Warhammer 40K: Darktide Skitarii DLC review

After the discovery of a hidden Adeptus Mechanicus facility, the Mourningstar’s resident technoarchaeologist Hadron has commissioned Skitarii Veterans to upgrade into Alpha Primus variants to bolster the Inquisitorial Warband. Operating more independently than other Adeptus Mechanicus units, the elite Skitarii bring fresh arc weaponry and enhanced combat protocols to carry out the will of the machine god and bring a fresh new playstyle to the tainted hive city of Atoma.

The Skitarii Alpha Primus is the third DLC class to be added to Darktide, and aims to be the most ambitious release yet with unparalleled levels of customization. The Skitarii haven’t really been explored in a Warhammer game like this before, and we get to see some really interesting details such as uncovering what the human looks like under all the machinery and robes. Leaning into the AdMech fantasy, you have options to change out your arms, legs and eye lenses, which are also reflected in any helmet cosmetics you later choose. 

As you continue to craft your character, you’ll have options similar to other classes in terms of choosing your background and origins, but unique to the Skitarii is the option to fine tune your voice beyond presets. There are four personality types to choose from, and a modulator that lets you change the pitch, distortion and delay of your voice. I spent a ton of time playing around with this tuner to get the exact voice I wanted, and I enjoyed that this means each Skitarii you encounter will feel unique from one another. And the cherry on top is you can now use numbers in your name, another small detail unique to the new class that adds some extra flavor.

The ambition in player freedom doesn’t end there either, with the Skitarii having a skill tree that completely breaks all the rules. Traditionally, as you level up, you will unlock skills in a very specific order descending from the top down in the talent tree; first unlocking a blitz, then an aura, followed by a combat ability and finally choosing your keystone skills. The Skitarii throws this out the window and starts you in the middle of a circular talent tree, meaning you can grow your character in any direction you please. Want to lean into a keystone skill before unlocking a blitz? You can do that. Want to forgo a combat ability upgrade to have extra points to allocate elsewhere? Go for it. This new style of skill tree felt incredible to engage with, and it’s very apparent that developer Fatshark has really hit their stride with trying new things when creating new classes.

Digging more deeply into the talent tree, the Skitarii have access to three different blitz abilities.  Arc Grenades are one option, which will allow you to lock down an area with an electric explosion that leaps to nearby enemies. If you’re looking for a more defensive playstyle, you can swap to the Integrated Refraction Emitter to project a personal shield that can block ranged attacks. Lastly, there are the Servo Skulls, which can perform a variety of functions including shooting enemies, completing data interrogations or even reviving allies. While the Servo Skulls are certainly unique, they do feel slightly clunky to engage with, especially when you are running a full fleet of three that each do different things. They don’t always deploy where you want them to, and the targeting feels wonky at times, especially at range. It’s certainly not gamebreaking, but it did feel slightly annoying at times when they just won’t do what you want them to quickly.

The real buildcrafting opens up when we dive into the Skitarii combat abilities, which use Capacitance Charges instead of a cooldown. Rather than operating on strict timers, Capacitance Charges allow you to use your combat ability as soon as a charge refills, but accumulating multiple charges before activation will modify the ability in various ways. The first combat ability is the Voltaic Emitter, which will send out a blast of electricity in a radius around you, the potency of which depends on how many Capacitance Charges were consumed on use. If you prefer to focus more on rending elite enemies in close combat, the Chordclaw Strike has your back. This ability sends forward a powerful heavy melee attack that gives a guaranteed critical hit, and can be modified to apply bleed or swapped to a horizontal swipe to clear hordes. Finally, there is the Advanced Combat Doctrines, which fit into a ranged-focused playstyle. When activated, your weapon will lock-on to the weak spot of enemies you are targeting; after all, the Skitarii never miss. 

Darktide: Feature Highlight - Skitarii Game Design & Talents

Jun 11, 2026

Fatshark brand logo in black text.

Whether I was shredding Crushers to ribbons with the Chordclaw or popping the heads of an entire wave of Gunners with divine Combat Doctrines, I had so much fun experimenting with the variety of build crafting options available to the Skitarii class. If I wanted to lean into electricity, I could choose skills like System Shock, which adds four stacks of Brittleness to an enemy when they are electrocuted. Perhaps I want to take on the support role in the squad; I could then choose Protectorate Protocol, which grants damage resistance to allies that are incapacitated and grants them stun immunity when rescued. There are way too many skills to list here, but no matter how I chose to play, I was always looking forward to refining my loadout and trying out new builds after a run.

The Skitarii also carry a wealth of new weapons into the armory that focus heavily on arc damage. The Arc Maul will shock enemies with each attack, and can be overcharged to arc those shocks to nearby enemies. In similar fashion, the Arc Rifle will apply shock damage with each blast, and hitting the same enemy again will release further arcs. For my fellow sword enjoyers, you can pick either the Mechanicus Power Sword or the Paired Transonic Blades, for single-target slaying or hoarder-slashing respectively.

For the sharpshooter fantasy, you can use the Galvanic Rifle, which is a single-shot precision rifle that pairs excellently with the previously mentioned Advanced Combat Doctrines. Rounding out the ranged weapons is the Phosphor Blast Pistol, which will apply a powerful debuff that makes enemies take more damage and makes it easier to cleave through them. I enjoyed discovering which weapons paired well together, whether I was going for a full-arc build or fulfilling the dream of becoming a deadly Skitarii sniper. I also appreciated how each weapon felt like it played differently from each other, notably with the Phosphor pistol being a stand-out option for applying debuffs, even if my heart belongs to the Galvanic Rifle.