What is Darktide? Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is a four-player co-op first-person action game from Fatshark. Your squad fights through hordes in a hive city to finish mission objectives and reach extraction. You win a mission by completing it with at least one player alive. Long-term goals are leveling to 30, Auric missions and Havoc ranks.
What is Warhammer 40,000: Darktide?
Darktide is a co-op shooter and melee brawler set in the grim Warhammer 40,000 universe. Four players, or a mix of players and bots, drop into the hive city of Tertium to fight cultists, mutants and plague monsters. If you played Fatshark's Vermintide games, the feel is familiar: big hordes, special enemies that punish mistakes, and a lot of close-range fighting.
| Fact | Details (October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Developer and publisher | Fatshark |
| Release | PC in November 2022, later on Xbox Series X|S and PS5 |
| Platforms | PC (Steam, Microsoft Store), Xbox Series X|S (Game Pass), PS5 |
| Price model | Buy to play, with an optional cosmetic shop |
| Genre | Co-op first-person action |
| Latest update | Depths of the Damned (September 29, 2026), then Hotfix 1.13.4 and the Arcane Ruin live event on October 23, 2026 |
The game is still growing in 2026. The Beyond the Hive update added the Expeditions mode on March 17, the Skitarii class arrived on June 23, and Depths of the Damned added the Spillway mission and the Prophet of Decay boss. All three were free updates.
What is the objective in Darktide?
Each mission gives your squad a short list of goals: reach a location, scan or destroy targets, hold a point, or carry items. Hordes and special enemies attack all the way. Once the goals are done, the squad runs to the extraction point. If every player goes down before then, the mission fails.
Teamwork is the real objective. Downed players can be revived, and fallen teammates can be rescued later in the mission. A squad that sticks together, kills specials fast and shares healing will finish far more missions than four strong players who split up.
How do you win in Darktide?
You win by completing the mission and extracting. What "winning" means grows as you go, from clearing your first mission to holding a high Havoc rank. The table shows the main ways to play.
| Mode | Squad | How you win |
|---|---|---|
| Missions (mission board) | 4 players or bots | Finish the objectives and reach extraction |
| Auric Damnation and Maelstrom | 4 players | Clear the hardest standard missions with extra modifiers |
| Havoc | 4 players | Win missions at your Havoc rank to raise it, up to rank 40 |
| Expeditions | 4 players | Scavenge Tech-Remnants and extract before the timer runs out |
| Psykhanium | Solo | Practise weapons and fights; there is no win, only training |
Standard missions have five difficulty levels: Sedition, Uprising, Malice, Heresy and Damnation. Start low, learn the enemies and move up when a level feels easy.
How does progression work in Darktide?
There are no competitive ranks against other players. Progress is about your characters and the hard content you can clear.
- Character level: each character levels to 30, which opens its full talent tree.
- Classes: seven as of October 2026: Veteran, Zealot, Psyker, Ogryn, Arbites, Hive Scum and Skitarii.
- Gear and blessings: better weapons and the right blessings matter more after 30 than levels do.
- Havoc rank: the hardest mode, ranked 1 to 40. Wins raise your rank and failed runs cost charges.
- Penances: challenges that unlock cosmetic rewards.
Our Darktide Havoc guide for 2026 explains Havoc charges, Auric Maelstrom and the new Spillway mission in detail.
What are the best beginner tips for Darktide?
- Kill specials first. Snipers, trappers and dogs end more runs than hordes do.
- Block and push. Your melee block saves you when you get surrounded.
- Stay with the squad. Players who wander off get picked apart.
- Watch your toughness bar. It soaks damage before your health does, and it refills when you fight well.
- Level one class first. A single class at 30 with a full talent tree beats three half-built ones.
- Use the Psykhanium. A few minutes there with a new weapon saves a failed mission.
- Do not rush Damnation. Heresy is where most players learn the habits that Damnation needs.
If you want to learn faster, a few hours with an experienced player can fix bad habits quickly. Darktide coaching keeps you on your own account the whole time.
What does Darktide help cost?
