Which Class Should I Choose in Darktide?

With Warhammer 40,000: Darktide releasing later today following its pre-order beta, an influx of new players are expected to join the action and begin battling the hordes of heretics with their fellow rejects. 

If you're one of the new players, you might be wondering which class is the right one for you. This article will serve as a short introduction to each class, to help you decide which one sounds like the right fit. You can create multiple characters in Darktide, so don't worry if you don't like your first choice or want to branch out later - you can eventually give everything a try. 

The Veteran Sharpshooter is arguably the strongest class in Darktide at the moment - it is capable of doing very high amounts of ranged damage to the more dangerous enemies among the ranks of the heretics - particularly elites, specials and bosses. The Sharpshooter's Volley Fire ability gives you short bursts of even higher ranged damage, and also allows you to spot dangerous foes through cover.

The main purpose of this class is to deal with threats from a distance, before they can cause major problems for your team. The better you are at aiming, the more you'll get out of the Sharpshooter. If you generally enjoy gunplay, or are an avid player of first person shooters, then this class will probably be the most natural fit for you, and a great place to start your Darktide adventures. 

While it has ranged capabilities of its own, the Zealot Preacher is more built for dishing out melee damage, being naturally proficient at clearing hordes of enemies. 

The zealot boasts high mobility, can periodically resist lethal damage, and after some levels up gets an option to self-heal with its Chastise the Wicked class ability. All of this allows for a very aggressive melee playstyle, but there are a good selection of ranged weapons too. 

The Zealot Preacher really fits the bill of "hybrid combat" more naturally than any other class in Darktide, and if you are coming in as a Vermintide 2 veteran, there's a good chance that this class will feel the most familiar to you. 

If you like using overwhelming brute force (and large amounts of explosives) to send enemies flying around in multiple directions, then you'll love the Ogryn Skullbreaker. 

With huge brute strength and increased durability, the Ogryn is a natural melee frontline class, capable of staggering the vast majority of enemies in the game to help keep the team safe. He is also very good at saving the day in tough situations - his Bull Rush ability allows you to charge through enemies, either to get to an ally who is in need of help, or just to disrupt the enemy ranks or close the distance to dangerous gunners. Unlike other classes, the Ogryn can revive and assist friends without being interrupted by damage. 

While he absolutely dominates at close quarters, the main downsides of the Ogryn are his slow melee attacks and limited long range options. His huge size also makes him a bigger target for enemies and less able to hide behind cover, so you have to be a little more mindful of your positioning when playing as the Ogryn. 

The fourth and final class available in Darktide on launch day, the Psykinetic is the least durable class in terms of base health and toughness (shield), but in spite of this boasts huge versatility and can call on the powers of the Warp to deal huge amounts of damage to enemies, or to keep them stunned. 

Weapons like the Force Sword allow the Psyker to work pretty well as a melee heavy-hitter, and there are also an array of staves to choose from, each one channeling the warp to take down enemies in different ways - burning, electrocuting or exploding them to great effect. 

The Psyker's Brain Burst ability allows you to deal high bursts of damage to dangerous enemies, but it takes a while to charge up and you can't do much else while you are channeling it, so it takes a bit of practice to master. 

The Psyker has to be careful not to channel their powers too much - accumulating too much Peril has lethal consequences, so the Psyker must sometimes take breaks from using their powers and switch to more conventional means, or meditate to calm things down. This latter mechanic gives the Psyker player something extra to manage while playing, which can make it a little bit more challenging at first, but it also makes the class very engaging to play. 

As Psyker you always feel like you have something to bring to the table - you just need to take extra care because you're a little less sturdy than the other classes. If you played as Sienna in Vermintide 2, then the Psyker will feel quite familiar to you. 

We hope you enjoyed this article about Warhammer 40K: Darktide.