Warhammer 40,000: Darktide might have had a rocky launch again in 2022, however you definitely cannot fault developer Fatshark’s dedication to enhancing its grimdark creation within the time since. Whereas we’ve had new missions, enemies, and weapons, the largest focus within the sport’s updates up to now has been enhancing the core expertise and primary programs, from efficiency fixes to crafting adjustments to a full overhaul of sophistication development.
And apparently that work remains to be ongoing. Following a serious content material drop with the Secrets and techniques of the Machine God replace on the finish of final month, Fatshark has revealed its subsequent main mission: a whole rethink of the itemisation system, to make investing in your weapons extra satisfying.
“We took the philosophy with this sport to not be afraid of doing fairly huge adjustments,” says Victor Magnuson, Darktide’s head of sport design. “The beginning of that was the category overhaul. We felt on the launch that we weren’t actually pleased with how we ended up with our lessons. So we determined to rebuild it… and now we’re doing the identical form of concept with itemisation.”
The present system could be very targeted on getting the precise drops. Acquired weapons have their very own max stats and randomly decided blessings (particular skills) and perks (bonuses), and may solely be modified to a restricted diploma. A selected bone of competition among the many group has been “locks”. Blessings and Perks may be re-rolled, however solely twice whole—after that, no matter you’ve got acquired is locked and cannot be modified. If it is locked with the suboptimal qualities nonetheless on it, it may well really feel like a waste of the invested assets.
The new system will scrap locks fully, and introduce mechanics known as Mastery and Experience (names not essentially last). As you utilize a weapon, you will achieve Mastery XP for all weapons of that sort (together with all of the totally different marks), which is able to unlock blessings, perks, and cosmetics for them. In the meantime, the Experience menu is the place you’ll enhance a person weapon’s stats, and apply your unlocked blessings and perks freely with no locks in sight.
It definitely appears like a greater answer, permitting gamers to really feel like they’re progressing with out being sufferer to the whims of destiny whereas making investments in your favorite armament extra satisfying and rewarding. Nevertheless it must also be a basis for extra to come back.
“We need to be sure that if we redo this technique, we do it in a means the place we will increase on it,” says Anders De Geer, Darktide’s chief inventive officer.
“These reworks have to carry compounded worth to the sport, proper?” provides Juan Martinez, the sport’s government producer. “Like once we did the category overhaul, or once we launched penances, it allowed us to do a bunch of different issues. These are programs that different programs can work together with now, and it provides this incremental worth to all the opposite programs. We wish the identical in the case of itemisation.”
The excellent news for long-time gamers is that each one the laborious work you’ve got put in to date will nonetheless be mirrored when these adjustments are available in. You may begin off already having an quantity of Mastery XP proportional to what number of blessings you beforehand had out there, guaranteeing you are not thrown again to sq. one.
How properly this can all work in apply stays to be seen. At the same time as a longtime fan of the studio’s video games, I might be fast to confess that merchandise development design has all the time been its most evident weak point. Anybody who’s opened as many disappointing Vermintide 2 loot crates as me will discover it tough to have full confidence in Fatshark right here. The truth that randomness stays an element (weapons will nonetheless have pre-rolled most stats, limiting their potential), even when a diminished one, places me somewhat on edge.
Nevertheless it all appears to be transferring in the precise course, in principle, and as ever I am heartened by how dedicated the group is to the continual enchancment and refinement of what has, for me, all the time been a unbelievable expertise regardless of its flaws.
The opposite query is when this replace will truly arrive. My solely reply is: most likely not quickly. A lot of the Darktide group is at present having fun with the lengthy summer time break Swedish workers are entitled to, so a launch earlier than September appears unlikely. However within the meantime, there’s nonetheless loads of new stuff to mess about with in Secrets and techniques of the Machine God—and I will have extra to share quickly from my chat with the group concerning the sport’s future and its journey to date.
