Solo rogue - is it doable?

[tmage23]

Like the title says. I really like skulking around dungeons, carefully exploring all the nooks and crannies and playing "Murder in the dark". So, I'd like to play a rogue. But I don't want to have to rely on parties so, long story short, is there a good way to build a rogue that can handle solo questing? I tried making a dex based rogue, that was pretty successful for a few levels until coming up against magic using mobs who killed me pretty easily.

Doesn't matter if its DPS, or AC based. I'd just like a rogue that isn't uber squishy.

[joenic2]

I have a rogue acrobat hybrid class - 12 rogue/6ranger/2 monk . I can self buff my AC in the 70/80's and higher with raid buffs.

If you don't like hybrids that is fine but a good combo would be rogue 18/monk2 or rogue 18/fighter 2 . Each class provide 2 free feats/ monk also giving AC with wis bonus. If you don't mind on missing out on capstone I suggest to go this way. You can be an assassin 3 with the method stated above. Regardless what you do, I highly recommend crafting dual radiance rapiers. With the improved crit feat - you are blinding enemies almost all the time....and this means auto sneak attack.

Very fun build - also max out your rogue skills and you can do it all! Have fun.

P.S I got my build on the forums if you want to go thief acrobat. ( I use rapiers tho)

[t0r012]

Yeah you can solo a rogue they just work a lot better with a group.

I suggest going with a strength build with a decent chunk of Con as you won't be getting the big sneak attack damage that a partied rogue would get (at least not past the initial attack)

My suggestion is you focus on getting your UMD rather high so you can use wands and other goodies that will make your solo life a lot easier.
If you have the option being a warforged would help a lot as the immunities are very nice in a soloer.

I just want to let you know there are a few dungeons that you simply can not complete solo some you need a hireling for other even a hireling won't help enough. Delera's tomb comes to mind. That is a p2p dungeon so maybe beyond the scope.


Just expect the going to be slow and at times difficult and you can solo a rogue.

[Razcar]

I would suggest building a ranger with a rogue splash. You will trouble killing bosses on a solo rogue without really good equipment and lots of Strength.

[Entwhistle]

Something to look out for is items that let you cast summon monster (a "clickie"). The summoned monster is good for drawing the attention of monsters so you can get a couple sneak attacks in before the monster dies. It works better at low levels, around lvl 8-9 the monster dies pretty quick. There two staves of summon monster I know of, one is an end reward for the Steam Tunnels quest and the other is an end reward for Assault on Spliterskull quest chain.

[shablala]

Like the title says. I really like skulking around dungeons, carefully exploring all the nooks and crannies and playing "Murder in the dark". So, I'd like to play a rogue. But I don't want to have to rely on parties so, long story short, is there a good way to build a rogue that can handle solo questing? I tried making a dex based rogue, that was pretty successful for a few levels until coming up against magic using mobs who killed me pretty easily.

Doesn't matter if its DPS, or AC based. I'd just like a rogue that isn't uber squishy.

17rogue/3monk (fist of light)
Human with healing amp
add all the healing amp/devotion/ardor potions
either Dex based with Kamas or STR based with longswords (GS radiance)
at 20 with decent healing amp gear, you should self heal for 2-4hp per hit, and over 150hp on finisher every 9sec.

I had the same build, I soloed a ton of stuff. Then I switch to pure rogue assassinIII. My dps went through the roof, but cant solo anything. And that is what I like about the build, is that once you are done with your soloing, all you need is a +3LR and you go pure for serious dps. But very often I do miss the 17/3.

[Samwiser77]

If you don't think it is cheating or not your concept of solo, then get a cleric hireling. Approach the mobs in sneak mode, then summon the hireling. They will swarm on it and you can assassinate/backstab. Don't worry about the hireling, they can heal themselves. Also keep Diplomacy maxed out for the times you get seen first or if you need to break aggro in the middle of a long fight. Diplomacy works like a do-over button for me, just spam it when needed.

I'm assuming you just want to really explore a dungeon without the typical zerg of a party. In my opinion, almost any class played well can do most of the quests with a hireling. I have 261 hit points at level 13 with a pure rogue and can heal myself with wands. I can also use an invisibility wand for when I really need to avoid a fight. I went str based khopeshs for the times I don't have sneak attack. I'm not the greatest rogue and am still learning the class, but I have been able to solo quite a bit more than I expected, even at level 13. I'm currently doing Gianthold walkups. It can get tough, but it's fun and doable.

