Warhammer 40K: Darktide is Fatshark’s second brutal hack-and-slash horde killer game, but with a hybrid focus on melee and ranged combat. There are several different elements to combat that every player must master if they wish to survive against the hordes of heretics and Chaos worshipers in the hive city of Tertium.
Darktide shares many combat basics with Vermintide 2, which includes blocking, dodging, shoving, stamina, and critical strikes. In both games, critical strikes can shift a fight against a formidable opponent, and there’s a handful of reasons to care about your crits. In this short guide, we will go over everything you need to know about critical hits and critical strike chance in Darktide.
What are Critical Hits in Warhammer 40K: Darktide?
Critical hits are a random chance to deal roughly 25% more damage on any melee or most ranged attacks. In the early stages of Darktide, we are uncertain if every ranged weapon has the ability to critically strike since it’s hard to notice on weapons such as the Flamer or some Force Staffs.
We are assuming this because a part of the Darktide community is confused if all weapons can crit since there is no visual feedback for certain weapons. However, for the sake of the topic, we will continue as if every weapon can critically strike since most weapons can gain traits that boost critical chance.
So, naturally, a critical hit is influenced mainly by random chance and the player’s total critical chance. Crits are more likely to occur on high attack speed weapons such as the Catachan Combat Blade. So the slower your weapon is, you might be less favorable with rolling consistent crits. Critical hits typically have a visual distinction whenever they occur. Whenever you crit, there is an orange glow or particle on your melee weapon for a crit swing.
This small particle effect also affects ranged shots, but it’s hard to notice on some weapons like the Lasgun. Both of these small visual effects are complimented by a small audio cue. It’s not as notable as the crit sounds in Vermintide 2, but there is a subtle noise. We recommend practicing in the Meat Grinder to learn the visual and sound cues.
In Darktide, Critical Hits are Different from Headshots.
Headshots and critical hits are different. Your crosshair will shift to a different color depending on what you hit.
Your crosshair will be:
- White for normal hits
- Yellow for a critical hit.
- Orange for hitting a weak spot/headshot
- Blue for hitting armor
- Red if you landed the killing blow
This is extremely important to note, especially for those who are using a weapon with high Finesse. The Finesse weapon stat only increases headshot and weak point damage, not crit damage or chance. Crit damage will only be increased if you have any weapon traits that boost critical damage.
Some moves and passives are exclusive to some classes, like the Zealot’s Chastise the Wicked ability, which makes their next melee attack a guaranteed critical hit, or the Veteran Sharpshooter’s Deadshot talent, which gives 25% critical chance. There are many options to increase your critical chance, but you will find that the best way to gain a lot of crit chance in Darktide is through weapon traits and perks.
Weapon Perks and Blessings Improve your Crits
Aside from the talents you take in Darktide, which can add up to a decent amount of critical hit chance (depending on your class), your weapons will mainly influence your odds of dealing additional damage. The higher your weapon rarity, the better your perks and blessings will be. Take the following image as an example:
This Boltgun has a perk that increases its ranged critical damage in Darktide by an extra 8%, making each critical hit strike even harder. Additionally, both of their blessings increase their crit chance by doing separate actions such as continuously firing or aiming. There are plenty of other weapon blessings in Darktide you can acquire. So, there are more ways to increase your critical chance, but not all blessings work on every weapon.
It’s also important to note that when the crafting system is implemented, you can swap your modifiers, perks, and blessings for better weapons. So if you see any great stats on a lackluster weapon, keep it for the future to boost a better weapons power.
Wrap Up on Critical Hits in Darktide
That’s our short breakdown of critical hits and how they can be improved in Darktide. The more you sink your time into Darktide, you will notice the damage scaling of crits is far more drastic than you’d initially think. The frequency goes up, and the damage becomes more severe and game-changing.
It’s definitely worth investing some time into determining what your favorite weapon’s stats are and how much it can crit. Knowing how strong your weapons are is what makes the difference between a Varlet and an honest Servant of the Imperial Throne.
If you want to learn more, check our breakdown of Darktide’s curios. Or if you are looking for a good crit build, check out our Veteran: Sharpshooter loadout guide. Good hunting, Rejects!
