In this WH40K: Darktide post we will tell you how to configure two powerful builds for the Veteran Sharpshooter and one for the Zealot Preacher that take advantage of the respective class’s strengths along with their role on your fireteam.
But before dive into these builds, we need to go over a little terminology to make this guide a little easier to understand. Darktide’s skill trees, or “Feats”, are split up by columns of 3 options each. You select 1 talent from each of six columns for a total of 6 talents. So, if I were to say a build is “3-1-2-3-1-3”, you would be selecting the third option from column 1, first option from column 2, and so on. Below is an example of what a “3-1-2-3-1-3” build would look like for a Zealot Preacher in WH40K: Darktide.
Got it…? Good! Let’s venture into Hive Tertium together.
Veteran Sharpshooter
True to the name, the Veteran Sharpshooter takes advantage of Darktide’s ranged combat. Of the four classes, this one leverages ranged combat the most. The Veteran Sharpshooter serves as a mid-line sniper, prioritizing high value targets and taking them down before they can pose a danger. Below are two example builds. The Guardsman Grenadier addresses inherent weaknesses with the Sharpshooter’s when dealing with hordes. The second Sharpshooter build is specialized into a true sniper and, will help any aspiring guardsman get the job done.
1: Guardsman Grenadier – Powerful Build for Veteran Sharpshooter
The Guardsman Grenadier is a powerful build that turns the Veteran into possibly the most versatile class in the game, able to turn huge hordes of poxwalkers into bloody paste and eviscerate enemy elites with ease. For this build you should select 1-3-2-1-1-1 from the skill tree columns respectively. In this way you are selecting talents that give your grenades a buff.
- Demolition Stockpile gives you a free grenade every minute.
- Demolition Team results in a 5% chance to give both you and your allies a free grenade for every grenade kill you score
- Fragstorm generates bleed stacks on grenade hits (anything that isn’t immediately fragged is going to take extra damage from whatever you follow it up with)
This build also leans into making the Sharpshooter more of a mid-range brawler. By taking perks which allow you to generate more toughness shield you enhance what little toughness the Veteran has. In addition, Sustained Fire makes the Veteran capable of some of the highest burst damage in the game. Your first weapon for the Guardsman Grenadier sharpshooter build should be the Locke Mk IIb Spearhead Boltgun. This weapon is great for devastating armored opponents. For your melee weapon take either the Power Sword or a Chainsword, whichever you fancy. Alternatively, if you’re having trouble with larger, armored enemies, switch out the Boltgun for a Plasma rifle and Sustained Fire for The Bigger They Are… for dealing with larger scale enemies
2: True Sniper – Powerful Build for Veteran Sharpshooter
If you want to live out your true sharpshooter fantasy, building for long range is no problem either. For a truly powerful Sniper build in WH40K: Darktide, you’ll want to select options 3-1-1-3-2-2. These talents allow you to hang back and pick your targets carefully while your buddies go in and do all the chopping and cleaving. Why do all the hard work up front? Instead, sit back and pick out priority enemies to keep your friends safe. Talents such as Camo Expert make you much harder to pick out while standing still. This means enemy patrols and Reapers, 2 of your primary targets, aren’t going to be focused on suppressing you. As a result, it’s easier for you to take them down. At Arm’s Length is a great perk bordering on overpowered. With the right positioning you can effectively trade fire with almost anything in the game, diving into cover just as your shields are about to break before popping right back up again. Since your main enemies are going to be big targets and flak armored traitor guardsmen, I recommend the Helbore Lasgun. Its great sight picture and charge-up alt fire allow it to one-shot basic enemies from long range. You’ll at least score easy criticals on anything that doesn’t fall. Alternatively, the Plasma Gun is also a great choice if you want to focus exclusively on larger targets. As for melee, you can never go wrong with the Power Sword, although a Chainaxe might strike your fancy if you find yourself lacking some armor piercing.
Zealot Preacher
For the glory of the Beneficent Emperor of Mankind! This powerful build for Zealot Preacher turns you into a horde clearing machine. You can simultaneously dish out sustained melee and short-range damage, turning you into possibly the tankiest class in the game.
BURN IN HOLY FIRE!
True to the name, yes, you do get to use a flamethrower. For this loadout you’re going to want to select options 1-1-3-2-1-3.
This build allows you to stay in the fight longer and kill more heretics faster. The Emperor’s Executioner gives you up to a massive 20% damage increase on ranged weapons the closer enemies are to you. Purge the Wicked gives you a second charge of the Chastise the Wicked dash ability. Combine these with the Zealot’s Stun Grenade, and you are almost never in the wrong for initiating a fight. Plus, Enemies Within, Enemies Without allows you to stay in that fight longer while you swing and burn in the name of the God-Emperor. For this build (obviously) use the Flamer ranged weapon for horde clearance, and for your melee, I prefer the Evicerator Chainsword, a massive two handed chainsword perfect for cutting up basic and special enemies alike. Use your special push attack by continuing to hold your attack button after pushing enemies away while blocking. With this move you will perform a great head level swing that can cleave through multiple enemies in a single swing.
Nobody said serving the God-Emperor was going to be easy, but these builds should make your life as a lowly conscript just a bit simpler when the bullets start flying. With an understanding of Darktide’s combat and the behaviors of enemies large and small, these builds should allow you to effectively deal with anything Hive Tertium throws at you. So get out there, say a prayer, burn some incense and remember: The Emperor Protects.
