One of the four classes in Warhammer 40k: Darktide is the Zealot class, and we present you the best build if you want to play as a Zealot. We’ll show you the best build to level up and a selection of weapons we recommend, in addition to the end-game build.
What it’s about: Today we’ll introduce you to the Zealot class in more detail and show you which build is the best for the endgame and for leveling. We also present our selection of weapons that best suit the Zealot.
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Best Build for the Zealot Class in Warhammer 40k: Darktide -Endgame & Leveling
As a Zealot – or Preacher – you’ll play a lot in close combat, pushing into enemies and dealing out. Only for you to be able to retreat just as quickly afterwards. So your focus should be on your toughness (the shield in Darktide) and not so much on your health. So you’ll often be low on health, but you’ll dish it out pretty well and rely on being able to retreat and regenerate quickly.
The Zealot Class at a Glance
Before we show you the best build for the endgame, we’ll briefly introduce you to the class and its abilities.
Class Ability – Chastice the Wicked: Each class has a main ability. With the Preacher, you charge forward or toward a targeted enemy. As you do so, your toughness replenishes and increases the damage of the next melee hit by 25%. This ensures that the next hit is guaranteed critical.
Iconic Abilities: Each class in Darktide has three iconic abilities. For the Zealot, these are as follows:
- Swift Exorcism: Increases your melee speed by 10%.
- Martyrdom: Damage increases by 5 when you are down 15 health. Can be stacked up to 3 times.
- Until Death: Every 90 seconds, you become immortal for 5 seconds when you receive damage that would have otherwise killed you.
Aura Ability – Emperor’s Will: The Aura Ability mostly helps you and your party. It grants +7 toughness damage reduction to you and nearby players.
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This is the Best Endgame Build for the Zealot Class in Darktide
Now we’ve kept you in suspense long enough and present you the best build for the Zealot in the endgame. You have a total of 6 abilities that you can distribute. Starting at level 5, you unlock a new ability every fifth level.
- Level 5 – Enemies Wihtin, Enemies Without: 7.5% of your toughness (shield) is regenerated when you are within 8 meters of at least one enemy. Since you’ll be in close combat a lot with the Preacher, you’ll often have this small distance to regenerate your shield.
- Level 10 – Punishment: Attacks that hit 3 or more enemies receive 10% more damage for 5 seconds. This ability can be stacked 3 times.
- Level 15 – Benediction: You and players near you receive +15 toughness damage reduction.
- Level 20 – Thy Wrath be Swift: Melee hits no longer stun you. When you take damage, you get 30% more movement speed for 2 seconds. If you play the in-out tactic a lot, you can retreat better this way.
- Level 25 – Honour the Martyr: Improves your Martyrdom ability to allow up to 6 stacks. This allows you up to 30 more damage when you are down to 90 health.
- Level 30 – Purge the Wicked: Your main ability can now be used 2 times.
This is the Best Leveling Build for the Zealot Class in Darktide
Now that you know what the best end-game build looks like, let’s show you what the best leveling build is. This will get you to level 30 faster and allow you to use all of your abilities.
- Level 5 – Purify in Blood: Restores 100% more toughness on a kill.
- Level 10 – Bloodletting: Increases melee critical strike chance by 10% for 3 seconds when you hit a bleeding enemy. In addition, melee critical hits cause bleeding.
- Level 15 – Benediction: Here we use the same ability as in the endgame build.
- Level 20 – Faith Restores All: After you take damage, you get 25% of the damage you took back over 5 seconds.
- Level 25 – Rising Conviction: On a hit, you do 4% more damage for 5 seconds. This ability can be stacked up to 5 times.
- Level 30 – Purge the Wicked: Again, staying true to the ability from the end-game build.
YouTuber ItalianSpartacus has summarized the level and end-game build in a detailed video.
The best Playstyle for the Zealot class
As a Zealot, there are a few things you should keep in mind. We have highlighted the points that make the Zealot the best to play. If you want to find out if the Zealot is right for you, you can read our class overview. There you will find all the advantages and disadvantages of the classes.
Here is some basic information that will help you play the Zealot:
- The Zealot is optimized for in-out tactics.
- Hit hard and fast, but be ready to retreat just as quickly.
- As a Zealot with our end-game build, the less life you have, the stronger you are.
- Take full advantage of this ability as a tank/DPS hybrid.
These are the Best Weapons for the Zealot Class in Warhammer 40k: Darktide
To make your Zealot experience complete, we’ll give you a brief overview of the best weapons for the Zealot class. You should already know the meaning of all weapon attributes, values, and perks.
Best Ranged Weapons: While the Zealot class focuses on melee combat, you shouldn’t underestimate ranged combat either. That’s why we’ve put together a list of weapons that are fun to use in ranged combat and work well with the Zealot. We have already compiled a list of all weapons for you.
- Boltgun
- Flamer
- Combat Shotgun
- Auto Pistol
Best Melee Weapons: Since the Zealot class is especially optimized for in-out tactics with lots of melee combat, it’s important that you also use good melee weapons. Here we have compiled our favorites for you:
- Thunder Hammer
- Eviscerator
- Chain Axe
- For beginners: all swords or the Tactical Axe
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Tip: Try out all possible combinations yourself. You can reassign or swap your perks and abilities at any time. Try to find the best combination for you.
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