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[Cyberpunkd]

So in order to wash the stench of AC: Valhalla from my mouth where I was defeated by "checking for Add-Ons" and kinda bored with Cult of the Lamb after 5 hours I decided to do what I have always done for the past 30 years - play some cRPG.
For months now I'm telling myself I will finally get back to BG3 (especially since it got Native version for the Steam Deck which makes Act 3 much more stable at 30FPS), but I also had a chance to grab a Rogue Trader Steam CD Key for 9€ so being a huge W40K fan I was thinking...

+ If you are a W40K fan this is a wet dream, the game absolutely throws lore shit at you from the first minute from every single direction ; for me the D&D or the Forgotten Realms were always a rather generic meh fantasy world, so this is much, much more pleasurable experience
+ Characters and voice work are top-tier - they don't have the budget of BG3 animated conversations but I can easily forgive that - the moment when THAT character shows up and everybody's first thought is: "careful, or we will get purged instead, a little zealous that one"
+ Turn-based combat: I can't exactly explain that but I feel more at ease with this one than with the BG3 one, maybe it's because at the start you have limited number of abilities and can only equip 4 items to use in battle instead of the whole inventory (I might be wrong here)

- If you are not a W40K fan I can imagine the first moments will be like: "wtf is going on", especially since the game doesn't actually do the exposition, you are free to read more about many things by highlighting them and opening a separate window
- The controller layout sucks ass, everything has a button combination e.g. press L1, then scroll to the right, then press and hold R3, etc., etc. I think if I don't play this game exclusively I will have a really hard time coming back to it in a few months' time
- Seeing that Mortismal have a 90 minute video "So you want to play a Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader" I can only assume the game is balls deep with the systems like Pathfinder: WotR - it will take a bit to come to grips with everything
- Steam Deck performance is meh, IMO the only way to play is without FSR even if you drop to sub-30FPS, even Ultra High FSR settings makes the whole game one big smudge

So yeah, put 5 hours over 2 days, and I'm shocked at how good that game is.

 

[Mister Wolf]

 

[DKehoe]

I also picked it up recently. I'm about 25 hours in, currently in one of the sections that came with the DLC.

I'm loving it so far. It's great to be able to run about in that universe and the Rogue Trader angle means you can poke at all kinds of different aspects of it. I've been using some build guides to help me with the levelling up since there are so many options and a lot of different systems at play. So I'm still getting my head around some of the mechanics but it's really satisfying when you line up different abilities to work with each other.

I'm playing as an Officer from a noble background, which seemed the most fitting for the role you play and I like going for face characters for my main. If any experienced players have any tips for that kind of build, or other advice in general for what worked for them, I'd be happy to hear it!

 

[Mister Wolf]

You might as well buy the Season 1 pass otherwise you will be missing out on the best companion and storyline in the game as well as not having access to those additional character archtypes for yourself and companions.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

You might as well buy the Season 1 pass otherwise you will be missing out on the best companion and storyline in the game as well as not having access to those additional character archtypes for yourself and companions.

 

[DKehoe]

You might as well buy the Season 1 pass otherwise you will be missing out on the best companion and storyline in the game as well as not having access to those additional character archtypes for yourself and companions.

This is the stuff I'm doing right now. It feels very 40k to have one of your crew be like "hey, the death cult are here to see you."

I'm still getting the hang of using her but she seems really fun so far and delving into the depths of your own ship and seeing what keeps things ticking along has been cool.

 

[Mister Wolf]

The second companion and storyline is good but not as good as the Kibillah and Void Shadows storyline. What that second companion DLC add is access to pets in combat with a new archtype(Overseer). You give Idira a Psyber Raven and she becomes completely overpowered. The shields are nice too for melee characters.

 

[Mister Wolf]

This is the stuff I'm doing right now. It feels very 40k to have one of your crew be like "hey, the death cult are here to see you."

I'm still getting the hang of using her but she seems really fun so far and delving into the depths of your own ship and seeing what keeps things ticking along has been cool.

The latest update nerfed her and that Blade Dancer class. It was massively overpowered how you could jump around on the battlefield killing everyone. You still can, but the more you use Death From Above you get a temp debuff on your stats. It's risk vs reward now.

