Firstly, the Auric difficulty and below. The following scoreboards are all from my recent random Auric Hi-Intensity Shock Troop Gauntlet. Neither the Venting Shriek nor the Shield Inferno Staff showed any particularly outstanding performance. Since the Inferno Staff primarily relies on stacking Soulblaze to deal infinite Cleave dot, it can also trigger Perilous Combustion via Kinetic Flayer to further accelerate Soulblaze stacking, resulting in large area dot kills with over 16 stacks of Soulblaze. However, in reality, most elite enemies are killed by other teammates before the stacks can build up, and without Kinetic Flayer’s cooldown ready, the Inferno Staff has no burst damage against single targets. Additionally, the Inferno Staff build relies on Brain Rupture to deal with distant Specials. In short, compared to other weapons with limited Cleave, the Inferno Staff pays a clear price for its infinite Cleave: lack of burst damage and precise long range single target kill. This is why I consider the Inferno Staff to be a fairly average weapon in Auric.
Let’s further discuss Havoc. Havoc 40 greatly increases both the number and health of enemies, especially Groaners and Poxwalkers, whose Hit Mass has been significantly increased.
These changes make it easy for large numbers of elites to pile up, allowing the Inferno Staff to trigger Perilous Combustion frequently, resulting in chain-reaction kills. From this perspective, the Inferno Staff does indeed seem like an OP weapon in Havoc.
Does it really? Below are scoreboard records from my recent Havoc 40. These unfamiliar Psykers who provided this data are all between level 200 and 1000, and they have all completed Havoc 40 since the last major update. Categorized based on the Inferno Staff Psyker’s Combat Ability and whether the squad is equipped with strong team protection skills (Chorus of Spiritual Fortitude or Loyal Protector).
Shield or Scrier’s Gaze Inferno Staff, with either Chorus of Spiritual Fortitude or Loyal Protector.
Shield or Scrier’s Gaze Inferno Staff, with both Chorus of Spiritual Fortitude and Loyal Protector.
Shield or Scrier’s Gaze Inferno Staff generally cannot deal significantly high damage, even if the squad take Chorus of Spiritual Fortitude or Loyal Protector equipped.
Venting Shriek Inferno Staff, without any team protection skills.
Venting Shriek Inferno Staff, with Chorus of Spiritual Fortitude.
Venting Shriek Inferno Staff, with Loyal Protector.
Venting Shriek Inferno Staff, with both Chorus of Spiritual Fortitude and Loyal Protector.
Currently, the Inferno Staff’s devastating performance in Havoc is inseparable from two conditions: Venting Shriek and team protection skills (especially the LP Slab Shield Ogryn). The negative impact of the Inferno Staff in Havoc is also primarily tied to the Ogryn. Psykers take Venting Shriek instead of Shield for higher damage → LP Ogryns are forced to take Slab Shield to reduce ranged damage taken → Psykers deal even more damage → More Inferno Staff Psykers take Venting Shriek.
So how can this vicious cycle be resolved? Nerf the Inferno Staff and limit its Cleave? Then why should the Inferno Staff in Auric difficulty and below be punished for its performance in Havoc? Darktide currently only has the base game mode and 3 additional modes. Adjusting the game based solely on a potential abnormal performance in an additional modes—anyone who thinks that way might have an Ogryn brain.
Balancing the Inferno Staff’s performance in Havoc without affecting Auric difficulty can also be achieved in two ways. First, limit the use of Venting Shriek.
Empathic Evasion is the core talent that allows Inferno Staff Psykers to take Venting Shriek without worrying about Gunner threats. Increasing its cooldown and reducing skill uptime would force many Psykers to switch to the Shield. Incidentally, there is a bug with Empathic Evasion where, once dot stacks have been applied to an enemy, attacking the air with a high critical hit weapon can trigger Empathic Evasion. Brain Rupture’s charge time and Peril generation rate also need to be increased to prevent Inferno Staff Psykers from relying solely on Brain Rupture to quickly deal with large numbers of ranged Specials. Second, introduce new Havoc modifiers, such as adding dot resistance, or adding buffs that can only be removed by being electrocuted or knocked down to encourage the use of other Force Staves. It’s worth noting that the last new Havoc modifier was added back in November of last year .
he didnt pay for in the first place ?
