Who are the ‘Dregs’ in Darktide? 

“Oh man, these guys are great! Thanks for helping us deal with those water cartel goons.” “Anytime! So, you guys ready for the plague?” “The what?”

One small correction: The "groaners", the ones you can hear crying for help or death, aren't poxwalkers...yet. They are merely infected people, slaves/peasants working in the hive that have been corrupted, willingly or not, into Nurgle's service. They are still alive, and are aware at least of what they are doing. But death is a mercy for them, as their life will be nothing but suffering. The poxwalkers are the ones you see that are completely deformed: horns growing out of them at weird parts, no voice left, and when you strike them, it's not the crimson flow of blood that comes out--it's maggots. They are dead in every meaningful sense, walking corpses animated only by the living, sentient plague that infects them. Some believe that inside, the victim still knows what is happening to them, but they have no say, no will left. In gameplay terms, groaners or shamblers are unarmored, and poxwalkers are infested.

So let me get this straight; the water cartel kept water from people and the people who couldn't shower and became filthy and then became Nurgle worshipers? That's like the best origin story ever!

Some things of note: Infection vectors in Nurgle's plagues don't always.... apply conventional logic. There's moments in lore where simply hearing the infected sing their songs of plague can start the process. Sometimes it's just looking at them. But other times you can be knee deep in the dead and stay strong. It's said not to be just a physical plague, but one of the soul as well. I mean in lore you SHOULD be shooting out of both ends in the presence of a beast of Nurgle, while your lasgun actively rusts and breaks apart/decays in your hands. For obvious reasons, that's not a thing in gameplay, but I just wanted to bring it up lol

Willpower plays a part in resistance to Nurgle's plagues, as it is a sickness of the spirit as much as the body. The rejects have lots of willpower. The Veteran has been through many battles without breaking before and shields their mind with extensive protocol, rationalization, and just enough knowledge to know how to beat the enemy without knowing too much. The Zealot has devoted themselves body and soul entirely to the God Emperor and has nothing but hatred in their heart for his enemies, their faith is so absolute that they committed some kind of atrocity that went OVERBOARD in the Emperor's service to earn a criminal conviction. The Psyker's mastery of the warp helps to guard their spirit against warp-influenced sickness while also being utterly disgusted by all the extra corrupted voices and warp glimmers they see in the cult, they know that as brutal as the Imperium is, what they're fighting is way worse. And the Ogryn doesn't know much but his heart is motivated with promises of bonus rations and a chance to have lots of fun stomping bad guys to make the Emprah happy, which is way more than what the cult can offer him. He doesn't want to turn into a sick, lumpy mess, he's plenty strong without them.

5:09 really got me, the way you just looked at the wall being peppered with bullets 💀

I like to think the single "corrupted" left eye on the Dreg Shooters is a form of "initiation" to join the cult, something along the lines of idk...being the eyes of the Plague God or something like that xD, maybe it also helps them see better in the dark and such. That, or it's just the fact that Dreg Shooters (and most enemies) share a single model (with small changes)

I think that it’s interesting how when you fight in the more upper portions of the hive the infested have a change in wardrobe, def sporting more of an upper class look. Def empathizes the whole class struggle in the hive

Ngl, as a big 40k lore freak.... I love this shit. The most beautiful part of it to me is how.... self-inflicted it all is? I think a lot of 40k fans, and Imperium fans especially, are under the impression that the Imperium is so terrible to live in as a necessity. That the horrid working conditions and squalor forced upon the masses are the price that must be paid to keep humanity afloat in a galaxy full of horrors, when in actuality they are the very thing eating it from the inside. Chaos is allowed to fester, not from some sinful, inherent flaw of the soul, but by desperation, by the cruel, needlessly polished bootheel of those lucky enough to be elevated by the systems with which mankind hastens its own end. The cults call to the starving, the downtrodden, promising just a sliver of hope that has been crushed out by those who claim to see His holy designs. To blame them for answering, to mark them as mere fools, is to hand a gift of victory to Hel, wrapped in unearned pride.

Hopefully we can get more lore on the Scabs and the Dregs. Who are their leaders and what are their goals?

Nurgle's plague is not just a physical sickness as we know it, it's also a corruption of the soul. In the world of 40K, Faith truly has weight and power.However, Nurgle's rot normally acts by infecting you and making you so sick that it eats away at your will and resolve to the point that you give up and start wishing for death instead but despite it all, you still cling on to life and that's when Nurgle comes in and makes his offer that you will no longer feel any pain if you embrace him. I theorise that our characters actually do get sick but their hate for Chaos covers them in the "armour of contempt" which protects them from the soul corruption, so when they come back they go through a form of quarantine, get treated, decontaminated then back on the ship they go. But as a result of that they will never be free as fighting Chaos is a death sentence in itself but they get to fight against the Emperor's enemies for as long as they stand or their soul's armour break.

