Syndeo's Guide to Being a Respected Rogue

Welcome to the next portion of Syndeo's Guides. In this article we will be discussing the basics of being a rogue in the world of DDO. This is an in-depth guide that goes through creation of a rogue from Race to Stats/Skills and then Gameplay.

To see a broad view of the rogue class, please visit the Rogue page in the wiki.

This Guide is not Complete, and any experienced players are free to add beneficial knowledge, but I will continue to add more lists and pointers as time allows.

What does it mean to be a Rogue?
Rogues are multi-purposeful. They have the ability to find and disable nasty traps, open up locked doors and chests, can sneak attack most monsters for more damage, find hidden doors, and sneak around monsters like they weren't even there. Players choosing a Rogue do not necessarily have to choose all of them or one of them, but this guide will be based upon personal experience of an excellent rogue.

Getting Started- Races
I will first begin the actual guide from the beginning: Race choices

In the creation of a Rogue, one must look at the pros and cons of each race and from there decide on which race to choose so that your Rogue has the stat improvements and feats and enhancements you desire.

The base stats to keep in mind that affect a rogue are in order of importance: Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution, with a little Intelligence for skill points. A few points in Wisdom help with the Spot ability and Charisma is not important. As you read through each description of the race choices, keep in mind the necessary base stats needed to create a well-functioning Rogue. I have only listed the Pros and Cons that are mainly directed around the building of a Rogue. Each race has more than listed, and can be read in full by clicking on their name.

Warforged
Warforged are the non-flesh race of the DDO world and as such recieve many pluses and minuses

Pros +2 Constitution Immune to sleep, energy drain, nausea, exhaustion, poison, disease, and paralysis effects Immune to spells targeting humanoids No Breath meter while swimming Built-in light armor (2+ AC, 8+ Max Dex Bnous) Inherent Light Fortification

Cons Since Warforged are not made of flesh, they recieve a -50% modifier to incoming healing spells (lessened to -20% by Healer's Friend feat) -2 Wisdom -2 Charisma

Rogue Material? Rogue Warforged have the ability to heal themselves more effectively than other rogues if they choose the Mechanic prestige (it lets them heal themselves over time using one of their action boosts) and have a bonus to CON along with a few more defenses. The -2 in WIS would hurt the Spot skill to find hidden doors/traps, But its an easily made up for weakness. the -2 to Chasmia may also hurt your Use magic device skill,a very valuable skill for rogues. It is possible to create a very effective WF Rogue, both with finding/disabling and in combat.

Human
Humans are the most level of the races and are good for any beginner to DDO as they can be adapted to any class.

Pros +4 Skill points at creation +1 skill point after every level past level 1 1 Bonus Feat at level 1

Cons Though Humans are balanced, they do not have any specialty in any one area.

Rogue Material? As I have stated in other guides, Humans are very level and are great for beginner players trying to get the hang of the game. The bonus feat can be used in a variety of ways that are useful to the rogue class, and the Human has more skill points from the beginning. Humans can be very competent Rogues.

Dwarf
These stout and rugged characters have many attributes and defenses unique to their kind

Pros +2 Constitution +4 Balance +4 Dodge bonus to Armor Class against monsters of the Giant Type +2 racial bonus on Search checks +2 racial bonus on saving throws against poison +2 racial bonus on saving throws against spells Proficiency with a Dwarven Axe

Cons -2 CHA (Doesn't really affect Rogues)

Rogue Material? With nothing to hurt their rogue abilities, it is easy to create a well functioning rogue from a dwarf. They can save against poison, so traps involving it are no match for the Dwarf. The +2 CON, +2 Search and +4 balance help a rogue out.

Elf
The Elves are the quick and fluid race that are not as stout as their dwarven rivals but with quicker reflexes.

Pros +2 Dexterity +2 Save against spells or Enchantments Immunity to sleep spells or effects Weapon Proficiency with longswords, rapiers, longbows, composite longbows, shortbows, and composite shortbows +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks

Cons -2 Constitution

Rogue Material? While they get a lot of bonuses that gel well with rogues, the -2 Con does not help a class that already has trouble keeping up with the HP of other melee classes. While they can be effective rogues, other races are better choices.

