I’m a professional Veteran who plays exclusively on Havoc 40, the highest difficulty in Darktide.
I want to voice some concerns — not only my own, but also those of my community (the Hong Kong server, which consists mostly of Havoc players).
Many Chinese players rarely have the chance to express their opinions because of the Great Firewall, and our feedback often doesn’t reach the global community.
So I’m here to speak for them — and for myself.
This post will break down the systemic divide between Havoc mode and Normal modes, and address a few common misunderstandings that have led to tension between different player groups.
The Player Divide — Casuals vs. Havoc
From what we’ve observed in foreign servers (mainly EU/NA), there’s an ongoing conflict between casual players (N3–N4 difficulty) and Havoc-level players.
Casuals often claim they are the “main audience” of the game.
They argue that certain builds, weapons, or abilities used in Havoc are “too strong” and ruin their experience.
On the other hand, Havoc players reject this view — we believe casual feedback does not represent us, and that constant “balancing” for lower difficulties only makes the high-end experience worse.
Let’s be honest: on the lower tiers, the game is so forgiving it’s almost sleep-inducing.
I represent the high-skill community.
I play only Havoc 40, and after recent balance changes based on casual feedback — especially the nerf to the Veteran’s Shout and its Gold Toughness — I’ve been dying again and again in situations that used to be barely survivable.
The Current State of Havoc 40 (Hong Kong Server)
Here’s the reality of Havoc 40 as we play it right now:
Ogryns
Usually equipped with Slab Shields, Power Mauls, or Rumbler Gauntlets.
For less experienced Ogryns (by our standards), their role is simple — hold the line against armored elites such as Crushers, Bulwarks, and Maulers.
Their primary function is to draw aggro and protect the squad’s firing lanes.
Veterans (Two Slots)
We typically run two Veterans in Havoc 40:
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Veteran #1:
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Equipped with a Plasma Gun — the only weapon that has the penetration, burst potential, and ammo efficiency to reliably eliminate elite enemies in high-density waves.
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Carries Smoke Grenades to prevent total squad wipes from ranged volleys.
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His task: eliminate elites, cover the team with smoke, and maintain field control.
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Veteran #2:
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Equipped with a Bolter and Krak Grenades.
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Because of the Bolter’s limited penetration and ammo sustainability, it’s primarily used as a boss-killer.
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Krak Grenades, on the other hand, are vital against heavily armored elites and corrupted armor modifiers.
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His role: kill bosses and armored elites, and support Veteran #1 in elite cleanup.
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Psyker
Runs Bubble Shield (Kinetic Dome) and Soulblaze, responsible for clearing massive hordes of poxwalkers and trash mobs.
The dome also serves as a critical defensive tool against ranged suppression.
Within our circles, this trio — Veteran + Veteran + Psyker + Ogryn — is widely recognized as the highest win-rate composition in Havoc 40.
The Modifier That Broke the Game’s Logic — The True Source of Division
There is one modifier in Darktide that completely rewrites the rules of engagement.
It exists only in Havoc difficulty — not in Normal, not even in Maelstrom.
It’s called “The Emperor’s Light Fades.”
Its effect?
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Enemy rate of fire increases dramatically.
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There is no Toughness buffer window.
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Enemy attack intervals shrink to near-zero.
On lower difficulties, I can charge out of cover, close the distance, and cleave down gunners before they react.
But in Havoc?
Try that once and you’ll be turned into a sieve before you even raise your blade.
This single modifier changes the entire game logic.
It makes the Veteran’s Smoke Grenade, the Psyker’s Kinetic Shield, and the Golden Toughness from the Shout absolutely essential for survival.
When I play Veteran on Havoc 40, a Crusher’s hammer can kill me instantly — full health, full blue Toughness — dead on impact.
Not downed. Dead.
That’s why Gold Toughness isn’t a luxury; it’s a safety line, the one mechanic that prevents sudden, unavoidable death.
