Best Heavy Bolter Builds in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader

The Heavy Bolter is one of the most powerful burst-fire weapons in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader. In the hands of the Arch-Militant archetype, the Heavy Bolter can tear through multiple enemies with ease. It’s not great for every character, and there are difficulties in equipping one, but once you properly build a character you can wield it easily. Here are the best Heavy Bolter builds in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader to help you master the weapon.

Obtaining The Heavy Bolter in Rogue Trader

There are two ways to obtain a Heavy Bolter in Warhammer 40K: Rogue Trader. The first is by defeating Aurora towards the end of Act 1. This gets you a Heavy Bolter that can only be used by characters with the Heretical alignment. The Heretical alignment is one of the hardest Convictions to play since you end up losing several members of your team. The only suitable character for a Heretical Heavy Bolter is your main character.

The alternative is Hieronymus Doloroso who is found in the southern part of Footfall’s Atrium in Act 2. You can trade for the Heavy Bolter if you have 36 Profit Factor. That Heavy Bolter requires 60 Strength to equip but anyone can use it. It’s perfect if you want to use characters such as Argenta or another Arch-Militant character. It’s also perfect for builds because you are likely obtaining the Heavy Weapon Proficiency skill to wield it safely.

While you can improve the Heavy Bolter further and get upgraded versions, those appear later in the game. Starting with the Heavy Bolters you can obtain early on gives you a great advantage when exploring and fighting.

Creating the Heavy Bolter Build

The best archetypes that can make use of the Heavy Bolter are the Soldier and the Arch-Militant. Starting with the Soldier gives you Rapid Fire, which is essential for dealing large amounts of damage with any burst weapon. The Arch-Militant helps you build on that burst damage with better skills and talents. Playing the Heavy Bolter as if it were a Sniper weapon is not great because you hold back its potential.

Here is the build you should pursue as a Soldier:

When you can select the Arch-Militant Archetype, the skills you should choose are:

Here’s a quick recap of the Heavy Bolter builds:

• Get the Heavy Bolter first. Either have a Heretical main character or get the 60 Strength version at Footfall in Act 2.
• Pursue the Soldier and the Arch-Militant archetypes since you want to focus on burst damage.