 

[DKehoe]

The second companion and storyline is good but not as good as the Kibillah and Void Shadows storyline. What that second companion DLC add is access to pets in combat with a new archtype. You give Idira a Psyber Raven and she becomes completely overpowered. The shields are nice too for melee characters.

How did you spec out Idira? I've kinda stumbled into her being a sniper which is working well but that doesn't feel right and I feel like I should be using her psyker abilities to buff instead. I'm also guessing I'll end up with an actual sniper character at some point in the future.

The latest update nerfed her and that Blade Dancer class. It was massively overpowered how you could jump around on the battlefield killing everyone. You still can, but the more you use Death From Above you get a temp debuff on your stats. It's risk vs reward now.

I read about that. It's a pity I won't get to experience that version of it but also understandable since from what I read it was clearly the most powerful build in the game and made a lot of encounters pretty easy.

 

[Lux77]

Also started a month ago, 50h in, game is a blast.

 

[foamdino]

It's a wonderful game, however this type of game will always be a mouse+keyboard game for me. My playthrough was 114 hours (no DLC just the base game on release) - so I'd expect at least 100 hours if you include the DLC.

 

[Mister Wolf]

How did you spec out Idira? I've kinda stumbled into her being a sniper which is working well but that doesn't feel right and I feel like I should be using her psyker abilities to buff instead. I'm also guessing I'll end up with an actual sniper character at some point in the future.


I read about that. It's a pity I won't get to experience that version of it but also understandable since from what I read it was clearly the most powerful build in the game and made a lot of encounters pretty easy.

I put her into Biomancy and the Psychic schools she already had. Then I gave her the archtype Overseer for that psyber raven. With the Raven her stat buffs and debuffs become area effects instead of single target. With the right equipment she can go first and buff the whole team with all of her psychic abilities on the first turn. Another thing the game doesn't talk about is you can raise downed allies with Biomancy. There is a biomancy staff that drains enemies of health and gives it to the ally with the lowest health if castors health is already full. Funily enough since the downed ally has the lowest health it will actually raise them up.

 

[DKehoe]

I put her into Biomancy and the Psychic skills she already had. Then I gave her the archtype Overseer for that psyber raven. With the Raven her stat buffs and debuffs become area effects instead of single target. With the right equipment she can go first and buff the whole team with all of her psychic abilities on the first turn. Another thing the game doesn't talk about is you can raise downed allies with Biomancy. There is a biomancy staff that drains enemies of health and gives it to the ally with the lowest health if castors health is already full. Funily enough since the downed ally has the lowest health it will actually raise them up.

Thanks for the advice! I'd seen a suggestion to move her into biomancy but I got Henrix and it seemed he was already into that so I thought I'd try something different with her. But it seems like that character is maybe more about offence whereas Idira is about buffing?

Also, any tips for the Officer archetype? I'm using that one to give my other characters extra attacks and other buffs like that. But to be honest I'm still not entirely sure when to use stuff like the voice of authority or the "You. Serve Me." one that comes with the noble background.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Thanks for the advice! I'd seen a suggestion to move her into biomancy but I got Henrix and it seemed he was already into that so I thought I'd try something different with her. But it seems like that character is maybe more about offence whereas Idira is about buffing?

Also, any tips for the Officer archetype? I'm using that one to give my other characters extra attacks and other buffs like that. But to be honest I'm still not entirely sure when to use stuff like the voice of authority or the "You. Serve Me." one that comes with the noble background.

This guy's channel is my go to for all things Rogue Trader. He has guides for all the Homeworlds, Origins, Archtypes, and Companions.

 

[DKehoe]

This guy's channel is my go to for all things Rogue Trader. He has guides for all the Homeworlds, Origins, Archtypes, and Companions.

Ah, brilliant, thanks! I had read some guides and had wanted to find videos that explain things in a bit more detail but didn't want to go searching and stumble across spoilers. So this is ideal.

 

[EerieArcade]

How beginner friendly is this? Won a Steam key for it ages ago and tempted to play it this weekend. Keep seeing and reading really good things about it.

 

[calico]

How beginner friendly is this? Won a Steam key for it ages ago and tempted to play it this weekend. Keep seeing and reading really good things about it.

