Warhammer 40K: Darktide’s latest update will continue to flesh out developer Fatshark’s Left 4 Dead-like, expanding the game’s Mortis Trials mode while also adding a new enemy type, additional weapons, and more.
The free Bound by Duty update will go live September 23 for all platforms, and brings some significant additions. As detailed in a Fatshark blog, the bulk of the new content is for Mortis Trials, Darktide’s wave-based roguelike mode. There will be a new arena, the Theatre of Rectitude, where players can test their mettle, as well as new Indulgence archetypes that will offer new combat styles for players to experiment with. Additional Memory Echoes added to the mode will expand on NPC backstories to reveal more about the game’s cast of characters and the history of the ship that serves as the game’s hub, the Mourningstar.
While the Mortis Trial additions make up a large chunk of the update, there’s plenty new for players who prefer the game’s mission-based gameplay. A new weapon for the Veteran, the Power Falchion, will work similarly to the Zealot’s Relic Blade, allowing players to empower the weapon until it overheats. There will also be new Mark variants of the Bolt Pistol and Boltgun, both of which emphasize explosive damage.
Those new weapons will be put to the test against a new enemy type, the Scab Plasma Gunner. Wielding a powerful Plasma weapon that deals high damage, players will want to focus on these enemies whenever possible.
Fatshark completely revamped Darktide’s classes in 2023, adding greatly expanded talent trees and new abilities for each of the game’s four (now five with the addition of the DLC Arbites) classes. In Bound by Duty, Fatshark takes another swing at balancing the talent trees. The Veteran, Zealot, and Psyker trees have been reworked to be more open and allow for “more flexibility and player agency,” according to Fatshark, while the Ogryn and Arbites talents have also seen a “light touch-up.”
Rounding out the update is the addition of a dodge counter that informs players of how many dodge charges they have remaining, as well as a new event called Smuggled Munitions that will see players taking on squads of the game’s new Plasma Gun enemies while in low visibility conditions. For those looking to snag some free cosmetics, Twitch Drops for Darktide will be live from September 23 through October 13.
In other Warhammer 40K game news, Space Marine 2 will receive a long-awaited class next year in a free update. Meanwhile, Amazon’s Warhammer 40K TV show is likely still years away.
