Baldur’s Gate 3 Rogue Class Guide
Aug. 17, 2023Baldur’s Gate 3 Rogue Class Guide
Baldur’s Gate 3 Rogue Class Guide– In thisBaldur’s Gate 3 Rogue Class Guide, I’m going to be covering the Rogue Class, including all 3 Subclasses, and providing you some useful information. I’ll be doing moreBuild GuidesforBaldur’s Gate 3, but for now, let’s just look at how a Rogue functions and its basics.
Rogues are savvy individuals that use hit and run tactics to exploit enemy weak spots, increasing their damage when their opponent is most vulnerable, using their Sneak Attack Class Feature. And although Rogues don’t gain an Extra Attack, like many martialClasses, they can still crank out quite a bit of damage because of this.
Rogues excel outside of combat though, and gain moreSkillsthan just about any other Class, except forBards. They also gain Expertise in many of them, allowing them to master many Skill Checks in the game. You’ll usually find Rogues handling theLockpicking, Trap Disarming, andPickpocketingfor a party, but they can also excel at dialogue with a littleCharisma.
Stealthis also a huge part of playing a Rogue, since Sneak Attack can be easily triggered when hidden, and Arcane Tricksters cast their spells more effectively when hidden at later levels.
In this section, we’ll take a look at how to set up yourRogueduringCharacter Creationfor the best results. We’ll begin with Abilities first, since this is arguably the most important part, aside from choosing your Subclass.
Your primary Ability as a Rogue is Dexterity, with other Abilities taking a back seat, and depending on what you really want to do with your Rogue. You could take Charisma for dialogue, or Intelligence if you plan to become an Arcane Trickster or just want to be good at Intelligence Skill Checks. Wisdom is also not bad for Perception checks, since Rogues typically check for traps, but you’ll absolutely want some Constitution regardless to increase your HP.
For this reason, I strongly recommend that you invest 16 in DEX and 14 in CON during Character Creation. What you do after that depends on what you’re going for as I mentioned, but I’ll give you some examples of what you could do below:
Skill Focused Rogue
Dialogue Rogue
Arcane Trickster
Note I’ve changed this from the recommendations as it more optimizes your Character during the early goings of the game.
Githyanki provides the Rogue withMedium Armour Proficiencythey wouldn’t otherwise get, as well as Astral Knowledge, allowing them to gain Proficiency in one Ability each Long Rest, which is great if you want to have nearly ALL Skills covered. They will also gain Misty Step at Level 5, which can help with Rogue positioning.
Elf is good for Longbow Proficiency, as well as Fey Ancestry. They also gainDarkvision, which can help land your attacks in dark places. High Elves also have Perception Proficiency, while Wood Elves have Stealth Proficiency and can move further. Either are a good choice, granting one Skill Proficiency you would likely take anyway.
Deep Gnomeis also fantastic for Advantage on Wisdom, Intelligence and Charisma Saving Throws, as well as Superior Darkvision, and they also have Advantage on Stealth Checks. Great if you want to be a really sneaky Rogue!
Lightfoot Halflings are another solid choice, because they reroll if they roll a 1 on any Attack Roll, Ability Check or Saving Throw, all but preventing them from ever Critically Missing. They also cannot be Frightened easily and they too have Advantage on on Stealth Checks.
ForSkillswhat you select will largely depend on the needs of your group, and whether or not you’re handling dialogue. However, all Rogues should probably at least have Sleight of Hand, Stealth and Perception if possible. This will allow them Lockpick, spot and Disarm Traps, and spot hidden objects and doors.
Sneak Attack
At level 1, all Rogues gain the Sneak Attack Class Feature, which allows them to add 1D6 damage to their melee or ranged attacks per odd level of Rogue taken. This means at level 3 Rogue this will become 2D6, and at level 5 Rogue it will become 3D6 and so on.
However, there are some stipulations to trigger Sneak Attack, and the first is that if you want to Sneak Attack with a melee weapon, you must use a Finesse Weapon. Finesse Weapons are melee Weapons that can use Dexterity for their Attack and Damage Rolls, instead of the default Strength, and are usually Rapiers, Shortswords, Scimitars and Daggers.
