Warhammer 40K: Darktide has received a substantial new content update featuring new weapons, a map, and more. Developer Fatshark has been hard at work deploying hotfixes and patches since the game launched on November 30, but the new content drop promises the most extensive selection of post-launch content additions players have seen yet.
While Warhammer 40K: Darktide may have provided a comprehensive and content-rich playing experience even on launch day, the game wasn't without its fair share of issues. From assorted bugs all the way to severe balancing problems, there was much that Fatshark needed to attend to, and players may discover that some of their biggest concerns have been alleviated with the new update.
Titled "The Signal," Darktide's new patch features a lengthy list of fixes and improvements and a few notable additions to the game's roster of playable areas and weapons. Broadly speaking, the latest release is similar to Darktide's launch-day content update, and some of the highlights include the Ogryn's new Achlys Mk I Power Maul, the Zealot's new Indignatus Mk IVe Crusher Power Maul, and the all-new Comms-Plex 154/2F mission. Players interested in testing their builds may also be happy to hear that it is now possible to select the "Private Play" option while starting a new mission, allowing for two or three-person Strike Teams to play the game without unwanted drop-ins via the matchmaking system.
Players will also discover two new Mutators as part of The Signal content update. Hunting Grounds substantially increases the number of Pox Hounds on a given mission, while Assault improves ammo pickup drop rate, does the opposite with health pickups, and also increases enemy spawn rates in general. As impressively large as the full official patch notes may be, however, experienced players will notice that many of Darktide's most pressing issues haven't been resolved yet, which means Fatshark has got a long road ahead of it.
Warhammer 40K: Darktide's performance issues remain a huge concern, for example, even though the patch notes claim that players should encounter fewer GPU-related crashes in the future. In effect, this means that AMD RX 6000 and RX 7000 graphics card users now being able to use raytracing features isn't the great news that it ought to be.
Though The Signal is overall a great set of improvements to Darktide in general, the player base isn't too thrilled about some of the changes it is introducing. Specifically, some players have already criticized Fatshark's announcement that the in-game cosmetics store, Commodore's Vestures, will rotate the available skins and bundles every so often, though the silver lining may be that Darktide's cosmetics appear somewhat unimpressive at this time.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is out on PC and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Steam