Owlcat Games’ latest project Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader launched almost two weeks ago, welcoming thousands of newly appointed Lord Captains into the Koronus Expanse. As the von Valancius dynasty is reclaiming their worlds and trading protectorate, players also get a chance to dabble in everything the game has to offer and share their opinions on what works and what doesn’t.
Below you can find a short wishlist for the full release version of the game based on our own impressions from a completed playthrough as well as from scouring various online communities. Let us know in the comments below if you have anything to add.
Note: bug fixes and general polishing is a must and not just a wish, and thus is not included in the list.
More Functionality for Inventory & Cargo
No wishlist for an RPG is complete without a point about inventory and its management. Doubly so for Rogue Trader since you have two inventories to manage thanks to the addition of Cargo. By virtue of having to deal with hundreds of enemies, allies, quests, rumors, colony projects and so on, you will find yourself in possession of an entire hoard of loot to sort through which can take a while.
And this is exactly where we run into the first point on this list. Having to deal with a huge amount of gear and consumables would be much easier if the game provided advanced sorting/filtering options that could help you out, whether it comes to equipping your crew or quickly tossing useless junk into Cargo.
At the moment, the game offers sorting by type, by name and by date. What can possibly be added to that list? At the very least, usability – which will make it easier to sort out weapons and equipment for more exotic companions like Ulfar, Yrliet, Marazhai and Idira.
Second, an option to hide what you don’t need. Say, you only need to find an amulet or a ring/trinket. While sorting by type will make these items show up in row, your screen will still be filled with boots, helmets and cloaks. Putting “amulet” or “ring” in search only leaves items that have that as a part of their actual name and not as an item type unlike, for example, “melee”, “bolt” or “chain” that can be used to narrow down the selection of weapons.
When it comes to weapons, another possible sorting choice could be the overall damage.
However, just equipment itself is not the entire story. Players also have the consumables to sort through. All in all, the prospect that is not as daunting as outfitting your bloodthirsty crew that acquires new gear at the speed of light. Here are some possible suggestions: allow players to level up, swap gear and consumables while in the Combat Preparation Stage (unless you were ambushed, of course). Sometimes, for example during the warp jumps or certain story beats, you will find yourself in combat without having the time to do the usual preparation beforehand. Alternatively, re-equip the consumables automatically, provided that you have the exact same kind in your inventory and are at a point of the game where it makes sense.
This brings us to Cargo and the Reputation. It is an interesting system that does much for the fantasy of being the head of a trade empire and having deals on the scope that a normal person cannot fathom. Thus, never really having to interact with actual currency or outright selling an item to a vendor and instead foisting it on your loyal subjects.
It suffers from much the same woes that haunt the inventory system. Better sorting/filtering, a way to choose multiple items at once and so forth can speed up the process a great deal. At the moment, you can one-click add times to Cargo through the management window (by default “B”) and it does help compared to the right click -> add to Cargo mind-numbing sequence repeated a hundred of times, but it still can be improved further.
Hand-in-hand with Cargo goes the Reputation. Despite not actually spending the Profit Factor, you still have to confirm every purchase from a vendor which is a small pet peeve of mine. Yes, it only takes a second, but it quickly becomes annoying when you just unlocked a dozen levels of rep across all the factions and now you have 50 items to click “yes” through.
Similar thing with the Cargo cells: allow sorting by provided rep. Sometimes you only need 200 points, another time you have to sell enough Cargo to increase the Rep by a few thousands. You can already hide the items that the vendor is not interested in, so it is just a small step to make the system more intuitive and smooth. Colony management can also use some extra clues when it comes to higher level projects, especially the ones requiring the fulfillment of a certain project in another colony of the protectorate.
Exploration – More Visual Clues & Quick Teleport
In addition to dealing with immeasurable wealth and tons of loot, your other direct responsibility as a Rogue Trader is the exploration of Koronus Expanse and squeezing out everything your colonies and the Sector at large have to offer.
Compared to the early Alpha and Beta, the overall state of the exploration system made a leap forward with the little icons indicating your worlds, preview showing what any system has to offer, icons indicating resources on the planets but, as always, it can be better. Let’s check out some ways to smooth the sharp edges:
A separate icon or color difference for the indicators of planets where you are already mining the resources versus the ones where you have only discovered them but didn’t have an Extractor at the time to start the process. Just another day I had to scour almost the entirety of Koronus for that one world with Flogiston that I needed for the colony project, and it wasn’t much fun. Having a clearer indicator would be greatly appreciated.
Another quality of life would be adding extra markers to the worlds that take part in your companions’ or main quests (provided you know where it is actually taking place and the quest isn’t about discovering the location). Alternatively, allowing players to leave their own pins on systems, planets or certain areas within explorable zones that would show up on the map.