[samthedagger]

The short answer is: yes, you can solo as a pure rogue with some difficulty.

The long answer is: why would you want to? I know you say you like the "murder in the dark" idea, but quite frankly it just doesn't work out that well in practice. I have tried soloing with my rogue at high level. I even reincarnated to be better at soloing (among other things) but it is still often frustrating. I usually party up because trying to solo, even with a hireling, means I give up way too much damage most of the time. The truth of the matter is that there are too many quests where sneaking just isn't an option. For many, being able to do enough damage to kill the boss means you are going to have to hit hard; that means you need sneak attack.

On the other hand, the best solo characters have one or two levels of rogue for 1) trap skills 2) max ranks in UMD and 3) evasion (if not granted by another class). The monk/ranger/rogue (various level spreads) is a tried and true multiclass combination. The paladin/rogue is also incredibly effective. The wizard/rogue has better trap skills than even a dedicated rogue. The sorcerer/rogue can be potent too. Even the cleric rogue is effective and fun to play.

To solo you need to be able to do the following:
1) self-heal
2) manage traps (either bypassing or disarming)
3) deal damage (as I said, sneaking just isn't an option much of the time and even assassination isn't incredibly reliable on harder difficulties)

For 1), there are several different ways to do this. The simplest is clr18/rog2. Another way to do it is the warforged race plus sor18/rog2 or wiz18/rog2. Alternatively you could be a wiz18/rog2 with the palemaster enhancements. Yet another way to do it is with bard levels since they give you some healing spells. The most expensive yet still reliable way is to use UMD for healing items like scrolls and wands. This is a great idea because it is more versatile than just healing. Ranger or paladin levels will also let you use healing items and paladin levels give you emergency healing in the form of lay on hands.

For 2), having the rogue levels is enough. Just keep Search and Disable Device maxed (and make sure you start with enough Int to do it if multiclassing. But if you multiclass as a caster you also get a number of spells to help mitigate damage so that you can just run through traps at times (which can be more efficient than stopping to disable them).

Rogues struggle the most with 3). You have a moderate base attack bonus and few feats meaning traditional methods like Power Attack are not as reliable (though many rogues take it anyway). Rogues usually rely on sneak attack to deal most of their damage but this requires having aggro directed on others. They also can get large bonuses to hit while aggro is not directed at them which helps make up for their low BAB. But being a solo rogue puts you at a significant disadvantage here. There's just no easy way to do it solo because almost any other class can do it better. But I'm not saying it can't be done. If you like an uphill battle, you'll be able to manage most quests by yourself with only a hireling to back you up. Splash some other classes and you make your job much easier in this respect.

Good luck!

[Adarro]

Yeah you can solo a rogue they just work a lot better with a group.
I just want to let you know there are a few dungeons that you simply can not complete solo some you need a hireling for other even a hireling won't help enough. Delera's tomb comes to mind. That is a p2p dungeon so maybe beyond the scope.

Not to nick-pick, but Delera's chain is entirely solo-able.
I run it solo with every new toon as it gives decent XP along with nice loot.
Part 2 has an optional that requires some multi-player coordination, but that's all.

A hand full of others can also be considered 'non-solo-able' for all intents and purposes although some could be done with gold seal hirelings, petrifying mobs /partial turning undead to stand on triggers and other extreme tricks. Necropolis 1 Tomb of the Burning Heart comes to mind.

I only mention this because the OP mentioned skulking around and to me, getting into a place that people claim requires 4 people up to a full party and coming out not only successful but with an Insidious Bonus is the embodiment of rogue.

Ok, two reasons. The other is that Delera's is ounce for ounce one of the best low level packs to save your TP's for IMO and that's true for solo as well as group. I always recommend it.

Rogue is a very competent solo class with several options (stealth vs power).
See some old but just as valid Ubiquitous Shadowmage techniques
Rogue Assassin Solo'ing Sins Elite
Properly geared / built / played, they are potent both in and out of the shadows.

[TZX]

One thing most people miss when talking about soloing rogues is "the most useless skill in the game": bluff. Yes, I know it is useless in melee granting only one swing w/ sa but that's not what it's meant for. When used from distance it pulls the mob alone AND gives one free sneak attack, which you should use for assassinate. That way it is possible to clear a lot of big unavoidable fights with little to no risk.

[hockeyrama]

although it is not true soloing a fighter hireling is great for grabbing aggro so you could use one of those.

a wiz18/r2 wf is one of the bet solo characters in the game if you thinking of going multi-class.

