Darktide BEST Zealot Builds: Leveling & End-Game

Zealot Preacher is one of the starting classes to choose and players who have plans for maining this class should know about how to create the best build for Zealot In Warhammer 40K Darktide.

Build Summary

To make things a little more convenient for you, here is a quick look at our Build Summaries for Zealot:

The Zealot Class In Warhammer 40K Darktide

Here we will be listing two separate builds- one for leveling up quickly and one that you can use in higher-difficulty missions/ endgame. But before we start, let us first list all the abilities and the passive abilities that the Zealot has.

Zealot Abilities And Passive Abilities

The Zealot Preacher has 6 abilities and here we will explain all of them in detail.

• Chastise The Wicked:
  • Dash toward a targeted enemy, dealing devastating damage.
  • Restores all toughness and increases the damage of your next melee strike by +25%.
• Stun Grenade:
  • Throw a stun grenade to stun all enemies within the blast radius.
  • Useful for creating a brief respite when overwhelmed by enemies.
• The Emperor’s Will:
  • Increases your Toughness Damage Reduction by +7%.
  • Buff also applies to allies within the Zealot’s range.
• Swift Exorcism:
  • Boosts melee speed by +10%, enhancing agility in combat.
• Martyrdom:
  • Increases damage by +5% for every 15 missing health, stackable up to 3 times.
  • Potentially increases damage output by +15%.
• Until Death:
  • Grants invulnerability for 5 seconds if damage is sufficient to kill you, triggered every 90 seconds.
  • Acts as a lifesaver, preventing potential loss of progress in challenging situations.

The Zealot Leveling Build

• Level 5: Purify In Blood – Restores 100% toughness on melee kill.
• Level 10: Bloodletting – Increases critical strike chance on bleeding enemies.
• Level 15: Benediction – Increases toughness damage reduction by +15% for the Zealot and nearby allies.
• Level 20: Faith Restores All – Automatically regains 25% of damage taken in the next 5 seconds.
• Level 25: Rising Conviction – Increases damage by +5% per hit, stackable up to 5 times.
• Level 30: Purge The Wicked – Allows the use of the ultimate move, Chastise The Wicked, twice without delay.

The Zealot End Game Build

• Level 5: Enemies Within, Enemies Without – Replenishes 7.5% toughness per second within an 8-meter radius of enemies.
• Level 10: Punishment – Increases damage by 10% if hitting 3 or more enemies in a single strike, stackable up to 3 times.
• Level 15: Benediction – Increases toughness damage reduction by +15% for the Zealot and nearby allies.
• Level 20: Thy Wrath Be Swift – Grants invulnerability to stun from enemy melee attacks and +30% movement speed for 2 seconds upon taking damage.
• Level 25: Honour The Martyr – Increases damage by +5% for every missing 15 health, stackable up to 6 times (+30% potential damage increase).
• Level 30: Purge The Wicked – Allows the use of the ultimate ability, Chastise The Wicked, twice without delay.

Weapons For The Zealot Build

The right weapons can give you the help you need to complete the high-difficulty mission you’ve been struggling with. The weapons we are about to list here will increase your chances to get critical strikes and overall increase your survivability. 

Primary Weapon: Crusis Mk II Thunder Hammer

• Ideal for close-range combat, fitting the Zealot’s playstyle.
• Offers high damage and increases melee critical hit chance by +5%.
• Provides +10 Impact for 2 seconds on repeated hits, stackable up to 5 times.
• Grants +4 power for 3.5 seconds on hit, stackable up to 5 times.

  

Alternative Primary Weapon: Tigrus Mk II Eviscerator

• Provides devastating damage and inflicts +4 Bleed Stacks from special attacks.
• Excellent for clearing hordes of enemies efficiently.

Secondary Weapon: Ius Mk II Shredder Autopistol

• Suitable for long-range combat, compensating for the Zealot’s weakness in ranged combat.
• Offers decent damage and suppresses enemies within a 5-meter radius on close-range kills.

  

Alternative Secondary Weapon: Artemia Mk III Purgation Flamer

• Provides +20% damage to unyielding and infested enemies.
• Highly effective for melting through hordes of enemies.
• Increases the chance of elite enemies exploding upon death.

How To Play As The Zealot

Now that you know about the Zealot’s feat and best weapons. The question still remains about which playstyle should you adopt while using these Zealot builds in Warhammer 40K Darktide. Fortunately, the answer is really simple and straightforward.

As a Zealot, you are a close-range powerhouse, so you need to live up to those words. Stay with your team and eviscerate the hordes of enemies coming your way to take the pressure off your team.

One thing many players get confused about is how to use the ultimate ability. If you don’t use it properly then you’ll only end up wasting it. Remember that if you only press the ultimate ability button then the zealot will only rush toward the enemy while not doing anything else.

The proper way to use the ability is to first hold down the ultimate ability button, select your target, hold down the attack button, then release the ultimate ability button, and see your opponent get absolutely destroyed.

Wrap Up

That concludes our guide on the best build for the Zealot Preacher in Warhammer 40K Darktide. We also have guides for BEST Psyker, Ogryn, and Veteran builds just in case you are interested but that’s all from us for now.

Warhammer 40K Darktide is available now on Xbox Series S/X, and PC. We hope our guide helped you out, do let us know your thoughts. Are you using the Zealot right now? If yes then if you think that we missed something worth mentioning or if you have another Zealot build idea then let us know about it in the comment section below.

Next: 

• Warhammer 40K Darktide Weapon Unlock Levels 
• Warhammer 40K Darktide Tips and Tricks
• Warhammer 40K Darktide Staff Types and Playstyles