In Darktide, the Rejects of the Imperium of Man are the expendable force employed to save the Hive City of Tertium. One of the many missions you will inevitably embark on in Darktide is an assassination mission to eliminate a traitor captain boss who has taken a fortified prison inside the Hive City.
In this short guide, we will give you a breakdown of the best way to beat this boss encounter. Moreover, we will provide some tips to assist you in eliminating this traitorous heretic.
Traitor Captain Boss Fight Breakdown
During the Darktide beta, we noticed that every time we began the boss fight, the Captain had a different name each time we fought them. Therefore, to avoid confusion, we will be referring to them as the Captain since they always have that title.
The Captain’s arena is small and has little cover besides four pillars in the center of the room. You can utilize these small pillars to break their line of sight and avoid the majority of the damage. At the start of the fight, the Captain will drop down from the balcony with their shotgun equipped. Ideally, the boss will primarily focus on one member of your group. If they do, they will slowly walk toward them while peppering them with shotgun blasts.
On lower difficulties, being struck with every pellet of the Captain’s shotgun will remove about 50% of your Toughness, but on harder difficulties, one shotgun blast will fully break your Toughness.
While the Captain is focused on one of your teammates, it’s vital to break his shield as quickly as possible. If the Captain isn’t focused on while his shield is up, the barrier will regenerate and thus slow your progress on defeating them. However, when their barrier finally breaks, they will be stunned for a few seconds, allowing you to take a chunk out of their HP before their shield returns.
Following this pattern is a relatively safe way to defeat the Traitor Captain boss during this assassination mission in Warhammer 40K: Darktide. However, it won’t be quite this simple for the whole fight. Read on to find out how deal with this boss when he enrages and enters melee range.
His Enrage Phase will Bring the Traitor Captain into Melee Range
Periodically, or whenever the traitor Captain boss suffers too much damage, they will enrage and switch to their melee weapon while continuing to chase down one target at a time. It’s best to dodge and avoid the Captain if you are being chased, as it’s extremely hard to stagger them during their enrage phase.
The traitor Captain boss has a few different melee moves in Darktide. These include a shove, light attacks, and a heavy overhead slam. You can tank some of his light attacks if you have the Stamina. However, his overhead attack will break your guard and all of your Toughness. Moreover, it will deal roughly 40% of your HP, so avoid his heavy attack at all costs.
It’s also important to note that the Captain can enter their melee phase without becoming enraged. If they aren’t enraged, their damage and movement speed will be decreased. While they are slightly easier to duel when not enraged, they are still extremely dangerous.
Related Guide: 7 Tips and Tricks to Do Well in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide
The Back-Up Horde
The additional units (adds) you encounter during boss fights in Darktide are pretty standard, especially if you are familiar with Vermintide 2. Still, the way this boss fight works makes additional enemies a more significant threat than you might realize. During the opening of the boss fight and throughout the battle, there will be short periods where adds will spawn. Adds will always spawn from the balcony or the railings on the room’s left and right sides.
Not only will you be swarmed by a horde of Darktide’s Pox Walkers, but typically a pair of Scab Maulers will enter the boss fight while you try to take down the Traitor Captain. Along with the boss switching between ranged and melee, it takes a lot of work to deal with hordes. This is especially true since the boss loves to focus on one player at a time.
Clear the hordes quickly by keeping an eye on the spawn locations. Butcher them before they have a chance to fan out across the battlefield.
The Scab Maulers will take longer to bring down, but the sooner you can deal with the horde, the more you can focus on the boss. Also, be mindful of the explosive barrels placed around the arena. They are just as harmful to you as they are to the enemy, so be careful where you stand.
Bringing Down the Assassination Target in this Darktide Mission: the Traitor Captain
Now that we have gone over the fight, let’s have a quick rundown of the cycle and how to dispatch the traitor captain boss quickly in this Darktide assassination mission. Since the boss primarily focuses on one target in their ranged and melee phases, whoever is being targeted should continue to flee and stay behind cover while your team begins to break their shield.
The boss will switch targets or enter an enrage phase. If they enter into melee, you can choose to duel them, but it would still be wise to continue to dodge their blows while your team continues to bring them down.
