Since we know virtually nothing about the upcoming game, I’d like us to share our most wished for ideas for Darktide 40k. It’s not meant to be one of those “Do X or I won’t buy!” threads, so please keep it positive, respect the developers and each other, and discuss what you’d love to see in the game.
Even if most of it ends up as dream unfulfilled, it might just happen that a developer would glance at this thread and draw a sudden inspiration for a feature or two, so let’s set our collective imagination free.
I’ll begin with a few features I’d absolutely love to see:
- Unique Character Movement and Interactions
I’d be in love with the game right off the bat if the characters were distinct not only in looks, talents and armaments, but also in basic functionality such as movement options and interactions with the environment and other characters/enemies.
Two examples to better explain the idea:
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If there’s a playable Ogryn character, as the community speculates, it’d be absolutely stellar if his sheer mass allowed him to go toe-to-toe with Monster type enemies - imagine the power trip you’d feel if you could stop charging Plague Marines dead in their tracks, or bind some BIG demon in a bearhug as your team rains fire into its exposed back.
Conversely, the Ogryn could potentially pick smaller enemies up and toss them across the room. Wouldn’t you love to do to the enemies what that pesky Chaos Spawn has done to you all those times in your Vermintide career? -
If there’s an “acrobatic” character, like some highly trained assassin, it’d be great if they had some movement options beyond what other characters can do - I’d love to be able to jump high and latch onto a wall for that sweet sniping position, or to be able to wallrun across a gap that no other character can surmount, to open some shortcut for the rest of the team, or open up an otherwise inaccessible supply cache etc.
- Psyker Character and Perils of the Warp
In my eyes, what Fatshark has done with Sienna and her overheat is a great foundation for the Psyker class, and it’d be natural for them to try and expand on the idea. And Psykers are a great medium to do just that - it’d be great to see an overheat-like mechanic that starts producing more (and more severe) Warp phenomena as the player keeps casting Psyker spells.
The perils could be not only a hindrance and a danger to the Psyker and their team, but potentially also to the enemies, being an indiscriminate force of havoc on the battlefield. They could also serve as a source of some pretty amazing visuals (i.e: a torrential downpour of blood flowing from the walls and ceiling, or an entire area spontaneously covered in frost etc.).
- Tactical Cover and Crowd Control
Assuming that - given the nature of 40k weaponry - Darktide will have more emphasis on ranged combat than Vermintide has, I’d like to see the mechanic of taking cover and leaning out of it, to protect oneself from incoming fire, and for the enemies to do that as well.
Don’t get me wrong - I know it’s still going to be a horde grinder, and that the plague zombies will likely rush to overwhelm your position, but that’s where the proper crowd control comes in: I’d love to be able to utilize choke points effectively, placing mines, turrets or even robust melee characters (hello again, my Ogryn friend!) in the way of incoming swarm, while the ranged team members are laying down suppressive fire.
- Extended Environmental Interaction
In Vermintide we have the explosive/incendiary barrels that can be thrown and detonated, but not much more in terms of tactically utilizing the environment elements. It’d be great if in Darktide we could, for example:
- Take control over some idling servitors / servo skulls that are just roaming the map, to turn them agains the enemies. This feature could potentially be exclusive to a Tech Priest class, if such would be playable.
- Hack various doors (or weld them?) shut to limit the potential paths for the enemies to take.
- Hack into the defensive system of the area and make some turrets pop up from the walls to help you.
- Possibly collapse certain pre-defined corridors and rooms with explosives, either as means of blocking the enemy’s path, or to crush them if timed well, or on the contrary - blast through sections of walls for a shortcut or an impromptu escape route.
And that's pretty much it from me. I'd love to hear your hopes for the game!