# In Darktide, why could walking backwards switch the hordes off?

- Series: [How It Spawns](https://miu.fm/howitspawns.md)
- Published: 2026-10-18
- Page: https://miu.fm/howitspawns/in-darktide-why-could-walking-backwards-switch-the-hordes

## Story

In Darktide, why could walking backwards switch the hordes off?

A horde is a crowd of enemies sent at your team all at once, and the game's director decides how often. In Fatshark's own words, horde spawn frequency was "based primarily on distance traveled through the level": push further along the level's main path and the next horde gets closer; walk back and you're not getting further. Fatshark's patch notes for Havoc, March 2025: "This change was made as backtracking too far turned off hordes. Also it was changed to combat being able to predict roughly where hordes show up." So Havoc's hordes now rely "on timers", but "the amount of hordes allowed is still calculated based on main path traversal", and if you backtrack too far you may meet a new strike, the "Blockade sandwich". In September 2025 "Auric Maelstrom and Auric HI-INS" got "timer based hordes" too.

The street, the cubes, the furthest-point mark and the bar in this film are our own simplified version, built in code.

Which game's hidden trick should we cut open next?

Sources: Fatshark, "Nightmares & Visions - OUT NOW!" (Warhammer 40,000: Darktide patch notes, Havoc section, 25 Mar 2025) and "Bound by Duty - Free Update Out Now" (23 Sep 2025), both on Steam.
Unofficial. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Games Workshop or Fatshark.

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