level ups into Dex or Int?

[Bolo_Grubb]

Trying to decide what is best.

Dex adds to AC, reflex and some skills, anything else? Does Dex affect dodge? it will be my "to hit" and "to damage" stat, but how much does that matter with all the sneak attack Rogues get?

Int adds to assassinate, trap skills, search.

So if I stat a halfling with
str: 6
Dex: 18
Con:16
Int: 18
wis: 8
Cha: 8

Where should I put my levels ups and why? it is a total of 7 level ups, so a +3 swing to any skills or abilities that are affected by INT or Dex.

At level 24 my rogue had a 42 dex and 44 int when I put level ups into dex. This gave me a 60 dc assassinate with my set up.
if I LR's and put level ups into int instead I would have a 34 dex and 50 int and should be able to get a 63 assassinate. Not sure what else would be affected.

Your thoughts please.

[Chai]

Seems therer is a large internal debate in the rogue community about this one. The folks that put them into dex do so for more damage per hit and better reflex save without having to spend a feat. The int foks assassinate more often in EE and have higher trap DCs and more skill points.

What content are you playing? If its more quests, I do int for easy trash killing due to higher assassinate DC. If its raids might want to do dex for more base DPS.

[ReaperAlexEU]

15% chance to assassinate would swing it for me, but Chai points out a very good question as 15% to assassinate is useless vs a red/purple boss. my end game is epic hards with very little raiding. you need to build for your end game

on a side note, i'm looking at swapping my mechanic from DEX to INT based (more of a no-brainer for me as INT will also boost damage) and am thinking of dumping STR on my halfling. i had a 7 STR halfling once and it was agony to level up. so i'm planning to do the swap when i get close to lvl20 (also want to munch on that +5 INT tome first which will be lvl19 when mabar hits). so my question is how much STR are you rocking in your normal questing? did you start with 6 STR and how did you mitigate the 3/4 carry capacity issue? (incase i decide to take another TR, weighing up running back to 20 planning to LR vs just building as i want to keep it)

[Darkrok]

Seems therer is a large internal debate in the rogue community about this one. The folks that put them into dex do so for more damage per hit and better reflex save without having to spend a feat. The int foks assassinate more often in EE and have higher trap DCs and more skill points.

What content are you playing? If its more quests, I do int for easy trash killing due to higher assassinate DC. If its raids might want to do dex for more base DPS.

This is outstanding advice. Str/Dex/Int are all viable builds now. It all depends on what you want out of your rogue. Chai's breakdown there is a good look at dex vs int.


did you start with 6 STR and how did you mitigate the 3/4 carry capacity issue? (incase i decide to take another TR, weighing up running back to 20 planning to LR vs just building as i want to keep it)

I don't think I could stand a character that had that low of str at low levels. I LR'd my rogue from str to int/dex with the EnhPass but that was already at level 14. Once you get into +2 or higher tomes and +4 or higher items it's not a big deal but until that point (around level 7) it can be dicey. Not to mention it's much easier to max out your str and ignore dex/int at low levels (other than taking 13 dex for feats and 14 int for skill points). If I planned on a toon like that I'd probably end up LR'ing to it around level 9 when I'd need more dex for Improved Two Weapon Fighting. That means assassination would suffer a bit before then but it can be tough to fit it in anyway...maybe do a strength-based acrobat (PA->Clv at the very least) until you do the LR?

[Bolo_Grubb]

mmm I do a bit of a mix as far as quest versus raids.

I just switched to having my level ups in Int so I guess I will try it for a bit and see. It is such a small difference in my Assassinate DC that I might go back to level ups in Dex.

[Darkrok]

mmm I do a bit of a mix as far as quest versus raids.

I just switched to having my level ups in Int so I guess I will try it for a bit and see. It is such a small difference in my Assassinate DC that I might go back to level ups in Dex.

It really isn't a huge difference either way but the way I see it 3 damage per hit is easier to replace than 3 dc on assassinate. If I do 3 less damage per hit it's probably lowering my overall damage by about 3-4%. If those 3dc on assassinate take me from a 10% fail rate to 25% fail rate...that's a huge difference. It really does depend on where your dc is and what content you run.

[Panzermeyer]

Your thoughts please.

Really all depends on your build and your play style.

Do you run around assassinating all the time, playing in sneak mode more often then not?

Well then put level ups into INT.

Are you more of a melee rogue?

If so then likely into dex.

Only you are really the one to see where you will get the most utility out of it. But again depends on your build and your play style.