Beyond the Hive New Update & Game Mode Available Now
/Warband!
Today’s update is quite big. We are introducing Expeditions, our new game mode, to Darktide. You will be able to venture on missions outside of Hive Tertium, and fight your way through more open landscapes than we usually have inside of the Hive. With Expeditions we are also introducing the Ogryn Pack Master, a new Monstrosity, and his companions, the Armoured Pox Hounds. On top of this we are also implementing a number of balancing changes, with various refinements to both core game classes and the DLC ones, Arbites and Hive Scum. We have also made some balance changes to weapons.
Finally we have also added a bunch of quality of life improvements and bug fixes. Patch 1.11.0 is now being rolled out on all platforms, and while you wait for it to download you can read the notes below! Let’s get right to it!
New game mode: Expeditions
A new game mode that can be accessed through the Expeditions Menu terminal, on the left side of the Mission Board. The players’ objective in the mode is to explore a sequence of Scavenge Zones in search of Tech-Remnants.
Scavenge Zones have randomly-spawned elements in them, so no two runs are the same.
Scavenge Zones are much more open and sandbox-like than regular Darktide missions.
The choice of when exactly to end a run is in the players’ hands - they can go to an extraction point and call a Valkyrie to come pick them up.
In-between Scavenge Zones, the players can visit Deadsider Sanctuaries - safe zones in which they can trade Salvage (an in-run currency found while exploring) for helpful items.
This includes completely new gadgets, like grenades that summon artillery strikes.
Each run has a time limit, since the environment outside of Tertium is heavily polluted.
Players start with 15 minutes on the clock.
Entering a Deadsider Sanctuary regenerates 5 minutes (still capped at 15).
After running out of time, the players start gaining corruption.
The corruption gain is slow at first and ramps up over time.
Corruption won’t build up past 1 HP.
During a run, the players can access their auspex to discover Sites of Interests - places that contain large quantities of Tech-Remnants.
Expeditions map
The Expeditions map is a custom menu through which players access Expeditions - similar to the Mission Board for regular missions.
It presents the players with a map consisting of several nodes.
Each Grid Point is a unique configuration of Expeditions, with different randomization parameters.
This includes environmental modifiers like the Dust Vortex, and enemy modifiers like Hunting Grounds.
By extracting Tech-Remnants, players unlock more of the nodes on the map. The map will be changed at regular intervals, to ensure the mode stays fresh.
New Penances
Expeditions are accompanied by Penances that reward players for engaging with the mode. These come with new cosmetic rewards, including a new set of cosmetic items for each of the four base classes, in two color schemes.
Expeditions Live Event: Deadside Patrol
To accompany the release of the mode, players can take part in a new live event - Deadside Patrol. Starting today until April 6, playing Expeditions and extracting Tech-Remnants from runs will advance your progression in the Deadside Patrol event. Different tiers of the event will reward Plasteel, Diamantine and Ordo Dockets, and the final tier will award players with the following portrait frame:
New Enemies
Ogryn Pack Master
New monstrosity in the form of a Ogryn wielding a shocking prod that will afflict any players hit by it with higher Stamina cost and lower Stamina regeneration for 10 seconds.
The Pack Master and his hounds will initially spawn exclusively in the new game mode Expeditions.
Armoured Poxhound
New Armoured version of the Pox Hound, this dog is a bit slower and heavier than its unarmoured version; it will only show up together with the Ogryn Pack Master.
