Warhammer 40K: Darktide (2022) (4-player co-op from Fatshark, the Vermintide devs)

Apparently I’m some sort of masochist because for whatever reason I couldn’t resist trying the game out, despite really bouncing off of Vermintide 1 and 2. I really like 40k, though, and would love a game like this in that setting. So purchase I did.

I played the prologue/tutorial and did the basic and advanced training in the holodeck thingy. I actually like how the game felt, the gun felt satisfying to shoot and despite the fact that all I had was a shovel, somehow the melee felt better for me. Almost like it had more reach or the FOV was better for my tastes or something? I also like the Toughness mechanic.

In any case, it all seemed at least like a small step up in those areas from Vermintide but after the training I was told to go talk to someone else on the ship. The game disconnected and every attempt to log back in with my character is met with Error Code 4008. I tried for 30 minutes or so last night but gave up, thinking they were having server issues or something. Unfortunately, I still get the same thing when I tried this morning. I’m wondering if my character is just hosed and stuck in limbo or something?

In any case, I’m still in the 2-hour window since I can’t play the game as well so might as well refund it. They have it listed as a Known Issue and the thread has had a fair amount of activity over the last 10 days, so I don’t think it’s just me. I saw other people in the same situation, just finished training and then can’t play. Seems like an awfully nasty bug to have out there just days before official release?

In any case, I guess I’ll have to hit the refund button. No point in paying full price for a game I literally can’t play. Maybe I’ll try again when it hits Game Pass next week. It’s too bad, because I have the next two days off of work and was hoping to sink some time into it, see if I could finally get a Fatshark game to click for me!

And of course, right after posting that I thought maybe I should try flicking off my AV/firewall for a second to see if it makes a difference. And it did. So PSA if anyone runs into the same issue, trying setting an exception for Darktide manually to see if it works for you as well.

so launch day is here… and I’m getting an error 4001 every time I try to play. Complain to the devs saying it sounds like they just renamed the error from the beta and got this…

’ correct, hot_join_party_hub_failed / Error Code: 4001 are the same error. Not renamed, but it can display in either format.’

It’s too much money for a candle, and I doubt it actually smells like its description, but it’s still pretty funny: Buy Your Warhammer 40,000 Darktide Candle (Free Shipping) - Merchoid

Honestly, there is very little difference between the current version, and the beta version, so I don’t doubt you.

They dramatically improved weapon details, which is nice. You can even hover over the icons on the right to get a bit of feedback on what they mean.

But there is… cash shop premium currency lameness.

As of retail launch, Darktide now has fully stepped into the paid game with ftp cash shop cosmetics war complete with FOMO timers, bundles, and mismatched currency prices to drive over buying.

I’m not too much of a keyboard warrior about this (we lost the war a long time ago as it is 2022 and everything is a live service supported by micro transactions nowadays). I will say it is an especially bad look for Darktide right now due to its content problem. It releases with 4 classes (down from 15 of VT2), minor variation between classes, most weapons shared, and a not fully built crafting system. The game is fun, but very lean on content. As such, it seems like the shop should have waited until at least crafting was complete and some of these paid cosmetics were maybe spread out as carrots to unlock via continued play. This way the game is sort of complete and there is a bit of a reason to keep playing and maybe to THEN have players looking at a shop of a full game they are enjoying over time. As it is, in the game’s “release” state, it looks extra greedy. IMO.

Played through a couple missions with a friend (and a couple randos) last night. Had a blast! Game looks pretty good on medium settings and runs pretty solidly for me.

We have a third buddy joining us tonight. I’m stoked! Blood for the emperor! or something?

I’m so glad that cosmetics have no draw for me. It makes it easy to compartmentalize all that stuff in these games into a “do not care” bin and ignore it. I feel bad for the people that it’s a big carrot for, though.

Played a few missions last night, was a lot of fun. Ranged weapons in Vermintide always demanded a level of mouse skills I didn’t have, so it’s nice to be able hold down the lmb and enjoy the brrrrtttttt.

So much gnashing of teeth regarding the cash shop on reddit, but really it doesn’t bother me so long as it’s only cosmetics. I trust Fatshark will add more classes/free cosmetics over time.

One thing I don’t quite get yet is armor vs weapons penetration. In Vermintide it was pretty clear cut (ping = no damage) whereas here I’m not sure if my autogun is actually doing any damage to armored elites.

I’m in the middle, I like them, and I sometimes I buy them.

In Datktide, it feels extra wrong right now though. They should delay the shop and finish the crafting instead of all the “coming soon” gameplay stuff. Then, to buy time for the above, pull like 8 of the now dozens of up for sale art assets and apply them to unique weapons and armor with some sort of minor stat or perk buff to bury those in an end game chase. After a few months, release the shop alongside a free class update.

Instead, with how they did it, they are hi-lighting Darktides’ lack of content while offering to sell othe cosmetic content. It’s like they want to make people mad.

Yeah, no argument there. It’s not a great look.

You can test your weapons in the Psykenarium, which is along the outer. “Meatgrinder” mode is great for seeing how your weapons work.

Ah thanks! Will test that out.

After playing a couple hours of this on my (now more than five-year-old) computer, I really hope this comes out on Xbox sooner rather than later. Also, couldn’t figure out a way to add a friend from Steam to the Game Pass version of the game. Still, game seems pretty fun!

Woo boy this is one crashy game. The Emperor does not protecc :(

no crossplay, not now, maybe never

MS Store/Gamepass: A workaround to get in past the 4001 error code has been found. Boot the game up to the point of getting the 4001 error but before you click “start” open up the xbox app, click on you profile top on the top left and sign out. Then tab back into the game and click start.

Is it me or does in the release version of this game, does a lot more damage bleed through your toughness now than it did before? I feel like my toughness is almost useless now. I see my toughness nearly maxed a lot, yet my guy is half dead all the time.

I played a couple rounds last night and wondered what was going on with that. Lots of bleed through damage it felt like.

I’m pretty irked about it because that mechanic was probably my favorite improvement over Vermintide.

This was the only thing I saw in the update regarding Toughness and it didn’t sound like a nerf but it has felt like a nerf.