The current Warhammer 40K Darktide penance system is a reward-based one that you can earn after certain conditions are met. It is a way of unlocking new cosmetics without having to rush to the premium store. The achievements are broken up into several categories but they do have the same ebb and flow to them in terms of difficulty scaling.
Before we go into this Warhammer 40K Darktide guide, let’s go over a couple of reminders that are good to know should you decide to do these challenges yourself.
- When the requirements say, “complete a mission” the game is asking you to do the challenge from start to finish. If you disconnect in the middle of a mission, your entire run is invalid. It’s happened on more than one occasion.
- Achievements that require certain actions do not fall under this. The “Cliffhanger” achievement for the Psyker, for example, will still count even if you decide to return to the lobby.
Warhammer 40K Darktide Penance Tips for Each Class
Zealot Preacher
Up Close and Personal
- Complete a full Mission on Malice Threat or higher without firing a shot.
- Reward – Pious Mendicant’s Vestments – Upper Body
How to Unlock:
Half-joking here but if you’re like us who can’t help but pull out their ranged weapon just cause it makes us feel safer… You can unbind the keys that allow you to bring out the weapon. Should be easy though.
Buying Time
- Using a Stun Grenade, hit an enemy sniper more than 40 meters away.
- Reward – Anointed Mendicant’s Vestments – Lower body
How to Unlock:
All you need to do is to tell your team that you’re going for this achievement and you’re all good. If need to know the perfect distance for the achievement, go into the shooting, ping the sniper to judge distance, and throw a grenade a little over its head.
Abhor the Mutant
- While dashing with Chastise the Wicked, kill a Mutant with a Melee Attack.
- Reward – Anointed Mendicant’s Vestments – Upper body
How to Unlock:
Can be at any time. Have a Thunder Hammer on for guaranteed success. When the Mutant is charging towards you, charge up the hammer. The next part’s a little tricky. You’ll need to have a feel as to when you think you should strike. Then when you’re actually doing it, strike early. Collision is wonky in this game, so it’s better this way.
Just A Flesh Wound
- Complete a full mission on Heresy Threat or higher in under 20 minutes, with less than a Wound’s worth of Health remaining for 75% of the time.
- Reward – Saintly Mendicant’s Vestments – Upper body
How to Unlock:
Do not wear any curios that give Wounds. 2 wounds are what you’ll need to get this one. Take on missions with low intensity that have as little elevator time as possible. Like an Assassination or Auspex Scanner mission.
Also, it is recommended you bring your friends to this one. Unless everyone’s on the same page, this is going to take some time to do.
There is Nothing But the Abyss
- On Heresy threat or higher, heal to 75% Health with life gained solely from the Holy Revenant Feat
- Reward – Saintly Merdicant’s Vestments – Lower body
How to Unlock:
Find the biggest horde you find, get the skill the Feat to activate, and then spray the area with Bolter fire. Works almost all the time.
Shocking Stuff
- On Malice Threat or higher, kill 40 enemies stunned by your grenades, within 10s.
- Reward – Pious Mendicant’s Vestments – Lower body
How to Unlock:
Bring a flamer, get the horde to a chock point, lob the grenade, and burn everything. Won’t work right away. Might need a couple or more tries. We actually got this by accident, believe it or not. It happens a lot in this game.
Sainted Path (3)
Complete the following penances as the Preacher
- Maniacal Laughter (6)
- Praise the God-Emperor (3)
- Doomseeker (3)
- Just A Flesh Wound
- There is Nothing But the Abyss…
- Sainted Path (2)
Reward – Cowl of the Avenger – Head
Veteran Sharpshooter
One in the Chamber
- Kill 5 enemies with the last round in your clip during a single Mission on Malice Thread or higher
- Reward – Dead-Eye’s Duty Unifrom – Lower body
How to Unlock:
One of the easiest Penances to unlock. Using any gun, just shoot the last bullet into an enemy 5 times within the level. Best done with high-damage guns like the revolver or boltgun.
Marked For Death
- During a single use of Volley Fire, hit enemy weak spots 4 times using a weapon’s Secondary Action, without missing a shot.
- Reward – Pistolero’s Duty Uniform – Lower body
How to Unlock:
Weapons with a scope really help on this one. And remember, you don’t need to get kills during that entire Volley Fire. Just need to hit 4 enemy weak spots in rapid succession. Can get accidentally if confronted by a Plague Ogryn or a Beast of Nurgle by hitting the weak spots 4 times.
