My evil playthrough of Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader just got decimated by its new update, but it's probably for the best

I'm not a man. Not any more. I have ascended beyond humanity. The weakness of my flesh has been transfigured, changed. You may call me grotesque, but I know I am pure. For I have achieved daemonhood, my blades are swift and brutal as the whims of the gods whom I serve. No servant of the false Emperor can stand in my… Oh, crap. What's that? I've been nerfed? My strength curtailed and blades dulled? That's pretty much how my latest playthrough of Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader has been going, as my dastardly adventurer makes pacts with the dark gods and dances through combat practically unopposed. At least, that's what she was doing until developer Owlcat patched the game's most broken archetypes.

As this is my third (or maybe fourth?) playthrough of Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader, I knew what monster I was building. I've played the goody-two-shoes enough times to know that sometimes, girls just wanna have fun. And by fun, I mean clicking one button to win any fight.

As far as I'm concerned, this game should be right at the top of our list of the best Warhammer 40k games, but that doesn't mean it's completely balanced. The Bladedancer archetype essentially allowed you to win any fight without breaking a sweat. Death From Above was broken to the point of notoriety within the community, and the Executioner archetype's Carnival of Misery was similar. The latest patch for the game completely reworks both abilities, however, and the two archetypes now look considerably more balanced than before.

I'm sure some smart alec will work out a way to break them before too long, but if the combo is too convoluted to pull off effectively in every skirmish, then it's a win for balance. After all, not everyone's on their fourth playthrough yet.

The changes don't stop there, and Owlcat has published a lengthy blog explaining all the tweaks. The TL;DR is that we're getting new NPC portraits, new items, reworks to four origins (Astra Militarum Commander, Ministorum Priest, Commissar, and Navy Officer), new talents, convictions for Familiars, and polishing Lex Imperialis content.

There are also stability fixes and aids to help out common softlocks, bug fixes to epilogues, and a fix to that weird Yrliet bug that sends you to Quetza Temer mid-romance. She will also no longer come back from the dead if your decisions lead to such a fate.

As for Lex Imperialis, Thassera has received a bunch of fixes, mostly for dialogue tones, NPC banter, dialogue options, and narrative inconsistencies. Such narrative tweaks appear throughout the entire game, however, as well as improvements to colony management, localization, audio, UI, and art. At this point, it'd be easier to list what isn't changing.

Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader update 1.5 is available now. You can read the full patch notes here.

If these nerfs have got you in the mood to pick up Rogue Trader again, why not check out some of the best Warhammer games for something similar? If you're not set on exploring the Grimdark future, our list of the best RPGs will have you covered.

What do you make of the balance changes? Let us know in our community Discord server, where staff and readers attempt to ascend to daemonhood-um, I mean, discuss the latest gaming news.