Why Havoc Feels 30% Harder After the Talent Rework
Since the last talent overhaul, Havoc’s real difficulty has increased by roughly 30%.
Why? Because the Preacher’s Prayers, once capable of granting powerful teamwide protection, were nerfed.
A friend of mine — a dedicated Zealot main — told me:
“Before, I could cycle Prayers every 20 seconds and keep the team covered for most of the fight.
Now, even 30 seconds per cast feels impossible.”
The result is catastrophic.
With fewer protective windows and reduced Gold Toughness uptime, death rates have skyrocketed, especially under sustained Plasma Gunner fire or Crusher heavy swings, both of which can erase a fully armored operative in a single instant.
The Fall of the Zealot — Havoc’s Unemployment Crisis
As for the Zealots, their current “unemployment” and exclusion from high-tier Havoc lobbies come down to one thing — they’ve lost their purpose.
In the previous patch, Zealots were the core of every composition.
They provided massive amounts of Gold Toughness, breathing room, and team protection.
As my Zealot main friend mentioned earlier, an experienced Zealot could once cast a Prayer every 20 seconds, maintaining near-constant coverage for the squad.
Now, even 30 seconds between Prayers feels like an impossible stretch.
That change alone stripped Zealots of their lifeline — the very skill that justified their existence in Havoc.
Yes, their melee potential with the Thunder Hammer can be formidable if used perfectly.
But let’s be honest — the number of players who can wield the Thunder Hammer effectively in Havoc conditions is so small it’s statistically irrelevant.
All other melee options feel like toys in comparison: the Eviscerator is clumsy and unsafe, and the Crucis Mk II Relic Sword hits like a feather with cooldown limits that make it a liability.
The result?
Zealots have been completely replaced by Veterans — specifically the Bolter / Power Sword / Krak Grenade Veterans that occupy the second slot in most Havoc compositions.
Veterans now bring everything Zealots used to offer:
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Battle Cry for protection,
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Reliable boss and armored elite killing power,
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Superior team consistency.
The Inquisitorial Judge — Powerful but Isolated
The Judge (Arbitrator) on the other hand, is individually powerful — both in melee and at range — but his problem is team contribution.
His Aquila’s Grace Toughness buff isn’t Gold Toughness, so its effect is minimal.
His Penance Stance grants pseudo-invulnerability, but only to himself, offering nothing to allies.
With an Ogryn present to handle hordes, his Charge isn’t essential either.
The only reason Judges are more accepted now than before is simple — the Zealot’s downfall.
At least Judges can bring three Shock Mines and an Aquila drone, providing decent crowd control and limited protection.
That’s more than what the current Zealot brings to the table.
Still, every Judge is forced to invest in Lone Wolf, because their Hound companion is effectively useless.
It can kill elite targets, yes — but far too slowly.
A Veteran can simply aim and eliminate the same target in half the time with a single shot.
Havoc’s New Hierarchy
As I said, this patch completely erased the Zealot’s niche.
The Judge has been allowed into the table at last — but still sits under constant prejudice.
And if someone wants to argue,
“But we cleared Havoc 40 with a Zealot!”
That doesn’t prove the Zealot is strong.
It proves your team was strong enough to carry one.
It doesn’t represent the meta — not in the environment we play in, at least not in my circle.
In Havoc 40, mercy is a myth.
If a class cannot carry its weight, it doesn’t matter how pious its faith —
the Emperor does not protect; only performance does.
The Reality of Havoc vs. the Fantasy of Lower Tiers
If I were to play “hero,” draw my Power Sword, and rush a squad of gunners in open ground shouting “For the Emperor!” —
the next second, I’d be shredded into meat the Emperor Himself wouldn’t recognize, leaving my squad under immense pressure.
That’s the difference between difficulty tiers in Darktide.
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Casual players — on lower difficulties — are the romantic idealists, charging forward in cinematic glory, crying “For the Emperor!” as they carve through enemies.
