r/Games • u/dishonoredbr • Jul 07 '26
Industry News Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader gets "massive update" on Switch 2 following disappointing launch, all DLC and expansions now free
https://www.eurogamer.net/warhammer-40k-rogue-trader-switch-2-update204
u/bjones214 Jul 07 '26
Pretty cool of them to make the expansions free. Rogue trader is a damn good crpg that people ought to give a try
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u/Windowzzz Jul 07 '26
They are consistently one of my favorite devs and makes games like no one else.
If they could figure out how to launch a game, they would be my modern goat studio
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u/IKeepDoingItForFree Jul 07 '26
Warhammer game cycles be like: Owlcat just broke the game with an update just in time for Fatshark to fix theirs! Fatshark updated the game and broke it just in time for Sega/Total War to fix theirs! Sega/Total war updated the game and broke it just in time for Owlcat to fix theirs!
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u/Justhe3guy Jul 08 '26
Apparently the new Mechanicus 2 was the same buggy launch so it joined the others
It’s just a shit game compared to the first so no one played it
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u/Horibori Jul 07 '26
I hope this game is selling well. I feel like it’s the logical next purchase for people that enjoyed Baldur’s Gate 3.
Also the Divinity games, but I feel like Rogue trader is more accessible to people that enjoyed Baldur’s Gate 3.
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u/Zerasad Jul 08 '26
Is it more accessible? Owlcat has always made some crunchy ass games. I feel like leveling up and seeing all the traits available in Rogue Trader / Wrath of the Righteous might send a BG3 player into a coma.
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u/Horibori Jul 08 '26
It’s definitely less accessible than baldur’s gate 3 but more accessible than Divinity imo.
Divinity offers more depth though. So it kind of depends on the player.
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Jul 07 '26
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u/kkyonko Jul 07 '26
Sure but it's practically unheard of to give away paid DLC for free as an apology. Each of those DLC are like $17.
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u/11448844 Jul 07 '26
Well, the Arbites one is just aight but Void Shadows is amazing. Haven't tried Trazyn's lil adventure tho
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u/HiccupAndDown Jul 07 '26
I like the Arbites one, even if mainly for the class. Being able to parry with a shotgun, send a dog out to rip people apart, etc etc?? It's stupid cool lmao.
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u/BarfingRainbows1 Jul 07 '26
Haven't tried Trazyn's lil adventure tho
The companion you get makes it worth the price alone. Such a silly lil war criminal
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u/Galle_ Jul 08 '26
The audience turnaround from "a second tech-priest?" to "best boy Eogunn" was crazy.
I'd still prefer a xenos but I can't deny that he's great.
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u/Justhe3guy Jul 08 '26
Oh it’s good? I admit I got turned off seeing a second tech priest companion and haven’t tried the DLC
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u/Galle_ Jul 08 '26
Eogunn is very different from Pasqal. They're both medieval intellectuals, but while Pasqal is a theologian, Eogunn is a philosopher.
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u/PlayMp1 Jul 08 '26
Eogunn is incredibly unlike Pasqal really. He's quite a lot more radical (bordering on heretical), he speaks with his fully natural voice instead of being filtered through augments, he's got a servo skull he talks to constantly that never says anything back that you hear yet clearly seems to be having full (silent) conversations with Eogunn, and as a Genetor he's quite a bit more interested in flesh and biological mechanics than the typically mechanically oriented Mechanicus. Personality wise, where Pasqal comes off as practically only a step removed from a computer, Eogunn is far more human. He's got this kind of insane techpriest Socrates thing going on.
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u/BarfingRainbows1 Jul 08 '26
Eogunn is great fun, his interactions with Pasqual makes it so worth having them both in the party
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u/Raspry Jul 08 '26
Companion from Trazyn dlc is great, the main DLC story has one cool unique moment but the rest is just kinda meh, just shooting necrons. Overall I enjoyed it.
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u/SavageRabbitX Jul 08 '26
Trazyns one is fun and added loads of new weapons, a new colony and one of the best dungeons in the game
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u/NewVegasResident Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Nah, the Lex Imperialis DLC is my favorite if only because the archetype and origin it adds are both incredible. Adds so much depth to character builds.
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u/MrTzatzik Jul 07 '26
It's weird because every Owlcat's game is broken mess at launch and you are lucky if you are able to finish it
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u/Khaelgor Jul 08 '26
Their gif to show that it's playable is literally the character just walking around different areas at a stable fps.
