After six hours of tweaker gunslinging and trench warfare, I'm sold on Darktide's imminent Hive Scum update

2 days ago 5

I was precisely whelmed erstwhile Fatshark revealed the mohawked, chem-huffing Hive Scum arsenic Warhammer 40,000: Darktide’s adjacent class; astir of the existing subordinate characters being unwashed crims arsenic it is. Turns out, however, they marque bully institution erstwhile it counts. Having played astir six hours of Hive Scum, up of motorboat connected December 2nd, I’m convinced the people offers thing caller – and adjacent those who don’t driblet the requisite $12 connected it volition still, connected the aforesaid day, get a rollicking caller ngo benignant that delves into decently muddy 40K crushed warfare.

Let’s commencement with that, since it’s the biggest of the update’s free-to-all additions. No Man’s Land is simply a shorter cognition than astir modular missions, akin to the speeding bid occupation that Darktide gained past year, and takes your warband extracurricular the game’s main metropolis for a muckier trench battle (alongside, successful a bully touch, 1 of 40K’s hilariously proportioned tanks). Also similar the bid run, it’s an astir non-stop slugfest, with lone the briefest of pauses to fto your armoured conflict buddy done a gate, oregon to bargain immoderate Space iPads from an force bunker.

It's a elemental assignment, successful different words. But it’s besides enjoyably pacey, and the trench mounting – well-trodden crushed for warfare games, yet a refreshing alteration from Darktide’s accustomed metallic corridors – does look strangely beauteous successful places. Light rays chopped done the particulate of a bombed outpost, portion the mountainous architecture of the hive metropolis looms implicit the battlefield. It’d beryllium beauteous if it weren’t truthful horrible.

The Hive Scum doesn’t marque specified a beardown archetypal impression. Especially aft the Arbites, with their Judge Dreddish personas and unsocial K9 handler mechanics, they don’t initially look to execute the favoritism you’d privation from a premium DLC class. Most of the personality/voice options conscionable dependable similar gruffer cousins to the default Veteran’s, and portion they commencement disconnected with dual instrumentality pistols – akimbo-ing being a Darktide archetypal – my Scummer’s aboriginal levels lacked the freshness of enactment flavour that the canine cops had.

However, with a fewer accomplishment points to walk connected the run-and-gun subclass style, it each began clicking similar a Tech-Priest’s mechanical thumb. If the Veteran is each astir close shots from range, and the Zealot is dedicated to sustained, thick-of-it meleeing, a gun-specced Hive Scum takes the champion of some and makes thing that inactive feels abstracted from either. A tally ‘n’ gunner that’s perpetually magdumping down heretics’ throats, shredding heavies and mob crowds alike successful extended, unbroken sprints. The further down the endowment histrion you go, the longer you tin support these killchains going, portion adding different mass-hurt tricks similar rocket launchers (effective, fun) and a perks that woody immense bonus harm to enemies changeable successful the backmost (effective, challenging).

I haven’t tried the different 2 main playstyles, 1 of which is melee-focused (and which, admittedly, does astatine slightest dependable a small too Zealot-like) portion the different plays up the illicit chemistry space by encouraging players to pump up themselves and their teammates with syringes of custom-mixed Fun Times. I volition accidental that my preferred attack is simply a risky one: if meringue inactive exists successful the 41st millennium, my Hive Scum’s armour is seemingly made from it, truthful a severely timed reload oregon positioning misstep tin astir instantly effect successful a downing. But the accomplishment upgrades are flexible capable to instrumentality the borderline off: I regain toughness (shield, basically) for each baddie killed astatine adjacent range, some encouraging and protecting assertive footwork.

And immoderate Hive Scum, careless of whether they spec for a sketchy chemistry degree, tin set the effects of their syringes. Although I could blend damage, stamina efficiency, and onslaught velocity buffs, I invested heavy successful toughness regen, which I could harvester with the Desperado quality to counterbalance my inherent fragility with constricted bursts arsenic an infinitely sprinting, deceptively tough, savagely destructive blur of ammunition casings and shouting. I tin discontinue immoderate clip I privation to, thanks.

I inactive deliberation Arbites are the stronger, and decidedly much ambitious of the 2 DLC classes truthful far, but I’m decidedly not averse to sticking with my shooting dervish Hive Scum connected the 2nd. Especially erstwhile I tin fto them escaped connected No Man’s Land, which itself looks similar the latest successful a drawstring of high-quality ngo expansions – and, to my ears, sounds similar it’s accompanied by yet different Jesper Kyd banger.

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