Warhammer 40k Darktide Best Veteran Builds

The Veteran Sharpshooter Build in Warhammer 40K Darktide is one of the best classes. This class can be a bit misunderstood, especially if it is not built in the right way. 

First and foremost, let us have a look at the Veteran Build Summaries:

Leveling Build

While you make your way toward the late-game build, you can use the leveling build. This build is made while keeping early and mid-game in mind. You will not be able to face and complete late-game missions, but for that, we have another build.

Feats are talents that are specific to each class. You will unlock one feat slot every five levels you gain with the Veteran Sharpshooter. You can switch between the feats that you unlock, but keep in mind that at a time only a single feat may be selected for each level slot. Moreover, players can have up to six slots in total at most. By the time you reach level 30, you will have access to all six slots.

For this leveling build, here are all the feats that you need:

• Level 5: Confirmed Kill 
• Level 10: Tactical Reload
• Level 15: Bio-Optic Targeting 
• Level 20: Unwavering Focus 
• Level 25: Frag Storm 
• Level 30: The Bigger They Are

This build aims to help newer players who are not as familiar with the mechanics of Warhammer 40K Darktide. It takes advantage of strong feats coupled with relatively easy execution to provide the best of both worlds. We will now discuss each of these feats that make up this build.

Confirmed Kill

• Toughness: Instantly regain 25% of your original Toughness.
• Overtime Toughness: Gradually regain 25% additional Toughness.

Toughness is an extremely important attribute to keep an eye on, especially during the early-game stages, where a small sliver of health can make the difference between life and death. This feat will make sure that you are as tough as nails and give you a huge boost in terms of survivability. 

After picking this feat, when you execute an enemy of the Elite rank, you will regain 25% of your original Toughness. This is huge as Elite enemies are scattered throughout the map. If you pick them off tactically, you will never have to worry about your Toughness going down as long as this feat is active. 

But that is not all that this feat brings to the table. In addition to the 25% Toughness that you regain after executing an elite enemy, you will recover more Toughness over a period of time. When you get the kill, after the initial 25% recovery, your character will continue to regain another 25% of Toughness over a period of time.

So, the combined effect comes up to 50% Toughness, which you can recover only from one kill. This is a huge advantage and helps players a lot who have a hard time staying alive. All in all, this is a fantastic feat to have for your level 5 slot.

Tactical Reload

• Reload Speed: 20% Quicker.

The Tactical Reload feat is fairly simple and easy to understand. On the surface, it doesn’t do much, but in reality, it is very helpful in clutch situations. Thanks to this feat, you can reload your weapons up to 20% faster. Keep in mind that this is only effective as long as your magazine isn’t empty. To fully utilize this feat, be sure never to let your ammo run out and always reload before it hits zero.

For this build in specific, this is highly useful. While playing as a Veteran, it is important that you stay vigilant and ready at all times. This feat comes in clutch when you have to reload while facing an onslaught of enemy attacks. Having a slight edge in reloading speeds can make a big difference in the long run. It is a worthy pick for your level 10 feat slot.

Bio-Optic Targetting

• Enemies Highlighted: The enemies highlighted through Volley Fire will be visible to teammates as well.

The Bio-Optic Targetting is an extremely strong feat that plays a role in the newly added Coherency mechanics. We have covered the Coherency mechanic in detail later on in our Warhammer 40k Darktide Veteran build guide. But for now, all you need to know is that it is a mechanic put in place to encourage teamwork.

One of the Veteran’s abilities is the Volley Fire which highlights enemies in close proximity along with some other effects. This feat capitalizes on this enemy highlighting capabilities and makes it so that your teammates can take advantage of this as well. Normally, only the players would be able to see the highlighted enemies, thanks to the Volley Fire. But with Bio-Optic Targetting, your entire team can see them as long as they are in Coherency with you.

This feat incentivizes teamplay and helps your entire team out. It is not a feat that helps the Veteran directly per-say, but it is one that can shift the tide of the battle. That is why we have chosen this for the level 15 feat slot in this leveling Veteran build in Warhammer 40K Darktide.

