After months of anticipation, the day of the Skitarii has arrived. Fans of the four-player cooperative horde-breaking, action-packed Warhammer 40,000: Darktide have been teased almost daily with the steadiest drip-feed of new information, starting from the earliest news, a hype-inducing trailer featuring almost nothing but smoke, screams, and salvation:
From here, we were given even more teases, from close-ups of the exciting new weapons these warriors will use, to an expansive, ambitious skill tree that’s nothing at all like anything the game has seen before.
And now, as of today, the floodgates have burst, the Skitarii have arrived, and the power balance of the Rejects of the Mourningstar will never be the same. They are the game’s first official entry into the world of 40k’s Adeptus Mechanicus, the machine-worshiping megacult that operates in a general alliance with the greater Imperium of Man, operating as their window into the world of tech-based upgrades and concepts for the tabletop and video gaming worlds of 40k alike. The Mechanicus is a constantly popular well for 40k developers to dip their toes into, as Space Marine 2’s last new class was the Adeptus-backed Techmarine.
As far as Darktide‘s Mechanicus Minions go, the Skitarii are the shock troops of the Mechanicus, often specifically designed for the tasks at hand. The version of the Skitarii that Darktide is introducing (or re-introducing, really) are the Alpha Primus, an older model of cyborg soldier that can be re-fitted on the fly for whatever type of mission is required of them.
What this means in gaming terms refers back to that massive skill tree above. The Skitarii, unlike any other class, can choose from level 1 which direction to build themselves based on their Combat Abilities, choosing whether to build into the devastating melee attack known as the Chordclaw, the aim-supporting Advanced Combat Doctrines or the build-up of the basic area of effect stunning ability Voltaic Emitter. Even the Skitarii’s Blitz abilities are as varied as the Combat options, allowing them to invest heavily into a set of companion Servo Skulls for additional fire support, an Arc Grenade to continue the voltaic assault, or the Integrated Refraction Emitter, a personal shield to protect you and your squadmates from ranged damage.
Ultimately, it looks like the Skitarii could be the most well-rounded and versatile class that Darktide has seen thus far. Through their upgrades, a Skitarius can become a ranged terror, a melee monster, or even an impassable wall between themselves and their allies. Between this and the frankly impressive amount of customization options available to these cyborg battlers upon character creation, we could see the advent of a Darktide character class where no two Skitarii are truly alike.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide and the Skitarii class upgrade are both available right now on Playstation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
