Moebian 21st Redeemer Build
 Veteran Build - Warhammer 40k: Darktide 

Are You tired of constantly being this dedicated backline Veteran that only uses Plasma Gun and spams uncharged shots at anything that comes Your way?
Do You want to use something else than a Weapon Specialist melee hybrid that uses Power Swords special and swings 3 times all the time?
Maybe You need some variety in Your life; something with a little more... OOMPH?
Time for some real action; ITS TIME TO BLOW SH*T UP! With the fresh new look and a fresh new Boltgun Veteran build!

TIPS:
1. The obvious star of the show is the Boltgun. Since forever it was always considered a good weapon to use, mainly used for deleting bosses. With this build You can counter ANY enemy; from regular Gunners and Specials to Crushers and Bosses alike due to chosen Perks and Blessing;
- +25% damage againts Carapace and Unyielding maximizes damage againts the most beefy targets; it is better to amplify the damage on those specific health bar types (not to mention Maulers, Plasma Gunners and Twins heads aswell as Scab Ragers torso). Many people take Flak damage bonus but it is not needed; the weapon does very well againts that HP type as it is
- Puncture is a no brainer; it helps in finishing off low HP enemies which in turn lets You save ammo and also generate steady damage even when You cannot engage the enemy - simply shoot them up to 4 times and let the bleed do its job
- Shattering Impact goes extremelly well with Puncture for 1 main reason; Crushers. With it it can weaken them enough (if not killing them) for You and Your team to finish them by any other means necessary while also providing more damage for Your team vs Bosses (if their weapons don't do well againts Unyielding thanks to Brittleness)
Many people take other blessings like Pinning Fire or Cavalcade which IMO are not the best choices - heres why;
- Pinning Fire does nothing when You deal with enemies that cannot be staggered by the boltgun which are Mutants, Crushers and Bosses. In combination with very small AoE it makes You shoot staggerable enemies first in order to kill more dangerous ones and generate less damage againts more beefy targets alone
- Cavalcade sounds good on paper cause You do extra damage from crits but boltgun does not have a very high crit multiplier nor crit chance to begin with (0% crit chance if You hipfire, 5% if You ADS)
2. Melee weapon choice should be something that can do very well againts Chaf and have an edge againts Elites. My personal preference is Mk III Shovel and for a good reason;
- 1st, 2nd and 3rd Light attacks (can also use 4th but be aware that it is a strikedown so it won't cleave as well as the other 3 attacks in the chain) in combination with Push attack and Serrated Blade talent make for a very good CC and Chaf clearing combo; can also initiate a fight with the 1st Heavy attack
- Againts single targets You use Your flip mode Heavy attack while its active; its a perfect overhead which makes it easier for landing headshots
- +25% damage againts Flak and Carapace is a perfect combination for a melee weapon that is suppose to deal with armour; The only weakness of this mark of the shovel is Unyielding HP type but that gets covered by the boltgun and bleed from Serrated Blade talent and Shredder Frag Grenades if used
- Blessing choice is very important for this particular mark of the shovel;
A) Skullcrusher is always a must pick on Mk III; it replaces Uncanny Strike very well! Now I know its a hot take but listen to me; Uncanny Strike is picked mainly for 2 reasons only; being able to deal with Crushers and amplifying DoT damage againts them; due to how Skullcrusher works with the Heavy attack flip mode it always staggers an enemy it hits (exept Mutants and Bosses); the initial stab applies stagger and the pull out after applies another stagger with 40% skullcrusher debuff! After that another flip Heavy attack initial stab will apply 80% debuff and the pull out will do tremendous damage to them. Apart from that You can combine stagger provided by Your team to apply the debuff to bosses if you wanna save ammo or prep the target for quick deletion
The only thing You lose is the ability to amplify DoT damage againts any HP type that rending affects so Carapace, Flak, Unyielding and Maniac (only Carapace really matters though)
B) Decimator is picked for one reason only; Cleave. Power (same for Strength) increases Damage, Impact and Cleave which shovel desperately needs - with it You can deal with masses easier
Why not use Mk VII Shovel? Simple; due to how its special flip mode works. Despite having identical Heavy attacks just like Mk I Shovel the Mk VII's stuck animation lasts longer that of the Mk III; now that would not be a problem if it weren't for a fact that when You strike an enemy You have to finish the animation before You can do anything else - You can't dodge, swap weapons, block... You can only use Your ability to save Yourself from being struck while doing it... Not to mention it comes at an angle which makes it more difficult to land weakspots while doing the same damage as the Mk III and has the same Push attack as the Mk I which is not very good for a weapon that already has a better way to deal with single targets
You can also use other melee weapons which will work well in this build such as;
- Mk I Shovel (with Uncanny Strike & Decimator)
- Mk VI Power Sword (You want to swap Serrated Blade for Trench Fighter Drill)
- Mk III Combat Axe (You want to swap Serrated Blade for Trench Fighter Drill)
- Shock Mauls (You want to swap Serrated Blade for Trench Fighter Drill)
- Dueling Swords
- Knifes
3. You can use any grenade in this build! However the choice of which one to use is tied to Your weapons effectiveness, mainly melee;
A) Shredder Frag Grenades have always been a staple of quality and used in every build due to their usefulness and position of the tree; even after the update they still deliver good CC and damage thanks to bleed DoT which together with Puncture blessing from boltgun and Serrated Blade talent can keep up the bleed stacks high and thus its damage! Main reason I use shredders in this build is the fact that they cover weaknesses of the weapon of choice and others like Mk I Shovel, Shock Mauls, Knifes and Dueling Swords; mixed hordes with Elites but especially Ragers! Talent vise they want Demolition Stockpile and Grenadier talents to achieve full potential, Grenade Tinkerer can be skipped. They can be used with any melee weapon listed above to great effect
