Warhammer 40,000: Darktide to feature an RPG-based skill tree

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 arrived in March 2018 as last year's Warhammer 40,000: Darktide's spiritual predecessor, both being developed by Fatshark. The game offered five different playable characters with 15 careers (19 with DLC, and another one planned), each with a unique set of skills and abilities. Sadly, Darktide launched with four classes and, in late January 2023, Fatshark's Martin Wahlund announced that the studio will focus on improving the game's progression mechanics alongside its stability and performance.

The rather limited flexibility of in-game character leveling up is one of the main drawbacks of the game, as shown by the user reviews posted on Steam, as well as the social media comments and many press reviews as well. The four classes mentioned above receive a new perk every 5 levels and the progress halts at level 30. When choosing a new perk, there are just three options. This system will be dropped in October, when a major overhaul is scheduled. 

Darktide game director Anders De Geer described what's coming in a recent interview with PC Gamer: "We felt like the fantasy of the Ogryn was not done. The story of the Psyker was not done. So we wanted to add more. Basically what we've done is reimagine what a class in Darktide is. This is our huge update: we've expanded the talent trees, added a ton of new options and abilities, passives and actives."

Fatshark revealed that the level cap will be maintained at 30, but the progress will be different, with multiple character development paths to explore. The most interesting part is that this RPG-based skill tree was already being developed when Darktide launched, but it simply wasn't ready back then.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide will celebrate its first anniversary on November 30 and, by then, it might just become the game it was supposed to be from the start. There is no accurate launch date for the update yet, but we should hear more about it by the end of September. 

Buy the Games Workshop Warhammer 40K 2023 Starter Game Set on Amazon