VERY IN-DEPTH H40 MELEE PSYKER GUIDE, 2 BUILDS
 Psyker Build - Warhammer 40k: Darktide 

Changelog (Will delete lines if superseded by new adjustments)

8/15/2026 - finalized Shred vs Unstable Power section.

7/17/2026 - added under Disrupt Destiny how to effectively reset highlighted targets

7/9/2026 - added advanced player only tip at bottom

7/6/2026 - added link for the talents I run with Scrier's Gaze: https://darktide.gameslantern.com/builds/a23327de-a0e2-459b-8cbb-3fbab5ac8dbf/scriers-variant-talents-only-below

• Still read the mini-guide because there is talent variation, and if you are very into it then read the Shred vs Unstable Power too

WHY USE MY BUILDS?

• Builds revolve around using both the "Uptime" mod and going by feel across a few hundred Havoc 40 games with these builds.
  • Most games are on Party Finder and inviting 1-2 low ranks, so much of the output is the build and less from the team
  • Feel is my long-term judgement on the efficacy of talents as we are buffed by sources outside our own character in real games, fighting different enemies under different circumstances 
     
• Utilizes Walls & Scrier's Gaze to their maximum potential
  • By default, this guide is for Walls but anything that deviates due to picking Scrier's Gaze will be noted (here are just the Scrier’s talents:) https://darktide.gameslantern.com/builds/a23327de-a0e2-459b-8cbb-3fbab5ac8dbf/scriers-variant-talents-only-below
     
• Most unholy clutch power, can deal with every situation that presents in Havoc 40
   
• Huge, palpable impact on the team and is very fun
   

Gear Philosophy

Blaze Force Greatsword Covenant Mk VI (will be abbreviated as FGS)

• Huge single target DPS vs. the Mk VIII (~ +33%)
• INSANE range, you outrange almost every incoming melee attack in the game
• Can swap Carapace for Flak (preference)
• Can swap Carapace for Maniac (preference)
  • Recommend always running Unstable Power with Maniac
    • Non-crit full charge warp slice can 1-shot closer-range dreg ragers on havoc 40 with high DD stacks.
    • Non-crit H2 will 1-shot dreg ragers with high DD stacks.
  • I did this for a few days and it is awesome for Dreg faction maps, and not useful on Scab maps.

Unstable Power vs. Shred - only consider if running Scrier's Gaze.....(only read if you are a min-maxxer; if not, skip to Staff section or look at TL;DR at bottom of this section)

• A lot of the discussion for this section has maulers and dreg ragers in mind because they are prime threats and the two blessings handle them differently. There is objective data on uptime, but the consistency of the uptime will be subjective.
• Unstable Power is consistent and gives up to 1.2x damage, cleave, and impact. 
  • Wall's Unstable Power uptime is 3.9 out of 4 avg. stacks (basically max); 
    • Because of near 100% max stacks with walls, I probably will never drop for Shred.
  • Scrier's Gaze's Unstable Power uptime is only 2.8 out of 4 avg. stacks, however...
    • Stacks appear lower when consistently proccing By Crack of Bone on hordes. I don't need Unstable Power stacks for hordes. 
    • Stacks appear higher when inconsistently proccing By Crack of Bone elites & bosses. The inconsistent nature tends to hover stacks around 3-4, which is good. I do want Unstable Power for elites & bosses.
• Shred is inconsistent and gives up to an added 20% chance to deal ~2x damage, which always adjusts hits-to-kill on elites. It also provides palpable increases to both Empathic Evasion and Mettle's movement speed uptimes.
  • Crits often reduce hits-to-kill by 1 on elites if you don't 1-shot them.
    • Great for low DD stacks, which will happen a lot when you are last alive.
    • More crits from Shred will lead to faster elite killing when compared to Unstable Power, if the situation favors good Shred uptime.
  • My Shred uptime is ~40% at 5 stacks playing naturally (not worrying if I miss an attack).
    • Stacks appear low when solo fighting dreg ragers because I frequent the [L H cancel], wasting the light 1 to ensure I don't get hit. 
      • If only a few ragers, I feel comfortable baiting their non-lunging attacks so I can spam [H H] for high Shred uptime.
    • Stacks appear low or high when fighting bosses & elites.
      • Kiting a Chaos Spawn with many elites? I will frequent the [L H cancel].
      • Fighting a Beast of Nurgle or Plague Ogryn? My stacks are maxed.
    • Stacks appear higher when fighting crushers and ogryns because I can safely spam [H H] without wasting an attack. 
    • Stacks appear higher when fighting hordes obviously. 
• TL;DR: Unstable Power if you don't like gambling. Shred if you like gambling.

