Kinda new to the rogue game) (only have one character but...
I do not see many ranged rogue builds being presented. Why play a close combat stabby stabby, when you can go Pew PEW and get the same result from 400ft (i.E. heavy Crossbow and sharpshooter)?
There is not so much as missing something, but (in my opinion) you can take DEX-fighter or ranger and have somewhat the same idea but with other quirks. You can multi-class but that has its own pitfalls.
If you want to play a full to level 20 long-range rogue, you can absolutely do this. Also, since you are far from the target, you can almost always generate sneak attacks, especially if you have front-liners in your party getting the attention of the enemies you are sniping from afar.
The only thing I can say as a possible downside is that for sub-classes you are a bit limited. A lot of long-range rogues typically go Assassin and possibly Scout. Personally, I believe they are good sub-classes but are somewhat limited in other areas. Hopefully others can share their ideas on this. Sorry if not much help.
Kinda new to the rogue game) (only have one character but...
I do not see many ranged rogue builds being presented. Why play a close combat stabby stabby, when you can go Pew PEW and get the same result from 400ft (i.E. heavy Crossbow and sharpshooter)?
Just wondering if I am missing something.
Feats like Sharpshooter and Great Weapon Master tend to favor classes that have the Extra Attack feature. For example lets take a vanilla level 5 Rogue with Sharpshooter and 18 DEX, with a Heavy Crossbow they will do 1d10 + 3d6 + 14 for an average of 30. Now compare it with any other class with Sharpshooter and 18 DEX but with Extra Attack and a Longbow and they will do 1d8 + 14 x 2 for an average of 37.
Right off the bat the Pew Pew Rogue is behind in damage by an average of 7. This is without factoring anything else from subclasses. It takes the Rogue to get to level 9 to make up that 7 average damage and you will begin to see why Pew Pew rogues are not as common as stabby Rogues. Also having only 1 attack means it seriously sucks if you miss.
Wait but don't Stabby Rogues face the same comparisons to Great Weapon Master users with the Extra Attack feature I hear you ask. Well yes, but when its up close and personal the Rogue has a few more tricks up their sleeves to compete with those Great Weapon spammers. Firstly they can employ Two Weapon Fighting to increase their chances of landing a hit to trigger their very important Sneak Attack. But if they feel a bonus action attack is unnecessary they can instead boost their damage through a cantrip like Booming or Green Flame Blade. And by being in Stabby range they also open up the possibility of doing Attacks of Opportunity which can mean more Sneak damage.
But all that being said a Pew Pew Rogue does offer a bit more safety and is a perfectly good option if you wish to explore that route.
I'm also playing a mainly Ranged Rogue, based on arcane trickster with homebrew, so it's rather specific to my style.
However I did stumble on that gem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDwyoa4VK7s Which kinda describe the potential of what I was already working toward, only that he does it RAW where I benefit from a more tailored homebrew subclass.
In my humble opinion, range rogue are very good. Lots of survivability and tools to disengage, keeping the range... You only need to make sure that you hit your Sneak Attack on your turn. Personally I then use my Cunning Action (a Bonus Action) to Hide.
Potentially, you could also Sneak Attack on another's turn (remember, Sneak Attack is once per TURN, not once per ROUND). This can be done with Haste or, if you are melee, with AoO when an enemy of that target is nearby (which isn't gonna happen if you are ranged and far away but I'm throwing it out there since you did say you were new to the game, like me)... On your turn use your hasted action to attack, then use the "Ready" action to prepare an attack at the beginning of the turn of the creature next in initiative order.
The reason why I feel rogues are often played Melee, is partly because of Booming of Green Flame Blade, potentially paired with Mobile Feat. Go in melee, burst, get out. However that's not how I view and play my rogue.
I hope my little experience helps you! I did a lot of reading when getting to learn what rogues can do... and gosh I like that class! Wait until you cannot roll below a 10 on skills you're proficient ...