I painted up my chaos cultists to look like the Darktide dregs, they came out pretty good.

There’s dialogue during a mission where the veteran asks Lola about a “sister Hive” to the main hive where the game is set, but she just shuts the question down saying “that’s classified, soldier”. This raises a bunch of questions and theories about what happened there, but my theory is that the sister hive was something of a ground-zero, and the situation there was so bad that the inquisition declared it a lost cause and either performed a local exterminatus, or perhaps even the Grey Knights are on deployment there; which would of course be a secret to literally everyone except the top brass of the Imperial forces in the system, and maybe unbeknownst even to them. Just a thought, but I think it makes sense. Ties back also to a previous Dan Abnett narrative where Vervunhive was besieged by the entire population of its sister hive which had fallen to Chaos.

The dregs are the cult leaders? So that's why the traitor guard bows to them in that one cut scene! We all assumed they were the leaders because they were stronger and that it was just a mistake but it makes sense now!

Great summary! I had no idea that the upper houses within Atoma were to blame for the cults. Some psyker voicelines hint that there is something buried deep beneath Tertium's surface which must be destroyed, so I am interested to see if we learn anything else about that.

Curiously in the game it isnt often seen that the Moebian 6th and the Cult are working together so i kind of wonder if maybe the leaders of the respective factions have differing plans that dont necessarily have them hate each other, but more so kind of have a distrustful partnership to one another. Would make some sense as infighting is common in chaos factions and as far as we know currently the leaders of the two groups are likely human mortals. Most definately likely that the leader of the Moebian 6th is a Colonel, Commissar, or some other ranking officer. Where as the Cult is potentially lead by either a Powerful and spiteful house, psyker, or a Heretical Ganger leader. These two leader types would definately have very differing opinions on how to go about corrupting Tertium and Atoma. Would be nice though if the Cultists had a expanded weapon set to reflect that they dont have standardized weapons instead of just having all the ranged guys with Space AK-47.

I think the cults name is partly because of how nurgle is as a faction, like how nurgle feels he is being generous when offering mortals his blessing, and is annoyed or sad when they reject his offer, but simply believes that they are being ignorant. In his eyes, he is showing mortals a better path, so the name admonition fits a decent amount of the faction as a whole.

Great video, I play this game all the time and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a succinct explanation of what has been going on. It’s also really interesting to see all the parallels between it and Necromunda lore, in addition to some of the enemies being almost direct copies of units from the Necromunda tabletop game

From my own gleaming's of the game, the hive atoma is, Karked for a lack of a better term, there is [a?] demon intertwining itself within the hive, long and interconnected. Further, their grimoires aren't...Normal. For a chaos cult. They have spinning gears, things less about the plague and more about. Machines. It is my belief that the forces arrayed on Atoma has a dark mechanicus / Mechanical bent, which in my limited knowledge, is odd for a nurgle cult. And perhaps explains why they are so keen of taking the metal. It is also my belief that the hive is doomed, as the self spreading daemon cannot be easily removed without simply destroying the hive. It has infested the walls. The ordo malleus, the inquisition arm interwoven with fighting daemonic things, should probably be called over. But the odd counterpoint is, that it simply hasn't done the expected. The hive isn't one continuous mash of daemon self perpetual growth. It is moving. Slowly. And that alone means there is still time for the planet itself.

ive always wondered why there's no gangers down there... your explanation does make sense though, and ive never noticed the dead ganger corpses either in all my 600+ hrs. crazy

Thanks for making a Lore video on Darktide! The lore in-game is rather piecemeal, and while that makes it fun to learn and put it together, it also means we can't really directly reference much of this stuff. Feels like there needs to be a Vaatividya for this game to dig up all the hidden lore.

It’s interesting how Grendyl’s forces didn’t know about the cult. They seemed to believe at first this was a regiment turning traitor. It’s not until the sycorax mission that they suspected the moebian sixth had help. I wonder if they’ll be a mission where we have to capture or eliminate someone of the HVTs of the cult to learn more about them.

