Warhammer 40k Darktide adds new class, overhauls almost everything

Nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, beats the thrill of fending off hordes of mindless enemies with friends. Whether it's hunkering down in Kino Der Toten's back alley in CoD Zombies, or fighting waves of infected in Left 4 Dead 2, defending yourself against a never-ending foe is the truest form of challenge. This is something Warhammer 40k Darktide has in spades, and it's just got even better. Developer Fatshark has hit us with the one-two punch of a colossal free update and premium DLC, and both make now the ideal time to dive in.

While the universe of Warhammer 40k is too expansive for me to do it justice in one news article, Darktide does so with ease. You take on the role of Inquisitorial Agents, and it's your job to investigate a Chaos uprising taking root in the hive city of Tertium. With a wide array of classes, weapons, and playstyles, it's up to you how you choose to take on the forces of Chaos - and you're definitely going to die trying.

Today is a huge moment for Darktide, however, and it justifies the co-op shooter's position on our best Warhammer 40k games list. First up is the free Battle for Tertium update, which completely overhauls and expands the entire game. This patch reworks the core player experience, providing you with a clearer narrative focus.

While the new player experience was previously completely random, the Battle for Tertium narrative presents maps, enemies, and characters in a specific order. Story missions will play largely the same as regular ones, but with more control over which enemies you face. If you start fresh now, you'll also gradually unlock features previously gated by character level.

You also have access to a new mission board system. Missions are no longer tied to a certain difficulty, meaning you can select one and exactly how tough you want it to be. How you unlock difficulties has also changed, as you now get them by completing missions instead of leveling up characters.

That's not all, though, as developer Fatshark has also overhauled the wave-based Mortis Trials activity. The mode comes with a new difficulty setting called Auric, which should provide the highest challenge yet. Alongside that, though, Fatshark is shortening the time between waves, with enemy variety in Mortis Trials also increasing.

Starting now and running until Monday July 7, there's the new Inferno event. The streets of Tertium are quite literally ablaze, but managing to complete the event's objectives will net you a slate of rewards like Ordo dockets, Plasteel, and Diamantine.

Outside of the free update, there's also the game's first paid class DLC: the Arbites. Enforcing Imperial law, the Adeptus Arbites bring a whole new dimension to how you fight the forces of Chaos in the form of the Cyber-Mastiff. This gigantic robotic hound will automatically target anything that dares to come too close, but you can also command it to attack any specific target. When your loyal hound attacks a human-sized enemy, it will knock them down and keep them that way until dead. If your pooch goes for anything bigger, however, it'll do a jump attack and stagger the enemy instead.

The Arbites also comes with a load of exclusive new weapons, which you can use alongside the Cyber-Mastiff to cut a swath through the forces of Chaos. You have the Arbites Shock Maul, Shock Maul and Suppression Shield combo, Subductor Shotpistol and Riot Shield combo, and the incredibly powerful Exterminator Shotgun. As the Imperium of Man's police force, the Arbites are equipped to take on crowds no matter their size.

Fatshark has now launched both the premium Arbites class DLC and the free Battle for Tertium update in Warhammer 40k Darktide. You can grab the standard edition of the class DLC for $11.99 / £9.99. You can find the game on Steam here.

If you want even more ways to blast bad guys with friends, make sure you check out the best co-op games on PC right now. Otherwise, we've got all the best Warhammer games instead.

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