Long Bomb
- Hit 5 enemies with a Frag Grenade without it bouncing
- Reward – Pistolero’s Duty Uniform – Upper body
How to Unlock:
Kind of an easy one for Warhammer 40K Darktide achievements. Best done on maps with a lot of open air. At 40-45 meters away, aim your grenade slightly above a group of enemies’ heads. Toss it, and the grenade should blow up in mid-air Apex Legends style.
On Overwatch
- Complete a full Mission on Malice Threat or higher without taking any melee damage
- Reward – Dead-Eye’s Duty Uniform – Upper Body
How to Unlock:
This one’s actually pretty hard. While it is possible to do this with a high-capacity weapon with friends doing their best Secret Service impressions, your best bet is to equip the camo Feat on and constantly watch your back.
Don’t bother with using your melee unless it’s to push anything away or block.
Deadeye
- On Heresy Threat or higher, during a single use of Volley FIre, kill 5 highlighted enemies with Weak Spot hits whilst using a weapon’s Secondary Action
- Reward – Killshot’s Duty Uniform – Lower body
How to Unlock:
Nothing special here. It’s going to be your raw aim against 5 highlighted targets while doing headshots of each of them. Definitely going to recommend Bio-Optic Targeting to increase your highlighted target count and Counterfire to extend the time on kill.
Make Every Shot Count
- Complete a Mission on Heresy Threat or higher with no Ammo remaining, and 100% accuracy
- Reward – Killshot’s Duty Uniform – Upper body
How to Unlock:
The hardest unlock for the class. We recommend bringing a plasma gun or a revolver on this one. Once the mission starts, you’ll not want to shoot a single shot, not even if you think it’s safe. Next, you’ll want to seek out the nearest Monstrosity, preferably near the end. Empty everything onto it in close range to maintain 100% accuracy. And then finish the mission with melee.
What’s going to make this challenge difficult is your passive. With a single kill of an elite, you’re going to get a bullet back. That’s totally going to screw you over at the end. So, make sure you’re far away from your team as possible all the way to the end.
On Target (3)
Complete the following Penances as the Sharpshooter
- I Love the Militarum (6)
- Vantage Point (3)
- Through the Mud (3)
- Make Every Shot Count
- Deadeye
- On Target (2)
Reward – Graia Mk IVe Carapace Warden Helm – Head
Ogryn Skullbreaker
I’m in Charge
- Use Bull Rush to interrupt a Plague Ogryn’s charge
- Reward – Brute’s Big Armour (XXXXL) – Lower body
How to Unlock:
Wait for the Plague Ogryn to lower its head. That’s an indicator that it’s getting ready to charge. Once it charges, just activate your ability and you that will counter its charge.
Something In Your Eye
- Kill a Corruptor by hitting it in the eye with your grenade box
- Reward – Brute’s Big Armour (Noxfight camo, XXXXL) – Upper body
How to Unlock:
Corruptors are the daemon infestations found in the Smelter and the water reserves. It’ll pop up once you’ve destroyed the three tentacles around it. Just toss our grenade box at it once it pops up.
Friends Will be Friends
- Stay in Coherency with a living teammate at all times during a full Mission on Malice Threat or higher
- Reward – Brute’s Biggest & Bestest Armour (XXXXL) – Lower body
How to Unlock:
This one is best done with a friend who knows you’re aiming for the achievement. You also want to have the Towering Presence level 15 Feat equipped for extra security.
Gone Bowling
- Knock down 70 enemies with a single Bull Rush on Malice Threat or higher
- Reward – Brute’s Biggest & Bestest Armour (XXXXL) – Upper body
How to Unlock:
This one’s a little hard to do. For guaranteed success, you will want to do a mission on Damnation difficulty with High Intensity. You also must have the level 30 feat Unstoppable equip.
Just sit in a corner with a slab shield equipped, and wait for enemies to gather at your location. Once there are enough mobs, use your ability to pile through them. Best done in a tunnel and with AI to avoid wasting anyone’s time.
Don’t Stop Me Now!
- Move 40 meters with Bull Rush in under 20 seconds on Heresy Threat or higher
- Reward – Brute’s Bootiful Armour (XXXXL) – Lower body
How to Unlock:
Kind of hard to pull off without a team present and with the right build.
For this achievement, you’ll want to run with the level 15 feat Bullfighter and level 30 Unstoppable. Then you’ll need as many Psyker Psykinetic friends with the level 15 feat Psykinetic’s Aura equip.
On your next mission, look for a group of Elites. Charge at them from afar and nuke them ASAP. Once you have your ability back, use it again to cover the distance back to where you started. This should be enough to get the achievement.