There is a way to do it once you get to level 12 you could try an assassin. He just sneaks up and kills things one at a time while in sneak mode but i have to be honest the rogue, which is my main is very hard to solo. Their best damage comes from sneak attack even if you have nice strength. So it is always going to be better in a party. You need something else to take the aggro (term for getting the enemy to attack them). So it up to you but if you want a pure rogue to be effective you would need a str based on and still it going to be hard. Problem will be abilities points. Rogues usually take twf (twp wepon fighting) so they need dex for that. YOu can make a strength based one and go with THF (two hand fighting) and it will still work. So you will be a rogue without alot of dex. YOu need con as you need hitpoints. YOu will want to have some points in intelligence as that and dex are your best two stats for most of your skills. The other issue is that the best rogues try ot max bacstab damage by going halfling and taking the guile enhancements which our unique to halflings.

The best pure rogue i could think of would be a pure assassin you sneak in and assassinate the first mob and if doen right you can kill 2 with that. THen since you are strength based you start swinging away with your big two handed wepon.

Here is the one i would make. You could take the faster sneaking earlier if you wanted. The idea is you should be wf as with two handed weapons they get nice bonus on the glancing blows. You would sneak in assassinate something and with your low will saves you would try to go for casters first for sure. Then after you sneak you would turn and starting backstabbing the first thing near you which will break your sneak and then you pummel down the mobs. Then rinse and repeat. YOu won't have the highest dex, or trap skills but you can fix that in game with gear so you should be ok. You will need to make good use of your uncanny dodge as you will need the boost. This build will have lots of damage especially when able to backstab. YOu will have the goal of killing mobs fast.

The planner i have does not have both rogue capstones so i took the cheat death but the one you would want is the other as it improves intelligence which will help your assassinations and your trap skills.

Good luck.

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 3.34
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 Lawful Good Warforged Male
(20 Rogue) 
Hit Points: 282
Spell Points: 0 
BAB: 15\15\20\25\25
Fortitude: 10
Reflex: 12
Will: 4

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(28 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength             18                    23
Dexterity             8                    10
Constitution         16                    18
Intelligence         14                    14
Wisdom                6                     6
Charisma              6                     6

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               1                    21
Bluff                -2                     4
Concentration         3                     4
Diplomacy            -2                    -2
Disable Device        6                    25
Haggle                2                    21
Heal                 -2                    -2
Hide                  3                    31
Intimidate           -2                    -2
Jump                  8                    29
Listen               -2                    -2
Move Silently         3                    31
Open Lock             3                    23
Perform              n/a                   n/a
Repair                2                     2
Search                6                    25
Spot                  2                    21
Swim                  4                     6
Tumble                1                     2
Use Magic Device      2                    21

Level 1 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Toughness
Enhancement: Rogue Damage Boost I
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training I


Level 2 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy I
Enhancement: Rogue Dexterity I


Level 3 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Two Handed Fighting
Enhancement: Racial Toughness I
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution I
Enhancement: Warforged Great Weapon Aptitude I


Level 4 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Rogue Damage Boost II
Enhancement: Rogue Hide I
Enhancement: Rogue Hide II
Enhancement: Rogue Move Silently I


Level 5 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training II
Enhancement: Rogue Move Silently II


Level 6 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Martial Weapon Proficiency: Greatsword
Enhancement: Rogue Subtle Backstabbing I
Enhancement: Rogue Assassin I


Level 7 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Racial Toughness II


Level 8 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution II
Enhancement: Warforged Great Weapon Aptitude II


Level 9 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Two Handed Fighting
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training III


Level 10 (Rogue)
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Improved Evasion
Enhancement: Racial Toughness III
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy II


Level 11 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost I
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy III


Level 12 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Power Attack
Enhancement: Rogue Haste Boost II
Enhancement: Rogue Assassin II


Level 13 (Rogue)
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Cripling Strike
Enhancement: Racial Toughness IV


Level 14 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Warforged Great Weapon Aptitude III


Level 15 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Two Handed Fighting
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Training IV


Level 16 (Rogue)
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Slippery Mind
Enhancement: Rogue Sneak Attack Accuracy IV


Level 17 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Rogue Dexterity II


Level 18 (Rogue)
Feat: (Selected) Improved Critical: Slashing Weapons
Enhancement: Rogue Assassin III
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack I
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack II


Level 19 (Rogue)
Feat: (Rogue Bonus) Defensive Roll
Enhancement: Rogue Faster Sneaking I
Enhancement: Warforged Power Attack III


Level 20 (Rogue)
Enhancement: Rogue Cheat Death
Enhancement: Rogue Faster Sneaking II

[Depravity]

I'm in this boat at the moment, doing a (mostly) solo rogue for sake of Kamimitsu's R.O.G.U.E Proving Grounds thread. She's currently 12th level, been leveling her slowly because I was more interested in hitting achievements than capping the character.

