How would YOU play a ranged rogue?

[Odessa333]

Topic. I'm playing a rogue who is specifically a coward, playing it safe while putting distance between her and the enemy. She's a half-elf, level 2 at the moment. Currently, she's using a light crossbow. Rolled stats are 10, 18, 12, 12, 11, 18.

That said, I have been advised (and later read) about builds for crossbow expert, sharpshooter, firearm expertise, and various multiclassing builds that it's all starting to bleed together. I'm trying to keep things simple and failing lol. I am fairly certain I am going to be primarily rogue without multiclassing unless there is a REALLY strong case for dipping into something else (we have home rule only rogue can search/disarm traps, so I am more skill monkey than damage, and don't want to delay reliable talent much). I am also sad to say I will likely pass on guns, as the rules we are using have so many penalties on guns (high misfire, don't work if wet, loud noise, etc) and offer very little damage over crossbows I can't imagine them being useful. I keep hearing the hype for these things, but they don't seem to live up to the hype when reading over them. I may not be the DPS, but I don't want to be useless either (we also have a shifter (moon?) druid, a celestial warlock, and a Fighter as our core. We have a bard who shows up sometimes).

I digress. I'm overthinking things, and just looking for ideas to be a good ranged rogue.

[Frogreaver]

Topic. I'm playing a rogue who is specifically a coward, playing it safe while putting distance between her and the enemy. She's a half-elf, level 2 at the moment. Currently, she's using a light crossbow. Rolled stats are 10, 18, 12, 12, 11, 18.

That said, I have been advised (and later read) about builds for crossbow expert, sharpshooter, firearm expertise, and various multiclassing builds that it's all starting to bleed together. I'm trying to keep things simple and failing lol. I am fairly certain I am going to be primarily rogue without multiclassing unless there is a REALLY strong case for dipping into something else (we have home rule only rogue can search/disarm traps, so I am more skill monkey than damage, and don't want to delay reliable talent much). I am also sad to say I will likely pass on guns, as the rules we are using have so many penalties on guns (high misfire, don't work if wet, loud noise, etc) and offer very little damage over crossbows I can't imagine them being useful. I keep hearing the hype for these things, but they don't seem to live up to the hype when reading over them. I may not be the DPS, but I don't want to be useless either (we also have a shifter (moon?) druid, a celestial warlock, and a Fighter as our core. We have a bard who shows up sometimes).

I digress. I'm overthinking things, and just looking for ideas to be a good ranged rogue.

#1 Find a way to consistently get advantage.
#2 Get elven accuracy if possible.

I'll give an anecdote. I rolled an 8 con character with good dex and wisdom. I decided to make him a ranged rogue because I knew I could keep my distance with the rogue. I chose woodelf as my race for the move speed buff and longbow proficiency primarily for the increased range. I choose Assassain for my subclass, not for the crit stuff, but because it nearly guaranteed me advantage on turn 1 so I could easily sneak attack even when going first. This had a secondary effect of allowing me to move and hide after I'd shot which helped prevent attacks on me. I'd then pop out and shoot and find a place to hide again. Etc. If enemies chased me I'd maintain my distance and help my ally kill what he was engaged with so he could come help me quicker. For my ASI I went Sharpshooter. Eliminating cover penalities and increasing my range was amazing. This was one of the few setups where I could gain the crit on suprise round ability. Not all the time, but it was quite effective hiding far away and sniping an enemy from 600ft when the opportunity arose. The character felt really strong - especially given how good he was at skills.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

Longbow is where its at.

Looks like you have the Dex score available.

Elven Accuracy & Sharpshooter are the Feats I think apply best.

Assassin has to be the usual choice for subclass.

A level or two of Fighter can give you:
-Archery Fighting Style +2 to attack rolls
-Second Wind
-Action Surge

But at a trade off to delayed Sneak Attack bonuses and Feats so as Yoda would say, "Clear the path is not".

[Kane0]

Topic. I'm playing a rogue who is specifically a coward, playing it safe while putting distance between her and the enemy. She's a half-elf, level 2 at the moment. Currently, she's using a light crossbow. Rolled stats are 10, 18, 12, 12, 11, 18.

I digress. I'm overthinking things, and just looking for ideas to be a good ranged rogue.

Scout lets you run away as a reaction, which is especially useful if you used your bonus action to take aim instead of cunning action.

Mobile feat lets you ignore difficult terrain with your cunning action, plus the extra movement in general.

Fey touched and Fey Teleportation give you a bonus action teleports if you need to run away from say grapples or forcecages

As for being a good archer, sharpshooter is good for the range and cover alone but you will want to counteract the accuracy penalty if youre going to use it with something like elven accuracy, access to Bless or the Archery fighting style. Piercer is simpler and really helps make your single attack have more consistent damage.

[CTurbo]

I would make a Scout Rogue probably and even though you'll be ranged, I'd probably put the 18s in Dex + Con. Dex + Wis would be my second choice.

You don't NEED to multiclass, but there are many fun multiclass options if you want to explore them.

I would want the Archery fighting style fore sure. You can get it from the Fighting Initiate feat.
I would take Crossbow Expert, but not Sharpshooter. I don't like Sharpshooter on Rogues even if the other 2 features besides the -5/+10 are still useful.
I would also want Alert. Alert is great for cowardly archers with subpar Con scores.

There are a few other feats that would be really good to take, but not mandatory.
Lucky and Skilled are good for obvious reasons.
Mobile is useful for archers trying to escape or get into position. It's doubly good for Scouts as it boosts their 3rd level Skirmisher ability some.
Ritual Caster adds some out of combat utility. Find Familiar is GREAT for scouting.
Magic Initiate also adds some utility and also could get you Find Familiar.
Skulker is good for not giving away your position if you're hidden if you miss.
Elven Accuracy is good IF you have reliable ways to get advantage. Otherwise, skip IMO.

Fighter 1, Rogue 19 is strong. Gets you more armor options and Archery style. Hand Crossbow + Shield if you ever get caught in melee.
Fighter 2, Rogue 18 adds Action Surge which is always great.
Fighter 5, Rogue 15 adds the second attack and Battlemaster gives you some great maneuvers that work just fine from range.

Ranger 3, Rogue 17 gives you some great Ranger utility and damage boosts from either Gloom Stalker or Hunter. Gloom Stalker is the top choice, but I really like the Hunter's Horde Breaker feature for Archers.
Ranger 5, Rogue 15 give you the extra attack and more spells.

Bard 2, Rogue 18 would make you an ultimate skill monkey and even more Expertise.
Lore Bard 3, Rogue 17 would make you an even BETTER skill monkey.
Lore Bard 6, Rogue 14 would give you many useful spells as well as Magical Secrets and short rest recharging d8 Inspiration dice. Invisibility, Fly, Blink, Blur, Misty Step, Bless, etc...
3-6 levels of Valor or Swords Bard boosts your combat capabilities quite a bit. 7 levels of Bard gets you Greater Invisibility too.

[arnin77]

I went went with this for my rogue: seemed to be just as effective at long range as close range..

High Elf Arcane Trickster Rogue
Elven accuracy @L4
+2 Dex @L8
Res Con@L10

Booming blade and find familiar really helped with melee, while critting with Elven Accuracy amped up damage because with cunning action aim you can basically just give yourself triple advantage every round. Seemed pretty simple and easy to use and having expertise in arcana was fun as a rogue, along with Mage hand ledgermein.

Hope this helps

[strangebloke]

Topic. I'm playing a rogue who is specifically a coward, playing it safe while putting distance between her and the enemy. She's a half-elf, level 2 at the moment. Currently, she's using a light crossbow. Rolled stats are 10, 18, 12, 12, 11, 18.

That said, I have been advised (and later read) about builds for crossbow expert, sharpshooter, firearm expertise, and various multiclassing builds that it's all starting to bleed together. I'm trying to keep things simple and failing lol. I am fairly certain I am going to be primarily rogue without multiclassing unless there is a REALLY strong case for dipping into something else (we have home rule only rogue can search/disarm traps, so I am more skill monkey than damage, and don't want to delay reliable talent much). I am also sad to say I will likely pass on guns, as the rules we are using have so many penalties on guns (high misfire, don't work if wet, loud noise, etc) and offer very little damage over crossbows I can't imagine them being useful. I keep hearing the hype for these things, but they don't seem to live up to the hype when reading over them. I may not be the DPS, but I don't want to be useless either (we also have a shifter (moon?) druid, a celestial warlock, and a Fighter as our core. We have a bard who shows up sometimes).

I digress. I'm overthinking things, and just looking for ideas to be a good ranged rogue.

In principle, you don't need to do much. Ranged play is pretty straightforward and effective "are they prone or in cover? No? Okay I shoot." It's nice like that.

So.. feats. I don't think you need one, really. Maxing DEX would be fine. If you mean to use the Aim cunning action or use a BA to hide and get advantage, elven accuracy will make it better. A lot better, actually. Sharpshooter is good too, though on a rogue its less for the -5/+10 and more for ignoring cover and having range. The -5/+10 is also good, but less worth it even with advantage because you only get one attack and your base damage is fine. And then CBE for hand crossbows and bonus action attack. Not something that feels in theme for your PC, I feel like a coward would not want to get close with hand crossbows.

Honestly? Forget DPR, pick up inspiring leader. Great damage mitigation on the whole party, and if you want to play up the coward angle you can make a big joke of it like "YEAH, GET IN THERE, I'll... support from the back. Like way back. You'll do great guys!". Or go for healer or (if your DM allows it) Wood Elf Magic. All solid and unique.

Next is subclass. Scout lets you run away, but its a very very weak subclass overall. Personally in your position I would either go thief (maybe grab healer feat for BA heals) or the ghost rogue for flavor. Nothing like a scared rogue who's haunted all the time yeah?

[clash]

I had a ton of fun playing a ranged rogue using the hombrew subclass below. This was prev Tasha's but if your dm is up for hombrew it's been tested till level 10.


Rogue Sniper:

3 Elevated Shooting:
When you make a ranged attack against a target at lower elevation than you you do not need advantage to use sneak attack against them. All other conditions still apply.

3 Combat Superiority:
You gain 4 superiority dice at d8 and can use them with the following options. You gain another die at 9 and another at 17. You regain all of your expended superiority dice when you finish a short or long rest:
Precise shot: When you make a ranged weapon attack roll against a creature, you can expend one superiority die to add it to the roll. You can use this maneuver before or after making the attack roll, but before any effects of the attack are applied.
Return Fire: When a creature misses you with a ranged attack, you can use your reaction and expend one superiority die to make a ranged weapon attack against the creature, if you hit, you add the superiority die to the attack's damage roll.
Clever positioning: Whenever you roll a strength(athletics) or a dexterity(acrobatics) check you can expend a superiority die and add it to the result rolled. You can use this maneuver before or after making the skill check, but before the result is known.
Quick Reaction: When you roll inititive you may expend a superiority die and add it to the result rolled. You may choose to use this manuever before or after you roll but it must be done before combat has started.

9 Eagle Eye:
You can see twice as far as normal. If you spend movement equal to your speed you gain advantage on any wisdom(perception) checks that rely on sight and you don't suffer disadvantage on attack rolls from being prone until the end of your turn. You cant use this if your speed is 0.

13 Improved Combat Superiority:
You superiority dice turn into d10s, at level 20 they turn into d12s

17 Flow of Combat:
When you have no superiority dice left and you reduce a creature to 0 hit points, you regain a superiority die.

And yes lol homebrew is my solution to everything

[Greywander]

Crossbow Expert allows you to make a bonus action attack with the crossbow, giving you a second chance to get that Sneak Attack off. The range on the hand crossbow is a bit shorter, though. Sharpshooter can help with your range, but I might not use the -5/+10 trait; other classes get a substantial damage boost from it, but most of your damage comes from Sneak Attack, so missing is a big loss for you.

The other way to go is the longbow for maximum range. With Sharpshooter you can be shooting from 600 feet away, well out of range of danger (though this mostly only works when outside in open space; you're unlikely to find interior spaces that are 600 feet in size in any direction). You're probably using your bonus action to Hide or Aim each round, so Elven Accuracy can help. You do need to get longbow proficiency somehow; elves get it, but half-elves do not. A dip in fighter can get it, and allow you access to the Archery fighting style.

Another option worth mentioning is Mobile + Booming Blade. Mobile allows you to move away from a creature you've attacked without provoking an Opportunity Attack, and Booming Blade will deal additional damage to an enemy if they move. So you move in, smack them with Booming Blade, and then Dash away. They can't move, or they'll take damage, and even if they do move, they can't reach you. The combination of the +10 speed from Mobile with your BA Dash makes it easier to stay more than 30 feet away from an enemy after hitting them. I know you asked for ranged builds, but I thought this worth mentioning since it's exactly how a coward would fight in melee, so maybe it would suit your character.

I second looking at Scout, mostly because they can use a reaction to move away from people who approach them. Seems fitting for a cowardly character. Consider also the Mastermind if you're more into telling your friends what to do. Help as a bonus action from 30 feet away allows you to buff an allow while staying out of melee.

I don't think there are normally any penalties on guns, except for their high cost, so you must be using homebrew at your table for guns. If you were using RAW, then you'd want to take the Gunner feat to get proficiency with firearms, then obtain a musket somehow. Ammo can get costly, so it works best if you can get a Repeating Shot infusion from an artificer. Overall, we're talking a difference between a d8 (light crossbow) or d10 (heavy crossbow) and a d12 (musket); in the case of a rogue, I don't think it's worth the hassle. On a fighter making multiple attacks with that d12 damage die, maybe, but you only get one attack and Sneak Attack is most of your damage. It's a high investment for very little return.

[elyktsorb]

I played a ranged rogue in my last campaign, a Thief Rogue. I basically did nothing but stand in the back and Steady Aim shoot things.

The Thief part was for on the fly picking and nabbing of items when I was in melee range to cripple an enemy. Also caltrops work more often than not.

Eventually getting use all magic stuff is fun.

[Speely]

A coward, you say?

Mastermind Rogue. Forget the -5/+10 part of Sharpshooter at first, but take it ASAP for the range and cover negation.

Hang behind your party and take shots at targets already engaged by teammates. It won't be great damage, but it will be consistent and worth showing up. You'll hit more without SS, and hitting feels good. You can always use the -5/10 to flex when you are rewarded with Advantage, too. As a coward, your role is not damage, however.

Since you will have less need to use Cunning Action to get out of danger (since range) you can use it more often to use it for a bonus Help action.

This is a really interesting take for the ranged Rogue. Not a damage dealer, but a support role. Tank on an enemy? BAM some sneak attack damage from range. Providing Advantage at range? BOOM, you are loved by your group. All in the same round.

Plus, you are still a skill monkey out of combat.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

I would make a Scout Rogue probably and even though you'll be ranged, I'd probably put the 18s in Dex + Con. Dex + Wis would be my second choice.

You don't NEED to multiclass, but there are many fun multiclass options if you want to explore them.

I would want the Archery fighting style fore sure. You can get it from the Fighting Initiate feat.
I would take Crossbow Expert, but not Sharpshooter. I don't like Sharpshooter on Rogues even if the other 2 features besides the -5/+10 are still useful.
I would also want Alert. Alert is great for cowardly archers with subpar Con scores.

There are a few other feats that would be really good to take, but not mandatory.
Lucky and Skilled are good for obvious reasons.
Mobile is useful for archers trying to escape or get into position. It's doubly good for Scouts as it boosts their 3rd level Skirmisher ability some.
Ritual Caster adds some out of combat utility. Find Familiar is GREAT for scouting.
Magic Initiate also adds some utility and also could get you Find Familiar.
Skulker is good for not giving away your position if you're hidden if you miss.
Elven Accuracy is good IF you have reliable ways to get advantage. Otherwise, skip IMO.

Fighter 1, Rogue 19 is strong. Gets you more armor options and Archery style. Hand Crossbow + Shield if you ever get caught in melee.
Fighter 2, Rogue 18 adds Action Surge which is always great.
Fighter 5, Rogue 15 adds the second attack and Battlemaster gives you some great maneuvers that work just fine from range.

Ranger 3, Rogue 17 gives you some great Ranger utility and damage boosts from either Gloom Stalker or Hunter. Gloom Stalker is the top choice, but I really like the Hunter's Horde Breaker feature for Archers.
Ranger 5, Rogue 15 give you the extra attack and more spells.

Bard 2, Rogue 18 would make you an ultimate skill monkey and even more Expertise.
Lore Bard 3, Rogue 17 would make you an even BETTER skill monkey.
Lore Bard 6, Rogue 14 would give you many useful spells as well as Magical Secrets and short rest recharging d8 Inspiration dice. Invisibility, Fly, Blink, Blur, Misty Step, Bless, etc...
3-6 levels of Valor or Swords Bard boosts your combat capabilities quite a bit. 7 levels of Bard gets you Greater Invisibility too.


You have talked me into:

Rogue until level 8. Then if Odessa the OP wants more in game options and that second 18 is in CHA go Lore Bard 6.

Imagine that sniper sitting 55ft away from the bad guys with Healing Word and Counterspell ready!

[Chaos Jackal]

Coward, ranged, single class, optimization. Got it.

Subclass first. Arcane Trickster. So you're a coward, but you're also the one expected to scout, unlock doors and do trapfinding, and those things are scary. So, do those from range as well. Be 50ft ahead of the party scouting... and then have your familiar be another 50ft ahead. Pickpocket people, bust locks that might have guards behind them and disarm those fearsome traps from 30ft away, so if anything goes wrong you'll already have a head start. And in combat? Your familiar is an additional source of easy advantage so you can run around more easily instead of spending Cunning Action on Steady Aim, you can become invisible, you can teleport, toss some illusions out there... You get spells, have fun. Power-wise, the Arcane Trickster has a solid case for strongest rogue subclass, and the spell progression, even if slow, gives you something to wait for and scaling outside Sneak Attack dice, since you said you prefer single class.

Feats next. Honestly? You don't need something too badly. But there's a couple things that can help both your concept and your damage. Elven Accuracy is nice; you only get one attack, but between Steady Aim and an owl familiar advantage is very easy and Sneak Attack crits hurt. Plus, it's a half-feat. Sharpshooter is cool; adds some more damage, but more importantly ignores all but full cover and lets you fully exploit your weapon's range; no more disadvantage at range means you get to be full coward while still getting Sneak Attack, and no soft cover means you no longer have to compromise yourself by getting closer or switching angles to hit someone behind a column or whatever.

Aside from those two, and you're not even really pressured here, you're golden. Boost Dex and Int, round out Elven Accuracy with Piercer, get a utility feat like Inspiring Leader, grab some more spells via the various spell-giving half-feats... choice is yours. Whatever suits you, whatever you like.

Last, a note on multiclassing. If you do end up doing so it seems likely you'll only dip. A couple of fighter levels are nice, same with wizard (War Magic is cool there, as well as Chronurgy); the latter will also not affect your slot progression. If you get that Reliable Talent and the game is expected to go on still, both classes also make solid cases for longer multiclassing; Battle Master works great with rogue levels, and having more spells to pick from and known is always nice, alongside some really good subclass features depending on your pick.

[Segev]

Coward, ranged, single class, optimization. Got it.

Subclass first. Arcane Trickster. So you're a coward, but you're also the one expected to scout, unlock doors and do trapfinding, and those things are scary. So, do those from range as well. Be 50ft ahead of the party scouting... and then have your familiar be another 50ft ahead. Pickpocket people, bust locks that might have guards behind them and disarm those fearsome traps from 30ft away, so if anything goes wrong you'll already have a head start. And in combat? Your familiar is an additional source of easy advantage so you can run around more easily instead of spending Cunning Action on Steady Aim, you can become invisible, you can teleport, toss some illusions out there... You get spells, have fun. Power-wise, the Arcane Trickster has a solid case for strongest rogue subclass, and the spell progression, even if slow, gives you something to wait for and scaling outside Sneak Attack dice, since you said you prefer single class.

Feats next. Honestly? You don't need something too badly. But there's a couple things that can help both your concept and your damage. Elven Accuracy is nice; you only get one attack, but between Steady Aim and an owl familiar advantage is very easy and Sneak Attack crits hurt. Plus, it's a half-feat. Sharpshooter is cool; adds some more damage, but more importantly ignores all but full cover and lets you fully exploit your weapon's range; no more disadvantage at range means you get to be full coward while still getting Sneak Attack, and no soft cover means you no longer have to compromise yourself by getting closer or switching angles to hit someone behind a column or whatever.

Aside from those two, and you're not even really pressured here, you're golden. Boost Dex and Int, round out Elven Accuracy with Piercer, get a utility feat like Inspiring Leader, grab some more spells via the various spell-giving half-feats... choice is yours. Whatever suits you, whatever you like.

Last, a note on multiclassing. If you do end up doing so it seems likely you'll only dip. A couple of fighter levels are nice, same with wizard (War Magic is cool there, as well as Chronurgy); the latter will also not affect your slot progression. If you get that Reliable Talent and the game is expected to go on still, both classes also make solid cases for longer multiclassing; Battle Master works great with rogue levels, and having more spells to pick from and known is always nice, alongside some really good subclass features depending on your pick.
This is all good advice.

I will suggest, however, that Scout may be more fun for you if you really want to lean into the "coward who WILL NOT get into melee," because of its reaction ability to just up and leave if somebody plops down next to them. If you do not take Scout, I suggest Mobility. Elven Accuracy has a tremendous allure, but is all about being able to hurt others better, not about getting away. Mobility does three things for you: +10 ft. movement, which is even better with Cunning Action; ignores difficult terrain when you use Cunning Action to dash; and (not yet mentioned by others that I've seen) allows you, if you wind up in melee against your will, to flail at those in melee with you and then deny them OAs as you move away.

If you're using Mobile, I recommend having an off-hand weapon so you can get that second attack.

That said, Chaos Jackal's advice on Arcane Trickster is still good, if you want to make the cowardice thing a little more secondary. It'll be ninth level before you get 2nd level spells, but misty step is, I think, available to you then. Fog cloud will let you disengage from enemies, too, since if they can't see you, they can't OA you. Though it makes attacking them harder, as well. Or at least makes getting advantage for that all-important sneak attack harder.

Crossbow Expert is pretty good, since it will let you attack in melee if you have to, and gets you that bonus action attack WITH your dex modifier added to damage. Dual wielding hand crossbows is viable.

A longbow is even better for sniping, though, especially if you get Sharpshooter to ignore the disadvantage of long range.


REally, it comes down to what you want to lean into and emphasize with the character. How do you envision this character engaging with enemies and solving problems? Rapid, untouchable movement? Spell trickery?

Heck, Soul Knife gives a very nice boost to skill checks and also has both melee and ranged attack features that mean you don't need another weapon (not if you're not trying for OAs, yourself, anyway) and that you can get bonus action attacks with full ability modifier to damage, too.

[nickl_2000]

I'm going to jump on the Scout bandwagon. You have absolutely amazing skills with Expertise in
4 Skills from Rogue
2 Skills from Background
2 Skills from Half-Elf
Nature and Survival from Scout

Proficiency in 8 skills, Expertise in 4 is absolutely amazing.

For the 4 expertise skills at level 3, I would personally have Nature, Survival, Stealth, and Perception. Since you are a coward, staying hidden is absolutely ideal. After all, no one can hurt you if they can't see you. And being able to see them and know they are coming is the easiest way to keep yourself out of trouble.

As other have mentioned, Sharpshooter is great. Sure the damage is good, but being able to shoot at someone from 300 feet away without disadvantage is golden on a coward. At that distance you can also use Steady Aim to get advantage, you really don't need to worry about movement when you are that far away.

That is really all you need to make the character, you don't need much more to be effective. Skill Expert to expertise in social skills could be useful to talk your way out of situations instead of fighting. Alert is awesome to know that no one can hurt you. Elven Accuracy of course. Gift of the Gem Dragon pushes people away from you, as does telekenetic. Skulker is also a good choice since if you miss people don't know where you are. Telepathic allows you to communicate with people without them knowing where you are as well.



At higher levels putting 3 or 5 levels into Battlemaster fighter is pretty amazing as well. Using maneuvers to knock people down or push them back is a wonderful way to keep people away from you.

[Odessa333]

OP here, thank you all for the many suggestions. I didn't expect so many of the 'you don't need to do much' responses, but I do see the point. I might be better off getting things like skill expert, skilled, prodigy, etc, and trying to go full skill monkey than worry over DPS.

I was considering Scout as a subclass before, and also Soul Knife as it can 'psi-boost' skills on top of reliable talent, as well as Phantom as it can give a skill or tool that I can change on a short rest. It's not as a good as the Lore cleric 2 (but really, what is? Seriously, I'd love to know lol) but it's still something. There's a lot to consider still, but I'll get there.

EDIT: Ok, someone just pointed out a spell I didn't know, 'Borrowed Knowledge." This spell gives prof, and I can take it with Arcane Trickster at level 8, which might make it the most versatile rogue. I have played Arcane trickster before so I thought I'd try something different, but this subclass keeps being amazing. This puts it back in the running and hard to beat all at once.

[Psyren]

Soulknife works decently well as a ranged rogue. You can attack targets 60ft away, you can teleport out of trouble, and you can turn invisible, the latter of which combos extremely well with your Cunning Action to Hide. Soulknife also has the bonus action attack built-in, so you save a feat on XBE. They get fantastic out-of-combat utility as well between their Knack and party-wide telepathy.

Scout's mobility looks attractive but I have issues with it as written.

[No brains]

I would say that in theory, you should prioritize Elven Accuracy above Crossbow Expert.

The big benefit of CBE is that you get another chance to land your sneak attack as a bonus action. If you can use Steady Aim, then you already have 'another chance' to land the sneak attack as a bonus action, and Elven Accuracy gives you '3 chances' to land the hit. CBE can pull ahead if you expect to be in situations where you expect disadvantage. Then if you can get a compensating advantage, you get 2 chances at sneak attack... if the DM interprets sneak attack that way.

What I see as a drawback to the 'Steady Aim' strat is that it interferes with being a coward by keeping you from moving. Then again, if you have the option of cover, nothing is stopping you from using Hide as a bonus action to get a sneak attack. You might also be able to use a mount, a friend shoving you, or the Scout's Skirmisher reaction to move while keeping Steady Aim.

[Keravath]

Just a few comments since you already have a lot of good suggestions.

Sharpshooter is good for ignoring cover (especially if the DM applies it when firing into melee - which is RAW but lots of folks don't bother). It is also excellent with a long bow for shots over 150'. A sharpshooter rogue can pick the guards off a castle wall with little difficulty.

However, absolutely do not use the -5/+10 - in most circumstances it will result in lower damage for most rogues that only have one attack/round. The situations to use -5/+10 are fewer as the base damage goes up. For a rogue with sneak attack, especially as you get to higher levels, the priority is making sure sneak attack hits not the +10 from sharpshooter. Even at level 5 the sneak damage is 3d6 and is more than the damage added by sharpshooter at a significantly reduced chance to hit (even with advantage).

----

Although scout rogue has the ability to move away when an opponent ends their turn next to you - I don't think it is that useful since this ability uses your reaction. It can not be used when an opponent moves next to you, only when they end their turn. Consider an opponent that runs up and attacks the rogue, they use multiattack and the first attack hits for 15 damage. Is the rogue going to use uncanny dodge to halve that damage or are they going to try to save their reaction to try and run away? Let's say the rogue takes the damage, waits until the creature ends their turn, then moves 1/2 their movement - typically only 15' - away. However, then another opponent, runs the little extra distance next to the rogue again and attacks. The rogue can't run away again and have used their reaction so uncanny dodge or other reactions aren't an option.

I haven't seen many scout rogues in play but the "run half your movement when a creature ends it turn next to you" hasn't seemed that useful.

On the other hand, for a cowardly character, I can't imagine them being anything other than an arcane trickster. Mage hand legerdemain and the ability to pick locks, disarm traps and open things from 30' away would have to be a high priority for a character who wants to minimize their risk when dealing with these things - especially with the house rule that the rogue is the only character who can do these things. On top of that, having a little owl familiar (from the find familiar spell) who can sit on your shoulder and help you scout also seems like an essential option for a cautious character. Much better to risk the familiar than themselves I would think :)

So from that perspective, I think arcane trickster would tend to give the character more options AND fit the idea of a "risk averse" rogue. On the other hand, scout does give expertise in nature and survival.

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From a multiclassing perspective, one level of fighter has the archery fighting style, a small self-heal as well as the ability to wear medium armor and use shields and proficiency with all weapons. Both of these could be useful if your character either finds some good magical medium armor or knows they will find themselves in a melee situation.

You can also get much the same from two levels of ranger since you get the fighting style but also pick up some additional spells.

Two levels of warlock also gives a couple of very useful invocations like devils sight and mask of many faces and some spell slots plus some patron ribbon abilities.

In the long run, extra attack provides more chances to land your sneak attack which for a rogue is actually pretty essential. You could obtain this either by warlock 5, fighter 5 or ranger 5. You might want to consider those as a longer term goal if your game goes into tier 3. The extra damage from the extra attack tends to make up for the few sneak attack die that are lost.

The best options here are probably

-gloomstalker ranger 5
* invisibility in darkness at level 3 would likely be very appealing to a cowardly character - creatures using darkvision can't seem them in the dark,
* extra attack at level 5
* archery fighting style
* very useful spells like pass without trace

-battlemaster fighter 5
* extra attack
* archery fighting style
* very useful maneuvers (including some that might give you an off turn sneak attack)

-blade pact warlock 5
* thirsting blade for extra attack
* improved pact weapon - create your own +1 weapon including bows [this really depends on the nature of the campaign being run - if the campaign has no magic weapons or no magical longbows for example - then this feature becomes almost essential]
* 3rd level spell slots and spells
* the shield spell if a hexblade - you can get this as a trickster but not until higher level if you pick find familiar at 1, the hex spell for an extra d6 damage to offset sneak attack damage [some bonus action competition]
* devils sight invocation - this ability lets you see in total darkness as if it was brightly lit - without this a rogue using darkvision has disadvantage on perception checks that rely on sight when looking for things in the dark [unless your table doesn't use that rule]. Personally, I hate stumbling into a trap because I can't see it due to using darkvision in the dark - the other option is a light source but then everyone sees you coming.
* Mask of many faces invocation - disguise self at will can be awesome in a role play heavy game where you can be someone new every 6 seconds - combine with rogue, a high charisma and expertise in persuasion or deception and there are many uses for this one (especially on a cowardly character that may not want to be recognized)
* ability to generate advantage using darkness+devils sight (level 3 warlock required) - tends not to bother the party as much with a ranged rogue.

The warlock option misses out on the archery fighting style unless you want to pick it up using the Tasha's fighting style feat.

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P.S. I've played an arcane trickster/fey warlock character to level 17 so far (12 rogue/5 warlock). The first 12 levels were in Tomb of Annihilation where the character went with 9 trickster/3 warlock. The 3 warlock turned out to be an absolutely essential choice in that campaign since it was run from the book with no modifications and there were virtually no magical weapons anywhere. I never saw a magical ranged weapon during the entire campaign, without the improved pact weapon invocation, I would have had a lot of trouble damaging various enemies late in the campaign. In addition, devils sight really helped with high DC perception checks to notice secret doors or traps since the party spent a lot of time wandering around in the dark.

However, that was just my experience in one campaign where both the build in weapon and ability to see in the dark for warlocks turned out to be exceptionally useful. Depending on how your game is being run these might be much less of an issue.

[Psyren]

Although scout rogue has the ability to move away when an opponent ends their turn next to you - I don't think it is that useful since this ability uses your reaction. It can not be used when an opponent moves next to you, only when they end their turn. Consider an opponent that runs up and attacks the rogue, they use multiattack and the first attack hits for 15 damage. Is the rogue going to use uncanny dodge to halve that damage or are they going to try to save their reaction to try and run away? Let's say the rogue takes the damage, waits until the creature ends their turn, then moves 1/2 their movement - typically only 15' - away. However, then another opponent, runs the little extra distance next to the rogue again and attacks. The rogue can't run away again and have used their reaction so uncanny dodge or other reactions aren't an option.

I haven't seen many scout rogues in play but the "run half your movement when a creature ends it turn next to you" hasn't seemed that useful.

This sums up a lot of my problems with scout. It's not bad but it's not as amazing at being a ranged rogue as I think it gets credit for. If it could move when an enemy stops next to it instead of ending their turn it would be a lot better. (Moreover, a lot of enemies don't need to stop within 5ft to hit it because they have reach, so there are many times when their "escape" won't even trigger.)


So from that perspective, I think arcane trickster would tend to give the character more options AND fit the idea of a "risk averse" rogue. On the other hand, scout does give expertise in nature and survival.

Nitpick - it gets proficiency in Nature and Survival, but you only get Expertise in one. Nevermind, misread it!

[nickl_2000]

Nitpick - it gets proficiency in Nature and Survival, but you only get Expertise in one.

That is definitely not how I read it on DNDBeyond. Did they errata it at some point?

"When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Nature and Survival skills if you don’t already have it. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of those proficiencies."

[sithlordnergal]

When I make a ranged Rogue, I typically do the following build, Battlemaster 6 / Arcane Trickster Rogue 14.

Battlemaster 6 gives you an extra ASI that you can spend on a feat, access to the Archery Fighting Style, Extra Attack, Precision Maneuver, Medium Armor, and all Martial Weapons.

Meanwhile Arcane Trickster gives you an OP invisible Mage Hand that lets you disarm traps and take/stow items being carried/worn by other creatures, all while from 30 feet away and being unnoticed via a Slight of Hand check. It also gives handy spells, like Shield or Find Familiar.

As for feats, I like to take Crossbow Expert and Sharpshooter, though Elven Accuracy and Sharpshooter works well too.

[Kane0]

Although scout rogue has the ability to move away when an opponent ends their turn next to you - I don't think it is that useful since this ability uses your reaction. It can not be used when an opponent moves next to you, only when they end their turn. Consider an opponent that runs up and attacks the rogue, they use multiattack and the first attack hits for 15 damage. Is the rogue going to use uncanny dodge to halve that damage or are they going to try to save their reaction to try and run away? Let's say the rogue takes the damage, waits until the creature ends their turn, then moves 1/2 their movement - typically only 15' - away. However, then another opponent, runs the little extra distance next to the rogue again and attacks. The rogue can't run away again and have used their reaction so uncanny dodge or other reactions aren't an option.

I haven't seen many scout rogues in play but the "run half your movement when a creature ends it turn next to you" hasn't seemed that useful.

Devils advocate here, if youre at range its entirely possible an enemy used the Dash action to close on you, ending their turn nwxt to you without attacking, or one closes and attacks but another cant reach you if you use the reaction to move an additional 15' away might save you more damage in the long run especially since you have a half move headstart to run away further on your next turn.
It does suck that it conflicts with Uncanny Dodge though.

[Psyren]

That is definitely not how I read it on DNDBeyond. Did they errata it at some point?

"When you choose this archetype at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in the Nature and Survival skills if you don’t already have it. Your proficiency bonus is doubled for any ability check you make that uses either of those proficiencies."

Error on my part - edited.


Devils advocate here, if youre at range its entirely possible an enemy used the Dash action to close on you, ending their turn nwxt to you without attacking, or one closes and attacks but another cant reach you if you use the reaction to move an additional 15' away might save you more damage in the long run especially since you have a half move headstart to run away further on your next turn.
It does suck that it conflicts with Uncanny Dodge though.

On top of the reaction conflict, there's also the fact that a lot of monsters are (a) faster than humanoids and (b) have more than 5ft reach, so a lot of them can counter this ability without even knowing it exists.

[Gignere]

OP here, thank you all for the many suggestions. I didn't expect so many of the 'you don't need to do much' responses, but I do see the point. I might be better off getting things like skill expert, skilled, prodigy, etc, and trying to go full skill monkey than worry over DPS.

I was considering Scout as a subclass before, and also Soul Knife as it can 'psi-boost' skills on top of reliable talent, as well as Phantom as it can give a skill or tool that I can change on a short rest. It's not as a good as the Lore cleric 2 (but really, what is? Seriously, I'd love to know lol) but it's still something. There's a lot to consider still, but I'll get there.

EDIT: Ok, someone just pointed out a spell I didn't know, 'Borrowed Knowledge." This spell gives prof, and I can take it with Arcane Trickster at level 8, which might make it the most versatile rogue. I have played Arcane trickster before so I thought I'd try something different, but this subclass keeps being amazing. This puts it back in the running and hard to beat all at once.

For a range Rogue probably the best is AT and Phantom in my opinion. You’ll want Elven accuracy as a feat and I would recommend picking up ritual caster at level 8, to gain access to phantom steed.

Because what you really want is a Mount as a range rogue. This way you can use your bonus action to steady aim and then use your mounts movement and action to dash or disengage. The phantom steed has like 100 feet of movement so it is insane. If the campaign goes high enough level you can get mounted combat to protect your mount too. Before even getting phantom steed you can just use a regular warhorse or riding horse and they can be pretty effective as well.

[Yakk]

Arcane Trickster.
Elven Accuracy asap.

At level 13 you can haste yourself. This lets you haste attack, then ready an action for off turn attack, getting a 2nd sneak attack per round.

Prior to that, you get spellcasting and a mage hand that makes traps safer.