LORETIDE - Veteran - Krieg - Mk I or Mk II Helbore Lasgun + Mk III Sapper Shovel
Build for Darktide

https://www.reddit.com/r/DarkTide/comments/1dxyjd8/death_korps_of_krieg_bayonet_charge/

DEATH KORPS OF KRIEG

By Denartes

1. Foreword

Welcome to the Driptide series, where I craft themed builds, pulling from Warhammer 40,000 lore, along with fitting cosmetic setups, focusing on fun and variety over strict adherence to the meta. While these builds may not always align with the current meta or the most optimal configuration, they promise an engaging experience for those seeking something different.

Before I make a build public, it undergoes extensive playtesting and adjustments to prove its viability in Auric Damnation. This ensures that although they can be unorthodox, you will be able to enjoy the build without worrying about being deadweight.

This also means that these builds aren't just for those who enjoy playing dress-up. They will perform well enough that if you are just wanting to try a new weapon, or find these builds interesting, you can certainly use them without any of the cosmetic stuff.

Often, a weapon has been selected for thematic coherence first, with the build then designed around these weapons. For example, it makes thematic sense for a Hive Ganger to use the Shredder Autopistol. So, although there are significantly better weapons, my Hive Ganger build is as optimised as I believe the Shredder can be so that I can still roleplay a Hive Ganger without significantly affecting the team's performance. In this particular instance, I acknowledge that even with such a build, a weapon like the Shredder is so low in performance that the average player is likely to struggle. In such instances, this will be indicated by the build difficulty metric in the Overview section.

2. Contents

1. Foreword
2. Contents
3. Lore
4. Overview
5. The Drip
6. Primary Weapon
7. Secondary Weapon
8. Curios
9. Talents
10. Tactics

3. Lore

Warhammer 40,000 Wiki - Death Korps of Krieg

"In life, war. In death, peace. In life, shame. In death, atonement." — Final litany of the Litany of Sacrifice, recited by Krieg Korpsmen when entering battle.

The Death Korps of Krieg are a renowned regiment of the Imperial Guard, hailing from the war-torn world of Krieg. Known for their grim determination and unwavering loyalty to the Emperor, the soldiers of Krieg are infamous for their willingness to engage in brutal, attritional warfare, often resorting to human wave assaults reminiscent of ancient trench warfare.

The history of Krieg is one of rebellion and atonement. Thousands of years ago, the planet rebelled against the Imperium, leading to a devastating civil war. In an effort to purge the heresy and atone for their betrayal, the loyalist faction launched a nuclear holocaust, turning Krieg into a radioactive wasteland. From the ashes of this apocalyptic conflict, the Death Korps were born, moulded by the harsh environment and the unforgiving doctrine of total war.

Krieg soldiers are characterised by their stoic nature, grim resolve, and complete disregard for personal safety. They are often equipped with distinctive rebreathers and trench coats, designed to protect them from the toxic atmosphere of their homeworld. Their training emphasises discipline, endurance, and a relentless willingness to sacrifice for the greater good of the Imperium.

In battle, the Death Korps excel in siege warfare, trench combat, and mass infantry assaults. They are often deployed in some of the most hazardous warzones, where their tenacity and resilience can turn the tide of battle. Their preferred weaponry includes lasguns with bayonets, artillery, and other heavy weapons suited to prolonged engagements and close-quarters fighting.

The Death Korps of Krieg embody the ultimate expression of the Imperial Guard's doctrine: unyielding, unrelenting, and utterly loyal to the Emperor, they fight with the knowledge that their sacrifice is necessary for the survival of humanity.

4. Overview

Build Difficulty: Easy

Easy - Meta or extremely strong, can easily carry Auric Damnation.

Medium - Competent players will do well. Average & below players may struggle if last alive.

Hard - Mechanical complexity, unique setup, or a bottom tier weapon requires a high level of player skill. Only expert players will be able to clutch.

This build is intended to let you play out your Death Korps fantasies, fearlessly charging headlong into battle with nothing but your Bayonet and a belly full of courage.

The main focus is on the Bayonet special attack of the Mk 1 and Mk 2 Helbore Lasguns, which gives you a high damage straight forward thrust that has a long reach. Although not as strong as when we had the blessing bugs that made melee weapon blessings affect the Bayonet, it is still powerful in its own right, and if you ask me, is sort of slept on.

The bayonet has extremely high stagger and will stun lock Ragers and Maulers, while the high damage will kill them in a few stabs. It also does very good boss damage, even if you don't hit the weakspot. Its very fast attack speed will let you put out a surprisingly high DPS against monstrosities.

The gameplay is quite simple yet competitive, after a bit of familiarisation you may be pleasantly surprised at how versatile the build is. We don't have to think too hard about how to play this, just stick a few simple rules and you'll be carrying Auric Damnation in no time:

• If it's a horde, light spam with your shovel.
• If it's a Crusher, shoot it in the head or bonk it with your shovel special (hold heavy to build stacks of Thrust for Crusher 1 shot).
• If it's literally anything else, just spam Bayonet stab.