Boosting Games sells fixed-price Darktide services. Prices below are the starting prices at the time of writing (October 2026), and the exact price for your option shows before checkout. Every service is listed on the Darktide services collection.
| Service | What you get | How you play | Price | Typical time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darktide Character Leveling to 30 | We level your operative by playing real missions until it reaches the level you chose. | Self-play or piloted | From $12 | Same day to 2 days |
| Darktide Damnation Mission Clears | We clear Damnation missions with you, including the new Spillway mission and its Prophet of Decay boss. | Self-play or piloted | From $12 | Same day to 2 days |
| Darktide Auric Damnation and Maelstrom Runs | Our team clears Auric missions on the hardest standard difficulty. | Self-play or piloted | From $17 | Same day to 3 days |
| Darktide Havoc Rank Boost | We run Havoc missions with you or for you until your assignment rank reaches the target. | Self-play or piloted | From $29 | 1–6 days |
| Darktide Coaching | A high-Havoc player plays with you or reviews your recording. | Coaching | From $19 | Scheduled within 1–2 days |
Honest risk note: The Darktide EULA forbids sharing or giving anyone access to your game account and bars playing on another person's account to boost its level or rank. Self-play is the lower-risk choice; piloted orders carry account risk you accept. Self-play and coaching keep your login with you and carry less risk than piloted orders. Read our account safety notice before you order. We never sell Plasteel, Diamantine, Ordo Dockets, Aquilas, specific weapons or blessings, accounts, mods that cheat or exploits. Materials and loot you earn during an order stay on your account.
Get help with Darktide
Pick a service and option, see the exact price before you pay, and follow every session on your private order page.
See Darktide servicesAsk Boost Up AIRelated reading: Darktide Havoc Guide 2026: Skitarii, Expeditions and Spillway, and our general guide to whether boosting is bannable.
How does a Darktide order work?
Every order follows the same steps, laid out in full on our how it works page:
- Pick your service. Choose the option on the product page or ask Boost Up AI which one fits your goal.
- Pay at checkout. The price is fixed and shown before you pay. You never type a game password at checkout.
- Add details on your order page. Self-play orders just agree a time in the order chat. Piloted orders add the login on the private order page, where it is encrypted.
- Follow every session. A booster approved for this game posts screenshots and updates after each session.
- Finished and locked. The job locks when it is done, the booster loses access, and any saved login is deleted within 72 hours.
Want to play Darktide for us instead? We are hiring experienced players: see become a booster.
Darktide FAQ
Is Darktide free to play?
No. Darktide is a buy-to-play game on PC, Xbox Series X|S and PS5, and it is included with Game Pass on Xbox and PC. There is an optional cosmetic shop that uses Aquilas, but every class and mission added since launch, including the Skitarii and Depths of the Damned in 2026, came as a free update for owners.
Can you play Darktide solo?
Yes. You can start a mission alone and bots fill the empty slots, and the Psykhanium lets you practise on your own. Bots are fine on lower difficulties but struggle on Damnation, Auric and Havoc. Most players move to groups or the matchmaking queue once they reach the harder levels.
Which Darktide class is best for beginners?
The Veteran and the Ogryn are the easiest starts. The Veteran is a strong shooter with simple tools, and the Ogryn has huge toughness and forgives mistakes. The Zealot is great once you are comfortable in melee, while the Psyker, Hive Scum and Skitarii reward players who already know the enemies.
What is the max level in Darktide?
Each character levels to 30. Reaching 30 opens the full talent tree for that class. After that, progress comes from gear, blessings, penances and Havoc rank rather than levels. Many players keep several characters, one per class, so leveling a second class is a common next step. Expect the climb to 30 to take several hours of missions per class.
Is Darktide crossplay?
Yes. Darktide supports cross-play between PC, Xbox and PS5, so you can group with friends on any platform. That also means our players can join your squad wherever you play. Progress stays on the platform account you play on. If a friend cannot see your lobby, check that cross-play is switched on in both players' settings, then invite them through the in-game social menu.
Is it against the rules to get help in Darktide?
Playing in a squad with stronger players is normal play. The Darktide EULA does forbid sharing or giving anyone access to your account, and bars playing on another person's account to boost its level or rank. That is why self-play and coaching are the lower-risk choices, and piloted orders carry account risk you accept.
Sources: Fatshark news, Fatshark: Beyond the Hive and Expeditions, All Things How: Depths of the Damned, Darktide EULA.