Among the fairly large number available in Baldur's Gate 3 gaming classes, The Rogue is considered one of the most useful, versatile and in some ways even irreplaceable choices for a squad. These clever pickpockets are successful in neutralizing and breaking into hard-to-reach treasures, and can help with silent reconnaissance and deception in dialogues. Rogues are considered to be a simple class, but there are quite a few pitfalls in their assembly, which we will talk about in this article.
Find out from our guide how to choose the best build for the Rogue in BG3 : which races, subclasses and equipment to give preference to, as well as with whom it is more effective to multiclass. Also, let's not ignore the canonical build of the Dodger for Astarion.
Best Trickster Build in Baldur's Gate 3
Introductory information
Anyone who has ever played Baldur's Gate 3, more than once I had to resort to help Pluta – they make the best thieves and scouts, most likely remaining invisible to enemies and getting out of the vast majority of dialogue situations through Deception.
It is worth understanding for what purposes you are choosing this class and how you will cover the lack of combat skills with survivability.
The main advantages of the Rogue class :
- High chances of theft and lock picking;
- Increased bonus to the conversational option “Deception”;
- Disposal of mines and traps;
- Mobility in combat;
- Sneak crit attacks on the sly;
- As you level up, you gain evasion skills and reduced incoming damage.
Cons of Rogues :
- Low survival rate;
- Dependency on weapons, attack conditions and rather boring rotation in battle;
- Compared to other physical classes, when leveling up they significantly lose in damage;
- In late acts, their attacks are ineffective against most enemies immune to piercing damage.
Basic stats
The Trickster's main skills are based on the parameter " Dexterity "and the skills that come from it. First of all, focus pumping on it, and only then on “ Endurance " And " Intelligence " The latter gives a bonus to saves against magic and is suitable for builds with magical abilities, as it affects their damage and hit chance.
The order of pumping stats and their importance for the Trickster:
- Dexterity is the basis for stealth, acrobatics and sleight of hand, affects the accuracy of attacks, initiative and increasing armor class. This parameter helps Rogues to remain stable after enemy attacks, to be resourceful and undetected. If your hero plays from ranged range, then Agility will allow him to miss the target less;
- Endurance will increase the survivability that the Rogues lack. It will affect both your health and your susceptibility to various debuffs and the environment.
You can also pay attention to “ Charisma "if you often use deceptive lines in dialogues. And further " Wisdom » to explore the world and discover hidden areas.
Key Ability: Sneak Attacks
The distinctive skill of Rogues is “ sneak attack » – deals physical damage at close or long range, but you must have an advantage over the target . To carry out such an attack, the Dodger takes a stance " Hide ", but even so you will not always be able to use the attack.
Here are the cases in which it will work:
- You pass a stealth check and the enemy can't see you, so you're in a better position. If you have a high agility score, you will be able to pass such checks even in the field of view of an enemy (highlighted in red in the game);
- The enemy is under some kind of debuff (poisoned, blinded, etc.);
- One and a half meters from the target, at melee range, is your ally.
Origin
The best bloodline options for the Trickster are those that give bonus skills deceit, stealth or sleight of hand . These include:
- Charlatan[обман/ловкость рук] – canonical origin satellite -vampire Astarion ;
- Criminal[обман/скрытность] – a choice for those who want to make a real villain out of their Trickster;
- Tramp[скрытность/ловкость рук] – someone who has experienced a lot of adversity and learned to make the best of difficult situations.
Skills
Key skills that enhance the combat and tactical side of the Rogue are: stealth, acrobatics and sleight of hand. In addition to them there are deception and survival. For a solo game, or a more detailed exploration of the world, you can add here insight and attention . You can mention them in more detail:
- To the "Dexterity" parameter include: stealth, acrobatics, sleight of hand and deception. The first helps to remain undetected, the second helps to be more resistant to incoming damage or attacks that can push or knock you down, and the third helps to carry out successful thefts, hacks and neutralization. With deception for starters, you will get a hero for whom pumping up only one main parameter allows you to become a generalist in combat, communication and interaction with the world of BG3;
- To the “Wisdom” parameter include: survival, insight and attention. Increases observation of the environment and the hidden intentions of interlocutors.
