Warhammer 40,000: Darktide News

Here are the patch notes for. Hotfix #36 (1.3.1). It is now live on Steam and will shortly be live on our other platforms.

• Added a list of default suggested penances to display for players who access Hestia’s corner before they have any progress on other penances.
  

Dev Note: This is to avoid situations in which we present far-away or more difficult penances because of a player’s started progress.

• Fixed some penances referring to the wider Chasm Terminus area as “Chasm Station.”.
  
• Fixed a crash that could occur if a player redeemed an item reward for individual penance if they accessed “Penances” via character selection".
  
• Fixed an issue causing Auric Storm Survivor to not increment on successful mission completion.
  
• Renamed penance from Atoma’s Elite Guard to Miraculous Survival.
  

Dev note: The penance that was part of the initial release of 1.3.0 was falsely marked as Atoma’s Elite Guard, so we updated the name. With this hotfix we also added in the correct Atoma’s Elite Guard with its accompanying rewards.

[h3]Devoted Rejects,[/h3]
Here are the patch notes for our latest update, Path of Redemption. It is live now on Steam, and will shortly follow on our other platforms.
 


[h2]Shrine Penitentax[/h2]
Welcome to Shrine Penitentax, Sister Hestia Prine’s alcove on the Mourningstar’s main deck, and where she will be recording the penances the rejects undertake in their fight to liberate Atoma. It is located straight across from Sire Melk’s Requisitorum, and has been newly renovated to accommodate the expanding number of records and scrolls needed.   

(We had simply too many penances to be able to fit them all in the patch notes, so be sure to check them out in game!)


[h2]Reworked Penance menu[/h2]
The screen where penances were collected has been replaced with a new overhauled and extended menu, composed of three main elements.
[h3]The Penances Screen[/h3]
Similar to how the old screen held a list of the penances players could complete, the new screen holds all previous and new penances in one place. It divides the different penances into 10 categories, many of which players will recognise from the old menu, but also some new ones.

• The old Offensive, Defensive, and Team categories have been condensed into the new Tactical category.
  
• The regular and “redacted” class-specific penances have been merged together.
  

When browsing this screen players can select between two display modes. The first is a grid that shows penances as smaller badges with their icons, and is meant to serve as an overview of the total progress the players have obtained. The second is a more classic list view with two columns that will sort in-progress penances first, and place the completed ones at the bottom, so the players can at a glance see what they are progressing on together with a summary of the penance description. Furthermore, Hestia will remember their preference and showcase penances in their last used display mode if they close and re-open the menu.



Additionally, players can now select up to 5 penances they want to track their progress on (more on this a bit later on in the notes!) 
[h3]The Recommended Penances[/h3]
When players first access Shrine Penitentax they will be met with a revolving list of penances that shows: their completed penances with rewards they have not yet claimed; penances they are tracking; and suggested penances based on completion rate.
[h3]The Path of Redemption[/h3]
On the lower end of the menu, players will discover the new Path of Redemption track. Here, they can unlock a variety of rewards based on the total amount of Penance Points they have gathered during their time in Inquisitor Grendyl’s warband in the fight for Atoma.

Once a penance is completed, and upon return to the Mourningstar, players will receive a prompt to visit Hestia in Shrine Penitentax. This visit is to confirm the completion of their endeavors and to retrieve any points and rewards linked to them. When enough penances have been completed and sufficient Penance Points have been collected, players will have the opportunity to unlock the next reward in the track. Just like the rewards earned from penances, rewards acquired from the Path of Redemption will appear as locked items in players' inventories until they are redeemed.

The Path of Redemption currently has a total of 45 tiers (although more tiers are planned to be added overtime). The freshly earnable rewards include a collection of portrait frames, insignias, end-of-round poses, emotes, trinkets, weapon skins, backpacks, and character cosmetics like the Loyalist Moebian 6th armor. Further, it's exciting to reveal that the outfits showcased in the trailers and cinematics will be accessible through the Path of Redemption. These are commonly referred to as the Darktide 7, Zola's most trusted strike team.
[h3]New Enemy: The Dreg Tox Bomber[/h3]
Added Dreg Tox Bomber enemy to the Dreg faction. The Drex Tox Bomber throws Blight Grenades that explode into a cloud of gas which covers a big area, limits visibility and stays for a long time, but deals less damage less frequently compared to the Scab Bomber fire grenade. Players standing in the gas will lose Toughness and eventually gain Corruption, while their toughness regeneration is severely limited. The gas also applies a buff on enemies which makes them tougher to kill and harder to cleave through.




