Truly remarkable people, psykers can unleash devastating psychic attacks on their foes. As a class, Psykers in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide are essentially a glass cannon. Their abilities can swing the balance of battle, but they are also more vulnerable.
The Psykinetic is the entry-level Psyker subclass, and they have some unique melee and ranged weapons in addition to some cool abilities. There are consequences to carelessly wielding your Psyker abilities, so pick your targets wisely.
Hold your horses
The good news is that the more you play the Psyker, the more fun it will become. You’ll find the Psyker to be everything you hoped for and more once you gain access to Force Staves and skills that increase the frequency with which you can use your powers. It’s just a matter of waiting a while.
Force Staff
After reaching level 13, when you can finally equip your first Force Staff, you will finally feel like a true Psyker. You’ll probably end up using them as your primary ranged weapon unless you’re going for a very niche build. As a unique weapon, it doesn’t need ammo, but every time you use its basic ranged attack, you put yourself in more danger. This is mitigated by the fact that they have a special attack that deals AoE damage and neutralizes Peril.
It’s important to remember that you can pick between several different Force Staves. They share the same basic design but each has its own unique special attack. A few of them will explode, others will engulf foes in flames, and still others will fire lightning bolts that stun and damage foes. Since the optimal effect to use will vary from one circumstance to the next, try out a variety of options and see which one works best for you.
Brain Burst
The Psyker’s primary ability, Brain Burst, does precisely what it sounds like it would do. The power to lock onto targets and destroy them instantly is at your disposal, but since Brain Burst needs a few seconds to charge, you shouldn’t rely on it if you’re in a tight spot. Brain Burst has a long range, so you should use it before your enemies notice you.
With its high critical rate and massive damage output, Brain Burst is devastating against Elite foes. Brain Burst is especially useful against bosses, though you’ll still need to supplement it with traditional weaponry when taking them on. When the charge meter for Brain Burst reaches its midpoint, the user is able to temporarily stun an opponent (albeit a weak one). Enemies of high strength take damage but are not stunned in advance.
The process of bursting brains can be improved by employing a few techniques. To begin, know that having your target in your field of view won’t cause the ability to cease working. You only need a brief glimpse of your target to lock onto it, after which you can charge the ability while hiding in plain sight.
Peril
It is for this reason that Psykers have the counter-mechanic of Peril, which is intended to reduce the effectiveness of Brain Burst. If you keep using Brain Burst, the Peril meter will fill up to 100% and you will explode. Even if you use up all of your Peril, you won’t be killed; instead, you’ll be knocked unconscious and forced to rely on your friends to help you recover.
Psykinetic’s Wrath can put a stop to it, halving the current level of Peril. However, you can manually halt it by pressing and holding the ‘R’ key (by default), which will reduce Peril to 0 over the course of a few seconds. And then there’s the passive skill of Battle Meditation, which offers you a 10% chance to alleviate some threat with every kill. Even with these options, it can be challenging to maintain a low Peril early in the game. However, as is the case with most things, this becomes easier the higher you get in level.
