Adolf Brittler
 Veteran Build - Warhammer 40k: Darktide 

• tl;dr: Does great into Havoc 35 and beyond, but is an absolute monster in Havoc 29 and lower. Don't even get me started on Auric or below, where you will crush everything.

Why Play This Build?

• Infinite Ammo.
• Consistent Damage: High, reliable ranged output that trivializes priority targets.
• Fun: The Helbore is satisfying to shoot.

How to Play

• Your Primary Role: Focus on sniping Specials, Disablers, and ranged enemies. Do not be afraid to let your teammates handle melee units, even the Carapace, while you plink targets away. Just keep an eye on them to make sure they don't get overwhelmed.  
• Downtime Management: Use any free time when high-priority targets are absent to snipe larger or annoying melee threats, or use sprint-slides to keep pace with your team. 
• Dedicate Time to Movement: Sometimes you need to leave dangerous enemies alive and dedicate time to properly position yourself so you don't get isolated!
• Melee Discipline: Your Helbore DPS is generally higher than your Power Sword DPS on single targets. Use your melee for personal protection, horde control, and hitting void shields.
• Keep Cool: If you do find yourself alone and isolated, keep your sword out and focus on staying alive and nothing else. You can not outrun the enemy!

Thoughts on Talents

(From top to bottom, in rough order of the talent tree)

• Toughness Nodes: You will feel the difference if you take nodes like Out for Blood against hordes (especially Moebian on higher Havocs), or when you are missing the damage reduction from Exhilarating Takedown and regeneration from Confirmed Kill. Adjust to your preference.
• One Motion vs. Longshot: Swapping One Motion for Longshot is tempting, but not recommended.
  • If an enemy is far away, they are usually of the weaker variety where we oneshot them without Longshot anyway.
  • If they aren't, they are an easy target for follow up shots.
  • In close range (where tougher enemies usually cluster), the 10% ranged damage is irrelevant. Conversely, fast weapon-swapping to instantly pull out the Helbore for a high-priority target is crucial. Keep One Motion.
• Grenades: Pick whatever grenade you prefer, but Smokes are mandatory for higher Havocs in my opinion. Their utility and synergy with your role are unmatched. Since you aren't running Voice of Command, smoke lets you partially but functionally replace a key aspect of that ability by locking down chokepoints to give you and your team a vital damage buffer.
• Trench Fighter Drill: Can be safely dropped on lower difficulties for anything you want.
• Utility Talents: Depending on difficulty, you can drop Demolition Stockpile, Field Improvisation, or Demolition Team for more fun options. However, I’ve found the necessity for Smokes to be high enough to keep both in any Havoc run. While Field Improv sees little use on low difficulties, high Havoc teams can rely on it.
• Opening Salvo: Stops working at 86 ammo (assuming a 108 magazine size), so remember to reload! You can drop it if you feel 60% crit is enough or if you tend to linger on the charge. However, I notice its absence in my gameplay and would recomment not dropping it. 
• Skirmisher: Not mandatory below Havoc 25, but essential beyond it. Sliding takes a day or two to incorporate into your gameplay, but the difference is night and day. Incredibly strong node.
• Aura: Pick whatever you like. I'm partial to the damage aura, but certain team compositions really benefit from the extra ammo.
• Combat Ability: You can run Voice of Command over Executioner’s Stance if you really want to, and you'll still fulfill your role. However, the wallhacks are immensely helpful and the constant uptime during combat makes you surprisingly tanky when it matters most. You might also have to dump something other than Stability on your Helbore.
• Desperado & Revival: You can drop Leave No One Behind for Desperado on lower difficulties or if you run revive-speed curios.
• Capstones and Ammo: Born Leader is required to reach Marksman's Focus and Shock Trooper. Fully Loaded is a dead node. You won't run out of ammo without it, so don't waste the skill point.

Thoughts on the Power Sword

The Power Sword build I use is a bit of a meme meant to illustrate its specific role. 

• Blessings: You can run Brutal Momentum or Slaughterer if you want (I swap them around), though Sunder is generally the safest bet.
• Perks: Keep horde control high on your list. Do not get baited into chasing Carapace or boss damage, as your survivability and clutch potential on this setup are very low anyway. This is "The Ranged" class, after all...
• Alternative Weapons: If you want more mobility and don't mind their limitations, the Shovel and Combat Sword are very fun and suit the build well on Auric and similar difficulties, as our melee is purely for horde clear and control. Ultimately, though, these are suboptimal compared to the Power Sword. (Doubly so after the recent nerf to its natural enemy, the Poxburster. The need for more dodge mobility is drastically reduced.)

Thoughts on the Helbore

• Blessings: Surgical and Armourbane are by far the most consistent and comfortable combo on the Mk V.
• Weight of Fire: If you're tempted to play around with Weight of Fire, note that it has severe anti-synergy with Deadshot, something you won't notice in the Psykhanium, but will feel in a game. The Mk IV, for instance hits 70% Crit on full WoF stacks, which is great until you run out of stamina. And you'll be burning through your ammo at 45% crit. It’s Deadshot, not Surgical, that kills this combo.

Why the Mk V?

• Highest DPS over Time: It’s the fastest at clearing large groups of weaker targets like Dreg and Scab Gunners, and easily one-shots Vanguards. Not to mention its consistent one shots and low TTK's on Specials and Elites at any range. 
• Less Overkill: Because our main role is sniping enemies we regularly oneshot, the slower Helbore variants mostly leave us waiting on overkill damage. For Carapace, we close to match the TTK of the Mk IV just by shooting more often in a shorter timeframe. Whilst the Mk IIIa has worse Carapace damage than the V and, as shown below, sub-par Surgical synergy. 
• Forgiving on Misses: The opportunity cost of a missed shot on the Mk V is much lower due to its faster rate of fire.
• Uncharged Advantage: The biggest limitation of slower Helbores isn't the charge time itself, but the delay before the charge begins. Uncharged shots on the Mk V fire much faster while retaining the same damage as the slower models. Which can be crucial against weaker specials or large amounts of gunners.
• Superior Synergy: The Mk V has the best synergy between Surgical and Deadshot. Compared to the Mk IIIa, you get an equal amount of crit stacks if you shoot as soon as you hit max charge (70% on this build).
• Conclusion: People are often deceived by big damage numbers in the Psykhanium, performed on still targets. In practice, the Mk V's high rate of fire massively expands its utility and practicality to much better fit its role compared to the slower variants. At the same time it serves the niche of penetrating Carapace armor just as well. Along with this specific build consistently and quickly applying max Brittle stacks for your team to take advantage of. 

Weaknesses

• You are not Hivescum.
• You are not Skitarii.
• Your mobility is terrible.
• Bosses destroy you.
• You cannot clutch. (At least I can't)
• You need a semi competent team to do the things you can't.
• You are kind of a one trick pony. (Though it's a great trick!)