Unwavering Focus

• Toughness: 75% increase (during Volley Fire)

The Unwavering Focus feat is one of those feats that heavily complement the Veteran’s playstyle. For newer players who are familiarizing themselves with the game, it is very useful. It adds to your survivability on top of the Confirmed Kill feat. This is why we have chosen this for your level 20 feat slot.

As the Veteran Sharpshooter, you will mostly be playing and attacking from a distance. This means that you will also be facing the most ranged offense since you will be at a distance from melee enemies. This feat makes it so that you receive extremely low damage from ranged attacks. You will receive 75% less damage to your Toughness when this feat is equipped. Keep in mind that this is only applicable to ranged attacks and does not apply to melee attacks.

Frag Storm

• Bleed: Inflicts 8 stacks of Bleed

The Frag Storm is a relatively simplistic feat. It takes advantage of the frag grenade that the Veteran class has access to and amplifies its effects. When you use your frag grenade and chuck it at a horde of enemies, all those who are hit will be inflicted with the Bleed Effect and 8 stacks of this status demerit. The bleed effect will swiftly drain through the enemies’ health and make quick work of them.

This feat comes in handy when faced with swarms of enemies. It is worthy of the level 25 feat slot in this leveling Veteran build in Warhammer 40K Darktide.

The Bigger They Are

• Enemies Highlighted: Ogryns and Monstrosities are now highlighted (during Volley Fire).
• Damage: Attacks gain 50% damage buff (during Volley Fire).

Last but not least is The Bigger They Are feat. The effects of this feat work in conjunction with your Volley Fire ability. Whenever Volley Fire is active, your attacks deal an additional 50% damage to Ogryns and other Monstrosities. 

By default, Volley Fire does not highlight Ogryns and enemies that are Monstrosities. With this feat equipped, they will now be highlighted along with the other enemies. Moreover, when you execute an enemy that was highlighted during Volley Fire, this feat will add 5 seconds to the duration of the Volley Fire ability. This feat is especially good for dealing with larger enemies and bosses, and It is a good choice for the level 30 feat slot.

And that does it for our early game build for Veteran in Warhammer 40k Darktide.

Late Game Build

The late-game build is one that is oriented toward the more experienced players. For players who are ready to take on the end-game missions and challenges, this is the build for them. This build brings out the true potential of the Veteran Sharpshooter in Warhammer 40k Dartktide and utilizes the strong feats it has. The six feat slots that are available at level 30 will all be equipped with the best of the best feats.

To bring out the best from this late-game build, players will also need to be more proficient when it comes to their gameplay. You will have to focus more on getting headshots and plan out your encounters more intricately so that you can get the buffs from various of your feats. For this late-game build, here are all the feats that you need:

• Level 5: Exhilarating Takedown
• Level 10: Sniper
• Level 15: Covering Fire 
• Level 20: Duck and Dive
• Level 25: Deadshot
• Level 30: Counterfire

This build aims to create the strongest Veteran build in Warhammer 40k Darktide. With this late-game build, you will be able to tackle all of the end-game content and dominate everything that the game throws your way. It takes advantage of the strongest feats of the class to create a monstrous build. We will now discuss each of these feats that make up this build.

Exhilarating Takedown

• Toughness: 10% Increase (Weak Point based).

This build is aimed at end-game content, so by now, and you should have complete control over the Veteran class. If you are playing this class as it is supposed to be played, you will be on the backlines and providing ranged firepower. The Exhilarating Takedown feat builds upon the idea of Veterans playing from a long-ranged distance and enhances your firepower.

When you execute an enemy by attacking them at their weak points, you will regain 10% of your overall Toughness. This is catered towards more skilled players as compared to our leveling build. When you gain some mastery over the ranged combat in the game, it becomes really easy for you to target the weak points of various enemies.

Unlike the feat mentioned in our previous build that only activates on killing certain types of enemies, this feat has no such restrictions. You can regain your Toughness through any type of enemy as long as you target their weak points.

While this ability is active, you will not have to worry about your Toughness running out either, as you will constantly be regenerating it as you attack. It is a perfect blend of offense and defense, as being more offensive helps your defense and survivability. This is why this is the perfect pick for our late-game build for Veteran in Warhammer 40K Darktide.