Last but not least, a button for a quick teleport back to the voidship bridge or even straight to the Koronus Expanse map when you are in a safe zone. Primarily, Dargonus. Having to trot through the entirety of the palace, then the lengthy way to the Voidship Bridge transition, then clicking on the Koronus map once you are there – that’s 3 loading screens and a lot of running standing between the Rogue Trader and the map of Koronus Expanse.
Leveling Up – Saving Builds, Search Function, More Filters
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader offers a great number of abilities and perks scattered across a variety of categories and sections that can be used for some very different builds both for Lord Captains and their companions. Provided you can wade your way through the extremely un-intuitive system that presents the available information in the most unclear way possible.
Sticking your Origin abilities at the bottom, not choosing Psy Rating as important/recommended, marking the already acquired abilities the same as the ones that didn’t have their pre-requisites fulfilled yet – there is a lot of change that can be brought to the system to make it better.
To start with, how about a few more filtering/sorting options like hiding already learned abilities or only showing your World talents when in the Common selection? Add in a search function that will help you narrow down what you are looking for – say, another Heavy Weapon improvement for Argenta – and we’re almost golden.
Some others: talents that improve on an ability should also use that ability’s icon (perhaps recolored for the distinction) so it’s easier to see at a glance. For example, Strongpoint (which is a Master Tactician Ability) that has a shield-shaped icon. Meanwhile, its upgrade – Stronghold – only has the name and the letter S serving as a visual clue.
Another neat little addition that I would have loved to see was an option to save builds – or at least see the list of abilities, improvements and attributes taken in a level-by-level view so it is easier to replicate in future playthroughs. Or to change a thing or two without affecting the entirety of your character.
More Reactivity of the World to Protagonist, Including Origin, World, etc. Options
With your protagonist being the illustrious Rogue Trader of the von Valancius dynasty, it is a small wonder that the ripples from your actions echo across various worlds and systems. After all, your decisions affect lives of entire planets! However, to me it felt like the world didn’t react quite enough. By the end of the game, there were only three rumors about my Rogue Trader: her love of small rodents, her ascension as the latest head of the von Valancius protectorate, and her bout with a certain king despite the rest of her actions and dealings with various factions.
Admittedly, there were also NPCs around Footfall and Janus that kept gossiping about the fate of Rykad Minoris and Governor Vyatt and the outcome of those questlines, but it feels like the Expanse and your very own Voidship are not very interested in talking about your exploits. Not only that, but your character creation options – like the Origin and World choices – only get referenced a handful of times in the early chapters of the game and fizzle out around chapter 3.
Overall, the Rumor system seems like the perfect way to provide players with extra reactivity such as hearing frightened whispers about the Rogue Trader being a psyker or referencing their family as the nobility of the Expanse. Imagine receiving a gift from your character’s existing distant family somewhere out there, or maybe from your old gang or Astra Militarum division. A little thing, really, but it makes your character feel like they are a part of the world with certain pre-existing connections.
Add to it the circulation of rumors about your exploits with certain narrative outcomes, and we’re golden! Struck a deal with the Aeldari on Janus and/or presented Yrliet as your companion during the coronation ceremony? Have random nobles try and offer you some Xenos slaves since you are obviously so very fond of them. Alternatively, have the more devout servants of the Imperium speak up (very quietly) against such practice. Saved those poor trapped animals on a distant planet? Suddenly your loyal subjects start delivering you random critters, hoping to win your affection. Have a budding romance going on? Well, if it isn’t the hottest topic for discussion on the Voidship while the Seneschal is not within earshot!
Really, the Rumor system is currently extremely underutilized for what it could potentially offer to further drive home your decisions and quirks, including the much less important side quests and smaller errands. This is also where your level of rep with various factions like the Kasballicans or the Fellowship of the Void could come into play, birthing yet more rumors about the Rogue Trader’s involvement in their affairs and bringing in a certain political weight to your relationships. The limit is your imagination.
Automate Ship Combat
Coming from the creators of Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, it is no surprise that Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader has a certain extra strategic layer represented by the colonies and ship combat vs kingdom management and crusade in its fantasy cousins.
Both of the aforementioned games have options to significantly ease up or even completely automate the Kingdom Management and the Crusade respectively. So, why not Rogue Trader? While personally I am not against the ship battle system, there has been plenty of outcry about players not liking it.
Alternatively, allow players to get more escort ships. At the moment you can only get the one from the colony project. But why not add an extra escort into the reputations? Both the Imperial Navy and Fellowship of the Void sound like great candidates for some AI-controlled battle allies!
