Baldur’s Gate 3 offers plenty of different playstyles. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus is currently playing a rogue build that really shouldn’t work as well as it does. The secret lies in the group composition.
This is the build: With my assassin rogue, I focus entirely on critical hits and enemy control. I use two one-handed swords, plenty of deception, and tons of poisons. And yes… I am aware of how ironic it is that I am not playing the best class in the game that I constantly rave about.
My approach is actually quite simple: kill what cannot fight back. And when a real battle is unavoidable, I let my bodyguards beat up the people who refuse to die immediately.
Essentially, my build is a mix of “stealth gameplay” and raw violence. Finesse as long as it works, and brutal slaughter as plan B.
Why shouldn’t it work? Rogues are found in the B-tier of Baldur’s Gate 3 and assassins also belong to the weaker orientations here. The problem with assassins stems from their role in Dungeons & Dragons:
- You are incredibly strong on the first turn and can almost instantly kill any opponent.
- After that, you are more or less useless, as all advantages are applied to the first turn.
- The longer the battle lasts, the weaker assassins become compared to other classes.
Still, I managed to enhance the build in Baldur’s Gate 3 so that I can choose and win almost every fight. Only “scripted,” thus unavoidable fights give me trouble.
Here are tips for all classes straight from the developers:
Assassin Rogue: The most important attributes
The most important values are dexterity and charisma. Dexterity increases damage with finesse weapons and improves sneaking ability. Charisma helps you avoid battles when you don’t want to engage.
The +2 bonus at character creation should therefore be put into dexterity. The +1 bonus goes to charisma or constitution, depending on how confident you feel about the dice. The ideal race for the build are Drow because of their proficiency with hand crossbows and improved darkvision.
Assassin Rogue: The most important talents
- Level 4: Two-Weapon Fighter
- The most important talent for the build and one of the best talents overall. You can wield not only light weapons but all weapons in both hands that are not two-handed. As a Drow, you are proficient with shortswords and rapiers, giving you strong weapons early in the game. But make sure they are marked with “finesse”.
- Level 8: Ability Improvement
- At level 8, it is important to improve dexterity. The goal here is at least 18 dexterity, and another stat should be a round number. Only then will there be bonuses on rolls.
- Level 10: Master of Martial Arts or Lucky
- Again, you want to focus entirely on critical hit potential and increased damage from them. The goal is to deal as much damage as possible in the first round.
- Level 12: Savage Attack, Ability Improvement or Weapon Master
- Level 12 is the max level in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you already have 20 dexterity (or more) from items or other buffs, Savage Attacker is the best choice. Otherwise, continue to improve dexterity.
Weapon Master helps if you want to use curved swords or any other weapon that your chosen race does not master.
- Level 12 is the max level in Baldur’s Gate 3. If you already have 20 dexterity (or more) from items or other buffs, Savage Attacker is the best choice. Otherwise, continue to improve dexterity.
The advantage of the assassin is that you don’t have to consider much when leveling. You gain most talents automatically and don’t have to choose them. The most important talent you get at level 3: Assassinate.
An attack against a surprised creature is an automatic critical hit. You also have the advantage against creatures that have not yet taken their turn. This is important for using sneak attacks, the special rogue ability.
As an assassin, you also regenerate your action and bonus action at the start of a battle. This means: if you stab first and thereby initiate the combat, you have 2 full attacks with both weapons free, one of which guarantees a critical hit.
Here’s how to level up correctly:
Strategy: How the build works
Use your charisma to intimidate, deceive, or persuade NPCs – depending on whether you are good or evil. This way you can better choose which battles you want to engage in and which you don’t. Tip: Your dexterity helps a lot in robbing merchants.
Once you’ve decided on a battle, separate the rogue from the group and let them sneak to take out any target right at the beginning of combat. Invisibility is extremely helpful here. Then, you pull the rest of the group into the battle – also sneaking or openly.
After the opening comes the point that actually makes the build so strong: poisons. Initially, you want to use mainly Drow poison, later Karabasan poison or any others that incapacitate enemies.
I would also recommend expanding the parasite powers. With these, you can later hit critically more often, enhance attacks, or even drain attributes.
The best companions for the rogue
The idea is to ensure that enemies become helpless. This allows the rest of the group (or yourself) to automatically score critical hits in melee combat. Therefore, the ideal companions for the build are:
- a cleric as a tank, like Shadowheart
- a battlemaster fighter, like Lae’zel
- a vengeance paladin with a two-handed sword, like Minthara, if you have recruited her
- you can also simply respec any companion
Your group can easily butcher a helpless enemy. The high armor class of all members ensures that they can withstand a lot, and both paladins and clerics can support with healing and other spells.
Great advantage: the short rest helps you enormously with regeneration:
Additional advantages and tips
Another advantage is, that a short rest is enough to regenerate almost all of your combat power. You don’t have an annoying wizard who suddenly can do nothing. But this is also the biggest weakness: without resistances, you are at the mercy of many strong spells. Try to kill spellcasters as directly as possible in round 1.
The ideal origin for the build is, by the way, the “Dark Urge,” which is actually not very suitable for beginners. However, it unlocks some options later that make your rogue a true killing machine in battle. And for some, the “Dark Urge” is even the reason to love the game:
