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You hear the humble Rogue calling your name inBaldur’s Gate 3. If that is the case, you might want to check out the Swashbuckler subclass, as it is one of the best. This is mostly due to unique abilities that give this subclass a serious advantage during combat.
Unlike otherRogue subclasses,the Swashbuckler can hit with sneak attacks more easily, mock those around them, and pull out some dirty tricks to gain an advantage.
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Let’s break down the Swashbuckler in Baldur’s Gate 3and reveal what makes it good, all while crafting a fine build to get you through the game.
Best Character Creation Selection For Swashbuckler
First things first, you need to create your character.Rogues care about Dexterity, Charisma, and Intelligence mostly, but theSwashbucklershould also focus on havinga bit of Wisdom, as this will help them later on.
Some of your stats also depend on your playstyle. As someone who values the spoken word, I tend to focus more on Charisma than Intelligence, but it all depends on whether you plan on doing most of the talking or having someone else take up that role.
Best Race Selections
There are a few races that make for good Rogues in Baldur’s Gate 3. As such, this also translates to them being good Swashbucklers.
Drow has Superior Darkvision, advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and gets the spells Faerie Fire and Darkness. These spells help with stealth and gaining advantage on your attack rolls.
Humans get an additional skill, which is great when combined with the additional skills that Rogues already get.
Lightfoot Halfling
Being a Halfling grants you the Lucky ability, which allows you to roll again if you get a 1 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw. The Lightfoot Halfling has proficiency in stealth, a great starting skill for all Rogues. In addition, their smaller size allows them to get into additional places during the campaign.
Wood Elf/Half Wood Elf
Whether you decide to be a full-blooded Elf or a Half-Elf, the Wood Elf subrace is good thanks to its increased movement speed and stealth proficiency. In addition, you get Fey Ancestry and Darkvision.
Of all the races that are good for the Rogue class, the best is perhaps theLightfoot Halflingthanks to their Lucky ability, proficiency in stealth, and their smaller size. However, any of the choices above are good for this class/subclass.
Best Background/Skills Selections
Rogues are great because they start with expertise and proficiency in their skills. This makes them far more useful when starting than some of the game’s other classes, especially when they need to make checks.
When choosing skills, I recommend takingPerception, Sleight of Hand, Stealth, and Deception.Each of these are core Rogue skills that will help you throughout the campaign. Having expertise inDeception, Persuasion, and Insightwill also help in social situations.
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The best choice for your background is eitherUrchin, Criminal, or Guild Artisan.I went with Guild Artisan for the Persuasion and Insight skills. For my skills, I chose to be proficient in Sleight of Hand, Stealth, Perception, and Deception.
I also chose to have expertise in Sleight of Hand and Persuasion. These fit my playstyle, but you might find other skills to fit your playstyle better.
Best Ability Score Selection
Rogues are very versatile, but you should always care about your Dexterity since that will be your main attack stat. Depending on your playstyle, these can differ, but I recommend putting points into Wisdom,and Charisma.Strength can be your dump stat.
Constitution
Intelligence
Dexterity has been set to 16 for a +3 modifier to attack rolls. Strength has been set to 8 since we won’t be using it much at all. Constitution has been set to 12 to get at least a small bonus to our health.
For the last stats, Intelligence has been set to 12, so I can use it for skills. Wisdom and Charisma have both been set to 14. This is because I tend to do a lot of the talking and prefer to have a higher Charisma. Wisdom will also be useful later on, sincethe Swashbuckler gets the Vicious Mockery spell.
Swashbuckler Rogue Abilities/Level Choices
Just like the other subclasses in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Swashbuckler Rogue gets a list of special abilities unique to the subclass.
Description
Fancy Footwork
If you make a melee attack against a target, that target can’t make opportunity attacks against you for the rest of your turn.
Rakish Audacity
You gain a +1 bonus to initiative rolls. This scales with your Rogue level. You no longer need advantage to trigger a sneak attack as long as you are within 1.5 meters of the target and don’t have disadvantage.
Dirty Trick: Flick o' the Wrist
Flick your weapon at a target and possibly disarm them. Gain advantage on your next attack.
Dirty Trick: Sand Toss
Toss a handful of sand at your enemy and possibly blind them.
Dirty Trick: Vicious Mockery
Insult a creature. It has disadvantage on its next attack roll.
Roll a persuasion check to beguile a humanoid, who must contest it with an insight check. Enemies who fail gain Panache: Disadvantage; others who fail become charmed.
One of the best abilities the Swashbuckler Rogue gets access to is Rakish Audacity.Thanks to this, you no longer need to have advantage to use your sneak attack bonus, allowing you to rack up larger damage numbers as long as you don’t have disadvantage.
