Baldur’s Gate 3 Thief Rogue Build Guide
Feb. 3, 2023Baldur’s Gate 3 Thief Rogue Build Guide
Baldur’s Gate 3 Thief Rogue Build Guide– In this Baldur’s Gate 3 Thief Rogue Build Guide, I’m going to cover myRogue Build, and show you what I’ve found to work best. I’ll be doing moreBuild Guidesat the launch ofBaldur’s Gate 3, but for now, let’s look at how you can use aThief Rogueeffectively.
Be sure to check out our other Baldur’s Gate 3 Builds including:Abjuration School Wizard,Evocation School Wizard,Eldritch Knight Fighter,Battle Master Fighter,The Field Warlock,The Great Old One Warlock,Beast Master Ranger,Hunter Ranger,Circle of the Land Druid,Circle of the Moon Druid,Wild Magic Sorcerer,Wildheart Barbarian!
The Thief Rogue is a powerfully cunningSubclassin Baldur’s Gate 3. Not only can they attack multiple times in a single turn to deal considerable damage with Main Hand and Off-HandWeapons, but they can also evade and resist enemy hits effectively. Because of the number ofBonus Actionsthey have per turn, they can useShove,Jump, or evenCunning Action: Dashto approach their targets with ease.
Unlike theArcane Trickster, the Thief specializes in dishing outSneak Attacksto inflict incredible damage under the right circumstances. For instance, hiding and quietly moving toward the enemy grantsanAdvantage, allowing them to go in for the kill.
In this section, we’ll take a look at how to set up your Rogue duringCharacter Creationfor the best results.
ForBackground, choosing one that provides you withDexterity Skillsshould be enough since this is your primaryAbilityin order to lockpick chests and stealthily attack enemies. Dexterity hasAcrobatics,Sleight of Hand, andStealth. Some Background examples includeUrchin,Charlatan, andCriminal.
The firstRacethat works well for this Build is theWood Half-Elf. Not only do you have Darkvision to see and hit targets better in the dark but you also gainFleet of Foot, which raises your Movement Speed.
Next is theWood ElfandDrow. Wood Elves gainProficiencyinPerceptionandStealthas well as wieldingLongbows. Additionally, they can’t be put toSleepby magic due toFey Ancestry. Drow, on the other hand, hasSuperior Darkvision, making it much easier to perform better in dark places, plus, you’re able to cast theDancing Lights Cantripfor allies who need light to execute their attacks well. It’s worth noting that for all of these Races, you’re going to have mostly the same Ability spread with 16 Dexterity at Level 1.
The Thief Rogue Build will gain 4Skillsat Character Creation, making it higher than any otherClass. Aside from having high Dexterity, it’s good for them to also gain enough Wisdom to have better rolls on Perception. Perception is important to Rogues because it allows them to spot traps as well as see hidden switches or doors. Wisdom also hasAnimal Handling,Insight,Medicine, andSurvival, and I’ve already listed what Dexterity Skills there are. Additionally, you can opt to takeCharisma Skillssuch asDeception,Persuasion,Intimidation, andPerformanceto sway NPCs in dialogue.
Expertisedoubles your Proficiency Bonus for Ability Checks of your 2 chosen Proficiencies. And so I highly recommend taking Sleight of Hand and Stealth to make it easier to disarm traps and sneakily approach encounters, respectively.
The primary Abilities that are needed for this Build are Dexterity andConstitution. Dexterity not only increases your chances of successfully attacking and dealing considerable damage usingFinesseandRanged Weaponsbut also boosts yourArmor Class (AC), which is necessary since you’re only Proficient with wearingLight Armor. Meanwhile, Constitution boosts your max HP. Next, I suggest investing 14 points each to Wisdom and Charisma to become an effective Stealthy Thief who fares well in dialogue. So your Ability spread should look something like this:
Sneak Attack is a specialActionthat all Rogues can use once every turn. This becomes very potent since it boosts their damage tremendously under the right circumstances. In Baldur’s Gate 3, to deal Sneak Attack Damage, you need to have Advantage, or the target needs to be within 1.5m of a character it considers an enemy. Nowadays, the easiest way to gain an Advantage for the Melee or Ranged versions of Sneak Attack is by stealthily approaching foes to hit them or attacking from the shadows. Being on High Ground no longer counts because you instead gain +2Attack Roll Bonusfor it. Simply positioning yourself directly behind the target doesn’t work either.
