Smooth Operative (Stealth Build)
 Veteran Build - Warhammer 40k: Darktide 

Intro

You are the Smooth Operative, reactive and adaptable.
You solve problems when others can't, ensuring the mission goes without a hitch.

You switch smoothly between ranged and melee combat, equally deadly under all circumstances.

You hunt down Specialists and Elites with accurate shots and a sharp bade, giving them no respite.

You are the unexpected savior, rescuing doomed squadmates from certain death.

Infiltrate

Ever been in a situation where a distant bomber or sniper is giving your team hell, but nobody can shoot them through the massive horde that has you all locked in melee ?

Ever struggled to complete an objective while swimming in an endless tide of enemies ?

Ever whished you could safely flank a massive gunline that has your team pinned down in a bad position ?

Ever got to a downed teammate but failed to get them back up because enemies just wouldn't stop coming ?

Well, those situations are the specialty of the Smooth Operative. Using Infiltrate, you can give yourself a few seconds of breathing room and do the important things that need to be done right now. It is your responsibility to recognize difficult situations quickly and shut them down before things get bad.

Overwatch and Tactical Awareness give you a lot more uptime on Infiltrate, so don't be afraid to use it often. If in doubt, press F and go for it. You'll soon get a good sense of when it's worth doing so or not. However don't stay invisible longer than necessary as your team has to shoulder extra pressure until you reappear. Get into position quickly and make yourself useful as soon as possible.

Ranged Gameplay

Thanks to Agile Engagement, Reciprocity, Weapons Specialist and your trusty headhunter autogun, you are very adept at handling ranged threats - even in the middle of a brawl. That should be your primary concern under normal circumstances. Stick with the team and protect them from those pesky gunners.

Close Order Drill, Iron Will and Confirmed Kill give you a lot of survivability at range, so don't be afraid to step into the line of fire and trade shots. Don't forget to dodge often to take advantage of Reciprocity either.

However you'll feel the absence of Scavenger Aura with this build, and you are very effective in melee, so use that sword of yours whenever you find yourself fighting in close quarters.

Your ranged weapon is also your primary means to deal with individual armored targets, thanks to Onslaught. Save your Krak Grenades for waves of heavy units and boss fights. Demolition Team will allow you to get them back, but the random chance can sting a bit at times.

Survivability

This build has a lot of Toughness Regen and Damage Reduction, and Low Profile gives you some additional breathing room once you exit stealth. All of this really gives you a lot of survivability both at range and in melee and allows you to make some pretty bold moves that would be too risky for many other characters.

Combined with the bonus damage from Agile Engagement, Surprise Attack, Close Quarters Killzone, Skirmisher and Weapons specialist, this allows you to rush priority targets and take them down quickly.

However you should only do so when necessary, and strive to stay with your team as much as possible - coherency bonuses are valuable. And don't be afraid to burn your second charge of Infiltrate to retreat back to the team if it turns out you bit off more than you can chew. Your job is to take pressure off the rest of the team, not to create one more headache for them.

Weapons

My weapons of choice for this build are the Devil Claw Mk IV sword and the Vraks Mk III headhunter autogun.

The Vraks Mk III is a versatile ranged weapon. It makes short work of enemy gunners when aiming for the head, but also has the rate of fire needed to mag dump into priority targets when things get tense in close quarters. The ammo economy is not as good as a lasgun, but not bad either. You should be able to go through a full game without much trouble. Just remember you don't have the Scavenger Aura and manage your ammo reserve accordingly.

The Devil Claw Mk IV has a meaty overhead heavy 1 that can kill a lot of specials in a single headshot. Gunners, shotgunners, mutants and trappers all die to a follow up heavy strike. This allows you to swiftly execute priority targets in melee, which is invaluable in tense situations. Hordes are easily managed with a repeating light 1 → heavy 2 combo.

The parry special also allows you to keep dealing damage even when you are put on the defensive by a rager or a monstrosity. However don't bother hitting Ogryns with the sword. Use your ranged weapon or Krak Grenades to take care of them faster.

Alternative Weapon Suggestions

• Infantry autoguns have very good synergy with this build, sacrificing a bit of ranged accuracy for increased mag dumping ability.
• Recon lasguns work fairly well with this build, but the ammo economy is much worse.
• Stub revolver. Problem solver weapon for a problem solver build. But low ammo reserve.
• The Agripinaa Mk VII shotgun is a very fun alternative gun capable of sniping at range with slugs and shredding with buckshot up close. Like the revolver, the ammo reserve is the main downside.
• The always reliable Kantrael lasguns are a good alternative ranged weapon if you want to focus more on anti-shooter play. However they perform much worse in close quarters due to inverted damage falloff, and can't deal with crushers so you'll be a lot more reliant on your Krak grenades (or teammates).
• Combat axes are better at taking care of armored threats in melee, at the cost of worse horde clear.
• Tactical axes also work fairly well with this build. Consider sacrificing Surprise Attack to pick Desperado.

Alternative Talents

Reciprocity can be freely swapped for Duck and Dive if you value stamina regeneration more than critical chance.

Leave No One Behind can also be swapped with Grenadier if you value an additional Krak Grenade more.

Surprise Attack is the most optional talent in this build, and could be swapped for a few other talents that fit this build :

• Desperado for additional crit chance and finesse damage in melee - pairs very well with a tactical axe.
• Grenade Tinkerer for more grenade damage
• For the Emperor to boost your team's damage instead of only your own
• Covering Fire to support allies when your use your gun in close quarters

I have also created a more heavily modified version of this build that includes the Survivalist Aura, which can be found here :
https://darktide.gameslantern.com/builds/9a7080da-bbb3-40e5-9726-f2ff6af69f68/smooth-survivalist