Sniper

• Damage: 25% buff to damage (depending on the distance from the enemy).

For the level 10 feat slot, the Sniper feat is the perfect pick for a late-game build. Working in synergy with the other feats that incentivize you to play from a range, this feat has a similar effect. This feat enables you to deal more damage to your enemies depending on how far away you are. This means that you will deal more damage to enemies further away as a bonus will come into play.

This bonus caps out at 20%, but that is nothing to scoff at. Even a 20% damage buff can add up to a lot when you consider all the other bonuses the Veteran class is getting. This is one of those feats that force you to model your game plan around them but also heavily reward you for it. 

Covering Fire

• Toughness: Teammates regain 10% Toughness. 

For the level 15 feat in our late-game build, we have picked the feat Covering Fire. It helps out your team through an indirect buff. When you execute an enemy with a ranged attack, all of your teammates in the proximity regain 10% of their Toughness. It is worth noting that this only applies if you execute the enemy with a ranged attack, and only those teammates will receive a buff that is within melee range of the enemy. 

It is a fairly simple feat to pick for a late-game build, but it is one that adds a lot to the overall survivability of your team. This feat makes it possible for your teams to function as a whole while doing what they are best at. It is especially useful for those who do not have Toughness regenerating feats of their own.

Duck And Dive

• Stamina: 20% recovery (based on attacks dodged).

For the level 20 feat, we have chosen Duck and Dive. This is a defensive feat that rewards you for successfully dodging and evading enemy attacks. When you evade enemy attacks by dodging or sliding, you will regain some part of your stamina. The stamina recovered will be 20% exactly, which makes a big difference. This allows you to continue your defensive maneuvers and enables you to gain solid footing after making some distance between you and the enemy. 

Deadshot

• Critical Chance: 25% increase.
• Weapon Sway: 60% decrease.
• Stamina: 10% decrease per second.

This level 25 feat was selected while keeping the nature of the Veteran Sharpshooter in mind. This is an extremely strong feat that rewards you for using the scope of your weapon. While you are in the scope mode, you will gain a 25% additional chance to get a Critical Hit. It is worth noting that if your weapon doesn’t have a scope, this feat is applicable to whatever alternative mode the weapon has. 

Additionally, this feat also reduces the sway of your weapon while it is active. The amount of sway reduced is 60% exactly, and it allows you to hit the targets more precisely. 

The only demerit of this feat is that you will lose constantly lose stamina while it is active. This means that you will be losing 10% of your stamina each second while you are utilizing this feat. This is an understandable demerit to an otherwise overpowered feat. Having such a big boost to your Critical Hit chance, along with reduced sway, is a game changer when it comes to the end-game content in Warhammer 40k Darktide. 

Counterfire

• Damage: 25% increase (during Volley Fire and upon targeting weak points).
• Enemies Highlighted: Scab Shooters are now highlighted (during Volley Fire).

For our level 30 feat in this late-game build, we have the Counterfire feat. This is an extremely powerful feat that complements the abilities of the Veteran Sharpshooter. Whenever Volley Fire is active in conjunction with this skill, you will deal additional damage to enemies. This additional damage only kicks in when you aim at an enemy’s weak points, but the bonus you get is significant. You get an additional 25% damage through this feat.

In addition to that, the Volley Fire ability now highlights Scab Shooters as well. This haven’t been the case if Volley Fire was active on its own, but now you have the added benefit of spotting Scab Shooters. Moreover, when you execute any highlighted enemy during Volley Fire, this will add an additional 5 seconds to its duration. This means that under the right circumstances, your damage can snowball as you execute enemy after enemy. 

And that is all that we have for our late-game build for Veteran in Warhammer 40k Darktide.

Veteran Abilities

As we have established earlier, the Veteran class is best for long-distance combat. Keeping your distance from the enemy while barraging them with relentless attacks is the core of the Veteran’s game plan. The abilities of the Veteran class support this game plan a lot and complement it in various ways. The bulk of your damage comes from precisely aimed headshots that deal massive damage to the enemy.

