There are many righteous tools you can use to eradicate the enemies of mankind from the galaxy, be they xeno, witch or heretic, and while you shouldn’t expect too much out of Chapter, even generic variants of iconic Warhammer 40,000 staples can prove rare and valuable. This page will list the best weapons you can find in Chapter 1 of Rogue Trader, including how to find them and what makes these weapons a notch above the rest of the gear you can find at the same time.

Arc Rifle - Location¶

After you reach the Bunker on Rykad Minoris you’ll be able to travel onto the Electrodynamic Cenobium. Enter the reactor-cathedral and when you reach a fork turn northeast and defeat half a dozen Electro-Priests when they ambush you, then continue north until your progress to the northwest is barred by a “motive force barrier”. Enter a room to the northeast instead and interact with a “Data-Altar of Sacred Analysis” where you’ll have to input a Galvanic Hymn. Just enter the following options when you interact with the device:

1. The Omnissiah, from whom the holy discharge springeth forth.
2. The Arcane Key that closeth the circuit.
3. The Immortal Reason that hath created the spark.

This will open a secret door, revealing a chest containing the Arc Rifle, alongside other treasures. The Arc Rifle is an interesting weapon, shooting bolts of electricity at enemies. It has fairly decent range and damage, along with a passable armor rating score of 10% - solid, but unremarkable stats. On the downside every shot takes 2 AP and there is no burst fire option, which honestly makes it perform worse than a Stubcarbine. Where the Arc Rifle redeems itself is when several enemies are near each other, as the Arc Rifle’s shots will arc to “all enemies within 2 cells of the target”, giving this weapon situational AoE. It’s a decent weapon for Pasqal, who otherwise would likely prefer to stick with his Omnissian Axe, but when there are no enemies within melee range or there’s a tempting cluster of foes, the Arc Rifle is a good option to have handy. You’ll probably want to drop it for a Plasma Gun or Meltagun at the first opportunity you get in Chapter 2, but it’ll serve well until then.

Flamer - Location¶

“Best” weapons are fairly subjective, but it’s hard to argue that getting your hands on a weapon that’ll carry a character through an entire chapter in a CRPG doesn’t deserve that accolade. As soon as you get through the chatter that separates the Prologue and Chapter 1 and find yourself sailing around the Rykad system in your newly inherited voidship, make your way to an “Unidentified Voidship”. Once there you’ll get the opportunity to ask a line of leading questions to find out more about the ship, or you can just open fire on the wounded vessel for its crew’s duplicity. Restrain yourself and just pick the first dialog option and you’ll eventually end up trading with the ship - Thunderfang - whose crew are members of the “Fellowship of the Void” faction. One of the weapons you can requisition from them is a Flamer. It costs you nothing to do this and it’s a great anti-horde weapon for characters with the correct proficiency - Argenta using it alongside Unfading Valor is a force to be reckoned with.

Foehammer - Location¶

On Rykadi Philia you’ll follow a linear path into a barracks, where you’ll be ambushed by some prisoners. Put them down and work your way through a gated-off area, picking locks, using Melta-Charges and dealing with turncoat pirates until you reach the warden’s office along the northwestern corner of the building. Search a dresser in the corner near a bed to find Foehammer. This “shotgun pistol” deals roughly the same damage as a Stub Revolver, but being a shotgun, it always fires in a cone, giving you some AoE and the ability to knock enemies back, all for a measly 1 AP. Another decent close-range option for a character using a melee weapon in their main hand, especially with the Dual-Weapon Combat talent.

Hand Flamer - Location¶

One of the more common weapons on this list, you’ll find several of them on Rykad Minoris, including on The Upperway and in the Warehouse, in the possession of Firestarting Cultists. You need the Flame Weapon Proficiency to use and this variant isn’t quite as good as the standard Flamer, but it is one handed and can fine in a line (stream) or cone (spray), making it very good AoE damage against groups of lightly armored enemies. There’s a superior version of the Hand Flamer you can upgrade to in Chapter 2, so you’ll be able to make use of flame weapons for quite a while without interruption if you wish. It’s a decent offhand option, especially if you have the Dual-Weapon Combat talent.

