Donatello
 Zealot Build - Warhammer 40k: Darktide 

INTRO

Welcome to my Donatello build, an allrounder that excels at killing everything except for monstrosities. I originally created this build when searching for the ultimate Zealot clutching build - something that wouldn't fail me when the team is dead, the pressure is on, and the director has it out for you. This principle guided the choices of loadout and talents that synergize with my aggressive playstyle.

PLAYSTYLE
Let's touch on playstyle before diving into everything. Our melee weapon allows us to face any threat head-on with our secondary ready to take out threats outside of our reach. We are the aggressive frontline adept at killing elites, specials, and hordes. WARNING! You will feel the unstoppable force of the God Emperor surging through you, just try not to get isolated and play WITH your team.

Our aggressive playstyle prioritizes the following:
(1) Damage = kill things
(2) Crowd Control (Impact/Stuns/Etc.) = control things
(3) Attack Speed =  more (1) and (2)
(4) Movement Speed = get IN THERE
(5) Survivability = STAY in there

Attack Legend:
L1, L2, L3, L4 = Light 1, Light 2, Light 3, Light 4
H1, H2 = Heavy 1, Heavy 2
EH1 = Empowered Heavy 1
CEH1 = Charge into EH1
(H1, L2) = Heavy 1, Light 2, Repeat

WEAPONS

Indignatus Mk IVe Crusher
An amazing weapon and the namesake of the build - the crusher is an amazing crowd control weapon which does great damage after its recent damage profile rework.

Skullcrusher to make the enemies we hit weaker and more vulnerable to all damage.
Hammerblow makes it easier to stagger resilient targets and FLING others.

5% Crit Chance to help with damage and cd on our charge ability (Fury of the Faithful)
25% Flak Dmg for general damage boost(feel free to swap this out for your preferred). Within the crusher's move-set you have options for dealing with any threat, mixed or not. Just remember to aim for the head.

Some notable combos:

(H1, L2) - Basic Single Target Combo
CEH1, L2, (H1, L2) - Burst into Single Target Combo. 
(L1, L2, L3, L4) - Horde Control. Benefits the most from attack speed

(L1, L2, L3, L4)...PA, L2, (H1, L2) - Horde Control transition into Single Target
EL1, L2, H1, L2 - Bulwark Kill Combo
EL1, H2 - Heavy Armor + Mixed Horde Control

Zarona Mk IIa Quickdraw Stub Revolver
The revolver is my favorite Zealot sidearm, able to 1 tap specials from any range at the speed of thought. It pierces through the horde to shut down that [insert special here] trying to end your career. An amazing and reliable secondary, just remember to make space for reloading as you never want to be caught without a bullet in the cylinder.

Hand Cannon to help us kill armored targets
Surgical/Crucian Roulette to help us proc Hand Cannon. Dealer's choice.

5% Crit Chance for Hand Cannon

10% Reload Speed for quality of life. You will be reloading A LOT.

CURIOS

For blessings on curios we prioritize health to synergize with Restoring Faith and Holy Revenant. Next the recommended perks are Stamina Regen and Toughness Regen. Stamina regen will help blocking, sprinting, pushing and being a speedy boi while Toughness Regen rewards us for staying close to the team as a frontline(where we should be). Third perk flexible.

TALENTS

Blitz

Immolation Grenade

Good AOE damage especially when you can stunlock enemies in its AOE with crusher special. It's a good blitz pick, especially for the talents leading up to it.

Stunstorm Grenade

An amazing form of CC to add to our arsenal, we can assist teammates from up close or afar. Great for denying an area, creating enough breathing room to reposition and getting off that clutch revive.

Throwing Knives

Good for taking out range threats, but our revolver covers this role in spades.

Aura

Benediction

Makes you and the team tankier preventing chip damage. Also you pick up Holy Revanant along the way which is reason enough.

Loner doesn't fit as we will generally be frontlining for the team in coherency. Beacon of Purity is very tempting, especially to pick up Hammer of Faith, Shield of Contempt, and Emperor's Bullet which all benefit this build. However you have to give up Holy Revenant, we have enough impact to live without HoF through Punishment and Hammerblow, and we have enough Attack Speed by alternating between Inexorable Judgement and Fury of the Faithful.

Ability

Fury of the Faithful. 

A perfect match for this aggressive frontline build for the following reasons:

1. Gap closer - Allows you to be more mobile on the battlefield and come to the aid of your allies when things go awry. Also you can stagger most enemies with the charge (useful against ragers/crushers/etc.).
2. Burst Damage - The 25% bonus damage and auto crit let's your CEH1 hit for a massive burst. Great for destroying high health targets like Mutants quickly.
3. Attack Speed Buff - You gain 20% Attack Speed after the charge, turning you into a literal blender. The faster you attack, the faster you increase your impact and damage.
4. Heal - A 50% instant toughness gain is an amazing tool - useful if you're about to take burst damage, or trying to avoid chip damage from gunners.

Chorus of Spiritual Fortitude. A great way to heal your team and provide some CC but it doesn't support aggresive 'get in their face' gameplay the crusher begs for.

Shroudfield. Provides burst damage and breaks enemy AI, fit for a sneaky build, not an aggresive frontliner

Keystone

Inexorable Judgement

Gives you DMG, AS, and Toughness regen. All great for frontlining.

Blazing Piety only gives crit. Great for critfishing but we really want AS to benefit our impact and damage. Martyrdom. Just no. It only gives you value when you have low HP which you should always actively avoid. You have to run wound curios to fully benefit from it, lowering your overall health pool. Inexorable Judgement will give value, even when you're at full hp.

Noteworthy Talents: 

Holy Revenant + Restoring Faith
These two combined are the safety net that allow you to survive one BS encounter every 2 minutes. As long as you manage your toughness and positioning you have a near limitless health pool to utilize when in dire need.

Invocation of Death

With wide swinging attacks your crits will discount your charge cd on each enemy hit, allowing you to charge again to swing faster to lower your cd to rinse and repeat. AKA blender mode. We prefer this over Pious Cut-Throat mainly because we will be fighting our enemy face-to-face.

Backstabber + Scourge

We take two points in the right tree for two reasons: it increases our monstrosity damage (an area the crusher lacks), and increases our crit chance in general - especially on beefy targets that we can stack scourge on.

Duelist

As we fight in melee we'll naturally be dodging attacks, gaining momentum stacks to increase damage + attack speed. Duelist complements this and helps to snapshot our damage.

TLDR;

Crusher - Hammerblow, Skullcrusher, Crit, Flex

Revolver - Handcannon, Crucian/Surgical, Crit, Reload
Curios - Health, StamRegen, ToughRegen, Flex

Talents - Immolation, Holy Revenant, Benediction, Fury of the Faithful, Inexorable Judgement, Scourge, Duelist

You are frontliner. BE AGGRESIVE!  B-E AGGRESSIVE!

Combos:

(H1, L2) - Basic Single Target Combo
CEH1, L2, (H1, L2) - Burst into Single Target Combo. 
(L1, L2, L3, L4) - Horde Control. Benefits the most from attack speed

(L1, L2, L3, L4)...PA, L2, (H1, L2) - Horde Control transition into Single Target
EL1, L2, H1, L2 - Bulwark Kill Combo
EL1, H2 - Heavy Armor + Mixed Horde Control

Discord: @dibbles.