In thisBard’s Tale 4 Guidewe will check out theRogue Classand share some tips on how to play it effectively. Rogues are a deceptive bunch with a myriad of tools at their disposal. Their playstyle revolves around their special abilities related to stealth, creating decoys and switching places with teammates while also dealing massive single target damage. Rogues are a primarily DPS Role but also have some useful non-combat abilities.
Bard’s Tale 4 Rogue Guide
Rogues combine high DPS and deception tactics to take enemies down quickly and increase their own survivability. Abilities such asHide in Shadows&Disguiseallow rogues to be effective at all positions in your party lineup. In addition to excelling in combat, rogues have useful exploration skills that will aid your party when searching for secrets.
Strengthis the primary attribute you should look for when considering gear for your Rogue.
Best Race for Rogue
The Rogue playstyle benefits most from Trow and Baed Human race.
Trow Race Passive restores Opportunity once per round if you kill an opponent. Rogues in general have high single target DPS so making your Rogue a Trow maximizes the use of this buff as you’re able to finish off enemies easily and restore Opportunity as a result.
Baed Human Race Passive offers 3 additional skill points (levels 3, 10 and 18) and as such works excellent with any Class. The more Skill Points,the more deadly your Rogue will be.
Rogue Skills
There are many Rogue abilities but most of them are attack oriented. A deception ability calledHide in Shadowsshould be your first objective as it makes the Rogue invisible, rendering him/her untargetable by direct attacks. In addition, the ability increases physical damage done by your next attack from Stealth by 20%. Combine that with something likeRazor Stropand you’re able to do insane damage upon exiting Stealth.
Hide in Shadows can be used while exploring as well to reduce enemy line of sight which almost guaranteesFirst Strikewhen charging an enemy.
Attack Skills
Rogues are proficient inSwords,Daggers,Bowsand have an option toDual Wield. Every weapon offers unique abilities that can be used with other Weapon types as long as youMastersaid ability by using it many times in combat. For example,Loose Arrowcan be used without a Bow when mastered but to master it first you are going to need Bow equipped.
Dual Wieldis highly recommended because 2 Single-Handed Weapons offer more bonuses than a 1 Handed and Off Hand weapon combination would.
Razor Stropis a fantastic early game channeled ability that increases Damage Done for 3 Turns. Combine this with Hide in Shadows and then use any Attack from Stealth for massive damage.
Defense Skills
When picking defense skills, you should focus on the left side of the skill tree to find theShadowabilities. The armor that you may wear from that side of the Tree is good enough to keep you alive, but abilities such asDisguiseandHide in Shadowsare your primary ways of staying that way. Investing a point or two intoConstitutionwould not hurt as well.
Disguiseis an optional skill that provides an ability to switch places with any party member. This can be useful at times but remember that you need to craft Disguise Kits or buy them in order to use the ability.
Shadowis another very useful ability as it allows you to make party members invisible (and thus untargetable). This is a great way to save a party member who is low on health.
Subterfuge Skills
Rogue offers wide variety of Subterfuge Skills, all of which are useful in certain situations. Having theLockpickability is a must to receive more money and more loot.Paranoia Poisoncan be useful when fighting smaller groups of enemies and Bosses because it inflicts theTerrified Statuswhich increases Opportunity cost of all Abilities by 1.
Rogues have strong exploration and combat skills but primarily focus on dealing massive damage in Combat.Hide in Shadowsis an offensive, defensive and exploration ability, so it should be the focus of the build. Play with attacks and combine them with damage boosting abilities such asHide in ShadowsandRazor Stropfor massive damage boosts.
For attributes,Strengthis a Rogue’s primary stat so make it a priority for your equipment.Intelligenceis also useful but it depends on the frequency of channeled abilities used. I personally preferConstitutiontoIntelligencebut both can work well.
If you are playing the game, check out theBard’s Tale IV: Barrow’s Deep Wiki. You should also have a look at ourGetting Started Guide, or check out otherBards Tale 4: Barrows Deep Class Guides!
