2025-09-26_Bub's Weapon Specialist
 Veteran Build - Warhammer 40k: Darktide 

Overview

Not sure what meta is at this point, but I imagine it is similar to this for  Weapons Specialist vet.  Any melee weapon works, Maccabian Mk IV Duelling Sword is simply the best non-ogyrn weapon in the game, probably tied with Branx Mk III Arbites Shock Maul, which is also beyond ridiculous when compared to other options (why does a tiny bully stick do more damage per hit than the two handed crusher while also attacking faster and having better mobility bonuses?  Crusher is also meta, just not totally busted).  M35 Magnacore Mk II Plasma Gun is the best ranged weapon in the game, other than Exaction Mk III Exterminator Shotgun (either mark).

Talent Tree

We have more flex points now with a more flexible tree.  Below are the optional options starting with the ones I choose (so switch those out if you want):

• Things I choose:
  • Out for Blood:  Hard to say no to good toughness regen.  Especially one as good as this, as it applies to all kills.  Very good with shredders.  I would probably drop it if I took Krak Grenades.
  • One Motion: I haven't decided if I like this or Longshot more.  This works with grenades as well, which is kind of a big deal.  The tree also has much more free damage than before, so Longshot isn't needed for breakpoints.
  • Serrated Blade for Field Improvisation  (I don't use Field Improvisation because uptime is bad.  You will get more use out of Serrated Blade.  That said, Field Improvisation can save a match).
  • On Your Toes: Same as Out for Blood.  This tends to come in clutch in crazy situations.  It is also dependable if you are thinking about it.
  • Agile Engagement is very good.  It used to be in a bad part of the tree to pick up, but that isn't the case anymore.  That said, if you are not actively taking advantage of it, then it isn't doing you as much good as something with less damage that is always up.
• Things to swap in
  • Longshot can help with breakpoints.  Major buff here with 10% minimum.  It seems like a stronger Kill Zone now.  Higher highs, lower lows, but not much lower.  I don't take it, because I am hitting the breakpoints I need to without it (mostly gunner one shots).
  • Field Improvisation is always good.
  • Kill Zone Strong uptime, might be bugged with no often it is up.  Further out of the way now and there are now much better talents, such as Skirmisher (which is non-negotiable.  This thing is insane now).  This used to be almost mandatory.  Now I don't think so.
  • Stamina Regeneration Boost is always nice.  If you manage to get both.  This ties you with psyker and Aribites for best stamina regen.  Kind of a big deal, but also hard to passup on for straight damage. 
  • Marksman is still good, but its uptime was nerfed with Tactical Awareness's nerf.  I haven't yet tested the uptime, but now there are better damage buffs with better uptime, so it isn't as good comparitively. At least this patch.  (Skirmisher and Agile Engagement, I am looking at you).  It might be worth taking over Precision Strikes depending on uptime.  Precision Strikes only applies to bonus damage, while Marksman applies to total.
    • This does not work like other weakspot perks.  It ups the total damage, not just the additional weakspot damage. 
  • Superiority Complex is always good.  100% uptime, damage to almost all the targets we care about.  But it isn't as much damage as other talents.  I could see maybe dropping Agile Engagement or one of the toughness regen talents for it. 
  • Grenade Tinkerer:  You need this if you go kraks (discussion below).  Without it, you will not one shot crushers.  Going with the above build, I would probably switch out Out for Blood.  A lot of Out for Blood's value comes from Shredder Frag Grenades.

It is worth noting that Confirmed Kill stacks with both all kills, while Exhilarating Takedown only works with ranged kills.  If you are playing a ranged only build, go ahead and take Exhilarating Takedown over Out for Blood 

Grenades 

All the grenades are good now.  Even Smoke Grenade has their niche in havoc.  Think of them as a mini bubble (they can also be used to prolong the life span of a bubble) that forces enemy gunners to move.  They also confuse the shit out of the ranged twin, who will sometimes just sit there and do nothing.

I still think Shredder Frag Grenades are better than Krak Grenade , but it is close now and depends on the build.  Shredder Frag Grenade are a get out of jail free card that Krak Grenades simply are not due to aoe.  If you need boss damage and bulwark removal tools, take Krak Grenades.  If you need horde removal and aoe stagger, take Shredder Frag Grenades.

Weapons

Any melee weapon works. Maccabian Mk IV Duelling Sword is still the best. I actually like all of them. Weapons that are particularly fun with weapon specialist (in my opinion) are:

• Achlys Mk VI Power Sword 
• Orestes Mk IV Assault Chainaxe 
• Rashad Mk III Combat Axe 
• Catachan Mk VI Combat Blade or Catachan Mk III Combat Blade 
• Atrox Mk VII Tactical Axe .
• Munitorum Mk I Sapper Shovel 

There are many good blessings on Maccabian Mk IV Duelling Sword:

• Uncanny Strike helps with carapace and offers a tiny bit of extra damage to bosses.  Technically it adds some damage to flak and maniac, but dueling sword doesn't need that.  
• Thrust extra damage.  It no longer one shots mutants (without maniac), so is less useful than before, but it is still good.
• Riposte and Precognition are also very good blessings.  
• Any combination of the above blessings are good.  

Not recommended blessings on dueling sword:

• Rampage is helpful for horde clear, but is the least good at of everything else I have mentioned.  Which is kind of insane, as it is the best blessing on many other weapons. 
• I see many people recommend Agile.  It is a waste of a slot.  It isn't bad and infinite dodge is fun and safe, but if you play smart (or just. . .you know normal, like any other weapon), you have plenty of dodges and dueling sword already has among the best dodges in the game.  
• Shred is a less good Riposte.  You have to build up to it and you lose all your stacks on one missed attack and have to build up again.
• Relentless Strikes goes away as soon as you touch any other enemy, so is only good on bosses.  If your team is missing boss damage, then go ahead, but if you really need boss damage then Achlys Mk VI Power Sword or any of the chain weapons are better at that specific role.

For ranged weapons, high alpha, low magazine weapons work the best with Weapons Specialist and Always Prepared.  Ones that I like listed below:

• M35 Magnacore Mk II Plasma Gun This is the best all round gun in the game.  It honestly needs to be nerfed and in normal non-havoc game mods can make the game very boring for the rest of the team.
• Godwyn-Branx Mk IV Bolt Pistol I love this with weapon specialist.  It has good body shot damage, it staggers everything nearby.  It can also buff your grenades with Lethal Proximity.
• Zarona Mk IIa Quickdraw Stub Revolver The ol' faithful.  Never a bad choice.
• Agripinaa Mk VII Combat Shotgun This was buffed with arbites update and is very good now.
• Crucis Mk XI Double-Barrelled Shotgun Fun.  Not meta.  Unless you are Ainz.

Plasma can take Blaze Away instead of Rising Heat if you want more boss damage or find that you are not hitting head shots and need additional shots to take out enemies.  For the love of god, do not take Shattering Impact.  Shattering Impact will only help you against bosses and not that much.  Taking the 71%/69% split on charge rate and thermal resistance supposedly minimizes the firing delay on left clicks.  I can't tell the difference, but have been promised it is there by discord.

If you take Zarona Mk IIa Quickdraw Stub Revolver, then Surgical and Hand-Cannon are fine.  You will get limited use out of handcannon, but there isn't much else to take.

Bolt Pistol is also good and has a number of good blessings. 

• Surgical 
• Puncture 
• Deadly Accurate almost always overkill.
• Lethal Proximity This works with your grenades, even when the weapon isn't out.

Personally I would use Lethal Proximity and Puncture.  You get all the crit you need out of Weapons Specialist.

Curios 

I always take + toughness and + stamina.  Stamina affects most of your gameplay and a little extra helps a lot with sprinting and blocking.  Vet has low bases in this area so a little extra always helps.  Back in the days when all fire instantly removed all toughness, there was a better argument for health.  We aren't in those days anymore. 

For the small sub nodes, every build in the entire game should use stamina regeneration and ability cooldown on curios.  They are the most impactful stats.  For the last slot there are a number of decent options:

• Stamina regeneration is the most important cooldown stat.  It affects your ability to move and to resume blocking and pushing.  Some weapons are more dependent than others.
• Ability cooldown is the second most important.  Abilities can make or break games.  On all three curios, that is 12%.  For shout, this is a reduction of 3.6 seconds, which is further reduced by other talents and teammates.  In a 30 minute game, this is 8.2 more shouts (assuming maximum spam, which admittedly is unlikely).  Shouts can literally save games, even when you don't notice.  Maybe someone took a overhead.  With shout, that is no damage, without, that is a down.  That single down can cost a game.
• Sprint and block cost are always great. 
• +toughness is always great. 
• Gunner Resist is good. 
• Bomber resist is decent, although personally I would never take that. It helps with both napalm and tox bombers, both of which can easily end games.
  • Remember that damage reduction on curios is multiplicative, so you get diminishing returns. 3 gunner resists gives 48.8% damage reduction, not 60%. 2 gunner resists gives 36%, not 40%.  So never take 3 unless you really struggle with gunners.  Gunner resist only works on the guys with the big machine guns, not normal shooters.  
  • I believe every other curio stat is additive (as in non-damage resist stats).  
• I wouldn't frown at + health, but personally find toughness to be more beneficial.
• If you are starving for money, take those ordo docket increases.  I won't judge you.
• Everything else is bad.  Especially toughness regeneration, which only affects coherency toughness.  I don't want to ever see this.  Corruption resistance is niche in havoc and even there, it is questionable.  Better to bring a zealot with Beacon of Purity.

How to play

Play like normal.  Try to hold on to Weapons Specialist between fights, but it really isn't that big of a deal if you swap by habit.  

You have both grenade regen perks.  It is important to understand how Demolition Team and Demolition Stockpile work.  Demolition Stockpile ticks down as long as you are not at the grenade cap (3).  As soon as you hit the cap, it resets.  So to get maximum usage, you never want to be at max grenades (unless Demolition Stockpile got you there). If Demolition Team got you to cap, then you just lost that much time on Demolition Stockpile.  So make sure you are using them before you reach cap.  As a added bonus, you will probably see yellow numbers for damage done on the scoreboard if you follow these rules.  Do not pick up grenades unless no one else can use them.  You literally conjure them out of your bum and no one else does.

Shout during fights on cooldown.  Do not wait for the prime opportunity to stagger things.  Gold toughness is an enormous security blanket that protects you from all sorts of things including:

• Health damage bleed through from melee
• crusher and mauler overheads
• dog guaranteed corruption on pounce
• sniper shot health bleed through
• mutant health damage
• Burster health damage bleedthrough and corruption
• Basically anything that normally hurts you through toughness

Don't wait, shout.

Finally, you do not have Volley Adept.  So learn to animation cancel your reloads (if you are using plasma).  Plasma has three points at which you can reduce the reload time.  Animation cancels can be done by tap sprinting or QQ (weapon swapping very quickly).

Plasma animation cancels:

1. As soon as the mag is pulled out
2. As soon as the mag is put in
3. Right after the first ratchet of the venting cap.