The Daemonhost is the most lethal boss in the game so far and works similar to the Witch from Left 4 Dead and the Hag from Back 4 Blood, meaning you generally want to avoid this enemy if you can. The only glory you can gain from downing the Daemonhost is an achievement and saying you did it, otherwise it’s more of a nuisance than it is fun for most rejects.
Initially there were rumors that the Daemonhost can only be killed by a team with an Ogryn equipped with a Slab Shield, and those rumors do persist because the easiest way to directly deal with this boss is to have a shield-bearing Ogryn holding Defensive Stance. However, most teams don’t have an Ogryn with a shield and it would be a bit unreasonable for a boss to require something so specific, at least at threat levels lower than 4 (Heresy).
That said, the Daemonhost does require skill, awareness, and effort regardless of difficulty. And it is not recommended to engage at all if you are on Heresy difficulty and do not have an Ogryn with a Slab Shield. Just do not bother unless you are on a premade team who know what they’re doing. Actually, I probably would not recommend even engaging it in a Malice-level mission with random players unless you all agree to handle it.
It is possible to down this nuisance on Malice and below without the aforementioned shielded big’un, though, so let’s go into what you need to know about the Daemonhost.
How to Kill the Daemonhost in Darktide
Before we get into how to kill it, do be aware that you can avoid the Daemonhost completely in most circumstances. We’ll go into that after this section.
Does it wreak as much havoc as the Beast of Nurgle? No. Does it inevitably put a big dent in the entire team’s health like the Plague Ogryn? No. It just kills two of your team’s rejects and disappears like some sort of cruel joke.
Aggroing a Daemonhost in the middle of a horde or when dealing with more troublesome mutants can mean a full wipe for your team, so you’ll want to engage carefully if you do choose to do so and you have to hope everyone on is aware enough of its location and the danger it poses.
If you are unlucky enough to have had someone aggro a Daemonhost, keep the following points in mind:
The Daemonhost will knock out and then kill two players, one after the other. Both knocking them out and killing them take time, which you should be using to either get away from the boss or to focus fire it. Every second counts. You must focus-fire the Daemonhost if you intend to take it down. All of your team members need to prioritize it. The Daemonhost is immune to staggering, so don’t put effort into trying to knock it down. If you’ve got an Ogryn and you actually want to try to down the thing, you want the Ogryn to have the boss’s attention over anyone else whether it’s got a shield or not. Hopefully they are able to block for long enough that it’s either dead or nearly dead. Be aware of the Corruption level of whoever engages and holds aggro. If they are at high Corruption or just low health in general, you may not want to engage. There is far more wiggle room here if your Ogryn has a Slab Shield. Can you take it on without an Ogryn? Yes, below Malice. On Malice itself, it’s possible but it’s much easier with an Ogryn and it doesn’t need a shield to block through provided it doesn’t engage with drained Stamina. On Heresy, you do need an Ogryn with a Slab Shield.
How to Avoid the Daemonhost
Of course, you very well may not want to fight this boss because fighting it isn’t exactly fun. Luckily, this boss can be avoided completely.
The Daemonhost will whisper when it’s dormant, signalling to you and your team that it’s nearby. It’s impossible to miss provided you’ve got the game audio on (which you should), and its whispering can even be heard through walls.
You can see it easily when it’s dormant as well. The area around the resting Daemonhost will glow with green fog, with the boss itself curled up at the center. If someone gets a bit near the Daemonhost, it will stand in preparation of attack; if they get too close, it will initiate on its own. And if it’s shot first, it will attack whoever caught its attention.
As long as no one steps into the green glow or accidentally shoots it, the Daemonhost should stay dormant and let you pass. This should be your usual course of action, considering the risk involved in directly fighting it.
That’s almost all you need to know about taking on the Daemonhost boss in Warhammer 40k: Darktide, the game’s most cumbersome and annoying enemy. Check out our other Darktide guides on GameSkinny.