[h2]Mission Changes[/h2]

[h3]Mission Puzzles[/h3]
Each mission now includes a Martyr's Skull that players can obtain by solving a challenge, which may occasionally require assistance from other operatives. Successfully extracting with a Martyr’s Skull will result in the completion of a penance linked to that mission. Moreover, players will receive a small bonus of Plasteel the first time they successfully complete the challenge or when they assist a fellow player who hasn't previously completed it.
[h3]Heretical Idols in Missions[/h3]
Each mission now contains hidden Heretical Idols in a set of random locations. They can be destroyed to progress new penances, and to also get a small bonus of Plasteel for each destruction. 
[h3]Mission Type Changes[/h3]
Changed the Primary Objective of some missions to better match their overarching objective. This will put the amount of available missions per type to between 2 and 3. 

• Excise Vault Spireside-13 changed from Raid to Investigation.
  
• Ascension Riser 31 changed from Raid to Strike.
  
• Smelter Complex HL-17-36 from Strike to Repair.
  

Dev Note: We wanted to bring a better balance distribution to the Primary Objective types, and for some missions to be more intuitively linked to what players do throughout them. This change should also help with penances such as Omnissiah’s Hands.
[h3]New Final Objective and Mission Giver Treatment for Hab Dreyko[/h3]
We always felt that the story of the sample collection and the Phage Tree in Hab Dreyko wasn’t really told as well as it could have been, so we decided to revisit the experience. There’s now a new story being told by the mission givers (featuring some new characters, including Sister Hestia Prine and representatives from both House Margrave and House Barquette, Tertium's ruling class), and a new type of Interrogator called a Biotic Probe featuring a new Minigame. Additionally, the Phage Tree area features some thematic, sound, and graphical updates, as well as tweaks to intensity and gameplay.
[h3]New Special Condition: Pox Gas[/h3]
A new Special Condition, Pox Gas, is now available on the Mission Terminal. This Special Condition changes the mission to have more of a green/Nurgle/gas look and adds Pox Gas clouds in the missions. The Pox Gas clouds have a similar effect on players and enemies as the Dreg Tox Bomber gas, where they buff enemies and apply corruption to players. Additional Med Stimms will appear throughout the mission to help counter the Pox Gas effect. Low-Intensity and High-Intensity versions have also been added.

Additionally, two new Maelstrom missions have been added with this condition:

• "Maelstrom Mission E-I-III-VII" (Waves of Specialist Enemies. Pox gas. Nurgle's Blessing (Enemies have a chance to get a buff that makes them tougher). Only Dreg Faction. Increased patrols)
  
• "Maelstrom Mission J-I-II-IV" (Waves of specialists. Pox gas. Monstrous Specialists (Chance that Specialists become weaker Monstrosities). Snipers.)
  

[h2]Personality Scourge[/h2]
A new feature has been introduced to the Barber-Chirurgeon, known as the Personality Scourge. This procedure offers players the opportunity to alter all facets of their operative from the character creator (class being the only exception). This novel service for the rejects stems from a joint venture undertaken by Krall and Sefoni. To fund this venture, there's a necessity for a 50,000 Ordo Docket fee imposed by Krall.

Given that this operation demands the valuable Prismata Crystals, players will occasionally have Krall and Sefoni join them via Comm-Link during the Ascension Riser mission, to guarantee the unimpeded interception of the crystal consignment.
[h3]Height Change[/h3]
Players can now change their operative’s height at the Barber-Chirurgeon when using Modify Appearance, or as part of the new Personality Scourge.
[h3]Player Titles[/h3]
Titles are a new reward type displayed as extra text under character names in nameplates, both in the world and in the HUD. Titles are awarded through completing penances and advancing the penance track. By default, Titles are visible in missions, and they have colors that match their Rarity. Title colors and visibility in missions can be changed in the Options Menu under the Interface section, for players who prefer fewer elements on-screen.
[h2]Additional Changes and Quality of Life Features[/h2]

