Zealot | Combat Knife | Revolver | Shroud & Judgement
 Zealot Build - Warhammer 40k: Darktide 

Combat Knife.

High move speed, large number of dodges, increased length of dodge.  Bleed stacks lets you reliably take care of carapace and unyielding enemies.  Otherwise backstabs with or without shroud takes care of everything.  You should be able to go just about anywhere on the battlefield with impunity as long as you're smart about it.  

This doesn't mean you abandon the team with your mobility, but use your mobility to be where you need to be every time helping out your more immobile teammates.  You should be able to engage and disegage from virtually any group of enemies as needed, make use of your situational awareness to be where the team needs you.  Someone gets netted, you shoot straight towards them with shroud if need be.  You hear a burster, you should be the first person it runs into.  Team is having issues with bosses, you should be willing to take the aggro.  Sniper is taking potshots at the team from behind a horde of enemies, you should be able to get into a position and take it out with your revolver.  Horde of gunners is blasting at your team, you should get in there with shroud to bind and distract as many as possible.  Assess the threats and make your best judgement on where you need to be.

Revolver

You should zealously hunt specials whenever they spawn.  Shoot any specials except for mutants, bursters, and maybe hounds.  Those three you intercept with your high mobility using the knife.  One shot head shots most specialists aside from maybe mutants.  Two shots virtually anything else depending on where you hit them.  Ideally you just use the knife for the most part and quick swapping to the revolver when a specialist pops up.  In really bad situations don't forget that you can reload while in shroud.  Because our ammo efficiency is so high (1-2 shots to kill a special) we can subsist almost indefinitely off of veteran aura or the odd small ammo boxes.  In damnation missions with special conditions, you should expect to kill more than 50% of the specials unless you have a reliable teammate who specializes in that like a veteran.

Talent Tree

Right side down to Blades of Faith gives us solid nodes with backstab damage, extra bleed stacks, and toughness damage reduction with almost 100% uptime.  Blades of Faith are kind of whatever, but they can be good for taking out specials in a pinch or a horde of ragers as they charge at you.  Do know that Blades of Faith will gain the rending from your combat knife blessing.  This would be most relevant for crushers.

Shield of contempt is a no brainer.  Improves survivability of you and your teammates.  Until death and holy revenant are essential for those moments where either a bad mistake is made (taking a crusher overhead) or you are in an impossible situation and gives you a second chance to make it out of things that would kill most people. Benediction is taken just because it is there, though it is nice for you and the team.  Beacon of purity is a nice alternative as it can keep you clean of corruption for when someone drops a medkit which can be pretty noticeable for grueling missions.

Shroud may not be the flashiest of ults like chorus, but it has incredible up time and versatility.  With our bottom setup on the tree we can use shroud almost on command as long as we have a few seconds to hit any random enemy.  Increased duration expands our options (reviving/freeing teammates, hunting specials, positioning for backstabs, dropping aggro) and the toughness replenishment is good when you lose all of your toughness to something like a random gunner barrage.

Invocation of Death and Pious Cut-Throat may seem redundant, but this is what allows you to have shroud up almost every time you need it.  Backstab an enemy while in shroud and a few random crits from light attacks gets you back your ult almost immediately.

Blazing Piety vs Inexorable Judgement.  Blazing Piety is too unreliable without being able to get the Fury Rising node whereas Inexorable Judgement will be up in some shape or form the entire time.  YMMV.

General guidelines for situations.

Gunners/Shotgunners

Get into them immediately and start circle dodging around them to keep them from firing at anyone else.  Sprint, instant slide, and whatever else you need to do to engage them in melee immediately.  Beware getting stunned from a gunner, use shroud to to break his aggro if needed.  

Ragers

Extremely dangerous.  They will only ever target a single person, but that person pretty much NEEDS to block unless they have enough impact to stagger them or have high enough dodge distance to outpace them.  Dodge backwards, block, and throw knives if you are the target.  Otherwise start cutting them as they are going for someone else.

Reapers

Just treat them like large gunners.  Shroud with heavy strike into the head one shots them.  Otherwise a couple more slashes and the bleeds to kill them quickly.  Beware of being caught out without shroud and getting stunlocked.