I've not played a ranged rogue because I have played with one and to be honest it looked pretty boring. Stand back, Steady Aim, fire. Or a similar variant where you hide behind something. Either way, you do the same thing every round. Yeah, it's consistent damage and sometimes something might chase you around a bit, but it lacks choices.
A rogue in melee is constantly making decisions about positioning and coordinating with allies. It just feels a lot more dynamic and interesting to me.
Kinda new to the rogue game) (only have one character but...
I do not see many ranged rogue builds being presented. Why play a close combat stabby stabby, when you can go Pew PEW and get the same result from 400ft (i.E. heavy Crossbow and sharpshooter)?
Just wondering if I am missing something.
Play a ranged fighter or ranger and take three levels in Assassin Rogue. The Assassinate feature works on any attack on the first turn of combat, so it synergizes well with Extra Attack and Gloom Stalker's Dread Ambusher. All of those attacks would have advantage, which could be crazy if you have Sharpshooter. Use Action Surge as a fighter to gain four attacks that all have advantage, dealing Sharpshooter damage on a hit. In the case where you do manage to get those situational surprises, all attacks in the first round of combat would be criticaled, not to mention the advantage that you get at the start of combat (if you go before the target in initiative order). With Action Surge, this could quickly stack up to disintegrate some bosses (as long as you hit the majority of the attacks).
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Brains over brawn? Mind over matter? These canny warriors rightly answer, "Why not both?" - Tasha
I've not played a ranged rogue because I have played with one and to be honest it looked pretty boring. Stand back, Steady Aim, fire. Or a similar variant where you hide behind something. Either way, you do the same thing every round. Yeah, it's consistent damage and sometimes something might chase you around a bit, but it lacks choices.
A rogue in melee is constantly making decisions about positioning and coordinating with allies. It just feels a lot more dynamic and interesting to me.
Hmm, I HAVE to admit that, looking at it described like that (and having played it for a while), ranged rogue can look a bit boring. I will say that I have experienced fight that were like that...
Mechanically, it's simple. However rogues could be simplified down to : apply sneak attack each round. But I kinda feel that similar could be said for other martial classes (do your stuff and don't get killed).
I think, and that's what I came up to realize playing a ranged rogue, that it's up to me to make my turn interesting, improvising action or using my Arcane Trickster tools (the few spell slots I have) to help out my front-line. And there is nothing preventing that kind of rogue to go melee to support an ally. You might be using a "sub optimal weapon" (if you have invested in a good bow/crossbow) but those daggers or shortsword can still apply your sneak attack.
In the end, it's not just all about the combat pillar (though this topic mainly is about this since it's what the OP asked about) but also how you want to role-play your character when you're not fighting... But yeah, definitely something to be aware of - fight could be very linear if you don't pay attention to that.
Pretty much all of my rogue builds are ranged, unless multiclassed with a primarily-melee class like Paladin or Barbarian. I generally tend to find characters with light armor or less (except for Monks and Bladesigner to some extent) too squishy to be in melee, especially without shields.
Pretty much all of my rogue builds are ranged, unless multiclassed with a primarily-melee class like Paladin or Barbarian. I generally tend to find characters with light armor or less (except for Monks and Bladesigner to some extent) too squishy to be in melee, especially without shields.
That's how I feel as well, "too squishy to stay in melee". My character have 10 CON with average HP, so she has 33 HP at level 6 (1 more then our squishy wizard)... not a lot of margin for error. A friend that plays front-line rogue (with 2 level in barbarian - so multiclassed with a primarly melee class as you mentioned) IS built to stay in melee.
All in all, do not just look at "how will I fare in combat" because yes, heavy crossbow, sharpshooter+crossbow expert is very strong... As would be a Mobile Melee built rogue (though riskier - perhaps that's your style, which is fine too)... Whilst important, it's only one side of DnD and how you will experience the game with your character.