Electrokinetic Force Staff Nomanus Mk VI (will be abbreviated to EK staff)

• Innate +21% crit chance and +31.5% crit damage, other staves do not have the 'Critical Bonus' stat
  • Primary attack crits do 2x to nearly 3x damage at base, plus the 'Surge' blessing is a global 2x multiplier to that damage
  • Crits also trigger several important talents
• Is used like a warp revolver to take out ranged elites (can suppress reapers easily,) specials, and dreg ragers
• Can swap Maniac for Flak, or run Maniac + Flak depending on preference / playstyle

Curios

• Can swap Toughness for Revive Speed
• Scrier's Gaze: can swap Combat Ability Regen for Revive Speed or Health* 
  • *I usually run Health

Talent Philosophy - from top to bottom

Perilous Combustion

• For non-soulblaze builds, this is rarely noticeable aside from shotgunner waves, which are already easy to kill

Blitz

• Running Walls? Assail is easy to maintain high peril + Malefic Momentum
• Running Scrier's Gaze? doesn't matter for my playstyle as I'd rather keep Peril down. I equip smite and literally never use it, as a meme.
  • I used to use Kinetic Flayer a lot, but I had many redundant procs

Malefic Momentum

• NO MICROMANAGEMENT: 70%-80% uptime on warp damage buff; 45-55% on the non-warp damage buff
  • No micromanagement means using the staff / warp slice naturally and not thinking about this talent
• MICROMANAGEMENT: 70-80% for both, done by treating the staff like a revolver and quickly 1 shotting something every few sec

Empathic Evasion

• Very nice for clutching when you have no dodges + fighting elites/bosses + getting shot at. Allows time to reset dodge counter
• Comfortable without Empathic Evasion? Consider the following for both Walls and Scrier's Gaze variants:
  • Brain Rupture + Kinetic Flayer combo
  • Assail + True Aim combo
    • If using Scrier's Gaze, also swap Warp Speed for Warp Unbound
  • Immaterial Focus: free global damage resistance with rarely useful stun immunity
  • Battle Meditation (Scrier's Gaze only:)  significant increases average Scrier's Gaze stacks

Anticipation

• The +1 dodge makes the FGS feel a lot more forgiving when kiting large packs of carapace or dreg ragers

Just a Dream

• Big global damage resist, often times when you need it most 

Abilities

Walls

• Main intent is for anti-special use
  • As long as a pixel of the enemy touches the wall, they get stunned. You can pretend the wall is actually lengthier than it looks
  • Bursters may walk through
  • Trapper nets may pass
  • Bombers easily throw over the wall
  • The wall has width
    • Mutants may run through the full thickness --> stunned + recoil --> no follow-up stun 
    • Mutants may run through partial thickness --> stunned + recoil --> follow-up stun 
    • Dogs will likely run through the full thickness --> stunned --> no follow-up stun
• Spam them, they have high uptime thanks to Psykinetic's Aura
• Most of Darktide consists of paths more narrow than the wall's length meaning it is good to rotate the wall and make use of the entire length down the hallway.
• In a narrow hallway, rotate the wall diagonally or straight to move up on gunners. I will draw below an aerial view of a narrow hallway

  • |     > > )         X      |
    |    ^     )        X        |
    |    ^    )          X       |
    |    ^   )         X         |
    |    ^  )                      |

     

    • |                         | is the hallway
    • ) is the diagonal wall
    • X are gunners
    • ^ > is your path of movement
  • Notice how you can rotate the wall to walk the entire length of a gunner line and get behind them
  • Bubble has bad uptime

Scrier's Gaze

• Plays a bit differently (link to JUST THE TALENTS & mini-guide right under the link, not in the link)
• https://darktide.gameslantern.com/builds/a23327de-a0e2-459b-8cbb-3fbab5ac8dbf/scriers-variant-talents-only-below
  • Warp Splitting changes to By Crack of Bone now that we are trying to keep peril down
  • Empathic Evasion: see above under Empathic Evasion if you don't want this node
  • Precognition: big damage
  • Warp Speed: most players don't use, but it helps when things get really bad. I always use this
  • Warp Unbound? IMO is useless unless you can spam a useful peril-generating action
     