Next, is that your target must be standing near a friendly character, OR, you must haveAdvantageon your Attack against them. There are different ways to gain Advantage as a Rogue in BG3 and they are as follows:
The two easiest ways are of course attacking an enemy near your melee character, or using Cunning Action: Hide to go Hidden and then attack from Ranged, but you can use this information to help plan your attacks.
Make sure that you setup Sneak Attack to “Ask” under yourReactions, so that you can attack with any ranged or melee attack action and are still prompted for Sneak Attack damage when it applies. This can prevent you from missing Sneak Attack damage, or prevent you from applying it when it would be overkill, since you can only gain Sneak Attack damage once per round.
Another tip is that you should get in the habit of pressing the “Shift” key before using Cunning Action: Hide, while in combat, so you can moveout of an enemy’s cone of vision before hiding (if you can), saving you from having to pass a Stealth Check to become Hidden.
Expertise
Rogues will also gain Expertise at this level, doubling their Proficiency Bonus in two Skills they are Proficient in. Stealth, Sleight of Hand or Perception are all good choices, but Persuasion, or Deception are also not bad if you went the dialogue route.
Cunning Action
At level 2, Rogues gain Cunning Action, allowing them to useDisengage,DashandHideasBonus Actionsinstead of Actions, which means they can use one of these and still Attack on the same turn. Do not underestimate how powerful this is, and taking advantage of this Feature is a big part of playing a Rogue.
Note that these have separate icons from the original Disengage, Dash and Hide, so make sure you are using the correct ones.
Rogue Subclass
At level 3 Rogues will get to choose a Subclass fromThief,AssassinandArcane Tricksterand immediately gain a Subclass Feature from their choice, and we’ll go into these more in the Subclass section.
Feat
At level 4, Rogues will gain their first Feat. Ability Improvement is good here for more Dexterity which will further improve Attack Rolls, Damage Rolls, Armour Class, Initiative, Sleight of Hand, Acrobatics and Stealth Checks, as well as improves Dexterity Saving Throws.
However, there are some other good picks as well, such as Dual Wielder if you want to use two Rapiers and gain +1 Armour Class. Lucky is great for picking up some uses of Advantage and controlling outcomes. And Sharpshooter is great for boosting Ranged Damage.
Uncanny Dodge
At level 5, Rogues can use their Reaction to reduce the damage they take from an attack by half, once per round.
Expertise
At level 6, Rogues gain Expertise in two more Skills they are Proficient with, doubling their Proficiency bonus in those Skills.
Evasion
At level 7, Rogues that Save against spells or effects that target their Dexterity take no damage, even if the spell or effect would normally deal half should they Save. And they only take half damage if they fail, drastically reducing the average damage they take from these effects.
Feat
At level 8, Rogues will gain their second Feat. Ability Improvement is still good here for Dexterity, or you can pick up any of the other ones like Dual Wielder, Lucky or Sharpshooter.
Subclass Feature
At level 9, Rogues gain their final Subclass Feature, and as mentioned before, we’ll get into those in the Subclasses section in just a minute.
Extra Feat
At level 10, Rogues will gain their third Feat, and this is an extra Feat that no other Class besides Fighter gets. Ability Improvement is still good here for Dexterity if it’s not 20 yet, or you can pick up any of the other ones likeDual Wielder,LuckyorSharpshooter.
Reliable Talent
At level 11, Rogues cannot roll below a 10 when making an Ability Check with a Skill they are Proficient with. This nearly guarantees they will pass any Ability Checks they make, since they will have +8 from Expertise in 4 Skills, and that doesn’t include their Ability Modifiers or other bonuses. This is also exceptionally good for Stealthy gameplay, as it is much easier to stay Hidden.
Feat
At level 12, Rogues will gain their final Feat. You should have 20 Dexterity by this point, so choose any of the other Feats I suggested.
Rogues in BG3 have Light Armour Proficiency by default, which works well since they have high Dexterity that will then be applied to their AC. Medium Armour is also fine if you gained Proficiency from a Race or Multiclass, but make sure it doesn’t have Disadvantage onStealth Checkson it.
