You’ll want the best Darktide Veteran build in the grimdark Warhammer 40,000 universe to help eliminate the enemies of humankind. The Sharpshooter is a former soldier of the Imperial Guard, the trusted army of the Emperor and allies to the all-powerful Space Marines. As the legions of Chaos and other Xenos horrors corrupt the universe, you’re given a second chance in life by joining the Inquisition to fight the enemy from within the Imperium’s walls.
To take out the heretics and survive everything this brutal Warhammer game has to throw at you, sometimes only the best Darktide Veteran build will do. While the Veteran is not as memorable as some of the other Darktide classes, such as the Zealot or Ogryn, it makes up for it with raw power in the guns available to them. It may take a while to earn everything you see here, but once you do, you’ll be one of the most feared gunslingers in the galaxy.
There isn’t much synergy across the abilities, feats, and weapons compared to other classes or, more specifically, the Darktide Psyker build. However, what’s available here is a mix of powerful gear to help you kill enemies quickly and at least one support skill to help your allies do the same.
Weapons
Here are the best weapons for the Darktide Psyker build:
- Munitorum MK III Power Sword
- Locke Mk IIb Spearhead Boltgun
The Munitorum MK III Power Sword isn’t a melee weapon you’ll have immediate access to, but when you get your hands on it, you’ll wonder why you used anything else. Its alt-mode charges the sword for extra damage, so you’ll want to take advantage of the bonus power by grabbing one with the melee weak spot damage modifier can help you survive melee combat. You can also get block efficiency to give you better defences. As for the traits, you can improve your Impact by 15-20% for 1.5 seconds whenever you hit enemies, stackable up to five times, as well as ignoring enemy hit mass for between three and 3.5 seconds for every spot kill.
You don’t need to equip any specific gun, so feel free to consult the best Darktide weapons guide to get the best gun for you. We personally love the feeling of the Locke Mk IIb Spearhead Boltgun, as while its ammo capacity is lower than other guns, it packs a serious punch, especially when it hits a weak spot. It does have a long reload speed, so looking for modifiers that help with that is ideal, as well as ranged damage against specialists. The Surgical Trait gives you up to a 20% increased chance over time to hit critical hits while aiming, and Pinning Fire gives you between 12% and 17% power for every enemy you stagger, stacking up to five times.
Feats
For every five Darktide Trust Levels you earn, you gain access to a tier of feat unlocks. However, there is a limit of one choice for each of the three available feats for each tier. Here are all of the best picks for the best Darktide Psyker build:
- Exhilarating Takedown – replenish 10% toughness on ranged weak spot kill.
- Demolition Stockpile – replenish one grenade every 60 seconds.
- Bio-Optic Targeting – Volley Fire designates non-Ogryn Elites and Specialists as priority targets for all allies in coherency.
- Duck and Dive – dodging, sprinting, or sliding to avoid ranged attacks grants 20% stamina.
- Deadshot – gain 25% critical chance and 60% sway reduction, but lose 10% stamina per second while using your weapon’s alternative fire.
- Counterfire – gain 25% weak spot damage during Volley Fire. Volley Fire now designates all Scab Shooters as priority targets. Killing a designated enemy during Volley Fire refreshes its duration.
Exhilarating Takedown is especially effective if you’re a master at getting those headshots. You can stay at a distance and fire at those pesky heretics while also keeping healthy. When enemies clump together, a well-placed grenade can take them down, so Demolition Stockpile gives you a shorter cooldown.
Bio-Optic Targeting is a feat that benefits the team rather than yourself, but by designating non-Ogryn Elites and specialists as priority targets whenever you use the Volley Fire ability, allowing them to take them out quicker than usual.
Deadshot is an incredibly powerful feat to have, but you may be deterred by the 10% stamina loss penalty while aiming down sights. This is where the Duck and Dive feat comes in, giving you 20% stamina recovery whenever you dodge, sprint, or slide to avoid ranged attacks. This will be a constant occurrence in late-game missions, so you’ll rarely be in a position where you have no stamina.
Counterfire works really well, not just with the Volley Fire ability but also with the Exhilarating Takedown feat. Since you’re focused on getting ranged weak spot kills, you’re allowing yourself to recast Volley Fire for free while also gaining an additional 10% toughness to keep your health bar high.
Curios
Since you’re likely going to need a bit of extra help with regenerating health, we recommend you stick with two toughness curios and one for max health. Your combat abilities are key to the effectiveness of this build, so any modifiers you find for these curios that improve your Combat Ability Regeneration are valuable ones to seek out. Alternatively, any additional resistance to damage or improvements to health, toughness, and block efficiency are also welcome.
Now that’s a Darktide Veteran build that would make even a Space Marine slightly jealous. Well, maybe not, they’re walking tanks, but still, it’s a loadout that will eradicate any daemon that dares cross your path. Of course, this co-op game is best with four real players, but you may have to wait for Darktide crossplay if you want to play with those on a console.
