Warhammer 40,000: Darktide News

Warhammer 40K: Darktide update 1.08 adds crafting system

Warhammer 40K: Darktide update 1.08 is the latest from developer Fatshark in its series of patches to the early access beta for its industrial future fantasy co-op game. It says that the pre-order beta continues to allow the team "to test, find new issues, and solve them." While the release of Darktide patch 1.07 put the game on "a good trajectory," Fatshark says it has made even more progress with this latest release, though it notes that "there are still a few pesky issues out there we will continue to work through."

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Warhammer 40K: Darktide system requirements

It's almost time to start the hunt for Chaos beneath Hive Tertium, and the Warhammer 40K: Darktide system requirements have arrived so you can make sure your PC is up to snuff before you dive into the gory co-op game action. Fatshark has now revealed recommended specs for a variety of hardware environments, along with presets that should get you in the ballpark of where you need to be, even if you aren't using one of the best gaming PCs on the market.

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Community Update #3: Pre-Weekend Status - 1.0.8 Update

Rejects,

We are one week into the pre-order beta and less than a week from the full release of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, set for November 30th. Many of you have already had a chance to play. In fact, on average, players have played over 11 hours so far, with some highly devoted rejects (12%) spending more than 30 hours! The Emperor Respects.

It is exciting to see, but we clearly have more work to do.

An area of focus this week was improving the online service stability and connection, and - based on the current state - we have made a lot of progress in this area. That isn’t to say it's perfect. In fact, we are focusing on a set of connectivity issues that some of you are experiencing, often requiring you to use a VPN to play the game. While we appreciate the extra effort from our players, this isn’t an ideal state and something we plan to solve.

For the 1.0.8 update, our focus was to improve overall game stability and slowly introduce new progression & economy features. This is outlined below and then followed with a summary of the patch notes:

[h2]Game Stability [/h2]
We went into the pre-order beta with the idea that this is an opportunity to test, find new issues and solve them. We also said in our earlier update that we were not happy with the game's stability and that we have work left to do. That said, we have made progress in this area since the last patch, and the one deployed today. We hope this translates to a much more stable experience. That isn’t to say we are done, and there are still a few pesky issues out there we will continue to work through as we look to have a stable release.

[h2]New Features: Progression & Economy[/h2]
We are introducing more features as part of our progression system(s) and economy. For this update, we will introduce new cosmetics into the Armoury Exchange, an improved end-of-round experience, and launch the first element of the crafting system.

The first batch of character and weapons cosmetics are now available in the Armoury Exchange. Expect a small variety of items (e.g., upper and lower body, head slots, and weapons) with access to more items growing as a player’s level progresses.

To improve the player feedback of the progression system, we are also now highlighting what becomes available to players (weapons and feats) via new end-of-round cards.

Hadron Omega-7-7, the Mourningstar's resident Tech Priest, will now be offering her services at the Shrine of the Omnissiah - located in the hub just adjacent to the Psykhanium. The Shrine will be open to all Rejects with a trust level of 4 or higher.

With today's patch, we're introducing the Consecration ability, allowing you to upgrade the Tier of a Weapon or Curio you have available. As the item’s Tier is upgraded, a random Perk or Blessing will be added, depending on the Tier it has been upgraded to. Consecration uses crafting materials, with the cost increasing for higher Tier weapons.

Crafting materials are now available throughout the missions you undertake on Tertium. Be sure to explore the world, and you may find the materials to pick up. The resources collected are awarded to the entire team equally (everyone gets the same amount of resources, and there is no split depending on team size). As you explore the Hive City, you will find Plasteel, an exceedingly common material in the Imperium, and Diamantine, a much rarer material only seen on higher difficulty levels.

[h2]Gameplay Balancing[/h2]
As we said before, we will continue to balance the gameplay based on player feedback. In this update, we are trying to balance effortless kite-dodging and maintaining the nimbleness of our lighter weapons that live and die by the dodge. Beyond that, we are also monitoring the current dodge and toughness configuration and will continue to tweak it leading up to release.

1.0.8 UPDATE SUMMARY

The 1.0.8 update focuses on continuing to improve the stability of the game along with the introduction of new features. Below is a complete outline of the changes in this update.

