Straight Arcane Trickster or AT/Bladesinger 2 in Tier 1/2 w small party?

[Wasp]

Hi everyone (I promise that is the last spinoff thread)

The Basics as of now: I am playing a High Elf Rogue 2 who will go Arcane Trickster at level 3 and who will take Elven Accuracy at 4.

I want to be as flexible as possible in combat, attacking with Longbow and Steady Aim if I can or attack with a Rapier and Booming Blade if melee support is needed or throw a dagger or two.

My party is small with only two other players. One is playing a Knowledge Cleric 1/Divination Wizard X and the other a Polearm Master Spear and Shield Glory Paladin, potentially Sorcadin.

Play is probably mostly tier 1 and 2, maybe up to 12ish.

In this constellation do you think it's better to just go Rogue AT, or to add 2 levels of Bladesinger Wizard after the Elven Accuracy at 4 or Uncanny Dodge at 5? I feel Bladesinger could add a lot of versatility and much needed AC but on the other hand delay the Rogue stuff too much...

What do you think?

[RogueJK]

The answer is: It depends.

Bladesinger 2 Pros:
+INT to AC and Concentration in some fights
1st level Wizard Rituals
Additional cantrips and 1st level spells known
+1 extra 1st level spell slot per day from Arcane Recovery
A couple higher level spell slots for upcasting

Bladesinger 2 Cons:
2 level delay to getting 2nd level spells (now not until Character Level 9, which could be the end of your campaign it sounds like)
2 level delay to further ASIs, and one fewer ASI in total
2 level delay to Rogue abilities, including Magical Ambush and Evasion, both of which are great abilities
-1d6 Sneak Attack
Bladesinging's Bonus Action activation clashes with Cunning Action/Steady Aim.
No Reliable Talent at all


So things to consider are:
-Are you hurting for stats/feats, to where you need all the Rogue ASIs ASAP?
-Do you need access to 1st level Wizard rituals? Your party already has a Wizard, so probably not.
-Do you have any spells that are going to be worth upcasting? Maybe. Not all that many great options in your 1st level spells. Some better upcasting options in your 2nd level spells like Shadow Blade or Tasha's Mind Whip at AT 7, but if you dip Bladesinger those won't come online until the very end of Tier 2, which may be the end of your campaign.
-Do you really need the AC and Concentration Boost? This will partly depend on your existing DEX/CON/INT stats. Played as a mobile striker, a Rogue can usually get by just fine with a middling AC, by relying on Cunning Action Disengage (which pairs nicely with Booming Blade anyway). Maybe a bit more important in a small party like yours, with a single frontliner. Even then, you won't have enough Bladesong uses to have it up and running in every fight.
-Are you okay with putting off 2nd level spells until the end of Tier 2/your campaign, in exchange for additional 1st level ones? Shadow Blade is really that good on a Booming Blade Arcane Trickster, so that hurts quite a bit here.
-Are you okay with not getting some of the best Rogue abilities at all, or only getting them at the very end of your campaign when you may only have a couple sessions to explore them?


From what I know of your situation, I'm leaning towards "No Bladesinger". You won't be able to take full advantage of all of the Bladesinger's added abilities due to redundancy with the party Wizard, and the cost to your AT spells and abilities is just a bit too steep. But you know your situation and your personal feelings better than we do. So you'll need to decide if how the cost/benefit analysis shakes out for you specifically.

[Wasp]

Thanks, i think I'll stick with Rogue 😉