[Auric] Shooty Stabby Soldier {SSS Build}
 Veteran Build - Warhammer 40k: Darktide 

Intro:

This build is a strong allrounder able to handle most situations. Give it a try and let me know how you go - feedback welcome. This build is highly customizable and should perform well with an easy skill ceiling. 

I try and give explanations for the build below - I hope this is helpful - its aimed at newer players. 

Melee:

We take the dueling sword cause it has great mobility and single point damage with the heavy attacks. Try to dodge slide everywhere charging your heavy attacks as you go for a small speed boost.

1st blessing we take is "Rampage" +36% dam if you hit 3 enemies for 3 sec - I don't like its hoard clear that much, so if you are struggling with the hoard, then pull out the Boltgun and kill 1 enemy - this will trigger your "Weapon Specialist" keystone node and 15% attack speed for 10s - just spam the light attacks, you also have grenades if you need some space - use them liberally - cause you are generating 1 every 60 seconds so don't save them - if needed rinse and repeat. 

For anything slightly harder use heavy attacks. For this reason I like the Maccabian Mk IV cause its heavy pattern is consistent single point damage (Headshot!) with the heavy stab as opposed to the heavy swipe of the other marks (feel free to swap out for another version if you prefer the heavy swipes, they are better for crowd control). We have a good crit chance with this build so aim for the head if possible, but most enemies will be a 2 shot, not much will survive 3 heavies. You can take on Ogryn size enemies, but I prefer to just switch to ranged and spam Boltgun as keeping distance is safer, though once you understand how to dodge them without fail each time, you handle each situation as you wish, you might want to thin the heard with a full clip then switch to melee to finish. 1 or 2 Ogryns solo with the sword should be manageable for most skill levels, so work up to it (If you can melee solo 6 Ogryns then you probably wont need a build guide).

The other blessing we take is "Riposte" as it gives 15% extra crit chance after a dodge - with this we can take on larger enemies and roll RNG for the crit.

In summary - we take Rampage cause it should help with hoard clear, and Riposte because we dodge often and this crit chance will help with everything. Swap out either as you need.

For perks - we take the + damage to flak and maniac - this gives you the good coverage across a wide range of relevant bad guys - its a solid choice on most builds. 

I'm dumping penetration as the dump stat because the effect only applies after the fist hit enemy during a cleave - so our single point dam is fine - again this is not the best for hoard clear but choose your dump stat as per your strength and weakness - my hoard clear is still ok.

Ranged:

Boltgun has a lot of power - your biggest issue will be ammo really so we take Survivalist aura (and its just the best veteran aura). Try to save the full clip for a situation that needs urgent attention (say 6 crushers run up), just whip it out and spam the full clip. We have a decent reload speed for the Boltgun with this build so depending on what's left reload or switch to melee and clean up - use good judgement. If you need more time, you have the shout to buy another reload - 3 clips should be more than enough to whittle the herd down to a manageable size.

Your Boltgun can be used like an anti ranged / specialist only, or you can use it more as a primary weapon - just be very carful with the ammo - you will need to manage this. Keep in mind you are a Veteran, not a Zealot, so the Boltgun ammo aura and extra reload and weapon swap speed, make you better with the Boltgun as your point of difference. Depending on your skill level, as a beginner - the Boltgun is your failsafe and go to (you will be ammo hungry so if you are in a team with other ammo hungry builds, this can be a problem), as you get higher skill - use melee where ever possible and save your ammo. 

If you struggle with dodges in melee - use the Boltgun for any risky bad guy, in most situations you should have space for 1 clip at least. Ultimately you will need to get better at your dodges but the Boltgun can get you out of a pinch until you get this skill.

For perks we take the + damage to carapace amour to deal quickly with crushers, and the + reload speed perk to give us a second clip if we position correctly for a wave (less time reloading and more time shooting = double plus good). 

For blessings 1st we take the Shattering Impact - Target receives 1-4 Stacks of 2.5% Brittleness on direct projectile hit. Debuff lasts for 5 seconds and can have a maximum of 16 stacks. This will mean our potential to kill a crusher is at 4 - 6 bolts (without this blessing we must spam about 10 bolts), plus we get utility with maulers and all other armored bad guys too.

Second blessing is Surgical +10% Critical Chance for every 0.2-0.35 second while aiming. Stacks 10 times. This crit chance is great if you aim more than 2 sec you have maxed out this increase for the next shot - basically over 2 sec aiming and you guarantee a crit. Saves ammo and makes your single point damage really high (check the weapon stats for your self but at the time of writing this, the dam for a normal hit will be around 500 - then for a crit it jumps up to over 800 - except for carapace armor - its around 250 for the normal hit then jumps up to 450 for the crit.). 

