Ogryns are not the sharpest tool in the box, but what they lack in intelligence, they more than make up for it with brute strength. Unsurprisingly, Ogryns are the meat shields of Warhammer 40K Darktide and are a fantastic class to play as, especially if you're just getting started.
Ogryns will eventually have multiple careers to choose from, but for now, you can only play as a Skullbreaker. Skullbreakers are straightforward front-line fighters that rely primarily, though not exclusively, on melee weapons to get the job done.
9 Surprisingly Competent At Range
While melee weapons like the Club or the Latrine Shovel are your bread and butter when playing as an Ogryn, you do have a couple of very powerful ranged options as well. Granted, the Ogryn's starter ranged weapon, known as the Rumbler, isn't very good, but don't worry because you'll get access to much better guns later on, such as the Heavy Stubber or the Grenadier Gauntlet.
It's important to note that most of the weapons used by Ogryns take quite a while to reload, especially the aforementioned Rumbler. Luckily, you can use the special melee attack to keep enemies at bay while you're reloading. Keep in mind that this isn't the same as the alternate weapon attack, which is different for each gun.
8 Don't Rush Into Rushing
Every class in Warhammer 40K Darktide has a unique special ability, and the Ogryn is no different. The Bull Rush special ability allows Ogryns to charge head-first into enemies, knocking them aside and gaining temporary movement and attack speed at the end of the charge. The first thing to remember about Bull Rush is that it doesn't actually do any damage. If you're running into a horde of Poxwalkers, thinking you will obliterate all of them with a press of a button, you may be disappointed to find that they will slowly get knocked down.
Make sure you have a melee weapon equipped before you decide to rush because you'll probably have to use it. Also, never rush into a big group of powerful enemies unless you're sure you can take handle them at close range, especially if you don't have any teammates nearby.
7 Bull Rush Is More Versatile Than You Think
Speaking of Bull Rush, the ability can be used for much more than just initiating fights. For starters, you can use it to disengage enemies when you're starting to feel overwhelmed. Ogryns are the tankiest characters in Warhammer 40K Darktide, but they will go down quickly when surrounded by powerful enemies. When that happens, just pop a Bull Rush to reposition yourself and soften the hordes from range before you get back into the melee.
Another interesting way of using Bull Rush is to charge at enemies that are charging at you. More specifically, Mutants. Doing so requires good timing, but if you can pull it off, the two charging behemoths will essentially cancel each other out. That way, you will avoid getting smashed into the ground, which is almost guaranteed to happen if the charge from the Mutant connects.
6 The Emperor's Angel
Okay, so maybe calling Ogryns the Emperor's Angels is a bit of an exaggeration, but the class does excel at protecting and reviving teammates on the battlefield. Ogryn Skullbreakers get increased revive and assist speed while also being resistant to interrupts. That said, this generally only applies to weak enemies. For instance, if a Mutant charges you while you're reviving a teammate, it will interrupt the animation.
Even if a teammate is far away, you can use Bull Rush to close the distance and give them a helping hand. Reviving a teammate a bit faster than usual may not seem like a huge deal, but it can make a big difference in certain situations. Since Darktide doesn't have a dedicated support class, it generally falls on Ogryns to provide a bit of support whenever they can.
5 Non-Explosive Grenades
The Ogryn Skullbreaker's tactical ability is probably the strangest one in the game and also the funniest one. While other classes can throw individual grenades at enemies, Ogryns are able to throw entire boxes of them. Unfortunately, Ogryns are a bit too thick to understand that grenades need to be primed first, so they just throw the whole box like a rock instead.
The Box of Grenades ability can be a bit confusing for beginners. You generally want to throw grenades at hordes of enemies and watch the glorious destruction that follows, but in this case, the Box of Grenades is best used against powerful elite enemies or bosses. The Box of Grenades does a ton of damage, but it doesn't explode, so there is no point trying to use it for AoE because it won't work, and it will make you feel dumber than an Ogryn.
4 Explosive Grenades
This isn’t a build guide, but we do want to mention one of the Feats since it relates to the previous point. Once you reach level 10 as an Ogryn, you’ll get the option to grab the “Bombs Away!” perk, which changes how Box of Grenades works, but only during very specific situations.
With the perk active, throwing a Box of Grenades at an enemy will cause it to open and spill the grenades inside around the target. When this happens, the grenades will explode -- however, this only works when hitting Carapace Armored enemies. Box of Grenades will continue to function as a projectile when used against other types of enemies with or without the perk.
3 It's Generally Best To Avoid Heavy Melee
Warhammer 40K Darktide goes to great lengths to convince you to focus on heavy melee attacks as an Ogryn. Ogryn Skullbreakers have increased heavy melee damage, and there are certain skills you can acquire that give heavy melee attacks additional bonuses, such as replenishing the toughness of nearby teammates, to name just one example. However, focusing too much on heavy melee attacks is a bad idea more often than not.
Heavy melee attacks are painfully slow, and most enemies in this game are pretty fast. Needless to say, that's not a great combination. While you're preparing to perform a heavy melee attack, enemies will have plenty of opportunities to get a bunch of free hits in. The only time when it might be worth using heavy melee is when you're fighting a single powerful enemy, but even then, it's debatable.
2 The Ultimate Tank
Ogryns are inherently very resilient, thanks to their passive abilities and some skills they can acquire throughout the game. However, you can take things one step further by equipping your Ogryn Skullbreaker with a massive shield that can be used to actively mitigate incoming damage, including projectile. Shields can be acquired starting with level 12, so you won't get access to them right away, but it shouldn't take you more than a dozen or so games to get to that point.
What's interesting about the shield is that you can use it both as a defensive and an offensive tool. Equipping the shield automatically also equips a maul and you can bash enemies with either of them. Activating the shield's actual defensive stance will cause you to become immobile for the duration, so it's a good idea to do this only when there are no major threats nearby. The defensive stance is primarily designed to protect Ogryns against powerful ranged attacks and it does an absolutely stellar job at it.
1 Mountain of Meat
This tip won’t be of much use to you if you’re playing on lower difficulties but is invaluable once you decide to take things to the next level. When you’re playing Warhammer 40K: Darktide on higher difficulties, you’ll have a couple of additional things to worry about, including friendly fire. Unfortunately, friendly fire makes things especially difficult for Ogryns due to their sheer size and tendency to fight on the front line.
If you want to avoid getting shot by your allies more than your enemies, you’ll need to thread very carefully and try to constantly stay outside their line of fire. Suddenly charging in front of your allies is almost guaranteed to result in friendly fire. At the same time, you’ll need to be careful not to inflict friendly fire yourself, which means being especially careful when using the Grenadier Gauntlet.