Help Building a Ranged Rogue

[LastSoloer]

 

On POTD that 4 damage would matter a lot. Also its +4 damage per hit, so if you hit 10 times that's +40.

 

I am playing PotD with a ranged rogue with suboptimal attributes (only 10 might), no min-maxed adventurers and no bug-inflated stats and so far doing really well, sometimes it is actually too easy But what is not with those super tanky fighters, OP spells and possibly overlevelled content. And those things which destroy me would destroy me regardless of my rogue's might.

 

 

I also agree on that, I dont see Might like the way too go for  Rogue nor intelligence. Weapons do damage regardless of Might so I would seek a damage on hit build for a Rogue its what I will try.

[Doug]

 

Two-handed Style gives you a 15% increase in damage.

 

 

Have you tested two handed style with ranged weapons?

[Valeris]

Even my 10 con sceptre priest goes squish easily with any agro on her. I dump the deflection stats first for squishies because they aren't going to have high enough deflection to avoid hits anyway, and I like to pump up might, dex, and int for AoE characters.

 

Guardian Aura + One Deflection Item or Deflection related talent alone solves most of the problems of squishies in melee range. Add a priest buff and/or wizard de-buffs to that (e.g. Arcane Assault...) and they are pretty save.

[Viperswhip]

I'd really only consider Hearth Orland for any rogue, bonus to crit chance when attacking a target that's also being attacked by someone else in your party...so like, all the time then.

 

Sageni got a talent that does bonus damage to targets with a dot on them, and my rogue has an ability that applies a dot on hit...et voila, synergy.

 

My rogue crits like that's her normal mode of attack and stuns everything.

[Tildryn]

 

I'm thinking that since 3 or 10 CON is essentially the same thing in the sense that you get one-shot or something like the previous posters have mentioned, then I might as well go 3 CON. In a way, the best of both worlds are achieved since I can min/max and and with the same practical results from the low CON. Thoughts?

 

Alright, if we're going to talk pure min/max, let's get real:

 

Aumaua / Dwarf

 

MIG: 20

CON: 18 (19)

DEX: 18 (17)

PER: 10

INT: 3

RES: 9

 

Culture: Deadfire Archipelago or The Living Lands

 

Background: Any

 

There's absolutely no reason to take three constitution ever when playing a rogue. Intelligence is practically useless on them. Your debuff abilities decrease from 10 seconds to 6.5, which is a bit of a sore spot but not altogether a bad thing if you take the Grieving Mother with you and use the rest of your party to supply sneak attack opportunities. What's particularly great about a lack of intelligence on a rogue is that the negative duration theoretically effects Deep Wounds in a strange way -- it makes the raw damage affect the target faster. Meaning that you do x damage over 6.5 seconds rather than 20. So, ideally, you're going to be cycling pin point accurate shots to each enemy and whittling them down with the raw damage DoT effect.

 

Two-handed Style gives you a 15% increase in damage. Penetrating Shot helps with sturdy, DR-heavy enemies. You can take Marksman if you want the extra accuracy, and Gunslinger if you're dead set on using one of the slow reloading weapons all the time. Dirty Fighting & Vicious Fighting are also quite nice. Interrupting Blows is great for sniping out mages from afar. Bloody Slaughter will help you pick off low health enemies as well. Graceful Retreat isn't a poor investment, either.

 

I think that's about it. Sneak into fights and start them off with a deadly blunderbuss volley. Make sure your allies help set up sneaks. And go kill things mercilessly~

 

 

Two-Handed Style does not increase ranged weapon damage.

[Larsenex]

So what is it, Lose Int or Lose Con? Or lose a little bit of both?

[Viperswhip]

Ya, I wish there was a bow talent to pick since there is one that covers every other weapon and style, even gunner.

