What Does Penance Do In Darktide?

Understand the Penance system in warhammer 40000 darktide. See your Penance Score, achievements, and cosmetic rewards.

The Penance system in warhammer 40000 darktide is not immediately obvious and is tucked away without much explanation. While you may see notifications for completing specific Penances, like the 'Long Bomb', understanding its full purpose requires digging deeper.

At present, Penance appears to be a tally of achievements you have accomplished. A select few of these achievements come with a cosmetic reward, but most seem to only award points. These points are added to an ongoing tally at the top right of your Penance screen, serving primarily as a low-key bragging right, as there is no confirmed use for them currently. There are rumors that Penance Points may be spendable in the future, suggesting this might be a mechanic waiting to be implemented.

Some Penances are exceptionally difficult to achieve, often requiring a supportive team while you focus on personal objectives, all for a small amount of Penance points that currently have no use. This reinforces the assumption that it is a future mechanic.

How To See Your Penance In Darktide

To access your Penance, press the ESCAPE key to bring up the options screen. Penance is located here, alongside options like Save Game and Settings, which seems unintuitive as it is not on the character screen. This may change in a future update.

Once you enter the Penance option, you will see your current Penance Score and a list of recently completed achievements, as well as those you are close to obtaining. A menu on the left-hand side allows you to explore character-specific Penances or those based on Attack or Defence. You can also see which Penances offer cosmetic rewards. Clicking on some Penances on the right-hand side will provide more detailed information.