I've not played a ranged rogue because I have played with one and to be honest it looked pretty boring. Stand back, Steady Aim, fire. Or a similar variant where you hide behind something. Either way, you do the same thing every round. Yeah, it's consistent damage and sometimes something might chase you around a bit, but it lacks choices.
A rogue in melee is constantly making decisions about positioning and coordinating with allies. It just feels a lot more dynamic and interesting to me.
Hmm, I HAVE to admit that, looking at it described like that (and having played it for a while), ranged rogue can look a bit boring. I will say that I have experienced fight that were like that...
Mechanically, it's simple. However rogues could be simplified down to : apply sneak attack each round. But I kinda feel that similar could be said for other martial classes (do your stuff and don't get killed).
I think, and that's what I came up to realize playing a ranged rogue, that it's up to me to make my turn interesting, improvising action or using my Arcane Trickster tools (the few spell slots I have) to help out my front-line. And there is nothing preventing that kind of rogue to go melee to support an ally. You might be using a "sub optimal weapon" (if you have invested in a good bow/crossbow) but those daggers or shortsword can still apply your sneak attack.
In the end, it's not just all about the combat pillar (though this topic mainly is about this since it's what the OP asked about) but also how you want to role-play your character when you're not fighting... But yeah, definitely something to be aware of - fight could be very linear if you don't pay attention to that.
All good points, the rogue, like the bard, monk and even ranger are not really intended to be front line martials. That is the role of the fighter, barbarian and Paladin. They are meant to be skirmishers dodging in and out to keep the foes confused and off balance. Can ranged rogues be built? Obviously yes, but is it really compatible with their stealth and skills? Probably not. If all you want is a ranged combatant why not go with ranger and get more attacks etc. I realize that, as frequently played, the 5e game is all about combat and not much else but the rules and mechanics are there fore a much broader game if we players (&DMs) call for it and put the effort into making it that way. If all your rogue is doing is fighting maybe the problem isn’t in the character mechanics but in the way the players are are failing to make full use of what they have. I know I have to sometimes refocus on the non combat abilities and character personality/motivations/backstory to make sure I’m playing them to their full potential and not just as a second tier fighter.
Kinda new to the rogue game) (only have one character but...
I do not see many ranged rogue builds being presented. Why play a close combat stabby stabby, when you can go Pew PEW and get the same result from 400ft (i.E. heavy Crossbow and sharpshooter)?
Just wondering if I am missing something.
Feats like Sharpshooter and Great Weapon Master tend to favor classes that have the Extra Attack feature. For example lets take a vanilla level 5 Rogue with Sharpshooter and 18 DEX, with a Heavy Crossbow they will do 1d10 + 3d6 + 14 for an average of 30. Now compare it with any other class with Sharpshooter and 18 DEX but with Extra Attack and a Longbow and they will do 1d8 + 14 x 2 for an average of 37.
Right off the bat the Pew Pew Rogue is behind in damage by an average of 7. This is without factoring anything else from subclasses. It takes the Rogue to get to level 9 to make up that 7 average damage and you will begin to see why Pew Pew rogues are not as common as stabby Rogues. Also having only 1 attack means it seriously sucks if you miss.
Wait but don't Stabby Rogues face the same comparisons to Great Weapon Master users with the Extra Attack feature I hear you ask. Well yes, but when its up close and personal the Rogue has a few more tricks up their sleeves to compete with those Great Weapon spammers. Firstly they can employ Two Weapon Fighting to increase their chances of landing a hit to trigger their very important Sneak Attack. But if they feel a bonus action attack is unnecessary they can instead boost their damage through a cantrip like Booming or Green Flame Blade. And by being in Stabby range they also open up the possibility of doing Attacks of Opportunity which can mean more Sneak damage.
But all that being said a Pew Pew Rogue does offer a bit more safety and is a perfectly good option if you wish to explore that route.
