Darktide class spotlight looks down the sights of the Veteran Sharpshooter

Fatshark has released another video and developer update about the Veteran, a class in the upcoming cooperative horde shooter Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. Specifically, we got a look at the Veteran's Sharpshooter class. This is one of the classes, Sharpshooter, inside the broader Veteran archetype.

Last week Fatshark let out the first look at a Darktide archetype, zooming in on the cultist-carving Zealot: Preacher. Fatshark says this is the halfway point on class spotlights, and has clarified that means each class will have one archetype at launch, with further classes for each archetype coming post-release.

As you might guess from the name, the Sharpshooter is a ranged combat specialist. They focus on using the lasgun and autogun, which are laser and bullet rifles respectively, and use something humble in melee: Like a knife, or shovel. The debut trailer also shows a Veteran using a heavier, much bluer-and-glowier, plasma gun.

Fatshark says that the Veteran: Sharpshooter may well be the best choice for those who're unfamiliar with their style of horde shooter, where melee combat is a big option, as it "leans heavily into the standard shooter trope." Certainly, the abilities emphasizing headshots and a frag grenade that makes a big boom are the things you'd expect from that.

The veteran's activated ability slows their movement, but gives them better weapon accuracy and handling alongside a big increase in damage when hitting vulnerable spots like the head. That's on top of their already-increased damage to weak spots, an innate passive power.

Their other passive power is increased ammo capacity for their weapons. Their bonus for keeping coherent with the team is a chance to not use any ammo while firing. (Love those, brilliant design idea for a shooter like this.)

You can read more about the class, and some nice lore, on Fatshark's character spotlight post for the Veteran: Sharpshooter.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is hotly anticiapted by two groups: Those who love the Left 4 Dead-style cooperative shooter formula, and those who love the Warhammer 40K world. Fatshark's past games in the genre, set in the Warhammer Fantasy world, Vermintide and Vermintide 2 are both superb. You can read everything we know about Darktide right here. 

Darktide will have a beta this monthfollowing its delay to a November 30 release. In a hands-on with Darktide earlier this year, our Wes Fenlon said it "absolutely rules."