Rogue Company Kestrel guide: Weapons, stats, gadgets, perks, more

Rogue Company has kicked off Season 1 with a brand new ranked system, its first-ever battle pass and another Rogue entering the fray.

The latest gadget wielding Duelist is the Indian-born Kestrel, who isn't entering the Company for the first time having been one of its founding members before her retirement.

She's back though to help fight against Jackal and time will tell if she has still got it, but from the playtime, during the Season 1 beta, she certainly looks like a character that can mix it with the best.

(Picture: Hi-Rez Studios)

We break down her loadout, perks and more to give you a better idea on her to use her on the battlefield.

How do you unlock Kestrel?

Unlocking Kestrel will cost you 20,000 Reputation or 700 Rogue (approx. US$7).

How you gain Reputation has changed in Season 1, you can find more info on that in our Season 1 explainer.

Kestrel's Weapons

Kestrel's arsenal contains three brand new weapons. For a Primary, she has the option of the Rip Tide Assault Rifle and the Knight SMG.

Riptide Assault Rifle

• Body Damage: 18

• Fire Rate: 9.17

• Range: 24

• Handling: 32

• Magazine Size: 30

• Reload Time: 2

Knight SMG

• Body Damage: 22

• Fire Rate: 8

• Range: 12

• Handling: 33

• Magazine Size: 20

• Reload Time: 1.6

The Riptide is a good, if not exactly the best, Assault Rifle seen in the game. With the third-highest damage and second fastest fire rate, it can certainly mix it with the best.

The Knight, on the other hand, is a best-in-class SMG with the most damage output and second furthest range seen in the game. It perfectly complements Kestrel's Duelist playstyle and should be your go-to when playing as her.

• Read more: Rogue Company Season 1: Release date, patch notes, battle pass, more

For a secondary weapon, she can pick up the P12K pistol and for a melee weapon, she can unsheath the new Kukri samurai sword.

Kukri

• Body Damage: 40
• Throw Damage: 100
• Swing Rate: 2.17

Traits

Kestrel's two Traits define her character. First is her passive - Legend's Contract - that awards you an extra 1000 cash per down opponent. The ability for this to quickly add up means that a strong early game can put you in a commanding position as you gain the ability to purchase and upgrade weapons and perks.

(Picture: Hi-Rez Studios)

Her real showstopper though is her Halo Drones, which allow her to send up a "cluster" of armed drones. These will fire a barrage of munitions in the direction Kestrel is facing. 

Using the Halo Drone effectively isn't easy, it is targetted based off where Kestrel which makes her vulnerable when using it. The best way is to use it preemptively. Use it to flush out unseen opponents or in a combination with other munitions and teammates to create traps.

A successful drone hit will do 60 damage and may well be best to use to finish off downed enemies.

Note: If you played during the PTE and found Kestrel's Halo Drones wanting the developers have confirmed they have been buffed in the official release, increasing their inner and outer blast radius.

Gadgets

Her two perks are the Adrenaline Shot and Bounce Grenade - both of which are new to the game.

The most impactful of these is the Adrenaline Shot which grants Kestrel a speed increase and begins her health regeneration. It's perfect for post-fights when you want to reposition and heal and feeds into Kestrel's play style as a character who feeds off action.

(Picture: Hi-Rez Studios)

The Bounce Grenade's fuse only begins after the first bounce. This gives you the potential to land grenades not only directly on opponents but also giving them little time to react. This is an ability that, as players learn good lineups, will grow in its effectiveness.

Perks

Kestrel's perks are as follows:

• Berserker

• Padded Steps

• Stalker

• Helping Hand

• Replenish

• Resupply

Perks that accentuate Kestrel's innate abilities are best picked. Replenish which reloads your currently equipped weapon and restores ammunition is key as it keeps her in the action for longer.

Both primary weapons suffer from being relatively slow firing so Stalker, which removes the ADS movement speed penalty, shaves off vital milliseconds in some situations.

Resupply will restore your gadgets when you kill an opponent, this coupled with the extra 1000 cash you get with each down, means the more you take out the stronger you get.

How good is Kestrel?

It is hard to say exactly how powerful Kestrel is so soon after her release, but its clear already she isn't S-Tier, at least in most hands.

(Picture: Hi-Rez Studios)

While she is a duelist her average(ish) primary weapons mean that a certain level of strategy needs to be employed both in a micro and macro level. Taking engagements and finishing, especially in the earlier rounds, will give you huge advantage later on and its the knowing and understanding this that will allow Kestrel mains to potentially dominate.