This was a great answer. Look at this, I say. ^
To add something: if you're ranged then you're getting Crossbow Expert, which is a whole feat. It gives you a second attack at the cost of the many cool things you can do with your bonus action. I get it! It's fun! But be aware of the option and the drawbacks.
Otherwise: have fun. Rogue is doing all sorts of nutty stuff, often solo. You get good game all day every day, no need to outdamage the the boring people too. :)
The Soulknife from Tasha's makes for an interesting ranged rogue choice. Few others get to shoot twice a round. Plus Psychic damage is just cool... I don't know the numbers, but I might guess that more monsters are resistant to piercing damage than to psychic. The range is a bit shorter than a crossbow but if the soulknife needs to get closer - they can just teleport
"You can manifest your psionic power as shimmering blades of psychic energy. Whenever you take the Attack action, you can manifest a psychic blade from your free hand and make the attack with that blade. This magic blade is a simple melee weapon with the finesse and thrown properties. It has a normal range of 60 feet and no long range, and on a hit, it deals psychic damage equal to 1d6
After you attack with the blade, you can make a melee or ranged weapon attack with a second psychic blade as a bonus action on the same turn, provided your other hand is free to create it. The damage die of this bonus attack is 1d4, instead of 1d6."
Kinda new to the rogue game) (only have one character but...
I do not see many ranged rogue builds being presented. Why play a close combat stabby stabby, when you can go Pew PEW and get the same result from 400ft (i.E. heavy Crossbow and sharpshooter)?
Just wondering if I am missing something.
To do that in a single class you need 2 feats - weapon master and sharpshooter. That is a viable build, especially using custom lineage where you can be rocking a sharpshooter crossbow with an 18 dex at 4th level.
There are a couple issues:
1. With sharpshooter on single class Rogues, mostly the -5 makes it less likely you will land sneak attack and with only one attack you are generally not going to want to go -5/+10. Rogues with extra attack or Rogues with sharpshooter, xbow expert and a hand crossbow really benefit from it though (now you are talking 3 feats though)
2. The problem with it is you are putting all your eggs in one basket - a heavy crossbow. That sounds fine until you find a magic short sword or dagger and now you have invested two feats into something you won't be able to use as effectively. You could get longbow too with weapon master, but it is still only 2 weapons.
In this respect building a basic Rogue with a high dexterity will give you more options. Using alight crossbow he won't be as powerful as with a heavy crossbow, but it is not far behind and if you find a magic rapier he can switch to being more melee without being far behind.
Feats like Sharpshooter and Great Weapon Master tend to favor classes that have the Extra Attack feature. For example lets take a vanilla level 5 Rogue with Sharpshooter and 18 DEX, with a Heavy Crossbow they will do 1d10 + 3d6 + 14 for an average of 30. Now compare it with any other class with Sharpshooter and 18 DEX but with Extra Attack and a Longbow and they will do 1d8 + 14 x 2 for an average of 37.
I agree with the premise that sharpshooter is better on non-Rogues but your numbers are wrong because they do not consider attack rolls.
A 5th level Rogue with an 18 dex and heavy crossbow shooting at a 15AC target without advantage but with sneak attack will average 12.8DPR, if he gets advantage from steady aimhe will average 17.6DPR. That is without sharpshooter (or with it but not using the -5/+10). If he uses the -5/+10 he averages 11.3 and 18.1 respectively, so it is very little change in average damage.
A 5th level fighter with the same 18 dexterity using a longbow and sharpshooter and archery fighting style against the same enemy will average 18.1 total with both attacks using -5/+10. I did not consider a heavy crossbow because that is another feat to shoot it twice in a turn.
