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The Arbitrators of the Adeptus Arbites have arrived inWarhammer 40K: Darktide, and with them comes the long reach of the Lex Imperialis. These enforcers are frighteningly good at close-quarters combat, making them an excellent choice for players who want to play as a tanky frontline fighter.
There are multiple ways to build an Arbitrator inDarktide, and if you’re looking for something simple but effective, then going the full melee route might be the best thing to do. This guide is for those who want to get into the thick of combat and dispense brutal justice upon the hordes of traitors and heretics in Tertium.
Wrecking Ball Arbites Build - Skill Tree
Key Skills
The images above show thebare minimum skills you need to get this melee Arbitrator build going. We’ll be leaving our lovely dog behind in favor of bonus stats and an overall easier/simpler playstyle. Instead of micromanaging the Cyber Mastiff, we’re just going to charge at the enemy and introduce their faces to our Shock Maulbuffed by the Lone Wolf skill.Carapace armor is going to be a bit of a problem, but not so much that they’d make the build unusable in high difficulties.
Spend your remaining skill points on what you think you need based on your playstyle. Although, we do recommend taking more skills on the right hand side of the skill tree, as they’ll give you better melee damage.
Shock Maul and Suppressor Shield
Damage (Unarmored)
Melee Weapon
This build’s primary weapon will be theShock Maul and Suppressor Shield. Not only does it give youprotection from ranged attacks, but it is alsoinsanely good at controlling crowds thanks to its Special ability, which stuns and suppresses all enemies in a large area in front of you when used.
Hammerblowincreases your weapon’s Impact, making it easier to stagger or knock enemies down. Meanwhile,High Voltagemakes your Shock Maul deal more damage versus electrocuted enemies. Refine your Shock Maul with Damage (Maniacs) and Damage (Flak Armor) tobetter deal with Scab and Dreg Ragers(they’ll die in four hits or so on Auric difficulty).
Ranged Weapon
As for ranged weapons, you have two options:the Bolt Pistol and the Zarona Stub Revolver. These do the same job — take outranged Elites and Specialistsin one or two shots. Arbitrators have relatively low mobility, and without their dog or Break the Line, they’ll be vulnerable toMachine Gunners, Snipers, and regular shooters, butif you play like an Ogryn, you’ll be fine. These weapons will help you deal with those guys efficiently (except for the shooters since they’re too many and you likely won’t have enough ammo for all of them).
Bolt Pistols with 500 damage, Flak Armor and Unarmored damage bonuses, and stacks of Terminus Warrant with the Writ of Judgment skill cankill Auric-level Dreg and Scab Gunners with one non-critical shot to the face. They can also kill Crushers with a full magazine to the body.
If you’re having trouble with Monstrosities like Plague Ogryns,use a Boltgun. However, since it’s incredibly slow to draw, you won’t be able to use it in the thick of combat. Still, with the right Blessings, it can deal significant damage to bosses with just one clip, especially if you’ve stacked yourTerminus Warrant Capstone skill.
