Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader — Best Exemplar Class Talents

After a long journey, you’re bound to reach the pinnacle of perfection. Whether you’re running Support, ranged DPS, melee DPS, or something else, Talents matter. Here’s our guide on the best Exemplar class talents in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader.

What are the Best Exemplar Talents in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader?

The best Exemplar talents in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader are those that truly maximize a character’s capabilities based on their particular build or battlefield role. With that in mind, I’ve collected some tips for various roles below to help you maximize your characters.

Best Exemplar Talents For Support Roles

The best Exemplar talents for support roles exemplify the methods of granting extra turns, as well as action points (AP). Here are my recommendations:

• Firebrand: If an extra turn given by this character grants movement points (MP), the target gains +4 MP. If the extra turn grants AP, the target gains +1 AP.
• Eager Subordinates: When allies take action on extra turns given by this character, they gain +15% damage.
• Cassia only: Malign Influence: Whenever an enemy fails a Willpower test, they suffer direct damage based on the character’s Willpower bonus; this is doubled if the roll is successful.
• Cassia only: Contagion: Applying blinded, slowed, fatigued, perplexed, disturbed, stunned, or prone on an enemy affects another random foe within five cells.

Both Firebrand and Eager Subordinates are amazing for any character that has the Officer archetype. Moreover, Cassia’s Lidless Stare and Point of Curiosity abilities have massive range and can affect multiple hostiles.

Best Exemplar Talents For Ranged DPS Roles

I consider ranged DPS different from Psykers. These are units that primarily use firearms to get the job done:

• Deathdealer: Every round when you kill your first enemy, you attack the next closest hostile within range. This attack deals only 30% of the base damage, though there’s a 10% bonus based on the difficulty tier of the enemy you just killed.
• Cataclysm: All damage dealt is increased by 3% for every new enemy you damage in a battle.
• Yrliet or other snipers: Masterful Precision: Deadeye Shots deal additional damage based on your Perception bonus. Ranged attack abilities like Claim the Bounty gain Deadeye Shot benefits multiplied by the range and the extra damage from this talent.
• Yrliet or other snipers: Masterful Display: If your single shots deal damage to foes other than your main target, gain +5 Ballistic Skill until the end of combat.
• Argenta or other burst-fire units: Shot Through: Gain bonus overpenetration based on your Ballistics Skill bonus. Overpenetration attacks cannot be dodged.

There are many amazing perks here for characters like Yrliet and Argenta. In my playthrough, I built Yrliet as a crit-focused sniper, who also has a rifle that grants additional attacks if her shots pierce through multiple foes.

Best Exemplar Talents For Tanking and Melee DPS Roles

You can continue to beef up your tanks with some of the best Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader Exemplar skills:

• Tank: Unbreakable Will: Gain a bonus to all resistance checks based on your deflection.
• Tank: Full Attention: Hostiles that consider this character a priority target deal 40% reduced damage against allies.
• Tank: Flesh Wounds: At the start of your turn, restore 10-20% of your maximum wounds/HP.
• Tank/Melee DPS: Peak Condition: Gain bonus Strength equal to 20% of your maximum wounds/HP.
• Tank/Melee DPS: Destroyer: Melee attacks reduce a target’s armor until the end of combat.

These perks serve to bolster a melee character’s survivability. There are also some boons that help provide extra damage.

Other Notable Exemplar Class Features

Apart from the above, there are other notable features once you unlock the Exemplar class in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader:

• Feature: Bonus Action Points (AP): Permanently gain extra AP at levels 45 and 55.
• Feature: Basic and Advanced Archetype Talents: Remember your basic and advanced archetypes? How about the talents that you didn’t pick earlier? Well, there are certain levels where you’d be able to choose from those selection pools.
• Feature/Talent: Psychic Awakening: Even if you didn’t choose the Sanctioned Psyker origin, the Psychic Awakening talent unlocks perks from the Biomancy, Divination, Pyromancy, Sanctic Powers, and Telepathy branches. Imagine having a Psyker Abelard or Ulfar, and you catch my drift.
• Talent: Eager For Battle: During the first turn of combat, gain +2 AP.
• Talent: Critical Velocity: Critical hit chance and critical damage are increased by 7% of your dodge. This is great for both melee and ranged DPS companions who don’t wear heavy armor.

That’s everything you need to know about the best Exemplar talents in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader. But hey, we might be getting ahead of ourselves. If you’re just starting out, you might want to learn about certain archetypes with our Operative build guide. For other tips and tactics, you can check out our WH40K: RT guides hub.