  • Peril management: don't worry, play naturally in almost all cases & spam Scrier's Gaze. That mental energy should be spent on anything else.
  • FGS reroll: swap <60 warp resist to =60 warp resist & consider Shred vs Unstable Power (read way above under initial FGS section)

Shriek: I have not experimented with Venting Shriek and Perilous Combustion

Warp Ghost

• Walls: peril slow-down makes upkeeping Unstable Power, Warp Rider, and Warp Splitting easy
• Scrier's Gaze: peril slow-down has no significant positive or negative effect
• +2 stamina has helped to compensate for an inactive Kinetic Deflection (at 97% peril)
• Toughness Replenishment is a 1.25x multiplier to all toughness sources that actually matter in Havoc

Disrupt Destiny - 3 different builds, depending if you are:

1. Confidently aggressive with max damage possible, but potentially inconsistent: Perfectionism + Cruel Fortune
   1. Stacks: ranges from 1-25; averages 18-21 
   2. Rotted armor? TBD at this point because Rotted got reworked and is not yet in rotation
       
2. Confidently aggressive with a free talent point, but potentially inconsistent: Lingering Influence ONLY
   1. Stacks: ranges from 8-13; averages 10-11
   2. Free talent point for whatever you want
      1. Check under Empathic Evasion section above for where to spend the talent point
          
3. Lazy, but consistent: Lingering Influence + Cruel Fortune
   1. Stacks: ranges 11-15; averages 12-14

• Difficult to kill enemy highlighted? Look away for 5 seconds, the next markable enemy you see will be instead highlighted. That is the technical part of it. Realistically, keep attacking enemies’ frontline, from the side. I will draw below (x = enemies, O = you)

  xx

  xx

  xx

  xx O

  You block the bad highlighted enemies (likely in the back) and are still attacking something so you don’t just sit there and AFK for 5 sec

Gameplay Guide - Havoc 40 focus

FGS

• Special Wave
  • Wave mechanics
    • 2-part attack consisting of the wave projectile and the physical swing. The physical swing itself (without the projectile) can be a light or heavy attack. 
      • The physical swing can generate special meter, meaning sometimes you can swing into a horde and instantly have another half or full charge ready. 
      • Special light: useful on trash mobs, the physical swing will kill them all the same and generate special
      • Special heavy: useful on elites, it has huge damage and with enough buffs, can 1 hit most elites. 
    • Reaches to approx. 25 meters with large damage drop-off after ~10 meters (estimated based on feel, never really tested)
  • Zero charge:
    • Will free teammates from pox hounds through walls
      • If through a wall, aim slightly above teammate's silhouette when they are pounced. The wave is wide, not tall.
    • Will stagger trash mobs trying to hit netted teammates, buying more time to free them
  • Half charge: kills trash mobs at close-med range
  • Full charge: kills trash mobs at long range; kills / weakens elites and specials at close-med range
  • Peril saving trick: if using Scrier's Gaze and a charge is ready, activate charge --> use Scrier's Gaze --> use special wave
• Combos
  • Aggressive trash clear: [L L L > H] repeating
    • Sliding / Sprinting: [L L > H]
  • Safe trash / mixed clear: [Push > L] repeating   OR   [Push > L > H] repeating
    • The first light after a push is unique and is perfectly horizontal
    • This will be your primary way of avoiding getting body blocked trash
      • Pair with hugging a wall for the highest chance of maneuvering around high density hordes
    • The heavy is the unique sweeping heavy from the first combo if you feel you have time for a bit more damage, but I mostly just do [Push --> L] 
  • Single-target: [H H]   OR   [L > H > block cancel] repeat   OR   L > H > [L L > H] repeating
    • Try all of them, you'll notice over several games that each one provides different value. Random examples below:
      • H H repeat will let you chain guaranteed elite gunner kills quickly
      • L > H block cancel repeat can abuse stab mechanics (see below), 1-tap mutants fast, or safely fight cspawns.
      • L > H > [L L > H] virtually matches the DPS of [H H]. It trades ease of headshot consistency for +50% hits per second.
        • +1 attack = +50% attacks = +50% Empathic Evasion proc chance + more of Mettle's movement speed uptime + faster Shred stacking (if using Shred)
  • Sprinting Heavy: very fast, great opener / gap closer, I use this ALL the time when fighting gunners or needing to run away
  • Push "attack"
    • Open bulwarks
    • Knocks captains down and off maps (hilarious)
      • Melee twin gets pushed back, not knocked down
    • Interrupt overheads
    • Proc kinetic flayer
    • Extra insurance vs. bursters
• Stab attacks: will always hit weakspots if your crosshair is on it 
  • Example: Beast of Nurgle's weakspot can be stabbed when in front of them 
  • Example: Bulwark's head can be stabbed through their shield if they are staggered

