Rogue Trader Companion Builds & Tier List

Discover the best companions in warhammer 40k rogue trader, including secret companions. Learn builds for Cassia, Argenta, Incendia, and Abelard.

This guide covers companion builds and a tier list for warhammer 40k rogue trader, featuring base and secret companions. Secret companions offer unique talents, archetypes, and combos that can significantly benefit party compositions and roles. Be aware that discussing secret companions may contain spoilers regarding their recruitment.

Cassia

Cassia possesses a unique and in-depth Navigator background, offering powerful spells for enemy movement control, damage on controlled enemies, and ally buffs like Temporary Wounds or statistical boosts. Her abilities also reduce dodge, a crucial defensive stat. Navigator spells are essential for hard and above difficulties; on lower difficulties, an extra damage dealer might be more efficient. Cassia starts as an Officer, granting extra turns and fellowship buffs. Her passive talent, which increases Fellowship per Navigator talents and skills, synergizes exceptionally well with Officer traits. Combining this with Grand Strategist provides even more battlefield spells for allies and enemies, solidifying her as the premier support character, indispensable for any party.

Argenta

Argenta is a versatile ranged character capable of clearing hordes with various weapons and playstyles. While her Ballistic Skill and Perception were nerfed, impacting her early game performance on harder difficulties, her background allows for effective horde control. She naturally accepts Flamer and Bolter weapons. The Run and Gun skill, combined with these weapons, offers powerful horde clearing. For armor penetration, a Heavy Bolter or sniper can be used. Her popular Burst Fire Heavy Bolter build transforms her into an LMG specialist, capable of melting enemies, especially with recoil control. She excels with extra turns, potentially carrying your damage output. Opting for the Arch-Militant archetype from level 16 allows guaranteed critical hits at a slight damage cost, which can be mitigated by items enhancing crit damage and stacking buffs from talents like Revel in Slaughter. Arch-Militant's Versatility Stacks offer further damage buffs for horde clearing or boss armor penetration. Argenta is well-suited for horde control and boss killing, with flexibility for other builds.

Incendia Choorda

Incendia is a late-game damage powerhouse, functioning as an Operative and Assassin. Her role allows for strong damage multipliers through Weaknesses spreads. Combined with Aim for the Opening and crit damage accessories, she can achieve 2000-4000 damage with snipers, surpassing Yrliet in raw late-game sniping damage. However, guaranteeing critical hits with Incendia is not always possible, leaving Yrliet as the preferred choice for securing free critical hits against bounty-marked targets. Incendia provides a solid sniper companion option for Heretical playthroughs that lose Yrliet, especially with some Iconoclast alignment.

Abelard

Abelard can function as a strong mid-to-late game DPS character or a powerful Vanguard tank. He starts weaker but scales significantly with better Two-Handed weapons. Defensive buffs from his Navy Officer background and early defensive talents establish him as a potent late-game character. Prioritizing parry and dodge bonuses early is crucial for his tanking or assassination roles. He can be specialized with Taunting Scream for tanking or Reckless Strike for assassination, making him adaptable to various party compositions.