A regular Jack-of-all-trades, Rogues are the masters of shadow, the knife in the dark, the poisoned arrow, and the silent burglers.
The year 2018 was a wild one for the Trickster Rogues of Neverwinter. The Lost City of Omu and Ravenloft expansions saw Rogues dishing out massive amounts of damage in PvE thanks to buffed powers, improved gear, and fresh theorycrafting. After years of being a fun-but-mediocre option for PvE, Rogues had finally snuck into the top tier of damage dealers.
But nothing in Neverwinter lasts forever, and the massive class rebalancing that came with The Heart of Fire expansion saw Rogues knocked back down the DPS ladder. Nerfs to Whirlwind of Blades, Courage Breaker and Shadow of Demise sliced 40-60% off the old Executioner build's damage output. Some have abandoned the class, but those who want to stick with it are looking for ways to stay relevant.
Flexibility is the key. Once there was only one viable path, but now Rogues in Neverwinter will need to switch between situational builds to remain effective.
3. Scoundrel
The Scoundrel's versatility makes the Rogue dangerous in both single- and multi-target encounters.
One of Cryptic's most important goals with the recent Trickster Rogue changes was to make all three feat paths more viable. With Executioner cut down to size, Scoundrel has become an appealing path for experimentation.
What Makes this Build Powerful
Skullcracker buffs single-target damage while Low Blows empowers Smoke Bomb’s AOE damage, and a few feats from the Saboteur tree incorporate some of that build’s kinetic playstyle. The Scoundrel build is fast and versatile, which makes it a solid option for solo play.
How to Build
- Heroic feats: Action Advantage (3/5 points, or 5/5 if you're human), Weapon Mastery (3/3), Toughness (3/3), Cunning Ambusher (3/3), Endless Assault (3/3), Scoundrel Training (2/3 points, or 3/3 if you're human) and Disciple of Strength (3/3)
- Scoundrel feats: Bloody Brawler (5/5 points), Press the Advantage (5/5), Back Alley Tactics (5/5), Savage Blows (5/5), Low Blows (5/5), and Skullcracker (1/1)
- Saboteur feats: Flashing Blades (5/5 points), Shady Preparations (5/5), and Knife’s Edge (5/5)
- Passive powers: Invisible Infiltrator and Infiltrator's Action (IA) (make sure to use the off-hand class feature for IA)
- Encounter powers (single-target fights): Lashing Blade, Smoke Bomb, and Impossible to Catch
- Encounter powers (multi-target fights): Dazing Strike, Smoke Bomb, and Blade Flurry
- Daily powers: Lurker's Assault (for single target) and Whirlwind of Blades (for multi-target)
- At-will powers: Sly Flourish and Duelist's Flurry
- Artifact powers: Soul Sight Crystal (for single target) or Sigil of the Devoted (for multi-target)
- Mount powers: prioritize Artificer's Persuasion, Artificer's Influence, and Protector's Camaraderie
How to Use this Build
In single-target fights it's essential that you make the most of Skullcracker. Open with Lurker's Assault, followed by your artifact power and Impossible to Catch. Use a stealthed Lashing Blade to trigger Skullcracker. Drop Smoke Bomb and use Duelist's Flurry to extend the Skullcracker mark as long as possible, which also triggers the buff from Low Blows.
In multi-target fights the key is to maintain the uptime of Low Blows. open with a stealthed Whirlwind of Blades followed by Smoke Bomb to get the benefit of Low Blows. Take advantage of the damage buff with Blade Flurry and follow it up with a stealthed Dazing Strike.
2. Saboteur
Strike from the shadows with the enhanced stealth abilities of the Saboteur build.
The nerfs to Smoke Bomb and Whirlwind of Blades have reduced Executioner's multi-target effectiveness, but the Saboteur path has powerful tools for clearing the trash mobs. This build uses rapid-fire AOE attacks to daze and melt mobs.
What Makes this Build Powerful
The Saboteur build uses Shady Preparations, Knife’s Edge, and One with the Shadows to dramatically shorten your encounter power cooldowns. This increases the uptime for AOE attacks like Smoke Bomb and Dazing Strike, allowing you to chain-daze mobs while you pump out damage. This build is especially effective in mob-heavy instances like Merchant Prince's Folly and Temple of the Spider.
How to Build
- Heroic Feats: Action Advantage (3/5 points, or 5/5 if you're human), Weapon Mastery (3/3), Toughness (3/3), Cunning Ambusher (3/3), Endless Assault (3/3), Scoundrel Training (2/3 points, or 3/3 if you're human), and Disciple of Strength (3/3)
- Saboteur feats: Flashing Blades (5/5 points), Shady Preparations (5/5), Knife’s Edge (5/5), Gutterborn (5/5), Ambusher's Haste (5/5), and One with the Shadows (1/1)
- Scoundrel feats: Bloody Brawler (5/5 points), Press the Advantage (5/5), and Back Alley Tactics (5/5)
- Passive powers: Invisible Infiltrator and Infiltrator's Action (make sure to use the off-hand class feature for IA)
- Encounter powers: Dazing Strike, Smoke Bomb, and Blade Flurry
- Daily powers: Lurker's Assault and Whirlwind of Blades
- At-will powers: Sly Flourish and Duelist's Flurry
- Artifact powers: Sigil of the Devoted or Wheel of Elements
- Mount powers: prioritize Artificer's Persuasion, Artificer's Influence, and Protector's Camaraderie
How to Use this Build
Your goal with this build is to use stealth and dailies as often as possible to lower your encounter cooldowns. This lets you activate more encounter powers, which in turn refills your stealth bar and feeds the cycle.
