“Unlocked and Loaded,” the latest patch for the co-op shoot-em-up mission game Warhammer 40k: Darktide, has dropped a day early—and it’s got some of the most interesting updates yet.
This patch sees some major updates to the weapon system, just in time for a new high-intensity shortform mission that sees players racing against a clock. It’s also got a new Party Finder tool, in case you’re wanting to find more serious (or casual) players to take on any of Darktide’s missions with.
It was slated for a September 26 launch, but it’s now live a day early and being monitored in real time. Here are the biggest highlights of the patch detailed.
New Darktide Mission: Rolling Steel
Unlocked and Loaded introduces a high-octane new mission, “Rolling Steel,” which is the first of a new “Operations” mission type. The corresponding Dev Blog actually explains it better and more succinctly than I can dare to rephrase it, so let me just share it directly here:
In Rolling Steel, players are thrust into a high-stakes scenario where they must stop a moving train hijacked by cultists who have repurposed it with tox bombs onboard to spread the Nurgle plague. The mission immediately begins with high-octane adrenaline as players are dropped directly onto the speeding train. From the beginning, players are immersed in the action.
The primary objective is to prevent the train from crashing into its destination and releasing tox gas. To do this, the players must work their way through a series of train cars. Each car presents unique challenges and escalating threats. Cultists will relentlessly defend the train, and the players will need to stick together and push forward quickly.
In short, it’s a high-speed, urgent mission type that urges you to perform harder and faster than ever before—not that you and your teammates weren’t trying before. (From the ground, swarmed by twenty enemies.) It's meant to be more "cinematic" and linear than other mission types, so it should be a thrill for those who truly love high-pressure situations.
Itemization Overhaul
The new itemization system in Darktide appears to reward persistence with stronger weapon potential through two new systems, Mastery and Power. With this, weapon locks have been removed, and no weapons have been removed in this overhaul.
Mastery is basically an experience system for your weapons that grants progress on a Mastery track. Doing so will unlock three types of rewards: Blessing Points for unlocking tiers of Blessings; Weapon Marks, which already existed but are narrowed down by weapon for ease; and Perks, which automatically unlock as players progress, and can be changed at the Shrine of Omnissiah.
Veteran players can also “Sacrifice” weapons that they don’t want to use in order to progress through the Mastery track a little faster. For instance, I really hate shotguns, so I can “sacrifice” a shotgun for Mastery on the Assault Chainaxe.
There’s a lot to go over, to the point where the devs recommend players take a look at their independent Dev Blog write-up.
Darktide Party Finder
Gone are the days of fully-random match-ups with randos who don’t share the same urgency as you for your mission, or crawling through Discord, the forums, or even Twitch to see who’s playing. Now, the new Party Finder will let you skip the excruciating randomizing matchmaking and third-party scouring for teammates fitting your bill.
As previewed in another Dev Blog, players can find compatible teammates by choosing from a series of categories of gameplay type and style (and, in turn, players can search through filters).
There’s also a ton more in this update, including a new In-Game Event, a shift in how weapons are permitted for Humans, balances and more, so if you’re interested in diving (back?) in, the full Patch Notes are worth a look (and are spread across four parts on the forums).
This new Darktide patch is, of course, free for all players.