My main, since way way back when (second character I rolled, broken but still loved) is a stealth wizard, so sneaking in and finishing a quest without the usual "right click until everything is dead" routine was already something I was doing, but doing it as a rogue has been much harder. UMD helps, but the ability to just burn everything around you to cinders when things go pear shaped has been sorely missed. If you're really just looking to get into absolutely everything (and turn it to ash), a (previously mentioned) 2 rogue/18 wiz stealth build is probably the way to go, but there is honor in doing things the less easy way.

Strength rogue is almost definitely a requirement here. You're going to be fighting lots of things that you aren't getting sneak attack on, and you need some way to do damage without it. Build with the assumption you won't be getting sneaks, and you'll just kill stuff that much faster when you do get em.

You already like skulking about, so I'm assuming you know what you're doing, but Notes From a Dancing Rogue is a wonderful resource if you haven't read it. It's a little old, and some of the systems have changed, but pretty much all of it still applies.

Soloing can be as much about knowing the AI as anything else, so pay attention to the way things behave. Practice herding casters and archers into corners, it's a huge skill to have - keeping them from running off and finding friends to make your life difficult is key to some fights. Learn your tell animations - ogre/troll triple step/club whomp, minotaur charge, etc are all avoidable with practice. Controlling when, where, and if you fight things is going to be what gets you through quests.

For the record, the build I'm currently using is:
Human, pure rogue
14/15/14/14/8/14 starting stats (grew out of a thought experiment to get the highest overall total modifier to abilities w/ a 32 point build)
All level up stats to strength, has eaten +2 str, dex, and int tomes. The int wasn't necessary, I just loves me skill points.
TWF feat line
Toughness
First two dragonmark of passage feats
Emphasized skills are: Bluff, Disable Device, Hide, Move Silently, Search, Spot, UMD
Other skills I consider to be important: Balance, Diplomacy (for grouping), Jump (10 ranks, nice to have something when you don't have the spell), Open Lock
Skills I like, just because I have points: Haggle, Tumble (less important due to recent system changes, but still sometimes handy)

You could pretty easily drop a few points of Int or Cha for sake of more strength if you wanted it. Or Dex and squeeze in weapon finesse for a (slightly) better to hit, but then you'd probably want to put in Dex on level-ups and your non-sneak damage would suffer some. This is as much a playstyle/taste issue as anything else, so do it the way you think you'd like.

Things that I've found help are:

Human Dragonmarks of Passage - the second one (available at level 6) is Dimension Door, or a free teleport to the dungeon entrance. This will often save your butt whenever things go downhill. I've also found some things that are impossible (solo Scoundrel's Path with 0 kills, for instance) to do without it. Monster AI loses interest when you get far enough away, so you can use this to shed agro. Not to mention 25% striding available at level 1 is nice, especially when it's time for the better part of valor.

Human Versatility enhancement - +2-5 for 20 seconds to a wide range of abilities. Swiss army knife of the boost world, and really nice to have for soloing.

Bluff - Like TZX said, bluff is almost always the best single-pull option available. One-on-one, you can probably handle any non-boss mob in the game pretty easily (with practice, some things take a little exoerience to take down easily). Find a clear spot and call them to you, then let the beatdown commence.

Deception weapons - not much use in party, having a few % chance to get sneaks for a bit is a pretty big deal when there's nobody else to scrape agro off on. Things also stop attacking while they do the pirouette.

Weakening/Enfeebling weapons - Big scary ogres and trolls aren't so scary with some strength knocked off. Reducing a stat to 0 also shuts down spellcasting (in addition to free crit/sneak), so self-healing mobs have real issues with these. Watch out for anything plopping a white cross underneath itself - the Heal spell removes stat damage. Enfeebling is both expensive in terms of weapon +s, and overall causes less stat damage than weakening until you have a 15-20 crit range, so save it for higher levels. Less useful, but situational, maladroit (blunt only) makes things easier to hit and can put some of the nastier melee types into autocrit faster.

