With Rogue Trader, Warhammer 40,000 has had a strong representative on Steam for over a year now. MeinMMO editor and Warhammer expert Benedict Grothaus has already completed numerous playthroughs of the game and soon another will follow, as the role-playing game is getting a new DLC. Initially, it didn’t sound that exciting at all.
For me, Rogue Trader is one of the best games of the last few years. I love Warhammer, I love role-playing games, and Rogue Trader even does a few things better than Baldur’s Gate 3.
What makes the game so special is the atmosphere: Warhammer is a harsh, grim world without kindness, and Rogue Trader captures that exceptionally well. There are various degrees of brutality, but hardly any ‘good’ path. You have to like that, but it is worth it.
The characters, the story, and the class system combine here into a game that I can wholeheartedly recommend. With Void Shadows, the first DLC was released in 2024, which excited me immensely back then and which I was allowed to play in advance.
Now, on June 24, 2025, the second DLC, Lex Imperialis, will be released, and this time I couldn’t get a look at it beforehand. Although I was initially a bit disappointed by the new companion, I am now sure that I urgently need to start (and finish) another playthrough.
New Companion, New Class, and 15 Hours of Story
Owlcat is known for the consistency in the DLCs. Typically, a new companion, around 15-20 hours of additional story, and new gameplay content such as a new class come into the game. That’s exactly what Lex Imperialis brings:
- Solomone Anthar, a former officer of the Adeptus Arbites, comes as a new companion. He brings a personal quest line with him and will be available as a romance option.
- Appropriately for the Arbites, the Overseer comes as a new archetype in the second tier. Thus, there is one class less than with Void Shadows, but “tier” companions come into play:
- Overseers have the Cyber-Mastiff, a cybernetically enhanced dog.
- Psionics get a “Psyber” raven that enhances their powers.
- Cyber-eagles accompany officers and agents to debuff, attack, or hinder opponents.
- As well for officers and agents comes a servo-skull swarm that masters area attacks and protection skills.
The Overseer comes with various playstyles but will apparently be a kind of tank – especially with the new weapon that is also coming into play: Shields. With shields, you can completely block attacks, but they cost two weapon slots (the off-hand in the first and second weapon set).
Special skills come into play for shields that are built around the new block mechanic. This new weapon type is available for all players, not just DLC owners.
A Coop Shooter Excites Me for Space Police
What personally surprises me is how much the new companion has fascinated me in the past weeks. When Lex Imperialis was first announced and I heard about the Adeptus Arbites, I was initially … not particularly impressed.
The Adeptus Arbites is something like the highest court chamber and at the same time the police of the Imperium. Arbitrators are the archetypical “judges, jurors, and executioners” in one and are thoroughly unfriendly individuals.
Exactly that’s how they are supposed to be: When chosen, the Adeptus Arbites take only the meanest class tyrants from the Schola Progenum to train them as Arbitrator. In comparison: Even the fanatic Adepta Sororitas mostly come from the Schola Progenum.
Any temporary judges with oversized pistols, an inflated ego, and a sense of justice that only distinguishes between “my opinion or execution” usually don’t appeal to me at all.
Then Darktide came along, the coop shooter set in Warhammer 40,000. Arbitrators are available as a new class in Darktide just one day before the release of Lex Imperialis. I tested the class there and am absolutely thrilled:
- “By default”, Arbitrators come with classic police equipment like batons, pistols, and shields, something you would also expect from real-life police.
- But since this is Warhammer, the Adeptus Arbites also hands thick shotguns, assault rifles, and even bolters to their enforcers.
- In addition, there’s the cyber-dog. Normally, I find animal companions boring, but a cybernetically enhanced attack dog with steel jaws is incredibly metal.
- Oh, and just for background: The Adeptus Arbites also has tanks, combat aircraft, and other military equipment …
Already 285 Hours and Many More to Come
So far, I have spent 285 hours in Rogue Trader according to Steam, with my first playthrough alone taking about 180 of them. Since then, I have repeatedly started again and looked at new features – such as the brilliant changes to the ship with many rooms that I have always wanted to see.
A complete second playthrough has so far been absent, especially since I already knew the end of Void Shadows. Now … the new DLC is completely unknown to me.
As the story of the expansions is always embedded in the main story, Lex Imperialis gives me a reason to start all over again and see what has changed. To my delight, a second season pass has already been announced with two more DLCs, so starting again will be worth it at the latest for the Definitive Edition in 1-2 years.
For me, Rogue Trader is already one of the best games of all time and especially in the Warhammer universe – particularly because it excellently reflects how the world is. I’m even more excited that Owlcat has already announced the sequel: The first role-playing game for Warhammer 40,000 was a huge success on Steam, now the creators are bringing the next one, improving many things
