I think VT2 suffered for having so many multiple games modes competing to be the primary experience.
You had weaves where it was fun and challenging but the weapon crafting in weaves didn’t carry over the main game (but you could collect Athanor in the main game). There was a ladder for weaves but not the main game.
Then you had Chaos Wastes which introduced a mini mission campaign, cool mutator effects, and slightly randomized levels - none of which made it to the main game. But also you had this rogue like item system that undercut the main game’s item progression (with its own pluses and minuses).
Beyond this, there were deeds, twitch mode, a weekly challenge, etc.
All of this was bifurcating the player community.
Darktide’s core gameplay will attract a small dedicated fan base. But to keep more mainstream numbered of players involved you need to do things that go beyond the core gameplay loop. I think Darktide would benefit from (A) improvement to the main game mode that diversifies the experience more on a run-by-run basis, (B) a better mission reward loop, and (C) better cosmetic systems.
(A) Could be met partially by making Auric missions even more heavily mutator’d. I’d love to see standard Auric missions more like to pull in some of the Maelstrom mutators for instance. Maybe rework some missions to have some procedurally generated sections in instead of the zones that overlap map geometry with other missions. Add more secondary missions and give players a reason to work towards accomplishing them.
(B) Mission rewards other than crafting materials are pretty lackluster (and even those aren’t that exciting). Having the item reward quality clearly aligned with mission performance, completing secondary goals, taking on extra challenges, etc. would go a long way. Have some mission rewards (like red weapon skins) that only drop from missions, etc. This part of the game feels really under-developed to me.
(C) This is a warhammer game and we can’t even “paint” our character. Make cosmetic items (purchased from the premium shop or otherwise) unlock the corresponding “model” for the cosmetic and ta key texture/skin/pattern from it. Allow players to freely apply textures/patterns to the models, much like the For The Drip mod. Do the same for weapons. Add a parallel set of “event” challenges to the penance screen that run for a month or two and reward specific cosmetics (basically always have some unique “event” running). Expand the premium shop to show all cosmetics and periodically rotate what’s on sale. Maybe even give a way for players to earn aquillas in-game (150 a week for maxing out a lot of things?) to drive more engagement.
These are the three big areas I think DT should improve on next.