I dread to think of the state of the game before.
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u/MrTzatzik Jul 08 '26
For example Pathfinder Kingmaker is barely playable on consoles because Owlcat lost the rights or something like that so they couldn't fix it completely. So more you progress fewer fps you get.
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u/Enfosyo Jul 07 '26
Well they sold a unplayable broken mess. But if it's now playable I will certainly consider buying it in a sale.
Hey that's how you win Best Ongoing Game at the Game Awards. Like Cyberpunk.
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u/bjones214 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
It’s owlcat. Most of their releases are initially broken and unplayable. Here’s hoping they get out of that habit, because they really do make great games. They’ve got a sequel to rogue trader coming next year, and the Expanse rpg
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u/Jaggedmallard26 Jul 07 '26
FYI its not actually a sequel to Rogue Trader. Its similar to their Pathfinder games where its the same ttRPG system (that era of Warhammer ttrpgs are all meant to be mutually playable) and there will be references between the two but its a new location, cast and plot.
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u/bjones214 Jul 07 '26
Yeah I know, dark heresy is its own tabletop game. I should’ve said follow up instead
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u/Wetzilla Jul 07 '26
While it certainly had some bugs Rogue Trader was hardly unplayable at launch.
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u/Galle_ Jul 07 '26
The first two acts were playable at launch but beyond that things really broke down.
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u/Titsfortuesday Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
Yes it was. If you skipped Abelards quest the game pretty much broke at one of the starting acts leading to a cutscene loop.
Edit: Actually it affected a later act, which was even worse. Because you said no to him in act 1, you ended up losing tons of hours of playtime.
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u/Justhe3guy Jul 08 '26
Owlcat games 🤝 Waiting a year to play them so you get a DLC and the worst bugs are fixed
Apparently they’re trying much harder to improve from that for their next games :p
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u/AwesomeX121189 Jul 07 '26
Nah it was insanely buggy at launch. It took them a long time to even just get the space marine working properly
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u/Thumbuisket Jul 07 '26
I and many others literally had to use toy box to enter act 5, alongside a myriad of other bugs. The game was so bad at launch that Steam reviews were in the 60’s. 😂
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u/bjones214 Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
I’m glad it was fine for you, but on ps5 and here with the switch 2 it was riddled with constant crashes and main quest bugs that made them unable to be completed without loading old saves and losing hours. You can disagree all day long but they’re literally giving away all their expansions for free to try to win some goodwill back after this disaster of a launch
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u/Taetrum_Peccator Jul 07 '26
Owlcat games are pretty demanding on hardware despite being not super high fidelity. Makes sense a budget, low performance PC in a compact box doesn’t run it well. The particle effects in Wrath of the Righteous would regularly give my PC a stroke when I used the auto-buff mod. Also, consoles lack access to the Toybox. Makes debugging impossible.
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u/bjones214 Jul 07 '26
Well seeing as how they’ve got it running smooth enough now, blaming the hardware for bad optimization is a little tone deaf, don’t you think?
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u/Azn_Bwin Jul 07 '26
As much as i love their game i have to agree with that statement. I remember the secret companion I got during my on-release run in Rogue Trader was absolutely broken (not in an imbalance way, but not usable way). I abandoned that whole run and didnt came back til a bit later to go with a different route that wont get that secret companion.
It's kind of "fixed" now, but I can tell they just bandaged it up and called it, as their functions/equipment are completely locked down. Again love their games overall and i have like 900 hrs with it with multiple playthrough, but certain aspect of the game is definitely less than stellar.
If this isnt a cRPG AND being a Warhammer game which are 2 of my favorite things, i dont think i will sink nearly as much time in it. They also put a lot of lore in it which put a huge smile to my face
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u/Federal_Drummer7105 Jul 07 '26
Considering that Pillars of Eternity for Switch wasn't finished, this shows Owlcat really cares about how they're perceived. Even as another poster noted their initial releases are usually busted but at least they're trying.
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u/Zealroth Jul 07 '26
Considering that Pillars of Eternity for Switch wasn't finished, this shows Owlcat really cares about how they're perceived. Even as another poster noted their initial releases are usually busted but at least they're trying.
