Warhammer 40,000: Darktide will soon be in the hands of eager players all around the world, but before that, the team at Fatshark has prepared another deep dive, this time focusing on the classes, this time on the formidable but unstable Psyker: Psykinetic class.
Psykers’ formidable mental powers channel the raw stuff of the Immaterium – the very essence of daemons and gods. Should their discipline waver for even a moment, they risk a grisly, explosive demise … or worse, possession by the unspeakable entities of the Immaterium. As such, Psykers are hated and feared by the ordinary run of humanity. They are culled, controlled, and victimized at every level of society – despite the Imperium’s inability to function without them. Psykers alone see the Imperium as it truly is: a mass of contradictions, bigotries, and horror fashioned in the name of survival.
Unsurprisingly, this makes Psykers insular and untrusting. They see danger in every shadow, assuming that they haven’t already been driven mad by the combination of mistrust, whispering voices, and the ever-present danger that their brains might melt out of their ears in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide.
“Alas, such has always been the way for my kind. If we are not slain out of hand, dissected, drafted, or dragged aboard unmarked vessels, never to be seen again, we are forced to treat with our obvious inferiors as equals … or even as our betters, laughable though that sounds. But I mustn’t complain. After all, it can always get worse."
A Psyker’s every waking hour brings fresh opportunities for victimization and betrayal. Accordingly, they don’t trust anyone – including other Psykers, who are surely either mad, unstable, or willing to offer up one of their own in the hopes of living a quiet life. Nevertheless, shared hardship does create a bond between all Psykers – a spiritual siblinghood that binds them even in the heat of battle.
As for the others, Psykers are most comfortable in the company of Ogryns, who lack the deviousness for betrayal, and whose malice is of a childish, uncomplicated sort. Veterans are tolerated for their skills and derided for their limited (by Psyker standards) mental capacity. And as for the Zealots, who hound and harry all Psykers as abominations, witches, and freaks, such individuals are not to be trusted or tolerated in the slightest.
The Psykinetic in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide manipulates empyrean forces with the power of their mind, repurposing it to crush heads and inflict gnawing agony on their victims. They leave a trail of mangled bodies in their wake … most of whom never had a chance to react to their danger. The Psyker: Psykinetic draws upon its connection to the Warp in battle. This perilous and devastating force may bring any wielder of such powers to ruin if they do not exercise caution.
This incredible power and damage output come at a price, however. Lacking in brawn and toughness compared to other classes, the Psyker: Psykinetic must learn how to position themselves at a distance away from the hordes in Darktide lest they become overwhelmed by the swarming masses.
As they use their psychic abilities in battle, Psykers slowly build their level of Peril. If you don’t manage Peril wisely – by taking a moment to meditate and thus Quell the roiling energies within – you are sure to explode in spectacular fashion. A Psyker: Psykinetic gains Warp Charges by killing their enemies – growing more powerful but rapidly increasing their Peril. In place of the grenades carried by the other classes, the Psyker: Psykinetic’s power is Brain Burst, which does pretty much what it says. Stand well back.
With a clearer idea of what to expect from the Zealot, Veteran, Ogryn, and now the Psyker, the perilous world of Tertium will be the perfect battleground to test your capabilities when Warhammer 40,000: Darktide launches this Nov. 30.