[h3]Tactical Overlay Tracking of Penances and Contracts[/h3]
Added functionality to the Tactical Overlay for players to track all their weekly contracts, as well as up to 5 penances. Players can select within the new penance menu what to track. The Tactical Overlay display is now also available in the Mourningstar.
Dev Note: The Tactical Overlay can currently only be called up in the Mourningstar while using a keyboard. A solution for gamepad support is being worked on and will arrive in a future patch.
[h3]Penance Chat Messages[/h3]
Added a chat notification when a player or a Strike Team member earns a penance. Celebrate the accomplishments and repentance together!
[h3]Sire Melk’s Contract Changes[/h3]
When players join the Mourningstar after new weekly contracts have been introduced, they will now receive an in-game notification and their operative will automatically accept these contracts. This means players no longer have to engage in a conversation with Sire Melk in order to begin progressing their contracts. When players join the Mourningstar after a contract has been fulfilled, they will receive an in-game notification and the reward will be automatically collected.
[h3]Voice Modulation UI Indicators[/h3]
Cosmetic items that alter an operative’s voice will now have a small icon on the item preview tiles, as well as a clarifying text in the item details.


[h3]Item Rarities[/h3]
Additional items will now display rarities. This includes Portrait Frames, Insignias, Emotes, End of Round poses, Trinkets, Weapon Skins, and of course the new Titles.
Dev Note: Previously only the “wearable” cosmetics displayed rarity. We wanted to add this to the rest of earnable items players can equip, including items players might already have obtained!
[h3]Aura Buff Icons in HUD[/h3]
Added a new buff category among the buff icons in the HUD for Aura buffs. This setting can be toggled from the Options menu. 
Dev Note: Since the game’s original launch we have added more Auras, so it could be hard to keep track of what specific Auras the other players have. This should make it a bit easier to see if players have an Aura effect active or not. 
[h3]Player Assist Notifications[/h3]
Added a user setting to show a message when players are Assisted (such as being Revived or Rescued) by another player. This setting can be toggled from the Options menu.
[h3]Combat Feed Settings[/h3]
Added user settings to control the messages shown in the Combat Feed, such as turning it on or off, adjust message duration, and choose to show additional types of notifications in the feed. Default values are set to the previously unchangeable settings (turned on, max 8 messages, and 5s duration per message).

[h2]Balancing - Talents (Abilities, Keystones)[/h2]

[h3]Ogryn[/h3]
The damage reduction granted by the 'Feel No Pain' keystone, combined with the high amount of Toughness being replenished by the 'Smash 'Em!' and 'The Best Defence' talents, made Ogryns extremely tanky in both melee and ranged engagements with just a small talent points investment.

Stacks of Feel No Pain will now be removed also by taking Toughness damage, but will also regenerate much more quickly, punishing Ogryns who only rely on face-tanking hits.

Conversely, several underperforming talents on the right side of the tree were buffed, rewarding Ogryn players more for continuing down the same side.

'Feel No Pain'

• Stacks will now be removed upon taking any kind of damage, and not only when taking Health damage.
  
  • Added a 1s grace period after a Stack is removed, where additional Stacks cannot be lost.
    
• Reduced the Stacks recharge cooldown from 6s to 3s.
  
• Changed the Toughness Damage Reduction bonus from being additive to multiplicative.
  

Dev note: This means that the bonus will have diminishing returns when combined with other Toughness Damage Reduction effects.

'The Best Defence'

• Toughness replenished: from 25% to 20%.
  

'Smash 'Em!'

• Toughness replenished: from 25% to 20%.
  

'Dominate'

• Rending on elite kill: from 15% to 10%.
  

'Trample'

• Damage dealt increase per enemy hit in Bull Rush/Indomitable: from 1% to 2%.
  

'Mobile Emplacement'

• Damage reduction while Bracing: from 15% to 20%.
  

'Steady Grip'

• Toughness regeneration while Bracing: from 2% to 3%.
  

'Burst Limiter Override'

• Chance to Trigger: from 5% to 8%.
  