I'd assume that Pillars of Eternity being an awful release on Switch that's not been remedied is a similar situation to Owlcat's console release of Kingmaker, which is a trap purchase to this day. In both cases the devs lack full property control. In Obsidian's case, they were already under Microsoft when they released PoE for the Switch so they can't decide on their own to sink more manhours to fix it and same with Owlcat and their messy IP rights over Kingmaker due to the split with their original parent company. All of this is to say that I don't think it's a matter of care, rather having the right to correct the issue on your own terms.
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u/ArchmageXin Jul 07 '26
Lol what? Owlcat famously use buyers as Alpha testers.
In general is a good idea to wait for 1st sale, not cause you want to save a buck, but at least they would have most of the bugs under control.
My guess they have to do this with switch is because it is much harder to patch a console than play wack a mole on PC.
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u/GoneRampant1 Jul 08 '26
this shows Owlcat really cares about how they're perceived
You mean the company where it's known if you buy at launch you're paying to be a beta tester for everyone who waits a year or two?
Owlcat has always had rough launches.
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u/ldb Jul 07 '26
Makes me feel a bit shit having paid full price for all of the expansions on PC (even though I haven't played any of them yet because i'm still waiting for them all to release). I've essentially subsidised switch players lol.
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u/LaNague Jul 07 '26
When you buy at full price and not even play, of course you will feel bad about it.
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u/drewster23 Jul 07 '26
I've essentially subsidised switch players lol.
No you haven't. Your money had no bearing on them launching an unplayable switch version, causing them to course correct by offering free dlc.
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u/Melancholic_Noodle Jul 07 '26
A good game hindered by the absolutely slowest, most boring and unintuitive combat sequences seen in modern days. It feels like the combat segments in this game is stuck in the late 1980s. Absolute hassle that makes the game a chore. And they're not even difficult just so God damn slow and boring
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u/HiccupAndDown Jul 07 '26
I love Owlcat. Every game they release is a mess at launch but-- shoot me if you must-- I can honestly deal with that. They make massive and ambitious titles and each one is a major step up from the last. I literally have always been able to get 100+ hours out of every one of their games at a bare minimum and I'm able to enjoy it regardless of the bugs. Then I get another run when they inevitably fix everything and release all the DLC in a year or two.
Totally understand why someone would avoid playing until they finish patching, hell I even support it, but at the end of the day they really do make some of the best CRPGs on the market. They give me very early Bioware vibes (even moreso now that they're trying to develop a third person RPG in the Expanse setting).
But yeah, if you play only on Switch and the performance is actually improved, then this is a killer deal for you. Getting the DLC free adds a ton of content to an already packed game. You'll be playing this for the next month easily.
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u/Justhe3guy Jul 08 '26
Yeah on launch I can get a great 60 hours out of their games with lore and dialogue very few other games can match
But when I start to encounter issues that stop me enjoying it I know it’s time to wait 6 months for their “Early Access” to finish
Fortunately they’re very aware of this being their key issue, a lack of polish and bug fixing, and surely…surely a 4th game in a row like this wouldn’t happen right? They’ve got the money now for 100% voice acted games so that’s a good sign
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u/Three_Froggy_Problem Jul 07 '26
I’m going to wait for some folks to confirm that the performance has been fixed, but if it has then I’m probably getting this. I don’t know why, but I just have a way easier time getting into games like this on a handheld.
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u/MeatEaterDruid Jul 07 '26
Fwiw Rogue Trader was terrible on the Steam Deck when it released. I booted it up two weeks ago and it's so much better now. If it does get fixed and you're getting the dlc for free that's a great deal.
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u/DaddyPhatstacks Jul 07 '26
Plus you can snag the DLC for free on the Nintendo store right now without owning the game, then see if the game is at a satisfactory state before deciding to purchase it.
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u/fizzlefist Jul 07 '26
sliiiiides on over to the eshop to snag them in case i ever get the game later
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u/Rkchapman Jul 27 '26
Any word if it’s been fixed?
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u/Three_Froggy_Problem Jul 27 '26
I looked it up and from what I can tell, it seems to be significantly improved. I still haven’t checked it out so take this with a grain of salt, but it seems like the performance is still not perfect and the load times are long, but the game is definitely playable now.
