Tashas brought about quite a few changes that for the most part seem largely well received by the community. In this thread I’ll be talking about the single optional class feature, steady aim. It is described as the following:
STEADY AIM 3rd-level rogue feature As a bonus action, you give yourself advantage on your next attack roll on the current turn. You can use this bonus action only if you haven't moved during this turn, and after you use the bonus action, your speed is O until the end of the current turn.
This single feature seems pretty basic at first glance, but it’s impact on a rogue actually varies depending on the subclass you choose to play. I’ll be attempting to go over each of the impacts on all of the subclasses available.
Thief actually not much interaction between any of this subclasses features. The small exception being the level 17 feature which allows for you to potentially make use of steady aim feature twice in the same round. Steady aim does give the thief the chance to use sneak attack when without allies and defending themselves.
Assassin No direct impact whatsoever with any of the assassins features. Steady aim does give the thief the chance to use sneak attack when without allies and defending themselves. A prime example would be when an assassin attempts an ambush to make use of their subclass feature, but eventually fails miserably and is left dealing with those consequences.
Arcane Trickster Steady aim can be used to reliably increase the damage potential from cantrips like booming blade and green flame blade to allow for the increased chance to roll a critical hit. Steady aim can also somewhat invalidate the level 13 feature Versatile Trickster since moving the magehand and using the magehand to gain advantage require separate bonus actions. Steady aim does give the trickster the chance to use sneak attack when without allies and defending themselves, and is available even when your familiar has been killed.
Mastermind at first glance steady aim seems to be overly competitive with the Master of Tactics feature which uses your bonus action to grant an ally 30ft away advantage on their next attack. Like the other subclasses, steady aim can help you more reliably when you’re alone which is when Master of Tactics actually can’t be used at all. After having run various damage calculations, there seem to be only 2 times when Master of Tactics is actually more useful than steady aim. 1st is when your enabling another rogue to gain access to their sneak attack when they couldn’t before. 2nd is when a spellcasters is attempting use use a leveled attack spell that can drastically change an encounter if effective, such as using contagion. A mastermind seems to almost always gain a higher increase in DPR by using steady aim than what might be achieved by other party members with their much more limited damage per attack. The exception seems to be if you are helping a paladin who is specifically trying to use their highest level smite.
Swashbuckler the steady aim feature seems to directly contradict what the swashbuckler is all about, maintaining movement while generating sneak attack in 1v1 scenarios. Admittedly steady aim does indeed give a little less value under normal circumstances. There are several scenarios that might happen that a swashbuckler can find use for steady aim though. 1st scenario, the environment is such that the swashbuckler can’t seem to get a 1v1 scenario such as when side by side enemies are patrolling down a narrow hallway or tunnel. Secondly, if the swashbuckler is 1v1 but the enemy makes use of heavy obscurity that doesn’t effect the enemy, such as a devil using the darkness spell. The swashbuckler can gain advantage by steady aim use canceling out their disadvantage and potentially gain access to sneak attack in a scenario that is usually horrible for a rogue, since the swashbuckler can get sneak attack more easily at a neutral roll. Every other subclass, with the exception of inquisitive, is out of luck if they are alone and have disadvantage imposed on their attacks for some reason.
Inquisitive much like the swashbuckler, the inquisitive can use the steady aim feature to bring disadvantage back to a neutral and more easily get sneak attack. This combined with the insightful fighting feature means this rogue can almost guarantee its sneak attack damage, even in the worst situations. It takes two turns more to set up compared to the swashbuckler, but the inquisitive doesn’t need to worry about their placement or maneuvering as much. Steady aim can be used to crit fish using the same attack with multiple die to make better use of the eye for weakness feature that adds an extra 3d6 sneak die to your target.
Scout The skirmisher feature allows for the scout to potentially mitigate the detriment of the steady aim feature. Steady aim gives up your movement on the turn you use it, and that movement immediately becomes Available again after your turn ends. Most characters don’t have features to make use of movement on other creatures turns. The skirmisher feature allows you to move half your speed using your reaction, without provoking opportunity attacks, when a creature ends its turn next to you. A scout making use of ranged weapons and the steady aim feature can be incredibly effective since it can reposition itself with its reaction if necessary. Steady aim can be used to generate sneak attack when it’s otherwise unavailable, which means it has specific times when it would be more beneficial than the sudden strike feature.
Phantom the wails from the grave feature, and the features that augment it, can potentially be used effectively at range with use of the steady aim feature. The Ghost Walk feature small flight speed can be used with steady aim to largely mitigate the speed loss. Creatures limited to melee won’t be able to reach you as you hover just outside of their reach. The disadvantage imposed on attacks against you can help make sure your reaction by lessening the chance you need to use uncanny dodge. That reaction can be more available to create tokens while 30ft above the battlefield when a creature dies. A phantom who gains access to elven accuracy and the green flame blade cantrip can accurately deal much more damage than any other rogue, and can spread that damage between two targets. At higher levels the combination of green flame blade and wails from the grave can do almost as much damage to a secondary target as a regular rogue can do to its single primary target and this is without the need for intelligence investment.
Soul knife At lower levels steady aim can be used to negate disadvantage on your ranged attack if you happen to be grappled or restrained. At higher levels steady aim can be used to preserve your Psionic die, or fall back on when you might be out of Psionic die. Similarly steady aim can also be used to generate advantage vs creatures that bypass your invisibility feature, such as dragons with blindsight flying over you away from your party members.
steady aim has increased effectiveness in regard to crit fishing with rogues when compared two weapon fighting. This increased efficacy works with melee and ranged fighting, though ranged fighting seems more advantageous without cantrip investment. You don’t have to gamble with the chance to hold your sneak die to have a small chance to crit with your bonus action. Using a ranged weapon like a heavy crossbow gives the benefit of using a higher die. Elven accuracy further increases this efficacy.
it may also be worth noting that while the steady aim feature reduces the rogues speed to 0 for its turn, it doesn’t prevent the rogue from being moved by other in game methods. A rogue on a mount would still be able to move on the mounts turn. A rogue on a tensers floating disk could make use of steady aim while the disk follows closely behind a wizard on a phantom steed. These are just a few examples.
steady aim also gives the standard rogue the chance to deal their sneak attack damage the first round of combat under “normal” circumstances. Rogues, which typically focus on dexterity, have a higher likelihood to have a faster turn in combat because of initiative bonus. This means that in the event a rogue takes their turn before an Ally has moved into position near an enemy, they now have a solid option to effectively attack using their sneak attack and feel like they are contributing.
Steady aim can be used to maintain offense when creatures have access to abilities that allow them to consistently stay away from your allies. This generates sneak attack in scenarios you would otherwise be unable to be effective in. A beholder for example would reliably be able to hover away from your allies, and their dark vision drastically reduces the likelihood you will be able to hide.steady aim allows you to still contribute in this scenario with a ranged weapon.
Tashas brought about quite a few changes that for the most part seem largely well received by the community. In this thread I’ll be talking about the single optional class feature, steady aim. It is described as the following:
STEADY AIM
3rd-level rogue feature
As a bonus action, you give yourself advantage on your next attack roll on the current turn. You can use this bonus action only if you haven't moved during this turn, and after you use the bonus action, your speed is O until the end of the current turn.
This single feature seems pretty basic at first glance, but it’s impact on a rogue actually varies depending on the subclass you choose to play. I’ll be attempting to go over each of the impacts on all of the subclasses available.
Thief
actually not much interaction between any of this subclasses features. The small exception being the level 17 feature which allows for you to potentially make use of steady aim feature twice in the same round. Steady aim does give the thief the chance to use sneak attack when without allies and defending themselves.
Assassin
No direct impact whatsoever with any of the assassins features. Steady aim does give the thief the chance to use sneak attack when without allies and defending themselves. A prime example would be when an assassin attempts an ambush to make use of their subclass feature, but eventually fails miserably and is left dealing with those consequences.
Arcane Trickster
Steady aim can be used to reliably increase the damage potential from cantrips like booming blade and green flame blade to allow for the increased chance to roll a critical hit. Steady aim can also somewhat invalidate the level 13 feature Versatile Trickster since moving the magehand and using the magehand to gain advantage require separate bonus actions. Steady aim does give the trickster the chance to use sneak attack when without allies and defending themselves, and is available even when your familiar has been killed.
Mastermind
at first glance steady aim seems to be overly competitive with the Master of Tactics feature which uses your bonus action to grant an ally 30ft away advantage on their next attack. Like the other subclasses, steady aim can help you more reliably when you’re alone which is when Master of Tactics actually can’t be used at all. After having run various damage calculations, there seem to be only 2 times when Master of Tactics is actually more useful than steady aim. 1st is when your enabling another rogue to gain access to their sneak attack when they couldn’t before. 2nd is when a spellcasters is attempting use use a leveled attack spell that can drastically change an encounter if effective, such as using contagion. A mastermind seems to almost always gain a higher increase in DPR by using steady aim than what might be achieved by other party members with their much more limited damage per attack. The exception seems to be if you are helping a paladin who is specifically trying to use their highest level smite.
