Is a rogue class any good?

[nathin61]

Or am I just gonna get ♥♥♥♥ on after taking my 1 back stab of the battle. Haven't played the game much in the past 3 years, so not really up to date on whats new in combat.

[Edstyles]

Rogue is not very good but you can make it pretty decent depending on the way you play it and im not talking cheesing with stealth. SO there are ways to make a rogue decent with a good build. Not to mention you can multiclass too so 1 class isnt necessarily weaker than others when u can just multiclass.

[HozzMidnight]

The way they implemented sneak attack as a separate icon/action sucks IMO. I can't tell you how many times I missed out on sneak attack damage when attacking with Astarion. They need to add it to the toggle section with attack of opportunity and whatever else is there.

[Miqi]

I donnu.
There is some degree of satisfaction when you roll 35 on a Lockpicking check at lvl 5.
No door will be your enemy.
No item will be too expensive with 5 finger discount.

I guess they're pretty neat in combat.


There is a playstyle that lents itself to relying on killing monsters 1 at a time without ever entering combat.
And getting surprise rounds by engaging from stealth.

[Miqi]

Originally posted by HozzMidnight:

The way they implemented sneak attack as a separate icon/action sucks IMO. I can't tell you how many times I missed out on sneak attack damage when attacking with Astarion. They need to add it to the toggle section with attack of opportunity and whatever else is there.

that's a skill issue, not a "change the entire game for us" issue.

Just remove default attack from action bar and get used to sneak attack being an ability like any other melee attack in the game, superiority dice / reckless barbarian attack.

[HozzMidnight]

I don't think asking for a toggle to always sneak attack vs manually sneak attack (but not with a bonus action...) is changing the entire game.

[ahmannw]

Originally posted by HozzMidnight:

I don't think asking for a toggle to always sneak attack vs manually sneak attack (but not with a bonus action...) is changing the entire game.

It's not. This has been an issue for years with the usual "it should be this way" and "no, it should be this way" discussions. I fall on the side of wishing it was a passive. I understand the argument for making it a toggle and think that's not bad either. I don't like the current requirement that you have to click a specific action for sneak attack because it doesn't let you modify the attack (e.g., use fire arrows instead of normal arrows). Unless I am mistaken, we're still stuck with the old way and there are at least some players who prefer it that way.

[The Dapper Dragon]

Originally posted by ahmannw:

Originally posted by HozzMidnight:

I don't think asking for a toggle to always sneak attack vs manually sneak attack (but not with a bonus action...) is changing the entire game.

It's not. This has been an issue for years with the usual "it should be this way" and "no, it should be this way" discussions. I fall on the side of wishing it was a passive. I understand the argument for making it a toggle and think that's not bad either. I don't like the current requirement that you have to click a specific action for sneak attack because it doesn't let you modify the attack (e.g., use fire arrows instead of normal arrows). Unless I am mistaken, we're still stuck with the old way and there are at least some players who prefer it that way.

The thing that kills me is it's a passive in DOS2.

[Blackdragon]

Rogue (Thief) is awesome. And with new multiclassing, it will be a great dip for warrior characters (like fighter, barb). But the build and tactic is specific - ranged attacks from stealth. Melee toe-to-toe does not go well with the rogue.

[[Heretic]Rivga]

Originally posted by nathin62:

Or am I just gonna get ♥♥♥♥ on after taking my 1 back stab of the battle. Haven't played the game much in the past 3 years, so not really up to date on whats new in combat.

Yeah the Rogue class is always solid in these games, they make good skill monkey's with some good alternatives to facing enemies straight out.
You need to be more tactical - because you are not a front line fighter but if you like the rogue class I'd guess that being tactical and not just charging in is more your style.

Oh and you can multi-Class, a few levels of fighter or something else may turn the rogue into something else.

[MeldinX2]

I think they are decent. I've used Astarion in my party in EA quite abit and he is good at what he does. Sneak attacks does do good damage and i have him as an arcane trickster so he can also cast some useful spells.

[Runic Tunic]

Yeah they're fun. I mean you'll still be a bit vulnerable to damage compared to other classes, but that can be countered by multiclassing and subclass selection.

You'll hit hard and being a stealthy back stabber is always fun.

[nyanko]

Yes it's good. You can basically duo the entire game with Shadowheart and her buffs to stealth. And with the addition of the assassin subclass, I guess backstabbing bosses will be a walk in the park.

I think I will try multiclassing Rogue Assassin/Monk Shadow. Might be super fun.

[Farsha]

Rogues are fine but far from the best damage dealers in the DnD 5e.
Fighter and Paladin can both do way more dmg in Melee.
But they are good skill monkeys and have interesting options, they make good main character since they have lot of skills and can perform quite a few shenaningans out of combat.
Really choose your class based on what you want to roleplay as, not on what is best in slot.
BG3 is actual RPG, it's not Diablo.

For me most interesting is Thief, you can do some fun stuff with 2 bonus actions, that not many other classes can pull off.

[katzenkrimis]

Originally posted by nathin62:

Or am I just gonna get ♥♥♥♥ on after taking my 1 back stab of the battle.

I would never play as a Rogue, but like having them in my party.

They can be used as your damage-dealer.

Sure, the Rogue is wimpy, but it's all about having a balanced team that can support him and take the heat off. Rogues can do serious damage.

[ahmannw]

Originally posted by nathin62:

Or am I just gonna get ♥♥♥♥ on after taking my 1 back stab of the battle. Haven't played the game much in the past 3 years, so not really up to date on whats new in combat.

I think it is wise to go with the consensus (ranking) of classes you can find with a quick search. Rogue is almost always somewhere near the bottom. Having played every class in EA, I tend to agree. Here's some caveats:

1) if you like cheese, you can take down enemies just a little faster by sneak attacking at range then hiding, which confuses the AI and causes enemies to stand still until your next turn. It's not rewarding to me but everyone has the right to play however they like. (I'll add, though, that I wanted to play a Rogue like this but I didn't like that AI automatically cheesed out; I wanted them to be a little smarter when I shot, then hid.)
2) if you don't like cheese, you have to ensure you can almost always attack with advantage. It's not that hard to do and it's the only way to make a rogue better than other classes in that regard, though the degree by which a rogue surpasses its peers is pretty small even if you do everything right.
3) some would say rogues are the skill monkey, but my experience was that it was easy to get all the skills you want from your party and the bard is just better, or at least it seemed so to me.
4) the thief is a surprisingly good healer because you can use your Bonus Action with healing potions. the arcane trickster is a "good enough" spellcaster in that you can cast sleep when you can't sneak attack.
5) every class needs CON and most builds need DEX. You will always have enough to get decent at other attributes, which can be rewarding from a non-powergaming perspective. You should start with the standard default (true for almost any class with WIS sometimes being swapped for another attribute that is also sometimes your highest attribute and which I have adjusted to match the now confirmed +2/+1 for all characters) of STR 8, INT 8, CHA 8, DEX 17, CON 16, WIS 15 then adjust WIS to your liking. It's a really strong baseline build that is particularly effective with Rogues. Try to make sure you have two odd attributes, both of which you want to increase at 4th Level, or all even (the second standard default is 16/16/14/12/8/8 or 16/16/14/10/10/8).