New Features

Crafting Feature
- UI for interacting with the workshop is available
- Consecrate functionality is available for players.
- Players can earn crafting materials from missions via pickups.
- Hadron’s Workshop as an interaction point is also available.
- Armoury Exchange updated - Buy Character and Weapon Skins in the store!

Quality of Life

Added EOR (end-of-round) Cards to show better what you unlock.
Sire Melk’s Requisitorium should provide better items overall by only having pristine/mastercrafted items.
Made Zealot’s Penance tier 1 and 2 pants more distinct.

UI/UX

We’ve added better interfacing for some cases where invalid names are entered during character creation, making it clearer that the chosen name/input is not accepted.
Fixed unlocalized strings in the settings menu.
Fixing some localization on some cosmetics items.
Improved item sorting by rarity - should now consider item rating too (shouldn't crash now either!).

Fixes & Tweaks

Fixed an instance where players could not use weapon special when ADS with the Lucius Mk III Helbore Lasgun.
Fixed issues with some audio on the Excise Vault Spireside-13 mission.
Turned down the light emitted by the Zealot. The Zealot calmed down, and their overly bright aura will serve as a flashlight no longer.
Fixed it so the Convict Garb no longer clips when having a specific face.
Fixed an issue with some gloves not looking correct while sprinting.
Fixed an issue where several of the enemy stagger animations clipped a lot.
Can now use weapon special when ADS on Headhunter Autoguns and Braced Autoguns.
Fixed some flickering in some prologue cinematics.
The camera would jump through geometry when switching between players in spectator mode. Now, it’ll jump between players to remove those unsightly geometry collisions.
Weirdly, ammo increased indefinitely when reloading during the prologue, which could cause a crash. This was fixed, and you can reload as much as you need.
Fixed some issues with buffering melee attacks when playing as Ogryn. No attack was triggered when players held the button "too early" in a chain. We have now adjusted this a little to make the overall feel better.
Better Variety of grunts when pushing multiple enemies. We know you love a good grunt.
Some voice-over was unintentionally canceled by players placing world markers or using the comms wheel - we fixed that for ya.
Players can no longer stand on top of the elevator in Chasm Logistratum and render the mission impossible to complete.
Re-entering an airlock after using it no longer triggers the ‘group up’ VO, as this is no longer the objective.
Fixed an issue where stacking crit bonuses would break the crit calculation, rendering the weapon unable to crit. Say “crit” one more time…
Fixed the Force Staff sometimes having a +x% reload speed property - despite not being reloadable. It’s a staff, after all—no need to reload it.
Fixed an issue with the Accatran Mk VIIa Lasgun, where shots would disappear after traveling around 45 meters / 147.6 feet / 49 yards / 0.0045 Swedish Miles.
Made some minor tweaks to the minion melee movement.
Tweaked ranged minions range switch from melee to ranged override when players are kiting them not to occur too close to players.
Fixed some broken stagger animations for various minions and some sound tweaks.
Fixed animation on fuel hose NPC character being frozen at the beginning of the level 18 Path of Trust cutscene.
Prologue cinematic fix for Zolas wound not looking like a wound, but something…else.
Made some voice-over tweaks so that we always play a line when deploying a health pack or ammo crate.
Fixed issue causing two, or sometimes fewer, items to appear in the credits store on refresh.
Improved stability of end-of-round rewards finalizing.

Balance Adjustments

Setup separate weapon-specific dodge curves for light melee weapons, tune-up separate zealot baseline:
- Setup separate dodge curve for Zealot class, increase baseline dodge distance to 2.75m over 0.4s (was 2.5m over 0.4s).
- Increase dodge slide friction speed threshold to 5.5m/s (from 4.5) - we don't break down as hard on dodge-sliding.
- Setup weapon specific curves for agile dodge profiles to allow customized behavior:
  - For Atrox Tactical Axes and Maccabian Duelling Swords: Custom curve 2.75m over 0.35s with fine-tuned end of curve for chaining.
  - For Catachan Mk III Combat Blade: Custom curve 2.9m over 0.35s with fine-tuned end of curve for chaining.

