Too late to take a level of rogue? Ranger/Rogue

[darkkstar]

I have a level 7 Ranger and I'm really thinking I want to take a level of rogue now. Is this too late? I would liked to have taken my first level as rogue and then went ranger the rest of the way, but this is my first play-through of the game and I want to see some of the higher level things before I re-roll a new character.

[Quikster]

I wouldnt bother with it now. You lose to many skill points IMO. You will end up having an alt at cap that you know you could have done better with. A level or two of fighter wont hurt though if you decide to go that route. Keep with what you are doing or reroll for that rog level though.

[dopey69]

if you did not take at first lvl don't bother you won't get your skills high enogh in those last few lvls.

[darkkstar]

I wouldnt bother with it now. You lose to many skill points IMO. You will end up having an alt at cap that you know you could have done better with. A level or two of fighter wont hurt though if you decide to go that route. Keep with what you are doing or reroll for that rog level though.

Yeah this is what I was already thinking. I guess I'll wait and re-roll that rogue like you suggest. Thanks.

[Kintro]

If you're ok with not being able to be perfect at the rogue skills then no, it's not too late. There are a couple of problems you'll have with deciding to take a level now rather than at build:

1) Low INT stat (gives you less skill points to spend and lower int skills (search/disable))
2) Lots of skills to catch up on (Search, Spot, Disable, Open Lock)

If you've been putting points into Search/Spot already then you'll be even better. As Rangers get Search and Spot as class skills you should focus on Disable and a little Open Lock on your Rogue level.

If you still have problems with skill points you can skimp on Spot as Rangers can use the spell Wild Instincts later on for +10 Spot.

[Quikster]

If you're ok with not being able to be perfect at the rogue skills then no, it's not too late. There are a couple of problems you'll have with deciding to take a level now rather than at build:

1) Low INT stat (gives you less skill points to spend and lower int skills (search/disable))
2) Lots of skills to catch up on (Search, Spot, Disable, Open Lock)

If you've been putting points into Search/Spot already then you'll be even better. As Rangers get Search and Spot as class skills you should focus on Disable and a little Open Lock on your Rogue level.

If you still have problems with skill points you can skimp on Spot as Rangers can use the spell Wild Instincts later on for +10 Spot.

Those skills are ok but can be easily upped with items. UMD is where the problem comes in, and its really the only thing worth taking the level of rog for. If I was the OP I would take one lvl of rog and one of monk (if avail). No ranks into trapping, max in UMD and intimi, 10 or so into OL. ( This is a purely biased POV and if you want to do traps you obviously need trap skills, I wouldnt waste skill points on doing traps though myself )

[Kintro]

Yeah this is what I was already thinking. I guess I'll wait and re-roll that rogue like you suggest. Thanks.

Taking a second Rogue level later on will help too. You can work out how high you'll be able to get your skills fairly easily:

For your Rogue level you'll get 8 + INT mod points to spend on Disable/Open Lock.
For your Ranger levels you'll get 6 + INT mod points to spend on Search/Spot and 0.5 Disable/OL.

Worst case scenario - 8 INT, 0 ranks in Search/Spot:
LVL 8 (Rog, 7 points) - Disable 5, OL 0
LVL 9-19 (Ran, 55 points) - Search 21, Spot 10, Disable 15, OL 2
LVL 20 (Rog, 7 points) - Disable 20, OL 4

Max ranks at level 20 is 23 so you'll be able to get fairly close to that in the critical skills with similar Spot using Wild Instincts. I've neglected Open Lock in favour of Disable as you can keep picking until you roll a 20 without exploding a lock. Your high Ranger dex will help here too.

[Kintro]

This is a purely biased POV and if you want to do traps you obviously need trap skills, I wouldnt waste skill points on doing traps though myself

Yes, sorry, I'm assuming the OP has done the same thing I did when I made a Ranger: Spot lots of traps and wish for a way to Disable them.

If this isn't the case and you're wanting more than just the basic Rogue disabling/opening abilities then you're almost certainly too late.