It's not particularly difficult, but it can be quite overwhelming with building your character and levelling up etc. early on imo. Not helped by how this stuff is presented, and by having to deal with it after almost every fight early on. Normally I love digging into these systems and thinking about how I'm going to build my character and party, but here it was mostly a chore.

I think the combat system is quite broken on a fundamental level, and this becomes more obvious the further into the game you get. The narrative side of the game is mostly good to great, though the overarching story isn't good (I would say much the same about BG3's overarching story, though in both cases it doesn't significantly detract from the overall experience imo).

If you enjoy the setting it's probably worth giving it a go. Most people rate it more highly than I do.

 

[DKehoe]

How beginner friendly is this? Won a Steam key for it ages ago and tempted to play it this weekend. Keep seeing and reading really good things about it.

When you're levelling up there are a lot of options and when you're still getting to grips with the mechanics of the game it can be hard to tell what would be good choices to make. But fortunately, it has a system where a lot of the time it will have symbols next to a few options that are ones they recommend for that character. And as I mentioned above I've been using guides that others have written with suggestions for builds.

It can take a little bit to get your head around the mechanics but it's satisfying once you feel it starting to click in place.

I'd definitely recommend trying it out. I'm really enjoying my time with it.

 

[EerieArcade]

It's not particularly difficult, but it can be quite overwhelming with building your character and levelling up etc. early on imo. Not helped by how this stuff is presented, and by having to deal with it after almost every fight early on. Normally I love digging into these systems and thinking about how I'm going to build my character and party, but here it was mostly a chore.

I think the combat system is quite broken on a fundamental level, and this becomes more obvious the further into the game you get. The narrative side of the game is mostly good to great, though the overarching story isn't good (I would say much the same about BG3's overarching story, though in both cases it doesn't significantly detract from the overall experience imo).

If you enjoy the setting it's probably worth giving it a go. Most people rate it more highly than I do.

When you're levelling up there are a lot of options and when you're still getting to grips with the mechanics of the game it can be hard to tell what would be good choices to make. But fortunately, it has a system where a lot of the time it will have symbols next to a few options that are ones they recommend for that character. And as I mentioned above I've been using guides that others have written with suggestions for builds.

It can take a little bit to get your head around the mechanics but it's satisfying once you feel it starting to click in place.

I'd definitely recommend trying it out. I'm really enjoying my time with it.

I've downloaded and installed it. Will put a few hours into it over the weekend then. Thank you, guys.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

When you're levelling up there are a lot of options and when you're still getting to grips with the mechanics of the game it can be hard to tell what would be good choices to make. But fortunately, it has a system where a lot of the time it will have symbols next to a few options that are ones they recommend for that character. And as I mentioned above I've been using guides that others have written with suggestions for builds.

It can take a little bit to get your head around the mechanics but it's satisfying once you feel it starting to click in place.

Yes, this is what I was going to comment on - there are so damn many abilities and they synergize not only with other traits but with other team members as well, is overwhelming. So far, so good, the game continues to ooze atmosphere and the writing is incredible. Very happy I discovered this game.

 

[foamdino]

Yes, this is what I was going to comment on - there are so damn many abilities and they synergize not only with other traits but with other team members as well, is overwhelming. So far, so good, the game continues to ooze atmosphere and the writing is incredible. Very happy I discovered this game.

Yeah the writing and atmosphere are incredibly good if you're a 40k nerd.

 

[Leo9]

How did you spec out Idira? I've kinda stumbled into her being a sniper which is working well but that doesn't feel right and I feel like I should be using her psyker abilities to buff instead. I'm also guessing I'll end up with an actual sniper character at some point in the future.

Don't use Idira as a sniper.
She is an absurdly strong psyker if you equip her with the special gloves you find in a chest during an event in Act 2.
Every time she triggers a Perils of the Warp in combat she will gain +1 Psy Rating.
Idira can easily reach 10, 15, or even 20 to 30 Psy Rating in some encounters. That means she will buff your party to comical levels, literally more than doubling their strength and other stats, while also dealing an insane amount of damage.
In some fights she can hit for 1000 or even 2000+ damage with her staff or basic telepathic attack, and she can also heal nearly dead companions back to full health.