We keep working on Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, and will keep optimizing the experience. We’re nowhere near done, and hope you appreciate the improvements we’ve already managed to implement. Please let us know your thoughts, and keep sharing your feedback. We appreciate you all.

Thank you.
The Darktide Team

[h2]HELPFUL LINKS & FAQ:[/h2]
What to Expect in the Pre-Order Beta - Outlined purpose of the Pre-Order Beta as well as a schedule of content & activities (subject to change)

Performance Blog - A detailed look at our approach on performance alongside helpful hints to tweak your performance

Twitch Drops - What you need to do to link your account and receive Twitch Drops

When does the pre-order beta end?
The pre-order beta will end on the 29th.

Will I still have access to the beta if I pre-order now?
All pre-orders will have access to the beta until it ends, so long as the game was purchased before the close of the beta.

I received the game as a gift, will I be able to access the pre-order beta?
So long as you have a normal game key, you will be able to access the pre-order beta.

I recently bought an NVIDIA GPU, where is my promotional Darktide key?
NVIDIA is currently hosting a promotion where new purchases of qualifying RTX cards will also receive a key for the Darktide Imperial Edition.

If you have not received your key for the Darktide Imperial Edition, please contact NVIDIA directly.

The easiest way to do this is by using the 'Ask us a question or 'Live chat' buttons at the bottom of NVIDIA's Support page here:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/support/consumer/

More information on this promotion can be seen on NVIDIA's website:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce/campaigns/pc-game-bundle-warhammer-40000-darktide-imperial-edition/

When will more detailed weapon stats be available?
We understand the way information is presented for weapons stats is unclear.

We hear you and are working on changes we will be implementing post-release.

When will I be able to access my pre-order bonus items? When will I be able to access the Devoted Rejects cosmetics?
Players will be able to access these items when we launch the full game November 30.

Will crossplay and cross-save be available?
We see the value in cross-play and cross-save and fully intend to support cross-play shortly after launch. Cross-save is more complex to execute and still being investigated.

When is Darktide coming to consoles?
We know this is one of the top questions console players have.

We will have more news on the release date for Xbox Series X|S as soon as possible and likely immediately after the release on PC.

At this time, Darktide has only been announced for PC and the Xbox Series X|S.

Will progression persist between the pre-order beta and the full game?
Our goal is to ensure all progression will carry over from the moment you start playing through full release - but we cannot fully guarantee at this moment. The reason is that we are still using this period to test our progression systems, and we want to reserve the opportunity to change or reset things in the event something unforeseen or critical happens.

But we assure you that we will do our best to ensure all your characters and progression carry over!

Will I be able to refund the game on Steam if I play the pre-order beta?
Yes, we believe you will have the ability to refund with the same refund rules applying once Darktide launches and after November 30th. Please send an email to (steam support) for further details or additional clarification.

Warhammer 40K: Darktide is on "a good trajectory" for stable launch

There's an update out now for the Warhammer 40K: Darktide early access beta that fixes various crashes and bugs that have popped up since the grimdark co-op game became available to players who pre-ordered. Developer Fatshark says it is still "far from happy" with where stability and performance are in Darktide, but that the data generated by thousands of beta players has put things on "a good trajectory to have a stable game" when Darktide officially launches November 30.

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Community Update #2: Welcome to Week 1, 1.0.7 Update

Rejects,

We have just finished our first full weekend of the pre-order beta of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide and, frankly, have been both excited and overwhelmed by the sheer volume of players jumping in. It’s a great opportunity for many of you to play, but it also helps us shape the game leading into the launch on November 30th

As many of you may have also seen, we truly are using this time to pressure test the systems and beta the game. Some of this isn’t without hiccups, and we have had our share of them, but some of it can deepen players' experience. A good example of that is our “Ventilation Purge” event. It was one of the many conditions we can add to the game, keeping your stay in Tertium fun and ever-changing.

But we have work to do.

We entered this pre-order beta with the idea that it was a great opportunity to continue improving the experience, and in some areas, we are ahead of the game - but in others, we are behind.