'More Burst Limiter Overrides!'

• Chance to Trigger: from 8% to 12%.
  

[h3]Veteran[/h3]

'Executioner's Stance'

• Cooldown: from 35s to 30s.
  

'Marksman's Focus'

• Grace Time on Weakspot Kill: from 3s to 6s.
  
• Grace time on Weakspot Hit: from 1s to 3s.
  

'Tunnel Vision' 

• Toughness Replenishment per Stack: from 2.5% to 5%.
  

'Tactical Reload' 

• Reload Speed: from 20% to 25%.
  

'Out for Blood'

• Toughness Replenished on Kill: from 3.5% to 5%.
  

'Scavenger' & 'Survivalist'

• Added a 5s Cooldown.
  

[h3]Psyker[/h3]

'Disrupt Destiny'

• Made improvements to how and when the targets are selected.
  
• Stacks now fall off one by one (similar to Warp Charges granted by 'Warp Siphon').
  
• Duration: from 15s to 4s.
  

'Lingering Influence'

• Disrupt Destiny Duration: from 30s to 10s.
  

'Perfectionism'

• Disrupt Destiny Max Stacks: from 30 to 25.
  

'Scriers Gaze'

• Cooldown: from 30s to 25s.
  

'Empowered Psionics'

• Increased Based Damage of Assail Aimed Attacks: from 200 to 225.
  
• Increased Smite Damage Bonus: from 125% to 200%.
  

'Kinetic Presence'

• Damage against Elite Enemies: from 5% to 7.5%.
  

[h3]Zealot [/h3]

'Inexorable Judgment'

• Duration: from 8s to 6s.
  
• Max Stacks: from 20 to 15.
  

'Stun Grenade'

• Stun Duration: from 6s to 8s.
  
• Base Radius: from 7 to 8.
  

'Infectious Zeal'

• Shared Critical Hit Chance: from 33% of 'Blazing Piety' to 66% (5% Effective Crit Chance to 10%).
  

[h2]Balancing - Penance Changes[/h2]

• Updated the icons for the following Penances:
  
  • Hail the Omnissiah!
    
  • Bullying the Bully
    
  • For the Emperor
    
  • Cleanse the Taint
    
  • Banisher
    
  • Purge the Heretics
    

Malleus Monstronum

• Changed from needing to damage 90% of the Monstrosity’s health with Brain Burst to 50%.
  

Adapt to the Environment

• Changed required amount of needed completed Special Condition missions from 1, 50, 150, 250, and 500 to 1, 25, 50, 100, and 250.
  

Warp Battery

• Changed from needing to maintain max Warp Charges in a single session from 300s to 120s.
  

Dev Note: The changes to how Warp Charges work made this penance harder than originally intended.

Raiding Party, Seek, Locate, Destroy, No Stone Unturned, Disruptive Behavior, Strike Force, Master of Intrigue, and Ominissiah’s hand.

• Changed required amount of missions completed for each type  from 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 to 10, 25, 50, 75, and 100.
  

Purge the Heretic

• Changed required number of needed enemies killed in total from 1,000, 40,000, 100,000, 500,000, and 1,000,000 to 1,000, 40,000, 100,000, 250,000, and 500,000.
  

First Assignment, and Atoman Auxilia

• Changed required amount of missions completed from 100, 250, 500, 1,000, and 1,500 to 25, 50, 150, 250, and 500.
  

Through the Mud, Doomseeker, Lifeleech, and Built Like a Tank

• Changed required amount of missions completed as each class  from 25, 50, 100, 150, and 250 to 5, 25, 50, 75, and 100.
  

Don't stop me now!

• This Penance no longer requires a Private Game to be completed.
  

Like a Four-Leaf Clover

• Changed reward from 5 Penance Points to 10 points.
  

Prove Your Worth (All Classes)

• Changed reward from 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 Penance Points to 5 points for each Penance level.
  

Dev note: The old point values were not following the point progression rate the rest of penances have (multiples of 5).
[h2]Bug Fixes and General Changes[/h2]

[h3]Weapons and Abilities[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where the attack strength type for the Turtolsky Heavy Sword Mk VI 2nd attack and the Turtolsky Heavy Sword Mk VII 1st attack in the Heavy attack chains was incorrectly set to Light instead of Heavy.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Toughness replenish on melee kill bonus from the Ogryn "Unstoppable" talent was lower than intended.
  

