Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – Skitarii Class DLC

From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh… I realised I needed more electricity.”

To set the tone, I’ve been a Warhammer fan for well over two decades. Around the turn of the century I had the privilege of working for Games Workshop, and for years outside of work I spent countless hours building, converting, and painting armies until my wallet developed PTSD every time I walked past a hobby shop. Warhammer has always been more than just a game to me, so when Darktide announced the Skitarii, my expectations were somewhere in low orbit.

Thankfully… Fatshark absolutely delivered.

But what if you’ve never played Darktide?

Imagine Left 4 Dead had a child with Warhammer 40,000, then raised it exclusively on heavy metal, chainswords, and religious fanaticism.

Darktide is one of the best co-op shooters on the market. Four rejects are thrown into impossible situations, survive against overwhelming odds, argue constantly, and somehow become the Imperium’s least disposable assets. The gunplay is fantastic, the melee combat is brutal, and no other game quite captures the feeling of desperately holding a corridor while thousands of heretics charge towards you.

The atmosphere deserves special mention. Hive Tertium is breathtaking in all the worst ways. Every mission feels oppressive, industrial, and gloriously grimdark. The soundtrack is one of the best in gaming, perfectly mixing haunting choir vocals with mechanical beats that make every fight feel like the Omnissiah himself is DJ’ing your execution.

It’s one of those rare games where you finish a mission saying, “That was absolute chaos…” before immediately queuing for another.

Enter the Skitarii

After many hours in Darktide, I genuinely didn’t think a new class could feel this fresh. Veteran shoots things. Zealot hits things. Ogryn is the thing. Psyker accidentally explodes themselves.

The Skitarii? The Skitarii looks at biology and says, “No thanks.”

This isn’t just another class with different animations. It completely changes how you approach combat. Between Servo-Skull support, devastating Arc weaponry, cybernetic abilities, and an incredibly flexible talent tree, every build feels like it has a distinct purpose. You can play as frontline shock infantry, precision marksman, battlefield support, or create hybrids that somehow make your teammates wonder how everything on the screen died before they even got there.

Most importantly, it never feels overcomplicated for the sake of it. The more time you invest, the more the class rewards you.

Pure Adeptus Mechanicus

This is where Fatshark really deserves credit.

Every mechanical movement, every electronic voice modulation, every cybernetic enhancement, and every weapon screams Adeptus Mechanicus. It never feels like someone wearing fancy armour—it feels like you’re playing an actual Skitarii operative.

As someone who’s spent years surrounded by Warhammer lore, this is probably the most authentic digital representation of the faction I’ve experienced. You can tell the developers genuinely understand what makes the Mechanicus so fascinating: they’re terrifying, brilliant, utterly devoted to technology… and only slightly concerned that replacing 97% of your body with machinery might be excessive.

Combat remains phenomenal

Darktide’s combat has always been its strongest feature, and the Skitarii slot into it perfectly.

Arc weapons chain lightning through heretics with ridiculous satisfaction, melee still has that heavy, visceral impact, and your abilities often help the entire squad rather than simply making your own damage numbers bigger. It’s refreshing to play a class that feels powerful because of teamwork rather than because it tops the scoreboard.

Also, watching a charging horde disappear in a shower of blue electricity never gets old.

Never.

A few machine spirits still need appeasing

No DLC launches completely perfect.

The learning curve is steeper than the original classes, and a handful of talents feel noticeably stronger than others. Some balancing tweaks would certainly help, but none of these issues come close to spoiling the experience. Fatshark has shown they’re willing to keep improving Darktide, so I’m confident the rough edges will be polished over time.

Final Thoughts

As someone who’s loved Warhammer since the days of metal miniatures, Goblin Green bases, and inhaling enough Citadel paint fumes to probably qualify as a Servitor, this DLC feels like a genuine love letter to the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Whether you’re already a Darktide veteran or you’re lookingfor an excuse to jump in for the first time, the Skitarii is worth it. It doesn’t just add another class—it adds an entirely new flavour to one of the best co-op games available today.

Now if you’ll excuse me…

The Omnissiah requires that I go electrocute approximately 4,00 heretics.

Blessed is the mind too small for dust. Blessed is the player with a fully charged Arc rifle.

WildStarGaming Score: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️☆   80–89%

What do you think?

Has the Skitarii Class DLC got you heading back to Darktide, or are you waiting for more?

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