Heretics

**Heretics** are all hostile creatures encountered by the Ex-Convicts turned conscript in Darktide. Heretics can vary greatly in size, strength, durability, but also in their attack patterns and behaviour. On top of this, some Heretics have unique abilities, which increases their threat level greatly. For the players to survive, it is vital to know what Heretic you face and which tactics to use accordingly.

Another gameplay-focused breakdown for enemy statistics, armour, and types can be found here, on the fan Darktide Games Lantern website.

## General Information

### Factions

The Scabs and the Dregs are the only two enemy factions currently fought by players, both are referred to as H**eretics**. The Scabs are the traitorous Moebian 6th Regiment and the Dregs are devotees to the **Chaos God Nurgle** belonging to the Cult of Admonition. Factions are the divisions of **Heretics** who belong to the forces of **Chaos**. There are weapon and curio perks that affect the gameplay interactions with these factions.

### Hit Points

Heretics have individual hit point values that are scaled based on the difficulty of the mission

### Armour Types

Different hit locations of a heretic have different types of armour. This directly affect's a weapon's ability to deal damage, most frequently modified by its **Penetration** stat bonus (if it has one).

### Stagger resistance

Heretics have a stagger resistance stat based on the mission difficulty. This value determines whether a heretic is Staggered when hit by a certain attack. Stronger enemies generally have a higher stagger resistance.

### Mass

Heretics have a mass stat based on the game difficulty. Mass determines the amount of bodies a weapon is able to Cleave before stopping in its swing.

### Patrols

Patrols are large groups of Elites and Horde enemies which march around set paths on Missions. If a Conscript gets too close to a patrol or attacks them, they will aggravate onto the offending conscript.

## Types of Heretic

### Hordes

The weakest type of heretic, often they spawn ambiently, in patrols, and in hordes. Hordes form part of a random encounter and make up a mass majority of huge swarms. Hordes can be extremely overwhelming to novice and inexperienced Strike Teams; Overpowering them with their mass.

Against a skilled team, Hordes are nothing more than cannon fodder and can be kited into killzones. Weapons with AoE or a Psyker's Smite can cut down even huge groups with ease. However, Hordes tend to spawn behind the team, often catching them by surprise.

### **Dregs**

The average Imperial citizen that have displace their faith from the Emperor's Light and surrendered their souls to the service and corruption of Chaos. Members of the Cult of Admonition worship the Chaos God of decay, Nurgle and make up a majority of the dwellings and slums of the Hive City.

Dregs wield crude clubs and (if they are lucky) autoguns stolen from the local law enforcement. They are mostly dressed in dirty rags that barely hide the many blisters and sores covering their skin.

### Scabs

Scab generally refers to members of the Mobian 6th, A Traitor Guard who have pledged service to the Cult of Admonition and fight on Atoma. Unlike their allies, the Scabs possess heavy armor, superior skills and weaponry from the Astras Militarium service.

### Elites

The term 'Elite' refers to enemies who can be pinged, but are not technically Specialists. Built to challenge and promote specific behaviors and load-outs, Elites break your flow, demand your immediate attention, and will end you unless dealt with properly.

They are harder to kill, hit, and stagger harder than regular fodder units. Elites might be armored, such as Scab Mauler and Scab Gunner, while others like the Dreg Gunner mainly deal high damage. Elites can also form Patrols that roam the mission and can be extremely dangerous.

### Specialists

Specialists are special enemies that have the right to be targeted amongst the horde and bear unique abilities that can make or break the team. Most act as area denial or disabling purposes while others inflict damage directly. Some of these can even put players into an endangered state and must be rescued should one get caught.

### Monstrosities

Monstrosities act as bosses; They're tough and extremely dangerous. Each Monstrosity has a unique healthbar and require a distinct strategy to defeat. The Daemonhost is the only passive monstrosity in the game and may be disturbed if fired upon or disturbed. Others may be encountered normally and can catch unsuspecting players by surprise.

They are an 'Unyielding' Type and cannot be staggered and their heavy attacks inflict serious damage. They have enormous health pools along and can even have over shields and have Natural Damage Reduction. Monstrosities are seldom alone, often bringing with them a mix of hordes, elites, and specialists and even other Monstrosites.

Captains will regularly summon underlings to assist them.