Drow Elf
The Drows are the cousins of the Elves from far away, and bring many new bonuses and inhibitors that Elves do not possess.

Pros +2 Dexterity +2 Intelligence +2 Charisma +2 Will Save against spells or Enchantments Spell Resistance 10+level +2 racial bonus on Listen, Search, and Spot checks Weapon Proficiency with rapiers, shortswords, and shurikens, and enhancements to attack/damage with them

Cons -2 Constitution Limited to 28 point build, even if bought/earned

Rogue Material? With most of the same bonuses as Elves and more, Drow are much better than their elven cousins. They benefit from all of the bonus stats, and that built-in spell resistance is very nice. The only thing wrong with them is the -2 CON, but as mentioned on in the Elf section, this is a very bad weakness for Rogues.

Halfling
These small characters have hidden surprises and can stand up to even the biggest giant

Pros +2 Dexterity +1 size bonus to Armor Class +2 Jump +4 to Hide Checks +1 Racial bonus on Saving Throws +2 racial bonus on Jump, Listen, and Move Silently checks +2 saving throws against fear. Stacks with the Racial bonus with on saving throws +1 rolls with Thrown weapons Halfling Guile and Sneak attack enhancements Cons -2 Strength Lifting and Carrying limits are 3/4 the size of Medium-sized characters

Rogue Material? Definitely. Halfling is widely considered the best race for a rogue, with bonuses sneak attack damage, bonuses to hit when flanking, and bonuses to Move silently. The only thing hurting them is the -2 STR, but this can easily be overcome with the Weapon Finesse feat.

Building Your Rogue - Stats and Paths
Now that you have chosen your preferred race it is time to begin building your Rogue.

Beginners have the choice of choosing a pre-selected path: The Dark Blade (Sneak Attack Master), Master Mechanic (Lockpicking/Trapmaking focus), and Thief Acrobat (Joining the circus?). Those wishing to create the rogue their way can read below

Base Stats
As stated before, the 6 main stats are Wisdom, Charisma, Intelligence, Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution. Keep in mind that your Race has inherent stat additions/negatives that affect the base number of all these named.

STR: A Thief-Acrobat rogue or STR-based Assassin will want at least 16 here, as strength is quite important to them. A DEX-based Assassin should leave this at about 12-14, though you can put it lower if you really want. A mechanic rogue need only have enough to avoid encumbrance.

DEX: All rouges besides Acrobats and STR Assassins will want as much of this as they can get; Acrobats can deal with 14, and STR Assassins should start with 15 and then eat a 2+ tome to get access to the Two-weapon fighting feats.

CON: As with all classes, at least 14 is best here.

INT: Non-mechanics can deal with 12-14, mechanics should start with at least 16.

WIS: 8-10 is fine. Not an important rogue stat.

CHA: 8-10 is fine, but you can put more here if you want to boost your UMD skill.

Skill Points
A Rogue has many skills that are useful to them. Here they are listed in order of importance

Disable Device - Halt nasty traps to save the party!

UMD - Allows you to overcome race/alignment restrictions on awesome items, and use many scrolls and wands, letting you heal yourself and others, raise dead people, teleport, buff yourself, ect ect...

Open Lock - Access important areas and unlock extra chests!

Search - Find the Control Boxes for traps and reveal hidden doors

Spot - your Rogue senses will tingle as you come close to a trap or hidden door

Move silently - a key component of rogue sneaking for sneak attacks

Hide - "No that's a shadow"

Jump - Be able to reach higher up areas (yes, even Halflings!)

Tumble - Barrel Roll away from harm!

Balance - Avoid getting knocked down!