It’s important to remember that using this special Action takes into account your Main Hand Weapon’s damage, yourAbility Modifier, and the additional Sneak Attack Damage. This means that your Off-Hand Weapon’s damage isn’t included. Remember that the Sneak Attack Damage increases every odd level. So at Level 3, this will amount to 2x the damage of your 1d6Damage Rolland then at Level 5, it’ll be equal to 3x d6.
Furthermore, since Sneak Attack uses your Main Hand Weapon’s damage, then at earlier levels, you’re better off using Sneak Attack (Ranged) with aLight Crossbowbecause of its 1d8 Damage Roll as opposed to theShortsword’s1d6 damage. At Level 4, you’ll be able to take theDual Wielder Feat, which would allow you to wield 2Rapiers, thereby pushing your Melee Damage Roll to 1d8. The following is the damage calculation for your total Sneak Attack Action:
Main-Hand Damage Roll + DEX Modifier + 1d6 * (Rogue Level -1)/2 + 1 = Total Sneak Attack Damage
At Level 2, Rogues gain two versions of Cunning Action, namely Dash andDisengage. Cunning Action: Dash doubles their Movement Speed and is considered a Bonus Action. As such, this Class will still be able to attack after moving, unlike the others that useDashas an Action.
Meanwhile, Cunning Action: Disengage is another Bonus Action that allows them to move away from the center of the fight without being susceptible to takingAttacks of Opportunityfrom enemies within range. This is powerful considering that your character can simply walk away without taking into account the Reactions of those around them.
At Level 3, you’ll get to choose your Rogue’s Subclass and for this Build, you’ll select Thief where you gainFast HandsandSecond-Story Work. Fast Hands allows Thief Rogues to use 2 Bonus Actions in every turn so you can useOff-Hand Attack (Melee)2x in many cases, thereby amplifying your overall damage.
On the other hand, Second-Story Work reduces the fall damage you take by half, allowing you to jump down from a higher elevation or just protect yourself from Shoves from high places.
At Level 4, you can choose aFeat, and here I recommend you go for Dual Wielder to gain +1 AC while dual wielding and to be able to use 2 Rapiers in either hand. Rapiers deal 1d8 damage compared to the Shortsword’s 1d6 so this will be a +1 damage upgrade on average.
But if you prefer to attack targets from a distance and favor the Longbow, then theAbility Improvement Featwould probably be better. With +2 Dexterity, your hit chance and damage using the Bow and a Main Hand Melee Weapon increases but remember that your Off-Hand Attack (Melee) does not.
At Level 5, the Thief gainsUncanny Dodge, which grants resistance to the damage you take. This means that damage received from Physical Attacks orSpellswill be halved. For instance, instead of originally receiving 3 Slashing Damage, you only take 1 damage since 2, which is rounded up, will be subtracted from the formula. However, Uncanny Dodge remains inconsistent and may therefore be bugged. For example, 2Ranged Attack Weapon Actionscoming from the same enemy at different turns yields two results where the damage is taken in full at first but is then halved in the second instance.
Additionally, and as mentioned earlier, your extra Sneak Attack Damage increases to 3d6.
At Level 6, the Thief Rogue can choose 2 more Skill Proficiencies as part of their Expertise. Here, I recommend taking Acrobatics to make it easier for you to remain on your two feet despite traversing difficult terrain, together with any Charisma Skill of your choice to smoothly talk to NPCs.
At Level 7, the Thief Rogue gains access toEvasion, which makes it so that you can totally evade the effects of Spells that force you to roll a Dexterity Saving Throw. Successfully doing so will prevent you from taking any damage. Conversely, failing the roll won’t be so bad either since you’ll only take deal half damage.
At Level 8, you’ll be able to choose a Feat. In this case, you can opt to take Dual Wielder or Ability Improvement, whichever you didn’t take at Level 4.
At Level 9, the Thief Rogue becomes more adept at Sneaking thanks to Supreme Sneak, which makes it so that you gain an Advantage on your Stealth Check provided that your movement will not be greater than half your Movement Speed.
