I played Havoc, for now, till level 30 (that has failed) and I am actually only 25. In fact I wanted, at first, cosmetics. Now that I have them, I will try to climb difficulty levels.
From the more than 50 games I played, I can say that Havoc has not only bad points. In fact, I can see that this game mode has a lot of features really interesting.
The main point of the entire mode is to force cooperation. However, Fatshark has to understand that things don’t go like they think. Something that works in Helldivers 2, doesn’t and won’t work in Darktide.
In fact in Helldivers you can prepare yourself just before launching the mission (less choices to do as you need to pick your small arms, your main weapon, your armor and stratagems). This is not possible in Darktide. You have the build (something that cannot be changed in 59 seconds), the weapons ( and you cannot change blessings and perks on the starting screen) and Havoc suggests that you should cooperate with the others teammates.
However, in Darktide, for the majority of the players, it doesn’t work like it should. Of course, you can find players that have a real desire to collaborate, but most of the time you will just find players that just want that you click the PLAY button.
The good
There are a lot of good points in Havoc:
- Difficulty progression: this is really well done. The progression is really smooth and really increases at a good pace
- Modifiers: I do not like them, but I like the concept. In fact, I would love new difficulty mode with gunners that shoot faster, no grace period as a general rule… However, there’s a problem with all the hidden modifiers. You don’t clearly know what modifiers apply in the current mission or difficulty level (see about missions).
- No leavers: This is absolutely great to know that you won’t have any reinforcement and that you cannot start any havoc mission. It forces players to stay in the mission. I have, however, a concern about the missing button to reconnect to the mission if you have left / a problem with the bug where you cannot reconnect etc. You should always be able to rejoin the mission until it has ended.
- No materials: This is good to not have materials in the chests. This permits to focus more on the mission. I still try to find crates, but I feel less needed to check chests. Especially cause I think there are less loot in the Havoc levels.
- Havoc has its own taste: This is obvious. They wanted to make havoc feels really different than normal game. This point is pretty good. However, I would want that they emphase this (see about mission - again).
The bad
- About gameplays restrictions
- ammo modifier: this is seriously annoying that, one class, that is balanced toward ranged weapons, has to use either lasgun or have to go melee. This impact too much ranged weapons gameplay
- corruption: too many things are built around the corruption factor. This lead to a several talents that are too great for this mode
- melee ftw: There’s a problem on this. The melee is too much important in Havoc. I love melee, but here this is the best way to deal with enemies. Why no modifier on melee, like enemies that resist more against melee? I don’t see why hardened skin does not give also resistance against melee hits.
- psykers: When you put a modifier that impacts ammos, a penalty should also apply on powers for psykers staves. I don’t see why psykers have never something that impacts them. However, please… no penalty ONLY for them. What I mean here is that, if you penalize ranged weapons, penalize ALL and not all except psykers.
About the gameplays restrictions, I don’t like that Veterans (ranged weapons orientated) are so restricted, just to use lasguns. I don’t like that the zealot should take Beacon of purity. I don’t like that, as a psyker, you should take shield.
I am sure that it won’t last, cause players will adapt and find ways to deal with these difficulties. However, really, modifiers that restrict so much gameplays are not welcomed.
I know that the vet can deal with it with critical, when using lasguns, that don’t consume ammos. However, this does not apply to ballistic weapons.
So, anything that will impact badly gameplays, are a big no in my opinion. And that’s my main complain about this mode.
- About the game mode
- We never know what mission we will do. When someone lists the party, it should have the map / havoc level written. We should also be able to see what modifiers will apply with a tooltip when we put our mouse pointer over one. And all of this should also be displayed in an overlay in the Morningstar.
- We don’t see what other teammates builds will have as build. I know this is really difficult as it can change. However, this could certainly help to build our talents tree.
What I point here is that Havoc is built around the idea that players will have to complete each others. The idea is clearly that someone should take an aura and an other an other one. If everybody stays in coherency, we all benefit from the different auras, so that’s better to accumulate different auras (except loner, of course).
But, the game does not provide the tools to do it. We need a place where we can see what others have chosen. And the 55 seconds timer on the screen before we start the mission does not help this.
We really need something like Helldivers has. In Helldivers II we can see the mission and the objectives. In Darktide, we need to see the difficulty, the penalties that apply, the modifiers and the mission. In Helldivers II there’s a screen where you see what other teammates have chosen.
We have something like this… but it doesn’t go enough deeper. We need to be able to see the build, and not just the blitz/aura/ability. I don’t know (cause I have so many mods) if you can see weapons, but if no, we should also (I think we can).
This screen should allow us to discuss and decide the strategy we adopt to face the mission.
What should be enhanced
- We need to get a “leader” of the group. Actually, anybody seems to be able to recruit players to the group and launch a mission. This is how we can start a level 25 mission with players that wanted to join Havoc 1-10 missions (seen that by the past with a lobby I created). Allow also the leader to remove a teammate from the team (like a kick button but without vote and that could apply only when we are preparing to play the mission).
- Freedom: What if I want to play a level 25 Havoc and not my level if I am at level 40? What if I want to play this mission with this modifier? Give us freedom.
- Difficulty penalty: I want the the game explains me the penalty that will be applied during the mission. If the ammo replenish is half the normal rate, I want to know it… if a toughness penalty applies, I want to know it.
- Reconnection button: Please add a button, always available, that, if you have “left” mission, and until the end of the mission, you can jump again in the mission until its end.
- Havoc Quickplay: yes I know… but we, players, don’t like to have to wait 20 minutes to get a game. Permits us to select filters (they are already there in party finder) and give us a quickplay button.
- Party finder: Please add the possibility to build our mission. Allow us to choose the mission, difficulty, penalties and modifiers we want to play with and allow us to propose it. Players could, like in havoc, apply to play the proposed mission. This would allow a lot of freedom and would make this feature great for a lot of players.
- Modifiers: Add all modifiers to Havoc games. Nurgle blessing by example…
About the missions
- Modifiers: I don’t like how modifiers are accumulated. One difficulty, one modifier (like nugle blessed), one or several penalty(ies) (like ammo penalty), one environment modifier (ventilation purge by example) should be the rule. But you should never have Moebian hordes + The Blight Spreads + Cranial Corruption etc…
- Havoc should have different rules: I really think that Havoc should have its own rules that are progressively implemented from havoc level 1 to level 30… something that makes it really different than normal. But something we should be able to know, and not hidden (or just suggested by words without detailing what means these words). This is already there, but not really written and not displayed to the player. I want this point really enhanced.
- Break the breakpoints!: my god, with all what you did, you have not think to this? we already have a sort of it with hardened skin. I would want that we can’t know what are the breakpoints. Maybe mix malice / heresy / damnation / new havoc enemies HP (so a shotgunner could have values of malice to havoc difficulty, there is no havoc actually but it should exists). Don’t know if it is possible, but I guess it is when we see several conditions applies at same time.
