12-24-2004, 12:12 AM
I'm now a level 34 Rogue, so I have a pretty good feel for how to play a Daggers rogue.
Observations I've made so far:
Poisons are worthless in the 2nd hand. I've rarely found a case where I used even half my poison's charges in the timespan of a single application. Sword or dagger, they just don't seem to hit enough. Has anyone else experienced this? The few times I add poison to my off-hand anymore, it's for Mind Numbing (casters) or Crippling (runners) that only occassionally help me out.
Rogues are an awesome class for clearing out lower level areas. Ambush Specialists (which I am), can make an enemy a one or two hit kill after an Ambush criticals.
I really like the Rogue specific quests so far, while my friends have complained there's not much for thier classes. They're probably right, but it seems to me that the Rogue gets to act most like a rogue during their specific quests, especially the new Ravenholdt ones.
I haven't gotten used to using Gouge or Garrote at all. In fact, it took me about 10 levels extra to get some of those to higher ranks because I simply saw no need. Am I missing out on Gouge? Keep in mind that at least 80% of the time I'm in a group with my friend's hunter and others, and I have a very group-based build.
Great combination for when you're playing with a Hunter:
Hunter starts with Conussive Shot, stuns enemy. When enemy unstuns, you follow with: Cheap Shot + SS (2 or three times) + Kidney Shot. In a 5-person group versus a single enemy, the others can do great damage while you focus on stun. I use this most often versus high/spread-damage, high-armor enemies.
Group oriented Rogues would be better served going Backstab/Ambush than SS with swords, if you have the right group members. Nearly always having a Hunter's bear with me has been a great help, as I'm backstabbing throughout the entire fight. In my party, I would do much less damage overall if I was SS oriented.
Finally, an observation I almost started a new thread for:
Distract. Do not underestimate distract!. Use it, learn to use it, get good at it, and start some interesting crowd control techniques! Today my hunter friend and I were tracking 4 Undead Bodyguards covering an Undead Courier. We didn't have the capability to take them all on, so I cast Distract in a place that caught 2 Bodyguards and the Courier. The two other Bodygaurds kept walking, and we proceeded to take on the remaining three with much greater ease. This is only the best use I've had of Distract, many times it's simply been a matter of stopping a patrol in Gnomeregan (Saved my party with that, we weren't ready), making sure a wandering monster doesn't make it into a fight, etc. Use Distract!
Observations I've made so far:
Poisons are worthless in the 2nd hand. I've rarely found a case where I used even half my poison's charges in the timespan of a single application. Sword or dagger, they just don't seem to hit enough. Has anyone else experienced this? The few times I add poison to my off-hand anymore, it's for Mind Numbing (casters) or Crippling (runners) that only occassionally help me out.
Rogues are an awesome class for clearing out lower level areas. Ambush Specialists (which I am), can make an enemy a one or two hit kill after an Ambush criticals.
I really like the Rogue specific quests so far, while my friends have complained there's not much for thier classes. They're probably right, but it seems to me that the Rogue gets to act most like a rogue during their specific quests, especially the new Ravenholdt ones.
I haven't gotten used to using Gouge or Garrote at all. In fact, it took me about 10 levels extra to get some of those to higher ranks because I simply saw no need. Am I missing out on Gouge? Keep in mind that at least 80% of the time I'm in a group with my friend's hunter and others, and I have a very group-based build.
Great combination for when you're playing with a Hunter:
Hunter starts with Conussive Shot, stuns enemy. When enemy unstuns, you follow with: Cheap Shot + SS (2 or three times) + Kidney Shot. In a 5-person group versus a single enemy, the others can do great damage while you focus on stun. I use this most often versus high/spread-damage, high-armor enemies.
Group oriented Rogues would be better served going Backstab/Ambush than SS with swords, if you have the right group members. Nearly always having a Hunter's bear with me has been a great help, as I'm backstabbing throughout the entire fight. In my party, I would do much less damage overall if I was SS oriented.
Finally, an observation I almost started a new thread for:
Distract. Do not underestimate distract!. Use it, learn to use it, get good at it, and start some interesting crowd control techniques! Today my hunter friend and I were tracking 4 Undead Bodyguards covering an Undead Courier. We didn't have the capability to take them all on, so I cast Distract in a place that caught 2 Bodyguards and the Courier. The two other Bodygaurds kept walking, and we proceeded to take on the remaining three with much greater ease. This is only the best use I've had of Distract, many times it's simply been a matter of stopping a patrol in Gnomeregan (Saved my party with that, we weren't ready), making sure a wandering monster doesn't make it into a fight, etc. Use Distract!
Trade yourself in for the perfect one. No one needs to know that you feel you've been ruined!