5e Rogue - Stat Priority

[Kaskos]

Hi Everyone,

Perhaps a simple question for some.
I am making a Rogue and decided to make him ranged (at least for the foreseeable future)

I figured I would go Elf for Dex Bonus and Longbow usage plus other bonuses.
I know Dex is my main stat which using our stat array I can get to 17.
But what is the secondary stat for a Rogue?
I see Strength seems to be hardly any use nowadays what with finesse weapons etc
Also - Dump stat? That 8 gotta go somewhere.

I am the skills character - strong melee front rank.
If you have an idea please say why and if you want to say Int - Arcane Trickster etc, feel free to.

I am not set on Archetype yet, my initial thought was Assassin but definitely not stuck on it yet.

[Daishain]

You should always boost Con by at least a little, and if on the front line, boost it heavily. But aside from that, your secondary is going to be Int, Wis, or Cha, depending on whether you're going to be focus on being the investigator, the spotter, or the conman for the party.

To put it another way, look at the skills you plan to use on a regular basis, and boost the stat(s) necessary to support them.

[odigity]

You should always boost Con by at least a little, and if on the front line, boost it heavily. But aside from that, your secondary is going to be Int, Wis, or Cha, depending on whether you're going to be focus on being the investigator, the spotter, or the conman for the party.

To put it another way, look at the skills you plan to use on a regular basis, and boost the stat(s) necessary to support them.

I agree with the above, with the added notes of:
1) a big factor is what archetype you choose (and what additional classes you plan to go into if you're considering multiclasses), so give that some thought now, not later
2) also consider which saving throws you'd like to be better at; out of the three mental saves, I would rate Wis the most important, but I am in no way an expert on 5e yet, so I could be wrong

[Kaskos]

Well.
I am not multiclassing. At all.
As much a rule for this campaign as anything else.

Archetype m not too sure on.
I automatically gravitated towards Assassin but not sure how much id get out of it.
Come to think of it, i'm not sure how much I get out of any of the Archetypes.

I am pretty sure if I go Trickster I need to think about Int.
Whilst Trickster is a possibility (for the benefit of taking Haste etc later on if nothing else) I am much more focused on the immediate short term future.
There doesn't seem to be a lot of difference with the archetypes where I see my party involved.

Skillwise im looking into Dex based Stealth etc. Maybe Acrobatics. Wis should be decent for Perception.
Background gives me Survival and Athletics.
Con should be a min of 12 I reckon to start there.
If I go Arcane Trickster I would switch Str and Int.
Not really sure Str does anything for me though.
Advice?
Str: 14
Dex: 15 (17)
Con: 12
Int:10
Wis: 13 (14)
Cha:8

[Tiber]

My rogue actually just went and made Strength my dump stat. Then I put expertise into Athletics because that skill is used often and put the 14 into Con. The only remaining issue is limited carry capacity, but a bag of holding or having others do the heavy lifting solves that problem. It's worked fine so far.

[Daishain]

Ok, so aside from athletics and survival, you've got four skills to choose from iirc.

Strength isn't doing much for you. It does boost athletics, but the odds are that someone in the party can do it better. I wouldn't quite dump it, but a 10 or 12 might be more appropriate.

My take? If the party has a "face" already, go for Wisdom as a secondary, pick up acrobatics, stealth, perception, and insight. dump Int and Cha

If they don't, split between Wis and Cha, then substitute persuasion for insight. Slightly MAD, but someone has to be able to talk that guard out of checking your cargo too closely. Deception would also be a good choice if you can fit it in. (note: I know you had elf in mind, but half elf would greatly help with the MAD in this particular case, and nets you two more skills as a bonus)

If going Int due to arcane trickster, pick up acrobatics, stealth, perception, and investigation. Make sure Wis is at least not negative. dump Cha

[Sartharina]

Secondary stat should be either Wisdom for Scouting, Intelligence for being Sherlock Holmes, or Charisma if you're a social rogue.

Consitution is Tertiary. Dump stat should either be STR, or one of the other three mental stats.

[Strill]

Well.
I am not multiclassing. At all.
As much a rule for this campaign as anything else.

