Arch-Militant Build Guide – Rogue Trader

The Arch-Militant class is the natural progression for a Soldier looking to boost their DPS in Rogue Trader. As such, this guide for the advanced Archetype will show you exactly how to build one in great detail.

Best Arch-Militant Build in Warhammer 40K Rogue Trader

Arch-Militants are an Archetype focused entirely on dealing as much damage as possible by scaling their damage to near-infinite levels thanks to their Archetype mechanic: Versatility. As such, the best build for this Archetype will prioritize enhancing this unique scaling to boost overall damage to stellar heights.

It is a requirement that Arch-Militants make use of different types of attacks every time they attack because this is the primary method in which the Archetype builds up Versatility. As such, the following build makes use of the Heavy Bolter and any variant of Pistols as the two equipped weapon sets. The pistols need to be dual-wielded as this build will also be making use of a unique accessory item to gain more attacks per turn. This build is constructed from the bones of a previous build for the Soldier Archetype, as the Arch-Militant is a natural advancement point for character progression.

Best Arch-Militant Talents in Rogue Trader

The Arch-Militant wants to make use of their crazy scaling by compounding the effects of several Talents on top of each other for a much bigger end result. As such, the best Talents for the Archetype focus on ones that add seemingly small increases that quickly snowball into massive damage boosts.

• Critical Versatility - The Arch-Militant gains 3% increased Critical Damage for every stack of Versatility they have. This effect stacks up for as long as Versatility does, which means it is possible to gain a ridiculous amount of Critical Damage in a short amount of time.
• Fired Up - A Soldier Talent, every time the Arch-Militant deals damage to an enemy by any means, they gain 1% increased Critical Damage per instance of damage. Note that this includes all forms of DoT effects.
• Blazing Inferno - A Pyromancer Psyker talent, every time the Psyker deals damage to an enemy, by any means, they gain 1% increased Critical Chance per instance of damage. Note that this includes all forms of DoT effects.
• Melting Armor - A Pyromancer Psyker Talent, every time the Psyker deals damage to an enemy by any means, that enemy suffers a stacking 3% reduction to their Armor Rating. Once again, this includes DoT damage of all types.
• Dependable - Rewards a 2% increase in Armor Rating per stack of Versatility. This is massive for survivability.

Related: Best Party Compositions – Rogue Trader

Best Arch-Militant Abilities in Rogue Trader

For this build, the goal is to ensure that Versatility is built up as quickly as possible so that the Arch-Miltant can gain the stacking damage boost the passive ability rewards. Versatility is gained by using a different attack than the previous one used in a combat scenario. These stacks can also be gained with the use of a core ability to make the process easier. The following set of Abilities support the Arch-Militant in this task.

• Wildfire - This Ability allows the next attack by the Arch-Militant to be free of cost and reward a stack of Versatility regardless of what attack was used before it. Wildfire cost 3 AP to use by default, this AP cost is reduced when enough Versatility stacks are gained. Eventaully, with enough stacks Wildfire can become a 0 AP ability, effectively rewarding a completely free extra attack per turn.
• Regeneration - When combined with the Dependable Talent, the Arch-Militant becomes a walking tank capable of dealing insane amounts of damage and shrugging equal amounts off every turn. Regeneration lasts until the end of combat, which means it only needs to be cast once at the start of a battle to gain its continuous healing effects. Willpower is an important stat for this build because Regeneration scales off of both Psy Rating and WP Bonus.

Best Arch-Militant Items in Rogue Trader

The Arch-Militant wants to gain as many stacks of each of their passive Talents as possible per turn. As such, the items below support this playstyle.

• Heavy Bolter - Heavy Bolters have a high rate of fire along with access to both Single Shot and Burst Fire attacks. Combined with their innate armor penetration, it is easily the go-to main weapon for this Arch-Militant build. The two different attacks allow this weapon to gain Versatility Stacks every time the Arch-Militant wants to attack. The Burst Fire attack also hit target(s) several times, allowing the Arch-Militant to gain several stacks of Fired Up and Blazing Inferno in a single turn. These two Talents combined with Versatility are what makes the Arch-Militant deal so much damage so quickly.
• Pair Holster - This accessory allows the Arch-Militant to gain extra attacks per turn every time they critically hit with a pistol, at no AP cost. This is incredibly powerful for this Archetype because this means that as long you keep landing critical hits, you can keep attacking with alternative attacks, thus earning several stacks of Versatility every turn. You can find this accessory in the Warehouse found in the Shadow District on Footfall.
• Pistol Dual Wield - Due to the effects of Pair Holster, it is important to use any two pistols that have different attack types from each other. I recommend one of the pistols being a Flamer to gain the benefits Flame Spray/Sweep's ability to deal AoE damage and provide a DoT, both of which give additional buff stacks.
• Gunslinger Helmet - This insane helmet increases the damage of the wearer's Ranged Attacks by double their weapon's current Rate of Fire. As an example, Heavy Bolters have a Rate of Fire of eight, making the damage boost from this helmet grant 16% increased damage per shot done by the gun. This damage boost is entirely dependent on the weapon used to attack. You can find this helmet as a random drop at the Ravaged Void Station in Langrenn's Belt.

Related: Rogue Trader – All Psyker Schools, explained

How to play Arch-Militant in Rogue Trader

For this build, the goal is to build up as many stacks of Versatility, Fired Up, Critical Versatility, and Blazing Inferno as possible. To do this, attack enemies with differing attacks for every attack. If a Burst Attack is used with the Heavy Bolter, for the next attack, use anything that isn't a Burst Attack to gain a stack of Versatility. Additionally, once you've attacked all that you can in a turn, cast Wildfire to attack a final time while also gaining a conditionless stack of Versatility. Be sure to do this every turn.

To quickly build up Versatility, I recommend starting combat with a Burst Fire from the Heavy Bolter. In order to make use of Pair Holster, it is necessary to gain a solid amount of Critical Chance first from Blazing Inferno. Once you have around 25% Critical Chance, swap to your pistols and deal as much AOE damage as possible to gain even more stacks. Be sure to continue to alternate attacks during Pair Holster procs so that you continue to gain Versatility stacks in the process.

In just a few turns of following the above process, your Arch-Militant will be your party's most potent damage dealer by a very large margin. Every attack will Critically hit, reduce enemy armor, increase your overall damage, and deal massive damage per shot. All the while, Dependable and Regeneration will allow you to sustain any fight at any distance, making position and cover less important. Finally, due to the nature of your DoT effects, you'll be gaining passive stacks of all of your buffing Talents without even needing to initial attacks. This Arch-Militant build truly does give you the best of all worlds.

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