Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is, without a doubt, one of my favorite Warhammer 40,000 video games of all time.
It is a fantastic CRPG that provides an informative introduction to the grimdark universe of the 41st millennium while taking them on a fun galaxy-spanning adventure with well-written characters, complex stories, hundreds of hours’ worth of content, and addictive gameplay from character-building to combat.
Even my die-hard Warhammer colleague, Samuel Tolbert, said its “a fun RPG with stellar writing that truly captures the dark future of eternal war” in his 4/5 review of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, despite the numerous bugs it had a launch (most of which have been fixed at the time of this writing).
Now it’s unlocked over 15 hours of even more content thanks to the release of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader’s second DLC expansion, Lex Imperialis. This expansion features new quests where you will team up with the law-enforcing Arbites, a new Origin and Archetype to experiment with, tons of new gear to collect, and more.
I had a chance to check out the Lex Imperialis DLC on PC via Steam early, thanks to a review code provided by Owlcat Games. To sum up, it’s awesome and continues to expand on what makes Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader so great, thanks to the new gameplay content contained within it.
How, you may ask? Well, allow me to gush on why the Lex Imperialis DLC expansion is worth the price of admission for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader fans and CRPG enthusiasts alike.
This review was made possible thanks to a review code provided by Owlcat Games. The company did not see the contents of this review before it was published.
Lex Imperialis: Story
The new quests for the Lex Imperialis DLC begin partway through the game after obtaining a colony on the planet Dargonus.
In these quests, you have been requested by the Les Imperialis (the Imperium of Man’s law enforcement organization) to aid their highly trained enforcers, the Adeptus Arbites, track down heretical pirates that have broken the law (or the Lex as the Imperium likes to call it).
Along the way, you will team up with Solomorne Anthar, a highly skilled Arbites sworn to slay criminals and heretics alongside his trusty Cyber-Mastiff companion, Glaito.
What starts as a simple pirate hunt gradually spirals into an insane galaxy-hopping escapade where you will explore feudal backwater worlds and aid the Adeptus Arbites in passing judgment on potential enemies of the state in the most extreme manner possible.
Without going into spoiler territory, these quests had me engrossed from beginning to end.
They were filled with insane plot twists, intense action set-pieces, complex moral choices that radically changed the outcome of the plot, and fascinating insights into how corrupt the Imperium of Man truly is (which you don’t often see in much Warhammer 40,000 videogames).
The new companion, Solomorne Anthar, is also a nice addition to the playable cast of characters. He’s a stoic, no-nonsense supercop who’s willing to go to extreme lengths to enforce the laws of the Imperium, but there are hints that he’s seen better days due to operating in a lawless corner of the universe for so long.
Not to mention, Solomorne is very handy in a fight thanks to his expert marksmanship with shotguns, durable shield that can block incoming damage, and commanding Glaito to protect allies while pouncing on enemies.
Lex Imperialis: Gameplay
The gameplay for the Lex Imperialis DLC follows the same structure as the base game of Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader. As a Rogue Trader, you are tasked with exploring the worlds of the Koronus Expanse to converse with NPCs to advance the plot and do battle with enemies of Man in tactical turn-based combat.
However, the Lex Imperialis DLC adds a ton of new gameplay additions throughout the whole game, not just the new DLC missions. The first of these new gameplay additions is the new Arbitrator Origin for when you create your main character and mercenary party members.
The Arbitrator Origin offers a variety of new specializations to create new playstyles and synergies with the Archetypes to decimate your foes with.
These specializations are:
- The Subductor – a melee-focused specialization based on blocking attacks with the new Shield weapon type and using Shields to knock them prone.
- The Vigilant – a fast hit-and-run specialization focused on blasting enemies to bits with shotguns loaded with special ammo that deals extra damage or cripples stats.
- The Castigator – a support specialization that focuses on shouting at enemies to break their morale, reduce their stats, and forcing them to move out of cover.
