Question about Rogue DPS

[Tiggles]

At lvl 60 I'd say it's a 60/40 split between autoattack damage and backstabs so you always want to go with the better ratio over big slow backstabbers. Good news the Epic is super easy and you can start working on it from a low level (don't buy it, quest it)

Don't listen to the people here talking about putting stats into strength dump as much stats into stamina as you can, if you are not a barbarian put any extra into str.

Str caps for melee are a joke in Kunark and you can your strength around the 200 mark you will be maxed out in a single shaman buff everything over is wasted if you ever plan on raiding or grouping with str buff classes.

Dex does NOT help with backstabs
Dex does NOT help with backstabs
Dex does NOT help with backstabs
Dex does NOT help with backstabs
Dex does NOT help with backstabs
Dex does NOT help with backstabs
Dex does NOT help with backstabs
Dex does NOT help with backstabs
Dex does NOT help with backstabs
Dex does NOT help with backstabs

Edit: and for Christ sakes when you get to 50+ do plane of sky with a guild, every week just find a day you can raid of sky and find join the guild that raids it. Plane of sky quest drops are some of the best gear for a rogue in Kunark and it will drastically improve your survivability and DPS.

[shams]

Originally Posted by Nirgon [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

roll barb

max str

then max sta

thats it

I like it.

[shams]

Actually I just read Tiggles' post. Now I'm distraught :/

[joejccva71]

Originally Posted by Nirgon [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

roll barb

max str

then max sta

thats it

I rolled a dwarf rogue.

Bad?

[Swish]

Originally Posted by joejccva71 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I rolled a dwarf rogue.

Bad?

nah they're prolly 2nd in the league table (ahead of halflings for stats imo if not the same xp bonus)

[Droog007]

Originally Posted by shams [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I'm thinking a barb would be a good choice for a rogue, good starting str and sta, plus bash for a little bit of added utility in groups vs casters.

Bear in mind that slam and backstab are on the same cooldown, and backstab seems to have a decent chance at interrupting spellcasts as well.

When you really need a mob to not get a spell off, put away your epeen for 20 seconds and get on the same side as the tank.

Barbs can throw boulders however... so they've got that going for them... which is nice [sorta].

[Ravager]

Not going to tell you what to do, but here's some data:

Putting 25 stamina into your rogue now will mean an extra 100hp you can't get anywhere else when you're 60.

High level druids have a 50? str buff. High level shamans have a 70? str buff. (never actually looked at what their str buffs cap at, but that's in the ballpark) You won't be doing a whole lot as a rogue ungrouped, so str buffs are usually available.

It's highly unlikely that you won't get your Ragebringer at some point because of how easy it is to quest. That's +20 str.

So, even if your starting str is only 60 (likely 65 if you put your remaining 5 pts into it, which I'm sure you will) you only have to find 105-125 additional str in gear to cap it. Obviously would be easier with Barb who has 103 base str (only needing 62-82 in gear). That might sound like a lot, but with all the options for str gear, it really isn't and there really is no special need to try to cap str until you're 60 anyway.

As far as DPS goes, the majority of your dps that makes you special is your backstab and your quads. Definitely keep a high damage piercer in your primary, and possibly swapping it out inbetween backstabs if you wanna be like that.

[joppykid]

Originally Posted by shams [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I'm thinking a barb would be a good choice for a rogue, good starting str and sta, plus bash for a little bit of added utility in groups vs casters.

bash shares cd with backstab im pretty sure so it will usually not be utilized after you ding 10. Could be wrong on that but I think it does.

[baalzy]

Backstab IS what gives rogues their great DPS. Warriors / Monks can get weapon combos that are just as effective as the melee combos of a rogue (monks even better cause of ridic 2hbs). Rangers also have just as good weapon combos (tho a lower cap on melee skills, for now). So pure melee damage in an ideal situation to deal DPS is going to be pretty even between Rogue/Warrior/Monk. It's the 'extra' things they can do which changes their ranking in the DPS charts. Flying Kick for Monk is ultimately what gives them the advantage over a Warrior, because it vastly out damages kick. Backstab is what ultimately gives the Rogue an advantage over a Monk. For a ranger they'd need to be using their DoTs/Nukes/Bow in a smart manner in order to out damage a warrior (at least until velious lands and they get Call of Fire to give them extra DD procs, assuming they don't pull agro and die).

So, that said, focusing on maxing out your backstabs is what will give the best DPS and from the sounds of that the only thing which will boost your backstab damage is having a higher base DMG weapon. If you can't get your hands on a ragefire then go with a rapier of orin or a Serpent's Tooth.

You could also go with a 1hb or 1hs in your main hand and hot swap in an Efreeti War spear (15/40) or Crystalline spear (13/30) to backstab with. I'm not entirely sure how the delay on them affects backstab though.

Of course, as others have said, by the time you're high enough level for anyone to notice the difference you should have a ragebringer.

[Juevento]

Don't listen to the str people. You want stamina as a rogue. Str stuff is cheap and once you get over 200 the benefit of extra strength is minimal.

In addition to getting the best ratio weapons, I would also recommend selecting the lower delay of those good ratio weapons. I've noticed a pretty demonstrable difference in DPS with similar ratio weapons having different delays but different delays (ie SCD does more dmg than EON).

Most of all have fun. Rogue is by far my favorite class. They can excel is almost all melee aspects of the game aside from tanking.