[Dongom]

 

 

MIG: 20

CON: 18 (19)

DEX: 18 (17)

PER: 10

INT: 3

RES: 9

 

 

There's absolutely no reason to take three constitution ever when playing a rogue. Intelligence is practically useless on them. Your debuff abilities decrease from 10 seconds to 6.5, which is a bit of a sore spot but not altogether a bad thing if you take the Grieving Mother with you and use the rest of your party to supply sneak attack opportunities. What's particularly great about a lack of intelligence on a rogue is that the negative duration theoretically effects Deep Wounds in a strange way -- it makes the raw damage affect the target faster. Meaning that you do x damage over 6.5 seconds rather than 20. So, ideally, you're going to be cycling pin point accurate shots to each enemy and whittling them down with the raw damage DoT effect.

 

 

I'm not sure but could it be better to dump Con and max out Res/Per to capitalize on deflection?

[Viperswhip]

I might leave con at 10 if I am never meleeing. I would go a bit higher on one the stats used for conversations, I also like int because my effects therefore last longer, so that's the one I would feed a few more points into.

[Lasci]

Sorry! Yes, two-handed style does NOT affect ranged weapons. I copied that description from an old document that I hadn't edited. Sorry about the confusion.

 

I'm not sure but could it be better to dump Con and max out Res/Per to capitalize on deflection?

 

I wouldn't put a single point in Resolve over 10 for a Rogue. If you want a deflection bonus, put it in Perception for increased interrupts. It's not a terrible idea -- a mix of constitution and perception will keep you safe from AoE as much as an errant enemy that gets past your tanks. Really, the important stats for a ranged rogue are Might and Dexterity for harder hitting and faster attacks. You can spread around that high constitution wherever and however you like. It really doesn't matter that much. You shouldn't be getting hit anyways.

 

So what is it, Lose Int or Lose Con? Or lose a little bit of both?

 

I might leave con at 10 if I am never meleeing. I would go a bit higher on one the stats used for conversations, I also like int because my effects therefore last longer, so that's the one I would feed a few more points into.

 

I don't see why you would ever consider dropping constitution below 10. Intelligence doesn't really influence your efficacy in combat at all. The rogue has barely any duration abilities and no AoE abilities. Resolve and Perception come up fairly frequently in conversations. My experience is that intelligence needs to be relatively high, like 16-18+, in order to be usable. What effects do you want to last longer? Crippling Strike? Is 3.5 seconds really worth losing hundreds of hit points?

[Kilrach]

Is it worth it to pump up Resolve for RP if I'm already pumping Perception?

[Lasci]

Is it worth it to pump up Resolve for RP if I'm already pumping Perception?

 

If you want 16 resolve and perception for roleplaying purposes, you're going to take a hit to your damage efficacy. But you should be fine; you're not going to have a complete dud of a character if your stats aren't offensively maxed.

[Fimconte]

You should really go Wood Elf or Orlin, especially if you want to pick up Perception and Resolve. 
'Minor Threat' is probably the best racial in the game (although, you're forced to take a -1 MIG hit), while Wood Elf brings +1 Dex and +5 Accuracy.  

I'd also point out that Perception is not worthless for ranged. You gain +interrupt chance.  
Resolve unfortunately, largely is worthless.

As a ranged rogue, I think maximum Dex is the main priority.
After that, you can go for Might.  
Beyond these two, you can pick whatever you want.
Con is primary dump stat, Int secondary (you lose a bit of duration on your per encounter abilities, but in a full party it's not an issue to have some per encounters that can allow you to trigger sneak attack).  

[Faydark]

Still learning a lot about the various classes and stats here, so could you explain why Dex is the main priority for Rogues? I can clearly read the description of Dex, I'm more interested in why the Attack Speed matters more than say, Mights +damage for example.

 

Thanks.

[Lasci]

Still learning a lot about the various classes and stats here, so could you explain why Dex is the main priority for Rogues? I can clearly read the description of Dex, I'm more interested in why the Attack Speed matters more than say, Mights +damage for example.