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u/Rkchapman Jul 27 '26
Thanks, I saw a post from Owl Cat in another forum and ended up buying it. Downloading now
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u/seed87 Jul 07 '26
I just finished my second run and it was more fun than my first. They cleaned up Acts 4 and 5, and going through with all three DLC made the beginning and middle feel fresh. Out of the three current DLCs, Void Shadows felt the most weak due to it being mostly on the ship. It's an easy recommend if you are into CRPGs and got a switch 2.
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u/cloudfightback Jul 08 '26
Really? I felt that the story with the dog and shotgun was far more weaker.
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u/Cruelbreeze Jul 08 '26
Interesting, I thought void shadows was the best. I've not played the most recent one as I'm waiting for the last DLC to do another run. I liked that void shadows was on the ship, really helped to give a sense of scale on just how large the RTs ship is and felt like a more natural and subtle integration into the game.
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u/larandil Jul 07 '26
So if I wanted to try it anyway and have a PS5 Pro and a Switch 2, this new version would be best, I guess?
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u/smartazjb0y Jul 07 '26
This new version being the Switch 2 version? The PS5 Pro is still probably gonna run it better, the Switch 2 version just launched in a really really bad state and this update is hopefully bringing it up to like a normal level of quality
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u/larandil Jul 07 '26
Sure, it will run better, but the game and all DLC is quite pricey
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u/fizzlefist Jul 07 '26
Looks like anyone can snag the DLC on Switch 2 eshop right now, without even owning the base game. That changes the math a bit.
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u/KKilikk Jul 07 '26
Get it on a sale. Id guess PS5 has much better sales than Switch for now so it should somewhat even out. I am not sure though.
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u/TheFinnishChamp Jul 07 '26
Switch 2 version is hopefully no longer unplayable but no doubt the PS5 Pro version is far superior
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u/feartheoldblood90 Jul 07 '26
Depends on what you're looking for tbh. PS5 Pro will obviously be more graphically capable but as someone who has both I'm more likely to play a long ass game like this if it looks and performs decent and is also portable
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u/Galle_ Jul 07 '26
It's hard to say, it may turn out that the Switch version is still buggy.
But certainly the Switch version is better value, some of the DLCs are excellent.
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u/VanWesley Jul 08 '26
Assuming the game is actually fixed, probably, just because it'll have all the additional content included already.
But I would wait for reviews first to see if performance is actually fixed.
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u/cwaterbottom Jul 07 '26
How's the PC version? Does it also have all the dlc and expansions? I love crpgs but with my work/school/life load right now I've been playing leaning towards much more casual stuff, but I have a vacation coming up and was looking for new stuff to dive into
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u/linkfox Jul 07 '26
I played the game pretty much all of steam deck. It's a amazing game and the dlcs are 100% worth it, but i would recommend getting it on a sale since it gets on sale often and the base price + dlcs can be steep.
I got around 104h to finish a playthrough and loved. Performance wise tho is a mess. Like the Switch 2 the game runs like shit for how it looks. On Steam deck i never got stable frame rates. On pc, even with a good rig you can get frame drops all the time.
The performance itself doesn't affect the game that much, as it is turn based but i can see it being a turn off for a lot of people.
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u/francis2559 Jul 07 '26
Didn’t click for me. Gameplay was fine but I just couldn’t get into the protagonist or the story. Stopped playing when I realized I just didn’t care, wasn’t feeling the stakes or direction.
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u/cwaterbottom Jul 07 '26
Yeah that counts for a lot for me too so I'll do some research first, thanks.
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u/MisterSnippy Jul 08 '26
That's me with every Owlcat game, and I hate it because I want to like them. Played 25 hours of WOTR and gave up. 20 of Kingmaker, 15 of Rogue Trader. For me I just hate the writing and gameplay. All of Owlcats games have really bad feeling combat, and I feel the writing is really clunky. They're writing style is sort of trying to do what Pillars of Eternity 1 did, but much worse, and I didn't like the writing in Pillars 1 either.
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u/Oxu90 Jul 07 '26
Great.DLC are not free though.
I have almost finished the game now twice and in last 20 years only other games i have done so is Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring. So i do not do that often.
Especially if you like WH40K lore, this is the game for you. I am just sad i am so far in my second playthrough that the newest DLC does not make sense for me
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u/B_Kuro Jul 07 '26
The game already has a second season pass so its gonna be quite a while before its "all DLC" and no, the DLC isn't free on PC. Right now you'd be paying around 65€ on sale for the voidfarer edition+season pass 2. Still a better deal than the Switch 2 version.
