As Dungeons & Dragons expands its popularity in 2023 and beyond, both casual and professional players will benefit from understanding how to build the most effective rogue subclass. Rogues are great for keeping a low profile on the battlefield and striking when least expected, with certain subclasses offering different skill sets including powerful melee, defense, spellcasting, strategy, and defensive qualities.
Each year’s Dungeons & Dragons Sourcebook introduces new subclasses, allowing players to shape their rogues in a variety of ways. For those looking for the most powerful rogue subclass, some options balance offensive and defensive capabilities more powerfully than others.
9 planner
Planners are the least effective rogues for dungeon activity, as they severely lack combat skills. However, in campaigns where social interaction is crucial, planners use their abilities to collect and analyze information about their enemies and use their extensive knowledge to manipulate and mislead their enemies to help their party gain an advantage.
Masterminds are great for players who like to outwit their enemies through deceit, intrigue, and manipulation, and for interacting with NPCs as representatives of their party. Unfortunately, their one-dimensionality and fragility on the battlefield leave a lot to be desired, and often make the Mastermind’s role as an effective rogue less important.
8 curious
As seers of the highest rank, curious rogues are able to notice mundane details that other subclasses cannot, making them ideal detectives for investigating enemies and territories. With insight, insight, and investigative abilities, they can identify manipulative magic being used against them and mount a swift counterattack. As such, this subclass is ideal for sniffing out sneak attacks and ensuring the overall health of your party when playing on a physical or virtual Dungeons & Dragons tabletop.
In addition to their useful extrasensory perception, Curious Rogues also possess greater combat capabilities than Masterminds, giving them more value and versatility when building a team. In particular, the Combat Insight skill is a great way to balance sneak attack and detective skills. However, Wisdom-based skills aren’t the most compatible with typical rogue qualities like Charisma, Intelligence, and Dexterity, so keep that in mind when building your team.
7 Scout
When it comes to balanced ranged warriors and survivalists, Rogue Scouts are a solid subclass within the iconic folkloric tabletop role-playing game. Rogue Scouts are best suited as sneakers, bounty hunters, and undetected spies who use the natural environment to their advantage, although they are not as powerful in melee combat and DPS attacks as in ranged combat.
Able to alert the party to impending danger and able to fight in ranged combat, Scouts can use their natural and survival skills to outwit and subdue enemies using powerful abilities such as Ambush Master, Surprise Strike, and Skirmisher. While some consider Scout Rogues a bit too simple, they perform well in any campaign.
6 thieves
The classic thief archetype, the Rogue is absolutely best at robberies, lockpicks, hijackings, backstabbings, and all manner of operations related to secrecy and stolen property. Most players choose to play as a rogue in the first place because of these qualities, but the rogue’s mediocre combat skills are a huge letdown when fighting enemies on the battlefield.
The most impressive abilities gained by thieves include climbing, sneaking, breaking traps, and using magic items stolen from various characters, no matter who they were stolen from. Thieves also have Quick Hands, an effective skill that allows them to steal items with ease and take advantage of the Use Object action. Unfortunately, this feature cannot be used with magic items, which reduces the overall power of the subclass.
5 bluffing
While some prefer rogue scouts to rogue swordsmen due to the fact that they get hit less often in combat, the latter subclass is an absolute beast when it comes to deadly combat power. Most rogues are not very good fighters in close quarters combat, but swordsmen are very adept at both close and ranged combat, using incredible speed and skilled swordsmanship to tease their enemies.
With a subclass that enhances the Swordsman’s sneak attacks, this subclass also has a ton of movement options when not attacking, helping them dodge, dodge, and avoid enemy attacks. With their flashy taunt abilities and their Insolent Dauntless skills, which allow them to enhance sneak attacks on nearby enemies, swashbuckling warriors combine melee acumen with precision and charismatic skills to create an impressive balance of power.
4 phantom
Most D&D gamers consider the Phantom to be the most original of all the rogue subclasses. Most of their power comes from Tokens of the Dead, the ability to steal soul trinkets from the dead and use them to gain extra damage or ask the dead key questions. Alas, as a non-spellcasting class, their overall power range is somewhat limited, except when casting spells for clerics.
With the Whispers of the Dead and Grave Cry abilities, the Phantom Thief can transform into a ghost and roam freely to spy on and sneak up on enemies, even inflicting necrotic damage to enemies at the slightest instance. As expected, giving them super powerful and versatile rogue qualities that make them more unique than most in the subclass.
3 assassins
Generally speaking, assassins must be as stealthy as possible to do their job effectively. As such, the Deadly Rogue subclass is just as deadly as it sounds, trained to only deal as much damage as possible to enemies without regard to the consequences. Always in the shadows, Assassins are great at infiltrating, killing classic Dungeons & Dragons low-level monsters and high-level bad guys, and getting away with it.
While their characters are fairly simple and often one-dimensional, the sheer power the Assassins gain through their omnipotence trait is extremely punishing. The Assassination feature allows subclasses to perform coy attacks with deadly force, the Death Strike feature doubles the sneak attack damage rate against enemies, and perhaps most beneficially, the Impostor feature allows assassins to impersonate characters, which makes infiltrating enemy territory a simple matter of course. It’s easier and safer.
2 Arcane Trickster
Those looking to add unique magic to their rogue character should explore the Arcane Trickster subclass, a cunning, cunning, and extremely deceptive trick with few weaknesses. As the only rogue subclass with a spell list, the magical acumen and skill displayed by arcane tricksters gives them a huge advantage over the rest as evil demi-spellcasters.
While beginners to the classic fantasy role-playing game may find Arcane Trickster a bit difficult to control, expert players will take their party to the next level with an array of exciting tricks using the subclasses. For example, they can steal other people’s spells, cast magical ambush while hiding, and use the awesome Mage’s Hand trick to magically steal items from around the room and use them against enemies.
1 Soul Blade
Soulknife is the strongest rogue subclass in the game. Combining ultra-powerful psionic abilities with their immense mechanical qualities and rich flavor, the extremely balanced Rogue subclass uses psionic power dice to determine exactly how to wield their powers, giving them more control than others. right.
Additionally, with his almighty psionic powers and psionic blade properties, SoulKnife can use immense psychic powers to fight both mentally and physically, overwhelming most enemies who can only do one or the other. Soulknives are equally adept at ranged and melee ranges, and thanks to their mind-rending ability, they can control the minds of their enemies and manipulate them in appropriate ways. If that’s not enough, the Soul Blade can use its Psychic Veil feature to become completely invisible for one hour, ensuring it remains undetected while infiltrating enemy territory.