To ensure that you always get the most damage out of your shots, the Veteran class has certain abilities that set it apart from the other classes. These abilities play a huge role in how you plan out your builds and which game plan you are more oriented towards. Learning how to utilize these abilities properly can make the difference between life and death in the game. Here we will go over all the abilities in depth. 

• Volley Fire
• Frag Grenade 
• Scavenger
• Make Every Shot Count
• Be Prepared

Volley Fire

• Weapon: Switches to ranged weapon immediately.
• Enemies Highlighted: Highlights enemies in the vicinity (Specialist and Elite only).
• Damage: Increased by 50%.
• Duration: 5 seconds.

The Volley Fire is the key ability of the Veteran Sharpshooter class and, without a doubt, the strongest ability it has. It is an active ability and has multiple effects. Thanks to this ability, players can now immediately switch to the Veteran’s ranged weapon, no matter the situation.

This is extremely important for a ranged class such as Veteran as it allows you to adapt to any situation on the fly. Even if you are not prepared for an encounter and are caught off-guard, you can quickly pull out your ranged weapon and attack the enemies.

Believe it or not, that just scratches the surface of what the Volley Fire ability is capable of. There are more effects of this ability that we will now go over. Thanks to this ability, all the enemies in your vicinity are highlighted which makes it easier for you to spot and attack them.

Keep in mind that this is only applicable to enemies that are Specialist or Elite and does not apply to Ogryns. Even still, this is an incredible ability to have handy.

Last but not least is the final effect of this ability. The Volley Fire gives a huge buff to the player and adds a massive multiplier to the attacks of the Veteran. Whenever this ability is active, the Veteran’s attacks will deal a massive 50% more damage to the enemies.

This effect is active for 5 seconds after the ability is activated. This gives a huge edge to the Veteran class as you can get a boost in damage whenever this ability is used, on top of its other perks.

Frag Grenade

• Projectile: Can be used as a normal projectile.

As the name suggests, this is a simple projectile that the Veteran class has access to. It can be used as a normal projectile that you can throw toward the enemy. The Frag Grenade is best used against hordes of enemies, as everyone that is caught up in the blast will suffer some damage. It can definitely come in clutch when you are in certain situations where you are up against a lot of enemies, and you need some breathing room.

Scavenger Hunt

• Ammo Regain: Coherent teammates regain ammo after eliminating Elite class enemies.

The Scavenger Hunt ability is one that plays a part in one of the new mechanics in Warhammer 40k Darktide, which is Coherency. When you and your teammates stay close together, and one of you kills an Elite enemy, everyone who is under the effect of the Coherency gains some amount of ammo thanks to this ability. It is an aura-type ability. 

You can easily see who is under the effects of the Coherency mechanics as it is indicated with a blue line coming from under the characters. The newly introduced Coherency mechanics seem to be a double-edged sword. On one hand, abilities like these promote teamplay. But when two classes that have conflicting playstyles come together, it is not very effective. Nevertheless, it is still an ability that can come in handy under the right situation.

Make Every Shot Count

• Damage: Increased by 15% (based on attacking weak points).

This is one of the Veteran’s passive abilities, and it complements the class in a wonderful manner. The effects of this ability include a 15% damage buff to the Veteran’s melee as well as ranged attacks. It is worth noting that this ability only activates when you target the weak points of the enemies. But, as we mentioned earlier, the Veteran will be aiming at the heads of the enemy most of the time anyway.

This works out extremely well for the Veteran class since the head counts as a weak point. Having a significant damage buff to something you were doing regardless is a huge factor when it comes to the overall damage output. This is one of those abilities that make your experience of playing the game more fun. 

Be Prepared

• Ammo Capacity: Increased by 40%.

Lastly, this is the Veteran’s final passive ability. This ability makes it possible for the Veteran class to carry more ammo with them. The increase in ammo is a significant 40% and allows you to carry more firepower with you. Considering that the Veteran will be playing at a distance most of the time, this ability is extremely helpful. Now, you do not have to worry about rationing ammo and searching for ammo in the middle of a fight. 

