Rogue Multiclassing

[Larrymac-in-Ohio]

New player here. If I take a rogue level is there a penalty to rogue skills for not starting with that class? I rolled a fighter then added a couple of rogue levels but seem to always fail to open locks, even on starter quests. When I created a 1st level rogue to experiment with, I was able to open those same chests despite having a lower mod score.

[unbongwah]

The main reason you should start with rogue is so you can max out your initial skill points. At level one, a rogue gets 4 * (8 + INT modifier) skill points, while a fighter only gets 4 * (2 + INT modifier); so you gave up 24 free skill points.

But splashing rogue (or Artificer or soon Dark Hunter) to unlock Trapfinding is only the start. You need to keep those core skills (Disable / Search / Open Lock) maxed out every level. Open Lock is based on DEX while Search and Disable are based on INT. That also means investing in gear, buffs like Heroism, etc. to boost them further.

[Enoach]

Good rules of multiclassing is to start with the class that gives you the most skill points and unlocks the most skills as unbongwah points out starting with rogue allows you to maximize your skill points.

Depending on your Multiclass build will also depend on how many points you will have available later on. Which is important as you need to invest in Search and Disable at a minimum if you want to be able to disarm.

With multiclassing I recommend grabbing the Character Builder app and run through setting up your idea so you can see how you need to distribute your skill points, optimal level to take a second rogue level (I've found for me that is around level 9 or 10). Good breakup of your starting Attributes (str, dex, con, int, wis, and cha) that will make sure you have the skill points to spend.

Keep in mind that you can supplement your rogue skills with gear and buffs.

[C-Dog]

New player here.

Welcome to the game!

If I take a rogue level is there a penalty to rogue skills for not starting with that class?

No, not by the rules, but practically speaking trying to make up the loss of Skill Points is a steep hill to climb to become reliable in all necessary skills*. Like a character (in a diff RPG) with "Bomb Disarming" skill, you don't want "just a little".

There was a similar thread recently, I responded there on this point:
https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showth...=1#post6563988

An additional problem is that Fighter only has a base 2 Skill Points/level, so requires a very high Int score to generate enough Skill Points to maintain max in all the necessary skills* with cross-class skill point penalties. If you didn't plan for that, it may be a lost cause.

(* For a new player, at minimum Spot, Search and Disable Device should all be maxed, and have (near-)max gear and stat items for when you need them. Open Lock and Use Magical Device are really nice, but not "mandatory" to be a successful, reliable trapper.)

I rolled a fighter then added a couple of rogue levels but seem to always fail to open locks, even on starter quests. When I created a 1st level rogue to experiment with, I was able to open those same chests despite having a lower mod score.

Open Lock uses Skill Total + d20, so it's quite possible you just had a run of bad luck. Same w/ Disable Device.

Spot and Search both use a "Take 20" approach, so no d20 is involved - you either have enough, or you don't.

I rolled a fighter then added a couple of rogue levels...

Edit - as an afterthought, I'll add this...

In DDO it's really easy to "fake" a build that can make it up to Level 6 or so, and then start to fail miserably and fatally, quickly unable to complete quests before Level 10 or earlier, far from any "just get to 20 and TR" possibility. Most players experience this to some extent with their first "I want to design my own character" effort. I certainly did (pew, light a match!).

You might find something that will work better, and so give you more enjoyment from the game, from this list:
o Build Repository

Some of those are old and so "not optimal", and a few would need to be completely re-worked (due to rules changes), but few would fail to reach 20.

GL!

[Larrymac-in-Ohio]

Thanks for all the feedback! I started with fighter for the extra feat, but it sounds like I cut off my nose to spite my face. Like I said: still learning the mechanics, this one just struck me as odd. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions soon enough.

[C-Dog]

A popular melee/trapper mix is the "Tempest Trapmonkey", a dual-wielding* Ranger 18/Rog 1/X 1 multi, full trapping ability. Not 100% as strong in melee if going to 30, but perhaps a better "leveling" build if only going to 20 for that first reincarnation.

(* The weapons vary depending on the specifics of the build - can go scimitars (Dex-based), khopeshes (Str-based), dwaxes (for dwarfs, Str-based), etc etc.)

Here are some current Tempest builds:

o Tempests for all new Reaper https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...t-ranger-build
& counter suggestion https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6145754

There are a couple more in here (these are for HardCore, tend to be higher survivability but slightly lower DPS)
o https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showth...=1#post6528062

And here is a classic trapmonkey multi w/ Khopeshes:
o https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...r-new-players? (This post is older, so dovetail this class progression w/ any modern feat/enhancement tweaks from above)