Spec her into Biomancy and take the Overseer Tier 2 archetype with the psyber raven. Focus only on psyker talents and ignore most of her Operative tree.
But remember, she still has a 5% chance to explode and instantly die in combat.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

But remember, she still has a 5% chance to explode and instantly die in combat.

 

[Lux77]

My setup is:
2 warriors with everything in parry and dodge, they are always in front, luring all enemies on them
2 snipers with strong sniper rifles, Run&gun abilities, buffs in hit chance, critical hit, ballistic skill
2 psykers for support

 

[Poppinfresh]

This game has been in my backlog since it was released. I really want to play it, but they keep announcing story DLC for it and when I play it, I'd like to play the "complete" version

 

[YeulEmeralda]

Partying with demons and having a sadomasochistic relationship with a dark elf! So much decadence and degeneracy basically turning the galaxy into the Netherlands. Game is hilarious.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Enjoyed all Owlcat games, but still havent bit the bullet on this one mainly because feels unfinished and theres a ton more content coming.

 

[DKehoe]

Don't use Idira as a sniper.
She is an absurdly strong psyker if you equip her with the special gloves you find in a chest during an event in Act 2.
Every time she triggers a Perils of the Warp in combat she will gain +1 Psy Rating.
Idira can easily reach 10, 15, or even 20 to 30 Psy Rating in some encounters. That means she will buff your party to comical levels, literally more than doubling their strength and other stats, while also dealing an insane amount of damage.
In some fights she can hit for 1000 or even 2000+ damage with her staff or basic telepathic attack, and she can also heal nearly dead companions back to full health.

Spec her into Biomancy and take the Overseer Tier 2 archetype with the psyber raven. Focus only on psyker talents and ignore most of her Operative tree.
But remember, she still has a 5% chance to explode and instantly die in combat.

Thanks for the advice! She's been contributing decently to the party but I felt like I could be doing more with her. Mister Wolf suggested biomancy too so from what you've both said that seems like the way to go. I'll respec her in that direction.

 

[Mister Wolf]

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Up to 18 hours now, incredible game. Although levelling up is bananas. I was severely lacking with mobility with Kibellah so I took +2 MP. On the other hand my Rogue Trader and Abelard are just wiping the floor in melee range.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Up to 18 hours now, incredible game. Although levelling up is bananas. I was severely lacking with mobility with Kibellah so I took +2 MP. On the other hand my Rogue Trader and Abelard are just wiping the floor in melee range.

It rivals something like Path Of Exile 2 with the choice paralysis you get from leveling up. There is no way I would play it without a build guide letting me know what I was getting into with my level up choices as they synergize with each other. They also punish you for respeccing by losing Profit Factor.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

It rivals something like Path Of Exile 2 with the choice paralysis you get from leveling up. There is know way I would play it without a build guide letting me know what I was getting into with my level up choices as they synergize with each other. They also punish you for respeccing by losing Profit Factor.

The first few respeccs per character are free so I was thinking of doing it in a moment, I just found the governor in Act 1, and dumped all my cargo with a faction there immediately putting me at Lvl 6 lol.

Do you know any team-wide build guide I.e. builds for the party being together?

 

[Mister Wolf]

The first few respeccs per character are free so I was thinking of doing it in a moment, I just found the governor in Act 1, and dumped all my cargo with a faction there immediately putting me at Lvl 6 lol.

Do you know any team-wide build guide I.e. builds for the party being together?

No not team wide. All have just been for individual characters. But those characters all turn in super beasts so they just steamroll anyway. All would say Idira and Cassia works well off each other. With Casia being able to lower your warp buildup.

 

[Topher]

No not team wide. All have just been for individual characters. But those characters all turn in super beasts so they just steamroll anyway. All would say Idira and Cassia works well off each other. With Casia being able to lower your warp buildup.

I followed that Werglia guy you posted pretty religiously during my play through. He really has a knack for finding the best boosts for every character. I would have been lost without him.

 

[Mister Wolf]

I followed that Werglia guy you posted pretty religiously during my play through. He really has a knack for finding the best boosts for every character. I would have been lost without him.

He legit has one of the best crpg guide channels out there. An uncrowned champ.