Weapon wise, the Rogue could really benefit from a few ranged Weapon Proficiencies likeHeavy CrossboworLongbow, but otherwise they’ve pretty much got what they need covered. They have Rapier and Shortsword Proficiency, as well as Simple Weapons, so they’ll likely use aShortbowandRapier/Shortswordor pair of Shortswords if no other Proficiencies are acquired via Race or Multiclass. They need to use a Finesse melee weapon for Sneak Attack, so their options are somewhat limited anyway.
Accessory-wise, look for things that boost their AC to help them stay alive, or Stealth, since the easier it is to Hide, the easier it is to Sneak Attack.
Choosing a Rogue Subclass in BG3 comes down to a few factors. Do you plan to ambush enemies outside of combat regularly from stealth? Do you want to be able to cast some spells that might come in handy both inside and outside of combat? And, do you want to have more capability once combat has been triggered?
If you plan to ambush enemies outside of combat often, Assassin is the way to go. You gain guaranteed Critical Hits when hitting Surprised enemies, and you will regain both your Action and Bonus Action, even if you just used them before combat triggered. Normally, if you use an Action to begin combat you won’t gain another one before your next turn, but Assassins do.
If you want some Spellcasting, Arcane Trickster is the way to go, and they can use their spells to help sneak through areas effectively, as well as put enemies to Sleep for devastating Criticals. Thief is fantastic once combat has begun, since they gain an extra Bonus Action which they can use for a variety of things, and you’ll often find many other Classes will dip 3 levels into Thief just to pick this up.
All Rogues gain their first Subclass Feature at level 3 when they select their Subclass, and then once again at level 9. These Features are not the only thing that separates these Subclasses, however, since Arcane Tricksters also gain Spellcasting, while Thief and Assassin do not.
Assassinate: Initiative
At level 3, Assassin’s gain Assassinate: Initiative, which allows then to have Advantage in combat against enemies that haven’t yet taken their turn yet. This means they are almost always going to land their first attack in combat, and this attack will be able to deal Sneak Attack damage without having to do anything.
Assassinate: Ambush
They also deal Critical Damage when successfully attacking Surprised enemies. Surprised enemies are usually enemies you’ve attacked from out of combat, that had no idea they were about to be attacked, are not already in combat, and they could not see you. This is relatively easy to pull off, if you know where they enemies are going to be.
Assassin’s Alacrity
Also at level 3, Assassins will always have their Action and Bonus Action when combat begins. This is very useful, because usually if you perform an Action or Bonus Action just before triggering combat, you will not have this when combat starts. This allows them to get the jump on enemies outside of combat, and then attack once again, usually immediately, effectively giving them 2 attacks if they do their first before triggering combat.
Infiltration Expertise
At level 9, Assassin’s can adopt a new appearance that lets them change their Race and Gender until Long Rest or until they cancel it. This is a Ritual Action, that can be used as many times per day as you want outside of combat. As far as I can tell it doesn’t operate much differently than Disguise Self.
It causes the game and the characters inside it to view you as a different character, which allows you to rob, cheat, steal, and then end your Disguise with your Reputation intact.
Secondly, if you do murder someone, you can end your Infiltration Expertise and use Speak with the Dead on them successfully. Usually, people don’t want to speak with their killers, who would have thought? So when you speak to them as yourself after you end your Disguise then you’ll be able to.
Thirdly, it can change dialogue encounters completely, though I don’t have a complete list of all the possible changes.
Fourthly, you can use Infiltration Expertise to meet the criteria for certain equipment that give benefits when a particular Race uses them. This comes in handy if you find an item you really like, but you are not the correct Race for the extra benefit.
Fast Hands
At level 3,ThievesgainFast Hands, granting them a second Bonus Action in combat. This allows them to attack a 2nd time with their off-hand, use Cunning Action to Disengage, Hide or Dash twice, or they can Jump and still do one of these things and Attack in the same turn. There is a ton of application for this, especially when Multiclassed with other Classes that have strong Bonus Actions, but we’ll get into that in the Multiclass section.
Second-Story Work
Also at this level, Thieves gain Resistance to fall damage, cutting this in half. This is good for when they Jump down from high places, or when they get flung off a cliff by an effect or spell, and can often save their life.
