Rogue
Rogues are the stealthy thieves and vicious assassins that stalk the shadows of Norrath. Rogues are primarily a melee class, able to wear chain armor and use piercing, slashing, and some blunt weapons.
Rogues are sneaky fighters who always seek to take advantage of enemies by attacking from behind. Rogues can backstab enemies for extra damage, using poisoned weapons for added effect. Rogues can detect traps, pick locks and liberate valuables from pockets.
Starting Statistics
| Race | Str | Sta | Agi | Dex | Wis | Int | Cha | Physical | Mental | Total | Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbarian | 103 | 95 | 92 | 80 | 70 | 60 | 55 | 370 | 185 | 555 | 30 |
| Dark Elf | 60 | 65 | 100 | 85 | 83 | 99 | 60 | 310 | 242 | 552 | 30 |
| Dwarf | 90 | 90 | 80 | 100 | 83 | 60 | 45 | 360 | 188 | 548 | 30 |
| Gnome | 60 | 70 | 95 | 95 | 67 | 98 | 60 | 320 | 225 | 545 | 30 |
| Half Elf | 70 | 70 | 100 | 95 | 60 | 75 | 75 | 335 | 210 | 545 | 30 |
| Halfling | 70 | 75 | 105 | 100 | 80 | 67 | 50 | 350 | 197 | 547 | 30 |
| Human | 75 | 75 | 85 | 85 | 75 | 75 | 75 | 320 | 225 | 545 | 30 |
| Wood Elf | 65 | 65 | 105 | 90 | 80 | 75 | 75 | 325 | 230 | 555 | 30 |
| Vah Shir | 90 | 75 | 100 | 80 | 70 | 65 | 65 | 345 | 200 | 545 | 30 |
Allocation Considerations
Rogues are demonstrably the worst solo class in the game; however, with the right gear, patience and practice, it is possible. It has been said that Strength is the easiest stat to raise. It determines how much damage a rogue may do; the higher the strength, the more possible damage. The class is definitely desired in groups; their ability to damage foes can be some of the best melee damage in a group or raid. With that in mind, here are some recommendations:
- Strength: This is probably the most important skill for tanks. Strength affects your maximum damage cap, the average damage you do, how much stuff you can carry and how quickly you learn many offensive skills. If you plan on wearing heavy armor and carrying around a lot of extra equipment, you will need decent strength. With a high strength you can carry more loot and armor and go longer before having to run back to town to sell. If you plan on soloing, you may want to put extra points into strength, even if you are a magic user. It is definitely important for a fighter type to have good strength, but you should also consider some of the other attributes.
- Stamina: One of the most important stats for all classes. The higher your stamina, the more hit points you get for each level. Over time, this can really pay off. It also affects how well you can breathe underwater. This is more important for the tank classes than magic users.
- Dexterity: This determines how hard you hit with your bows, how quickly you learn weapon and rogue skills, and how often a magic weapon will process it's skill. This is a good skill to have for fighters, especially rangers and rogues, and of only limited use for magic users.
- Agility: This determines how often you get hit or missed by an attack and how much damage you take when you get hit. It also affects how quickly you learn defensive skills. Since you will take less damage and have a better chance of not having your spells disrupted if you have a higher amount of agility, this is useful for both fighters and magic users. However, for magic users, its usefulness diminishes as you go up in levels and spend less time in actual melee. I wouldn't bother with this stat too much for a magic user who plans on grouping most of the time, but a solo magic user should probably have a high agility.
- Intelligence: The most important stat for the basic caster classes. For Wizards, Magicians, Enchanters, Necromancers, Shadowknights, and Bards the higher your intelligence, the more mana you get for each level. This is obviously very important since without mana a magic user is basically worthless. The higher value of intelligence or wisdom is used to determine how quickly you will learn most of your skills, which makes having one or the other high useful for all classes. Many would suggest that a magic user put all of his points here. Certainly, if you plan on spending most of your time in a group, intelligence is the most important stat to boost.
- Wisdom: The same effect as intelligence for the deity-based magic users: Cleric, Shaman Druid, Paladin, Ranger, and Beastlord. The higher your wisdom, the more mana you get for each level. Very important for the deity-based magic users, but much less important for everyone else. The higher value of intelligence or wisdom is used to determine how quickly you will learn most of your skills, which makes having one or the other high useful for all classes.
