Have always very much enjoyed the swashbuckler. To me, they will always be the best subclass for a melee based character. Arcane would for sure be my second, but I also normally multi class bard ( swords ) with my rouge class so mixes the best of both IMHO
Party composition and table rules matter a lot ... light on casters? Arcane Trickster helps. No Ranger? Scout can fill some of those essential skills. Mastermind with BA ranged-help is a pretty reliable source of ADV if you aren't using optional flanking rules. Swashbuckler is probably my favorite for skirmisher melee types... BA dash with built in disengage is very useful.
My rankings will depend on the level of the party but as an overall tier list:
S tier: Soulknife, Arcane Trickster, Swashbuckler
A tier: Scout, Phantom
B tier: Assassin, Thief
C tier: Mastermind, Inquisitive
Soulknife has the most quality abilities of all Rogue subclasses, if I had to rank them based on their individual features I'd put them first.
I don't really like Arcane Trickster subclass abilities, except for the mage hand bonuses. Of course what makes this subclass reach top tier is the spells.
I don't really like Swashbuckler subclass features either, except for the level 3 features of course which make this an amazing subclass.
Scout is a well-rounded subclass with good abilities on all levels of play.
Phantom is absolute garbage (probably D tier) before level 9. At level 9 the subclass becomes good and as the levels progress, they get even better. It's sad that in the first 8 levels Phantom is really weak and literally any other subclass will be better. If your Campaign is going to start at level 9 or above, Phantom is a solid choice, otherwise hard pass.
Assassin and Thief are solid choices, although a bit bland and boring. Thief is more versatile, although Assassin opens up some combos (for example with Gloomstalker Ranger) which can be very strong.
Mastermind and Inquisitive are the weakest subclasses due to them being very situational and depend a lot on the Campaign theme.
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I'm bored
Can ya'll just tell me how you would rank rouge subclasses from best to worst?
I swear i'm not southern btw
I wonder how plummeting hundreds of feet feels
Link to The Rouge Sub-Classes
I could probably reverse 3 and 4, and 8 and 9 since they are equal to me.
Food, Scifi/fantasy, anime, DND 5E/RPG geek.
If you have a DM willing to work with you then Assassin can be great...otherwise can be disappointing.
My favorites are Scout and Thief, and I hear everyone likes Arcane Trickster.
Have always very much enjoyed the swashbuckler. To me, they will always be the best subclass for a melee based character. Arcane would for sure be my second, but I also normally multi class bard ( swords ) with my rouge class so mixes the best of both IMHO
Party composition and table rules matter a lot ... light on casters? Arcane Trickster helps. No Ranger? Scout can fill some of those essential skills. Mastermind with BA ranged-help is a pretty reliable source of ADV if you aren't using optional flanking rules. Swashbuckler is probably my favorite for skirmisher melee types... BA dash with built in disengage is very useful.
My rankings will depend on the level of the party but as an overall tier list:
S tier: Soulknife, Arcane Trickster, Swashbuckler
A tier: Scout, Phantom
B tier: Assassin, Thief
C tier: Mastermind, Inquisitive
Soulknife has the most quality abilities of all Rogue subclasses, if I had to rank them based on their individual features I'd put them first.
I don't really like Arcane Trickster subclass abilities, except for the mage hand bonuses. Of course what makes this subclass reach top tier is the spells.
I don't really like Swashbuckler subclass features either, except for the level 3 features of course which make this an amazing subclass.
Scout is a well-rounded subclass with good abilities on all levels of play.
Phantom is absolute garbage (probably D tier) before level 9. At level 9 the subclass becomes good and as the levels progress, they get even better. It's sad that in the first 8 levels Phantom is really weak and literally any other subclass will be better. If your Campaign is going to start at level 9 or above, Phantom is a solid choice, otherwise hard pass.
Assassin and Thief are solid choices, although a bit bland and boring. Thief is more versatile, although Assassin opens up some combos (for example with Gloomstalker Ranger) which can be very strong.
Mastermind and Inquisitive are the weakest subclasses due to them being very situational and depend a lot on the Campaign theme.