Dev note: The value of the bonus was changed from 10% to 100%, meaning that the effective total amount of Toughness being replenished on melee kill when the talent is active should now be 10% of max Toughness.

• Fixed issue where the ability cooldown of "Scrier's Gaze" could not be reduced while the ability was active.
  

[h3]Enemies[/h3]

• Fixed a case where Rager type enemies could end up running in-place.
  
• Fixed so airlock doors don't close if enemies are inside the airlock.
  
• Increased stagger threshold for Crushers, Bulwarks, Plague Ogryns and Chaos Spawns.
  

Dev note: This was to make heavier enemies harder to chain crowd control.

• Made Scab/Dreg Ragers combo attacks dodgeable, reduced stun from attacks
  

Dev note: This was done to make Ragers a bit more interesting to engage with in melee.
Bulwarks

• Added a slightly faster light stagger animation.
  
• Removed possibility to spawn big packs of Bulwarks as patrols, reduced amount that can spawn simultaneously as roamers.
  
• Removed the "force field" in front of Bulwarks that allowed them to block hits/shots that didn't look like they would be blocked by their shield.
  
• Increased health by 33%, and set lower stagger resistance during attack animations.
  

Dev note: Bulwarks will now block only hits/shots that directly hit the shield frontally, allowing players to more easily flank them. To compensate for the loss of angle-blocking and the reduced spawn rate changes, the durability of Bulwarks has been increased.
Missions
Ascension Riser 31

• Fixed locations where bots would hang from invisible ledges in the end event of Ascension Riser 31.
  

Archivum Sycorax

• Slightly adjusted a Daemonhost location in Archivum Sycorax.
  

Dev note: The previous location could interfere with the completion of the new Martyr Skull penance. Chasm Logistratum

• Moved end event respawn beacon in Chasm Logistratum.
  

Chasm Station HL-16-11

• Fixed a location where players could end up out-of-bounds in Chasm Station.
  
• Fixed location where players could skip the end event elevator in Chasm Station.
  

Enclavum Baross

• Moved the respawn beacon in the mid event of Enclavum Baross.
  

Excise Vault Spireside-13

• Fixed a bug that caused players waiting to be rescued to be teleported after the mid-event prior to its completion in Excise Vault Spireside-13.
  

Hab Dreyko

• Fixed location where players would die when hanging from a ledge in Hab Dreyko.
  

Mercantile HL-70-04-510

• Fixed an issue where specialists could not spawn on the bridge in Mercantile HL-70-04-510.
  

 Power Matrix HL-17-36

• Fixed a location where enemies would fail to navigate through a door in Power Matrix HL-17-36.
  
• Fixed a crash that could occur when loading into the mission while an Auspex scanner required attention during Power Matrix HL 17-36.
  

Refinery Delta-17

• The final arena in Refinery Delta-17 has seen a number of changes to improve the gameplay experience.
  
• Dev Note: More ranged units will appear. Additionally, enemies will no longer appear from the doors in the central pillar, but will instead come from above and the sides of the arena. This should help balance the difficulty and encourage a more dynamic and diverse experience throughout the event.

Smelter Complex HL17-36 

• Added blockers to prevent players from going out-of-bounds in Smelter Complex HL17-36. 
  

Vigil Station Oblivium

• Fixed bots dying when rescuing players hanging from a ledge in Vigil Station Oblivium.
  

Misc/All

Fixed an issue that caused the Auspex display to not scale properly on screens with aspect ratios different from 16:9.
Fixed an issue that could cause inputs to be immediately registered as the Auspex scanner was opened.
Fixed an issue that could cause other inputs from blocking the player from interacting with the Auspex scanner.
Fixed an issue where players could become stuck in a black loading screen when matchmaking for a mission.
Fixed an issue with enemy spawns in Auric Hi-Intensity missions.
[h3]VO and Audio[/h3]

• Added missing female Cutthroat detonation pack lines.
  
• Added new VO lines for the player blitzes.
  
