Darktide

[Back me up!]

With all the new updates and system changes is Darktide as fun to play with random as say Helldivers 2?

 

[Asian tech support]

With all the new updates and system changes is Darktide as fun to play with random as say Helldivers 2?

Darktide will never manage to match the antics you can get up to in Helldivers. The highs aren't the same; the interactions between players are more a product of their character rather than the player's actions. Also unlike HD2 and Vermintide, because lobbies are immediately unmade unless you're in a party or choose to party up post map, it's hard to develop connections with players and any feeling of comradery is fleeting. That said, clutching in Darktide (and Vermintide) is one of the most satisfying feelings I've ever had playing vidya, especially if it's in a high difficulty lobby and everyone is rolling with the flow. The grind is pretty much gone too so you have access to extremely potent loadouts almost immediately upon meeting the requirements.

 

[h3catoncheries]

Yeah it's totally different, HD2 shines with silly hijinks and spectacle, DT2 is for me is when you get to that John Wick like "in the zone" flow.

 

[SandyCat]

Warahammer themed Helldivers game with horde style gameplay and melee combat would be interesting

 

[Moths]

Warahammer themed Helldivers game with horde style gameplay and melee combat would be interesting

"We call this tactic STEHL REIN"

 

[Asian tech support]

All of the Arbites info got dumped a couple of days ago.

https://darktide.gameslantern.com/classes/arbites

https://darktide.gameslantern.com/build-editor

The out of the box package seems good; 200 hp, 100 toughness with a mandatory +25 toughness node in the middle of the tree, high base crit chance like the psyker, and mixup of base stamina management. Seems like a middle ground between the vet and the zealot.
What I'm concerned about is the lack of armor piercing weaponry, and thus a presumed reliance on certain blessings to deal with armor. Arbites can use the boltgun and bolt pistol, though this was an excellent opportunity to introduce a bolt sniper to go with their executioner bolts, or give them a heavy stubber. There is some rending nodes in the tree but taking rending nodes almost always sucks.
This is how I'm going to spec the tree (dog-less):

I hope I'll be felted and the dog is actually good.

A bunch of playtesters put videos up but since you have to be a ballwasher to become a playtester, they're all excessively glazing.

 

[Blazing Piety]

Definitely a peculiar looking tree, I can see the influence that the structure of the Veteran tree had on it. It kinda reminds me of the Ogryn tree with all of the DR nodes. Nice to see that the class can use the Crusher, and thank fuck it doesn't have access to the Dueling Sword.

For blitzes, I'm guessing everyone is gonna gravitate towards the Arbites Grenades upgrade. Remote Detonation seems like a funny gimmick but is worthless if you don't have the dog, and I don't see the mines being particularly useful with how much stun the class already has access to.

For the auras, I think people are gonna go for either Part of the Squad or Breaking Dissent. Toughness DR is just good so it's an easy pick, while the damage versus stunned enemies is probably more useful for the class itself. I don't see many people taking Ruthless Efficiency.

The middle keystones are kinda disappointing since Lone Wolf just looks 100% better than damage for the dog. I think FS is going to have to add some kind of secondary benefit on those or reduce the bonuses Lone Wolf gives if they want people to consider taking the dog nodes.

The bottom keystones seem interesting, and by interesting I mean that Execution Order seems like a less powerful Disrupt Destiny and Terminus Warrant seems like a change-up on Weapon Specialist. Terminus Warrant in particular might be stronger than Weapon Specialist but I won't say that with confidence until I see gameplay of the class at a high level.

I still haven't decided if I want to actually buy the class, but I'm mostly happy with how the tree is so far, so that at least gives me some hope.

I hope I'll be felted and the dog is actually good.

Judging from how the tree is right now, I'm assuming that the meta is going to be dog-less builds unless the dog ends up being worthwhile. I'm really curious how it's going to work out, because in my mind the dog has to compete with the ranged blitzes of the other classes, namely Assail and Brain Burst on Psyker, knives on Zealot, and, to a lesser extent, Ogryn's rocks. With Psyker and Zealot, their blitzes kill very quickly if not instantly, so the dog is going to have to compete at that level. Of course, this is just at range - maybe the dog will end up being amazing for short ranged combat? But at the same time, Psyker and Zealot's blitzes are also just as effective, albeit a bit less practical, at short range. Guess we'll see.