Along with these abilities, you will get tochoose what Featsyour character gets while leveling up.
Ability Improvement
Increase one ability by 2, or two abilities by 1, to a maximum of 20.
+5 bonus to initiative, and you can’t be surprised.
Defensive Duelist
When attacked while wielding a finesse weapon you’re proficient with, you can use a reaction to add your proficiency bonus to your armor class, possibly causing the attack to miss.
You gain 3 Luck Points, which you can use to gain advantage on attack rolls, ability checks, or saving throws, or to make an enemy reroll their attack rolls.
Magic Initiate: Bard
Learn 2 cantrips and a level 1 spell from the Bard spell list.
Gain proficiency in 3 skills of your choice.
Your movement speed increases, and difficult terrain doesn’t slow you down when you dash.
Rogues benefit from having a higher Dexterity. Because of this, it is not bad to go with theAbility Improvementfor one of your Feats. This can be used to increase your Dexterity and subsequently increase your armor class and attack modifier.
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Along with this, the Lucky Feat will further add to the Luck of your Lightfoot Halfling, if that is the race that you chose. If not, Lucky is still an amazing Feat for Rogues.
On top of this, Magic Initiate: Bard can prove to be good thanks to the Minor Illusion Cantrip and either the Sleep or Disguise Self spells. These are fun to use during the campaign, as they will help you get away with nefarious deeds such as pickpocketing and stealing.
Best Equipment for Swashbuckler Rogues
There’s some great equipment in the game for Rogues. Here’s what you should look out for during your run.
Shade-Slayer Cloak
While hiding, the number you need to roll a critical hit while attacking is reduced by 1.
Gloves of Thievery
Advantage on Sleight of Hand checks.
Stalker Gloves
You gain a +1 bonus to initiative rolls. Your sneak attack deals an additional 1-4 force damage.
Surgeon’s Subjugation Amulet
Once per long rest, when scoring a critical hit on a humanoid, the wearer can paralyze the target for 2 turns.
Shifting Corpus Ring
Grants the Invisibility and Blur spells.
Covert Cowl
While obscured, the number you need to roll a critical hit while attacking is reduced by 1.
Jannath’s Hat
Advantage on Persuasion and Deception Checks.
Elven Chain
+2 bonus on initiative rolls and advantage on Dexterity saving throws.
Cloak of Displacement
At the beginning of the wearer’s turn, the cloak activates, granting enemies disadvantage on attacks rolls that target the wearer. This effect lasts until the wearer takes damage.
Elegant Studded Leather
Gain a +2 bonus to initiative rolls. Advantage on stealth checks. Grants the Shield spell.
Evasive Shoes
+1 bonus to Armor Class and Acrobatics.
Disintegrating Night Walkers
Can’t be enwebbed, entangled, or ensnared, and can’t slip on grease or ice. Gain the Misty Step spell.
Bloodthirst
Improved Critical. Grants True Strike. Creatures hit with this weapon receive vulnerability to piercing damage. When a creature misses you with a melee attack, you may retaliate and gain True Strike. Armor Class +1.
Murderous Cut
This weapon deals an additional 1-4 piercing damage against targets with 50% of their hit points or fewer.
When a creature misses you with an attack, it must succeed a DC 13 Constitution Saving Throw or be Chilled for 2 turns.
As a Rogue, you will want to avoid anything that isn’t Light Armor,since medium and heavy armor typically takes away your Dexterity bonus and gives you disadvantage in stealth checks. I chose to go with the Elegant Studded Leather since it grants a bonus to initiative rolls and advantage on stealth checks.
The Cloak of Displacement can be your best friend in combat since it grants enemies disadvantage on attack rolls against you until you get hit. This has saved my life countless times and is well worth sticking with. Combine this with the Lucky Feat, and enemies will have a very difficult time hitting you.
I chose to go with the Disintegrating Night Walkersfor my feet since it prevents me from getting affected by many ground effects andgives me the Misty Step spell- a super useful ability for traversing the battlefield.
Along with this, the Surgeon’s Subjugation Amulet is a great way to subdue enemies whenever you get a critical hit. Add the Shifting Corpus Ring to grant yourself the Blur spell, making it even more difficult to hit you. Plus, the Invisibility spell is great for sneaking around enemies and getting into places you aren’t supposed to be in.
Finally, the Bloodthirst dagger is great for dual-wielding. If you want the bonus vulnerability,equip the weapon in your main handand use the Cold Snap dagger as a backup to apply the chilled effect.
If you would rather wield Bloodthirst in your off-hand for the retaliation ability, then equip Murderous Cut in your main hand for the additional piercing damage. Keep in mind, either Murderous Cut or Cold Snap work great in the off-hand as well.
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