North_Irish's Veteran Elite Killer Revolver crit/rending build
 Veteran Build - Warhammer 40k: Darktide 

This is my first build and I figured I may as well post something I've been having a lot of fun with lately. 


This build is built around the Zarona Mk IIa Quickdraw Stub Revolver and making the most of its powerful crits and rending stats. While the Veteran's melee capabilities suffers somewhat to make the revolver really shine, I feel that this build is worth trying out if you wish to be a dedicated elite killer.

Ranged Weapon: Obviously the Zarona Mk IIa Quickdraw Stub Revolver is the centrepiece weapon of this build, you could try it with the other revolver mark or the bolt pistol, but I doubt you would get the same effectiveness, this is a build that rewards the range and accuracy of the Zarona. Paring the blessings with the Marksman Focus keystone means that when at the full 15 points, and you remain accurate with headshots, you can one tap enemies such as armoured ragers, reapers and even maulers with surprising consistency. Your greatest struggle with this weapon will most likely be ammo economy, therefore Survivalist is a must with this particular build. I would recommend focusing mainly on elites and specials, but in a pinch with the extra cleave you can cut down a fair chunk of a horde very quickly with accurate shots thanks to the extra cleave in emergency situations when you or your squad members are being swarmed by chaff.


Melee weapon: Your melee weapon in this instance should be used as a back-up in situations when you are swarmed or when you have run out of ammo. Ultimately it's down to personal preference and whichever melee weapon you feel would suit best in these situations. I personally go with the Scandar Mk III Power Sword paired with power cycler and slaughterer blessings as both will be more than sufficient in dealing with poxwalker hordes. But you might want to pair it with the duelling sword or falchion if you want better special/elite killing capabilities, regardless your melee weapon will be the weaker part of the build so go with whichever you personally feel would serve you best.


Curios: Curious again is ultimately down to personal preference, but since one of the most important talents of this build is Deadshot I would recommend at least one 3 Max Stamina curio since aiming with deadshot will eat into your stamina economy quite quickly. This will be offset somewhat by the Tunnel Vision keystone, especially if you are able to land successive headshots in a quick manner, but if you are struggling with stamina then definitely consider a second stamina curio. As for the others it's ultimately personal preference, I went with two 20% Max Health curios paired with gunner resistance and 5% toughness, and I've felt this helps round out things well.


Talents: Most of the talents are self-explanatory, making the most of your crits and rending to really help those headshots hit home. While I am sure some tinkering can be done with this particular build (especially if you feel the melee side of things needs help) there are some talents I feel are must-haves. Longshot to start with as ideally you will be playing at this range anyway and those extra damage numbers will help massively in dealing with enemy ogryns. Krak Grenade to deal with crushers or maulers that end up in your space and you lack the time/ammo to deal with them otherwise, handy against bulwark spam also. Withering Fire and Opening Salvo are great talents as well, both for that extra crit chance and also nailing multiple elites/specials with one shot as they conga line towards you is always very satisfying. As mentioned before Survivalist is a must as ammo economy will be one of your greatest handicaps especially on the higher difficulties. Executioner's Stance is another very important part of the build, the ability to highlight ranged enemies so you can keep Marksman's Focus topped up as much as possible is a must, hence why I paired it with Counter-Fire and Enhanced Target Priority both to help you land those shots as well as helping out your squad pick out enemy ranged. You can however swap it out for The Bigger they Are ... if ogryns in particular are a problem area. Marksman Precision Strikes and Tactical Awareness to really help you make the most of your elite killing niche, though you can swap Born Leader for Demolition Team if you feel the extra kraks are more useful than extra toughness coherency. Fully Loaded and Lock and Load to help out with ammo economy and to minimize the time spend reloading as well (which will be quite quick with full stacks of Marksman Focus anyway), And finally Marksman's Focus and it's joined keystones as well to make the most of that extra rending and stamina. 

I have played this build up to Auric Maelstrom level with success, positioning and accurate shots are necessities, but this build will reward careful and strategic players capable of landing consistent and accurate shots. As I mentioned earlier this is my first build so I may have left things out or rambled on more than I should have, but I hope things were clear enough for at least long-time Darktide players to get the gist of it. Have fun!