A melee oriented rogue who makes use of steady aim and blade cantrips will scale damage up much more steeply than a ranged rogue using a heavy crossbow. They will also have the potential to make use of their reaction to attack for even more damage. Steady aim’s efficacy can be further augmented by choosing to play an option that unlicks elven accuracy. High elf and a half elf variant both fit this while giving immediate access to one of the blade cantrips. The piercer feat can help a bit too, and these features dont drop nearly as drastically in efficacy against higher AC as greatweapon/sharpshooter builds do.
steady aim, elven accuracy, sneak attack, blade cantrip, piercer, and a reliable source of reaction attacks can make the rogue one of the highest sources of sustained damage in the game.
Sentinel and a mount can work very well since the mount can enable sneak attack and be the source of reaction attacks for the rogue. The mounts movement is t turned to 0 from the rogue using steady aim either.
I bed a ranged rogue halfling on the back of a mount would be interesting. Hide on the mount since it’s larger. Mounted combatant could be taken to force attacks to target the hidden halfling at disadvantage?
I bed a ranged rogue halfling on the back of a mount would be interesting. Hide on the mount since it’s larger. Mounted combatant could be taken to force attacks to target the hidden halfling at disadvantage?
Or a DM might consider you're having 3/4 cover and might hit the mount instead, depending on how they rule with the "hiding"... That'd be something to discuss with a DM.
That being said, I didn't consider mounted combat when thinking "ranged rogue". I'll give it some thoughts for my character! Good thinking there.
Mount would count as an ally, enabling your sneak attack, but wouldn't you be at disadvantage because of the target's proximity? You would pretty much need the Crossbow Expert feat. Hmm... so much ideas Haha!
steady aim, elven accuracy, sneak attack, blade cantrip, piercer, and a reliable source of reaction attacks can make the rogue one of the highest sources of sustained damage in the game.
Steady aim is a lot easier to use effectively with a ranged weapon. You can use it with the blade cantrips but you have to stay in melee because your speed is 0 for the turn you use it. you usually can't use it on the first turn and you can't use it if the enemy you are engaged with dies unless there is another within reach. A mount can alleviate that but I would not say that is common.
When you consider this, I think your damage for a ranged attacks will keep up fairly well because you can use steady aim more often, and you can try to hide many times when you can't use steady aim.
Also you need four feats to get all this, or 3 feats and an Arcane Trickster which means it does not all come online until 10th or 12th level and still without a 20 dexterity at that time.
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Kinda new to the rogue game) (only have one character but...
I do not see many ranged rogue builds being presented. Why play a close combat stabby stabby, when you can go Pew PEW and get the same result from 400ft (i.E. heavy Crossbow and sharpshooter)?
Just wondering if I am missing something.
That's my preferred rogue build. Good for survivability and utility. Scout is probably the best subclass for it.
I think that the DPS works out better to be making two attacks every turn, so you tend to hear about builds of that sort.
There is not so much as missing something, but (in my opinion) you can take DEX-fighter or ranger and have somewhat the same idea but with other quirks. You can multi-class but that has its own pitfalls.
If you want to play a full to level 20 long-range rogue, you can absolutely do this. Also, since you are far from the target, you can almost always generate sneak attacks, especially if you have front-liners in your party getting the attention of the enemies you are sniping from afar.
The only thing I can say as a possible downside is that for sub-classes you are a bit limited. A lot of long-range rogues typically go Assassin and possibly Scout. Personally, I believe they are good sub-classes but are somewhat limited in other areas. Hopefully others can share their ideas on this. Sorry if not much help.
Feats like Sharpshooter and Great Weapon Master tend to favor classes that have the Extra Attack feature. For example lets take a vanilla level 5 Rogue with Sharpshooter and 18 DEX, with a Heavy Crossbow they will do 1d10 + 3d6 + 14 for an average of 30. Now compare it with any other class with Sharpshooter and 18 DEX but with Extra Attack and a Longbow and they will do 1d8 + 14 x 2 for an average of 37.