- Charisma: The biggest effect of charisma is in the amount you will get buying from and selling to NPC’s. If they like you, they give you a better deal, which is not to be ignored in the cash starved world of Norrath. Charisma also affects the saving throw for charm spells, which makes it very useful for bards and enchanters.
Bonus Point Expenditure Recommendations
Group/Solo: 25 points in Strength and 5 points in Stamina
Raid/Min-Max: 5 points in Strength and 25 points in Stamina
Class Titles
| Level 1-50 | Level 51-54 | Level 55-59 | Level 60 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rogue | Rake | Blackguard | Assassin |
Skills
Combat Skills
| Skill Name | Level Obtained | 50 and Below Max | 51 and Above Max |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1HB Weapons | 1 | 200 | 250 |
| 1HS Weapons | 1 | 200 | 250 |
| Piercing | 1 | 210 | 250 |
| Throwing | 1 | 220 | 250 |
| Defense | 1 | 200 | 252 |
| Hand-to-Hand | 1 | 100 | 100 |
| Offense | 1 | 210 | 252 |
| Archery | 1 | 200 | 240 |
| Dodge | 4 | 150 | 210 |
| Backstab | 10 | 200 | 225 |
| Parry | 12 | 200 | 230 |
| Dual Wield | 13 | 210 | 245 |
| Double Attack | 16 | 200 | 240 |
| Intimidate | 22 | 200 | 200 |
| Disarm | 27 | 200 | 200 |
| Riposte | 30 | 200 | 225 |
Dual Wield
The dual wield skill does not cap at the (5 x level) + 5 formula like other skills, but, instead, caps at (6 x level) + 5. A level 30 Rogue would have a 185 skill cap based on that formula.
Evade
The ability to evade is a rogue-only skill. This allows the rogue to lower their position on the hate list when they generate too much aggro. The following macro is an example of setting up this evade ability:
/attack off
/doability <NUMBER> (Note: <NUMBER> corresponds to numeric position on the hotkey bar, e.g.: /doability 5)
/attack on
If successful, you will receive the message:
You duck away from the main combat.
If the attempt fails, you will receive this message:
Your attempts at ducking away from combat fail.
Once the rogue succeeds in using the evade skill, the monster will turn to attack the next person on the hate list.
Here's a leveling macro I made. The assumptions are:
- Slot 1: Hide
- Slot 2: Sneak
- Slot 3: Pick Pocket
/attack off
/doability 1;
/doability 2;
/doability 3;
/attack on
I use this to level the skills in every fight; sometimes the circumstances arise when I'm still sneaking, in which case, I press the proper number for my Sneak skill. Using this and downtime between fights, I've been able to keep my skills at max, for their level.
Rogue Disciplines
From Vintage Guild Website
- RESISTANT (Level 30 – Velious): +3 to all resistances increasing to +10 at 50th level. This discipline lasts for 1 minute, and has a base reuse time of 1 hour. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as you level.
- FEARLESS (Level 40 – Velious): Immunity to “Fear” and all spells that cause “fear”. This discipline lasts for 11 seconds, and has a base reuse time of 1 hour. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as you level.
- COUNTERATTACK (Level 53): When using this discipline, the rogue will automatically riposte every attack landed on him by the opponent he is facing. This discipline lasts for 9 seconds, and has a base reuse time of 60 minutes. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as the rogue gains additional levels.
- DEADEYE (Level 54): When using this discipline, the rogue will land every attack. This discipline lasts for 14 seconds, and has a base reuse time of 30 minutes. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as the rogue gains additional levels.
- NIMBLE (Level 55): When using this discipline, the rogue will dodge the attacks of the opponent he is facing. This discipline lasts for 12 seconds, and has a base reuse time of 30 minutes. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as the rogue gains additional levels.
- KINESTHETICS (Level 57): When using this discipline, all rolls for double attacks and dual wields will be successful, giving the rogue 4 attacks per round, guaranteed. This discipline lasts for 18 seconds, and has a base reuse time of 30 minutes. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as the rogue gains additional levels.
- BLINDING SPEED (Level 58): When using this discipline, the rogue will be hasted (e.g. will hit much faster). This haste stacks with every other haste in the game, including haste items and spells. This discipline lasts for 15 seconds, and has a base reuse time of 30 minutes. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as the rogue gains additional levels.
- DUELIST (Level 59): When using this discipline, all hits landed by the rogue will be for at least four times the base weapons damage. This discipline lasts for 12 seconds, and has a base reuse time of 30 minutes. The reuse time for this discipline will decrease as the rogue gains additional levels.