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Havoc 40 players are the cold, calculating soldiers of the Guardsman, crouched in frozen trenches, counting their last handful of rounds, wondering if it’s enough for the next wave.
We can’t shout.
The enemy snipers would find us.
We just whisper it, silently, in our minds — For the Emperor —
before stepping once more into the dark, brutal reality of the Havoc Warzone.
Why This Matters
In Havoc 40, everything changes:
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Damage values are lethal.
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Suppression and ranged fire are constant.
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Every mistake gets punished instantly.
When you nerf the Veteran’s Shout and its Gold Toughness, it doesn’t just make the class weaker — it destabilizes the entire survival ecosystem of high-end play.
Casual players will never experience what it’s like to fight under the “Emperor’s Light Fading” modifier, where even a second’s exposure means instant death.
In those conditions, every ounce of toughness, every second of invulnerability, is the only thing that keeps your team alive.
So when changes are made solely based on “normal mode feedback,” it isn’t “balance.”
It’s blind flattening — removing the very challenge and complexity that make Darktide worth mastering.
Why So Many Builds Exist in Theory — But Only a Few Survive Havoc
Have you ever asked yourself why, in theory, there are dozens of viable talent builds — yet once you step into Havoc, only a handful actually work?
The Veteran has an arsenal of weapons, but in Havoc only two are truly viable:
the Plasma Gun, and — if we’re being generous — the Bolter.
In melee, only the Power Sword and, on rare occasions, the Duelling Sword see any use.
Let’s be honest — the Duelling Sword is nearly extinct now; it’s all Power Swords.
And the new Power Sabre? It’s a joke. A decorative toy for the lower tiers.
Some say this is just “rigid thinking” or “meta worship.”
No. It’s not dogma — it’s data.
It’s the product of hundreds, even thousands, of Havoc runs where theory met reality and died.
Take the Frag Grenade talent.
On Havoc, it’s completely useless.
Your grenade won’t even kill a single Poxwalker.
Against bosses or armored elites, it’s nothing more than a fireworks display.
The Lasgun and Autogun?
Forget it. They’re dead weight.
Low damage, zero penetration — it can take a dozen rounds or more just to down one elite.
By the time you finish reloading, you’ve already been overrun.
The Harsh Logic of Havoc
In Havoc, certain tools aren’t “preferences.” They’re requirements.
If you don’t use Smoke Grenades, you and your squad will be cut down by suppressive fire within seconds.
If you don’t use Battle Cry (the Shout) for its Gold Toughness, your fragile body will crumble instantly the moment enemies swarm you.
And the other “utility” skills?
Marked Target? Useless.
When you have three bullets left and ten knife-wielding maniacs charging you, tagging one doesn’t matter.
Stealth? Even worse.
All it does is shift your pressure onto your teammates.
You vanish; they die.
You bought yourself ten more seconds of life at the cost of their immediate death.
That’s why in Havoc, the environment itself shapes the meta.
It’s not about preference — it’s about survival math.
The Dream vs. The Reality
If every mission were low difficulty, I’d love nothing more than to pick up a Lucius Lasgun and a Combat Shovel, pretending I’m a proud Krieg Guardsman, trench coat flapping as I cleanse heretics in holy light.
But in Havoc?
My shovel can barely kill a single Poxwalker.
My Lucius feels like a bolt-action rifle against a charging herd of mutant boars — beautiful in concept, suicidal in practice.
That’s why Havoc veterans don’t chase “fun” loadouts — we chase survival through efficiency.
Because at this level, every bullet, every cooldown, every ounce of Toughness decides whether the Emperor remembers your name — or your remains.
Closing Statement
I don’t speak from ego or elitism.
I speak for a community that pushes the game’s systems to their limits, that spends hundreds of hours testing builds, perfecting coordination, and surviving the impossible.
When you weaken those tools because “they’re too strong in Normal mode,”
you’re not balancing the game —
you’re taking the soul out of Havoc.
For the Emperor.
For those who still fight when the Light has truly faded.
