[Update #2]: Darktide's Patch 1.02 has now brought in a bunch of small but meaningful balance tweaks, fixes and improvements.

[Update]: Warhammer 40,000: Darktide studio Fatshark are suspending new content, microtransactions and the Xbox version in order to focus on much-needed fixes.

As a part of the recent update Darktide added a brand new map to explore, two new weapons to bonk Nurgle cultists over the head with, private lobbies so you can play with your friends, as well as a couple of balance tweaks and improvements to help spice everything up. Unfortunately, the update also brought with it two massive problems for the Psyker class.

While the original intent was for the Psyker's Surge Force Staff to get fancy new visuals that would better represent its true power, the new special effects were so bright and flashy that they practically blinded the user and everyone around them. The second problem was a lot less obvious, though just as annoying. Basically, when attempting to quell your peril (aka recharge your magic power) there was a chance that you would just kind of stand there for two full seconds before anything actually happened. Not exactly ideal given that you're usually quelling when you really, really need to get another blast out!

Thankfully, both of these issues have been fixed with today's hotfix. The Surge Force Staff has gone back to its old visuals for the time being, while the quelling bug has been well and truly squashed.

As an added bonus, the hotfix has also fixed a couple of the more common crashes, including the one that would occur when simply browsing store items. More work still needs to be done given that I frequently see one of my teammates crash during a mission, but things are definitely looking a whole lot better than at launch.

The one bad thing about this hotfix is that it has removed the extremely handy option for player outlines. Apparently they weren't functioning as intended, though what exactly the problem was I can't tell you as I personally found them to be immensely useful. Either way, they'll be back at some point in the future once Fatshark has managed to sort out the mysterious problem.

Once the next major update arrives, most likely in early 2023, I'll make sure to let you know. Until then, have fun slicing and dicing your way through hordes of baddies!