Warhammer 40k Darktide patch makes challenges more team-friendly

Warhammer 40k Darktide patch 9 has arrived on Steam, and developer Fatshark says its new Darktide penances are designed to encourage “more cohesive team play”. The patch is also intended to update and remove penances that had the potential to be disruptive to the experiences of your teammates in the grimdark co-op game. There’s also a rebalancing of enemy unit spawns to increase the presence of melee elites, so read on for the full Warhammer 40k Darktide patch notes.

Darktide patch 9 is titled ‘Garbs and Penances,’ so you won’t be surprised to learn that they’re the main focus of the update. New sets of class penances have arrived that “provide more straightforward progression goals and are aimed at reinforcing the class roles, rewarding them playing well without disrupting the game.”

Several older penances have been moved to a ‘Redacted’ tab because Fatshark decided they were “trick challenges” that required the entire team to actively work together to complete them rather than pursuing normal gameplay, which “can be a lot of fun but should not be mandatory or forced upon unsuspecting teammates.” Other penances have received numbers tweaks to make them easier to complete as a solo player without disrupting the rest of your team.

A change to the game’s ‘pacing director’ has adjusted the spawn distribution, with a goal of providing “more variation in encounters by weighting away from ranged mobs and giving the melee guys more presence.” So expect to be able to get slightly more into the thick of things without being constantly pinged at by ranged Chaos troops.

Elsewhere, several less-used feats are getting buffed slightly, while the ‘Rev it up’ blessings will now last longer. There’s also a whole wealth of additional bug fixes, including the resolution of a rather spicy glitch that allowed the Kantrael Mk IX combat shotgun to set enemies on fire through walls and other level geometry at basically any range.

Warhammer 40k Darktide patch 9 – Garbs and Penances

Here are the full Warhammer 40k Darktide patch notes for the Garbs and Penances update, courtesy of developer Fatshark:

New Penances

Veteran Sharpshooter

• Stay Accurate: Kill 350 enemies with ranged weak spot hits.
• Resupply Allies: Replenish 5000 total ammunition to allies using Scavenger.
• Stay Alert: On Malice Threat or higher, kill 150 enemies that have been marked by Volley Fire.
• Fire Down Range: On Malice Threat or higher, kill 100 enemies that are over 25 meters away.
• Find Your Targets: On Heresy Threat or higher, kill 2 Elite or Specialist enemies during a single Volley Fire, 50 times.
• Be Methodical: On Heresy Threat or higher, keep Volley Fire active for over 20 seconds 5 times.

Psyker Psykinetic

• Prioritise Targets: Kill 200 Elite or Specialist enemies with Brain Burst.
• Master Survival: Use Psykinetic’s Wrath to survive Perils of the Warp 50 times.
• Power Up: On Malice Threat or higher, kill 100 Elite or Specialist enemies with Brain Burst while at maximum Warp Charges.
• Unleash the Warp: On Malice Threat or higher, Kill 2500 enemies with Warp attacks.
• Shoot Fast: On Heresy Threat or higher, kill 25 Pox Hounds, Mutants, or Scab Trappers using Brain Burst before they incapacitate you or an ally.
• Keep Your Distance: On Heresy Threat or higher, complete 3 full Missions without being hit in melee by an Elite enemy.

Zealot Preacher

• Control Crowds: Stun 1500 enemies using Stun Grenades.
• Stay Strong: Replenish 7500 Toughness using Chastise the Wicked.
• Find Their Weakness: On Malice Threat or higher, kill 75 Stunned enemies with Critical Hits.
• Channel Your Rage: On Malice Threat or higher, kill 1000 enemies with Melee Attacks while at least 3 stacks of Martyrdom.
• Master Your Tools: On Heresy Threat or higher, kill 75 Elite or Specialist enemies with Powered Melee Attacks (Chain or Power weapons).
• Have Faith: On Heresy Threat or higher, using Chastise The Wicked, dash toward a targeted enemy that is wielding a ranged weapon 40 times.