Right off the bat the Pew Pew Rogue is behind in damage by an average of 7. This is without factoring anything else from subclasses. It takes the Rogue to get to level 9 to make up that 7 average damage and you will begin to see why Pew Pew rogues are not as common as stabby Rogues. Also having only 1 attack means it seriously sucks if you miss.
Wait but don't Stabby Rogues face the same comparisons to Great Weapon Master users with the Extra Attack feature I hear you ask. Well yes, but when its up close and personal the Rogue has a few more tricks up their sleeves to compete with those Great Weapon spammers. Firstly they can employ Two Weapon Fighting to increase their chances of landing a hit to trigger their very important Sneak Attack. But if they feel a bonus action attack is unnecessary they can instead boost their damage through a cantrip like Booming or Green Flame Blade. And by being in Stabby range they also open up the possibility of doing Attacks of Opportunity which can mean more Sneak damage.
But all that being said a Pew Pew Rogue does offer a bit more safety and is a perfectly good option if you wish to explore that route.
I'm also playing a mainly Ranged Rogue, based on arcane trickster with homebrew, so it's rather specific to my style.
However I did stumble on that gem https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDwyoa4VK7s
Which kinda describe the potential of what I was already working toward, only that he does it RAW where I benefit from a more tailored homebrew subclass.
In my humble opinion, range rogue are very good. Lots of survivability and tools to disengage, keeping the range...
You only need to make sure that you hit your Sneak Attack on your turn. Personally I then use my Cunning Action (a Bonus Action) to Hide.
Potentially, you could also Sneak Attack on another's turn (remember, Sneak Attack is once per TURN, not once per ROUND). This can be done with Haste or, if you are melee, with AoO when an enemy of that target is nearby (which isn't gonna happen if you are ranged and far away but I'm throwing it out there since you did say you were new to the game, like me)...
On your turn use your hasted action to attack, then use the "Ready" action to prepare an attack at the beginning of the turn of the creature next in initiative order.
The reason why I feel rogues are often played Melee, is partly because of Booming of Green Flame Blade, potentially paired with Mobile Feat. Go in melee, burst, get out.
However that's not how I view and play my rogue.
I hope my little experience helps you! I did a lot of reading when getting to learn what rogues can do... and gosh I like that class!
Wait until you cannot roll below a 10 on skills you're proficient ...
Hyrkali
Full DNDBeyond.com in Dark Mode? Yes please!
We have a halfling rogue in our group that is totally built for ranged...Pops out bang for 30+ damage each round and goes back hidden. :)
Not sure when he is ever around....lol.
I've not played a ranged rogue because I have played with one and to be honest it looked pretty boring. Stand back, Steady Aim, fire. Or a similar variant where you hide behind something. Either way, you do the same thing every round. Yeah, it's consistent damage and sometimes something might chase you around a bit, but it lacks choices.
A rogue in melee is constantly making decisions about positioning and coordinating with allies. It just feels a lot more dynamic and interesting to me.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Play a ranged fighter or ranger and take three levels in Assassin Rogue. The Assassinate feature works on any attack on the first turn of combat, so it synergizes well with Extra Attack and Gloom Stalker's Dread Ambusher. All of those attacks would have advantage, which could be crazy if you have Sharpshooter. Use Action Surge as a fighter to gain four attacks that all have advantage, dealing Sharpshooter damage on a hit. In the case where you do manage to get those situational surprises, all attacks in the first round of combat would be criticaled, not to mention the advantage that you get at the start of combat (if you go before the target in initiative order). With Action Surge, this could quickly stack up to disintegrate some bosses (as long as you hit the majority of the attacks).
Brains over brawn? Mind over matter? These canny warriors rightly answer, "Why not both?" - Tasha
My Homebrews: Monsters, Magic Items, Spells, Races
Rhulg- Hobgoblin Gunsmith
Hmm, I HAVE to admit that, looking at it described like that (and having played it for a while), ranged rogue can look a bit boring.
I will say that I have experienced fight that were like that...
