Best Soldier Talents In Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader

Summary

Rapid Reload reduces reload costs for the Soldier, allowing for burst-style first-turn builds and smoother subsequent turns.
Exploit Surroundings boosts the Soldier's Cover Efficiency, encouraging proper positioning for maximum defense and counter-offensive capabilities.
Rack And Run incentivizes the Soldier to consistently target different enemies, increasing damage and encouraging investment in Ballistics.

Hailed as a master of all ranged weapons in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader, the Soldier specializes in using various armaments to accommodate different combat situations. Thanks to their skillset, Soldiers can rain hell on enemies with a wide variety of burst and area attacks, while still packing enough juice to make their way to the safety of cover. In the CRPG, this translates into the Soldier being the long-ranged counterpart to the heavy-hitting Warrior, acting as the game's ranged DPS.

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When built properly, the Soldier can evolve into a more punishing Bounty Hunter, a more strategic Master Tactician, and a versatile Arch-Militant. However, players who want to maximize the Soldier's performance in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader must first need to utilize the Archetype's wide array of Talents. The thing is, just which among the Soldier's Talents in the CRPG are must-haves?

1 Rapid Reload

Allow Soldiers To Secure More Attacks By Removing AP-Based Reloads

Effect	Reloading will cost -2 AP for the Soldier, at the minimum of 1 AP. Their first reload in combat won't cost AP
Strategy	Facilitates burst-style first-turn builds for Soldiers, allowing them to use Abilities like Rapid Fire without worrying about reloading before and/or after attacking

Considering how ranged weapons in the CRPG have ammunition, long-distance attackers like the Soldier must be wary of how reloads factor into their turns in Rogue Trader. Since different weapons require different AP costs, using the wrong armament can significantly dampen a Soldier's combat efficiency. However, utilizing the Rapid Reload Talent can help them stop reloads from interrupting their combos in combat.

At its core, Rapid Reload will reduce reload costs by -2 AP, up until a minimum of 1 AP is left. Not only that, the Soldier's first reload in combat will be free. The lessening of reload costs alone can incentivize burst plays, especially since Soldiers likely won't need as much AP to reload after using a burst-fire weapon. Likewise, it won't matter if they use all their bullets in their first turn in combat, since the first free reload can set them up for a smoother second turn.

2 Exploit Surroundings

Encourage Proper Cover Positioning To Maximize Defenses

Effect	Cover Efficiency gets +10% boost in Full Cover, and +20% in Half Cover
Strategy	Discourages unnecessary risky maneuvers for the long-distance Soldier Archetype

Unlike other CRPGs where environment interactions only offer unique surfaces and verticality, Cover plays a large role in the gunplay in Rogue Trader. As Cover defends the creature behind it from attacks in front of it, long-ranged units like the Imperium-aligned Soldier can count on Cover to provide them with some degree of protection against the CRPG’s heavy hitters. However, a Talent like Exploit Surroundings can give Soldiers unprecedented defensive boosts when in Cover.

At its core, Exploit Surroundings provides Soldiers with +20% Cover Efficiency when using Half Cover and +10% Cover Efficiency behind Full Cover. When used in the right environments, Soldiers can rely on specific Cover types to shield them from a wide variety of attacks, allowing them to focus more on the counter-offensive.

3 Rack And Run

Incentivizes Multi-Target Hits For Damage Boosts

Effect	The Soldier gets + (10 + 2 X BS Bonus)% more damage to their next attack after dealing damage to 3 different enemies
Strategy	Incentivizes the Soldier to invest more in Ballistics in addition to constantly attacking different foes to proc higher damage numbers

Being the resident long-ranged specialist in the CRPG, the Soldier of Rogue Trader will likely deal damage to multiple foes in a single turn due to their wide array of attacks. While damage-dealing attacks such as multi-hits and AOEs are expected of the Soldier, Rack And Run incentivizes consistently targeting different enemies like daemons with attacks.

