[Update #2]: Darktide devs are aiming to rework the Crafting and Achievement systems, as well as add new Content throughout 2024.

[Update]: The Traitor's Curse Part 2, Darktide's December update, will add potions, new weapons, new map and a dual boss encounter!

If you were hoping for a major Darktide update this holiday season, I'm pleased to say I bring a double dose of good news! Not only has Patch #15: The Traitor Curse just arrived with some fun new content, but there will also be a follow-up patch coming in the near future with even more stuff to mess around with! The exact details are still shrouded in mystery, however, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens with that one.

As for right now, the highlights for Patch #15 include a brand new zone and map, a sizable extension of the Veteran's skill tree, as well as a serious increase in difficulty for the more challenging missions. This doesn't mean that the enemies were buffed, however, but rather that you will now have to deal with more of them, more complex combinations of them, and more often. In other words, there's a lot more things to smash a giant chainsword into!

The new map Mercantile HL 70-04, or more commonly referred to as the Carnival despite that being the name of the overarching zone, is similarly a great deal of fun. Not only is it a fresh new environment to crawl through, but it's also a lot more dynamic than the other maps as you're deep behind enemy lines and thus constantly forced to fight off one ambush after another. Add to that some surprisingly funky music, a ridiculously over-the-top finale, and you've got yourself one of Darktide's most memorable maps. Definitely check it out if you haven't already.

As for the Veteran 'rework', I'm not exactly sure what to think about that one. The new keystones are certainly interesting, but the increased length of the skill tree only seems to have decreased the amount of choices you can make as getting to the very bottom requires you to make only the most minimal of diversions. This is especially troublesome if you're going for a melee-focused build as it means you either have to give up the all-important ammo aura or some of the highly useful talents at the very bottom. So while I know it's only just gotten reworked, I do think that Veteran's skill tree needs another pass to put it on par with the other classes.

If you're curious about the exact details behind the new skill tree, as well as the numerous smaller changes Patch #15 has brought with it, you can find what you seek over at the Fatshark forums.

Enjoy, and I'll leave you with the cinematic trailer setting up the new storyline and the big baddie: