Heyo Everyone,
Surprise!
Welcome to the Unlocked and Loaded update! We’re excited for everyone to get their hands on this one. Here are the patch notes for the update. It just went live on Steam and it will shortly be live on our other platforms.
(Note: It takes a little bit of time after the release before the old servers are completely disconnected and players are migrated over to the new one. Try reloading the game to switch sooner.) 
(Additional Note: To ensure a smooth release across all platforms certain Mastery and Shrine of the Omnissiah features, as well as the Armory Exchange and Melk’s Requisitorium, are disabled for maintenance while the new update is being rolled out.
We’ll notify you once the maintenance has been completed! Thank you for your patience, Acolytes. You can follow the update on Twitter or Discord.)
Part 2. Part 3. Part 4.
Itemization Overhaul
We’re finally ready to unveil the Itemization Overhaul we’ve been working on for players.
The Itemization Overhaul reinvents weapon progression, giving players more freedom to experiment and progress with weapons. The overhaul introduces two new systems, Mastery and Power, that provide players with clear avenues to get the weapons and gameplay they want.
- Mastery: Players simply have to use their weapon of choice through missions which will result in gaining experience in that weapon’s Mastery track. As players gain experience, they will unlock three different types of rewards and unlock more power: Blessing Points, Weapon Marks, and Perks.
- Blessing Points: Allow players to unlock different tiers of Blessings.
- Weapon Marks: Players will unlock various weapon marks attached to the Mastery track of the weapon’s family they are progressing in.
- Perks: Perks tiers unlock automatically as players advance in a given mastery track.
- Power: With the new Power system, players will be able to see and improve their weapon’s stats, by spending resources at the Shrine of the Omnissiah. The new power system gives players the possibility to increase the base stats of any weapon allowing it to reach its maximum potential.
Dev Note: We will not be removing any existing weapons. Existing weapons will remain exactly the same. The only difference is that players will be able to see their weapons’ stats potential. If a player’s weapons are not at their maximum potential, they will be able to upgrade them accordingly. We will not be removing any Blessings, Perks or anything else.
There is a LOT to it, and if we included it all in the patch notes here, there would probably be at least 5 parts to these notes on the Forums / Steam. We’ve written everything down in our latest dev blog: the Itemization Overview. We hate to ask you to go to another page, but it’s quite long on its own.
We also had some Darktide creators put together some tutorials for everyone. Here is the first one.
New Mission Type: Operations and New Mission: Rolling Steel
Introduces a new type of mission, Operations, which provides a shorter and more cinematic experience. In Rolling Steel, players are thrust into a high-octane adrenaline scenario where they must stop a moving train hijacked by the cultists. The mission also introduces a timer as an overarching objective, providing a new challenge and elevating the gameplay’s intensity. Players can read more about this mission in our dev blog. This operation will be live on the regular mission board (as well as on Auric).
New Social Feature: Party Finder
Darktide is built to be enjoyed with others and our Party Finder feature makes teaming up with like-minded players easier! Players will be able to find each other based on four criteria: Game Mode, Difficulty, Language and assorted Tags to define what the group is about. This will be an evolving feature that will improve alongside community feedback. Players can read more about the Party Finder in our dev blog, too.
New In-Game Event: Unrelenting Hordes (Moebian 21)
A platoon of Moebian 21st soldiers has been infected by the Blight. Their armour will make them harder to deal with than the usual hordes you encounter.
Rannick’s sure there is something afoot. Keep your eyes peeled for any clues as to what the Cult are doing.
Play missions with a set of new Special Conditions, “Infected Moebian 21st”, and as a team collect Grimoires or Scriptures to earn rewards.* This condition will only be available during the event and will appear on both the Standard and Auric mission terminals.
*Similar to past events, the progress will be shared across all members of the strike team.
This event will start on Thursday, September 26, 2024. The rewards will be Ordo Dockets, Plasteel and Diamantine.
New Penances
For this update, we’ve also added new Penances related to the new Itemization, and new rewards to the Path of Redemption Progression Track, increasing it to a new Maximum of 5000 Points.
Weapons Across Classes
Extended Availability of Weapon Families for Human Classes
As part of this update, we will extend the availability of specific weapon families to all human classes (Veteran, Zealot, Psyker).
These weapons were previously locked to only one or two of the three human classes, but these will now be usable by all of them. As an example, the Veteran will be able to use the Saber. We took the opportunity with the Unlocked and Loaded update to reinforce the different player fantasies and provide more choices to players. If a player plays a Veteran and they want to be a Squad Leader, and they feel that the Saber is part of the tool kit of the Squad Leader, they can now lean more into their fantasy and equip it!
However, we made sure that the weapons that are key to the identity of each class will remain uniquely available to that class.
We hope that this will expand the gameplay experience and open up new interesting builds for players!
Detailed List:
- Turtolsky Heavy Swords
- Added also to Veteran and Psyker.
- Maccabian Duelling Swords
- Added also to Veteran and Zealot.