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When unlocked, Rack And Run gives the Soldier a boost to their next attack as soon as they deal damage to 3 different enemies. This extra damage scales with their Ballistics Bonus, encouraging the Soldier not just to attack different enemies all the time but to improve their ranged mastery. This Talent works well with the Rapid Fire Ability, as Rack And Run's additional damage circumvents the Ability's damage reduction to the Burst Fire Weapon Action, which uses Recoil to reduce the chances of its multi-hit bullets hitting the target.

4 Trace The Trajectory

Encourages Crit-Based Builds With Guaranteed Hits

Effect	When the Soldier successfully uses Cover or Dodges against an enemy attack, their next attack against that enemy is a guaranteed Critical Hit
Strategy	Encourages defensive plays while also building toward strong Critical Damage setups

Action games and FPS titles often have firefights take place behind cover, with unlucky combatants who peek at the wrong time becoming easy pickings for the enemy. In the case of Rogue Trader, creatures who can’t use Cover effectively practically invite death to their doorstep. And for the Soldier who unlocks Trace The Trajectory, using the right Cover rewards them with additional firepower, much like a Psyker with their psionic abilities.

At its core, Trace The Trajectory guarantees that the Soldier’s next attack against an enemy is a Critical Hit provided the Soldier dodges or uses Cover against that certain enemy’s attack. Not only does this encourage high-Critical Damage builds to capitalize on this buff, but elevating chances of Dodging and Cover Efficiency should boost the usefulness of this Talent.

5 Fortress

Improve Soldier Defenses At Cover

Effect	At Full Cover, the Soldier gets +10% Damage against an enemy affected by that cover. The same enemy also deals -20% Damage against the Soldier and their cover, even if the cover is destroyed in the attack
Strategy	Players can maximize Full Cover potential against their targeted enemies to acquire Damage buffs against them more consistently

Eliminating a marksman in combat usually boils down to destroying the cover that protects them, exposing them to more attacks from allies of the Imperium. Cover being an attack buffer makes them efficient in protecting long-ranged specialists like the Soldier in the CRPG, and the Fortress Talent further elevates the value of Cover for their builds.

When purchased, Fortress now grants Soldiers +10% Damage to the enemy during attacks from Full Cover, incentivizing finding the right protective zone when engaging foes. Likewise, enemies get a -20% Damage to both the Soldier and their Cover, making it much harder to hit them. Even if the attack destroys the current Cover, the overall Damage is recalculated first to consider the penalty.

6 Enough Bullets For Everyone

Encourage Better Positioning Strategies For Soldiers

Effect	The Soldier's second attack action deals +(5 + 2 x AGI Bonus)% Damage to enemies that haven't been damaged by the Soldier for that turn
Strategy	Encourages more tactical positioning to cover more ground and at a range that hits more enemies

When it comes to combat in a CRPG like Rogue Trader, a DPS class like the Soldier is given the capabilities to attack multiple times to ensure they hit the most opponents. However, the turn-based nature of the game means even their AOE attacks can only hit groups of enemies at a time. Thanks to Enough Bullets For Everyone, a Soldier’s follow-up attack can perform just as well as the first assault.

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At its core, Enough Bullets For Everyone buffs the Soldier’s second attack in a turn. However, they only work against enemies who have yet to take damage from the Soldier during that turn, encouraging players to position their unit in such a way that they can reach targets in different directions. When used properly, the Soldier can accommodate attacking multiple vantage points without sacrificing overall damage.

7 Fired Up

Encourage Crit-Heavy Plays

Effect	When the Soldier deals Damage, they get +1% Critical Damage until the end of combat
Strategy	Incentivizes more attack-heavy plays to slowly build up Critical Damage, while also encouraging high-Crit Chance setups

Given the nature of the Soldier as a long-ranged damage dealer in the CRPG’s gameplay, their efficiency in the field is tied heavily to their DPS. While a high-enough base attack damage means more consistent damage, getting a higher Critical Hit Chance and a much higher Critical Damage are always welcome additions to a Soldier’s overall firepower. Thanks to Fired Up, a Soldier who hits the mark will always have a better chance of maximizing their damage output.

