STILL The Most Unfair Balance In Darktide. - Darktide Rant

Summary

Mister E argues that Darktide’s Havoc ammo penalty unfairly makes many conventional ranged weapons impractical while leaving already powerful, ammo-efficient weapons largely unaffected.

How the penalty affects weapons

Conventional weapons such as shotguns, revolvers, and autoguns rely mostly on direct damage and have limited ammunition reserves. In Havoc 40, the 60% reduction to ammo gained can leave them unable to perform their intended role. Mister E says he repeatedly ran out of ammunition while testing Veteran builds with several autoguns, even when conserving ammo and receiving priority on pickups.

By contrast, some special or unusually efficient weapons largely bypass the problem. Psyker staffs can fire without conventional ammo, Ogryn abilities can sustain heavy ranged fire, and Veteran lasguns can remain effective through ammo-return and other talents. As a result, the penalty does little to discourage ranged spam with these options.

The imbalance affects more than Veteran. Ogryn shotguns and other less ammo-efficient weapons suffer, while ranged-focused Zealot and Arbites builds can struggle to sustain their weapons. Mister E also criticizes the Needle Pistol’s ammo efficiency and the Pickpocket talent, which can make it an easy choice over less efficient alternatives.

Impact on build variety

Mister E designs builds for the game’s highest difficulty, so he cannot recommend weapons that may work at lower levels but run dry in Havoc. In his view, this pushes players toward the most efficient options and reduces build variety.

He compares the issue to the former Rotten Armor modifier, which forced players to build around a particular threat. He considers the ammo penalty even more restrictive: a melee weapon might remain viable with enough skill, but a ranged weapon without ammunition can become nonfunctional.

Proposed change

Mister E proposes removing Havoc’s ammo penalty. He argues that this would give underperforming weapons more room to function without significantly empowering weapons that already avoid ammo constraints. The goal is to let players use a wider variety of builds at high difficulty.

Featured presenter: Mister E Company mentioned: Fatshark