Meanwhile, at Level 10, you gain another Feat. You have several options here – boost Dexterity to reach 20, getMobile, or pickLucky. Mobile not only increases your Movement Speed, which synergizes well with Supreme Sneak, but it also prevents difficult terrain from slowing you down upon activating the Dash Action. Additionally, you won’t provoke an Attack of Opportunity while moving in the melee range provided that you execute a Melee Attack beforehand.
Comparatively, Lucky grants 3 Lucky points with several uses. When you make an Attack Roll or Saving Throw, for instance, you can spend 1 Luck point to perform another d20 roll. And then, you can opt to spend another Luck point to choose the best d20 result that works well at the time. Now when the odds seem out of your favor, you have the option to spend a Luck point to lower the Attack Roll of your enemy by rolling a d20 and using that instead, especially if it’s lower to prevent the attack from connecting.
Replenishing Lucky points is done by taking a Long Rest.
At Level 11, Rogues gain access to Reliable Talent, which makes you a master of your Skills. When you roll for an Ability Check that lets you add your Proficiency Bonus, any d20 resulting in 9 or lower will automatically be considered as a 10.
And lastly, at Level 12, can choose the final Feat, one that you didn’t at Level 10.
When it comes to the Thief’sEquipment, you’re going to equip 2 Shortswords and a Longbow early on. But after taking the Dual Wielder Feat, you’ll be able to replace these Shortswords with Rapiers for extra damage. You can purchase theRapier +1fromDammonof theDruid Groveand theLongbow +1fromRoah Moonglowof theShattered Sanctum. Note that even if you don’t have Proficiency in wielding Longbows, you won’t incur a Disadvantage, meaning, you can still use Sneak Attack (Ranged).
In terms ofArmor, you should wear theStudded Leather Armoror theSpidersilk Armour, which you get after defeatingMintharain theShattered Sanctum. This, together with your +3 Dexterity Modifier and +1 AC bonus from the Dual Wielder Feat, should give you a total of 16 AC.
ForAccessories, you’ll be wearing theHaste Helm,Linebreaker Boots, andAmulet of Misty Step. The Haste Helm from theBlighted Villagefurther raises your Movement Speed at the start of every encounter, making it much easier to reach your targets. Next is the Linebreaker Boots, which grantsWrathevery time you use Cunning Action: Dash so you gain +1 Melee Damage almost always. I won’t recommendThe Speedy Lightfeetanymore since this will lead to a Disadvantage, thereby preventing you from using Sneak Attack. It’s primarily due to the boots’ beingMedium Armor, which you don’t have Proficiency in.
And lastly, there’s the Amulet of Misty Step since this enables you to use theMisty Step Spell. So with a Bonus Action, you can simply travel to a higher elevation or evade dangerous situations. Just remember though that High Ground no longer equates to gaining Advantage.
The Thief Rogue is a stealthy and quick Subclass that takes advantage of proper positioning to deal the most amount of damage, whether it be near or far away from the enemy. What’s more, is that due to their agility, they effectively resist any type of damage thrown at them. Remember that for Bonus Actions, it’s best to save them for your Off-Hand Attack (Melee) as this will give you the most attacks per turn, helping to keep your damage up.
Next, it’s important to create scenarios where you can keep using Sneak Attack in every round if possible so that you can efficiently slay your targets. For instance, hiding and sneaking up on them or shooting arrows from the shadows should do the trick to gain the Advantage you need. Just be careful of taking Attacks of Opportunity in the melee range should you move from one enemy to the next.
Additionally, and in some cases, even if you don’t gain Advantage by attacking from a higher elevation, this idea is worth pursuing to capitalize on the +2 Attack Roll Bonus. Afterward, you can then find targets near your allies to still use Sneak Attack (Ranged).
Lastly, if you’re unable to get ahold of a good Rapier and Longbow, you can go for the Speedy Reply andThe Joltshooter, respectively. The Speedy Reply has a good Damage Roll plus, you keep gaining Momentum to raise your Movement Speed when this Weapon is used to attack targets. Meanwhile, The Joltshooter allows you to gain Lightning Charges. These charges provide you with a +1 bonus to your Attack Roll and another +1 to your Damage Roll. If you accumulate 5 charges, it’ll automatically be consumed, letting you deal an extra 1-8 Lightning Damage.
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Reiku
Writer at Fextralife. I enjoy playing RPGs, narrative-driven games, and platformers. Outside of gaming, I like watching meaningful movies and reading sci-fi and dystopian books.