Repeating Crossbow - Using the Mechanic prestige enhancements to get access to these. Not my main weapon (usually sword and board for longevity purposes, TWF for damage output), but any time you have cover and can get into a ranged fight, you can turn relatively cheap crossbow bolts and time into a lack of damage/necessary healing. You can usually pop out and fire three bolts while something is reloading its bow, then take cover to avoid the incoming arrow. Slow, but effective, and not as slow as a thrower or shortbow. Also allows you to run around screaming and firing wildly when facing something you'd rather not go toe-to-toe with.

Invisibility clickies - save you some money on scrolls, and lets you play tricks on the AI. Watch out for things that can see invis (it shows in the inspection window), as having one of these surprise you will mess up your day. Some areas can be gotten through at full speed with invisibility and some twitch skills.

Aforementioned summoning clickies - also save money on scrolls, and an expendable distraction/cannon fodder is always a handy thing to have.

[Srozbun]

Not to nick-pick, but Delera's chain is entirely solo-able.
I run it solo with every new toon as it gives decent XP along with nice loot.
Part 2 has an optional that requires some multi-player coordination, but that's all.

A hand full of others can also be considered 'non-solo-able' for all intents and purposes although some could be done with gold seal hirelings, petrifying mobs /partial turning undead to stand on triggers and other extreme tricks. Necropolis 1 Tomb of the Burning Heart comes to mind.

I only mention this because the OP mentioned skulking around and to me, getting into a place that people claim requires 4 people up to a full party and coming out not only successful but with an Insidious Bonus is the embodiment of rogue.

Ok, two reasons. The other is that Delera's is ounce for ounce one of the best low level packs to save your TP's for IMO and that's true for solo as well as group. I always recommend it.

Rogue is a very competent solo class with several options (stealth vs power).
See some old but just as valid Ubiquitous Shadowmage techniques
Rogue Assassin Solo'ing Sins Elite
Properly geared / built / played, they are potent both in and out of the shadows.

In that video, what is the user switching on/off? I'm guessing his move silent item?

I assume if he touches one of the orthons/devils it will aggro on him? Never tried stealthing a quest before.

[MrHyde82201]

I've solo'd to lvl 10 with a Dex base halfling rogue mechanic build. Few things you have to do though.
1: Hirelings, hirelings, hirelings.. My rogue (Leiloo) keeps at least 1 cleric in stock at all times. You have to use the hireling to your advantage. You sneak while the hireling walks in open, let the mobs charge the hireling then set yourself up in flanking position to get your backstab on the mobs.

2:I try to make sure I'm at least 2 levels higher than what the quest is rated. This may be hard to do at the 1st 2 levels on korthos and harbor. But once you find a group to run WW on normal,hard and elite you can go from lvl 4 to lvl 5. At lvl 5 you can finish all the lvl 3 missions on normal and hard pretty easily with a cleric and just continue to follow that stay 2 levels above.

3: If you are planning alot of soloing I would even recommend taking the Assassin build over the mechanic for the extra melee damage it will come in handy.

Hope this helps.

[chielectric]

You can, my main is a level 18 Drow Pure Rogue.
You'll alway be squishy, its a fact. UMD, Evasion, high Dex, nice gear can help with that problem somewhat but survivability truly depends on your playing style, how you use the right skills, equipment, terrain, etc. It also pays to know when to run And if you must die then make sure that your within running distance of the nearest shrine.

Sure, there will be quests that will not be solo-able but those are only a fraction of whats out there, the game is huge.

Other people's opinion can give you valuable insight but only if your try it for yourself will you really learn.

[Depravity]

In that video, what is the user switching on/off? I'm guessing his move silent item?

He's putting on a chattering ring. It's -10 to MS, and a common trick amongst those that have them, allowing you to "make noise" without leaving stealth.

Assuming you're not up against things that see through it, invisibility can get you much the same effect. They cna hear you, but not see you. Popping in and out of stealth mode allows you to get them to go where you want.

I assume if he touches one of the orthons/devils it will aggro on him? Never tried stealthing a quest before.

So long as you're behind them, you can rub up against things all you want. Being too close or too long in front of something, however, is bad news.

[shablala]

Rogue is a very competent solo class with several options (stealth vs power).
See some old but just as valid Ubiquitous Shadowmage techniques
Rogue Assassin Solo'ing Sins Elite
Properly geared / built / played, they are potent both in and out of the shadows.

