There are a lot of enemies in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide. By this we mean there are literally thousands of enemies standing between you and your goals in each and every mission. Scattered amongst this plague-ridden, heretical horde is one enemy that stands above all others – both in terms of stature and potency.
Of course, we are talking about the devastating Plague Ogryn. If you thought your ally Ogryn’s were hardy folk, then you’re in for a treat with these Nurgle-infested monstrosities. Towering above even their fellow demi-humans and having more than enough endurance to take an army’s worth of fire, these are not enemies you want to take lightly. Missions can, and will, end abruptly if you are not prepared for them.
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What Are Plague Ogryns?
Plague Ogryns are regular Ogryns who have been infested with Nurgle’s vile fruit. They are about twice as large and have gigantic health pools and an unnatural resistance to pain and injury. They are pulsating, moist, destroyers who use their sheer mass to brute force their way through combat.
They are devastating enemies that can take more damage than even some bosses, deal staggering amounts of damage in return, and act as mini-bosses. Underestimating these enemies will lead to a swift defeat, and fighting one alone is a death sentence.
How Do Plague Ogryns Spawn?
Plague Ogryns are mostly random. During our time with Darktide, we noticed they had preferred spawn areas in each mission, but there was no guarantee they would spawn there every time, and in fact, sometimes they never spawned. They seemed to spawn more regularly when the team we were in were doing especially well.
Plague Ogryns can spawn in multiple ways to boot. Firstly, they can come as a single entity. These are usually easier to deal with as you don’t have anything else to worry about. They announce their arrival with a roar, and in most instances, your team will comment on their approach.
Sometimes, however, Plague Ogryns get a bit tricky and spawn during an ongoing battle. These are far more dangerous as you could have hundreds of enemies fighting you at the same time. This forces you to split your attention, which is exactly what the Plague Ogryn wants.
In either case, Plague Ogryns are deadly.
How To Kill Plague Ogryns
Plague Ogryns are brutal, but they can be felled with a well-coordinated team. As a general rule, you want to distract them with your frontline characters, and then have your powerful ranged allies unleash as much pain as they can.
For distraction duty, Zealots and Ogryns are perfect, as both of these have increased Health in addition to bonuses to their defences. Ogryns simply take less damage, whilst Zealots heal faster when in the thick of melee. You want to prioritise blocking and dodging when running this role as Plague Ogryns can still beat you to death despite your tankier nature.
When at a range, you want to use everything at your disposal. Sharpshooters should be throwing grenades, activating their damage buff, and firing constantly – ideally aiming for the head. Psykers on the other hand want to stay even further back and use their powers to deal massive damage to the Plague Ogryn with Brain Burster. They can also activate their Force Weapons and go for a sneaky stab in a pinch.
Provided you work together, you should be fine.
What To Look Out For When Fighting Plague Ogryns
The big thing to look out for is aggro when fighting Plague Ogryns. These guys may be hulking brutes, but they aren’t stupid. They are attracted to characters who are dealing lots of damage. This typically means your squishy Sharpshooters and Psykers. This is not a good thing, so your frontline needs to be dealing as much damage as they can in melee whilst keeping their guards up.
Importantly, do not run mindlessly away from a Plague Ogryn. The last thing you want to do is pull other enemies into the battle, or worse yet, trigger a horde event. The best thing you can do is pull out a melee weapon and guard/dodge whilst your frontline regains aggro.
Finally, be careful of ledges. Plague Ogryns deals a lot of knockback and AOE damage. They can knock you off the map, putting you into a recovery state. If your entire team enters this state, you instantly lose. Watch your footing, and try to lure the Ogryn to a safe location.
That’s all we have on Plague Ogryns. Keep an eye out for more Darktide guides. Faith in the Emperor, convicts.