 

[Topher]

He legit has one of the best crpg guide channels out there. An uncrowned champ.

I'm going to use him for Wasteland 3 next I think

 

[genesisblock]

Just started playing last week and I'm surprised on how good the voice acting and writing is. Definitely a plus for those willing to get into the lore of the games.

 

[Mister Wolf]

 

[Paltheos]

I've commented on this before, but Rogue Trader's really meant to be played in a group like a D&D game. I play in a group of 5 once or twice a week and we have a blast. 40k's not as funny without a group of other people to shoot the shit with.

 

[Mister Wolf]

I've commented on this before, but Rogue Trader's really meant to be played in a group like a D&D game. I play in a group of 5 once or twice a week and we have a blast. 40k's not as funny without a group of other people to shoot the shit with.

Who is your Rogue Trader? Who call the shots when making the decisions?

 

[Lux77]

I'm banging Jae all the time

 

[Paltheos]

Who is your Rogue Trader? Who call the shots when making the decisions?

One of my friends is the Rogue Trader, but we make decisions democratically. There are five of us but usually only three vote - one not often being interested in the RPing elements of the game (or just being sleepy) and the other being the aforementioned Rogue Trader who, despite our objections otherwise, deliberately abstains from voting except in rare circumstances where he really doesn't like our vote (he's usually easygoing though). In the event of a tie, he rolls a die.

 

[DKehoe]

I finished Chapter 1 last night and I'm still loving it.

I've commented on this before, but Rogue Trader's really meant to be played in a group like a D&D game. I play in a group of 5 once or twice a week and we have a blast. 40k's not as funny without a group of other people to shoot the shit with.

I do want to try the multiplayer once I've finished it off. How does it work? Is one person the Rogue Trader while the others are the established NPCs or are they all custom characters? When I spoke to Janris on the bridge it seems like I can create custom characters through him so do you use that?

Also, has anyone here played the TTRPG? I've been curious to try it for a while but especially after playing this.

 

[Paltheos]

I do want to try the multiplayer once I've finished it off. How does it work? Is one person the Rogue Trader while the others are the established NPCs or are they all custom characters? When I spoke to Janris on the bridge it seems like I can create custom characters through him so do you use that?

Players are assigned character(s) of the 6 on your team and control them on the field and in-battle individually (for our 5-man squad, obv. one player controls two characters which move as a pair on the field).

For the RPing, in conversations and discussions, each non-Rogue Trader player of the game selects one of the dialogue options and a number appears next to that choice indicating how many people have voted for the option and who has voted for it when mousing over the number. If just one person's voted for an option, their Steam icon appears next to the choice in place of a number. It's very user friendly.

 

[DKehoe]

Players are assigned character(s) of the 6 on your team and control them on the field and in-battle individually (for our 5-man squad, obv. one player controls two characters which move as a pair on the field).

For the RPing, in conversations and discussions, each non-Rogue Trader player of the game selects one of the dialogue options and a number appears next to that choice indicating how many people have voted for the option and who has voted for it when mousing over the number. If just one person's voted for an option, their Steam icon appears next to the choice in place of a number. It's very user friendly.

Nice! That sounds fun and it's cool they included a voting mechanic like that.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Up to 21 hours now and holy shit, there is a lot of fighting. It is more manageable than BG3 because you don't have superfluous abilities like Jump and also the number of items you can use is limited to 4.

 

[Mister Wolf]

Up to 21 hours now and holy shit, there is a lot of fighting. It is more manageable than BG3 because you don't have superfluous abilities like Jump and also the number of items you can use is limited to 4.

What's your team layout right now? Me personally I liked Argenta with a Flamer much more than a Bolter.



I was using this as a guideline when steering her towards Flamer.

 

[BennyBlanco]

This game brought Owlcat to the next level for me.

 

[Mister Wolf]

This game brought Owlcat to the next level for me.

I'm ready for Dark Heresy.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

What's your team layout right now? Me personally I liked Argenta with a Flamer much more than a Bolter.



I was using this as a guideline when steering her towards Flamer.

Good idea, I am having MC/Abelard/Hendrix as melee since they just tear through enemies. Then Cassia as a buffer, Argenta as Bolger specialist and Kibellah as an assassin.