- Orestes Assault Chainaxes
- Added also to Psyker.
- Braced Autoguns
- Added also to Psyker.
- Accatran Recon Lasguns
- Added also to Zealot.
- Combat Shotguns
- Added also to Psyker.
Features and QoL
Bulk Actions
One of the major quality-of-life features coming with the Itemization Overhaul in the Unlocked and Loaded update revolves around Bulk Actions. We have included the option to Discard/Sell weapons in bulk. We have also implemented a filter system that allows players to get rid of certain weapons in bulk right away. For example, players could set a filter to remove all Redeemed rarity weapons in their inventory.
Favourite Weapons
Since bulk action is always a bit of a risky operation that could see a player lose their best weapon, we also implemented a “favourite” feature. Players will be able to set weapons as their favourites through the Loadout menu. When listing a weapon as a favourite, it will never show in the Bulk Actions menu or in the Sacrifice menu at the Shrine of the Omnissiah. Players will know it is their favourite as it will have a recognizable icon. In addition, there is no limit to the number of weapons players can set as their favourite.
Discarding AKA. Selling Weapons
Players used to only get Credits when selling weapons, and the amount of Credits was determined by the item’s Rating. This will still be the case once Unlocked and Loaded is deployed. But in addition to the Credits, players will get additional crafting resources based on the rarity of the weapon sold. From Profane (Grey) to Anointed (Blue) rarities, players will only get Credits back; at Exalted (Purple) players will get Plasteel in addition to Credits; and finally, at Transcendent rarity (Orange) players will get Diamantine added to the mix.
Mourningstar Improvements
With her initial research on the Clandestium Gloriana findings complete, Hadron has unveiled the improvements to her Shrine of the Omnissiah. This brings some much-needed (according to Commissar Dukane’s Quartermaster) improvements to the armaments and options available to the Rejects.
Swagger makes an appearance on the Mourningstar, whose presence adds an air of mystery and tension to the already gloomy atmosphere. “I know Rannick and Hadron seem to trust him. They must have their reasons, I suppose, but there’s something not right about that Swagger fellow hanging around on the Mourningstar if you ask me.”
Commissar Dukane has started making herself comfortable aboard the Mourningstar. Make sure to mind your manners around her and don’t go eavesdropping!
AMD FSR updated to 3.1
AMD FidelityFX™ Super Resolution 3 (FSR 3.1) is the latest evolution of AMDs advanced open-source upscaling technology. FSR 3 introduces cutting-edge frame generation technology, delivering significant framerate boosts in supported games, and a new “Native AA” quality mode for enhanced image quality.
KNOWN ISSUE
The Game Crashes When Switching Between Fullscreen and Windowed Mode and With Upscaling Disabled While FSR3.1 Frame Generation is Turned On
FSR 3.1 Frame generation is unstable when used in combination with exclusive Fullscreen Screen mode or with upscaling disabled. Specifically switching between screen modes is prone to crashing.
If you want to use FSR 3.1 frame generation it is recommended to use it with Borderless Fullscreen or Windowed screen modes and with FSR 3.1, DLSS or XESS upscaling enabled. We are working on a fix to ship.
Miscellaneous Changes
- A notification dot will now appear on the Penances and Commodore’s Vestures buttons in the pause menu when something new has happened since the last time you visited.
- A button for the Commodore’s Vestures is now available in the pause menu while in the Mourningstar, similar to the menu in the Operative select screen.
Known Issues
Penances Shown As Not Completed
While migrating to the new Itemization system, there is a chance for a visual bug to occur where players with a lot of progression on their weapons might not see their Penances displayed as complete. This is only a visual issue which might occur when opening the Penances menu for the first time. Closing and opening the UI again will update it properly.
Misaligned Weapon Skins in the Penance Preview Squares
There are some weapon skin rewards in the penance previews that are misaligned or don’t fit in the square.
Crash When Selecting Marks/Cosmetics/Inspect After Selecting To Delete An Item
When using a controller, after discarding a weapon the game may fail to correctly reobtain the focus on the list of weapons.
While in this state, the game will crash when trying to access the Marks/Cosmetics/Inspect screens, as no weapon would be selected.
As a momentary workaround, please make sure to have a weapon in focus before accessing the above screens immediately after having discarded any item.
(We intend to ship a fix in 1.5.1.)
Some Weapons May Show Their Max Stat Potential Incorrectly
On rare occasions when looking at a weapon card, the max potential stats distribution shown might not correspond to the actual values.
This will be usually signalled by a total potential stats value lower than 380.
The issue is only visual; the weapon card will update to the correct values once the first Empower operation is done on a weapon with incorrect values.
(We intend to ship a fix in 1.5.1.)
UI Remains Greyed Out After Going Through All The Mastery Help Tiles
Looking at the help functionality that is available in the Blessing menu, the screen will remain dark after the help closes.
While navigation in the menu will not remain available, the only way to remove the darkened UI will be by going back on that screen and re-entering it.
(We intend to ship a fix in in 1.5.1.)