{Another option for 2nd blessing is Terrifying Barrage - added suppression helps buy time when needed - aim for the middle of a crowd} 

For the stats I use stability as a dump stat - I've never had real issues with the aim on the Boltgun and I'm just an average aimer - so I expect most will be ok with this (if its a real problem for you then dump mobility but it really sucks to be slow).

Skilltree:

Blitz: We have a way to deal with big bad guys (Boltgun) so we don't need Krak grenades - so we take the frag grenade. I don't use them offensively very often, I use them defensively at my feet when getting overwhelmed since we don't feel the splash damage. Also throw a grenade at a downed ally before the res can be good.

Aura: Survivalist - not much to say, we take this to keep our ammo up, which keeps our Boltgun stocked. 

Ability: Voice of Command has so much utility so we take this (with this build we are among the action and in the thick of it, we dont want to be just countering ranged enemies with Executioner Stance) - and boost it with the "Duty and Honor" modifier talent because the gold toughness bar is really handy for you and your team. Synergy with "For the Emperor" (10% base dmg for 5s on use) and "Tactical Awareness" (remove 6s from cooldown on specialist kill - this can be amazing for a wave of hounds etc just a few kills will have your ability ready to go quickly)

Keystone: We take Weapons Specialist. Simplicity is key - because we will be weapon swapping a lot, we should get great value out of the boosts to stats, without having to think about it much. If we need to, we can be active and trigger the boost we want at the right time also. Synergy with "One Motion" talent node +25% weapon swap speed.

Curios: 

Flexible here - if you find yourself struggling in 1 area - optimize for your playstyle. 

As an all rounder - we take blessings to Stamina, Toughness and Health.

With the perks we have full +combat ability regeneration, and full +stamina regeneration, then your choice - I take added toughness, health and sprint efficiency.

Playstyle:

You should have a tool to handle almost every situation.

Always try and take everything out with melee as a first preference to save ammo - try and save the Boltgun for ambushes and bad situations.

You have good foot speed cause the dueling sword has great mobility (yes i know, not as good as the knife (another weapon that can go with this build) but still enough to be strong).

Use the right tool for the right job.

• Ranged enemies: Either dodge slide to close the distance if only a few - otherwise use the Boltgun iron sights and cover.
• Hoard: Spam light attacks and use positioning - don't get surrounded (as mentioned above you can force the Melee specialist Keystone with a singe ranged kill to give more attack speed). Drop a grenade at your feed for some space. Use choke points or boxes. 
• Ragers: Boltgun them, don't mess around if you can help it. You will proc the "Volley Adept" (+30% reload speed on specialist kill) so use the faster reload. Melee in a pinch you can time your sword heavy thrust to take them down with sideways and backward dodges - but its often too risky (unless you want a challenge).
• Mutants: Use the sword - Stab them as they run past, then its just 1 or 2 more heavy hits to clean up.
• Ogryns: Boltgun if issues in melee - use your shout to get off another reload if needed. Dodge dodge dodge.

You really have 3 escapes with this build 

1. The Boltgun full clip spam (leaves you open and vulnerable so we have a few reload speed perks, to keep you back in the fight). The hip fire shoots 2 bolts so its good against Ogryns you will have time because you should stagger them - you are looking at 3-6 bolts per Ogryn
2. Grenades - you have 1 every 60 seconds so don't be shy and use them (i use them for hoard clear mostly) - in an average 30 min game - you should have opportunity to spam out about 15 or so - I save just 1 for tight situations and use the rest for opportunistic attacking. Grenades count is a resource so manage it accordingly.

3. Shout ability (voice of command) - really great to get out of a bad situation and buy more time - we take the Tactical Awareness node to decrease the cooldown so you should be getting enough kills to keep this active when you need it. We boost it with the gold toughness perk and perk For the emperor! gives you some nice damage, if you see specialist enemies - you might wanna pop the ability and get those 6s cooldown reductions. 

   Last resort use dodges and skill if you have burned all your other options.

Random notes:

• weapon swap: is super slow - pulling out the Boltgun is not quick - we do take the talent node "one motion" to give +25% weapon swap speed , but even with this its very slow - we will just need to compensate with good spacing and planning when we swap.
• We add a bit of crit chance with this build - but don't rely on this, always assume the worst (no crit).
  • On the sword we add Riposte +12.5-20% Critical Chance for 6s on successful Dodge.
  • On the gun we add Surgical +10% Critical Chance for every 0.2-0.35 second while aiming. Stacks 10 times. 
  • Via talents we add -
    • Reciprocity (+5% crit chance for 8s on successful dodge, stacks 5 times) and Desperado (+10% melee crit hit chance )

VARIATIONS:

• Skill tree:
  • Volley Adept, One Motion and Iron will give you 3 points to play with

• Gear:

  • Can swap out the knife for melee.
  • Can swap the Boltgun for the plasma gun, bolt pistol or the quickdraw stub revolver.

  Overall just experiment and do as you wish - these builds are made to guide - not hard and fast rules

  Enjoy !!