The fast assassin (rogue build)

[Madscientist]

I was looking through the posted builds and I was surprised that I found nothing that comes close to the kind of char that I consider to be the archetypical rogue. I want to go full offense, attack as fast as possible and hit hard. This rogue is part of a full party.

Since a melee rogues need a lot of micro management anyway, I want to take as much passive stuff as possible and only the active abilities that are needed. Status effects can be applied by other party members too.

 

stats: mig 11, con 10, dex 20, per 19, int 8, res 10

I want to attack as fast as possible (dex) and I want to hit a lot (per). Mig is not so importent because rogues have lots of damage modifiers.

I chose dex as most importent attribute mostly for RP reasons. Is max dex better than max might for a dual wielding rogue?

 

race: elf (I chose pale elf because this is a stone cold killer) Is hearth orlans minor thread better than +1dex and -1per?

 

background: raider (if focus on stealth) or drifter (if focus on mechanics)

 

I am not sure what talents and abilities to take: (lots of questions below)

 

lv 1: crippling (2 per encounter) or blinding (better debuff)?

lv 2: 2 weapon style

lv3: reckless assault

lv4: weapon focus (ruffian or noble?)

lv5: deep wounds

lv6: interrupting blows

lv7: persistent distraction

lv8: savage attack

lv9: dirty fighting

lv10: vicous fighting

lv11: deathblows

lv12: outlanders frenzy

lv13: sap

lv14: vulnerable attack?

lv15: shadow step

lv16: fast runner

 

about abilities: What about finishing blow (very strong but only 2 per rest), coordinated positioning, escape, feign death (for backstab)

 

about talents: on top of the ones above, I thought about backstab (can you get close enough with stealth?), elemental damage+20% (for lashes)

 

Regarding reckless assault, savage attack and vulnerable attack: I am not sure what stacks with what. Can I reach 0 recovery without potions when I use vulnerable attack?

I chose interrupting blows, because of high per and fast attack speed I will interrupt a lot. So when I attack somebody, the target can hardly do anything.

 

equipment: (once again I am nut sure and I am happy for any suggestions.)

weapons: not sure between noble and ruffian. Here are some possible weapons I thought about.

noble: drawn in spring, unlabored blade, sword of deanysis, spelltongue, ravenwing, nightshroud

ruffian: azureiths stiletto, vent pick, resolution, purgatory

I guess those 2 sabres do most damage, but I am not sure.

 

armor: not sure since I want max speed. maybe Gwisk Glas?

ring: ring of thorns (dex+3), ring of deflection, ring of protection

belt: Arthes cord?

amulet: nidhens finger (con+3)?

shoes: boots of speed or viettros formal footware (dex+4)?

cloak: liliths shawl (per+3)

hand: gloves of swift action

head: maegfolc skull (mig+4)

 

more questions:

- Is stealth any good? I do not want to avoid combat, so it is only used to start combat in a better position. If I attack enemies before the tank, most enemies will attack me and I am dead. So maybe be the tank should go first and I start with ranged attacks until I can go close relatively safely. If stealth is not so useful, I would go for max mechanics instead.

 

- What sources of movement speed stack. I found several items plus a talent that makes me faster.

 

- These attack spped calculations are really complicated. Can I reach zero recovery passively (without potion or spell) a) at all, b) with vulnerable attack, c) with what armor?

 

[Boeroer]

Savage Attack doesn't work with Reckless Assault.

 

Fast Runner stacks with everything. If you find Boots of Speed you don't need it though.

 

Persitent Distraction is very meh. Distracted doesn't Trigger Sneak Attack or Deathblows.

 

Interrupting Blows are not really needed because rogues' victims die fast.

 

For Backstab: you'll get two consecutive melee auto attacks if you attack from stealth or invisibility. It doesn't matter if you unstealth on the way to the victim. It's only important to start the attack (click on the target) from stealth. So it's not too bad. Obviously it favours hard hitting weapons.

 

Finishing Blow it totally useless in my opinion.

 

Since rogues can crit a lot, weapons with Annihilating are nice: Resolution, Shatterstar, Battle axes and so on.