I have another theory though it could tie into yours. I think the Cult of Admonition started as something different. A localized version of the Imperial Creed that had very strong populistic sentiments. This is far from unheard of in 40k, even IRL in our modern age within geographical regions there are aspects of faith that are different (for example Roman Catholic bishops in Hong Kong don't wear certain colors as some of their usual colors are assumed to be bad luck). And with the Imperium as massive as it is (and the still lingering scars of the last time there was one version of the Imperial Creed) the Imperium and Ecclesiarchy tolerate a lot of different views. As for what the Cult of Admonition's original tenets were I'd have to say in addition to populistic treatment of the common hiver it also preached asceticism, repentance, and a general criticism of the ruling class' extravagance. You see this a lot as well in 40k, just look at the Cult of Redemption. Or the Cult of the Four Armed Emperor. As it's also not unheard of for Chaos and other hostile forces to use the mask of religion, in the form of a mystery cult, to lure in recruits. Whether the cult was a Nurgle cult all along or it was corrupted along the way, I'm not sure if it even matters. The rise to power, combatting the cartels, establishing order in the underhive, that still flies, but less as a disciplined political paramilitary and more the fanatical zealotry of a crusade or jihad. And as for their infiltration of the upper hive, the Barquette's could have been funneling money to them all along, hoping to use them as a catspaw. Or, and perhaps more insidiously, the Barquettes got subtly taken over by the cult. It wouldn't be the first time a cult took over a house, just look at House Cawdor.

Darktide is my favorite game. And this is now my favorite lore vid.

Really good video my lad I'd be curious if you could do a dive into the lore of other 40k games

Vatividya for Darktide. Excellent.

I get a “FilmComicsExplained” vibe from you and I absolutely love it.

I wish there were more presentation of other chaos in this game.

good lore dump, really cleared up a lot of the who what when where and why.

Bruh, you gave me more answers and insight in 10 minutes than Fatshark has in over a year, shame that such interesting lore is being left at the wayside in favour of more $20 cosmetic sets

I’ve always found the Dregs more annoying to deal with, especially in larger groups. They are surprisingly resilient to attacks, I was left dumbfounded many times when the Dreg I’ve just shot my plasma into is not yet a smear of burnt gore staining the wall. That resilience may be due to Nurgle’s gifts, as an unarmoured Dreg is almost as tough or, dare I say, just as tough as a flak armoured Scab.

Tbh, lets be honest. The Inquisition stepping in may not really be enough for Tertium or Atoma. Inquisitorial strike teams may be doing well, or getting slaughtered, but what's really needed at least are a few loyal Guard regiments to step in as well. They have both the numbers *and* equipment numerous enough to turn tides in hive cities. A single ship under the service of the Inquisition along with whatever forces already in the hive wont be enough, way i see it.

Great video! I wish the game gave us more story info, since they went to the trouble of hiring Dan Abnett.

Precisely what I’ve been looking for, video about the main overlooked element of darktide. Hope to see this channel grow, perfect video ! ✌🏻

Why does your video have more lore than all of Darktide's storytelling? excellent video, I'm sharing this with friends.

Keep up this quality and this channel will blow up broski. Subbed.

Nice vid! It remindes of watching lore videoes on Elden Ring or Dark Souls. I really like how you put all of the lore together in an "character voice" and not news guy

Bro what is this and why is it the perfect kind of video I wanted, recommended on my RU-vid front page; who are you, and why do I feel like you're about to be my number one favorite content creator.

Nice video mate 👍 Good choice on the chill background music and a good voiceover too

Walking Pox spreads by physical means (as in touch, fluids, airborne, waterborne) and by their groans and other zombie vocalizations (power of the warp). But as is the power of the Warp, strong belief that you cannot be infected can be enough to keep people safe from final stages of infection, afterwards it is quarantine for the people and often extermination, but for the rejects, they have the advantage of the Inquisition seeing some value of their servants, so they will often get medical treatment afterwards.

Damn, your videos have such a high production quality... I'm really happy to have found your channel :) Can't wait to see your growth, keep going!

great video man. well done

Lemon Russ battletanks 🍋🍋🍋

Good video! Interesting analysis of the lore, kinda forgot that it was in the game lol, thanks for reminding me :D

Excellent overview - thanks!

Interesting, interesting. +1 sub

This explains so much of the game background. Yes it makes sense now.

Great and informative video!

Thanks for the video

i often hear them groan morphing into a strained cry for help

Frug? Played with you recently. You are actually one of the best Ogryn I've seen. Great content, my friend.

Am getting a feeling that our rejects will fight one of the noble houses as we rise further in Turtium.

