Returning to Darktide: Testing the New Skitarii Class After a Long Break
I haven’t touched Warhammer 40,000: Darktide in years. I can’t give you the exact date I last loaded up Fatshark’s first-person co-op shooter, but when I finally returned, the main menu practically groaned as it came alive—like it needed a moment to remember what “booting up” even means. I’m back to test the new Skitarii class and put these biomechanical soldiers through their paces in the filthy depths of Hive Tertium.
Before any real fighting begins, there’s an opening cutscene to sit through. Darktide is already known for striking, grim visuals of the 41st millennium, but the Skitarii DLC introduction leans especially hard into the disturbing side of that world. A Tech-Priest sets out to recruit a new soldier for deployment into the horrors buried within the Hive Cities of Atoma Prime. The pitch, thankfully, comes with plenty of volunteers.
The moment you’re shown is as bleak as it is unforgettable: the volunteer Skitarii disrobes, and the game makes sure you see the ugly truth of war in the 41st millennium. There’s a scarred, grey body with cables threading through fleshy seams, plus a whole assortment of servos and fans installed directly into the chest and ribcage. It’s exactly the kind of “Cronenberg” body-horror detail that first pulled me toward the Adeptus Mechanicus side of the franchise. Still, even with that in mind, it’s a lot to process the first time you jump back into the game after a long break.
Praise The Omnissiah
I hadn’t returned to Darktide for a while, not because the game failed me, but because my habits changed. I’m playing fewer live-service titles overall, and for the ones I do keep, I spend less time in them than I used to. My tastes have drifted toward Mechanicus-style obsession rather than the big, straightforward “space marine” power fantasy. Give me a thick narrative I can sink into—100,000 words of lore, deep and layered—rather than another incremental adjustment where my “Big Sword” ends up doing only 0.2% more damage against poison-based enemies.
And yes, I know you’re reading that and getting the point. Still, the pull of the Omnissiah is hard to ignore. My fascination with the Machine God—and its darker reflection—has been a recurring theme in my writing. This time, it was enough to bring me back. Once I’d built my Skitarii main into the exact flavour of grimy, mechanical horror I wanted, I stepped into the Hive City to deliver irradiated justice to Chaos worshippers hiding in the shadows.
After trying the Skitarii’s weapons, I landed on a straightforward verdict. The Galvanic Rifle feels like what it says: a conventional rifle. It hits hard, but it also reloads in a way that doesn’t match the expectations the rest of the class sets up—so it never fully clicked for me. The Phosphor Pistol is more broadly useful, but its tick damage doesn’t feel strong enough to displace the best ranged option you can bring: the Arc Rifle.
Let’s be real: plenty of players want the fantasy of firing something that launches bolts of lightning that hop from target to target. The Arc Rifle is built for that. With the rifle, you get a bonus bolt of lightning that spreads to the horde in front of you, and you can reroll for a blessing that grants another jump. Put those together and you’re thinning crowds quickly, even when the enemy lines keep swelling.
Whether you’re just getting started or you’re looking for a more advanced class pick, the point is to compare everything side by side and match it to your playstyle.
That same approach carries over into the Arc Scourge. It’s especially effective against enemies carrying the “electrocute” debuff, and because arc weapons naturally apply that status, you can stack the value easily. The Power Sword deserves a slot too, but my default melee choice would be the Arc Scourge—if it weren’t for how much the Transonic Blades clamp down on my attention.
Transonic Blades—typically wielded by the merciless Ruststalkers rather than the standard Rangers—are, in my view, the coolest melee weapon in Warhammer 40k. They’re lethal, sure, but they’re also stylish in a way that’s hard to ignore. There’s nothing I enjoy more than charging straight into a cluster of enemies and listening to the twin blades “sing.” The faster melee turns into something close to a dance: even the most dangerous foes end up dropping at your fingertips.
Surprise Claw
On top of an intimidating arsenal, the Skitarii comes with several bonuses. The Servo Skull is one of my favourites because it can handle those irritating mid-mission mini-tasks that normally yank you out of the fight. I’ll still watch an Ogryn struggle with a tiny keypad in their uncoordinated hands before I step in to assist—I’m logical, but I’m not completely humourless—but keeping the whole squad engaged without constant disruptions is a real advantage.
Then there’s the Chordclaw. The Skitarii’s signature ability may be its strongest feature. This brutal mechanical appendage clamps onto enemies with scything talons, cutting down lowly grunts by the head and dealing heavy damage to larger threats. It’s not subtle: with only three Chordclaw hits, you can take out a Crusher even on the hardest difficulty. Use it as often as you can—not just for efficiency, but because the animations are genuinely gruesome and worth watching at least once.
Once you’re comfortable swapping between the Transonic Blades’ two weapon profiles and timing your Chordclaw usage, the binharric chant of the Omnissiah starts to click. The data-psalms feel like they’re speaking directly to you, and the prayers you offered to your machine limbs on the Mourningstar finally show results in the field. It’s an incredibly powerful force to unleash on Hive Tertium—as long as you can temporarily ignore the horrors waiting beneath the surface of those dusty robes.
