Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, developed by Fatshark, has taken the gaming community by storm with its pre-launch beta. Players have already maxed out their character levels and are now looking for the best min/max builds. This dedication leads many hardcore Psyker players to ask, “What’s the best build for Psyker?”
Psykers use their unique mental capabilities to dish out severe single-target damage and support the team with their AOE magical attacks. Psykers can take a bit to get up and started, but once maxed out are an S-tier class in Darktide. Here are a few of the best Psyker builds for Warhammer 40K: Darktide.
Related: Warhammer 40K Darktide: Psyker Abilities & Skills
Warhammer 40K: Darktide Psyker Builds
Unlike some games where one class is clearly overpowered compared to another, Darktide has many different options and playstyles to adopt. This is no more true than with the Psyker Psykentics. This guide will cover three of the following builds for Psyker in Darktide:
Force Staff and Force Sword Build
The Force Staff/Force Sword build focuses on utilizing Psyker’s special attacks. While it takes some leveling to unlock, players will eventually unlock different staves with special attack powers like chain lightning or fire.
The Force Staff and Force Sword build concentrates on increasing psychic damage output and quelling Peril. With Quietitude, Psykers have an ability that can quell Peril while also replenishing Toughness, and combined with Mind in Motion; they can use this while backing off.
Because the build focuses on building Warp Charges, Kinetic Overload will enable you to dish out massive AOE damage with Soublaze. Finally, with the amount of Warp Charges you should have, you’ll have fast access to crowd control via Psykinetic’s Wrath because of Quicken.
Related: Warhammer 40K: Darktide Class Tier List
Psyker Feats: Force Staff and Force Sword Build
- Quietitude: Replenish 5% Toughness for each 10% of Peril Quelled
- Psykinetic’s Wrath: Gain between 5% and 15% damage with your Force Weapon attacks, based on your current Peril
- Psychic Communion: Whenever you or an ally in Coherency kills an enemy, you have 4% chance to gain a Warp Charge
- Mind in Motion: Your Movement Speed is not reduced while Quelling Peril
- Kinetic Overload: While you have a maximum Warp Charges, gaining a Warp Charge instead applies 4 Stacks of Soulblaze to a nearby enemy, prioritizing Elite enemies
- Quicken: Psykinetic’s Wrath expends all Warp Charges, reducing Cooldown by 12.5 for each Warp Charge removed
Weapons for Force Staff and Sword Build
These are the recommended items for this build:
- Normanus Mk VI Surge Force Staff
- Equinox Mk IV Voidstrike Force Staff
- Obscurus Mk II Force Sword
Brain Burst and Lasgun Build
This build focuses on building up Soulblaze on enemy targets and using a high-fire rate Lasgun to gain charges and get random Brain Bursts via Kinetic Flayer.
Combine this with Wrack and Ruin & Ascendant Blaze synergy, and your Soublaze will constantly be proccing on enemy hordes. So, you will not only do massive single-target damage on headshots but also be actively AOEing enemies. The Brain Burst and Lasgun build is currently popular among many Psykers.
Psyker Feats for Brain Burst and Lasgun Build
- Warp Absorption: Replenish 10% Toughness when you kill an Enemy with a Warp attack.
- Wrack and Ruin: Killing an Elite or Specialist with Brain Burst applies 2 Stack(s) of Soulblaze to all enemies within 3 metres of the target.
- Cerebral Lacerations: Damaging an Enemy with your Brain Burst ability causes them to take +15% Damage from all non-Warp sources for 5s.
- Kinetic Shield: Take between 10% and 33% reduced Toughness damage from Ranged Attacks based on your current number of Warp Charges.
- Kinetic Flayer: All Attacks have 10% chance on Hit to Brain Burst the target. This cannot occur while at critical Peril, and has a cooldown of 15s.
- Ascendant Blaze: Psykinetic’s Wrath expends all Warp Charges and applies Stacks of Soublaze to Enemies Hit based on the number of Warp Charges expended. Enemies killed by your Soublaze effects (from any source) have a 10% chance to grant you a Warp Charge.
Weapons for Brain Burst and Lasgun Build
These are the recommended items for this build:
- Obscurus Mk II Force Sword
- Accatran Mk II Recon Lasgun
- Accatran Mk Vld Recon Lasgun
Leveling Build
The Psyker Leveling build focuses on building Warp Charges and increasing survivability. If you’re not partying while leveling, this build is especially useful since it doesn’t rely on Coherence, which is less likely to happen in low-level matchmaking. Kinetic Barrage, while unlocked at level 30, will enable you to use Brain Burst more often while generating less Peril.
Mind in Motion and Quietitude give you a solo heal on Toughness while moving, and your Kinetic Barrage reduces the cooldown of your Brain Burst, which you should be using a lot as you level to keep your Warp Charge stacks. Warp Battery enables you to hold 6 Warp Charges, increasing your damage output as you level.
Psyker Feats for Leveling Build
- Quietitude: Replenish 5% Toughness for each 10% of Peril Quelled
- Wrack and Ruin: Killing an Elite or Specialist with Brain Burst applies 2 Stack(s) of Soulblaze to all enemies within 3 metres of the target
- Cerebral Lacerations: Damaging an Enemy with your Brain Burst ability causes them to take +15% Damage from all non-Warp sources for 5s
- Mind in Motion: Your Movement Speed is not reduced while Quelling Peril
- Warp Battery: Can store up to 6 Warp Charges
- Kinetic Barrage: For 10s after using Psykinetic Wrath, your Brain Burst charges 25% faster and consume 50% less Peril
Weapons for Leveling Build
Weapons for the Leveling build will most likely depend on what end-game build you plan on going when you max your character level.
We recommend:
- Force Sword
- Force Staff
- Lasgun
Curios for Psyker
For all three builds, we recommend resistance to physical damage and Curios that increase Toughness. Players will unlock different Curio slots at levels 8, 16, and 24 and should consider these as additional armor slots that they can use to increase longevity on the battlefield. Psykers’ main drawback is its squishiness compared with the Zealot or Ogryn, so building your Toughness is key.
Pick a Build for Your Playstyle
Ultimately, the best build for Psyker will largely depend on your playstyle. These builds are by no means set in stone, and if you incorporate a specific move set in your playstyle, you may want to adjust some of these Feats accordingly.
Do you think we missed something? Did we forget to post your favorite build? Let us know in the comments section below.
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