Best Rogue Build for Astarion in Baldur's Gate 3

Astarion is your companion and one of the main characters in Baldur's Gate 3. Rogue is the easiest class for beginners, but even when playing it, you may encounter difficulties. In this guide, we've compiled the most effective and lethal rogue build suitable for players at any difficulty level.

Note: With this build, the guide's author almost tearlessly completed Tactics, so if you're playing this class, this build will definitely suit you.

It may seem, what could be easier than sneaking up from behind and killing? Probably nothing, but you still need to know how to do it most safely for the rogue himself. Remember, a rogue is often about stealth, so a skill like Stealth is very important for him, and Sleight of Hand should automatically be added to it. Moreover, with the proper distribution of characteristics, he becomes a walking killing machine that can even compete with a barbarian or warrior.

Recommended characteristics and skills are shown in the screenshots above.

Short sword, rapier, or daggers—it doesn't matter. The main thing is to choose weapons with the Finesse tag, as well as bows and crossbows. All of them imply dealing damage not from Strength, like most other weapons, but from Dexterity. Regardless of the blade you choose, we recommend taking a dagger in the off-hand to have the opportunity to make a second attack (albeit less powerful) as a bonus action.

Don't forget that Astarion is a vampire, and this brings certain adjustments to the rogue's gameplay. He has the ability Vampire Bite, which can be used as a bonus action in combat. It does little damage, but it restores some HP to the character and gives the effect of Blessing, adding +1 to your attack rolls, tests, and most checks. Sometimes this can be a decisive factor.

Which Subclass to Choose at Level 3

We skip some levels, as nothing is required from you there except to press the Accept button. If you want your Astarion to be as beneficial as possible, choose Assassin at the third level. This subclass will give you a huge advantage in combat — far greater than the additional bonus action of the Thief or the spells of the Arcane Trickster. A single critical hit can deal more damage than several regular attacks.

Alert is the feat that will save you in most cases. There's a simple explanation for this: from now on, Astarion will almost always go first, even if the whole party is caught by surprise (in which case you alone cannot do anything on your turn). This way, even in the worst situations, you give yourself a chance for salvation.

Tough is one of the best feats for a rogue because it gives a huge advantage over enemies: now they need to put in a lot of effort to kill you. Doubled HP is needed at least to feel more confident and to compensate for Constitution, which we will not increase further. Since a rogue is often a melee fighter, more health will not hurt.

At the tenth and twelfth levels, we recommend you increase Dexterity through Ability Score Improvement. It is advisable to raise this stat to 20 points. You will increase not only your damage but also your Armor Class (AC), Initiative (finally leaving no chance for the enemy to go first), and overall, you will max out the skill modifiers on which the gameplay of the rogue is based.