 

[Asian tech support]

I don't see the mines being particularly useful with how much stun the class already has access to.

The mines are going to be for 1) the same people who think stunstorm nades are the be all end all, and 2) havoc because it shuts off the entire area for 15 seconds. They're a 15 second smite. I'm sure they're good in normal auric but I don't think they're gonna be 100% necessary or anything.
The Arbines nades will likely only be a thing with Lone wolf. On their own, they're not all that much but if you have a steady supply and 5 of them, then they're simply reliable.
Because I can't quite tell how responsive the dog is, the dog explosion is a waste. I think the dog is supposed to go for whatever you tag but without knowing what the internal cd on the pounce is or how quickly it drops what its doing and does its thing, it's too unreliable for now. It's nice that it automatically recharges and can fuck a boss but bosses aren't that much of a threat in high skilled lobbies.

For the auras, I think people are gonna go for either Part of the Squad or Breaking Dissent.

It's half a Benediction which is good. The dog should count as an additional ally for others within coherency as well so long as the Arbites and the dog are within coherency. This would become massive value for other classes nodes like Close Order Drill whose effect depends on the number allies in coherency. The reload one is not impactful at all when you consider the weapons with stupid long reloads (bolter, plasma gun) already have reload tech you can abuse.

The bottom keystones seem interesting, and by interesting I mean that Execution Order seems like a less powerful Disrupt Destiny and Terminus Warrant seems like a change-up on Weapon Specialist. Terminus Warrant in particular might be stronger than Weapon Specialist but I won't say that with confidence until I see gameplay of the class at a high level.

So apparently the Execution Order marks are permanent, unlike DD. I think it's mostly useful for the cdr because for whatever reason, this is the only class that doesn't have a cdr node in its tree somewhere. I wish the monster damage/res node was something else. I like the notion of an Arbites hunting down criminal like Robocop but a monster isn't exactly the same as a Chaos cult leader.
Terminus Warrant is a redux of the Blessed Combat skill VT2's bounty hunter had. The way this worked was kind of cool

Spoiler: irrelevant vermintide sperging

The bounty hunter has an innate called Blessed Shots that guarentees him a ranged critical hit every 10 seconds.
The Blessed Combat skill makes it so melee kills grant up to six instances of +15% ranged damage and ranged kills grant up to six instances of +15% melee damage. Melee kills reset the cooldown of Blessed Shots.
In addition, there's also the Salvaged Ammunition skill that grants 20% ammo when killing an elite while out of ammo and melee kills reload one round into the ranged weapon.
Depending on the weapons you were using and how good you were at juggling the melee and ranged buffs, it was very easy to not have to reload at all while playing bounty hunter.

Weapon Specialist is so good that after using it for so long, vet feels like shit to play without. The problem that I have with Terminus Warrant is that there are a lot of stacks to juggle. I think Weapon Specialist did it better where the ranged shit only stacked once. The effect of Terminus Warrant is really good but it looks like a lot of maintenance and that's coming from someone who appreciates high maintenance playstyles like weapon specialist nade vet.
Forceful seems ok and it's going to be easy to maintain max stacks. I think it's what you use if you're going for the dash stun ability.
I don't dislike any of the keystones but I wouldn't be surprised if there's a pass made over them in a month or two.

The middle keystones are kinda disappointing since Lone Wolf just looks 100% better than damage for the dog. I think FS is going to have to add some kind of secondary benefit on those or reduce the bonuses Lone Wolf gives if they want people to consider taking the dog nodes.

