The best Baldur's Gate 3 Rogue build is one that emphasises the key qualities of the class - sneak attacks, skills and smooth charm. Astarion might be the most well-known magnificent bastard of Baldur's Gate 3, but you can always try to put his skills to shame with your own Rogue build, or use some of what we discuss below to incorporate into how you level up Astarion. Rogues can be a lot of fun for players, whether you're an edgy, pouting shadow-dweller, a sly, coin-rolling trickster weaving magic into their scams, or just a burly thug waiting in an alleyway, a Rogue build in Baldur's Gate 3 can go any number of ways - but this is my favourite build for pure power across the game.
Best Rogue build and choices in Baldur's Gate 3
A good Rogue build in Baldur's Gate 3 should focus on the following elements:
- Stealth, mobility and dungeon crawling skills
- Sneak attacks and cautious combat
- Charm and dialogue skills
Rogues nearly always have good dexterity, but being so skill-based, there's then the option about what you make a secondary priority - and usually it's either Intelligence or Charisma, the latter of which I've chosen for a few reasons. Firstly, the intelligence skills aren't too important and we won't be choosing the Arcane Trickster build later, so being a brainy bugger is largely inessential. Two, playing with high Charisma is far friendlier to multiclassing options later on. And three… well, playing as a charmer is Baldur's Gate 3 is so fun, and so powerful if you're good at it! With that in mind, here are your priority picks for the initial character creation when making a good Rogue build.
- Race: Wood Elf
- Highest attributes: Dexterity, Charisma, Wisdom (in that order)
- Subclass: Thief
- Background: Charlatan
- Class Skills: Acrobatics, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion
- Skill Expertise: Stealth, Sleight of Hand
- Equipment: Rapier, Longbow, Light Armor
This is a rogue build that's going to have a staggering eight skill proficiencies off the bat, two of them with the expertise bonus. The Wood Elf gives us Perception and Stealth off the bat, as well as a greater movement speed (very useful when either sneaking or dashing about), the Charlatan grants us Deception and the essential Sleight of Hand, and then we fill out the rest with the class skills listed above. Already, you're one of the most diverse and useful members of the adventuring party, and can have +7 to the skills you gain expertise in. Remember, being a good Rogue isn't just about sticking knives in people, but having a solution to any problem, and now you can also be a great party "face" as well.
In combat, you want to hang near the back, using ranged sneak attacks and coordinating with your allies to bring them down - so that's a Longbow and a Rapier for if anybody gets too close. You're not especially robust and most of your protection comes from your Dexterity allowing you to dodge attacks, so you generally want to hang back where possible and snipe opponents.
Speaking of, we actually recommend the Thief over the Assassin subclass at level 3. The thief's extra bonus action is just a phenomenal advantage, and goes someway to making dual-wielding strategies viable. Meanwhile, the later skill that allows you to become invisible in darkness is another skill that we almost expect to get patched out.
Later level Rogue builds: With so many skills in play here, there's no limit to the options ahead of you. You should definitely consider multiclassing into either the Bard or Sorcerer, depending on whether you want more charm or more firepower. If you want to focus on a dual-wield build to make use of your extra bonus action, you'll want to start investing early and getting the Dual-Wielder skill - but actually, considering how deadly a Rogue can be with a bow, I would firmly recommend looking towards the Sharpshooter and building up your Dexterity as high as it will go. It's not complicated, but sweet Shar, is it effective.
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