Baldur’s Gate 3 Rogue Guide

Rogues are cunning and daring, but what’s the best way to play them?

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Arguably, one of the most damaging classes in all of Baldur’s Gate 3. Yes, Fighter is fantastic and a great all-rounder but we’d say that the most damaging class is Rogue. Thanks to the Rogue’s Sneak Attack, they can – given the right support – wipe out any threat with relative ease. So in this guide, we’ll help walk you through the best Rogue build, and how to create a genuinely scary and dangerous Rogue. Either your own or you can model your companion, Astarion, to this guide!

Rogues in Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 Rogues are very similar to their TTRPG counterpart, but if anything they’re a little get the grips of in BG3 than their tabletop version. Rogues are a simple class, they’re martial based meaning you won’t be going much – if any – spellcasting. Their gimmick revolves around their Sneak Attacks, a feature which – as long as you meet certain conditions – means you’ll be dealing a lot more damage to your targets. Rogues focus on single targets, though thanks to their Cunning Actions, disengaging from battles is easy if you start to get swarmed. In Baldur’s Gate 3 you’ll get the option between Arcane Trickster and Thief, but which is worth pursuing? We’ll find out once we go through the more basic and generic stuff first.

Best Race of Rogues

As a Rogue, you’ll need to prioritize Dexterity above all else. Dexterity will affect your initiative score, your AC and your damage buffs. As such, getting the highest Dexterity score possible is ideal. Luckily for you, there are a number of races in Early Access that increase your Dexterity from the get-go. Your second stat depends on the subrace, if you’re looking to go for an arcane Trickster build, you’ll want to have Intelligence as your second-highest stat. However, Rogues are pretty versatile, but having high Wisdom or Charisma will always have its uses. A lot of saving throws for dangerous spells work around Wisdom saving throws, so having high Wisdom is a bonus. Whereas all social interaction skills require Charisma.

Here are the best races for Rogues:

• Elf: +2 Dexterity
• Halfling: +2 Dexterity
• Drow: +2 Dexterity and +1 Charisma
• Half–Elf: +2 Charisma and +2 in any stat.
• Human : +1 in every stat

Thief or Arcane Trickster?

When it comes to deciding which subclass of Rogue you’ll want to go with, it’ll depend on what kind of playstyle you’ll want to play. Rogues can be either long-range or close-range, and both of the subclasses suit either style. Sneak Attack works when you have an advantage on your attacks, and you can get this via spells or if you have an ally within range of your target. But both of these subclasses have equal use, and your choice of which might simply depend on preference.

Thief

As a thief, and by level 4 you will get two features:

• Fast Hands: Gain an additional bonus action
• Second-Story Work: Gain resistance to falling damage

This might not seem like much but that simple addition to bonus action can essentially mean you make three attacks in one turn. As long as you’ve got two daggers equipped, you can do one sneak attack and two offhand attacks. Think of it as 1d6 + 2d6 + 3 (your Dex mod) for your initial attack, then an additional 1d4 + 3 and another 1d4 + 3. And taking the average roll, you’d be dealing nearly 25 damage in one turn as long as you land each hit. This isn’t even accounting for a critical hit or even if you’re hasted! This alone makes Thief a fantastic subclass for Rogues.

Arcane Trickster

As an arcane Trickster, by level 4 you will have:

• Spell Slots Unlocked: Unlocks spell slots
• Mage Hand Legerdemain: When you cast Mage Hand, the spectral hand is invisible and can carry out additional tasks.

You will unlock spells, though – unlike the TTRPG version – you won’t be limited to illusion or enchantment spells. Having spells can still be useful, especially if you’re going for a ranged build. Not to mention you’ll have access to Sleep, which if you then attack an opponent with, you’re guaranteed a crit and can Sneak Attack them. You’ll be able to learn a total of 4 spells, capped at 1st level and two cantrips. These are the ones we recommend:

Ranged build:

Final Thoughts

Rogues are fantastic and great fun in Baldur’s Gate 3, and thankfully both of the possible subclasses are just as powerful and useful. Each adds its own element into the game, but our pick would always be a High Elf Thief Rogue!