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Bellator is one of the first characters you will unlock in Warhammer 40K: Tacticus and is also coincidentally a very useful character in a variety of game modes. You’ll need him to complete the Indomitus and Indomitus Elite campaigns; he is useful in Tournament Arena, regular Arena, and even Guild Raids. If you’re interested in learning more about why Bellator is so good or why so many high-level players have him on their roster despite being a Common character, here’s a quick guide to why.
How to Unlock Bellator
After completing the tutorial, you will have Bellator unlocked alongside a few other characters, so there’s no real trouble unlocking him. To get more shards, you can either farm them in the Indomitus Mirror and Indomitus Mirror Elite Campaigns or try your luck at pulling him in Requisitions.
He is a common character, and you are guaranteed at least one character if you open 10 Requisition Scrolls at a time, meaning that you have a pretty decent chance of getting him in a pull. It will only be 40 shards at a time, but that should be enough to get you going and get him promoted or ascended.
Ascending Bellator to Legendary is a good idea, so you can max him out at Diamond II, but it isn’t exactly necessary. If you have the Orbs to spare, you might as well do it since his active and passive abilities will increase by 20% for every rarity increase you give him.
Bellator’s Active and Passive Abilities
Bellator’s Active
Bellator’s excellent active ability is what makes him such a great character in Guild Raids and, well, just about any game mode, even Arena. Death from Above summons 1 Interceptor for every round that has started around a target in free, adjacent hexes, up to a maximum of 5 Interceptors (there are 6 hexes around a target, and Bellator stands on one).
The Interceptors immediately attack their target, dealing damage and procing effects like Eldryon’s Doom. This is what makes him so powerful. Not only does Bellator deal 6 hits, but his Interceptors deal 6 as well. This synergizes so well with Eldryon’s passive that you can be dealing tens of thousands of additional damage to bosses in Raids.
The Interceptors are also incredibly tanky, capping out at level 50 with 5483 health, 997 damage, and 1197 armor, which is almost doubled essentially thanks to the Mk X Gravis passive, which we will discuss more in the Stats section below.
On the next turn, the Interceptors will fly around and attack other units, just as any other summon would. Bellator’s passive does synergize with his Interceptors, though, making them not entirely useless after their initial spawn.
Bellator’s Passive
Bellator’s passive ability states that whenever Bellator attacks, any Interceptors adjacent to him attack eligible targets in hexes adjacent to them as well, dealing +X damage. The damage caps out at 499 at level 50, but with 6 hits and a possible damage buff from Eldryon’s Doom, this can easily be deadly.
The summons are more useful as tanks anyway, but some added interactivity and damage with Bellator is definitely an added bonus. The Active is way more useful than the passive, however, so focus on upgrading that first and only upgrade the passive if you’re absolutely swimming in Gold and Badges.
Bellator Stats and Attacks
Bellator is one tanky unit with 6507 health, 764 damage, and 995 armor at max rank. The armor might not sound like a lot, but his Mk X Gravis trait definitely helps. Mk X Gravis states that any damage has to go through armor a second time, essentially doubling his armor. Crits, however, will eat right through it, so be wary of the Adepta Sororitas and other high-crit characters.
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He only has a melee attack, which hits 6 times and utilizes Bolter damage. Why he can’t aim just a little bit further away than a single hex with his guns is beyond the comprehension of mere mortals, but we’re not complaining too much.
Bellator has just two traits, the previously discussed Mk X Gravis trait, and Flying. Flying allows him to ignore any sort of terrain restrictions, allowing him to fly over razorwire, enemy units, elevation differences, and impassable terrain. With that benefit does come the downside that Bellator does not benefit from being on a Trench or Tall Grass hex, unfortunately, so keep that in mind when positioning him.
Bellator has an impressive move range of four hexes, allowing him to quickly leave melee and reposition somewhere else or chase characters that are running from him.
For equipment, you can give him a Crit Item, a Defensive Item, and a Crit Booster. For Crit Items, you have a choice between Bolt Pistols and Combat Knives. Due to how crits work, a Bolt Pistol is arguably the better choice for Bellator unless you want to start running matrixes on enemy armor and possible damage.
When looking at defensive items, you can either give Bellator a Mk X Pauldron or Plated Greaves. Plated Greaves are better in scenarios where you’re up against low-damage hits, like a Legendary Release Event, while Mk X Pauldrons are probably better in every other scenario, as the combination of health with slightly less armor than Pauldrons might keep him alive just a moment longer.
How to Use Bellator
Bellator’s active ability is what makes him a shining star, but it’s more useful the longer you wait. That said, it’s completely useless if he dies before getting it off. Therefore, it’s a delicate balance between keeping him alive and not leaving him in the backline where he isn’t doing anything. Luckily, his Mk X Gravis passive and high health stat guarantee that he should make it at least a few rounds at a minimum.
For Guild Raids, where you have slightly more control over events and bosses are more predictable, you can save his passive till the end when it gets the most benefit from Eldryon’s Doom. Still, don’t wait till the last round to use it, as you’ll get more attacks off if you use it slightly earlier.
Also, keep in mind that the AI loves targeting summons. This can be especially useful in Campaign battles, as an Interceptor dying doesn’t remove a medal from your score at the end of the round. Use his Interceptors like cannon fodder, keeping your main characters alive and allowing you to get all three medals. The Interceptors also tend to one-shot Scarabs, which can be annoying to deal with on Indomitus if Bellator goes down and you’re left with a Varro and Certus.
Essentially, focus on getting him in the fight to tank for your backline while also not overextending him to the point where he dies too early to get off a juicy Interceptor summon. In LREs or Onslaught, you should have no problem keeping him alive long enough to get off a max six summon, flooding the field with Interceptors. Remember to take advantage of Bellator’s passive and try to look for optimal situations where you can attack next to one or more Interceptors to increase your overall damage output.
