So I want to do a long winded review with all the issues I have with the game currently. Unfortunately due to a lack of interest in even playing the game due to such a wonk system I recommend this review as a foundation to what II also want to say. https://steamproxy.net/profiles/76561198019674957/recommended/1361210/

After you are done reading the link please continue reading.

I disagree with this reviews view on the melee combat because mainly the combat is such a step down from previous games.

When engaging in melee combat you will be using these 5 main things:
Stamina
Dodge
Toughness
Push
Block

All of these things are pure jank in comparison to previous titles.

Stamina:
Stamina Controls: Running, Blocking and pushing. When engaging ranged enemies you have a few options either dodge bullets, slide to dodge bullet which you need to run first to do, hide behind cover which may not work based on your hit box or engage in ranged combat. During an average horde with ranged enemies you will most likely try this combination of things in order to engage in combat:
Run, Slide, Dodge, Push, Block.

Dodge:
With big brains come big responsibilities and Fatshark has massive one. Due to them thinking that the dodge meta of vermintide was "Not as fun as it could be" they decided to add a cooldown to dodges. Yes a cooldown. Let me explain:
After about 3-4 dodges you lose max range dodge and it is reduced to about 30% range which results in you getting hit by some wonky ♥♥♥♥ while in horde fighting. There is a 0.85 second cooldown for this which in order to initiate the cooldown you cannot dodge. It used to be a full second cooldown. Stamina regen during dodging is also no longer a thing so you can no longer dodge and push which is funny because it results in a very fast battle of attrition

Toughness:
Toughness feels like a bandaid slapped on because of the janky melee combat. They knew that you were going to get hit so they made sure to add it as a temporary fix turned permanent. Temp health was such a much better mechanic that rewarded you for not getting hit but also wasn't a permanent reward which subconsciously made you play faster through maps to keep your temp health up if you were very low on health increasing the risk of the gameplay and those wonderful adrenaline spikes we all love.

Push:
Except for a couple weapons push in most cases is utterly useless and I can only find it useful for pushing dogs that leap at you since dodging them doesn't work to wonky animations. Push feels significantly weaker across the board where in most cases it feels like you are giving loving brotherly pat on the back rather than shoving someone away. Addtionally for most weapons the push is very slow, its intiation animation and ending animation are so wonky and slow for most weapons that is is more of a hinderance rather than a benefit. In some cases I experienced pushing enemies and by the time my weapon is ready to swing again the same enimies I push were 3/4 through another melee animation .

Block:
Block is a joke. Don't use it. It can stagger you heavily especially since in most cases you are out of stamina to begin with. Recovery from a clean block (a block with stamina) has a rather long animation before you can hit again which during a horde fight become such a detriment when you are trying to fight 30 guys on the screen. Depending on how the horde time their attacks you can become stun lock to where you ultimately lose you stamina. I can't help but praise VT2 with its fluid blocking and parrying system. "You didn't mention parrying" Yes because it's only reserved for certain weapons as a special alt attack. Yes. What a downgrade.

Now we have learned so let me give you a scenario.


So pretend you are in the game a horde is right in front of you and ranged enemies are shooting at you. First thing you will want to do is dodge bullets and then run and slide however now by the time you have done all this you are now in melee combat and since you have done your running your dodging and sliding to avoid bullets you have no stamina. So now you can't push to open up for melee attacks so your resort to dodging instead but since dodging has a 3-4 max amount of dodges with max range you now take hits consecutively (there is a 0.85s cooldown for this to have max range dodges again). You could say "Hey just push" oh but sir you don't regen stamina while dodging anymore my friend as well as the push for most weapons being very clunky and unresponsive. You could say "Block" ah yes let me block to then get stun locked especially against beserkers. You have now taken half health damage on Damnation. Congrats.

There is little to no "Smooth" melee combat except for Dueling Swords, and Knives where the weapon feels responsive to your movements and the push actually works, doesn't take a month between push and resuming combat, and is fluid.


If you are coming from vermintide and what you love most is the fluid responsive combat in those games I highly recommend you stay away from this game due to the massive amount of animation clunk it provides with the majoirty of the weapons.

EDIT: ALSO Attachments were promised in game and never delivered:

Here:
https://prnt.sc/arY5OEgjU7_O

and

Here:
https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/warhammer-40000-darktide-to-have-customizable-characters-left-4-dead-style-director-ai

as well as a youtube video showing different attachments on lasguns instead of the normal holosight flashlight combo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-UifdRoC8I&ab_channel=Fatshark

Another good review: https://steamproxy.net/id/danman3395/recommended/1361210/

Edit: So mods have been released for the game that add alot of QOL and minaly made by 1 or two guys, compile this on with the ray tracing issues where its alwasy on even if turned of or you have a graphics card that doesn't support it. This issue is fixed by changing some values in a read me file that takes 2 mins. FatShark what the ♥♥♥♥ are you doing with your time if the community can fix alot of the main issues for you.

Will continue to update as more is either remembered or brought to light.