Mechanically, it's simple. However rogues could be simplified down to : apply sneak attack each round. But I kinda feel that similar could be said for other martial classes (do your stuff and don't get killed).
I think, and that's what I came up to realize playing a ranged rogue, that it's up to me to make my turn interesting, improvising action or using my Arcane Trickster tools (the few spell slots I have) to help out my front-line.
And there is nothing preventing that kind of rogue to go melee to support an ally. You might be using a "sub optimal weapon" (if you have invested in a good bow/crossbow) but those daggers or shortsword can still apply your sneak attack.
In the end, it's not just all about the combat pillar (though this topic mainly is about this since it's what the OP asked about) but also how you want to role-play your character when you're not fighting... But yeah, definitely something to be aware of - fight could be very linear if you don't pay attention to that.
Hyrkali
Full DNDBeyond.com in Dark Mode? Yes please!
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ModeratorPretty much all of my rogue builds are ranged, unless multiclassed with a primarily-melee class like Paladin or Barbarian. I generally tend to find characters with light armor or less (except for Monks and Bladesigner to some extent) too squishy to be in melee, especially without shields.
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That's how I feel as well, "too squishy to stay in melee".
My character have 10 CON with average HP, so she has 33 HP at level 6 (1 more then our squishy wizard)... not a lot of margin for error.
A friend that plays front-line rogue (with 2 level in barbarian - so multiclassed with a primarly melee class as you mentioned) IS built to stay in melee.
All in all, do not just look at "how will I fare in combat" because yes, heavy crossbow, sharpshooter+crossbow expert is very strong... As would be a Mobile Melee built rogue (though riskier - perhaps that's your style, which is fine too)...
Whilst important, it's only one side of DnD and how you will experience the game with your character.
Hyrkali
Full DNDBeyond.com in Dark Mode? Yes please!
All good points, the rogue, like the bard, monk and even ranger are not really intended to be front line martials. That is the role of the fighter, barbarian and Paladin. They are meant to be skirmishers dodging in and out to keep the foes confused and off balance. Can ranged rogues be built? Obviously yes, but is it really compatible with their stealth and skills? Probably not. If all you want is a ranged combatant why not go with ranger and get more attacks etc. I realize that, as frequently played, the 5e game is all about combat and not much else but the rules and mechanics are there fore a much broader game if we players (&DMs) call for it and put the effort into making it that way. If all your rogue is doing is fighting maybe the problem isn’t in the character mechanics but in the way the players are are failing to make full use of what they have. I know I have to sometimes refocus on the non combat abilities and character personality/motivations/backstory to make sure I’m playing them to their full potential and not just as a second tier fighter.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
This was a great answer. Look at this, I say. ^
To add something: if you're ranged then you're getting Crossbow Expert, which is a whole feat. It gives you a second attack at the cost of the many cool things you can do with your bonus action. I get it! It's fun! But be aware of the option and the drawbacks.
Otherwise: have fun. Rogue is doing all sorts of nutty stuff, often solo. You get good game all day every day, no need to outdamage the the boring people too. :)
The Soulknife from Tasha's makes for an interesting ranged rogue choice. Few others get to shoot twice a round. Plus Psychic damage is just cool... I don't know the numbers, but I might guess that more monsters are resistant to piercing damage than to psychic. The range is a bit shorter than a crossbow but if the soulknife needs to get closer - they can just teleport
"You can manifest your psionic power as shimmering blades of psychic energy. Whenever you take the Attack action, you can manifest a psychic blade from your free hand and make the attack with that blade. This magic blade is a simple melee weapon with the finesse and thrown properties. It has a normal range of 60 feet and no long range, and on a hit, it deals psychic damage equal to 1d6
After you attack with the blade, you can make a melee or ranged weapon attack with a second psychic blade as a bonus action on the same turn, provided your other hand is free to create it. The damage die of this bonus attack is 1d4, instead of 1d6."