Mastery Level Value is Missing in The Marks Swap Screen
When in the Marks swap screen, the Mastery level value required to obtain locked Marks may fail to be correctly displayed.
The issue is only visual, and the locked Marks will be correctly available upon reaching the required Mastery level in the weapon family.
Incorrect Information in the Sacrifice Weapon Screen Tooltip
The tooltip in Sacrifice Weapon screen incorrectly states that only Anointed (blue) rarity weapons (or higher) are able to be sacrificed.
The issue is only in the tooltip text, as the minimum rarity level required for the Sacrifice procedure is Redeemed (green).
Incorrect Visual Rounding of Weapon Stats
On uncommon occasions when looking at a weapon card, the total value of the potential stats distribution shown might add up to 1% higher or lower than the maximum (380).
This is only a visual rounding issue, as the actual stats total will always effectively be 380 for every weapon.
Minor Typos in the Description of Specific Blessings
The “Showstopper” Blessing has an additional “%” character.
The “Penetrating Flame” has an additional “%” character, and an incorrect additional “that apply” in the sentence.
Auspex Tooltip in Rolling Steel Localization Issue
The “Move” text in the HUD tooltip when using an Auspex for the new hacking minigame in the Rolling Steel will appear localised in English but is missing in other languages.
Balancing Changes
Enemies
Dreg Tox Flamer & Scab Flamer
Added the possibility of exploding the Tox flamer & the Scab flamer by damaging their
Gas canister enough.
Dev note: This adds a second layer on how to engage flamers; players can opt to outright kill the flamer as usual or damage the gas canister enough to cause a countdown making the flamer act as a moving fire barrel that will explode and cover the ground in fire for 12 seconds.
Terminology and Weapon Name Updates and Corrections
As a part of this update, we have made some updates and corrections to some existing weapons and talents. These changes were made to facilitate the Itemization overhaul and the way it categorises things. (Note: The inspect texts for some weapons might still refer to them as their old name. We’re correcting these in a hotfix.) Here is a comprehensive list (though we honestly might’ve missed a couple, so this might be updated with your help):
- General Power is now known as Strength.
- Ironhelm “Hacker” Mk IV Assault Shotgun > Crucis Mk XI Double-Barrelled Shotgun
- Vraks Mk III Headhunter Autogun > Columnus Mk III Vigilant Autogun
- Vraks Mk VII Headhunter Autogun > Graia Mk VII Vigilant Autogun
- Agripinaa Mk IX Headhunter Autogun > Agripinaa Mk IX Vigilant Autogun
- Trauma Force Staff > Voidblast Force Staff
- Purgatus Force Staff > Inferno Force Staff
- Surge Force Staff > Electrokinetic Force Staff
- Lawbringer Combat Shotgun > Zarona Combat Shotgun
- Kantrael Combat Shotgun > Accatran Combat Shotgun
- Kantrael MG Ia Infantry Lasgun > Kantrael Mk VII Infantry Lasgun
- Kantrael MG XII Infantry Lasgun > Kantrael Mk IX Infantry Lasgun
- Kantrael MG IV Infantry Lasgun > Kantrael Mk IIb Infantry Lasgun
- Accatran Mk II Recon Lasgun > Accatran Mk VIc Recon Lasgun
- Accatran Mk VId Recon Lasgun > Accatran Mk XII Recon Lasgun
- Accatran Mk VIIa Recon Lasgun > Accatran Mk XIV Recon Lasgun
- Columnus Mk V Infantry Autogun > Vraks Mk V Infantry Autogun
- Graia Mk VIII Infantry Autogun > Columnus Mk VIII Infantry Autogun
- Ius Mk III Shredder Autopistol > Ius Mk IV Shredder Autopistol
- Godwyn-Branx Pattern Bolt Pistol > Godwyn-Branx Mk IV Bolt Pistol
- Columnus Mk II Braced Autogun > Vraks Mk II Braced Autogun
- Rashad Mk II Combat Axe > Rashad Mk III Combat Axe
- Indignatus Mk III Shock Maul > Munitorum Mk III Shock Maul
- Tigrus Mk II Heavy Eviscerator > Tigrus Mk III Heavy Eviscerator
- Standard-issue Munitorum Sapper Shovel > Munitorum Mk I Sapper Shovel
- Munitorum Mk III Power Sword > Scandar Mk III Power Sword
- Munitorum Mk VI Power Sword > Achlys Mk VI Power Sword
- Lucius Mk I Helbore Lasgun > Lucius Mk IIIa Helbore Lasgun
- Lucius Mk II Helbore Lasgun > Lucius Mk V Helbore Lasgun
- Lucius Mk III Helbore Lasgun Lucius Mk IV Helbore Lasgun
- Branx Pick Axe > Branx Mk Ia Delver’s Pickaxe
- Borovian Pick Axe > Borovian Mk III Delver’s Pickaxe
- Karsolas Pick Axe > Karsolas Mk II Delver’s Pickaxe
Still going through, it’ll be awhile.