You've taken on the mantle of a Rogue Trader, a scion of an ancient dynasty with a Warrant of Trade granting you immense power and the task of expanding the Imperium's reach across the fringes of space. This is a sprawling CRPG from Owlcat Games, featuring turn-based combat, ship battles, and a branching storyline with numerous companions. Your moment-to-moment gameplay involves exploring star systems, managing your merchant empire, and making critical decisions that shape your destiny and the fate of the Koronus Expanse.
This guide is your indispensable companion for navigating the complexities of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. We'll cover everything from the main quests and companion storylines to crucial errands and character builds. Stuck on a tough boss like Governor Ruoldo, or unsure how to acquire key items like The Key to Thassera or the Thassertium Necklace? We’ve got you covered with detailed strategies and walkthroughs to ensure your journey from start to finish is as successful as possible.
Mechanics
Understand Movement Points, Action Points, Initiative, Ranged & Melee Attacks, Damage calculation, Critical Hits, Injuries, Dodge, and Cover in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader.
This guide breaks down the core combat and character mechanics in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, explaining how actions are resolved and how to gain an advantage.
Movement Points (MP): Determine how far a character can move per turn. 1 MP equals one cell. Diagonal movement costs +1 MP for every second diagonal cell.
Action Points (AP): Used for attacks and combat abilities. AP are restored to their base value (initially 4) each turn, but can be increased.
Initiative: Affects turn order. Higher initiative increases the chance of being in an earlier group. The group with the highest average initiative goes first. Initiative = 1-10 + (Agility + Perception / 2).
Difficulty Tier: Enemies are ranked from I to VII, indicating their strength.
Ranged Attacks: Base hit chance is (30 + Ballistic Skill)%. This is halved beyond effective range. Missed shots or dodged attacks can hit targets behind the primary target (overpenetration).
- Burst: Fires multiple shots. Trajectories are calculated, and burst shots hit the first target in their path. Recoil applies an accuracy penalty to subsequent shots.
- Ranged Area Attacks: Target multiple enemies in an area. Missed targets take grazing damage (50% of normal).
Melee Attacks: Enemies can dodge or parry. High Perception and Agility aid dodging; high Weapon Skill aids ignoring parries.
- Melee Superiority: Grants a +10 Weapon Skill bonus for each ally surrounding a creature, provided enemies don't outnumber allies. Large creatures require more enemies to negate this. Many bosses are immune.
- Attacks of Opportunity: Moving out of a melee wielder's threatened area or performing certain actions provokes an attack.
Damage: Calculated as ((Base damage + flat modifiers + percentage modifiers) - (Deflection - Deflection Negation)) x (1 - (Armour - Armour Penetration) / 100). Direct damage bypasses these reductions.
- Critical Hits: Deal 150% of normal damage plus bonuses. Base critical hit chance is 10% for ranged, 0% for melee. Hit chance over 95% converts to critical hit chance.
Injuries: Received when taking damage exceeding 50% of total wounds in a round. Injuries reduce resolve and stats. Untreated injuries become old wounds, requiring Medicae tests to heal. Accumulating injuries can lead to permanent trauma, healed by resting.
Dodge: Base dodge chance is 30% + target's Agility - attacker's dodge reduction + modifiers. Dodge reduction for ranged attacks equals attacker's Perception; for melee, it's half the attacker's Agility. Area attacks allow targets to move up to three cells to escape.
Cover: Provides a chance to avoid ranged attacks (35% for partial, 60% for full). Successful cover checks negate damage when attacked from the opposite side.
Tips
Unlock the secrets of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader with our comprehensive tips guide. Master combat, character building, and exploration to conquer the Koronus Expanse.
General Tips:
- Tap the touchpad to highlight interactable objects; hold it to bring up the area map (do not use during combat).
- You have two weapon sets; hold the ▢ button to switch between them.
- Add unwanted gear to cargo via its context menu (▢ button) to trade with factions. Keep items that provide skill or characteristic bonuses.
- Vendor trash can be traded for useful items. Use the map to find loot containers.
- Putting equipable gear into cargo is a toggle; all subsequent finds of that item type will be added to cargo automatically. Move items back to inventory if added accidentally. Transferring cargo to a vendor is permanent.