As I mentioned before, the responsiveness of the dog determines how useful the dog is. If you tag something and the dog jumps it immediately, that's really good. If not or if the pounce has an unreasonably long internal cd, then who even cares. I think that even with a dog build, ignoring these is going to be the way to go. Every video I've seen showcasing has absolutely been glazing the dog, so much so that I think they're being paid to. If they said the dog was good, outlined some of its utility, and moved on, I'd accept it, but nooooo stalker child, the dog is the tits and I won't elaborate oh how the pounce works, just pay $12.

An issue I have with the tree on a whole is how same-y a lot of the nodes are, especially damage nodes. Lots of 5 second buff nodes. I typically don't like those unless they're defensive as 5 seconds isn't a long time when it comes to laying down firepower but since you can get shredded in less than 5 seconds, any defensive benefit is always welcome.

 

[Crocodylus Acutus]

Playing as the new Arbites class makes the game feel like an LA Riot simulator. Keeping back hordes of beaners poxwalkers as Judge Dredd: Warhmmer Edition is very fun so far.

 

[Asian tech support]

Got a few maps as Arbites in yesterday. Trying out the "new and improved" campaign which I don't really care for. Here are my thoughts so far:

• The new shotgun variant with the choke (not the spreadshot one, that one's bad) is pretty ok. One with an ideal stat allocation landed in my lap so I don't even have to roll Brunt. It has a higher than expected innate crit chance.
• None of the other reworked shotguns seem that much better but I've seen a video of a boss killer Arbites build do some serious work. More testing needed.
• The bolter is probably going to be the best ranged weapon on the Arbites. I think the way to go is cavalcade/pinning fire.
• The vox ability deploys stupidly slow and can sometimes fail to deploy if you're trying to drop it not directly at your feet. Also has a 60 second cooldown which isn't in the fucking tooltip. Very disappointed in it. Haven't used any of the other abilities yet.
• I'm not 100% certain but it seems like the dog is going to need to be specced fully into for it to have any real impact. That means the electric attack, the bleed, the electric blast blitz, the aura, the damage vs elites, the brittleness, all of the pounce abilities, etc.
• The arbites nades are good. Nice little fuck you. You get 5 of em with lone wolf.
• I want to say I like the arbites power maul but I'm not 100% sure what causes the electric to apply. There are a lot of ways to stack damage vs staggered and electrocuted targets.
• Same for the shield. I like the massive stun but its damage seems low. I'll have to see what it can do when all buffed.

 

[ChampFantana]

The Arbites Class on Darktide is a LOT of fun. I spent last night in nothing but full Arbites squads yelling "I AM THE LAW! & THESE BLOCKS ARE UNDER ARREST!" (I only saw a single special-needs Ogryn all of last night.)

The cyber-dog is also a really cool mechanic.
The way they pounce and disable even Ragers is nice. Dispatching downed enemies is a breeze.

The Suppression Shield + Shock Maul is crunchy, brutal, and great for crowd control.

I like the Exterminator Shotgun, I just wish it carried more rounds than 5 in the magazine. It hits like a dump truck though and at surprisingly long range.

I don't have any experience with the Shotpistol + Riot Shield combo yet, I've been sticking with my beloved Bolt Pistol for ranged combat.

 

[Asian tech support]

I like the Exterminator Shotgun, I just wish it carried more rounds than 5 in the magazine. It hits like a dump truck though and at surprisingly long range.

One with a maxed out ammo stat should round to 7 and if you take Priority Endowment, it goes up to 8. It might actually go to 9 depending on if it rounds from the real amount (7) or the number it's rounding to 7 (6.52), as the node always rounds up (meaning the double barrel shotgun is now triple barreled).
This is all theoretical.

edit: i was fucking wrong. it caps at 6 with maxed ammo and priority endowment only adds 1

 

[Gorby-Chan]

Played a few missions with the arbites, most fun class other than ogryn. Just love going to bonk a dude and have a dog rocket out of nowhere and take him down and the dog explosion is hilarious

 

[Asian tech support]

The Mk8 exterminator shotgun fucks crushers with the rending shells. It's actually so good.

 

[Back me up!]

How long typically is each missions with randoms?

 

[Asian tech support]

How long typically is each missions with randoms?

Most maps are somewhere around 20-25 minutes.