Ogryn Skullbreaker

• Help Everyone: Revive or Assist 40 Knocked Down or Incapacitated allies.
• Keep Them Grounded: Knock Down 5000 enemies.
• Clear The Path: On Malice threat or higher, knock down 3 Ranged enemies using Bull Rush, 25 times.
• Cleave Them Down: On Malice Threat or higher, kill 2 enemies with a single Melee Attack 250 times.
• Keep Your Friends Close: On Heresy Threat or Higher, complete 3 full Missions without any allies being Knocked Down or Incapacitated for longer than 10 seconds and without any allies dying.
• Bring The Hurt: On Heresy Threat or higher, hit 4 Elite or Specialist enemies with Big Boxes of Hurt, without missing an Elite or Specialist enemy with a Big Box of Hurt 5 times.

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Updated Penances

Ogryn Skullbreaker

• Friends Will Be Friends: Changed the required mission time that a player must be in coherency with an ally from 100% to 90%.
• Gone Bowling: Changed the number of enemies requirement from 70 to 60.
• Heavyweight Champion: Changed the number of Ogryns you must hit with Bull Rush from 6 to 4.
• Don’t Stop Me Now: Can now only be completed in a private game.

Zealot Preacher

• Just a Flesh Wound: Can now only be completed in a private game.

Psyker Psykinetic

• Going Out With A Bang: Changed the number of elites you must kill from 3 to 1.
• Pick n’ Mix: Changed number of enemies you must kill from 5 to 4.
• Malleus Monstronum: Can now only be completed in a private game.

Veteran Sharpshooter

• One in the Chamber: Increased the number of times you need to kill an enemy with the last round in a clip from 5 to 8.
• Make Every Shot Count: Changed requirement from 100% accuracy to 90% accuracy.

Enemy Balance

• Changed spawn distribution for Heresy and Damnation, weight default population towards more Scab Maulers while introducing more variations of Elite patrols. Please note that the total amount of Elites and total threat value of all enemies spawned remains the same.
• Made heavier stagger variations require more impact for Scab Maulers while tuning their walk switch distance and increasing their ranged stagger resistance. They should still stagger, but prefer the lighter stagger reactions. This makes them less prone to fall over with the rest of the horde and instead stand and take the pain.
• Increased hit zone damage and adjusted hitpoints on Plague Ogryn and Beast of Nurgle to reward weak spot and torso hit more.
• Fixed case where the Daemonhost could stay longer than intended after players got revived during the fight.

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Weapon Balance

• Increased active duration of Rev it up Blessings (available on Cadia Mk IV Assault Chainsword, Orestes Mk IV Assault Chainaxe, and Tigrus Mk II Heavy Eviscerator) from 2 seconds to 3 seconds.
• Increased the number of tiers on blessing Power Cycler (Munitorum Mk VI Power Sword and the Munitorum Mk III Power Sword ) from 1 to 2, adding a tier below the previous.
• Added 2 more tiers to Bloodletter and balanced values.

Feat Balance

Veteran Sharpshooter

• Exhilarating Takedown: Increased Duration from 6 seconds to 8 seconds. Increased Toughness replenished from 15% to 20%.
• Deadshot: Reduced Stamina drained per second from 10% to 8%. Reduced Stamina drained per shot from 5% to 4%.
• The Bigger They Are: Increased the Damage Bonus from 50% to 75%.

Ogryn Skullbreaker

• Smash ‘Em Good: Increased Toughness replenished from 20% to 25%.
• Best Form of Defence: Increased Toughness replenished from 20% to 25%.
• Blood and Thunder: Increased Stacks of Bleed applied from 4 to 6.
• Bloodthirst: Increased the maximum amount of Stacks from 5 to 6.

Zealot Preacher

• Martyrdom: Increased Melee Damage per Stack from 5% to 8%.
• Purify in Blood: Increased the Toughness bonus from 75% to 100%.
• Fury of the Faithful: Increased the Duration from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.

Pysker Psykinetic

• Warp Absorption: Increased the Toughness replenished from 10% to 15%.

A full list of minor balance tweaks and additional bug fixes can be found via the game’s page on Steam.

Load up your armoury with the best Darktide weapons and you’ll be set for success. Those of you just starting out can catch up on our explainer of the Darktide classes and their respective strengths and weaknesses. If you’re eager to escape to all manner of wonderful worlds, we’ve got the best fantasy games on PC where you can do exactly that.