- Always scan for new warp routes (▢ button) when visiting a star system for the first time to gain Navigator's Insight, which makes routes safer. Use Insight to convert orange/red routes to yellow to avoid warp encounters (random fights).
- Make a hard save before optional space combat sections, as they can be punishing and autosaves may occur before unwinnable fights.
Combat Tips:
- Combat relies on a
Difficulty
Explore the five difficulty settings in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, from STORY to UNFAIR, and understand how each slider impacts combat, skill tests, and more.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader features five distinct difficulty settings: STORY, NORMAL, DARING, HARD, and UNFAIR. These settings can be further customized using various sliders to fine-tune the gameplay experience.
The table below outlines the modifiers for each difficulty setting:
| Setting | STORY | NORMAL | DARING | HARD | UNFAIR |
| Enemy unit dodge modifier | -60% | -10% | +0% | +10% | +20% |
| Half cover hit bonus | -20% | +0% | +0% | +10% | +15% |
| Full cover hit bonus | -40% | +0% | +0% | +20% | +30% |
| Party momentum gain modifier | +50% | +20% | +0% | -15% | -25% |
| Minimum damage dealt to enemies after reduction from armour and deflection | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minimum damage dealt to enemies after reduction from armour and deflection [%] | 50% | 20% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| NPC characteristic modifier | -50% | -20% | +0% | +10% | +20% |
| Max duration for hard crowd control effects on party [rounds] | UNLIMITED | 2 | UNLIMITED | UNLIMITED | UNLIMITED |
| Skill test difficulty modifier | 50% | 30% | 20% | 10% | 0% |
| Enemy wounds modifier | -80% | +0% | +0% | +20% | +80% |
| Damage dealt to player's party after subtracting all modifiers | -50% | -30% | +0% | +10% | +20% |
| Damage required to receive injury [% of wounds] | 75% | 65% | 50% | 40% | 30% |
| Number of rounds before a fresh wound becomes an old wound | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Number of injuries received before becoming a trauma | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Space combat difficulty | EASY | NORMAL | DARING | HARD | HARD |
| Minimum damage dealt to enemy ships after reduction from armour and deflection | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minimum damage dealt to enemy ships after reduction from armour and deflection [%] | 50% | 20% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Key Modifiers Explained:
- Enemy unit dodge modifier: Affects the chance of enemies dodging attacks.
- Cover hit bonus: Determines the bonus to hit enemies behind half or full cover.
- Party momentum gain modifier: Influences how quickly the party gains Momentum.
- Minimum damage dealt to enemies: Sets a floor for damage after enemy armor and deflection.
- NPC characteristic modifier: Adjusts the stats of NPCs (excluding companions).
- Max duration for hard crowd control effects: Limits the duration of crowd control effects on the party (STORY difficulty may be bugged).
- Skill test difficulty modifier: Provides a bonus to the party's skill tests.
- Enemy wounds modifier: Adjusts the total wounds enemies have.
- Damage dealt to player's party: Modifies the final damage taken by the player's party.
- Damage required to receive injury: The percentage of wounds taken in a single round that results in an injury.
- Number of rounds before a fresh wound becomes an old wound: The time before an injury becomes
Guide and Walkthrough (PS5) by chris-williams
Navigate the vast expanse of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader with our comprehensive guide. Find walkthroughs for every mission, character build advice, and tips for managing your voidship.
Hey there, future Rogue Trader! So you've decided to dive into the grim darkness of the 41st Millennium with Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. This guide is your trusty cogitator, packed with everything you need to know, from the nitty-gritty mechanics and character creation to advanced archetypes and companion details. We'll cover all the main story missions, side quests, and even give you the lowdown on managing your voidship and forging alliances with various factions. Let's get you set up to make your mark across the Expanse!
What's Inside:
- Core Game Mechanics & Tips
- Character Creation: Characteristics, Skills, Homeworld, Origin, Convictions
- Psyker & Navigator Paths
- Archetypes: Basic and Advanced
- Talent Trees for all classes
- Companion Guides: Meet your loyal (or not-so-loyal) crew
- Full Mission Walkthroughs: From Prologue to Chapter 5
- Star System Overviews
- Equipment: Weapons, Armour, and Gear
- Faction & Colony Management
- Voidship Operations
- Romances & Secret Companions
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