Fatshark’sWarhammer 40K Darktidehas received update after update since the game was released. Added content to the game includes both new levels and new weapons. Between the four in-game classes, there’s a wide and varied arsenal to choose from. However you prefer to fight, there’s a choice that will suit you perfectly.
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Melee weapons are perfect, of course, for getting up close to the action and enjoying the visceral, blade-clashing combat, and the available options are diverse enough that each one has its own distinct identity. In making each weapon different, though, the team also made some of them far better than others. Here are the strongest melee weapons in all of Darktide.
10Crucis Mk 2 Thunder Hammer
The Crucis Mk 2 Thunder Hammer is a weapon that boasts extremely high impact damage. When it comes to staggering enemies, no other weapon can do it so consistently with its basic attacks. When dealing with hordes, its heavy attacks sweep wide, knocking your enemies off their feet.
It’s this mechanic that makes the Thunder Hammer the best at dealing with elite enemies. You can force them off their feet and follow up to finish them off. What holds the Thunder Hammer back is that it doesn’t quite deal the raw damage of some other options. It’s still a great weapon with solid utility though, and when empowered by its special action, it can even knock down enemy Ogryns.
9Bull Butcher Mk 3 Cleaver
The Bull Butcher Mk 3 Cleaver is an oversized knife best used for cutting through groups of enemies at once. It makes use of your Ogryn strength by living up to its name and passing through several enemies before coming to a stop. Ogryns have limited choices for weapons, amounting to either a club or the Cleaver. Of the two, the Cleaver is better for most of the threats you face. It can cut through the lightly-armored enemies that make up the bulk of foes you fight. Its strikes are fast, letting you deal with multiple threats quickly and move on. It’s not very flashy, but it gets the job done rather well.
8Maccabian Dueling Sword
The Maccabian Dueling Sword is a weapon unique to Psyckers. It blends fast light attacks with precise stabs to deal critical damage. The speed of its attacks are your greatest defense when using the Dueling Sword: because its blocking efficiency is quite low, blocking is a last resort for it. Since it strikes quickly, it lets you stay on the move, staggering multiple foes in quick succession. Against armor, the jabs are your only hope, as the sword’s quick slashes don’t penetrate very well. While it definitely seems like a humble weapon, fancy footwork can make you nearly untouchable.
7Catachan Devil’s Claw Sword
The Devil’s Claw sword is an accessible weapon for all human-sized classes from the very beginning. It strikes a good balance between quick light attacks and wide sweeping heavy attacks. Its best strength is in its special attack. The Devil’s Claw Sword can parry. After hitting the special action key, you will enter a parry state where you will block the next incoming attack and retaliate with a slash of your own. This move has no cool down, and you can use it as long as you have stamina to block. With deft use, you can turn every attack from a horde of enemies back on them, thinning their ranks as you protect yourself.
6Catachan Mk 3 Combat Blade
The Catachan Mk 3 Combat Blade may be a simple knife, but simple tools are easy to use. Its damage may be lower than that of competitors, but the Combat Blade stays viable thanks to two things. Firstly, there’s its heavy attack speed. You can attack with precise stabs into enemy weak points easily and quickly, but it can takesome practice to do this efficiently.
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The Combat Knife’s second boon is found in its Blessings. It’s one of the few weapons with access to the Haymaker Blessing; an ability that gives you a chance to instantly kill human-sized targets. Another Blessing amplifies its impact by letting it deal damage over time. It may take a bit more work to perform well with it, but if you can, it surpasses most other weapons.
5Cadia Mk 4 Assault Chainsword
Perhaps the only weapon as Iconic as Warhammer 40k’s bolter, the Cadia Mk 4 Assault Chainsword is a viscerally fun weapon to use. Its swift attacks deal high damage to unarmed targets, and its heavies are made for clearing groups. The draw of the Chainsword is its engine activation as a special action. This ability focuses on the chain portion of the sword. Your next strike will catch onto a single target as the Chainsword’s teeth dig through them. It’s great for dealing with lightly-armored enemies, orthose formidable enemy elitesyou need to get rid of. It’s versatile and powerful, but other melee weapons arguably top it.
4Tigrus Mk 2 Heavy Eviscerator
The Tigrus Mk 2 Heavy Eviscerator takes the best parts of the Chainsword and turns them up further still. It’s larger, heavier, and deals more damage. It’s a great sword, meaning that it must be wielded with two hands. Only Preachers have access to this weapon, which boasts a cleaving ability higher than that of other chain weapons. Though its higher damage is only multiplied when revved, it can cut even the largest, most heavily-armored non-boss enemies in half with a few strikes. However, this ability does make it stop on the first target it hits, sacrificing your ability to deal with groups in favor of one empowered attack.
3Obscurus Mk 2 Blaze Force Sword
Unique to Psyckers, the Obscurus Mk 2 Blaze Force Sword uses the Psycker’s warp-infused powers to deal increased damage. Like many sword-type weapons, the Force Sword boasts quick combo attacks. For stronger enemies, its special attack deals massive damage.
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When activated, the Force Sword will hold a psychic charge for a few moments. Within that time, your next strike will be empowered by your psychic abilities. Since it’s a Force weapon, you’re able to also use it to meditate and reduce the peril it spawns, but it also counts towards any perks you may have for improving your Warp abilities.
2Munitorum Mk 3 Power Sword
The Power Sword’s main melee combo features wide strikes that make it good for dealing with hordes. It’s also fast and has good reach. These three things already make it a good weapon, but they serve as the building blocks of why the Power Sword is great. As a Power weapon, the Power Sword has an empowered state you can activate with the weapon’s special input. Instead of having an alternate attack, the Power Sword is cloaked in energy that lets it cleave through targets and pierce armor. A simple button push between combos and you have a weapon able to deal with everything.
1Orox Battle Maul And Slab Shield
The Orox Battle Maul And Slab Shield is a boon for any team to have. Ogryns carrying one of these become mobile cover for your team and make themselves ideal tanks for your party. You still hit hard with the club in your other hand, too so it’s not just a defensive weapon. Shields are very efficient with blocking stamina, and when combining that with your Ogryn’s natural strength, you become an immovable wall against gunfire and blades alike. Nothing else in Darktide can protect your team this well. The Slab Shield makes you a bastion of safety in the otherwise hellish environment ofthis troubled title.
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