Swashbuckler
the steady aim feature seems to directly contradict what the swashbuckler is all about, maintaining movement while generating sneak attack in 1v1 scenarios. Admittedly steady aim does indeed give a little less value under normal circumstances. There are several scenarios that might happen that a swashbuckler can find use for steady aim though. 1st scenario, the environment is such that the swashbuckler can’t seem to get a 1v1 scenario such as when side by side enemies are patrolling down a narrow hallway or tunnel. Secondly, if the swashbuckler is 1v1 but the enemy makes use of heavy obscurity that doesn’t effect the enemy, such as a devil using the darkness spell. The swashbuckler can gain advantage by steady aim use canceling out their disadvantage and potentially gain access to sneak attack in a scenario that is usually horrible for a rogue, since the swashbuckler can get sneak attack more easily at a neutral roll. Every other subclass, with the exception of inquisitive, is out of luck if they are alone and have disadvantage imposed on their attacks for some reason.
Inquisitive
much like the swashbuckler, the inquisitive can use the steady aim feature to bring disadvantage back to a neutral and more easily get sneak attack. This combined with the insightful fighting feature means this rogue can almost guarantee its sneak attack damage, even in the worst situations. It takes two turns more to set up compared to the swashbuckler, but the inquisitive doesn’t need to worry about their placement or maneuvering as much. Steady aim can be used to crit fish using the same attack with multiple die to make better use of the eye for weakness feature that adds an extra 3d6 sneak die to your target.
Scout
The skirmisher feature allows for the scout to potentially mitigate the detriment of the steady aim feature. Steady aim gives up your movement on the turn you use it, and that movement immediately becomes Available again after your turn ends. Most characters don’t have features to make use of movement on other creatures turns. The skirmisher feature allows you to move half your speed using your reaction, without provoking opportunity attacks, when a creature ends its turn next to you. A scout making use of ranged weapons and the steady aim feature can be incredibly effective since it can reposition itself with its reaction if necessary. Steady aim can be used to generate sneak attack when it’s otherwise unavailable, which means it has specific times when it would be more beneficial than the sudden strike feature.
Phantom
the wails from the grave feature, and the features that augment it, can potentially be used effectively at range with use of the steady aim feature. The Ghost Walk feature small flight speed can be used with steady aim to largely mitigate the speed loss. Creatures limited to melee won’t be able to reach you as you hover just outside of their reach. The disadvantage imposed on attacks against you can help make sure your reaction by lessening the chance you need to use uncanny dodge. That reaction can be more available to create tokens while 30ft above the battlefield when a creature dies. A phantom who gains access to elven accuracy and the green flame blade cantrip can accurately deal much more damage than any other rogue, and can spread that damage between two targets. At higher levels the combination of green flame blade and wails from the grave can do almost as much damage to a secondary target as a regular rogue can do to its single primary target and this is without the need for intelligence investment.
Soul knife
At lower levels steady aim can be used to negate disadvantage on your ranged attack if you happen to be grappled or restrained. At higher levels steady aim can be used to preserve your Psionic die, or fall back on when you might be out of Psionic die. Similarly steady aim can also be used to generate advantage vs creatures that bypass your invisibility feature, such as dragons with blindsight flying over you away from your party members.
steady aim has increased effectiveness in regard to crit fishing with rogues when compared two weapon fighting. This increased efficacy works with melee and ranged fighting, though ranged fighting seems more advantageous without cantrip investment. You don’t have to gamble with the chance to hold your sneak die to have a small chance to crit with your bonus action. Using a ranged weapon like a heavy crossbow gives the benefit of using a higher die. Elven accuracy further increases this efficacy.
it may also be worth noting that while the steady aim feature reduces the rogues speed to 0 for its turn, it doesn’t prevent the rogue from being moved by other in game methods. A rogue on a mount would still be able to move on the mounts turn. A rogue on a tensers floating disk could make use of steady aim while the disk follows closely behind a wizard on a phantom steed. These are just a few examples.
steady aim also gives the standard rogue the chance to deal their sneak attack damage the first round of combat under “normal” circumstances. Rogues, which typically focus on dexterity, have a higher likelihood to have a faster turn in combat because of initiative bonus. This means that in the event a rogue takes their turn before an Ally has moved into position near an enemy, they now have a solid option to effectively attack using their sneak attack and feel like they are contributing.
Steady aim can be used to maintain offense when creatures have access to abilities that allow them to consistently stay away from your allies. This generates sneak attack in scenarios you would otherwise be unable to be effective in. A beholder for example would reliably be able to hover away from your allies, and their dark vision drastically reduces the likelihood you will be able to hide.steady aim allows you to still contribute in this scenario with a ranged weapon.