LORETIDE - Cadian Shock Troop
 Veteran Build - Warhammer 40k: Darktide 

For Cadia!

If you're here for the best Veteran build in Darktide... this isn't it. This is for the ones who want to play Battlefront: Warhammer 40,000. This is for the ones who love the story of mortal men and women putting their bodies on the line to fight inhuman menaces and eldritch horrors from beyond reality. This is for the ones who bleed olive drab and tan. This is for the men and women of the Emperor's True Finest, His Imperial Guard!

How to Play

Most of the time, you're playing overwatch. Pick off special and elite threats to your team before they become a problem. For things like Crushers and bosses, toss your Krak grenades. They can be used in a pinch to put a hole in a horde, but if your team has someone else for anti-armor, such as a plasma gunner, then you could probably swap for frag grenades.

If you get caught in a horde, swap to your melee weapon and go to town. You have Voice of Command, so you can fit right in on the front lines with your Ogryn buddies. Or the Zealots, if you got one that hasn't sprinted away from the rest of your squad.

Ranged Weapon

You're just another soldier among millions, so we go with the standard issue Kantrael MG Ia lasgun. For myself, I find the Kantrael Ia subvariant to have the best mix of stopping power and fire rate. Most everything dies in one or two shots at most, and I can get them off quickly and accurately.

Blessings and Perks: 

• Carapace and Maniac - Most of your high-threat enemies will have one of these two categories. Flak enemies generally only take one or two hits without any assistance, but you could swap that in if you felt like it.
• Deadly Accurate and Headhunter - You should be clicking heads with this build, and this is the way to get the most bang for your buck while doing so. If you can't do that reliably, you could swap out Headhunter for Infernus.

Alternate Weapons:

• Kantrael MG XII -  If it absolutely must die in one hit... well, you're taking plasma. The Kantrael XII is the heavy variant of the lasguns in-game right now, so there's a solid argument for taking this one.
• Recon Lasgun - The las-hose is actually really good right now and as much as I love my Kantrael Ia, I absolutely could not blame you one bit if you wanted to bring that along.
• Helbore Lasgun - Don't get me wrong, I've run a Death Korps/Steel Legion-themed build and the Mk I and Mk II Helbores are great. You barely even need to bring a melee weapon along, and honestly, I think the bayonet shank is straight out better - I've stared down a group of Ragers and just stabbed them to death with my bayonet. The Mk III hits like a truck, but the bayonet on that one is less than useless.
• Plasma Gun - Blap things to death. You know how this one goes.
• Hotshot Volley Gun - Fatshark pls I want to brrt things

Melee weapon

Again, we're looking for standard-issue weapons here, for a Cadian soldier... and what says "Cadia" and has the Astra Militarum winged skull on it? That's right, the Cadia Mk IV Assault Chainsword. Sweep attacks are pretty accessible, and it does good single-target damage with your revved attack. Again, flexibility is a key here.

Blessings and Perks: 

• Maniac and Flak - I take Maniac here simply as a fallback in case a Rager gets in my face. Rev and heavy attack and he's either dead or at least very very hurt. The revved heavy for any chainsword also stunlocks him in the animation, so you have a chance to pop Voice of Command after the attack ends to knock him away for follow-up attacks.
• Wrath and Devastating Strike - Pretty straightforward here. Looking to stack as much cleave as possible to boost your attacks as you spam them.

Alternate Weapons:

• Munitorum Mk IV Power Sword - I know some folks swear by this one. I've never been able to wrap my brain around it myself for some reason. I'm not saying it's not good, I'm just saying it's not clicked for me to date.
• Cadia Mk XIIIg Chainsword -  You could argue that this is an easier chainsword, especially if you're trying to clear a horde. Spam lights and you're done. I don't argue it, really. I'm just still used to the Mk IV's attack patterns and it fits the drip.
• Knife - Fine, if you really think your Sonic the Hedgehog impression helps, I can't stop you.

The Drip

In honesty, I'm running what I'm running because it's the only basic Imperial Guard kit I have. I know there's been others released, and of course how you want to play Driptide is your own business. If you're on PC and have For the Drip installed you can rock the green and tan of the Cadian Shock Troops however you want.

• Head - Kantrael Mk IIIa Flak Veteran's Helm
• Upper Body - Militarum Heavy Battle Gear (Protectus pattern IX)
• Lower Body - Militarum Heavy Battle Gear (Cadian 802nd)
• Accessory  - Progenium-issue Backpack

And that's about it. Simple and straightforward, and the most thematic way I've found to play Veteran in Darktide so far. Now, reload and get stuck in, soldiers! Atoma isn't going to save itself! And always remember...

CADIA STANDS