 

Thanks.

 

If you want to optimize, you should max might and dexterity.

[Kilrach]

I wonder if Bloody Slaughter is worth it - not sure if I need the extra crit if the enemy is gonna die anyway. It'd be helpful for them to state its low Endurance threshold

Edited April 5, 2015 by Kilrach

[helmino]

Is Worth investing in penetrating shots? and what about warbow or hunting bow, wich one you value the best?

[Caerdon]

Penetrating Shot is absolutely worth it with Bows. I use warbow because of better armor penetration, but hunting bow works just fine.

[Kilrach]

If you're solely using an Arbalest, PS might not be worth it I think.

[Venatio]

I need to make a level 6 rogue to add to my party and I was wondering what would be optimal. I am making a Hearth Orlan Ranged Rogue so perhaps a kind of bow might be preferable to a gun in order to capitalize on her passive +10% crit chance when attacking an ally's target. On my first trial run I found that she was not very optimal when I just gave her quick switch + armsbearer and gave her a lot of guns, largely because unlike a Ranger she cannot capitalize on easy access to good ranged attacks from the get-go. 

 

I was considering a hunting bow in order to make the most of her crit-chance, what does everyone else think? I tried arbalests but honestly it seems to take a while for an attack that can miss or bounce off armor more often than not. Would anyone also have a recommendation for talents and abilities I should focus on if I do go the Bow Rogue way? I really just need someone who can pick off those priests behind enemy lines. 

 

Would a arbalest using Dwarf Rogue be more suitable for late game content? 

Edited April 15, 2015 by Venatio

[Akimbo]

I need to make a level 6 rogue to add to my party and I was wondering what would be optimal. I am making a Hearth Orlan Ranged Rogue so perhaps a kind of bow might be preferable to a gun in order to capitalize on her passive +10% crit chance when attacking an ally's target. On my first trial run I found that she was not very optimal when I just gave her quick switch + armsbearer and gave her a lot of guns, largely because unlike a Ranger she cannot capitalize on easy access to good ranged attacks from the get-go. 

 

I was considering a hunting bow in order to make the most of her crit-chance, what does everyone else think? I tried arbalests but honestly it seems to take a while for an attack that can miss or bounce off armor more often than not. Would anyone also have a recommendation for talents and abilities I should focus on if I do go the Bow Rogue way? I really just need someone who can pick off those priests behind enemy lines. 

 

Would a arbalest using Dwarf Rogue be more suitable for late game content? 

 

Even after the nerf to Arbalests I'd never give mine up for a bow. I use a wood elf rogue, with an arbalest that opens up the fight using hobbling shot. I chunkify most casters instantly with the initial shot (70+ damage regularly). To make the most out of it though, you need the gunner talent and a chanter with the phrase for reload/shot speed.

 

If you really wanted to use a bow I'd go with the Hearth Orlan (I feel like you'd want more crits with the weaker, but faster weapons) There are some decent bows, there's one on the 4th or 5th floor of the Endless Depths that iirc stuns when you crit. There's also a decent bow available for sale in Copper Lane. There is a better bow available later on in Twin Elms I think, but I haven't seen it yet.

 

Off the top of my head if you go the bow route, I'd want to pick up:

 

Hobbling shot

Dirty Fighting

Improved Dirty Fighting

Penetrating Shots

 

I'd say these were "must haves".

 

Then there's:

 

Marksman

Talent for +6 accuracy depending on which weapon set the bow you want to use is under

 

I tend to find myself skipping these skills early on though in favour of Gunner since I use slower weapons.

[Kaigen42]

I need to make a level 6 rogue to add to my party and I was wondering what would be optimal. I am making a Hearth Orlan Ranged Rogue so perhaps a kind of bow might be preferable to a gun in order to capitalize on her passive +10% crit chance when attacking an ally's target. On my first trial run I found that she was not very optimal when I just gave her quick switch + armsbearer and gave her a lot of guns, largely because unlike a Ranger she cannot capitalize on easy access to good ranged attacks from the get-go. 

