Do you know what makes Warhammer 40k so special? It’s not just the Space Marines. No, it’s the setting’s sense of mystery. Even after burying my head in hundreds of Black Library novels, there’s still plenty I don’t know about its vast and enigmatic universe, and even more I’ve simply forgotten. No matter how hard I hoard names and events, they invariably spill from my ears only to be replaced with less vital info, like what day it is, or my credit card pin.
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If you don’t know something about 40k, and the diehard fans don’t appear to know either, there’s a good chance Games Workshop never set that detail in stone. That’s how it came to pass that nobody knew how the Skitarii’s most iconic rifle reloaded—a topic that’s been debated by many Mechanicus-loving subreddits. Games Workshop never had to decide until Fatshark rocked up wanting to make a Skitarii class for Darktide.
Nobody had ever seen a Skitarii naked before either and so “that was a mystery which we needed to solve,” Lucas Örström, Darktide’s Associate Art Director, notes. While the pallid, augment-infested, barely-human cadaver that hangs before you in character creation is a harrowing claim to fame for the studio, it’s lore, the curtain of a mysterious setting being drawn back, ever so slightly.
I guess what I’m trying to say is: naked Skitarii excite me, and they should excite you too.
So why should you perk up for this class versus the Arbites or Hive Scum that Darktide added previously? Skitarii are cyborg warriors, toaster-worshipping cultists who burble binharic cant as they make enemies poorly from too much electric, shank them with a comically retractable claw arm, or revive allies, solve puzzles, and provide fire support with their Servo-Skull minions.
The Skitarii is a swiss army knife, a jack of all trades, master of none class who prioritises supporting allies and the team at large over thriving as a solo. It’s a very different playstyle to anything Fatshark has introduced before, where previously a class lived and died (quite literally) on its ability to kill and survive. It’s understandable that many players aren’t gelling with this playstyle, though the class could definitely do with a few tweaks.
Unveiling the mystery of the setting and its bonkers lore through strange new classes that feel unique
I, however, love it, and genuinely think it’s one of the best classes to play through Darktide’s campaign with, even if it is a little harder for new players. The Skitarii gives you tools to solve Data Interrogation puzzles, revive allies at a distance in tricky situations, and just generally carry your team of Rejects from a support position. It teaches you the vital importance of teamwork and coherency versus running off on your lonesome to try and be a hero.
Darktide is fundamentally a game about coping with hordes of enemies, so it makes sense that good classes are good at killing, but I’m glad Fatshark is trying something new to address that, frankly, boring approach to class design. It’s fun to have a character with a versatile skill tree, plus more strategic and supportive elements versus one who is simply good at blending every enemy on-demand.
Even the new class creation elements for the Skitarii, such as getting to design your character’s voice, or pick what parts are welded to you, are wonderful little loreful touches that make me hopeful Fatshark will continue to focus on making each new class unique instead of a power-creeping escalation in an endless game of “who’s the better killer?”
That’s the best way to showcase what makes Warhammer 40k special; unveiling the mystery of the setting and its bonkers lore through strange new classes that feel unique. It’s taken a while to get here, but I feel like Fatshark is starting to make good on the promise of Darktide and stake its claim as the 40k FPS to watch—at the very least, the Skitarii is a fun and loreful step in the right direction, even if detractors say it’d be better off as an OP killing-machine.
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