Unlike other Talents, Fired Up has a straightforward benefit: they get +1% Critical Damage every time a Soldier hits an enemy in combat. This bonus lasts until the combat ends, meaning Soldiers are encouraged to boost their Critical Hit Chance or use guaranteed Crits like with Trace The Trajectory to secure higher damage numbers.

8 Unpredictable

Maximizes Cover With Extra Critical Hit Chance

Effect	The Soldier gets +(3 + AGI Bonus)% Critical Hit Chance. This is doubled against enemies from which the Soldier is protected by Cover at the moment of their attack
Strategy	Encourages the usage of Covers as well as Critical Damage-based builds

Despite the Soldier's combat efficiency in the CRPG, extra mechanics such as reloading and their dependence on long-distance attacks means any bonuses towards their defenses can greatly improve their survivability. While Cover Efficiency already adds towards their Damage Deflection capabilities in service of the Imperium, Unpredictable incentivizes Cover-heavy plays with bonuses to Critical Hit Chance.

At its core, Unpredictable already gives Soldiers an AGI Bonus-reliant buff to their Critical Hit Chance, encouraging more Critical Damage-heavy builds. However, this bonus is doubled when attacking enemies within their Cover's range means Soldiers need to be more practical when choosing locations to stay in combat. With Unpredictable, movement from Cover to Cover via Entrench and Run And Gun should allow Soldiers to deal more damage to enemies when planned correctly.

9 Combat Medicae

Add Healer Sub-Role For Soldiers

Effect	Using a Medkit costs -1 AP less. Healing an ally with a Medkit restores additional (Medicae/10) Wounds
Strategy	Allows the Soldier to specialize further into a secondary healer role in case of emergencies

In the brutal world of Warhammer 40K, Psykers suffering psychic backlash when using their psionic abilities is just the beginning of the galaxy's terrors. While the Soldiers are far from being Psykers in Rogue Trader, the CRPG can still be punishing for players who are too reckless in combat. Should the player find themselves in emergencies, a Soldier with the Combat Medicae Talent may become the embodiment of the Emperor's grace.

When unlocked, Combat Medicae reduces the Medkit's usage cost by -1AP and grants a small amount of additional Wounds healed based on the Soldier's Medicae. At first glance, investing in a non-combat skill like Medicae can become disadvantageous for the combat-heavy Soldier. However, in worst-case scenarios where a Medkit is the unit's best friend, a Soldier's Combat Medicae boost can bring personnel back to optimal functionality.

10 Camaraderie

Encourage Long-Ranged Team Plays

Effect	The Soldier deals +(5 + Ballistics Bonus)% Damage to enemies for each adjacent ally
Strategy	Encourages more team-based plays for long-ranged units, allowing the Soldier to more efficiently protect fellow distance attackers like the Operative

Since Rogue Trader allows different Archetypes to perform in combat based on their specialties, it's normal to expect the long-ranged Soldier to become a more proactive long-ranged attacker compared to the support-leaning Operative in the CRPG. While their playstyles can encourage different forms of positioning, one wrong placement and enemies can swarm a more vulnerable ally. Thanks to Camaraderie, the Soldier can fulfill both a defensive and offensive role for the team's ranged attackers against the Imperium’s enemies.

When activated, Camaraderie now gives at least +6% Damage buff to the Soldier for each adjacent ally close to them. This buff scales based on Ballistics Bonus, practically a must-improve skill for ranged attackers. Since the ideal strategy to use this Talent is to accompany other allies in Cover, this Talent works well with other Cover-based (Unpredictable, Trace The Projectile) or damage-based (Fired Up, Enough Bullets For Everyone) buffs.

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