Supreme Sneak
At level 9, Thieves can turn Invisible whenever they want as an Action, once every Short Rest. Invisibility ends early if you attack, cast another spell, take an action, or take damage. However, this is quite useful for getting past heavily guarded places, should you want to avoid combat.
Spellcasting
At level 3, Arcane Tricksters will gain Spellcasting, and will be able to cast some spells from a limited spell list, as well as select some from the Wizard Spell Level 1 Spell List. They use Intelligence for their Spellcasting when using these Spells, but don’t have to Prepare them like Wizards.
Mage Hand Legerdemain
Also at this level, Arcane Tricksters gain Mage Hand Legerdemain. This lets them summon a Mage Hand that can interact with objects, taking or stowing items, and pick pocketing and disarming traps. Handy for thieving from safe distances. However, this is currently not working in BG3, severely limiting the usefulness of this Subclass Feature.
Magical Ambush
At level 9, enemies have Disadvantage against your hostile spells when casting them while you are Hidden. This almost ensures they connect, but the issue is that Arcane Tricksters only know up to level 2 spells, and only have two level 2 Spell Slots in BG3, meaning you won’t get much mileage out of this Subclass Feature.
In this section of our Baldur’s Gate 3 Rogue Class Guide we’ll take a look atMulticlassinga Rogue in BG3, and what other Classes you might Multiclass with. Keep in mind this is not a complete list, but rather helpful suggestions to that make good pairings.
Rogues are heavily front loaded, meaning they gain Cunning Action at level 2, and they gain a lot from their Subclass Features at level 3. This means the first most likely place you would Multiclass a Rogue would be after this point.
From this point onward it’s a lot less cut and dry about when you should Multiclass, since it really depends on what you need out of Rogue. The level 9 Subclass features are underwhelming for the most part, so going to Level 9 is less important than it would be if these were stronger. You could probably make the best cases for Thief, if you really need the Invisibility, or Arcane Trickster if you plan to Multiclass with Wizard to pick up more Spell Slots, be able to learn Level 3 spells from Scrolls, and be able to Upcast lower level spells.
I like 3 Assassin with 9 levels of Fighter. This allows you to gain aFighting Style, and Extra Feat, Medium Armour Proficiency, as well as Extra Attack. Fighters also gain Indomitable at level 9, allowing them to reroll failed Saves once.
3 Assassin 9 Gloomstalker is also a great pairing, in order to deal increased damage on your first attack in combat, which is also a free attack, provides you Extra Attack, and grants a Fighting Style.
9 Arcane Trickster and 3Wizardwill give you access to level 3 Spell Slots, and provide you with many more Spell Slots then you’d normally have. Wizards can also learn spells from Scrolls, so you could still learn level 3 Spells this way as well, picking up Fireball and Lightning Bolt, among others. This would let you cast these with enemies having Disadvantage on Saving Throws if you do it while hidden.
3 Thief and 9 Sorcerer 2 Bonus Actions they can use to castQuickenedspells on top of the other spell they can cast with their regular Action. This also gives Sorcerers Light Armour Proficiency and some better Skills, along with Cunning Action, in case they need to Disengage from a bad situation.
3 Thief 9 Fighter or Ranger allows you toDual Wieldeffectively with the Extra Attacks these Classes gain. This would allow the Thief to contribute another offhand attack on the Extra Attack, essentially gaining 4 hits per turn, and providing these classes with Cunning Action, boosting their mobility.
3 Thief and 9 War Domain, allowsClericsto make an Attack with their Action and twice with their Bonus Action in one turn, which can be huge damage if they are setup properly.
I hope you found these tips helpful, and we’ll have some more Builds out really soon that showoff more of these Multiclassing aspects!
That wraps up our Baldur’s Gate 3 Rogue Class Guide! Stay tuned for more Baldur’s Gate 3 content as we update the otherBuilds, and be sure to drop by ourTwitch Channelif you have questions about the game. If you need something specific, check out ourBaldur’s Gate 3 Wikiwhich is being worked on night and day, as well as ourBaldur’s Gate 3 Guides.
Castielle
Senior Editor at Fextralife. I enjoy gaming, playing and watching sports, cooking yummy food, watching a good movie and hanging out with Fex.