• Tweaked conversation balance and frequency across the game.
  
• Added killstreak responses for female Fanatic.
  

Dev Note:  Male counterpart will be added at a later date. 

• Shipmistress Brahms has taken a more active role on the Mourningstar vox channels.
  
• Player characters will now express frustration when failing at the hacking minigame.
  
• Limited Sefoni Meat Grinder gossip to three times per visit.
  
• Sound now bleeds through doors that only enemies can use.
  

Dev note: This should fix multiple issues where enemies could be totally silent even if the player was close to them. One example is the Poxburster, who could stand in total silence when spawning behind these doors.
[h3]HUD/UI[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where world markers (such as location, item, and enemy tags) would have their position on the screen dependent on resolution. This was most noticeable on ultra-wide monitors. These markers should now be correctly positioned in relation to other HUD elements regardless of resolution or aspect ratio.
  
• Fixed an issue where trying to tag items would behave differently when playing on different aspect ratios and/or with different HUD Scales. This was most noticeable on ultra-wide monitors with a lowered HUD Scale setting.
  
• Fixed alignment of the “Warning!” text for bigger events, causing it to overlap.
  

[h3]Cosmetics[/h3]

• Fixed hair clipping issues on the Veteran “Ragtie” type cosmetic headgear items.
  
• Fixed issues with clipping unnatural stretching on the scroll of the Veteran "Gilded Carmine Battleshroud" cosmetic headgear.
  
• Fixed clipping issues with the Veteran "Militarum Tox-Field Jacket (Trenchstorm Campaign)" cosmetic upper body.
  
• Fixed an issue with the belt not always displaying properly on the Zealot "Garb of the Gilded Redeemer" cosmetic upper body.
  
• Fixed an issue where Accessory- type items (like backpacks) would float behind a character while wearing the Zealot “Shrivener’s Jerkin” upper body cosmetic.
  
• Fixed an issue where wearing the Ogryn “Krourk MK IIE Monoptic Aug” cosmetic headgear could remove the character's eyebrow.
  
• Fixed a clipping issue on the Psyker “Kobaloi Topcoat” upperbody cosmetic which would occur on one of the body types.
  
• Fixed some deformation issues which could occur on some faces while wearing the Psyker “Excoriator Occular Augmetic with Psykhana Collar” headgear cosmetic.
  
• Fixed missing ‘obtained from’ information for “Mind Witch’s Duty Rainment” Psyker lower body cosmetic.
  

[h3]Other Fixes and Tweaks[/h3]

• Removed player stuns from normal enemy ranged hits and Toughness break.
  
• Lowered the toughness break grace damage reduction applied to players, especially on higher difficulties.
  

Dev note: Toughness break grace is a brief damage reduction for attacks that occur after Toughness breaks; this value has been lowered a bit to make ranged damage more dangerous.

• Optimized performance of fire effects.
  

Last week we delved into the reinvention of the penance system. Today we’ll take a closer look with the devs that worked on some of the features that are coming with Path of Redemption: the Pox Gas condition, the Dreg Tox Bomber and the Personality Scourge. Without further ado, let’s start with the new condition!
[h2]Pox Gas[/h2]


One interesting challenge we have in level design is to ensure that the content already released into the game not only feels fun to play, but most importantly feels relevant. After all, you are exploring a massive and sprawling Hive City, which is active and constantly changing. This is something we want our missions to reflect as much as possible.

With this in mind, the Pox Gas condition (together with the Dreg Tox Bomber) felt like a good fit, as it allows us to achieve a few things from a design standpoint:

• It adds a new type of environmental hazard not seen before.
  
• It changes the gameplay space players are used to traversing by blocking off shortcuts or popular camping spots.
  
• It puts players under duress inside Pox Gas areas, fostering the need for quick thinking and coordination.
  
• It gives players the ability to decide whether to push through the gas or wait it out in key locations.
  

To accomplish this, we started by hand-picking missions we believed would be good candidates for the condition, in order to provide a great first playthrough experience. We populated these missions with Pox Gas, and then proceeded with playtests and gathering feedback.

