Warhammer 40K Darktide features four classes at launch. Each class has different strengths and weaknesses. Depending on your playstyle, you might prefer one class over the other. If you want to play the Veteran, you might want to check out this guide so that you know everything about him.
This Warhammer 40K Darktide Veteran class guide will show you his abilities, talents, loadout, and weapons that you can collect. Plus, we will also show you an optimal build that can help you win more games. With that said, let’s dive right in and get started.
Veteran Class Guide in Warhammer 40K Darktide
The Veteran is a beginner-friendly class that will seem easy and familiar to most new players. Drawing from extensive military experience, Veterans fight tirelessly to defend the Imperium from any heretical foes that may threaten it. The Sharpshooter, in particular, has trained long and hard in ranged combat, drawing a preference for longer-range weapons such as the lasgun or autogun.
Due to their high fire rate and precise aim, they are good against Elites & Specials. To make Veterans even better, they have an ability that increases weak spot damage at the cost of slower movement. Since you will be fighting from a distance, you don’t have to worry about the slow movement speed in most cases.
They also have a frag grenade in their inventory which allows them to eliminate enemies that are around the corner. Plus, it is also great against hordes since you can take out a good chunk of enemies with a well-thrown frag.
Abilities
Every class in Darktide has various abilities that help them carry their team to victory. Some of these abilities are passive while others are active that you can use when things get sticky.
- Frag grenade (Tactical Action): Throw a grenade on a short fuse timer, then enjoy the explosion.
- Make Every Shot Count (Passive): Damage to weak spots is increased by 15%.
- Be Prepared (Passive): All ranged weapons have an increased ammo reserve of 40%.
- Volley Fire (Class Ability): Instantly equip your ranged weapon and enter a ranged stance for 5 seconds, where you can set all specialists and elites (except for ogryns) as priority targets. The stance increases your ranged damage by 50%.
- Coherency Bonus: You and your allies will receive a small amount of ammo whenever you take down an elite.
During your fight against Elites or Specialists, you should always use your Volley Fire so that you deal enhanced damage to them and can target them easily. Plus, if you have good aim, you can deal 15% increased damage on all your shots. That is why you must practice landing headshots since they can quickly eliminate enemies.
Talents
Just like abilities, every class has various Talents as well. These talents allow you to choose an optimal path in each game and adapt to the situation. Getting to know all the Talents will help you understand what you need in certain scenarios.
| Tiers | Talent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirmed Kill | Replenish half of your Toughness on an elite kill, and the rest over time afterward. |
| 1 | Exhilarating Takedown | Replenish one-fifth of your Toughness when killing an enemy at range by shooting a weak spot. |
| 1 | At Arm’s Length | Replenish 7% Toughness per second while more than eight meters from enemies. |
| 2 | Sniper | Deal up to 25% more damage the further away you are from your target. |
| 2 | Tactical Reload | Reload 20% faster if you have leftover ammo in your magazine. |
| 2 | Demolition Stockpile | Regenerate a grenade every 45 seconds. |
| 3 | Bio-Optic Targeting | Volley Fire now highlights enemies for allies in coherency as well as the Veteran. |
| 3 | Covering Fire | You and allies in coherency have an 8% chance to replenish a grenade upon killing an enemy. |
| 3 | Demolition Team | When you kill a heretic with a ranged attack, allies in the melee range of your kill gain 4% toughness. |
| 4 | Unwavering Focus | Take 75% less damage from all ranged attacks while in your Volley Fire stance. |
| 4 | Duck and Dive | Dodging, sprinting, and sliding while avoiding melee attacks grants 20% of your Stamina. |
| 4 | Camo Expert | While standing still, enemies are much less likely to target you. |
| 5 | Frag Storm | Frag Grenades apply a stack of Bleed to all enemies struck. |
| 5 | Deadshot | While using the alternate fire on a ranged weapon, you gain a 25% critical hit chance, and 95% reduced weapon spray, but drain 10% of your Stamina every second. |
| 5 | One After Another | Gaint +50% reload speed for a short burst after killing an elite. |
| 6 | Crackshot | Gain +75% armor penetration during Volley Fire |
| 6 | Killing Machine | Killing an elite or specialist enemy highlighted by Volley Fire fully refreshes Volley Fire’s duration. |
| 6 | Deadly Focus | During Volley Fire, you gain 95% reduced sway, 75% reduced recoil, and 95% reduced shot spread. |
Weapons
The Veteran makes use of the reimagined ranged combat of Darktide. He is a Sharpshooter who excels in ranged combat but also has good options for melee weapons. The starting loadout will be the same for everyone but as you progress, you will unlock new weapons.