 

[latinlover]

Arbitrator is fun, for Havoc he's a marginally worse version of the Ogryn, but considering how busted those are it's quite a compliment.

The talent tree is great, not a lot of the boring passive nodes, decent amount of choice, it feels like every point matters and there are some interesting tradeoffs.

Something I haven't seen mentioned (or I might be blind) is that Fatshark has somehow outfatsharked themselves on the jewery this time.
The price of the class I'm fine with, it makes sense, it's designed well, alright.
No commissary armor, kind of sucks, but I expected it, there are still weapons that haven't gotten their (dogshit ugly red or blue paint) skins there that have been in the game for years now, so at least no disappointment.
The penance track does kind of sting. They could easily have made some blue moebian coat of paint there, but it's still whatever, minor disappointment.
The real zinger however are the UNIVERSAL cosmetics. You know, the ones that have been advertised as "non-ogryn" in the REAL MONEY shop and able to be used by all regular human classes up to this point. This includes a lot of the back items (very few are usable with the Arbitrator, most aren't) and all the headwear. None of them are particularly lorebreaking though, you can't convince me GW made them do it. Anyhow, these were all (as expected) usable when the class initially launched, then after a while it was hotfixed out with the CM having the audacity to go 'Teehee, we fixed a nasty BUG allowing you to equip universal (REAL MONEY) items on Arbitrators, you're welcome!" This alongside the 5 euro cost for a raised visor on the default dogshit helmet is just astounding to me, for me they erased all goodwill they could have gotten with the release of a quite good DLC and octupling their usual playercount. Fucking niggers, you really couldn't let me have my bionic eye I paid for with my hard earned money, could you?

 

[ChampFantana]

It kinda annoys me that the Veteran doesn't have any traits that boost the magazine size on his guns. I really appreciate Priority Endowment for the Arbites because most of his class-specific weapons have miniscule magazines.

 

[Asian tech support]

So there's a slightly broken dog build going around. Basically what you need are dog nodes (electric attack, bleed pounce, brittleness), the dog blitz, and a bolt pistol with puncture and lethal proximity. Some of the dog attacks including the blitz are coded as ranged attacks and the bleed and explosion radius from the bolt pistol are applied by the dog when the pistol is out. I just tried it in auric and while we cruised the map and though the the numbers I put up weren't insane, they eclipsed my team everyone on including an ogryn. It kind of turns the dog into a shredder nade but where one burst can knock out a good chunk of a horde. I still think the dog-less build is better tho.

 

[Hammr2]

I kinda notice the dog is unironically a whole lot effective with those supposedly "support" debuff nodes. The entire the left tree with Castigator's stance and Execution order is a lot more stronger than it (skill description) looks. But you don't really need to have the dog pouncing on every specials and elites, just pounce on the tanky ones.
I find it's hilarious how you can keep moving forward, killing specials (except crusher, mauler, bulwark) left and right without caring.

I pick Lone wolf for right tree and shock mines. Maybe even choosing vox speaker for in between shock mines recharge, since both speaker and mines have 60 sec cooldown. Shock maul and shield mk9 is very easy to use to keep up Forceful stack, spamming L1-L2-block cancel on repeat. But Arbites shock maul is better weapon. I thought shotpistol & shield are kinda bad and maybe gimmicky, but they turns out okay.

The middle tree is probably the worst one. Imo, the extra reload speed for Terminus Warrant is more for Zarona revolver and either of exterminator shotgun choice. Maybe the melee attack speed and melee rending for crusher melee?

Character personalities wise, Fatalist is the most mislead one. Fatalist is more like Brutalist and the most unhinged. Maul is "I'm the Lex" but also similar to professional Vet, calling out with codenames. Authoritarian is by the book, nice but bland. Although, I think using Castigator's stance ability provide better distinct personality wise.
Because everyone is playing Arbites, it's harder to feel the more fun and exaggerate banters. Savant psyker respects Arbites, not calling them oppressors. Loose canon vet calls out something wrong with Arbites on killing spree, I think it was the Fatalist would take "offense" on that.