Each of these specializations was fun to mess around with in their own unique ways. My favorites were the Subductor, as it allowed me to tank enemy attacks like a champion, and the Vigilant, because there are very few things more satisfying in video games than dual-wielding shotguns to blast enemies in the face with.
The Arbitrator Origin isn’t the only new toy players get to play with because this expansion also adds a new Archetype called the Overseer. The Overseer is a second-tier Archetype that provides support in battle by summoning cyborg Familiars to fight alongside you.
Every beginning Archetype can take the Overseer Archetype, and depending on a character’s Origin and beginning Archetype, they can adopt the following Familiars:
- The Cyborg-Mastiff – a giant dog that pounces to bite their faces while guarding allies.
- Cyborg Eagle – a double-headed eagle that pecks at enemies to reduce their stats, obstructs them from reaching party members, and tricks them into shooting other enemies.
- Psyber Raven – a raven capable of wielding powers of the Warp to electrify enemies while transferring their buffs to fellow party members if their master Overseer casts a stat boosting ability on them.
- Servo-Skull Swarm – a swarm of Servo-Skulls that provides protective passive buffs to teammates while disrupting enemies with area-of-effect attacks.
Do note that the only characters who can’t take the Overseer Archetype are Xenos race party members due to their aversion to Imperial technology, and Ulfar the Space Marine, as Space Marines didn't need one since they're giant living tanks.
Also, only characters who take up the Officer and Operative first-tier Archetypes can claim the Overseer Archetype.
While I admit I didn’t play the Overseer Archetype to the best of its abilities during my playthrough, I enjoyed playing around with it. The Familiars can offer fun new ways to attack enemies and enhance allies for support-based characters, and they can be useful off-tanks to take the heat off your party members in a pinch.
Plus, if you get creative, you can have a whole squad of Overseers so you can overwhelm enemies with six heroes and six Familiars at once, which is nuts.
Although I am sad that non-human characters like Yrliet can’t be Overseers due to their hatred for the Imperium, even if the story reasons do make sense. (Here’s hoping Xenos party members will get a new Archetype exclusive to them someday in a future expansion to balance it out).
One last thing I want to mention is that the Lex Imperialis DLC adds a ton of new weapons, armor, and accessories to find throughout the whole game. These new items not only synergize with the abilities of the existing Archetypes but also with the new Arbites Origin and Overseer Archetype, adding more replay value to Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader.
And you’re going to need it for the challenges ahead because some of the battles in the Lex Imperialis DLC quests are no joke. They are challenging fights you can’t brute force through due to unique mechanics and will require creative strategies and optimal party set-ups in order to survive.
These fights offer some of the most difficult challenges in Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader outside of the base game and are incredibly satisfying to conquer once you figure out how to outplay the odds stacked against you.
Lex Imperialis: Final thoughts
Owlcat Games has gone crazy in recent months. They’ve announced a new Warhammer 40,000 CRPG called Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy, they’re publishing a new samurai CRPG called Shadow of the Road, they’re making a big-budget RPG called The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, and they’re planning on releasing two more DLC expansions for Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader after the Lex Imperialis DLC.
The studio is certainly undertaking an ambitious task. But I’m not worried because Owlcat Games continues to put out high-quality games and DLC expansions, and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader and its Lex Imperialis DLC expansion are no exceptions.
If you liked Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, then you’re gonna love this expansion for all the new content it brings. I know I certainly did.
If you haven’t played Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, then I recommend checking out Samuel Tolbert’s review to see if the game tickles your fancy, as the Lex Imperialis DLC is more of the same grim dark goodness.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Owlcat Games’ upcoming Xbox titles/upcoming PC titles pan out, and I can’t wait for more DLC expansions for one of the best Xbox games and best PC games based on the bleak, war-torn universe of Warhammer 40,000.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader is available on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation 5, and PC via Windows and Steam.
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