For many millennia it was thought that leaving the hive Tertium meant certain death… March 17th 2026, players will be able to see for themselves in the new Expeditions Game Mode!
The new ‘Expeditions’ game mode is part of the ‘Beyond the Hive’ update: A high risk experience that drags players beyond the fortified walls of Tertium and into the desolate wreckage of Atoma Prime for the first time!
Humanity once again has been faced with another looming threat. The Admonition has been sighted scouring the ruins outside of the hive in search of lost Tech-Remnants - which has not gone unnoticed by the Imperium. Whilst the chaos cultists’ motivations remain unknown at present, what is certain is war unfolds differently in Expeditions. Players must adapt quickly as there are no fixed routes, no clear front lines and no room for error!
Design Director Victor Magnuson describes it as “the biggest injection of new content in the game since launch”. The fully loaded update offers an entirely new way to play Darktide, featuring new enemies, items, environmental threats, strategies and cosmetics!
Key Features
- Experience Darktide Like Never Before: Players are tasked with venturing into the desolate plains of Atoma Prime with a new mission objective: scour the planet for Tech-Remnants and investigate sites of interest on the map. Even the strongest reject can only survive the polluted air for a limited time - stay as long as you dare and call the Valkyrie for extraction when you choose. No two runs in Expeditions are the same, the badlands are unpredictable and each successfully completed excursion unlocks further missions.
- The War Has Expanded Beyond the Hive: Every moment spent outside the Hive alerts Chaos Spawn and monstrosities of players’ presence, drawing them closer. Load outs must be adapted to the open ruinous environments. Enemies can attack from every direction and aren’t confined to the claustrophobic frenzied battlegrounds within Tertium. Squads must choose when to fight, or flee, and adapt strategies to survive one of Darktide’s deadliest challenges yet. Expeditions is not for the faint of heart and is available for players midway into their character progression.
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New Threats: The environment is as toxic and deadly as the chaos that infects it. With twisters, lightning storms and a polluted atmosphere, peril lurks around every corner! Safe zones are scattered throughout the map… but they are fleeting sanctuaries. Step outside and hazards surround you once more from every angle. Forcing squads to move quickly, think tactically, and survive the unforgiving expanse of Atoma Prime!
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More Fire Power. Fewer Survivors: Having the right instruments of destruction can mean the difference between extraction…and extinction! The new game mode introduces an arsenal of new items alongside modified and supercharged versions of existing ones in the Dead Side Sanctuary. The obliterating Modified Grenade can wipe all enemies in the vicinity…but draw more to the squads’ location.
- The Ogryn Pack Master Approaches: This monstrosity is uncharacteristically quick for an Ogryn! He can be found roaming the derelict plains of Expeditions Mode with his pack of Pox Hounds and Armoured Pox Hounds. A challenging adversary for the Arbites, who players will notice his unique and savage interactions with, isn’t a stranger to handling unruly hounds… Eliminating him quickly is wise as he will continually call his hell hounds to the battlefield, but his vocal nature gives players an advantage to spot him quickly.
- The Secrets of the Sands are Waiting: The Beyond the Hive update is loaded with new dangers and discoveries - read the dev blog here for a deeper dive into the Update. Expect more information soon!
49 Likes
Doesn’t feel like too much new info here, but very excited! Love seeing that enemy encampment.
5 Likes
is the ogryn packmaster only going to be featured here, or will it be phased into other modes in time? it would be nice to see more variety in the monstrosities that appear.
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It will initially only be found in Expeditions, but we’re going to introduce him to regular game modes not too long after 
21 Likes
I just want to know something.
Clearly Fatshark has been working on this for a while now.
Why does this sort of big change only get announced about a WEEK before it is released?
Why, amidst all the frustration and angst about the lack of a roadmap or just a sense of “here’s what we’re doing next” don’t you all share what you’re working on? This should’ve been hinted at back in December before Fatshark went radio silent for 2 months.
I don’t get the communication strategy at all.
20 Likes
Agree, I had pto this whole week, I had nothing to do, but FS decided to ennounce the update just a few days in advance so did paradox announce a stellaris update this week. Both will launch next week tuesday. If I knew, I would have had my pto next week, but kark me I guess…
2 Likes
Back up your talent builds now.
Very incomplete AI summary slop, watch the video for full list/more detail:
Hivescum: Removed Gang Tough node; added base dodges and toughness; compressed talent tree; Pickpocket now only triggers on melee kill; added Splash Damage talent.
Veteran: Swapped Get Back in the Fight for a 50% ranged cleave node; Executioner’s Stance duration extended; Infiltrate cooldown reduced and damage boost extended; Voice of Command cooldown increased (30s to 40s).
Zealot: Moderate talent tweaks and improved stamina regeneration delay reduction.
Arbitite: Castigator Stance rebalanced (less DR, more strength); Nazian Aquilla provides pure stun immunity in radius; Terminus Warrant keystone reworked.
Ogryn: New 50% damage reduction passive; Point Blank Barrage duration extended with ammo replenishment; Indomitable always staggers; Frag Bomb and Friendly Rock now kill targets outright (human-sized/specialists); Ripper Gun melee is now a heavy attack.
Psyker: Buffed magic walls; Telekine Dome cooldown increased to 60s.
Plasma Gun: Light attack cleave reduced; secondary fire more ammo efficient; slower wield times.
Infantry Lasguns: Improved ammo, better stamina while running, increased hit scan radius, and accuracy improvements for the light version.
Weapon Buffs: Dual Stub Automatics damage up; Thunderhammer first target damage up; Power Maul activated damage up and reduced downtime.
Havoc Pacing: Increased terror point maximums and added elite spawn overrides for events.
16 Likes
Apparently there is some QOL that will try to save your builds as much as possible. But probably still good advice.
3 Likes
Fatshark has a habit of releasing patch notes right before the update lands
So Ogryn gets a whole enormous 50% passive and Zealot gets…what looks like scraps??
50% ranged cleave for Vet too, wtf man.
3 Likes
I think it’s after dodges to cover for missing dodge linger or something. AI is as AI does.
1 Like
Damn this looks cool so far!
4 Likes
the gameplay looks even more boring than expected
5 Likes
is now fully a heavy attack, iirc the only thing it doesn’t affect right now is 2 stacks of heavy hitter. for all other ‘heavy attacks’ its considered one is it not?
glad to see the cooldown of exe stance made baseline, while the 8s one is great for extending it perpetually it made me not want to run the friendly spots ever because not being in exe stance as vet is the worst thing ever for survival. I kinda wanted 30% damage/30% weakspot/10% rending so it actually feels good for sourcing damage off for ranged instead of the tree, but this is good too.
adding wield delays to plasma gun seems like a very clear indicator that a plasma pistol could be coming…right now the plasma is very ‘pistol like’ despite being a heavy weapon.
also more balancing for havoc, since the stub pistols feel really good for straight hit damage in the game’s baseline end difficulty…I’d make the ‘trickster’ breakpoints a little more generous, but a damage buff? rather see more cleave so they could be a better use of desperado.
and big heads mode for the inf lasgun, called that. only the laspistol will be a semi auto that needs aim
3 Likes
Honestly its gonna bring me back to the game until however long lmaoo, installing for the ogryn buffs anyways ( and infantry lasgun)
2 Likes
you think running around a big open space clicking on 3 gunners looks fun? that’s more of a bummer for you imo
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