Your rotation will be highly dependent on game flow. A typical fight will start with Whirlwind of Blades from stealth, followed by your artifact power and Smoke Bomb. This will trigger One with the Shadows, refilling your stealth bar so you can drop Dazing Strike from stealth. Blade Flurry is a strong finisher: its high damage and action point generation will set you up for another daily to refill your stealth bar and lower your cooldowns. If you need extra control, then it helps to use Blade Flurry after Smoke Bomb; use your stealthed Dazing Strike after Smoke Bomb finishes to keep the mobs controlled while you rain damage on them.
Your timing is important with this build, but it's less predictable and more forgiving than the Executioner build. It helps to know when One with the Shadows is up because it enables back-to-back stealth pops for Smoke Bomb and Dazing Strike. Coordinating this with Whirlwind of Blades and Sigil of the Devoted can really keep the encounter powers flowing. There’s a lot of potential for synergy here but don’t overthink it. If you use stealthed encounters and dailies when you have them, good things will happen, and you'll find your way into an efficient rhythm.
1. Executioner
Deal massive amounts of damage with the Executioner build.
Executioner might not be the one-size-fits-all DPS option that it used to be, but it's still the best choice for Rogues in boss fights. This build uses single target encounter powers and self-buffs to set up nova damage bursts.
What Makes this Build Powerful
Even after the nerf, Shadow of Demise can put up big numbers if you execute your rotation properly. With the right buffs and good timing, an Executioner Rogue can take a big chunk off a boss's health bar. This makes it a great option for long single-target fights like Orcus and the last phase of Tiamat.
How to Build
- Heroic Feats: Action Advantage (3/5 points, or 5/5 if you're human), Weapon Mastery (3/3), Toughness (3/3), Cunning Ambusher (3/3), Endless Assault (3/3), Scoundrel Training (2/3 points, or 3/3 if you're human), and Disciple of Strength (3/3)
- Executioner feats: Arterial Cut (5/5 points), Vicious Pursuit (5/5), Deathknell (5/5), Last Moments (5/5), Shadowborn (5/5), and Shadow of Demise (1/1)
- Scoundrel feats: Bloody Brawler (5/5 points), Press the Advantage (5/5), and Back Alley Tactics (5/5)
- Passive powers: Invisible Infiltrator and Infiltrator's Action (make sure to use the off-hand class feature for IA)
- Encounter powers: Lashing Blade, Smoke Bomb, and Impossible to Catch
- Daily powers: Lurker's Assault and Whirlwind of Blades
- At-will powers: Sly Flourish and Duelist's Flurry
- Artifact powers: Soul Sight Crystal or Sigil of the Devoted
- Mount powers: prioritize Artificer's Persuasion, Artificer's Influence, and Protector's Camaraderie
How to Use this Build
Your goal with the Executioner build is to soften your target, buff yourself, activate Shadow of Demise (SoD), and then squeeze in as much damage as you can before SoD procs.
Kick things off with Sly Flourish to debuff the target. Then use Lurker's Assault (if there are no adds) or Whirlwind of Blades (if there are adds). Use your artifact power: Soul Sight Crystal is best but Sigil of the Devoted works well if you're using Lurker's exclusively. Use Impossible to Catch, enter stealth, and use Lashing Blade to activate Shadow of Demise. Follow this up with Smoke Bomb and a rotation of Duelist's Flurry. By the time Shadow of Demise procs you should have another daily power ready to go so you can start the rotation over again.
Timing is everything with this build. Not only do you have to know how to squeeze in as much damage as you can during Shadow of Demise, you also have to be aware of your self-buffs and party buffs to maximize your damage.
Switching Between Builds
The best way to deploy these builds in group context is to use Executioner for boss fights and Saboteur for clearing out the trash mobs. Scoundrel's flexibility makes it great for solo play, but in dungeons it's not as effective as a blend of the two builds.
Sometimes you won't be able to reliably switch loadouts as needed. For example, in Tiamat you won't have a chance to hit the campfire between phases. In these situations, it's always better to run Executioner in all phases. Just swap Dazing Strike in for Impossible to Catch, and then swap them again the single-target situations.
Conclusion
The recent changes to the class certainly hurt, but the Rogues of Neverwinter are no strangers to nerfs. The community of theorycrafters that has built up around the class is hard at work trying to squeeze every drop of performance out of it. There is no "one true build" but there's a lot of damage to be done for those who choose the right tools for each situation.
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