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Left fur Dead: Fatshark reveal first playable class in Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide

Warhammer: The End Times - Vermintide

Victor was born with the surname Saltzpyre, which evokes both the phrase salt in the wound and wood on the pyre – so had little choice but to become a ferocious and unrelenting Witch Hunter who disposes of his enemies with “extreme prejudice”. He’s also become one of the five heroes of Fatshark’s Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide

Vermintide’s a first-person melee game, which you imagine could work out quite well given Fatshark’s medieval history with War of the Vikings. Saltzpyre starts out with a brace of pistols and a rapier – a natural fit for someone who “kills with precision”.

Later, he’ll gain access to different loadouts – a great sword and repeater pistol combo for simultaneous rat-murder, and a crossbow / one-handed axe number for targeting individual enemies and penetrating their armour. The idea is that each of Vermintide’s heroes – the other four of whom have yet to be revealed – will be complementary but flexible.

Fatshark picked a witch hunter because they’re “deliciously unlikeable” in Warhammer lore – particularly this one, whose unhealthy obsession with dispatching skaven has hindered his promotion prospects.

They gave Saltzpyre a sullen personality to fit the evil-chimney-stack look of the Order, and got the thumbs-up from Games Workshop.

“We made sure to really emphasize the lean and hollow aspects of his features, to try and bring out his more sinister nature,” said the Stockholm studio. “The fact that he ended up looking a bit like Willem Dafoe was completely coincidental.”

Warhammer: The End Times - Vermintide

No new trailers, but the last pre-alpha glimpse of Warhammer: End Times – Vermintide will give you a fair idea of what to expect from this co-op brawler. Are you sold on the concept?