Developed and published by Fatshark, Warhammer 40,000 Darktide has been out for a long time, but the developers are keeping it alive with fresh content and new classes. After Arbites and Hive Scum, the new class to arrive in the game is none other than Skitarii, which comes with the augments of the Adeptus Mechanicus. We have seen tons of Warhammer games, but rarely do we get a main character from Skitarii; with Darktide’s latest DLC, it is about to change. Throughout the Warhammer universe, the Adeptus Mechanicus has played a critical role in every skirmish, and now they are ready to play their part in protecting the under depths of Tertium from the hordes of Heretics. This is our review of the new Skitarii Class arriving in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide on PC via Steam, in which we try the new Skitarii Alpha Primus and use their unique abilities to annihilate anything that comes our way.
While the Skitarii are always covered under their cloaks, we finally get to see them in the flesh during the character creation screen of Warhammer 40,000 Darktide. During the character creation, as well as the introduction trailer, you can see how the beings are stripped of all of their flesh and muscle, with only the rotten core and bones left behind. Their bodies are composed of various augmentations, such as arms, legs, eyes, and more. This is the only time we get to see this class without its armor and hoods, so Fatshark has done an amazing job in designing their bodies. The characters in Darktide are not normal Skitarii; they are Skitarii Alpha Primus, highly modified versions of the normal cybernetic beings carefully created for combat and to serve the commands of the Omnissiah.
During the character creation, you will find some additional options, such as the Bio-Origin, which determines how that character was before it was transformed into a Skitarii. Additional options include Pre-Ascension, First Conflict, Rise to Prominence, and the brilliant Voxcaster Tuning, which allows you to create a custom voice for your character. You get a slider that can alter the voice to make the perfect sound that you want for your character. These options are unique to the new class, and I am not sure at this point whether they will be available for other classes in the future or not. The Voxcaster for Skitarii makes sense because, since these are cybernetic beings, their organs have been replaced with mechanical parts, so their voice can be adjusted since it is no longer organic.
The Skitarii also have a different means of using their abilities. They do not have to wait until recharge time, but rather they must build a charge called Capacitance Charge. As you kill enemies, you will build your Capacitance, and it can be stacked up to increase the power of your abilities. As you build your Capacitance, a number will appear over its icon in the UI, which shows how many charges you have stored at that point. Using the same ability with 1, 2, or 3 Capacitance Charges will have a different power, with additional charges providing a stronger effect. The whole skill tree of the Skitarii class is built around the use of this new Capacitance Charge mechanic.
Similar to other classes, the Skitarii come with three Abilities, three Blitz, three Auras, and three Keystones. Choosing one will block the other two in each of these four categories. With the new Skill Tree, unlocking the abilities is now much easier thanks to a simple-to-understand table rather than a vertical one, which is available for the other classes in the meantime. During a recent Fatshark press preview event for the Skitarii class, the developers mentioned that this Skill Tree system may find its way to other classes as well. While I was completely okay with the previous Skill Tree system of the game, I now think that, once I have used this new system, it will be much harder to go back to the previous system because it is just much easier to view all skills and which ones you want. It makes res-spec’ing easier as well and also makes it easier to spot where the major upgrades are present and which will be locked while selecting a skill.
Starting with the Blitz abilities, the very first one is Artificer Servo-Skull. This adds a Servo-Skull to your character, which attacks incoming enemies at its own pace. It follows you around and attacks the enemies. This is similar to Arbites’ Cyber-Mastiff, but it floats in the air, and you can also command it to complete a data interrogation on its own. Further upgrade options include another Serco-Skull that can heal you and your teammates, and another Servo-Skull that can fire a flamethrower at the enemies. You can switch it between a dispersed or a focused fire mode.
The other two Blitz abilities for this class include Arc Grenades and Integrated Refraction Emitter. The Integrated Refraction Emitter is a powerful shield that absorbs all incoming damage and causes electric explosions. Arc Grenades are powerful throwables that create multiple arcs that deal damage to Armored and Specialist enemies. You can purchase further upgrades for both of them to make them more capable of handling different scenarios. If I have to choose my favorite from this list, I will easily go for the Servo-Skull because it just fits the whole Skitarii vibe. Every time I saw them in a Warhammer game with these floating skulls around them, I wanted to play with them, and now I finally can. It is not only the best-looking ability in the game but also the most lore-accurate one.