Haggle - More bang for your buck

Feats
At the beginning you are allowed to choose a feat to help your Rogue. There are many to choose from, so here are some that may benefit a beginner Rogue (Taken from the feats page):

Two Weapon Fighting (requires Dexterity 15+)/Improved Two Weapon Fighting/Greater Two Weapon Fighting (Both DEX 17+): Reduces the to-hit penalty when using two weapons at the same time. The penalty for your primary hand lessens by 2 and the one for your off-hand lessens by 6, so it becomes -4/-4 (instead of -6/-10 without this feat). If the off-hand weapon is light, the penalties both decrease by another 2 points, down to -2/-2 (instead of -4/-8 without this feat). Most rogues use Two-weapon fighting, because it lets you sneak attack twice instead of once. keep in mind you need all 3 feats to be at all effective. Acrobat rogues take the Two Handed Fighting line of feats instead, and Mechanic rogues take feats to increase their ranged combat effectiveness like Point Blank Shot and Improved Precise Shot

Nimble Fingers: This feat grants a +2 bonus to the Disable Device and Open Lock skills.

Skill Focus: This feat grants a +3 bonus to the chosen skill when making skill check rolls. This feat can be taken multiple times, but each skill can only be taken once. Available Skill Focus feats are: Listen, Jump, Haggle, Concentration, Repair, Bluff, Intimidate, Balance, Heal, Swim, Diplomacy, Disable Device, Move Silently, Open Lock, Perform, Use Magic Device, Spot, Hide, Search, Tumble.

There are many more feats listed, but here are just a few useful feats for a beginning rogue. If you decide that you don't like your feat, once you reach Stormreach you can trade them out with Fred in House Jorasco for a price.

Gameplay - Find, Sneak, Disable, Attack
So you have built a Rogue, chosen your stats, skills and feats, and now it is time to play!

Basics
Rogues are sought by Parties so that they can protect the team from nasty traps that are almost impossible to avoid. Rogues are considered a "Support" class since their abilities focus towards aiding the team to get through the quest relatively unscathed. However, they can still deal very good punishment with their sneak attacks, particularly Assassin rogues.

Something Rogues must have all times are Thieves' Tools. These allow the Rogue to Disable Traps and Open Locks, to doors and chests. Thieves' Tools range from Regular to +5, with each level giving a better chance of success in disabling/opening locks.

Sneak attacks occur when you attack a monster when you are not its main target. This can occur when opening combat on a monster after sneaking up to it, or if another party memebr is currently the monsters target. Some monsters are immune to sneak attacks, like Undead, Elementals, and Constructs. Sneak attacks have their own attack roll, separate from the weapon attack roll. The assassinate skill is a special ability that Assassin rogues get. When you use it, the enemy has to succeed a Fortitude save or die instantly! Even if it succeeds, it takes a lot of bonus Sneak Attack damage. This skill is affected by Intelligence. Unlike regular sneak attacks, you have to be in stealth mode to use it.

Reflex Saves allow Rogues to avoid getting hit by traps. With a high enough Reflex, you can pass through some traps with little or no damage and access the other side, where the control panel might lie.

During gameplay, your Spot skill will activate automatically and give you a notice of either a hidden door or a trap. The rogue should both notify the party and begin using their search skill to reveal the door/ control panel. If they do not reveal themselves, then you either a) are not near enough to the box/door or b) do not have a high enough skill. If they do activate, you can click on the door/control panel to use it. Remember that clicking on a control panel without thieves tools will do nothing.

Solo Play
Rogues do have the ability to solo, but are not as independent as the Fighters. A Rogue's Sneak Attack is invaluable as it deals extra damage. Rogues are considered "Squishy," meaning that they are not as fortified as other classes, and can be harmed easily. With the correct build a Rogue will be less squishy, and that was why CON was important earlier on. Soloing with a Rogue is not as easy as other classes, but it can be done.

In a Party
Rogues are very helpful for a party in many quests because of the presence of traps. No one without a Rogue level can disable traps. Also, a party with a wizard who does not have the knock spell cannot open locked doors or chests. If you would like to keep your party alive, it is important to notify them of traps asap, otherwise they will walk right through and receive damage. Some people are not too informed of the importance of a rogue and will run through anyway. It just happens. Don't offer to take their soul stone back to be resurrected though.