Best races
Not to say that for the Dodger there is some kind of particularly priority race, unlike the same Paladin. And yet, the main rogue companion in BG3 is Astarion, and he is an elf. Take a closer look at the benefits of the following creatures:
- Elves . Higher ones, like Astariaon, are resistant to some debuffs and skillfully control short and long swords + bows of the same length. But Foresters have an increase in speed, which can help with maneuverability on the battlefield;
- Deep gnomes . Granted an advantage in stealth tests;
- Drow . They have improved night vision and receive the “Darkness” ability at level 5, which, with the right build, can become the Trickster’s main assistant;
- Half-elves And Tieflings . In the subclasses of both races, you can find advantages such as increased speed or “Darkness”;
- Lightfoot halflings . Like gnomes, they have an increased chance of successful stealth checks;
- Half-orcs . For those looking for more crits and survivability.
- Githyanki . At the first level they receive a skill to choose a bonus to mastery, and later - “Misty Step” additionally. an action that helps evade the enemy at a critical moment.
Subclasses
The Dodgers have three main subclasses :
- Thief . The best off the battlefield and the most versatile subclass, which, after leveling up, gives resistance to damage, maneuverability and some bonus actions.
- Mystical trickster . A mixture of mage and rogue, a subclass with spells. Uses charm, illusion and other magical actions. And most importantly, such a Trickster will not be limited only to physical damage.
- Assassin . An excellent choice for solo play, which is used as a basis in many builds. These stealthy assassins are skilled at delivering critical hits to their targets' backs and then disappearing into the shadows.
Below we will take as a basis the Assassin and Thief subclasses for Astarion.
Multiclass
Before we start leveling up, let's decide on a multiclass. Rogues will do well when paired with someone who can add extra attacks or benefits to their enemies' resilience. Don't forget about survivability - some classes will increase the level of armor without allowing you to lose in Dexterity.
For class combinations, give preference to these options:
- Bard . It will be a good option for the Trickster Assassin Archer (at least 6 levels). With the subclass “College of Swords” it acquires various flourishes, among which there are those that significantly enhance ranged combat.
- Monk . With the “Way of the Open Palm” (level at least 9) it gives a wide range of attacks through vulnerabilities with the additional ability to stun or knock down the target.
- Warrior . Brings an additional action to your skill pool and lowers the threshold for performing a critical attack with the “Champion” subclass (level at least 3 levels). And if you select “Battle Master”, the choice will open up attacking maneuvers that will come in handy after the same sneak attack.
- Witch subclass "Bestia". An excellent addition to the build for Astarion, which we’ll talk about below.
- Pathfinder . The Shadowhunter subclass has several passive abilities that increase initiative, speed, and attack damage by 1d8 (minimum 5 levels, which will grant double strike and the ability to take Misty and Traceless Steps - the latter will provide an impressive bonus to stealth checks).
Leveling up and gameplay of the Trickster
We'll put together a multiclass build, but if you're playing " Stories ”(that is, you cannot combine classes with each other), feel free to choose the Thief subclass and focus on the characteristics and additional traits from the screenshots above - all of them will be useful to Rogues to one degree or another.
Marksman build with crits
The assembly will be based on classes Rogue, Ranger and Warrior. See their leveling in the table below:
| Lv. | Class | Elections in pumping | Spells to choose from | Traits to choose from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 |  Dodger | Subclass : Assassin; | - | By priority : + to Dexterity; Accurate shooter; Vigilance. |
| 4-8 |  Pathfinder | Subclass : Shadowhunter; Enemy : Head hunter; Nature Explorer : Tamer or fiery Wastelander; Fighting style : Shooting. |    | |
| 9-12 |  Warrior | Subclass : Master of Battle; Fighting style : Dual Wield or Defense; Maneuvers : Diversionary Strike, Disarming Attack, Threatening Attack. | - |
This combined Rogue feels great as an additional damage dealer, and his gameplay is aimed at seizing the initiative and then finishing off targets with attacks from an advantageous distance.
Build for Astarion through attacks in Darkness
And secondly, we’ll show you how you can assemble your Astarion, so that the hero turns out to be a canonical Vampire Dodger, possessing plot-based skills and the same type of combat.
| Lv. | Class | Elections in pumping | Spells to choose from | Traits to choose from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-3 | Dodger | Subclass : Warrior; | - | By priority : + to Dexterity, Accurate Caster[Терновый хлыст] , Two-armed. |
| 4-8 |  Witch | Subclass : Bestia; Invocations : Devil's Vision, Tormenting Explosion, Bewitching Influence. Agreement : Blade. | Tricks :    [Шлем на невидимость]Spells :
     | |
| 9-12 | Warrior | Subclass : Champion; Fighting style : Dual wielding; | - |
With this build, you can safely start with classic sneak attacks, having previously lived through invisibility and the blade’s contract for improved attacks with the chosen weapon. And when you are discovered, use Darkness around yourself and your enemies, and then attack from it. You can try to attract those who are far from the haze to you using the Thorn Whip skill from the Accurate Caster trait.
