Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader — 10 Best Warrior Talents

Looking to wade into melee combat as an unkillable heavy-hitting machine? Well, we’ve got you covered with some Talent recommendations that will make you incredibly tanky and provide some utility. Here are our Top 10 Warrior Talents in Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader.

Top 10 Warrior Talents in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader You Must Have for Your Build

Contempt

This is an excellent early-game damage boost against enemies that attack you. It’s straightforward and scales with your Toughness bonus. The neat part is that Contempt works on both melee and ranged attacks so that gunner who struck you last will get a powerful Charge attack as retaliation.

Thick Skin

Another straightforward upgrade that’s great for any Warrior. Thick Skin doesn’t require any specific stat investment but scales with your armor value. Your damage deflection and parry chance are increased greatly the heavier your armor is.

Open Engagement

Most often, Open Engagement will proc in the first round so that you can charge an enemy and deliver a powerful blow. The Talent scales with your Strength bonus but works on only one attack that round. As the battle progresses, your Warrior will usually be engaged in melee, so you can activate this talent again by picking off enemies next to the Warrior with your ranged allies.

Charge Talents

Charge is the bread and butter of any brawler who wants to get into the thick of the action fast. There are a few ways to boost this ability, and I recommend picking them all up as you progress. Talents that boost charge include:

• Impetus.
• Ramming Speed.
• Rigorous Training.
• Defensive Stance.
• Opening Strike.

If you’re going more of the Assassin Slice route, then you can ignore this entry.

Living Shield

As a melee character, you’ll probably be engaged with multiple enemies in melee, whether against shotgun or melee weapon wielders. Living Shield will provide an excellent defensive boost against ranged attackers for each enemy standing next to you. The boost stacks three times.

Invigorating Hatred

Sworn Enemy is such a great ability for most of the Advanced Warrior Archetypes, so Invigorating Hatred is naturally great. Not only are you gaining increased damage against your marked target, but this talent will also boost the defensive part of the ability. I highly recommend going the Vanguard route later on with this ability and talent.

Cautious Disengage

No matter if you’re a mobile Assassin or a tanky Vanguard, sometimes you need to slightly reposition to land an attack. This Talent can be for that direction-based weak spot for an Assassin or to include as many enemies as you can in a melee Area Attack. Cautious Disengage helps with repositioning by reducing movement costs and damage from attacks of opportunity.

Epicenter of Slaughter

Gaining temporary wounds for each attack on you throughout the round is something that’s more optimal in the later stages of the game. Once mid-game comes, EoS becomes incredible, so pick it up later, close to Level 15. It’s not the best in the early game as you’ll only get hit two or three times a round at most.

Weapon Expert

Depending on which type of melee weapon you’re focusing on, a Weapon Expert Talent is highly useful. I recommend Chain Weapon Expert for more damage or Power Weapon Expert for more armor penetration. That said, as you later start using Plasma that doesn’t rely on Ballistic Skill that much, then Plasma Weapon Expert also becomes a decent option.

Non-class Talents

In addition to Weapon Expert Talents, there are a few other great general Talents outside of the Warrior Archetype that you should pick up. The following work very well:

• It Will Not Die: More Wounds.
• Combat Master: Melee survivability in a crowd.
• Nimble: More Dodge.

Additionally, Heavy Armour Proficiency can also be valuable depending on the direction you’re going in.

That’s my list of the Top 10 Warrior Talents in Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader. For more tips like the best Soldier talents or our Abelard, Idira, Argenta, and Cassia builds, click the links or check out our WH40K: Rogue Trader guides library.