Longlas - Location¶

One of the better long-range weapons in the chapter, you’ll find this rifle on Eurac V. Board the station and navigate some dialog with Felek Orsellio, who wants to enlist your aid in gaining access to an elevator. Agree and head to the northwestern corner of the room, pass an Athletics check to jump over some debris, then continue east and north to encounter some mutants. After a sprawling (but not difficult) fight, head down a hallway to the east to find two doors to the north. Go through either one and work your way into a larger room to the north where you’ll find a guard whose craziness gets himself shot. In this larger room you’ll find two doors to the east - go through the southernmost of these two doors (it’s locked, so you’ll need to pass a [Tech-Use] check) and search some lockers along the wall to the east. Longlas is inside, and as its name implies it’s a long-barrel Lasgun… a sniper Lasgun, in other words. Not only does it deal decent damage for this point in the game, but it gives the shooter 30% dodge reduction, as is the norm for Lasguns. In addition, it grants 15% armor penetration and gives the shooter a 25% chance to be able to take a second shot. All in all, it’s the best sniper weapon you’re going to find for quite a while, and unless you’re willing to dabble in xeno weaponry, you won’t find much better until you’re deep into Chapter 2.

Officer’s Chainsword - Location¶

You’ll find this weapon on Rykad Minoris, on The Upperway (East) area. Head to the southwestern edge of the area to find a destroyed section of road. There’s an area transition here that’ll take you down to a subterranean warehouse area, but this is just a landmark, not a destination, as far as acquiring this weapon goes. North of this shattered road interact with a point of interest to “Clear a Path”, revealing a chest in the process. Pick a lock to get at the contents within, which includes the Officer’s Chainsword. Despite the name, this weapon has nothing to do with the Officer archetype, but it does deal increased damage and armor penetration compared to a normal Chainsword, and should see Abelard through the rest of Chapter 1.

Plasma Gun - Location¶

Like the Plasma Pistol(s) (see below) but better! More range, damage and armor penetration, but otherwise the same core concept. The Plasma Gun can be overcharged to deal more damage or hit targets in a 3x3 AoE, and while this costs 2 AP as opposed to the 1 AP from the single shot firing mode, the real downside is it puts the weapon on cooldown. Bit of a balancing act, and while Plasma Pistols are fine for melee builds (especially with the Dual-Weapon Combat talent) since you can always whack something in melee while the weapon is on cooldown, you’ll need to switch weapon sets for a Plasma Gun, as it’s a two-handed weapon. Or you could just equip it as one of Pasqal’s two weapons, which is probably the ideal use for this weapon. While it’s categorically superior to the Plasma Pistols and Arc Rifle, one thing holds the Plasma Gun back in Chapter 1 - you get it at the very end of the Chapter. Once you’ve completed all the other main quests, you’ll have to return to Rykad Minoris for a celebratory parade, after which you’ll need to make your way back to the starport. This weapon is hidden in a loot pickup just before you reach said starport, on a bridge east of an encounter where you’ll find numerous cultists (the fight features numerous traps surrounding a destroyed shuttle).

Plasma Pistol - Location¶

This weapon can also be found in the Electrodynamic Cenobium on Rykad Minoris, which you can only travel to after you reach the Bunker on the same planet. From the entrance of this reactor-cathedral, head north until you reach a fork, then turn west to reach a long hallway running north. This hallway is filled with hostile cultists and environmental hazards; dodge the lightning that periodically discharges and advance up the hallway, being especially wary of the nuisance snipers at the northern end of the hallway. About halfway up the hallway you’ll find a path to the east, where several crates block the way forward. Pass an [Athletics] check to vault over this barrier, beyond which you’ll find a chest - the Plasma Pistol can be found inside.

You can get a second Plasma Pistol by simply trading with Tech-Priest Quartz-Krame, who you will find in the Bunker on Rykad Minoris. You’ll need to get your Reputation up to tier 2 and accumulate a Profit Factor of 12+. You’ll get cargo by exploring and your Profit Factor will increase as you complete quests, so there’s no direct way to get this weapon, you should have the resources to requisition late in Chapter 1.

This weapon requires the Plasma Weapon Proficiency talent, which Pasqal has natively, and frankly this weapon outcompetes the Arc Rifle, dealing slightly worse damage and having inferior range, but boasting a whopping 30% armor penetration as well as possessing more and better firing options. It has a passable single shot option for 1 AP, a 3x3 AoE shot for 2 AP and a heavy damage overcharge for 2 AP. These last two will put the gun on cooldown (as opposed to the most severe penalties imposed by temperamental plasma weapons in the tabletop version of Warhammer 40,000, but when the need or opportunity arises it’s a great option to have. All that said, you may want to give another character the Plasma Weapon Proficiency talent so they can also use this excellent class of weapon, in which case the Arc Rifle is still a fine alternative.