Love your theory!

Nice to see a Darktide lore video! The game does have some interesting lore and a few mysteries in character dialoque but honestly the game just doesn't do a great job at presenting it.

Sure am glad we have all these cutscenes in which none of this information appears

Great video - please go and work for Fatshark!

thank you for presenting information on my prey. it helps me feel better culling.

Ah yes. Lore, stories, background infos: coming together in good worldbuilding.... TOO BAD THERE IS 0% OF THAT IN THE F**KING GAME.

I always thought the Dregs were followers of the corrupted Guard regiment and that guardsman fell to chaos off world but hid it from higher ups until returning to their home world

More darktide lore plz it absolutely sells lol

This is really cool. It would be nice if all this cool lore was ever talked about, you know, in the actual game..... I love this game. I really do, but some of the missed opportunities are SOOOO frustrating. What exactly did Dan Abnett get to do after they brought him on again?

Finally! Some lore on the enemy!

The fact the cult has endured and grown beyond something that could be controlled shows the nature of Nurgle perfectly. It shows the endurance of Nurgle and its spread can be compared to that of diseases and plagues.

"Don't care. FIGHTING!"

0:22 in terms of smell, appearance, living in an echo chamber, and inability for others to tolerate being around them? Yes. Reddit moderators.

H... holy shit. OCE servers? I think the Zealot in the footage named Zapard is me! Same frame, same wounds, same weapons... Thank you for the video, im glad to have watched it!

5:14 - I know that nade felt good to throw

We're witnessing the birth of a great wh channel

This Ogryn knows his shit

Have you got a vid on the scabs as well. I noticed there are these two enemy types but I never thought to ask why or what they were

thanks for the lore, nice to know who you're slaughtering in Darktide.

Could you talk about the guy we track and kill during the assasination missions or is it just supposed to be a cult key figure?

Where did you find these details? Id love to do some reading myself.

all i know about dregs is that if you crump'em really hard they usually dont get back up.

I often wondered why/how things got so bad in the hive and there's only one answer. Neglect something the Imperium is all too familiar with.

It’s important to note in Warhammer chaos cults are often only the weakest wave of chaos infestation and what comes next aka Deamons (in this case nurgle) are a much more credible threat and should a greater demon be summoned the world is likely already lost

IMO it sounds like house Margrave is using the cult to end the Barquette (Barkett?) domination of Atoma as the Margraves called the 6th back.

what is playing in the back-ground?? its so calming:)

Ah yes how COVID was brought to the Mobian umderhivers in the form of Help. It's a familiar story 🤣

Something u kinda get wrong you mention Pox Walkers but then show a Nurgle Zombie. They're two seperate Contagions

In Mordheim the undead Thrall type minions are called Dregs aswell..just a fun fact from an old dude ha.

Finally! I'm so sick and tired of seeing the same Chaos Undivided Cultists and the same Khornate Cultists. I want to see more Nurgle Cultists like these guys or even better. What about Tzeentch Cultists or Slaaneshi Cultists.

I think civilians and gangers of the hive.

I wonder if vermintide 2 is still active, sounds like it has a good story from what people have said

Is Frug just a common ogryn name, or have we played together?

They probably have better hygiene than a Reddit mod.

Thiis is good

Now I feel bad for them… the living conditions are so bad that the people saw a religious cult worshiping odd Gods preferable over the gangs of the planet. I have seen the gangs bodies all over the place mauled to death, with such hatred they were torn to pieces. It seems every one is just desperate for even the most basic of things… like clean water.

Wow. As a reject. I just assumed they were more irregular civilian troops. But they are actually more like a terrorist organisation.

lot of lore here. where do you get all this info?

It's crazy that you make content equal to like 100k , 200k sub channels but people dont realize this... time to bump that sub counter up

Gonna be real honest, when I saw the spikes on the armor of the Dregs in that first cutscene when I first turned on Darktide, I was getting real hopeful that it was Blood Pact, instead of a Nurgle-branded rip-off.

We need traitorous guardsmen tertium

Who are the dregs? 🤔 Cannon fodder 😈😈

I think we will see Iron warriors but that's just a wish

Don’t go to the other hives reports of possible gene Steeler activity

Something that always puzzled me is how do the public know how heroic the Moebius reg is, when they do't even know what they are fighting? For all they know its just some bogus propaganda BS.

I wish we could have missions outside the hive im so bored of the same gray hallway maps

Okay. But why Nurgle and not one of the other gods?

Bro I played a match with you recently thanks for carrying bruh