Archetype m not too sure on.
I automatically gravitated towards Assassin but not sure how much id get out of it.
Come to think of it, i'm not sure how much I get out of any of the Archetypes.

I am pretty sure if I go Trickster I need to think about Int.
Whilst Trickster is a possibility (for the benefit of taking Haste etc later on if nothing else) I am much more focused on the immediate short term future.
There doesn't seem to be a lot of difference with the archetypes where I see my party involved.

Skillwise im looking into Dex based Stealth etc. Maybe Acrobatics. Wis should be decent for Perception.
Background gives me Survival and Athletics.
Con should be a min of 12 I reckon to start there.
If I go Arcane Trickster I would switch Str and Int.
Not really sure Str does anything for me though.
Advice?
Str: 14
Dex: 15 (17)
Con: 12
Int:10
Wis: 13 (14)
Cha:8

The only thing you really get out of STR is the ability to shove and grapple enemies, which shouldn't really matter all that much. I'd recommend putting your points into INT/WIS/CHA instead.

The biggest advantage of Thief is the ability to use items as your bonus action. So you can toss out caltrops, ball bearings, or smoke bombs every single round, or you can drink potions or use medkits without sacrificing your action. Eventually you get the ability to use magical items like scrolls and wands, which is an extremely powerful ability. Toss out a fireball AND sneak attack bow shot on the same turn.

Assassin is primarily about disguises and making your surprise attacks stronger. If you use stealth surprise attacks often, this will greatly improve your effectiveness.

Arcane Trickster's main advantages lie in spellcasting. The class features are intentionally underwhelming because the spell progression alone carries the archetype. That said, Mage Hand Legerdemain is a very very cool ability that has tons of out-of-combat use.

[Kaskos]

Okay.
So thinking of my party set up and what was said, Strength really could be pretty redundant for my Rogue.
Str: 10 Dex: 15 (17) Con: 14 Int: 12 Wis: 14 Cha: 8

I know i need to prioritise Int a bit more if i go Arcane Trickster but unless i am mistaken, thats the only real advantage of Int unless i want to specialise in Knowledge skills without prioritising 2?

Dex - is my main stat of course so getting that as high as i can asap. First 3 points i can take of stat boost will be going there.
Con - Is that too high for a ranged character? I guess not too much as more HP can never be a terrible thing right?
Cha - Party has a Pally and a Warlock for starters - dont think i need to be a face.
Wis - Good for a couple of skills.

Feels like i only really need Dex for a Rogue nowadays.
Tempted to go with Thief for the 'use Item' feature. Magic Items and scrolls are always nice too.

[Strill]

I know i need to prioritise Int a bit more if i go Arcane Trickster but unless i am mistaken, thats the only real advantage of Int unless i want to specialise in Knowledge skills without prioritising 2?Yes.


Con - Is that too high for a ranged character? I guess not too much as more HP can never be a terrible thing right?CON is important for everyone. Even beyond HP, it applies to saving throws against some of the most horrible things in the game.


Feels like i only really need Dex for a Rogue nowadays.
Yep. Pretty much.

[edge2054]

Investigation hinges on Int. That can be pretty major for finding traps and secret doors, depending on where your DM feels the division lies between it and perception.

[Chubbs Malone]

If you are going Elf, (and trying to optimize your character for combat) I highly recommend playing Wood Elf and prioritizing the following:

Dex
Con
Wis
Cha
Int
Str

As always, the BEST recommendation is to just make Dex your #1 stat and then prioritize the rest according to the vision of your character. Is this character extremely wise beyond his years? Is he/she extremely charming and saavy? Maybe he/she is extremely bookish and intelligent.

You should ask yourself all those questions as you make your character, and the stats should represent WHO he/she is.

Just some food for thought :smallsmile:

[Yorrin]

Str: 10 Dex: 15 (17) Con: 14 Int: 12 Wis: 14 Cha: 8

I think you got it right here, more or less. You won't be going Trickster with that 12Int, most likely, but other than that this covers all the bases a budding rogue needs. Assuming you're using pointbuy here you could even drop that Int back to 10 and raise the Wis to 15(+1Wood Elf=16) for better mental defense and perception/survival skills.