MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus is a huge fan of classic role-playing games. 2023 has already come up with 2 great titles: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. And although Baldur’s Gate 3 was named Game of the Year, Warhammer has certainly done a few things better… and significantly too.
For starters: Rogue Trader is not necessarily the “better game.” It is different in many respects and has a certain advantage for me as a Warhammer fanboy. The universe has too few really good games, which is why it gets a certain bonus.
Baldur’s Gate 3 is the game of the year 2023 and rightly so. In general, the role-playing game from Larian also stands out: on Steam, Baldur’s Gate 3 has 96%, while Rogue Trader only has 72%. You can find detailed tests here:
By now, I’ve completed both games, but Rogue Trader manages to keep me hooked even longer. This is due to a few features that are simply better, even though the game doesn’t feel truly finished.
1. Classes and build diversity
What I noticed during character creation is the rather unusual class system of Rogue Trader – or rather the entire creation of a character. Baldur’s Gate 3 offers 12 fixed classes, while a class in Rogue Trader consists of several individual parts:
- Doctrines are the fundamental building block of the class, they determine the role and can evolve
- Origins provide talents specifically for the character and represent the “true” class like Commissar, Psyker, or Warlord
- Origin worlds provide additional abilities that give a class combination a new facet
So there are no classes with pre-made paths, but more of a toolkit from which I build my own character. Together with the dozens of talents available for selection, I can create a multitude of builds that play completely differently.
Although I can’t choose the genitals like in Baldur’s Gate 3, character creation is significantly more complex:
2. Leveling and progression
The classes go hand in hand with the fact that I am practically constantly leveling in Rogue Trader. While Baldur’s Gate 3 limits characters to level 12, the first doctrine alone in Rogue Trader has 15 levels. Overall, it goes up to level 55.
I constantly receive points that I can distribute and do not have to wait forever until I learn something new again. Thus, there remains a dynamic in the game that keeps every character fresh, even if I play through the story multiple times.
Moreover, there is plenty of loot. More than I can equip, and partly special items that I cannot even use because I lack the corresponding skills or settings. In Baldur’s Gate 3, I was able to wear strong armor and weapons that were available early in the game for quite a while.
3. Combat and strategy
In fact, Rogue Trader does not differ much from Baldur’s Gate 3 when it comes to combat:
- both systems are turn-based
- in both games, it matters who is where
- in every battle, it is essential to eliminate priority targets to win
However, Rogue Trader additionally has a cover system that resembles that from tabletop Warhammer. Or XCOM, if that is more familiar to you. And this is the game’s big advantage.
The combats do not feel like an interruption of the events or a “duty” between dialogues, as some players have criticized in Baldur’s Gate 3. Strategic planning and troop deployment are rather core elements of the game. Only more complex mechanics like deflection, parries, dodging, knockback, and armor go far beyond the Armor Class
in Baldur’s Gate 3.
It feels more like a strategy game embedded in a role-playing game, which significantly increases replayability. It is exciting to see how a battle unfolds when you have different characters or use different weapons and items.
This is how the combat system works:
4. The story – Yes, really!
Lastly, a major strength of Rogue Trader is the story. And not because it is “better” – but because it is simpler. Baldur’s Gate 3 somewhat hinders itself here, at least for this point.
In Larian’s epic, I was able to immerse myself completely. I experienced my story as the Dark Urge and had an ending that fully suited me. After that… it was good.
Baldur’s Gate 3 provides so many options that it is almost impossible to see them all, and it takes forever. After one playthrough, I am satisfied and do not necessarily want to do everything again.
Rogue Trader is a bit more direct here. There are not myriad ways to solve a problem, but 3 or 4 possibilities:
- the “good” and friendly way of the Iconoclast
- the strict interpretation of the rules of the Empire as a Dogmatist
- the mostly selfish, brutal corruption of the Chaos Heretic
- sometimes a neutral option if one does not want to make a commitment
The options are less diverse, but the impact is all the greater. Suddenly, an imperial world is no longer a beacon of faith but a corrupted demon world. That is exactly what I want to see in Warhammer.
Additionally, a role-playing game with many freedoms is cool, but it does not necessarily need them. The more “guided” experience in Warhammer fits extraordinarily well into the narrative. For 40,000 years, certain customs have proven themselves. The world simply is as it is. And it shows: even if you just want to be nice, you’ll get a lot of trouble for it.
At the moment, Rogue Trader is still plagued by bugs. For diehard fans of Warhammer, I can recommend it nonetheless; but if you want a well-rounded role-playing experience and can wait, you should do so. Surely, the Enhanced Edition along with DLC will come out sometime this year.