The core idea behind how Pox Gas would manifest itself in these selected missions was to have it appear on the “obvious” path, but also where players tended to linger during events. At first, Pox Gas was very much static with a set randomized seed upon starting a mission. Though this achieved much of what we set out to do, playtest feedback showed that it was a bit too static.

We iterated on the condition, giving it a more dynamic setup. We tuned it to ensure it would switch at regular intervals during gameplay, making it feel much less static. In addition, we added more to the initial design. For example,how it affects the gameplay space for players and enemies (the latter get a buff inside the swaths of gas).

A fun design challenge we had to wrestle with was – how can you tell where the gas will appear and when? What cues would we be giving players? To solve this challenge, we further tweaked the condition by:

• Making Pox Gas appear/disappear in sequence with lower gas as a warning.
  
• Populating any Pox Gas areas with Nurgle corals - as they are often seen on Nurgle miniatures in Warhammer: 40,000 - and have them “spew” it out.
  
• Adding various sound cues to hint at affected areas and provide a warning to players.
  
• Fading out the Pox Gas once it is done (and not just quickly fading in).
  

This leads us to where we are today and the current version of Pox Gas: a new dynamic challenge for some of our missions that is sure to change up how you play! We can’t wait to see how the most valiant of players will handle it.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this section of the dev blog!

Kristoffer, Senior Level Designer on Darktide

[h2]Dreg Tox Bomber [/h2]


Keep your eyes peeled, Rejects. Reports of cult activity are on the rise. Whispers of Admonition echo in dark corners and empty vox channels. We've just lost three strike teams in the Hourglass. Comms were confusing, but we have reports of rolling clouds of noxious fog and, what's worse, they seem to have weaponized it. If you thought one of these nuts chucking incendiary bombs around was bad, wait till the Tox Gas chokes your lungs. I'd steer clear if I was you.

Following the theme of noxious fumes, the Drex Tox Bomber throws Blight Grenades that explode into a cloud of gas. These grenades cover a big area, limit visibility and the gas stays for a long time, but deals less damage less frequently compared to the Scab Bomber fire grenade. Players standing in the gas will lose Toughness and eventually gain Corruption, while their toughness regeneration will be severely limited. The gas also applies a buff on enemies which makes them tougher to kill and harder to cleave through.

Similarly to the Scab Bomber, it affects the gameplay by forcing players to move away from wherever the Blight Grenade lands and explodes. Additionally, it affects players visibility in order to create more chaos, but in a less kill-focused way (more of a nurgle-love kind of way) compared to the Scab Bomber. The Blight Grenade also bounces more than the Scab Bomber Fire Grenade, making it a bit more unpredictable. Since its effect is a bit more impactful than the Scab Bomber, it will not drop its grenade if killed/staggered during its throw animation, and the far throw animation is longer in time.

Daniel, Gameplay Programmer on Darktide

[h2]Personality Scourge[/h2]


With the Personality Scourge we saw an opportunity to provide additional agency to players over their character customization. We noticed that changing personality (i.e. voice) and height was a common community request and the Barber-Chirurgeon Krall felt like a natural candidate to dispense additional character customization features.

To this end, Krall will establish a joint venture with Sefoni! This will let players head over to Krall, where he and Sefoni will set to work, remodeling whatever aspects of their minds or body that they would like to alter. Undergoing a Personality Scourge will give players the option to change all aspects of their operative from the character creator, except from class. Players will get to modify their background, body type, personality, and their name alongside all the elements available for change previously in the Barber-Chirurgeon. Players will be able to change their height both through the Personality Scourge and the regular appearance modification at the Barber-Chirurgeon.

Since this operation requires valuable Prismata Crystals, players won't be offered this service free of charge and will have to part with their hard earned Ordo Dockets. They will occasionally be joined by Krall and Sefoni via Comm-Link during the Ascension Riser mission to ensure the smooth interception of the consignment of crystals… Just don’t tell Morrow!

In other words, we wanted to expand the customization tools available to players beyond height and personality. In addition to these two elements, players will be able to change every element of their character’s backstory, their name, the full set of physical options including body type. As an example this means that if a player wants to swap the crime their reject is convicted for, they will also get to change and replace their prison suit.

Tim, Developer on Darktide
Ola, VO Designer on Darktide