Heavyweight Champion
- On Heresy Threat or higher, knock down 6 enemy Ogryns (Bulwarks, Crushers, Plague Ogryns, and/or Reapers) with a single Bull Rush charge
- Reward – Brute’s Bootiful Armour (XXXXL) – Upper body
How to Unlock:
No good way of doing this without help. Currently, the best way to do this is to have the Ogryn doing the achievement stand at the beginning of a level and another friendly Ogryn runs to the end of the map while pulling every Ogryn to them. When they die, the Ogryn will turn to the one at the beginning of the level and try to attack them.
Best done on Damnation difficulty with High Intensity
Bone ‘Ead (1)
Complete the following Peanances as the Skullbreaker
- Got a Bone to Pick (4)
- Beat-’em’Up
- Built Like a Tank (1)
- Something In Your Eye
- I’m in Charge
Reward – Krourk Mk IIIa Brutehelm
Psyker Psykinetic
Not Even Close
- Kill a pouncing Pox Hound with Brain Burst
- Reward – Storm Witch’s Penance Raiment – Lower body
How to Unlock:
No special trick for this one. You’re just going to have to train yourself to time your Brain Burst to the moment you think a hound is going to pounce. Can get this one completely by accident if you keep brain-bursting every hound you come across.
Cliffhanger
- Kill 7 enemies within 2 seconds by knocking them off a ledge
- Reward – Storm Witch’s Penance Raiment – Upper body
How to Unlock:
Can be done by pushing enemies off a ledge using your melee block push.
Best done in the ‘Torrent’ Espionage mission. There is a bridge at the end of the mission that you need to defend. The extended build of the comms tower is the best place to push mobs off.
Warp Battery
- While on malice threat or higher, in a single session maintain maximum war charges for 300 seconds.
- Reward – Storm Witch’s Duty Raiment – Lower body
How to Unlock:
Nothing special is required. Just keep using Brain Burst to maintain max warp charges. But whatever you do, do not use your Ultimate cause that’ll just make you lose all your stacks. Higher difficulty with high-intensity engagements is recommended.
Going Out With a Bang
- While on Malice Threat or higher, kill 3 elite enemies with single Perils of the Warp explosion
- Reward – Storm Witch’s Duty Raiment – Upper body
How to Unlock:
The best chance of getting this done is with the help of a Veteran Sharpshooter on missions with high-intensity engagements. You’ll then look for a group of ragers. Once you have enough Perils to explode, simply run at them before exploding. With any luck, you’ll be taking them out. You can do this with other Elites but the more armored ones will make things hard for you and your team.
We’ve learned that’s it possible to kill three separate elites with 3 different explosions. Could be the wording or it could be bugged.
Pick n’ Mix
- While on Heresy Threat or higher, use Brain Burst to kill 5 different Elite or Specialist enemies within 12 seconds
- Reward – Storm Witch’s Redemption Raiment – Lower body
How to Unlock:
High-intensity engagements on higher difficulties are recommended. You’ll also want one of your Sharpshooter friends to constantly tag specialists and elites. That’s about it. The rest is up to the RNG gods.
Malleus Monstronum
- While on Heresy threat or higher kill a Monstrosity after damaging 90% of its health with your Brain Burst
- Reward – Storm Witch’s Redemption Raiment – Upper body
How to Unlock:
Best done with an Ogryn friend with a slag shield and two others who keep mobs off your back. You’ll then want to look for the nearest Daemonhost as they tend to focus on the first player that gets their attention. Then it’s a process of using Brain Burst to kill it. It also helps that among the Monstrosities, Daemonhost has the least amount of health.
Kinetic Killer (1)
Complete the following Penances as the Psykinetic
- Mind Over Matter (4)
- Mind Over Matter
- Lifeleech (1)
- Cliffhanger
- Not Even Close
Reward – Obscurus Mk IIId Psykana Hood
And that’s it for this Warhammer 40k Darktide Penance guide. It’s been quite a ride. Hopefully, Fatshark releases more challenges and we’ll be there to cover that content should that arrive.
Check out our other Warhammer 40K Darktide guides
- Warhammer 40K Darktide Mission Types – What Are They and What to Expect
- Warhammer 40K Darktide Shrine of the Omnissiah Explained
- Warhammer 40K Darktide Grimoire Guide – What Are They, Where to Find, and More
- Warhammer 40K Darktide Beginner’s Guide – Things You Need to Know to Survive and Thrive
- Warhammer 40000 Darktide – Weapon Attributes and Ratings Explained
- Warhammer 40K Darktide Datamine Reveals New Classes and Weapons
Also, check out this comprehensive Warhammer 40K Darktide Penance guide from YouTuber Dalkora.