B) Smoke Grenades despite mixed reception since the release by the community are a very good defensive and strategic option for You and Your team; their only weakness is direct impact on enemy melee units which in situations where space is limited may prove detrimental. Talent vise they want Demolition Stockpile and Grenade Tinkerer talents to achieve full potential, Grenadier can be skipped. They will be best used with Mk VI Power Sword and Mk III Combat Axe
C) Krak Grenades since 'Bound by Duty' update have received substantial buffs and are extremelly potent at eliminating Elites and Bosses. However for this build they are the least optimal choice since Your boltgun is suppose to do all that Kraks provide; they can still be utilized for quick boss deletion in order to save ammo or deal with bosses which weakspots are harder to hit like Beast of Nurgle, Chaos Spawn and Daemonhost. Talent vise they want Demolition Stockpile and Grenade Tinkerer talents to achieve full potential, Grenadier can be skipped altho it can still be picked due to extra grenade capacity and extra grenade thrown being able to stick to bosses. They will be best used with Mk VI Power Sword and Mk III Combat Axe
4. The build is primarily designed to destroy Bosses fast; it can also deal with any other threat fast and efficiently. Here is the rundown of what to do;
A) As for regular enemies, shooting melee Chaf is obviously not a good idea; Shotgunners, Ragers and Maulers usually should be shot unless absolutely necessary (Your melee and grenades should be enough to deal with them). Shooters, Gunners, Plasma Gunners, Bulwarks, Reapers and Specials (exept for a Mutant) should be always shot in order to kill as fast as possible; Crushers can be shot 4 times to apply 16 bleed stacks and 40% brittleness for easy elimination for Your melee and Your team
B) Bosses are more complicated since each needs to be aproached with different strategy;
- Plague Ogryn, Chaos Spawn and Daemonhost are fairly simple; You tag them with Focus Target, preferably maxed (6), aproach them up front with Your boltgun equiped and use Your ability. You utilize the stagger to shoot the head as much as possible; then reload and if the boss is still standing You shoot its head (if possible) till dead - Marksman bonus lasts for 10 seconds after using Your ability and You will be able to still utilize its buff after first magdump (it also works for Your melee!)
- Beast of Nurgle is more tricky; it won't be staggered by Your shout (unless it has a teammate in its belly) but it has an extra weakspot which is its mount in addition to the orange 'pimple' on its back. You can shoot either of the spots depending on many circumstances like enemy density and terrain You fight in; a good strategy is to bait out the puke attack and kite it if possible; if not You can still shoot its mouth and achieve good damage. You can also utilize Shredder Frag Grenades or Krak Grenades to force a stagger on it and shoot its back (don't forget to throw a shredder right under the front of the boss otherwise You won't stagger it)
- Twins require timing and proper spacing; the trick is to use Your ability BEFORE their shield breaks! This way when You position Yourself infront of them when they lose their shield and fall on the ground You will be able to easily shoot their Carapace helmet for maximum damage; when You shout after they lose their shield they will be pushed away and cover their head through half of the time the animation plays which means You do less damage
- Captains are the only Boss You should never shoot due to Void shield restoration - they are the only Bosses that You cannot burst down with this build. Save Your ammo and utilize Your melee; Skullcrusher debuff from the shovel for example can be applied on them when they lose their shield and fall to the ground which greatly amplifies Yours and Your teams damage (another reason I used it over other options)
C) Tactical Reload might be frowned by some people but it is extremelly important piece of the build; Boltgun has a reload speed of 5,7 seconds (not including an animaton cancel You can do at the end of the final animation) which is bad... With this talent the time gets cut to 4,275 seconds! On paper it does not look like much but in gameplay it makes a huge difference expecially for such a minimal price to pay of paying attention to Your ammo count and always ensuring there is 1 bullet left in the magazine (it will require some time to get used to but once You get the hand of it the effect is substantial and visible in overall performance; even I mess up sometimes so don't be discouraged ;p).
Why not use Volley Adept instead? Simple; despite providing 5% extra reload speed on much more easier condition to fulfill which is to kill Specials and Elites it loses tremendously in situations where such kills could not be secured (either by lack of them or simply 'stolen' by Your teammates) and especially when You're fighting Shooters and Bosses (especially visible when there will be multiple of them for You to kill); I've had many boltgun Veteran players stating they will take care of the bosses and they could not do so efficiently enough due to them having base reload speed and getting overwhelmed mid reload despite taking Volley Adept... don't be like them; use Tactical Reload!
D) Marksman together with Precision Strikes, Longshot, Focus Target!, Redirect Fire!, Bring it Down! and Superiority Complex (in case of Elites) buffs make this build what it is; a proper well-oiled melting machine; apart from Longshot, everything else works for Your melee weapons aswell so You don't need to hug the backline all the time or rely on Weapon Specialist and Desperado to get dirty up close - this way You also conserve ammo when You really need to use it

Thats about it! I hope You will enjoy blasting away Your problems with this build and reignite Boltgun back to its rightful place; Your own hands in combat and not Your inventory space on dust collecting duty!