What's better than being Judge Dredd? Being Judge Dredd with a pet robodog. Darktide's first DLC class is the arbitrator, who enforces the Lex Imperialis with shotgun and shock maul. Or assault shield and shotpistol. And grenades and shock mines, and a flying loudspeaker drone called the nuncio aquila that barks commands and insults. But mostly, it's about the dog.
I usually see my cyber-mastiff, who I have named Filthy because you get to name your dog, shooting across the screen in a powerful horizontal leap. Left to his own devices, he roams around jumping enemies and then worrying at them with his metal paws. By the time I show up to finish them off, they're often already dead.
Under his own steam he'll also intervene to knock a pox hound off me, or one of the big charging muties. He also takes commands, and by double-clicking the middle mouse I can tag elites or special enemies for his attention. Within moments he'll barrel across the screen to take them down. Against larger enemies he's less effective, but seeing him gamely latch onto a plague ogryn's shoulders and hang on as it spins around fills me with pride.
The cyber-mastiff wouldn't work nearly as well if he was affected by friendly fire, but since he's completely immune to it he never gets in the way. Which is good, because one of the arbitrator's upgrades is the Arbites Grenade, and the first time I hurled one of those into a cluster of dregs only to see him race in the same direction like we were playing fetch, I winced. But no, he was totally fine. In fact, he doesn't take damage from any source. There's a Lone Wolf talent in the arbitrator's tree that gives you buffs at the cost of leaving your dog behind, but I can't imagine ever taking it. He's a very good boy.
(If the cyber-mastiff had just been an ultimate ability you could only use when it's off cooldown, or an NPC who took damage and had to be revived constantly, it wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable to have one around. The way Fatshark has handled it is really the best option.)
Other arbitrator talents include the combat abilities Castigator's Stance, which boosts movement and damage resistance, and Break the Line, an advancing bash that deals extra stagger. I've stuck with Nuncio Aquila, which powers up my eagle-winged drone speaker. When I send that thing up to harangue a crowd of enemies they take extra damage and my squad gets toughness replenishment while we're standing in a small zone. It feels thematic to be rewarded for sticking together when the shit hits the fan—even if having Filthy always at my side makes it more tempting to wander off alone.
The arbitrator's blitz abilities can also be upgraded with the aforementioned Arbites Grenade, or with Remote Detonation, which sets off an explosion at the cyber-mastiff's location. Even though he can't be hurt, it just doesn't feel right to be constantly blowing up the poor guy. The other option is Voltaic Shock Mine, which electrocutes enemies. Actually, a lot of the arbitrator's abilities involve electrocution. Remote Detonation comes with a side of electricity, as do the class's melee weapons, and clicking the side-button on your mouse loads the arbites shotgun with an electrocution round. It's fun to be the guy who just tases everyone.
While arbitrators can choose from a bunch of the normal autogun, lasgun, and bolter options, as well as the arbites shotpistol, I've been sticking with that arbites shotgun. It's a widespread crowd-clearer that also has range, and can pick off a distant bomber when I don't want to sic my hound on them. Although I do usually sic the hound on them as well. He needs his exercise.
The gory story details
When you create a new arbitrator, you skip Darktide's normal prologue. Which makes sense—that introduction cast you as a prisoner being freed during an emergency, and the writing would have to jump through hoops to explain why an arbitrator was arrested, and then why they'd be trusted again. Instead, arbitrators get a new introduction that advances Darktide's story, a welcome bit of forward motion in a plot that's felt static until now.
The Arbites Class DLC release comes alongside a free update that makes Darktide more narratively satisfying overall. Now, the mission board highlights some options as narrative missions, which will have extra voiceover and sometimes cutscenes (often cannily reused from the trailers that have accompanied updates) that introduce characters and escalate events. They're a lot more interesting than the cutscenes we used to get every five levels, where a different member of the crew would deliver a variant on basically the same speech about how you still weren't trustworthy yet. If you wished Darktide had something more like the experience of playing Vermintide's levels in order, this will give you that, neatly guiding you up the difficulty settings as it does.
Even if you don't pick up the arbitrator DLC this is definitely the time to return to Darktide. And if you do play as an arbitrator, it would be remiss of me not to mention there are cosmetics just for the cyber-mastiff, and of course you can pet the dog during downtime in the hub between missions. The Arbites Class DLC and the free update will both be available on June 23.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
