Loot in Warhammer 40k Darktide should soon be easier to get your grubby reject mitts on, according to a recent dev blog. The developers of the sci-fi co-op game say they’ve been working on a variety of changes to the core system by which players earn new gear, and while some of the tweaks are pretty significant, players are still concerned about elements that are remaining largely untouched.
First, however, the good news. Darktide’s developers say they’ve heard criticisms about item acquisition loud and clear, and they are taking several steps to make this whole process less frustrating. As it is, Darktide players acquire new items from several sources: there’s the Armoury Exchange, where players can spend dockets earned by completing missions to purchase a rotating selection of gear and trinkets; there’s the Emperor’s Gift, which adds an item to end-of-mission rewards when certain conditions are met; and there’s Sire Melk’s Requisitorium, where players can take on additional challenge contracts for special rewards.
Each of these sources of gear is undergoing a substantial change with the next Darktide patch, Fatshark says. In the Armoury Exchange, you’ll be able to buy profane-tier versions of any weapon type authorised at your current level. The hourly selection of items will also be improved, with higher base item ratings and increased potential for enhancement.
The Emperor’s Gift will be awarded at the end of every mission, rather than occasionally, based on performance. Mission performance will still matter, though, and you’ll earn items with higher potential for completing missions on higher difficulty levels and taking less time to do it.
Sire Melk’s Requisitorium contracts will require less work to complete, and you’ll earn more ingots for each one you finish. Fatshark says it’s also collapsing the Darktide grimoires and scriptures collection contracts into a single contract and making some additional changes as well.
It’s the crafting system, found at the Shrine of the Omnissiah, that has players grumbling, however. Fatshark’s post indicates that it’s not going to change a controversial element of perk refinement and re-blessing, which allow players to re-roll one of a weapon’s perks or blessings while locking in the other permanently.
That means that while players can swap out one undesirable perk and blessing on a weapon they like, they’ll still be stuck with whatever the other perk or blessing is, whether they like it or not. At higher levels, the argument goes, this effectively still means a sub-par piece of gear, and running into a mission without fully optimised gear is not acceptable.
Overall, though, the changes Fatshark has outlined should have a net result of players earning gear faster and more frequently, which means increased chances of finding or creating a perk combination they can work with – all while still having a reason to try out new perks and blessings they might otherwise have ignored.
Fatshark says it will continue monitoring player feedback once the next patch arrives and make additional changes as necessary.
For more of the best Warhammer 40k games on PC, check out our handy list.