Moving on to active abilities, you have a selection of three here as well. The first one is the Advanced Combat Doctrines, which are basically a bunch of passive bonuses for multiple aspects of combat. Activating this ability can lead to your character dealing additional damage, auto-locking on enemies, massively reduced recoil, and weapon spread. Further updates include even more passive bonuses like increased fire rate for ranged weapons, toughness regeneration, and similar ones.
Next up, we have the Voltaic Emitter, which is a powerful electric attack that attacks enemies around you in a specific region depending on how many charges you have. This is an excellent ability for crowd control and one of the best ones I have seen in the game so far. Upgrading it further maximizes its efficiency and range. Finally, you have the Chordclaw Strike, which puts the Skitarii’s claws to good use and lands a powerful heavy attack on the enemy in front. It is a high-damage attack and good for use against heavies and boss battles. It is also the perfect attack when you think of Skitarii’s long, metallic hands.
Picking a favorite out of these three abilities is tough because I enjoyed my time with all three. The Advanced Combat Doctrines are excellent for a multitude of scenarios, while the Voltaic Emitter is easily the best crowd control in the entire game. For elites and bosses, the Chordclaw Strike is a huge damage-dealer. No matter which ability you choose here, the character delivers, and Fatshark has done an amazing job with its skill design.
Finally, we have the Aura, which also offers three options for you to choose from. First up, we have the Resurgence, which allows you and your teammates to regenerate Toughness when they are close to each other in Coherency. This happens even if the enemies are closer to any of the players on your team. Next up, we have Ammunition Deposit, which allows you and your team to have 10% ammo in Coherency. The last one is Foe-Render Creed, which works exceptionally well when combined with Chordclaw Strike because it gives you and your allies 15% Cleave and a bonus to Rending. This makes you a beast, and you can mow down any sort of enemy that comes your way.
No class is complete without new weapons, and the Skitarii come with two new weapons as well. This includes the melee Arc Maul and the ranged weapon called the Galvanic rifle. The Arc Maul is a powerful melee weapon that can be charged using the Skitarii’s Capacitance to give it even more power. It excels at dispatching smaller enemies in quick succession, and with the electricity juicing through it, it can arc the damage over to additional enemies as well, similar to other Arc abilities of the class. The ranged weapon is the Galvanic rifle, which, as the developer explained to me during the press event, that it was inspired by the WW2’s iconic M1 Garand. It is a fast, single-shot rifle that can annihilate smaller enemies with a single hit. Its reload animation is inspired by the original as well. Both weapons are fairly decent additions to the game, and fans who wanted a powerful rifle will find the Galvanic rifle a treat to use.
While every class in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is balanced, I feel like Skitarii is the most balanced class to arrive in the game until now. Not only do its skills complement each other, but it also performs exceptionally well in any sort of situation that you throw it into. Compared with the previous two classes, it appears to be less flashy because the Arbites came with their pet dog and a flashy uniform, while the Hive Scum were loud and had the dual-wielding ability for slashing enemies, the Skitarii are calculated with their every move.
Their moves are inclined towards dealing the maximum damage while remaining subtle. The Voltaic Emitter is the perfect example of it, as it has no flashy animation or loud noise. One second, a huge wave of enemies surrounds you; the next moment, they are dead. The Servo-Skulls move around you quietly, waiting for their next prey. They do not fire a large amount of ammo, but each of their shots is a guaranteed hit. Increase your character’s height, and you will already be towering over your enemies, making melee attacks much easier.
Final Verdict:
The Skitarii is yet another great class added to Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, one that has been mostly neglected in most Warhammer games. The Skitarii class brings some much-needed improvements to the overall game, such as the new skill system, one that I would love to see arrive for other classes as well. The abilities of the Skitarii class also bring some new mechanics to the table, especially with the lore-accurate Servo-Skulls and the Chordclaw Strike, utilizing the improved strength of the Skitarii augmentations. Players who have always wanted to play as this mostly overlooked class can jump into this brand-new DLC to create their favorite character and slaughter hordes of Heretics with powerful new abilities.
Final Score: 9.0/10
Disclaimer: A PC Steam review code for the Skitarii Class for Warhammer 40,000: Darktide was provided by Plan of Attack on behalf of Fatshark. For a detailed breakdown of our scoring and review process, please refer to our Review Policy.
