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Skulking through the shadows with a knife in hand for the perfect backstab, the Rogue is one of the deadliest classes in Baldur’s Gate 3. Neither tanks nor support characters, Rogues specialize in DPS. Executing devastating sneak attacks and strings of critical hits is their specialty. However, the Rogue isn’t the easiest class for beginners. Those that learn the ways of the shadows, however, are rewarded with a unique experience in combat as well as cutscenes. Different builds are best in different circumstances, but for stealthy DPS, this one ranks amongst the best Rogue class builds in the game.
The Best Rogue Class Build in Baldur’s Gate 3
(Updated on October 4, 2024 – updated links and format)
Rogues who tank die, and characters who rely on a Rogue for support find themselves starved for HP and buffs. The goal of these cunning characters is to deal damage, plain and simple. For that reason, this build focuses on how to do that fastest and most efficiently while remaining useful in a variety of situations.
Race Choices
Drow, Humans, and Gnomes all make good Rogues in Baldur’s Gate 3, but this build chooses the Elf instead. The Wood Elf subrace grants the character Fleet of Foot. This racial ability increases the character’s base movement speed by 1.5m. That may not seem like a lot to players still trying to figure out what to do first, but veterans understand the value of movement. Repositioning is key for a Rogue, and this racial feature allows them to do it. Having Stealth Proficiency to make it a bit easier to pull off Stealth checks doesn’t hurt either.
Best Subclass
Thief and Arcane Trickster are both fun subclasses, well-deserving of builds and playthroughs of their own. When the goal is maximizing stealth DPS, however, there’s no beating the Assassin. The Assassinate: Initiative subclass feature grants the Rogue Advantage on attacks against creatures who haven’t taken a turn in combat yet. Assassinate: Ambush, meanwhile, turns any successful attack against a Surprised creature into a Critical Hit. This combination makes the Rogue one of the most lethal characters in the game against enemies caught by surprise.
Background, Skills, and Other Features
Criminal is an obvious pick for Rogues, and depending upon your playstyle and roleplay intentions, it can be a great one. This build, however, goes with Urchin instead. Sleight of Hand offers tremendous value outside of combat, enabling all kinds of sneaky shenanigans. Yet it’s Stealth that’s the star of the show. Whenever there’s a chance to increase one’s ability to hide and catch enemies unaware, Rogues should almost always take it. Since this build passes on the Thief subclass in favor of Assassin, this Background helps fill in that gap.
- Strength: 8
- Dexterity: 17
- Constitution: 14
- Intelligence: 13
- Wisdom: 13
- Charisma: 10
The default Attribute distribution happens to work well for this build. With Strength as a dump stat, the player isn’t going to be shoving boulders or winning arm-wrestling contests any time soon, but that’s okay. A Dexterity of 17 ensures that the player has the best odds in any match of reflexes, and that’s likely to save the Rogue’s skin innumerable times before the end of Larian’s newest masterpiece.
Build Class Progression
It’s easier to theorycraft builds for the Assassin than it is for the Arcane Trickster since the player doesn’t have to worry about spell selection on top of everything else. That said, there are still a ton of options when it comes to building the Rogue as they level up. Because this build focuses on DPS, some of those choices are easy.
- Level 3
- Subclass: Assassin
- Level 4
- Feat: Ability Improvement (Dexterity and Intelligence)
- Level 6
- Expertise: Stealth
- Expertise: Sleight of Hand
- Level 8
- Feat: Mobile
- Level 10
- Feat: Sharpshooter
- Level 12
- Feat: Lucky
The goal with these selections is to double down on the skills and abilities the Rogue already possesses. In particular, anything that increases the player’s chance of dealing additional damage out of Stealth should be looked at. Feats like Mobile and Sharpshooter fit the bill since they allow the Rogue to execute their powerful sneak attacks even when the terrain or enemy spacing wouldn’t normally allow it.
Equipment
Rogues want to stick with Light Armor in order to stay fast and quiet on the battlefield. A Longbow or another good ranged weapon should be paired with a dagger or sword. There are a variety of good enchanted blades to choose from, so the player should pick whatever weapon offers a magical perk they enjoy. With the right equipment and some basic tips and tricks to get the most value out of it, this Rogue build will be taking enemies out before they know what hit them. All of that helps make this the best Rogue class build in Baldur’s Gate 3.
