Despite its appearance, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is more than just a simple horde shooter. It stands out from its peers with its fleshed-out melee combat as well as its looter-shooter-style RPG mechanics. Unfortunately, some parts of the latter are poorly explained, leaving many players scratching their heads as to what exactly their items are doing.
Rending is one such unexplained mechanic in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide that plays a crucial part in gameplay. It's almost mandatory in high-difficulty missions, and players should have at least one weapon in their inventory that can inflict this effect.
Darktide: Rending Explained
Rending is comparable to armor penetration effects found in other games. The higher the Rending, the more of a target's armor is ignored. Blessings that provide Rending percentage increase the weapon's armor penetration by the specified amount. Meanwhile, Blessings that inflict Rending decrease the target's armor based on the number of stacks inflicted. The video above showcases a Shredder Autopistol's damage against a Damnation-level Crusher with and without Rending.
Rending affects both Carapace and Flak Armor, though it is most effective against the former. Carapace Armor is the toughest enemy armor type in the game, and players usually need specific weapons in order to deal good damage to it, like Plasma Guns, Combat Axes, Bolters, and Power Swords.
However, if players can get enough sources of Rending, then even a Shredder Autopistol will be able to take down Crushers with relative ease. This is mainly possible only with a Veteran, as the class has access to two skills that grant them innate Rending. Killing Crushers with ballistic weapons can also be done as long as the target has enough stacks of Rending to make them vulnerable.
Darktide: Rending vs Brittleness
In short, Rending and Brittleness are almost the same. Applying Rending stacks to an enemy is the same as applying stacks of Brittleness. The only time Rending and Brittleness are different is when Rending percentage is involved.
For example, the Can Opener Blessing for Ogryn Ripperguns applies +1-4 stacks of Rending to a target, making them more vulnerable to all sources of damage. The same armor-shredding effect can also be done by Bolters with the Shattering Impact Blessing, which applies stacks of Brittleness that also reduce the armor of targets.
Meanwhile, the Hand-Cannon Blessing for the Stub Revolver grants +70% Rending on Critical Hit, which means only that Critical Hit dealt by shooter deals increased Rending and nothing more. Any other Blessing that grants percentage Rending bonuses will only affect the user of the weapon and not their teammates.
In any case, both Rending and Brittleness are mandatory in Heresy and Damnation difficulties where Crushers, Maulers, and Scab Ragers are at their deadliest. Bolters are the most ideal weapons to have Rending-related Blessings on, though Thunder Hammers, Axes, Force Swords, and Power Swords also fit the bill nicely.
It's good to always have a dedicated anti-armor player in a squad, preferably a Veteran with either a Plasma Gun or a Mk III Helbore Lasgun. Both weapons are capable of taking down Crushers in one shot if the Veteran has enough Rending or if the target is made Brittle enough.
Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is available now on PC and Xbox Series X/S.