Keep in mind that this skill simply enhances the players’ ammo-carrying capacity. It has no influence on the amount of ammo your weapon can hold at one time, such as the clip size.

Veteran Sharpshooter Weapons

The Veteran Sharpshooter class in Warhammer 40k Darktide is the embodiment of ranged firepower, as the name suggests. This class specializes in keeping the enemy at bay while dominating them from a distance. The Veteran class is incredibly dominant when it comes to making precise and calculated plays. Once they get a chance to execute their well-thought-out plans, there are few options the enemies have in the face of sheer firepower.  

No build is complete without covering the weapon options. The Veteran Sharpshooter has access to a wide array of weapons that you can pick and choose. Each of these weapons compliments the Veteran in different ways. Most weapons offer something that other weapons do not have, so picking the proper weapon is really important. However, some weapons are not so different from others. We will now cover the best weapons for this class. 

Boltgun

The Boltgun is the best-ranged weapon for the Veteran Sharpshooter. It packs a heavy punch and enables you to fire your way through almost all the enemies in the game. Admittedly the ammo capacity is a bit on the lower side, but that is made up for by the sheer damage this gun can output. It can get rid of most normal enemies in a single shot, which is incredibly powerful. 

Power Sword

Although the Veteran Sharpshooter will be attacking from a distance most of the time, certain scenarios may come where you have to engage in melee combat. For such situations, the Power Sword is the unquestionable choice as the melee weapon for the Veteran. It has armor-ignoring capabilities and also gets certain buffs in its attack. It is a bit slower than the other options that are available, but the damage more than makes up for it. 

You can confront hordes of enemies or even bosses with this behemoth of a sword and play your Veteran as a melee class. 

How To Play As The Veteran In Warhammer 40k Darktide 

Here’s a brief rundown of how to play as the Veteran Sharpshooter:

• While moving through the various levels in the game, the Veteran Sharpshooter usually occupies the rear position in a team. It is your job as the sniper of the group to look out for threats in the distance and eliminate them while maintaining your position. The playstyle revolves around staying away from the main action and picking off enemies one by one through your powerful attacks.
• The Veteran Sharpshooter has access to a plethora of abilities that help him dominate the mid to long-range combat distance. He truly shines while he is at maximum distance from the enemies. We have also included the feats that help him adopt this playstyle. The Sniper feat allows the Veteran Sharpshooter to capitalize on the distance that he operates from.
• Keep in mind that you focus on targeting the weak points of the enemies. The various feats of this class allow you to get many buffs only if you attack the weak points. The weak points of most enemies are usually their heads, as in most other games. 
• Moreover, the other feats, such as Exhilarating Takedown and Deadshot, all utilize the ranged attacking capabilities of the Veteran Sharpshooter. If you are coming from another FPS game like Valorant or Rainbow Six Siege, then adapting to the Veteran’s playstyle will be second nature to you. All you have to keep in mind is to maintain your distance and dominate from a range. When it comes to dealing with hordes of enemies, you can simply chuck your Frag Grenade at them.

Wrap Up

Warhammer 40k Darktide is the latest addition to the Warhammer 40k universe. It is an action game developed by Fatshark and it is available on Microsoft Xbox X/S as well as Microsoft Windows. There are different classes that the players can choose to play in. Each of these classes is different from the others and has its own strengths and weaknesses. That is why we have entailed an in-depth guide about the best Veteran build in Warhammer 40k Darktide. 

The Veteran Sharpshooter has a wide array of feats to select from. Depending on which feats you pick, your game plan can vary vastly. We have compiled the best combination of these feats so that you can have the most powerful Veteran Sharpshooter builds depending on your requirements. If you are interested in approaching the Veteran in an unorthodox way, then check out this post.

While you are here, consider checking out our guide on Weapon Unlock Levels. If you are interested in the best Psyker build then be sure to check out Warhammer 40K Darktide BEST Psyker Build. In case you are a newer player or even a returning player, check out our guide on Tips & Tricks.

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Next:

• Warhammer 40K Darktide Classes Tier List
• Warhammer 40K Darktide XP Farming
• Warhammer 40K Darktide: Unyielding Enemy