 

I was considering a hunting bow in order to make the most of her crit-chance, what does everyone else think? I tried arbalests but honestly it seems to take a while for an attack that can miss or bounce off armor more often than not. Would anyone also have a recommendation for talents and abilities I should focus on if I do go the Bow Rogue way? I really just need someone who can pick off those priests behind enemy lines. 

 

Would a arbalest using Dwarf Rogue be more suitable for late game content? 

I like bows on a ranged rogue, primarily because you're relying on debuffs to get your sneak attack damage, and so I like to squeeze more attacks into that window of opportunity. I would still take war bows over hunting bows for better armor penetration, though. Plus, if you're a Hearth Orlan, you can get extra mileage out of those extra crits by picking up Borresaine early on in Copperlane, which stuns on crits. For talents, pick up Weapon Focus, Marksman, and Penetrating Shots, Vicious Fighting, and Devastating Blow. That'll give you accuracy, DR, damage, and a huge hit-to-crit conversion rate. If you want a panic button, slip in Shadowing Beyond somewhere. Ability choice is pretty straightforward for a ranged rogue. Just make sure you pick up Dirty Fighting and Finishing Blow.

[paralistalon]

 

 

 

MIG: 20

CON: 18 (19)

DEX: 18 (17)

PER: 10

INT: 3

RES: 9

 

 

There's absolutely no reason to take three constitution ever when playing a rogue. Intelligence is practically useless on them. Your debuff abilities decrease from 10 seconds to 6.5, which is a bit of a sore spot but not altogether a bad thing if you take the Grieving Mother with you and use the rest of your party to supply sneak attack opportunities. What's particularly great about a lack of intelligence on a rogue is that the negative duration theoretically effects Deep Wounds in a strange way -- it makes the raw damage affect the target faster. Meaning that you do x damage over 6.5 seconds rather than 20. So, ideally, you're going to be cycling pin point accurate shots to each enemy and whittling them down with the raw damage DoT effect.

 

 

I'm not sure but could it be better to dump Con and max out Res/Per to capitalize on deflection?

 

 

At least on patch 1.05, I tested the effects of INT on DoT skills like Envenomed Strike, and with an increase in INT, there's an increase in total damage output (for example, instead of saying 50 damage over 11 seconds, an increase in INT will change the skill to say something like 56 damage over 12.5 seconds, which means the skill has a base damage per second, and the more seconds the effect lasts, the more total damage).  My understanding is also that DoT effects never stack with themselves, so this would mean that you wouldn't want to hit with a second Envenomed Strike until the first effect ended.  Since this is how Deep Wound works as well (I assume... I haven't taken the skill on a Rogue yet and tinkered with INT to see how it adjusts the description), and with a base description of 10 damage over 10 seconds, INT only matters in terms of 1) how fast can you hit the same target repeatedly? and 2) do you intend to focus fire on one enemy at a time, or are you okay with switching targets? 

 

Let's assume you're only concerned with hitting one target over and over again until they die.  If your INT is minimal, leading to a 6.5 second Deep Wound duration, then as long as you can hit the same target again within 6.5 seconds, an increase in INT won't lead to an increase in damage.  That is because you will keep refreshing the DoT so that the enemy is always taking an extra 1 DPS.  But that's assuming you NEVER miss.  Because you will miss sometimes, an increase in INT will likely work in your favor.  Also, if you have a slower weapon or if you ever switch enemies, then an increase in INT will work in your favor. 

 

TLDR: Higher INT on a rogue has no downside (except for the cost of another stat being lower).  Whether or not the upside is worth it depends on how you build your rogue.  If you take both crippling strike and blinding strike, envenomed strike and deep wounds, and possibly have some spellbound gear or a weapon that inflicts a status effect, then INT may be fairly useful.