In particular, below are the top issues we observed, our current state, and what we hope to address in the 1.0.7 Update, along with future updates.

[h2]Online Services & Matchmaking[/h2]
We made every attempt to scale our services for launch through both a technical and closed beta, but the truth is that there is no good way for us to simulate a real-world environment at this scale. This weekend served as yet another test. Unfortunately, we did encounter a few bugs which negatively impacted players, and the ability to play. So, if many of you were bounced out of a game or no longer could connect due to a “backend error,” know that throughout the weekend, the team worked through many of these issues, which should help improve the service. That isn’t to say it is where we want it to be.

[h2]Stability & Performance[/h2]
We are far from happy and seeing more crashes than we had hoped. At the same time, we also expected some of this and are looking to the pre-launch beta to test and help address many of these issues. So far, we have identified and fixed many of the current issues causing crashes in the recent and upcoming patches, but there are also a few remaining. In particular, there is one big category of crashes manifested as “GPU-hangs”, that probably still will show its ugly face at times. That said, we are on a good trajectory to have a stable game at the time of release due in large part to the many players that are helping provide us with the required data to help address these issues.

In terms of performance, it is safe to assume that we see a high variance between players with seemingly similar hardware. Given the wide range of configurability in the game, it's difficult to automatically find the best parameters for every player. That said, the more data collected, the more we believe we improve in the detection and automation of configurability. At the same time, we will continue to adjust the presets and encourage all of you to visit the Performance blog in the event that you don’t believe you are getting the best performance in the game. Finally, we will continue working on further optimization, especially regarding ray tracing.

[h2]Gameplay Balancing & New Features[/h2]
Meet Krall. Oska Krall. As the designated Chirurgeon of the Mourningstar, Krall will help Rejects with their regular beauty routine. From simple haircuts to sophisticated changes in your overall appearance, Krall is a maestro specializing in “new outlooks on life,” as he calls it. Make sure to visit him and leave a positive review!

We have also continued to work on balancing our classes.

The Zealot class has had a balance pass, some fixes, specifically on the toughness feats side, and updated player-facing texts. The aim is to make the choice between the three options a bit more interesting whilst establishing Zealots' survivability as an engaging challenge with sensible power. The bleed functionality has also been overhauled to provide proper stacking, opening up the viability and synergy of Zealot, Ogryn, and Veteran talent options.

We included the missing piece of the initial Psyker balancing, namely the Force Sword push. We’ve removed the peril cost of pushing along with a slight range nerf. Peril cost is still there on the push follow-up, though, which should help to balance its ability to ignore the stagger reduction.

We’ve taken the opportunity to bump Infantry Autoguns, Shredder Autopistols and Ogryn Bully Club to see if they can enrich the gameplay. At the same time, we reviewed some of the challenge outliers, higher-difficulty spawns, and events as part of our effort to present a fun but challenging experience. Locking the forces of chaos in melee should be a bit smoother while clamping down some of the more insane spikes in the pacing.

Look to us to keep an eye on rebalancing our classes. It is something that we will do regularly throughout the pre-launch period - and continue into launch as we respond to player feedback.

1.0.7 UPDATE SUMMARY

The 1.0.7 update offers many improvements and fixes to issues identified over the past few days. In particular, there is a focus on improving the stability of the game, game rebalancing, and deepening customization. This is a summary below, with more detailed patch notes to follow in the Fatshark forums.

