Thief Rogue Build and Guide
Experts at Stealth, Thief Rogues are an excellent addition to any Baldur’s Gate 3 party comp due to their high Dexterity, Charisma, and overall simplicity.
The ability to deal massive amounts of damage at both close and long range in a single attack and their use of multiple bonus actions per turn make them one of the strongest damage dealers in the game.
Besides their massive amount of damage, their proficiencies in out-of-combat skills such as Lockpicking and Deception will also aid you in your playthrough.
This guide will cover the pros and cons of the subclass along with how to play it.
Find out where the Rogue ranks in our Baldur’s Gate 3 class tier list.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Access to long and close-range damage
- Lockpicking and Pickpocketing advantages
- Able to Disengage/Dash safely
Cons
- Lack of spells and spell-casting
- Needs an advantage on enemies for Sneak Attacks
- Low defense
Thief Rogues are the most basic Stealth class, and the playstyle is what the average person might envision when thinking of a classic rogue. Their high physical damage makes them a great choice for your backline.
Additionally, they are able to pick off enemies easily if they are positioned strategically in battle. They can also escape from enemies, with access to both Disengage and Dash as bonus actions as opposed to class actions.
The main issues with Thief Rogues are their lack of spells and overall fragility. Unless you have a race-provided Cantrip such as Firebolt, your Rogue will not have access to spells. Because of this, it’s best to keep consumable items, such as poison and elemental arrows, on hand so you can have some sort of AoE or status-effect ability. Since Rogues are only proficient in light armor, having high Dexterity is important since it increases the damage of your Finesse attacks and your Armor Class (AC).
Races
The best races for Thief Rogues are any that give proficiencies in Stealth or Stealth Checks with their traits:
- Wood Elves/ Wood Half-Elves: Mask of the Wild, Fleet of Foot & Darkvision
- Lightfoot Halflings: Naturally Stealthy
- Deep Gnomes: Stone Camouflage & Darkvision
I personally recommend Wood Elves/Wood Half-Elves, since Fleet of Foot gives you 10.5 m base movement speed, and you get Darkvision which allows you to gain advantage on enemies easier, since you’ll be able to see them even in low lighting.
Stats, Backgrounds, and Proficiencies
Your highest Ability Scores should be Dexterity and Constitution. Dexterity is needed for doing more damage with Finesse (weapons scale with your Dexterity instead of Strength if your Dexterity is higher) and AC.
Constitution will increase your HP, making you less of a liability if caught out. These two stats should have between 14 and 16 Ability Points.
How you allocate the rest of your Ability Points is up to personal preference, but I like putting them into Wisdom and Charisma. This allows for good synergy with backgrounds that provide Charisma skills, such as Charlatan or Criminal.
Your “dump stat” should be Intelligence since Thief Rogues don’t have any attacks or abilities that are modified by Intelligence.
Speaking of backgrounds, the best character backgrounds are ones that provide Dexterity skills:
- Charlatan: Sleight of Hand and Deception
- Criminal: Deception and Stealth
- Urchin: Sleight of hand and Stealth
In Patch 8, Expertise was finally added for Rogues. Expertise is a class ability that allows you to double your Proficiency Bonus on a skill. I recommend choosing Stealth and Sleight of Hand as your Skills with Expertise so that Lockpicking, Disarming, and Sneaking is easier.
Recommended Spells and Abilities
Because there aren’t many other options as a Thief Rogue, one of your main abilities is going to be Sneak Attack. You gain Sneak Attack at Level 1, and to use the ability you need to have Advantage on an enemy, or you need to be within 1.5m of your target and not have a Disadvantage.
The best way to get an Advantage is to hit them while in Stealth, unseen, or have a high ground Advantage. Beginning a battle in Stealth is a really simple way to gain an early Advantage as you will startle your enemies.
If you hit Left Shift on your keyboard, anything highlighted in red is the area that enemies have vision of, and you will need to pass a Stealth check in order to stay hidden. Anything not in red is not seen, and you will be able to sneak around freely. How difficult it is to remain hidden is dependent on if your enemies have Darkvision and your environment.
Sneak Attack is capable of dealing a massive amount of damage as long as the prerequisites are met. There are ranged and melee Sneak Attacks, and throughout your game, expect to be using them very often.
As you level up, you gain access to Cunning Actions. These Actions include Disengage and Dash. Cunning Action allows both of these Actions to be Bonus Actions, instead of Actions. Because of this, your Rogue will gain the ability to attack an enemy and then Dash away.
These Bonus Actions are extremely useful, as you can also use off-hand attacks while wielding two weapons. It’s also useful for being able to deal damage before running if your Rogue ends up getting collapsed on in larger fights. While playing as Astarion, Bite can be used as a Bonus Action to regenerate health.
When you choose Thief Rogue as your subclass, you gain access to Fast Hands and Second-Story Work. Second-Story Work reduces your fall damage by half, in and out of combat. Fast Hands lets you use 2 Bonus Actions every turn.
When you choose a feat at Level 4, I recommend choosing Dual Wielder. This feat gives you +1 AC while dual wielding, and you can use dual-weapon fighting even if your weapons aren’t light. This allows you to use two rapiers, which uses Finesse, to deal 1d8 damage instead of 1d6 with Short Swords.
Once you reach Level 5, you’ll gain Uncanny Dodge. This makes it so that when an attack hits you, you’ll only get hit with half the damage. This greatly helps with your survival.
Your Sneak Attack damage is also increased to 3d6. Thief Rogues don’t have access to many complex spells or mechanics, so your main objective during your turn is to burst down any enemies with Sneak Attack and reposition/do extra damage with your bonus actions.
Equipment
Before Level 4, you should equip your Rogue with two short-swords and a longbow. This is the highest damage out-put they can have before choosing their feat.
After Level 4, however, you should equip two rapiers and keep the longbow. Even if your character doesn’t have proficiency in longbows, you won’t get a disadvantage, so you can still Sneak Attack.
You should always use Light Armor since you don’t have any other armor proficiencies. One of the best Rogue armors in EA is the Spidersilk Armour, which you get after defeating Minthara. This armor gives you +1 Stealth and Advantage on Constitution Saving Throws Rolls. Make sure not to use any Medium or Heavy Armor, as you will not be able to use Sneak Attacks.
Conclusion
Thief Rogues are a wonderful choice for anyone who wants the ability to deal a lot of burst damage due to their high damage output and initiative. Since Rogues are currently the only true Stealth class in Baldur’s Gate 3, they add variation to whatever team composition they’re in. Not only are they powerful on the battlefield, but they also provide the party with various out-of-combat benefits and skills.