A nice weapon is Bittercut: works with Spirit of Decay (+20% damage) and if you put on a corrosive lash you will profit twice from that talent. This will be as mich damage as with Resolution or Purgatory, but it will also have two damage types - what sabres and Battle axes usually Lack.

Highest dps is Drawn in Spring, but it comes so late that it's not worth it to build everything around it.

 

The best early setup for max attack speed and thus also great dps is Sword of Daenysis (Rapier, Defiance Bay, Salty Mast) plus March Steel Dagger (Def. Bay, Gordy quest). With thin armor, Two Weapon Style and those weapons you will reach zero recovery quickly. Later I would pick Vulnerable Attack with this setup because it lacks a bit base damage since it's fast/light weapons. Also looks nice - Duelist Style.

[Madscientist]

Thanks, you are the greatest

 

updated char:

 

pale elf with raider background from the deadfire, stats mig 11, con 10, dex 20, per 19, int 8, res 10. (I hate dumping stats. If you love full offence and max damage, you can put points from con, int or res to mig)

 

lv1: crippling strike

lv2: 2 weapon style

lv3: reckless assault

lv4: weapon focus ruffian

lv5: deep wounds

lv6: vulnerable attack

lv7: dirty fighting

lv8: outlanders frenzy

lv9: withering strike (most damage), blinding strike (best debuff) or escape

lv 10: vicious fighting

lv11: deathblows

lv12: backstab

lv13: sap

lv14: +20% elemental damage (for lashes added to your weapon)

lv15: shadow step

lv16: fast runner, so I can use the dex+ boots at the end of the game

 

This looks better, though I am not 100% sure about the order of talents.

 

For weapons I stick with resolution and purgatory, stilettos against slash resistent foes. End game alternatives to those sabres would be vent pick and the unlabored blade (a dagger, but its a universal weapon. should be no problem to create the damage to upgrade it.)

 

Looking at this (rogue + deadfire + raider + 2 sabres) it would be very good as pirate.

 

EDIT: I just realized that daggers do slash damage. So I have to use 2 stilettos if slash damage is bad.

Edited August 17, 2017 by Madscientist

[dgray62]

You could also use Bittercut and Vent Pick vs. slash resistant foes. Bittercut also gives you a small AOE with Vile Thorns 2/rest. Its second spellbind, Infestation of Maggots, unfortunately is bugged, as it doesn't seem to do anything. [Edited for Additional Information]

Edited August 17, 2017 by dgray62

[Boeroer]

You might want to skip Vulnerable Attack. Sabres have enough base damage to overcome DR. In most cases it will cost you dps.

 

Infestation of Maggots should have been fixed with the 3.06 patch. Maybe Bittercut's variant was skipped accidentially.

 

I would take Backstab as soon as possible because it's very helpful in the early game where it can oneshot enemies. It works best with auto attacks (=you'll get two backstabs). If you use a strike ability you'll only get one backstab.

 

As a dual wielder I would pick as many Full Attack strike abilities as I can get. Sabres are slow and Full Attacks speed you up a lot. And you get two chances to apply the affliction.

With a strike ability the offhand hits first. So I would place Resolution there.

 

I also wouldn't drop CON and RES below 8. Because that would result in a melee rogue who does 0 damage - because he's unconcious all the time.

 

By the way: Bittercut's spellbindings have instant cast and 0 recovery for some reason.

[Madscientist]

Ok, if I skip vulnerable attack, I had problems to find useful talents. Maybe some defensive or utility things.

 

About full attacks: I must have reckless assault and deathblows ASAP and I want to keep deep wounds. Sap is not a full attack, but stunn is very good. Fearsome strike can only be used once per rest, so I skip it. This leaves only vicious fighting and shadow step. Vicious fighting (+talent) give +20% hit to crit and I have 2 anihilating weapons.

I am not sure if teleport + bonus damage for some seconds is better than one full attack.

[BALONEYPWNY]

Is Shadow Step working as intended? When I use it, there's no increased damage on my Rogue's character sheet.