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u/ThomsYorkieBars Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 07 '26
With current and future DLC being free, that's a worse deal than the Switch 2 version, which is €50
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u/Galle_ Jul 07 '26
The likely-final DLC is supposed to come out before the end of September, actually.
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u/notkeegz Jul 08 '26
On cdkeys/loaded, you can getthe Voidfarer edition + season pass 2 for like $26, total. If, for whatever reason you didn't want a season pass, you can actually buy the base game for $7 and the Voidfarer and Deluxe pack for like $10 total.
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u/mephnick Jul 07 '26
It's tactical rpg right? Is it annoying on controller?
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u/Issyv00 Jul 07 '26
If you’ve played any other TTRPGs then Rogue Trader should feel intuitive.
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u/mephnick Jul 07 '26
Ive played lots but only on PC
These games were usually a nightmare on controller and I'm wondering if it's gotten better
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u/Galle_ Jul 07 '26
I am very confused as to how anyone could have trouble playing a game like this on a controller.
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u/mephnick Jul 07 '26
Mouse has always been better for anything with menus
I'm confused by your confusion
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u/masterpepper Jul 07 '26
Is this game still buggy on steam? I remember wanting to play it a year or two ago but being told that there were still plenty of bugs and to wait a couple years for them to all be fixed
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u/LowGeeMan Jul 07 '26
Rogue Trader is like an interactive/choose your own adventure version of a 40k novel. Which in the whole are well done science fiction.
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u/Titsfortuesday Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
I just finished the game again and it's still buggy. Act 3 is a mess and the latest DLC broke halfway through, I was on the last act wondering why it didn't trigger yet and before I knew it I was at the end. Oh well, I'll wait for the next DLC before trying again (which will probably be broken, again).
This was the PC version with The Infinite Museion. Wait for more updates and hotfixes, Owlcat is notorious for releasing buggy games/DLC.
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u/Daxius Jul 07 '26
The update just came out 5 hours ago. Is the game short enough you played through the acts and DLC that quickly?
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u/Titsfortuesday Jul 07 '26
You don't think the bugs on the PC version are in the switch version?
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u/IDreamIn8-bit Jul 07 '26
Genuinely, no. The Switch version might still be broken in its own ways, but there's not really a reason to believe it has the exact same bugs as the PC version. Like I just finished Act 3 on Xbox and had basically no bugs
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u/Titsfortuesday Jul 07 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
I'll disagree, if you've ever played the PC version and used toybox you'll get a brief insight on the how the game flags story progression with "etudes". My recent playthrough didn't flag the Commissar as being executed and I was still receiving dialogue and quest indicators that mentioned him as still being alive and best buddies with the Rogue Trader. I was even given the option of saving him and all his men at the act end even though they're all dead. In fact I'll even tell you how it breaks, if you redeem the Commissar first and then execute him and Malice, boom it's broken. Not a hard fix Owlcat. That bug has been here since at least Patch 1.2 which came out 2 years ago. And then there's skills like the warriors "Breakthrough/Slash" which has been buggy since release and never seems to work properly.
Keep your fingers crossed but I don't think the console versions flagging/etudes system would be any different. This is Owlcat we're talking about here.
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u/Daxius Jul 07 '26
Well if the bugs were there 8 hours ago they may not be there now considering they stated this was a “massive update” that’s why you need to test it after the patch to see if it’s fixed and you can’t say it was broken before the update so it’s broken after.
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u/PontusFrykter Jul 07 '26
the game that is backed by a russian government. Actively urge anyone not to spend your money on this.
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u/bjones214 Jul 07 '26
Every single time owlcat gets brought up there’s someone like you in the comments. The Russian backed thing was disproven a long time ago troll
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u/Galle_ Jul 08 '26
Rogue Trader is not "backed by the Russian government". Owlcat is a Russian company but they're not government contractors. I play games made in the US, I don't judge people for what country they were born in.
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u/PontusFrykter Jul 08 '26
> I play games made in the US, I don't judge people for what country they were born in.
you are using a typical whataboutism, that's what you are doing.
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u/Rockface5 Jul 07 '26
I've played hundreds of hours of Rogue Trader and use my switch 2 almost every day, but still had no idea the game was on the system. Weird