EK Staff

• Primary attack: for range elites, specials, and occasionally dreg ragers (absolutely melts them)
  • Will proc Empathic Evasion, Mettle, and Perfect Timing very easily to make you immortal
    • Sprint sliding + Empathic Evasion is near 100% immunity from shooters
    • Sprint sliding + Mettle is high movement speed to avoid all melee enemies
  • When to quell:
    • Short quells during any downtime (changing targets, during slides)
    • Can shoot and immediately quell to negate peril cost entirely
  • Careful when only aiming for the head, many enemies will crouch / hide and make you miss entirely after the first hit. It is okay to just aim at the body unless you can guaranteed headshots
  • Weapon swap is so fast that you can swap --> shoot --> swap and not even see the staff on your screen
• Secondary attack is for fast moving specials

Peril Management 

• For Walls, Warp Rider + Unstable Power do a lot of heavy lifting for damage. Keep your peril above 80%. It is OK to avoid sitting at 97%+ so you have a Just a Dream buffer
  • Try not to waste the FGS special progress just to maintain high peril, instead use your staff or blitz, whichever is faster / makes sense
• For Scrier's Gaze, do not worry about peril management that much; you are better off spending that mental energy on literally anything else

Toughness

• Mettle, Warp Expenditure, and Disrupt Destiny are your only toughness generators.
• It is easier to think about the toughness generation in the following way:
  • Mettle - you can't control your crits, but you'll be critting when you are hitting things. Bottom line: hit things
  • Warp Expenditure - you should always aim for the head anyways. Bottom line: hit things in the head
  • Disrupt Destiny - even if at max stacks, it is nice to hit the highlighted guys anyways for +movespeed. Bottom line: hit blue things
  • Overall: hit things, in the head preferably, bonus if they're blue

Movement

• Movement needs its own entire guide, so I will keep this brief. It is ironically last and in a small section for this guide, but is more important than literally anything else in the entire game IMO
• With the FGS, engage holding heavy --> activate sprint --> slide --> release heavy attack
  • Practice this over and over and over and over and over and over
  • Get to a point where you can replicate the movement in the video
  • Movement speed bonuses exponentially increase momentum for this, allowing insane chain kills on elite gunners
• Do not waste dodges for overheads. When a bunch of overheads come at you, you go from playing Darktide to Dark Souls. 
• Watch how good players move around in Havoc. They can make any build work because of movement

Advanced Player Only Tip - always be hitting things

• This is hard to do in practice, but you should always be hitting something. 
• Nobody else will kill anything if you're the last one alive. If you stack mobs, it is hard to revive. You should ALWAYS kill things.
  • Sounds stupid, but when you actively try to always hit stuff it is kind of hard. All aggro is on you, window of attacking decreases BUT is ever-present
  • 6 dodges spent not attacking and redundantly blocking --> 6 missed heavy attacks --> 6 elites that could be dead
  • 1 prolonged H2 stab awaiting incoming mutie from medium distance --> 1 missed H2 stab on something closer --> 1 elite that could be dead
  • 4 missed heavy attacks --> 4 missed elite kills
  • Horde not cleared --> increased body block chance & dying
• Next time you are the last one alive, practice spending more time hitting things than not
• People can run suboptimal builds and destroy the scoreboard because they literally just hit things more often than others

Same link as above, but Scrier's Gaze talents are here: https://darktide.gameslantern.com/builds/a23327de-a0e2-459b-8cbb-3fbab5ac8dbf/scriers-variant-talents-only-below

@bruh moment on the darktide discord if you want examples of anything above, I have clips of everything. The linked video is a clutch that encompasses many lessons taught here, but this site won't let me upload other videos sadly. The link breaks whenever I paste here.