When a Darktide horde spawns, whoever the traitor captain boss isn’t chasing should try to quickly eliminate as many adds as possible before your team is overwhelmed. If the adds aren’t dealt with quickly, more will continue to spawn, and the room will be swarmed with enemies. You can use the explosive barrels to help thin out some of the hordes, but be careful and know where your teammates are before trying to detonate one.
It’s extremely important to clear the adds before trying to whittle down the boss’s barrier. Only focus on the boss when there are no other significant threats. If you face any challenges dealing with the hordes, check out some of our other Darktide combat tips.
The reason you must eliminate the hordes is if you become overwhelmed and everyone is focused on cutting through Pox Walkers, the boss’s shield will regenerate unless someone continues to damage them. The window you have to damage the boss’s HP while their shield is down is small, especially since you don’t want to miss the window to damage them when their barrier breaks.
Related Guide: How to Build the Ogryn Skullbreaker Character Class in Darktide
Use your Resources Wisely
Before you enter the elevator and proceed to the Traitor Captain’s boss room, there is a slight reprieve. You can stock up on ammo and grenades during the Assassination mission in Darktide. Often enough, there will be some ammo boxes and other supplies to help you stay topped off during the fight. Yet, that’s your only chance to replenish your resources while facing the boss.
Due to the boss’s replenishing shield, unlimited adds, and limited arena space to maneuver around, your resources will run dry if the boss encounter continues for too long. Manage your resources and ping your allies that someone dropped an ammo box or some healing before it’s too late.
If you or one of your Darktide allies is playing with and building the Veteran Sharpshooter class, their ability to replenish and conserve ammunition can help alleviate some of your ammunition resource concerns during this battle.
TLDR: How to Beat the Assassination Boss Fight in Darktide
- The boss focuses on one target at a time. Whoever is being hunted should stay in cover and maintain a good distance from the boss.
- While the traitor captain boss is focused on your ally in Darktide, focus them down to break their shield. Their shield will regenerate if there isn’t enough focus on the boss.
- Once the Captain’s shield breaks, they will be stunned for a few seconds, allowing you to land several blows while they are defenseless.
- Adds will spawn, which includes a few Scab Maulers. You can quickly butcher the adds from one of three dropdown points at the back of the arena.
- Clear the adds before continuing to damage the boss since the window to damage their HP while their shield is down is extremely limited.
- Be careful about the boss’s melee phase/enrage phase. They will continue to focus one player down, and their heavy melee attacks can two-shot you on higher difficulties. If you are being chased during their enrage phase, prioritize dodging over fighting back. However, if they aren’t enraged but still in melee, you can attempt to fight back but still prioritize dodging if you are being focused.
- Be mindful of the limited cover you have in the Traitor Captain’s boss arena. There are four pillars you can use to avoid the boss’s shotgun blasts and bigger open areas to dodge circles around them while in their melee phase.
- There are several explosive barrels around the area, so watch your fire in case your teammates may be near them.
- Rinse and repeat until you slay the heretic Captain boss during the Assassination mission in Darktide.
- The traitor boss captain is a challenging boss, yet he’s by no means the game’s most challenging. Check out our companion guide for insights into how to defeat a Daemonhost boss, which is a truly terrifying boss you can encounter randomly during a Power Supply event.
Wrap-Up of Our Guide on How to Defeat the Traitor Captain Boss during the Assassination Mission in Darktide
The assassination mission was one of our favorite missions in the Darktide beta and was significantly memorable because of the fantastic soundtrack during the boss fight. Hopefully, Darktide’s other boss fights will be just as impressive as this one.
Also, be mindful of your class’s strengths during this fight. For instance, remember that the Psykinetic Psyker class in Darktide has the ability to use Brain Burster while behind cover. Additionally, consider a Zealot builds’ ability to land a critical hit after the boss’s barrier breaks. Hopefully, this short guide has helped you deliver the Emperor’s judgment.
If you’ve enjoyed this guide on how to defeat the Traitor Captain boss, we think you may really benefit from our Darktide beginners guide. This companion guide covers everything you need to know to get started on the right foot in this action-packed game.
If you found this guide useful, or if you have any other guidance to offer your fellow Darktide players, feel free to use the chat feature below. We always enjoy engaging with our readers!
Good hunting Rejects!
