The best archetypes in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader

Archetypes are a fundamental aspect of character creation in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader. Archetypes determine how your character plays, as well as the skills you have at your disposal.

Archetypes are the Warhammer 40k: Rogue Trader equivalent of classes we usually see in traditional RPGs. At level one you can choose one of four initial options: Warrior, Officer, OperativeAnd Soldier.

As your characters reach level 16 And level 36, you unlock specializations for each of them. Each initial archetype has three specific options level 2 (level 16) and only one on level 3 (level 36). These specializations not only make it possible to further tinker with skills and statistics, but also ensure that each of your party members feels unique.

What follows is an overview of the best archetypes in the world A rogue traderand which archetypes to choose at level 2 and level 3. And for more advice on creating a character, check out our guide to the best origins in A rogue trader.

The best archetypes in Rogue Trader

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You can't really go wrong with the level 1 archetypes, but if you're based on whichever archetype you start with, there are the best archetypes to choose from when that character reaches level 2. They are as follows:

• The Best Warrior Archetype: Forefront
• The best officer archetype: Great Strategist
• The best operational archetype: Bounty Hunter
• The Best Soldier Archetype: Arch-militant

Below you will find a more detailed explanation of why these combinations of archetypes are the best.

The best Warrior archetype: Vanguard

Even on the easier difficulty setting, playing Rogue Trader is no picnic. A significant number of the characters you can recruit into your party are vulnerable and will die easily if cornered by enemies. Since Vanguard characters have the ability to taunt enemies, they work perfectly as the distraction you need to win a fight and keep all other characters safe.

If the Vanguard also has Warrior skills, then you have a sturdy tank that can also deal decent damage. Additionally, Warrior's ultimate ability 'Daring Breach' restores all AP and MP, giving you the chance to reposition to protect allies or kill enemies that get too close to the rest of the party.

The best officer archetype: Grand Strategist

These two archetypes make each character the ultimate support in Rogue Trader. First of all, Grand Strategist's skills allow you to create three different types of special areas to buff allies within them. Now, if you choose Officer as your first archetype, you will have the ultimate ability 'Finest Hour!' giving an ally an extra turn. In other words, you not only strengthen the entire party, but you can also ensure that they can attack continuously.

The best operational archetype: Bounty Hunter

In a game where positioning is extremely important, very few weapons shine as much as snipers in Rogue Trader, and Bounty Hunter with operational skills is the best archetype for this. A character with this combination of archetypes will become the main source of damage in your party due to their ability to inflict penalties on enemies to increase the damage they receive. In addition, Bounty Hunter has one of the strongest skills when it comes to brute force. The archetype's ultimate ability 'Wild Hunt' can deal up to +300% damage to a single target, depending on how much you upgrade it.

The best soldier archetype: Arch-Militant

Unlike the Bounty Hunter, Arch-Militant characters focus on hitting as many enemies as possible with as many weapons as possible. The archetype kit rewards your character for continuing to attack and using different types of weapons. This playstyle is enhanced by the skills of Soldier, an archetype that, among the former, stands out as a great damage dealer and great with burst guns. The two ultimate skills you end up with – Soldier's 'Firearms Mastery' and Arch-Militant's 'Steady Superiority' – are perfect tools for ending a battle in one turn just by having a flamethrower or a shotgun.

All archetypes are listed in Rogue Trader

Image: Owlcat Games via Polygon

View all archetypes below A rogue traderorganized by level:

Level 1 archetypes

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• Warrior: If slicing through enemies with a giant sword is the kind of experience you want, then this is the archetype for you. Warrior excels at melee combat and raw damage. While you can pick and rotate him to become a simple damage dealer, it is possible to turn your Warrior into a tank because of the abilities this archetype has to limit damage and taunt enemies. This archetype's signature attack is Charge, an ability that allows the character to rush and attack an enemy.
• Officer: As you cross groups of heretics, you will not find an officer on the front line. Their role is basically to stay behind and support allies with their skills. Officers are even able to give an ally a new twist. With the “Bring it Down!” skill, the officer grants an ally an extra turn during which it has fewer action points than normal and no movement points. The Archetype's second signature ability is 'Voice of Command', which enhances an ally's attributes for one round.
• Operative: Among the initial options, Operative characters are those that focus on causing a large amount of damage to a single character. This archetype gives you tools to find and exploit the enemy's weaknesses, allowing you to inflict a lot of damage on them. Characters with this archetype become quite wishy-washy, so melee combat is not an option. But by finding a sweet spot during combat, Operative characters don't even have to move to hit most enemies in the area. The operator's signature ability 'Analyze Enemies' places exploits in one enemy based on your bonus to Intelligence.
• Soldier: In Rogue Trader, Soldier is an archetype that focuses on dealing brutal damage to enemies. Soldier characters do their best to kill as many enemies as possible by using weapons that allow burst fire, an attack that sacrifices accuracy for the chance to hit more than one enemy. Killing enemies is such an important aspect of this archetype's design that “Revel in Slaughter,” one of the Soldier's main abilities that strengthens the character, only becomes available after the Soldier has killed three enemies. The other main skill, 'Run and Gun', allows you to attack more than the attack limit in one turn.

Level 2 Archetypes (Level 16)

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• Assassin: Following the traditional concept of a silent killer, the Assassin archetype gives you access to abilities that deal damage to specific enemies by exploiting their vulnerabilities. Choosing this archetype also gives you some good skills to help you traverse the grid, such as 'Danse Macabre' and 'Elusive Shadow'. Only Warrior and Operative can recognize the Assassin archetype.
• Forefront: This is the upgrade a tank character needs. The Vanguard has a good variety of tools to reduce damage and survivability. Vanguard characters are able to keep themselves and their allies alive thanks to their main ability “Unyielding Beacon,” which inflicts temporary wounds on nearby allies. To choose this archetype, you need a Warrior or Officer character.
• Bounty Hunter: If you have chosen Operative or Soldier as your level 1 archetype, then you can choose the Bounty Hunter. This archetype retains the concept of a deadly marksman by giving you the 'Hunt Down the Prey', the signature ability of the Bounty Hunter. This ability marks one target as prey and your attacks deal more damage to that specific enemy. But there's more. The Bounty Hunter has many other abilities that also affect the highlighted enemy, allowing you to create powerful combos and defeat strong enemies in one turn.
• Master tactician: The role of a Master Tactician character is, as the name implies, to employ tactics to defeat enemies. In Rogue Trader, this means you have the tools to help allies by giving them the upper hand in battle. By granting buffs to individual characters, they can increase their damage or increase a character's ability to generate Momentum. At the same time, Master Tactician characters are good fighters. The two main skills, 'Press Advantage' and 'Tactical Advantage', increase their own damage and the amount of momentum gained. To choose this one, you need the Officer or Soldier character.
• Great Strategist: If you enjoy planning each character position and getting the most out of the battlefield, the Grand Strategist is a great option for you. This archetype is available for Operation and officer characters and it comes with abilities that can affect areas on the grid, such as improving allies' attributes or forcing enemies to retake dodge and parry tests. Grand Strategist characters have the unique ability 'Combat Tactics', which allows them to create areas in which allies receive bonuses.
• Arch-militant: This archetype is the representation of a one-man army. Arch-Militant characters are efficient in the use of melee or ranged weapons and become the masters of warfare. Most of this archetype's support abilities are for personal use and are great for increasing the damage of each attack. The signature skill 'Versatility' powers you up as you go through a weapon rotation – using melee, then one-shot, then burst attacks, for example. To turn into this killing machine, you need a Warrior or Soldier character first.

Archetype level 3 (level 36)

• Example: Unlike levels 1 and 2, in this level you have no options to choose from. Any archetype can become Exemplars at level 36. You can understand this archetype as the ultimate specialization of the combination of archetypes you picked up earlier. Once unlocked, you'll gain access to additional skills and talents for the other two archetypes.