Originally Posted by
Todkaninchen
First, you want to start with at least 10 STR. You can go 9 and dump a +1 tome on him or you can go 10. Otherwise, you're fighting for max level Ogre strength gear just to carry your bows and your bolts. Drop either WIS or CHA for it.
While you're going to be tempted to avoid Spot because "the traps are always in the same place", do not. Max Spot, max Bluff as well as your other primaries. In addition to telling you when you're near a trap, Spot also lets you see enemies you would otherwise miss. Like those Ghouls in Misery's Peak, or all the Sneaks, Rogues, Hunters, etc. out there that are the most likely enemies to spot you first.
It's part of aggro management.
Bluff is a dual purpose skill. You can use it to dump aggro--and sneak attack immediately--in combat, but it also lets you move those baddies you spotted with your higher Spot skill to you, one at a time, so you can sneak attack them. This will probably be even more important as an assassin...
Arti vs. Rogue Mech for traps...
I have a level 16 Arti and a level 17 rogue mechanic and a level 18 rogue mechanic (w/ 1 level of Fighter...) Know who dies in the traps most with almost the same build?
The Arti.
Half of trapping is getting to the box. To do so with an INT/DEX split rogue mechanic is easy... Run through.
To do so with an Arti is buff appropriately, cross your fingers, and get lucky. The only saving grace is actually Radiant Forcefield which seems to take 25% off the top of mechanical trap damage. Which means a good reflex save and I'm at (.5 x .75 = 37.5) 37.5% of the actual trap damage when I get hit. Only problem is the short duration and looooooong cooldown of Raidant Forcefield. So, I cringe in Wizard King and have to run through the traps in Lords of Dust then disarm them coming back up.
Damagewise, it really depends on how much time and effort you put into collecting your gear. My rogue mechs love the Doublecross bow. When the sleep poison hits, that's sneak attack damage and 150% of normal AND sneak attack damage.
Arti is more gear dependent--especially rune arms--and how much SP you have out gear as you do your job. I typically do a ring slot or a goggle slot because most of the rogue skills will fit both places. So, run around with spot, switch to search on a warning, switch to disable for the trap, then back to spot. Arti is worse because you have to have all of the rogue skills (except hide/move silently and bluff), but also caster-gear as well. And most of the SP buffing gear wants the same set of slots as your INT/DEX skill slots.
This screws with your ability to use task dependent gear. (Although, you can craft on rune arms... they count as trinkets, so SP procs can go on there).
Playing a rogue is also a whole lot simpler, although the dog--set up properly--is a force multiplier.
(My dog is set up with Augment summons, evasion, bluffing, a little sneak attack damage, tripping, and equipped with a paralyzer collar. He does especially well at basically riling everyone up far away from me and then keeping them turned around looking for him so I can attack them...)
So, good luck, eh?
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