Rogue Trader Class & Archetype Tier List (Patch 1.5)
Every archetype ranked, with the best starting class for new players.
Rogue Trader Class & Archetype Tier List
Pick Officer if you want the safest, strongest start. It carries new players through the whole campaign and opens the door to the two best support paths in the game. The build that wins on Unfair is never one class in isolation, though; it is a stack of three.
Your character is built in three layers gated by level. Tier 1 Archetype is chosen at level 1 and locks in your identity. Tier 2 (Advanced) unlocks at level 16 and is gated by your Tier 1 pick. Tier 3 (entity:exemplar) arrives at level 36 and deepens the two archetypes you already run, with the cap around 55. Your Tier 1 pick matters less for its own numbers than for which Tier 2 doors it opens, so the rankings below weigh both.
Tier 1 Archetype Tier List
| Tier | Archetype | Role |
|---|---|---|
| S | Officer | Support, action economy |
| S | Bladedancer (Void Shadows) | Melee carry |
| A | Soldier | Ranged carry |
| A | Operative | Debuff enabler |
| B | Warrior | Melee tank |
Officer (S). The forgiving starter and the strongest support backbone. entity:voice-of-command and the bonus-turn engine let your damage dealers act far above their normal action economy, which is how a five-character party punches like seven. It also feeds the two best Tier 2 supports, entity:master-tactician and entity:grand-strategist, so nothing you invest early is wasted.
Bladedancer (S, Void Shadows). A sword specialist built around parry and dodge that stayed dominant through every balance pass. If you own Void Shadows and want a melee carry that outscales the field, this is the one. It branches into entity:assassin, Master Tactician, entity:arch-militant, and entity:executioner, giving it the widest Tier 2 menu of any starter.
Soldier (A). The cleanest ranged carry path. entity:run-and-gun lets you shoot, reposition, and shoot again in a single turn, and burst-fire pressure feeds straight into Arch-Militant or Master Tactician. entity:argenta is the poster child here, turning a entity:heavy-bolter into a wall of fire once Arch-Militant entity:versatility comes online.
Operative (A). Low personal damage on its own, but that misses the point. The entity:operative stacks Exploit debuffs that amplify the entire party and gates two of the best Tier 2 picks, Grand Strategist and entity:bounty-hunter. Treat it as the engine that makes everyone else hit harder rather than a payoff in itself.
Warrior (B). The default melee and tank starter with strong close-combat numbers. It drops to B only because melee positioning is awkward on the harder difficulties and the true melee ceiling now belongs to entity:bladedancer. Still a fine pick into Arch-Militant or entity:vanguard if you want a durable front line.
Best Starting Class for a New Player
Take Officer. Support classes are the most forgiving in the game because their value does not depend on landing every roll. A missed attack from a carry is a wasted turn; a entity:voice-of-command from an entity:officer hands a teammate a whole extra action regardless. Your first respecs are free, so you can experiment, but most players who start Officer never feel the need to leave it. The entity:operative into entity:grand-strategist line is the runner-up for the same reason: it lifts the whole party instead of betting everything on one character's damage. The full talent order lives in the Officer build guide, and every recommended setup is collected on the Rogue Trader builds hub.
If you came in wanting to deal the damage yourself, start Soldier and aim at entity:arch-militant. It is the most straightforward carry in the game and the easiest ranged build to pilot well.
Advanced Archetype (Tier 2) Tier List
The Tier 2 pick at level 16 is where builds separate. These are gated by your Tier 1 choice, so read the prerequisite before you commit.
| Tier | Advanced Archetype | Unlocked from (Tier 1) |
|---|---|---|
| S | Grand Strategist | Operative or Officer |
| S | Arch-Militant | Warrior, Soldier, or Bladedancer |
| A | Master Tactician | Soldier, Officer, or Bladedancer |
| A | Bounty Hunter | Soldier or Operative |
| B | Vanguard | Warrior or Officer |
| B | Assassin | Warrior, Operative, or Bladedancer |
| B | Executioner (Void Shadows) | Warrior, Operative, or Bladedancer |
Grand Strategist (S). The top support payoff in the game. Its zone-based buffs enhance entire sections of the battlefield and the whole party at once, it acts first without condition, and it can hand extra turns to a psyker. Reached through entity:operative or entity:officer, which is the strongest argument for either Tier 1 pick.
Arch-Militant (S). The best endgame damage engine, full stop. Cycling between weapon types stacks entity:versatility, which roughly doubles your output once it is running. It pairs with any ranged or melee carry, and it is where the entity:argenta and entity:ulfar weapon-cycle builds live, covered in the soldier build guide. Gated by entity:warrior, entity:soldier, or entity:bladedancer.
Master Tactician (A). Converts party momentum, which runs high in the mid and late game, into a large personal damage buff plus group attacks. Excellent on a damage companion like entity:cassia or entity:jae. Reached through Soldier, Officer, or Bladedancer.
Bounty Hunter (A). Marks a target with Prey for big buffs and over-penetrating guaranteed crits, the backbone of the dedicated sniper build on entity:yrliet. It scales hard in larger fights. Reached through Soldier or Operative.
Vanguard (B). A retaliation tank that absorbs hits and punishes melee attackers near your allies. Solid defensive value, lower offensive ceiling. Gated by Warrior or Officer.
Assassin (B). High positional damage held back by a strict positioning requirement that is hard to satisfy in big battles, which drags its real output below the top DPS picks. Reached through Warrior, Operative, or Bladedancer.
Executioner (B, Void Shadows). A damage-over-time bruiser that the 1.5 resistance rework reined in, letting targets resist a share of its DoT procs. Strong, no longer dominant. Gated by Warrior, Operative, or Bladedancer.
Strongest endgame stack: Arch-Militant for damage behind an Officer into Grand Strategist support backbone. Tier 3 entity:exemplar at level 36 deepens whichever pairing you ran, so there is no separate Exemplar decision to sweat; the strength was decided at Tier 1 and Tier 2.
Origins Worth Picking
Origin matters far less than Archetype, but a few stand out. entity:sanctioned-psyker is the gate for every warp build, and it carries a lower chance to trigger psychic phenomena than the unsanctioned route, which makes it the safe way into Sanctic, Biomancy, or Telepathy. The entity:arbitrator origin from Lex Imperialis is the shield-and-shotgun control specialist and one of the routes into entity:overseer. entity:commissar pairs naturally with an entity:officer into entity:master-tactician hero for a classic command build. Everything else is thematic flavor with niche stat bias, fine to pick on vibes once your Archetype plan is set.