Warhammer 40k: Darktide Bound by Duty Update Adds Free Content and Quality of Life Changes

Warhammer 40k: Dartide Bound by Duty update is scheduled to debut on Sept. 23, 2025, across all available platforms. The free update adds a new arena: Theatre of Rectitude. In addition, here are two new indulgences archetypes, which offer various buffs. Emperor Favored provides increased critical chance and damage, while Goliath provides a buff to mobility and resilience rather than damage reduction. It makes the player immune to Suppression and Stagger, and boosts stamina and crowd-control options. 

In addition to these new gameplay mechanics, a new weapon family, weapon marks, enemies, gameplay adjustments, and quality of life changes were shared as well. 

Here are the full Warhammer 40k: Darktide Bound By Duty update notes, according to the official blog post: 

• New Mortis Trials arena, Theatre of Rectitude: Re-enter the visions summoned by the ship’s Psyker, Sefoni, in an all-new arena inspired by the Clandestium Gloriana mission and its frozen Adeptus Mechanicus Foundryplex.
• Two new Indulgences archetypes: offering additional buffs expanding the breadth of combat styles within Mortis Trials.

• Emperor Favored: Grants increase to critical chance and critical damage, plus effects that trigger on critical hits. These buffs stack: early gains may seem modest, but they compound to support powerful crit-focused builds later in a run.
• Goliath: Centers on mobility and resilience rather than damage reduction: immunity to Suppression and Stagger, stamina boosts, and crowd-control options. One notable buff staggers enemies when you sprint, letting you plow through hordes even when cornered.

• New Memory Echoes: Several new chapters that expand NPC backstories and reveal more of the Mourningstar’s past through Sefoni’s visions between waves.
• New Enemy, Scab Plasma Gunner: A dangerous new Specialist enemy joins Darktide’s roster. The Scab Plasma Gunner wields a powerful plasma weapon, forcing players to adapt their tactics and brace for intense, high-damage attacks. Expect to feel the heat in any mission where this adversary appears.
• New Veteran weapon, the Power Falchion: A single-edged, one-handed power weapon that plays as a counterpart to the Power Sword. Its Special action works like the Zealot’s Relic Blade: activating the Special action empowers the Falchion until its heat bar fills, at which point it overheats and the Special is locked until the bar empties. This weapon family comes with two marks.
• New Bolt Pistol and Boltgun marks: Bolt Pistol Mk VI Godwyn-Branx and Boltgun Mk III Locke. Both marks emphasize explosive effects: larger explosions and significantly more explosive damage on hit or kill compared with other marks in their families.
• Talent Reworks and Class balances: increased flexibility and player agency around the Veteran, Zealot and Psyker trees by providing a more open layout. The overarching goal was to bring better balance, more build diversity, and more meaningful choices across all classes. The Ogryn and Arbites talents also got a light touch-up!
• Special Event, Smuggled Munitions: Forces of the Traitorous 6th have raided local plasma weapon caches. Players will have to out these dangerous squads and dispatch them. A flashlight will not go amiss as this event will always be attached to low visibility conditions such as Ventilation Purge, Lights Out or Power Supply Interruption.
• New Havoc Modifier, Contaminated Stimms: Darktide’s endgame mode will have a new modifier joining the existing roster. Face challenging tides of enemies using stimms to reinforce themselves. In addition, the previously run Special event Rotten Armor will return once again as a modifier for Havoc.
• Quality of Life changes: a few improvements will be coming to Darktide, including a dodge counter, a new on-screen indicator showing remaining dodges. This is to ensure players always know when they can evade and when they’re out of effective dodges. Players will also be able to replay missions from the Battle for Tertium campaign.

Developed and published by Fatshark, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is the successor to the Warhammer: Vermintide series. The game was first released for Windows PC on November 30, 2022, followed by a launch on Xbox Series X/S on October 4, 2023, and later on PlayStation 5 on December 3, 2024. The title currently holds a “Mostly Positive” rating on Steam based on 94,821 user reviews.