Items/Armor
Rogues can only wear light armor, so it is important to find something with a good dexterity allowance and defense. Anything with the description Blueshine, silent moves, or shadow will improve the character's sneaking ability. Look for items that increase your DEX, STR, CON, or INT stats or any items that give you bonus checks on Opening Locks, Disabling Devices, Spot, Search, Hide, Jump, etc. There are a lot of items out there that are useful in a Rogue's questing, and you have to build up your collection as you go.

Weapons are usually light, like daggers or light maces. The Two Weapon Fighting Feat comes in handy here, so you can wield weapons in both hands effectively. I know of a rogue who took a proficiency feat in repeating heavy crossbows so that he had a ranged weapon to bring to the table. You can do the same with any ranged weapon to have a broad choice in weaponry.

Tips and Tricks
Because I have not played a Rogue enough I cannot give you as many tips as experienced Rogues, but hopefully someone will edit this part to give you more information!


 * Try to be the leader of your group in trap-ridden dungeons, unless you come across monsters. Then let the fighters run in.
 * If you can't find the control panel on the side of the trap you're on, sometimes you have to cross them to find and disable it. Bring some potions or a friendly Cleric!
 * On higher character levels you get more chances to pull creatures by sneaking up to them just close enough that you fail their listen check against your move silent check and you will see them search for you. Use this to your advantage to pull them away from their group and towards your party.
 * Bluff will not blow your sneak cover so you can pull creatures away from their groups that way. Be warned that when they successfully hit you with an attack sneak will be disabled, so be careful with mages and archers. Additionally, mages & archers will start attacking you in place, rather than being pulled towards you like melee opponents.

Some thoughts for new Rogues

 * Listen to your colleagues. Chances are that a veteran player knows where the traps and trap boxes are even if he is not, or has not, played a Rogue.


 * Keep multiple sets of equipment: One for searching, disabling, opening locks, and possibly spot; and at least one that is geared toward combat. Set up your hot bars so you can easily switch between the sets.


 * Clickies are your friend: a Detect Secret Doors clicky will help when your search is just not enough, a Fox's Cunning clicky is extremely helpful at lower-mid levels for adding to a number of your skills, Invisibility clickies can help you escape...there are others that hopefully more Rogues will add or edit here.


 * Use a microphone to warn about traps. Nothing is more irritating than typing in 'TRAP!' getting it off just in time to watch your companions run in and die!  If you are playing more than once or twice a month, get a microphone please.


 * When fighting, let the fighters, barbarians, or paladins draw the aggro so you can get your sneak attack bonus. Oft times running toward a mob and dropping into sneak right before they see you will allow this. If you do aggro them, back up and let the melee heavy player engage.  Once they get the enemies attention, charge in to help finish them off.


 * Another interesting point on fighting. You, the Rogue, are one of three classes with evasion.  This makes you really good at killing mages.  They can throw lightning bolts, fireballs and other damaging spells at you without doing much damage to you (this is assuming that you have a reasonable reflex save which you should if you are reading this guide).  Many times the mages stay behind as the melee guys engage.  Jump over the front lines and hack up the mages and/or priests.  Your party will love you.


 * To make fighting more easy, some rogues take the Mechanic-Line, not only to improve their trap skills, as also for the free proficiencies in Light/Heavy Repeaters, which are quite powerful ranged weapons. This way you can stay out of the aggro range and yet contribute to the DPS. It also doesn't require you to have high STR, Weapon Finesse or Two Weapon Fighting, so you save a lot of feats. But it is important to remember that you can only Sneak attack an enemy when within a range of 30 feet, so don't stay too far behind the lines.

''//I am not certain if I contributed correctly or whatnot as this is my first addition here at the wiki. If I did something wrong, let me know. I have really gotten a lot of great advice here and wished to add some of my own observations.'' -- User:Shodun

Conclusion
Thus ends my Guide to being a Respected Rogue. There is a lot more information that I have surely left out that I will continue adding, or other players will add for me.

Any questions or comments can be emailed to DDOSyndeo@Live.com

Here are some more useful Guides: Syndeo's Guide to Being an Effective Cleric Syndeo's Guide to Being a Revered Ranger

Look for more Guides Coming Soon!