Krak grenades and Voice of Command provide utility, allowing you to make space when you need it.

In short, this build has much to offer in the way of unique gameplay (I sometimes spend an entire game have not fired a single shot) and is a fitting for the cosmetics and lore of the Death Korps of Krieg.

5. The Drip

• Primary Weapon: Night-Eagle.
• Secondary Weapon: Crucis Nightshade Camo.
• Head: Lucius Mk IIIa Death's Head.
• Upper Body: Krieg Greatcoat MkI.
• Lower Body: Krieg Fatigues MkI.
• Accessory: Moebian 21st Backpack.

6. Primary Weapon (Melee)

Munitorum Mk III Sapper Shovel.

Perks

1. Damage (Flak) - Increased damage against Scab Bruisers.
2. Damage (Unarmoured) - Increased damage

Blessings

1. Limbsplitter - Description.
2. Thrust - Description.

Attack Combos

Multi-target:

Light > Repeat

Single-target:

Special > Charged Heavy > Repeat

Tips & Tricks

If you need to make space then a push attack or a heavy swing will knock normal enemies around.

7. Secondary Weapon (Ranged)

Lucius Mk I Helbore Lasgun or Lucius Mk II Helbore Lasgun

The Helbore Lasgun is the quintessential Krieg weapon and is what ties the whole thing together. It is powerful at range, it sports an incredibly strong melee weapon, the Bayonet.

Perks

1. Damage (Flak) - Increased damage against Maulers.
2. Damage (Unyielding)- Increased damage against Monstrosities.

Blessings

1. Surgical - Huge boost to ranged damage. This lets you put down Crushers quickly.
2. No Respite - This makes you do more Bayonet damage to Ragers/Maulers when your stab staggers them.

Tips & Tricks

Bayonet heavy attack:

You can do a psuedo heavy attack by holding the special key, this does slightly more damage and has a slightly longer reach.

Bayonet charge:

One of the best kept secrets, if you hold down the special key while sprinting forward, your character will go into a bayonet charge sprint animation. This lets you sprint faster with a deadly thrust at the end. I love using this to charge down groups of Shooters/Gunners.

8. Curios

We need 1 stam curios to make sure we can Bayonet charge over a long distance, combined with sprint efficiency perks and the talent, as well as stamina regeneration perks, you'll be extremely mobile. Combat Ability Regeneration is take for shout uptime, and hp/toughness for remaining curios is needed so we're not too weak in melee.

Stats

1. Health
2. Toughness
3. Stamina

Perks

1. Combat Ability Regeneration.
2. Sprint Efficiency.
3. Stamina Regeneration.

9. Talents

Blitz: Krak grenades

Although you can comfortably kill Crushers with your ranged attack, Kraks will give you an emergency anti-crusher tool should you need. They also do excellent damage to Monstrosities.

Aura: Close and Kill

This aura, plus the +5% movement speed node, will allow you do an even faster Bayonet charge, which make a noticeable difference in your ability to charge down Shooters/Gunners before your toughness breaks.

Combat Ability: Voice of Command

You will almost be using the Bayonet the whole time, shout will give a much needed toughness boost considering our lack of +toughness from curios. This is also a great get out of jail free card if you get caught of position while charging and your toughness breaks.

Keystone: Focus Target!

This is just a point burner, but can give a good damage boost on bosses.

10. Tactics

Hordes/Mixed Hordes

I generally just keep stabbing while I manoeuvre around the horde. As the bayonet only damages directly in front and has not push ability, I will switch to shovel light spam  if the horde is large enough that I can't keep them directly in front of me.

Specials

Shoot with Lasgun or stab with Bayonet.

Ragers

Spam stab at head height, the Bayonet has enough stagger and attack speed to permastun them so they can't attack you. They will die within 3 weakspot hits.

Maulers

Same as Ragers except you aim for the nuts (not even joking). The Bayonet has abysmal Carapace damage so you have to aim for the body, except I find that even aiming at the mid/low chest the Bayonet somehow keeps tagging the Carapace hitbox. The most reliable method of always hitting Flak with the Bayonet on Maulers is to aim at the ballsack.

Crushers

The Bayonet is weak against Carapace so I like to shoot or Shovel 1 shot them. Kraks can be used for Crushers too, though I like saving them for bosses or utility.

Bulwarks

If you stand right up against a Bulwark's shield and spam your stab, the long reach of the Bayonet can actually go past the shield and let you get body hits. I like to charge at them strafe around them while stabbing. If there is no room to move or they are in a mixed horde then I'll throw a Krak.

Shooters/Gunners/Reapers/Snipers

Shoot if you have to, otherwise I like to show my dominance and Bayonet charge them (especially Snipers).

Monstrosities
Tag, pop red stimm if you have, throw Kraks, shout, then spam stabs at weakspot while dodging attacks. The Bayonet does awesome boss damage and shout will keep you alive while you kill them. Makes it super easy to solo Chaos Spawn or Plague Ogryn. You can even kill a Daemonhost with this.

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