Remember that not everyone will unlock the weapons at the same level. Some people may find the weapons swiftly, while others may need to level up further. This is primarily thanks to luck from the Emperor’s Gift feature and the shop rotations.
Ranged
Since the Veteran is a sharpshooter, your primary weapons will be ranged. There are a lot of great choices to choose from. Each weapon unlocks at a different level and you can get them from the shop. So, make sure that you check the store whenever you meet the level requirement.
| Weapon | Unlock Requirement |
|---|---|
| Kantrael MG la Infantry Lasgun (Starting Weapon) | Level 1 |
| Kantrael MG IV Infantry Lasgun | Level 2 (when the shop opens up) |
| Accatran MG MK II Heavy Laspistol | Around Level 5 |
| Kantrael MG XII infantry Lasgun | Around Level 5 |
| Lus MK III Shredder Auto pistol | Around Level 6 |
| Gaia MK VIII infantry Autogun | Level 6 |
| Lucius Helbore MK II Lasgun | Level 8 |
| Columnus MK II Braced Autogun | Level 11 |
| Lawbringer Mark VI Combat Shotgun | Level 13 |
| Vraks MK VII Headhunter | Around Level 14 |
| Accatran Mk II Recon Lasgun | Around Level 20 |
| Locke Mk IIb Spearhead Boltgun | Around Level 20 |
| M35 Magnacore Mk II Plasma Gun | Around Level 25 |
You might have noticed that the majority of these weapons are either Autoguns or the Lasgun. If you prefer a weapon with a high fire rate but more recoil, you should choose the Autogun. However, if you prefer weapons that deal a lot of damage but do not have a swift fire rate, the Lasgun is your go-to weapon.
Melee
If enemies get too close for comfort, you should take out your melee weapon and whack them around. While these weapons aren’t strong like Ogryns’ melee weapons, they can get the job done.
| Weapon | Unlock Requirement |
|---|---|
| Standard-Issue Munitorium Sapper Shovel (Starting Weapon) | Level 1 |
| Catachan MK 1 Devil Calw Sword | Level 2 |
| Catachan MK III Combat Blade | Level 5 |
| Rashad MK II Combat Axe | Level 5 |
| Antax MK V Combat Axe | Around Level 6 |
| Catachan MK IV Devil Claw | Around Level 10 |
| Cainsword | Around Level 14 |
| Munitorum Mk III Power Sword | Around Level 18 |
| Orestes Mk IV Assault Chainaxe | Around Level 21 |
Depending on what your team needs, you can choose weapons that either have crowd control, horde slaying, anti-armor, or big burst effects. This is completely your preference, so, make sure that you choose a melee weapon that will help your team.
Since you are primarily a ranged character, try to make the most out of your guns. Try to keep your distance from the enemy so that you do not have to use melee weapons at all.
Build
Finally, let’s talk about an optimal build that will help you perform well. While you can play the Veteran in a few ways, you should prioritize being the team’s assassin. Since you excel in ranged combat, try to land headshots and get rid of all ranged enemies that might hinder your Ogryns.
As such, here is a good build that you can try:
- Tier one: Confirmed Kill
- Tier two: Sniper
- Tier three: Covering Fire
- Tier four: Camo Expert
- Tier five: One After Another
- Tier six: Killing Machine
This build will allow you to deal additional damage the farther you are from your target. If you attack their weak spots, you can potentially deal up to 40% additional damage. This is great against Elites since you can easily take them out before they pose a threat to your team.
Plus, thanks to the Covering Fire talent, your allies will gain 4% more toughness when you kill a heretic with a ranged attack. This can make your Ogryns almost unkillable, and they can do a better job of tanking for your team.
In tier 4, I like to choose Camo Expert since enemies are less likely to target you if you are standing still. Guess Drax was right after all. If you stand really still, you become invisible. This can help you stay still and focus on the weak spots instead of moving around and missing most of your shots.
In tier 5, you can either select One After Another or Frag Storm. The latter will allow you to apply the bleed effect on enemies hit by your frag grenade. However, One After Another grants you a +50% reload speed for a short burst after killing an elite.
Finally, in tier 6, you can either choose Killing Machine or Crackshot. If you feel like your team is lacking armor penetration, you should select Crackshot. But, if you want to refresh the cooldown of Volley Fire, you should get Killing Machine.
Conclusion
There you have it, that’s everything you need to know about the Warhammer 40K Darktide Veteran class guide. Hopefully, this guide assisted you in understanding how this class works and how you can use it. As aforementioned, it is ideal for beginners and players who love ranged combat.
Which class do you like the most in Warhammer 40K Darktide? Is there a specific class you want us to cover? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
