Dark and Darker's Rogue is one of the more 'high risk, high reward' class choices in this dungeon-crawling battle royale-esque game. In the right hands, a Rogue is absolutely terrifying to be surprised by or can loot and escape the dungeon in record time.
But, if played incorrectly or in the hands of a beginner, Dark and Darker's Rogue can be killed in a single hit (in some circumstances). So, let's go over the class as a whole, how people tend to build it, and what Skill, Perk, and Equipment loadouts seem to work best overall.
Where Is The Rogue Best Used? Where It Is At Its Worst?
The Rogue is essentially the scout-type character that many other games tend to have. They're fast, have some ability to see enemies coming (at least more than other classes), and have high damage output overall in exchange for extremely low health. In Dark and Darker's case, the Rogue is also the class with the fastest interaction speed, meaning it can open door, loot chests, or place campfires faster than anyone else. In general, let's look at some pros and cons of the Rogue in comparison to the other classes:
Pros
- Can easily win a 1v1 if they get the jump on their opponent or if they're able to get at least a couple of stabs in before getting hit in return.
- Can literally run circles around other classes, and doing this is sometimes the best way to actually fight them, running around the opponent and stabbing them all over with a poisoned dagger.
- Is able to move while invisible using the right Skill/Perk combination, which is deadly when used properly.
- Has probably the most DoTs(damage over time) out of anyone.
- Is able to lockpick chests without needing an actual lockpick (which are incredibly hard to find consistently). A true dungeon crawler that can get in, loot everything, and get out unnoticed.
- Can consistently keep enemies chasing them frustrated by closing doors behind them, turning off lanterns, or anything else that makes use of their lightning-fast interaction speed.
- Great at reviving teammates because of their interaction speed and low Max HP that requires less healing items to get back to full.
Cons
- The squishiest class in the game, with a close second being the Wizard, will die to mosquitos if the player isn't careful and can easily get one-shotted by a buffed-up Barbarian.
- Very weak against Wizards if the Wizard sees them coming (it only takes one Spell)
- Has a higher skill floor than the other classes and an even higher skill ceiling.
- Requires a lot of focus and patience to use optimally, as Rogues need to keep their ears open for footsteps, and be patient enough to stay crouch-walking often.
- Even with the right combination of Perks and Skills, a Rogue that gets the drop on an opponent will still take a few seconds to kill them because of DoTs, and a lot of times this leads to the opponent getting a hit or two in, killing the Rogue, and then dying shortly after from poison.
- Not a lot of variation in its build, and doesn't have any way of passively healing through Skills either.
Which Rogue Skills Have The Most Utility?
The Rogue only has four options to choose from when it comes to Skills, these being:
- Hide
- Rupture
- Smoke Bomb
- Weakpoint Attack
Usually, that would mean there are only a couple of viable variations for their Skill loadouts, but because of how good both Hide and Weakpoint Attack are, there's basically only one real loadout people use. Sure, Rupture works as a substitute for Weakpoint Attack and can stack the DoTs even higher, but the defense reduction from Weakpoint Attack tends to be more universally helpful.
What Perks Do People Use Most On Rogue?
Thankfully, the Rogue does have some more options to choose from when it comes to its Perks. It has 9 total, more than double the options it has for Skills, with a lot of them being completely viable choices. But, in general, these are the Skills people tend to use the most:
- Creep: Makes it almost impossible to hear a Rogue coming and really plays into the whole 'concept' of being a Rogue.
- Stealth: This is what allows Rogue to move while Invisible, without it, Rogues can only use Hide to turn Invisible and stand completely still. And, if they're being chased by an enemy, they better pray their opponent doesn't accidentally bump into their invisible body.
- Poisoned Weapon: The main method by which Rogues build their DoTs, each stab inflicts the Poison debuff for 4 seconds, with the debuff stacking up to 5 times at max. At max stacks, it's incredibly difficult for an enemy to survive, especially mid-combat.
- Hidden Pockets: A more niche option, but has a lot of utility against more experienced opponents. Basically, any potions that a player is carrying can be seen on their belt, and these things glow bright red, blue, or white depending on the Potion. With this Perk, it's even easier for Rogues to stay out of sight.
- Ambush/Backstab: Technically two different Perk choices, but they're about equally as useful, and absolutely don't need to be equipped at the same time, so players can take their pick between one or the other.
- Lockpick Expert: Allows the Rogue to lockpick chests without a lockpick
In general, the 'meta' combination seems to be Poisoned Weapon and Stealth, but this can vary depending on what the Rogue player's goals are.
If they're trying to loot as much as possible and get out quickly, then Lockpick Expert and Creep may be the best combination. It all depends on the situation.
Does The Rogue Even Have Armor Options?
The squishier classes in Dark and Darker really do have fewer options when it comes to Armor. While Fighters and Clerics seem to have at least a handful of Armor options dedicated to them, there are only a few items tied specifically to the Rogue:
- Doublet
- Marauder Outfit
- Rogue Cowl
Outside of these specified pieces, Rogues generally just want to look for any non-class-specific Armor piece that doesn't hamper their movement speed at all.
Weapon Options For Rogues
Armor and Weapon options are absolutely where the Rogue is the most boring. While other classes like the Fighter or Barbarian have all these diverse Weapon options, almost all of Rogues use daggers. There's only one Weapon that Rogue players use outside of daggers, the Rapier, and even then the general playstyle is pretty similar to using a Dagger. In any case, these are the Weapons that work best on a Rogue, listed from best to worst:
- Castillion Dagger
- Kris Dagger
- Rapier
- Rondel Dagger
Closing Thoughts & General Tips
Other than that, all the aspects of the Rogue players need to know come from actually getting experience playing the class. In terms of what stats to look for on Armor or Weapons, Rogues tend to benefit the most from buffs to their True Damage, Agility, Max Health, Weapon Damage, and Physical Power. Outside of that, all that's left are some basic tips for those just starting out with a Rogue
- Never Try & Solo A Team: While the Rogue can often win in 1v1s, it's almost impossible for them to beat a whole team like a well-geared Fighter or expert Barbarian could. Solo Rogue players need to avoid teams at all costs.
- Getting The Drop On Someone Is The Most Important Thing: Taking someone by surprise is so much more important than getting one free hit in while they're distracted by an NPC enemy. Players who suddenly start getting shanked by Rogues tend to panic, lock up, and open themselves up to even more free stabs.
- Don't Worry Too Much About Fighting PvE Enemies: Fighting against the NPC monsters is where the Rogue can actually struggle quite a bit, more often than not it's better to just kite them, run around, and close doors behind them.
- Crouching While Stabbing Actually Works: Like in a lot of first-person shooters, crouching mid-combat can actually turn the tides quite often. Dark and Darker's combat is pretty janky, this is a widely accepted fact. So if a Rogue starts stabbing someone while running circles around them and starts crouching and uncrouching constantly, it's very difficult for their opponent to make their swings connect.
- Always Keep A Stockpile Of Blue Potions: Because Rogues can die from a single mistake, especially in PvP, Blue Potions are even more vital with them than with other classes. Drinking one before each confrontation can absolutely mean the difference between winning and losing.
- Get Clever With The Hide Skill: Because the Hide skill triggers much faster than drinking a White Potion does, Rogue players can actually use it to throw off opponents chasing them as soon as they break line-of-sight. And, if they want to get even trickier they can get out of sight, open the door at one end of a room, then go invisible without leaving the room. Their opponent will come in, see the open door, and think the Rogue kept going forward, opening themselves up to getting stabbed from behind.
Dark and Darker releases in late 2023 on PC.