I dont know what you are proving with these videos. The first is a wizard with invis and stealth, the other one is a rogue that is soloing PURELY based on gear. Both of which are very old and many of the mechanics have changed.

50%-80% of a rogue's dps comes from sneak attack, which means a rogue looses a lot when soloing. GS Radiance can help, but I am sure the OP was wondering about the levels between 1 and Greensteel :P. In combat healing is almost nonexistent or not worth mentioning.

I am not saying that rogues are impossible to solo with, but they are pretty much on par with barbs and fighters. They definitely dont have the survivability of monks, rangers, paladins, clerics, fvs, WF wizards/Sorc.

[Asymetric_War]

If you want to solo you need to self-heal. You don't get spells so your options are:

1. Pots
2. Scrolls and wands via UMD
3. Halfling with healing dragonmarks.
4. healing amp items & enhancements to increase your benefit from 1-3

I suggest you do all 4 for a solo build rog. The monk splash for fists of light someone suggested can also be cool but it takes a lot of healing amp gear to get the kind of benefit he suggests. If you have the gear go for it otherwise I wouldn't bother because it's not worth the restrictions to your weapons.

As others have mentioned a high strength build is critical so you can do damage. You also want maxed sneaking skills so you can bypass mobs whenever possible. Assassinate is your friend. Bluff can be useful, especially at low levels. Radiance greensteels are absolutely essential as soon as you can get them - swing, crit, blind, vorpal strike. dead mob. bodyfeeders are AWESOME. so is lifeguard and anything else you can find that procs temporary hp's to soak up incoming damage. pump your con - squishy rogues die fast, especially when there's no meatshield to hide behind.

do all of that and you should be able to solo most things as a rogue. it will not be easy but it's possible.

[Adarro]

I dont know what you are proving with these videos. The first is a wizard with invis and stealth, the other one is a rogue that is soloing PURELY based on gear. Both of which are very old and many of the mechanics have changed.

50%-80% of a rogue's dps comes from sneak attack, which means a rogue looses a lot when soloing. GS Radiance can help, but I am sure the OP was wondering about the levels between 1 and Greensteel :P. In combat healing is almost nonexistent or not worth mentioning.

The stealth video was proving just that... stealth. It was done with a Wiz, there's another with a bard and you could probably do it with a cleric and a clicky, so a rogue could definitely do it. It was proving technique and works in waterworks and other low level content as well as higher content. I wasn't trying to provide a walk-through, just support for the concept.

So while 50-80% of your damage comes from SA, a decent percentage of completions can come from nothing remotely related to DPS, but proper use of stealth, positioning and technique.

RE: Sins... PURELY gear? Specific gear for a specific task? Yes... Would I suggest soloing elite content using really nice Korthos gear? No.

Drop that 'All about the gear' Rogue at the entrance and let 100 random people run her through. Care to wager on 100% completion? I'd say less than half, and that's probably extremely optimistic... So some of it's gotta be the player...

How about a geared-out 20 Kensai, he gonna fight his way through that without visiting the DDO shop for heals? So the class has something to do with it as well.

So, what I was proving, was a stealthy rogue in capable hands could be viable by themselves, even towards End Game.

Mechanics have changed, sure. DDO has also dumbed down a lot of quests, so at best that's a wash. Some rogues can kite with a free repeater now, but smashing a box breaks stealth. Besides, if we didn't have game-breaking mechanic changes, we'd have to wait for new content instead of re-mastering the existing

Most quests are designed to allow a semi-casual player to complete it. Maybe not on the first try, but there truly are only a handful of truly 'difficult' quests.

I am not saying that rogues are impossible to solo with, but they are pretty much on par with barbs and fighters. They definitely dont have the survivability of monks, rangers, paladins, clerics, fvs, WF wizards/Sorc.

Every class has survivability, it just takes different forms and requires technique. A cleric who can heal himself is just going to die slower if he can't kill his assailant. A Barbarian that can deal 2000 damage before taking 700 will FO before he ever sees fatigue. A CC Human Wiz can't heal himself but can immobilize any non-red-named on his way to completion. A rogue who uses his environment can complete the same quest, potentially with less resources used than any of the previous.

@Srozbun Depravity's got the right of it. I've been slumm'in over at LOTRO since they finally deigned to toss me my beta key and forgot to check back here I blame hobbit thieves.