To do that in a single class you need 2 feats - weapon master and sharpshooter. That is a viable build, especially using custom lineage where you can be rocking a sharpshooter crossbow with an 18 dex at 4th level.
There are a couple issues:
1. With sharpshooter on single class Rogues, mostly the -5 makes it less likely you will land sneak attack and with only one attack you are generally not going to want to go -5/+10. Rogues with extra attack or Rogues with sharpshooter, xbow expert and a hand crossbow really benefit from it though (now you are talking 3 feats though)
2. The problem with it is you are putting all your eggs in one basket - a heavy crossbow. That sounds fine until you find a magic short sword or dagger and now you have invested two feats into something you won't be able to use as effectively. You could get longbow too with weapon master, but it is still only 2 weapons.
In this respect building a basic Rogue with a high dexterity will give you more options. Using alight crossbow he won't be as powerful as with a heavy crossbow, but it is not far behind and if you find a magic rapier he can switch to being more melee without being far behind.
I agree with the premise that sharpshooter is better on non-Rogues but your numbers are wrong because they do not consider attack rolls.
A 5th level Rogue with an 18 dex and heavy crossbow shooting at a 15AC target without advantage but with sneak attack will average 12.8DPR, if he gets advantage from steady aimhe will average 17.6DPR. That is without sharpshooter (or with it but not using the -5/+10). If he uses the -5/+10 he averages 11.3 and 18.1 respectively, so it is very little change in average damage.
A 5th level fighter with the same 18 dexterity using a longbow and sharpshooter and archery fighting style against the same enemy will average 18.1 total with both attacks using -5/+10. I did not consider a heavy crossbow because that is another feat to shoot it twice in a turn.
A melee oriented rogue who makes use of steady aim and blade cantrips will scale damage up much more steeply than a ranged rogue using a heavy crossbow. They will also have the potential to make use of their reaction to attack for even more damage. Steady aim’s efficacy can be further augmented by choosing to play an option that unlicks elven accuracy. High elf and a half elf variant both fit this while giving immediate access to one of the blade cantrips. The piercer feat can help a bit too, and these features dont drop nearly as drastically in efficacy against higher AC as greatweapon/sharpshooter builds do.
steady aim, elven accuracy, sneak attack, blade cantrip, piercer, and a reliable source of reaction attacks can make the rogue one of the highest sources of sustained damage in the game.
Sentinel and a mount can work very well since the mount can enable sneak attack and be the source of reaction attacks for the rogue. The mounts movement is t turned to 0 from the rogue using steady aim either.
I bed a ranged rogue halfling on the back of a mount would be interesting. Hide on the mount since it’s larger. Mounted combatant could be taken to force attacks to target the hidden halfling at disadvantage?
Or a DM might consider you're having 3/4 cover and might hit the mount instead, depending on how they rule with the "hiding"... That'd be something to discuss with a DM.
That being said, I didn't consider mounted combat when thinking "ranged rogue". I'll give it some thoughts for my character! Good thinking there.
Mount would count as an ally, enabling your sneak attack, but wouldn't you be at disadvantage because of the target's proximity?
You would pretty much need the Crossbow Expert feat. Hmm... so much ideas Haha!
Hyrkali
Full DNDBeyond.com in Dark Mode? Yes please!
Steady aim is a lot easier to use effectively with a ranged weapon. You can use it with the blade cantrips but you have to stay in melee because your speed is 0 for the turn you use it. you usually can't use it on the first turn and you can't use it if the enemy you are engaged with dies unless there is another within reach. A mount can alleviate that but I would not say that is common.
When you consider this, I think your damage for a ranged attacks will keep up fairly well because you can use steady aim more often, and you can try to hide many times when you can't use steady aim.
Also you need four feats to get all this, or 3 feats and an Arcane Trickster which means it does not all come online until 10th or 12th level and still without a 20 dexterity at that time.