Crushers

Shroud with backstab will either kill them or get them quite low.  Either make use of your rending on the knife by hitting them in the back/head or just light attack them over and over to stack bleed stacks.  Can take a bit to kill if you are their main target.  DO dodge the slow overhead swing, it should be extremely easy with combat knife dodge.  One of the enemies that other teammates might have an easier time dealing with.

Bulwarks

Annoying to deal with if you are their main target.  Get to their back and start cutting or stabbing.  Bleed stacks will kill them pretty quickly.  One of the enemies that other teammates might have an easier time dealing with.

Maulers

Their overhead swings has a janky hitbox so I would over exaggerate your dodging against them.  An odd enemy in that their heads are carapace but their body is flak.  Either make use of your bleeds to slowly kill them or start light attacking their heads/back for the rending.

Specials

Bursters

Push.  Always push them.  Beware your teammates.  Revolver can kill them if you are worried that they will blow up from some other source of damage.  You should make it a priority to be the first person the burster runs into as you can easily get to them, push, and dodge backwards.  You pretty much never run into a situation where the burster hits you while dodging since combat knife dodge is so large.  Obviously, leave them to someone else if they are shooting at them.

Hounds

You can shoot them, and in a horde it is probably best that you do.  Otherwise simply let them get close to you and push them as they run past or as they leap at you.  Prioritize shooting, pushing, or killing in general when they get a successful pounce.  Use shroud to pick up a teammate if a hound is around.  One of the few enemies that can snowball an encounter to a loss.  Usually dies to 2 shots.

Trappers

Priority target.  Should always be tagged and shot at first opportunity.  One of the few enemies that will snowball an encounter to a loss.  If anyone gets netted you immediately go to that person and remove the net ignoring the trapper if you have to.  If that person is in the middle of a horde you use shroud to get to them.  Beware meleeing them as their tracking gets really good as you get close.  Use shroud to pickup a DOWNED teammate if trappers are around, nets are pretty much instant.  Should die to a single headshot or 2 body shots.

Bomber

Priority target.  Should always be tagged and shot at first opportunity.  Not very dangerous by themselves, but they can quickly make a battlefield feel claustrophobic.  Should die to a single headshot or 2 body shots.

Sniper

Priority target.  Should always be tagged and shot at first opportunity.  If you're not confident getting a clean shot in the middle of horde, use shroud to line up a shot.  Should die to a single revolver shot from any distance.  

Mutants

I usually just run up to them as they come and get a quick heavy attack to the head as they pass by.  Otherwise, backstab as they go charging after people.  Not worth using ammo on.  Stand with a wall behind you if you think they will catch you as that will cause them to throw you.

Flamers

Not very dangerous, but still a special and should be prioritized.  Intercept or shoot as they come.  Usually more manageable than a bomber, but still annoying to have on the battlefield.  Especially bad if someone gets netted as that usually results in a down due to the fire.

Bosses

In general attack them with a number of light attacks and then decide if you are needed somewhere else.  Bleed stacks will do a large amount of damage over the course of the fight.  You can either go for shroud backstabs or continue with small attacks here and there if there are other concerns happening.  You will in general do the most boss damage on the team.  Having the boss aggro'd on you can be a good thing as you can avoid almost all of their damage with your combat knife dodge letting your teammates have some breathing room.

Chaos Spawn

The more chaotic of the 3 bosses.  Attack with heavy attacks for damage or light attacks for bleed stacks between it's attacks.  Dodging backwards avoids while holding block avoids most of it's attacks.  If someone is grabbed, run close to them for a second (stops the warp spawn from eating) and dodge backwards to avoid the swing and then avoid the teammate thrown at you.

Plague Ogryn

Treat it just like a rat ogre.  Stick close to it and dodge backwards when it does one of the slam attacks, this keeps the boss in place.  Block and dodge backwards when it does the advancing attacks (triple swipe, bullrush, etc).  You can attack between any of it's attacks.  Otherwise go for heavy backstabs for damage and light slashes for bleed stacks.

Beast of Nurgle

There is a big ol weak spot on the back, but most times I just light attack the tail to build up bleed stacks.  I will go for the weak spot if I feel I need to shoot it to release a teammate or when going for a shroud backstab.  Duck in to do a few attacks and dodge backwards when it tries to tail swipe or tail slam.  Avoid standing in front of it if possible.