Stability/Bugs/Fixes

Fixed a significant amount of crashes - matchmaking crashes both on server and client.
Fixed “stuck in position 1” queuing issue
Addressed many of the lack of XP in progression issues
Fixed crashes that could occur when tabbing out while watching a cinematic
Fixed crashes when a player fell out of bounds
Fixed issues in the credit store where it was impossible to buy things with in-game currency
Fixed issues where the third-person camera would follow the player when falling out of bounds.
Fixed issues where the Tigrus Mk II Heavy Eviscerator damage stat did not work as intended, damage defaulted to 50%. Now should scale damage properly.
Fixed issues where the start animation of a heavy attack with the Thunder Hammer could get stuck.
Fixed multiple crashes caused by the Beast of Nurgle.
Fixed crashes that could occur when leaving the Mourningstar to head on a mission when having a specific trait equipped.
Fixed crashes that could occur with certain weapon traits.
Fixed issues where a player could complete the 'Up Close and Personal' Penance without meeting the appropriate criteria.
Fixed issues where Veteran Sharpshooter's 'Covering Fire' did not work correctly.
Fixed issues with Zealot's talent descriptions not matching what they actually do.
Fixed various issues where if you look straight down, the third-person character's head will twist and rotate 180 degrees.
Fixed an issue where players would sometimes spawn with both weapons in hand.
Fixed an issue where the Ogryn's Grenade Box collides with the primary weapon on block.
Fixed an issue with the Armory where the stock may occasionally be refreshed prematurely before the timer should have elapsed.
Added codes to be displayed alongside errors.
Fixed an issue where "Toughness damage reduction" effects didn't work vs. melee damage. (both talents and coherency effects)
Fixed an issue where Zealots "Regain toughness while in melee" talent didn't trigger properly.

Rebalancing/Gameplay tweaks

Veteran talent balance pass, bleeding.
Zealot talent balance pass, toughness, and bleeding updates.
Ogryn balance pass and grenade amounts adjusted.
Ogryn club, attack combo adjusted. Damage values increased against certain enemy types.
Ogryn shovel increased mobility
Adjusted pacing w/ enemy characters, hordes, and spawns
Additional Psyker gameplay adjustments, including removal of a 'push' charge cost for the Force Sword
Bump up for autoguns and autopistols
Ranged Minions attack attributes adjusted

Player Interactions

Changed revive/rescue/pullup states to be 3rd person

Deepening Customization

Added Chirurgeon of the Mourningstar

Go on. Spend some time with the Chirurgeon. We challenge you to share your best new looks - and feedback.

Thank you.
The Darktide Team

[h2]ADDITIONAL FAQ:[/h2]
When does the pre-order beta end?
The pre-order beta will end November 29th.

Will I still have access to the beta if I pre-order now?
All pre-orders will have access to the beta until it ends, so long as the game was purchased before the close of the beta.

I received the game as a gift, will I be able to access the pre-order beta?
So long as you have a normal game key, you will be able to access the pre-order beta.

I recently bought an NVIDIA GPU, where is my promotional Darktide key?
NVIDIA is currently hosting a promotion where new purchases of qualifying RTX cards will also receive a key for the Darktide Imperial Edition.

If you have not received your key for the Darktide Imperial Edition, please contact NVIDIA directly.
The easiest way to do this is by using the 'Ask us a question' or 'Live chat' buttons at the bottom of NVIDIA's Support page here:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/support/consumer/

More information on this promotion can be seen on NVIDIA's website:
https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/geforce/campaigns/pc-game-bundle-warhammer-40000-darktide-imperial-edition/

When will more detailed weapon stats be available?
We understand the way information is presented for weapons stats is unclear.

We hear you, and are working on changes we will be implementing post-release.

When will I be able to access my pre-order bonus items? When will I be able to access the Devoted Rejects cosmetics?
Players will be able to access these items when we launch the full game November 30.

Will crossplay and cross-save be available?
We see the value in cross-play and cross-save and fully intend to support cross-play shortly after launch. Cross-save is more complex to execute and still being investigated.

When is Darktide coming to consoles?
We know this is one of the top questions console players have.

We will have more news on the release date for Xbox Series X|S as soon as possible and likely immediately after the release on PC.

At this time, Darktide has only been announced for PC and the Xbox Series X|S.

Will progression persist between the pre-order beta the full game on launch?
Our goal is to ensure all progression will carry over from the moment you start playing through full release - but we cannot fully guarantee at this moment. The reason is that we are still using this period to test our progression systems, and we want to reserve the opportunity to change or reset things in the event something unforeseen or critical happens.

But we assure you that we will do our best to ensure all your characters and progression carry over!

Will I be able to refund the game on Steam if I play the pre-order beta?
Yes, we believe you will have the ability to refund with the same refund rules applying once Darktide launches and after November 30th. Please contact Steam support for further details or additional clarification.