I recently shared some thoughts on improving Havoc, but I’d like to shift gears and talk about the broader endgame experience.
We’ve done the penances, hit Rank 40 in Havoc, heard Sefoni echoing and moaning in our minds—and now we’re left wondering: what’s next?
My suggestion is to implement a relationship or influence system tied to key Mourningstar crew members— can prob be implemented using a system similar to the current Penance tracking system. It would offer players a more personal, rewarding, and dynamic experience as they continue engaging with the game’s world and characters.
Core Concept: Introduce an relationship level for characters like Hadron, Zola, Morrow, and K-X (or others of your choosing). Players can increase their relationship/trust with each character by completing missions tied to them. Over time, these characters would “level up” and offer unique rewards—cosmetics, boosts, or challenges—based on your standing with them.
Rewards could include insignias, titles, or themed frames—but I think it can be even more more exciting if maxing a contact gave you something fun and specific. It should be as rewarding as it is difficult.
For example, maxing Zola’s contact might earn you a peg-leg cosmetic, while Hadron might give you a glowing red eye. Weapon cosmetics would also be a great fit here, and maybe even gear pieces that resemble their own outfits—imagine getting to wear Hadron’s mask.
Each level of trust could come with a character-specific challenge—something more targeted than Melk’s contracts. For example:
Hadron might ask you to complete an Espionage mission on Heresy+.
Sefoni could request a flawless victory on Mortis.
Zola may want you to defeat the Twins on Damnation difficulty.
These give players a real reason to revisit specific maps and mission types, even those outside the Auric and maelstrom rotation.
Theres alsoI another more complex suggestion that could really deepen the endgame: introducing a new resource called influence and its earned by completing missions. This influence would be used on some of the Mourningstar contacts, and could be spent in various ways depending on your relationship level with them.
Hadron could pray so that you can influence your chances of getting an item from a mission. So ppl can farm curios or specific weapons by actually playing the game.
If your standing with Sefoni is high enough, you could spend influence to receive a temporary buff that lasts for one mission. This could simply be a nerfed version of the stims. or a random 10% more toughness or health or dmg. I would kill to get 5% more warp dmg.
Players could also use influence to enhance their weapons, adding perhaps 1% to all stats—but with a risk of breaking the item entirely. This would make it a true endgame mechanic: a meaningful gamble that finally gives players a reason to invest their resources beyond just hoarding them.
Morrow could offer tactical advantages in the armoury giving you a permit in exchange for influence as well—something like 5% resistance against Gunners for one mission. This opens the door to more mission-specific prep and strategy.
Another possibility would be allowing players to spend influence to apply a temporary, random blessing to a weapon. It would only last for a set number of missions, but that’s exactly what makes it fun—it encourages experimentation and keeps things feeling fresh. The sheer number of new interactions this kind of system could enable is exciting for players, and from a balance perspective, it wouldn’t break the game. If anything, it supports the core philosophy of adaptability that already defines Darktide.
Most importantly, both this influence system and the contact-leveling idea would give players real incentive to play across all maps not just Auric ones. If a mission is tied to the contact you’re focusing on, suddenly the whole rotation feels relevant again. It would also make the mission terminal feel more meaningful and give players more reason to listen in on the Mourningstar crew—adding character depth and more immersion to the overall experience.
Overall, a system like this would not only expand the endgame in a meaningful and rewarding way—it would also strengthen player engagement, add depth to mission choices, and breathe life into the Mourningstar crew as actual characters with gameplay impact.
It’s the kind of feature that encourages both daily logins and long-term investment, and it adds progression that goes beyond just stats and loot. There’s already a foundation in place with penances and contracts—this would just be the next evolution of that design.
It’s flexible, lore-friendly, and best of all, it gives players more control over how they play and progress. Definitely something worth considering as Darktide continues to grow.