What Illithid abilities are suitable for a Rogue?
If you want to get an advantage not only from the main build, but also from alien skills, throw larvae into the following abilities:
- Luck of the Far Reach . A counterattack that converts a successful attack roll into a crit. target damage;
- Psionic Recoil . Reaction of 1d4 Psychic damage to spells cast by an enemy within a 9m radius;
- Rejection of the weak . For those who have already upgraded quite a lot of alien skills: if the target’s HP is lower than the number of your Illithid abilities, the attack immediately kills the victim and damages everyone within a 3 m radius by 1d3 Psychic damage;
- Black hole . Reduces the speed of enemies caught in it, while sucking them into the center of the direction chosen for the hole;
- Charm . Inflicts a condition where the target will not attack you for the entire next turn (if it fails a Wisdom check, of course).
Potions and equipment
The Trickster's equipment is suitable for anything that gives bonuses to the hero's agility, stealth, crits and mobility. On early acts You can look for the following or similar uniform options:
- [X:50, Y:75] Shadow of Menzoberranzan . Lying near the corpse of a drow in a bull-locked pen, a myconid colony[X:71 Y:-220] ;
- Drow Linked Leather Armor . A skin for a bonus to stealth, which can be obtained from Lolth's cache within the Festering Bay[Ноги] ;
- Archer's Gloves for a bonus to damage with a bow, sold by Grat in the goblin camp;
- [X:86 Y:448] Falling apart "Night Steps" provide stability on difficult surfaces + “Misty step”. Can be collected from Nere's corpse in Grimforge;
- Moon pendant . Lies in Medvesychi cave, inside the Selunite casket[Оружие] ;
- Ring of Hrup (+2 speed) and Caustic Ring (+ 2 units of acid from weapons). The first can be picked up from Hrup in the courtyard of the goblin camp, and the second can be bought from Derrit in the myconid colony;
- [X:-19 Y:-283] Titanium string bow . After the quest " Find the missing cargo "can be bought from Brem / or traded with Lann Tarv after checks in the dialogue, Lunar Towers. Hill Giant's Club (raises Strength to 19). In the Underdark, on the roof of the abandoned Wizard's Tower[Голова на бонус к урону по цели с «Меткой охотника»] - you can get it by breaking off the leg of a stool. Hunter's Dagger for sale at Roa, in the sanctuary destroyed by goblins.
For later acts look for equipment with similar effects:
- [X:-6482 Y:2939] Hunting hoop . Sold by the drow Arai Oblodra in the Towers of the Moon/Act 2, or imbo Hell's Twilight Helm – House of Hope vault[X:-17 Y:755] / Act 3;
- Shadowslayer Cloak . Bargaining with Sticky Dondo in the lower city sewers[Доспехи на бонус к скрытности и инициативе, а также навык удара щитом] /Act 3;
- [X: -32 Y: 219] Elegant studded leather . Bank vault No. 9, Lower Town/Act 3;
- Hell's Boots with a special teleport that damages with fire around the place of our appearance. Dragon's Crossing: chest from the roof of the castle on Serpentine Rock[Кольца] /Act 3;
- Amulet of Surgical Conquest with a bonus in the form of paralysis from critical hits on the target. On Malus Torm in the House of Healing/Act 2;
- [X: -833 Y: -729] Killer love (100% crit after killing the previous target) – Shar Temple, on the floor near the shadow clone of your key character[Оружие] /Act 2, and Changeable Ring (“Invisibility” and “Blur”). Dropped by Marcus who attacked the Last Light tavern / Act 2;
- Gontre Mael – a bow dropped after defeating the Steel Guardian Titan in Foundry ; Bloodlust – a nice dagger that inflicts piercing vulnerability on the target falls from Orin’s corpse. Rhapsody – another dagger with a bonus to attacks and Bleeding, drops from the vampire Kazador Zarra / all three are obtained in the 3rd Act.
And finally, the most important consumables, without which the Trickster's gameplay will become much less effective:
- Speed Potion;
- Elixir of Bloodlust;
- Invisibility potion;
- Poison Drow;
- Arrow of many targets.
You can look for additional equipment on the site with mods for Baldur's Gate 3, which we talked about in separate article.
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