The 2024 Rogue Assassin (Full Build): D&D Build

[@DnDDeepDive]

Preorder the new Core Rulebooks here! marketplace.dndbeyond.com/category/core-rulebook-bundle

[@SomeRandomDude161]

Idk if I'm just worrying over nothing, but I think Treantmonk's Temple didn't mention to which level "reliable talent" was being moved to, because of the NDA and because JC didn't mention it in their official video. Like I said I don't know if I'm just worrying over nothng, but I just wanted to let you know.

[@SadBoi_1066]

@@SomeRandomDude161 7

[@SomeRandomDude161]

@@SadBoi_1066 I know that it's level 7. I just wasn't sure if Colby was allowed to share it. I was probably just worrying uselessly, because neither JC nor Treantmonk'S Temple mentioned it (I thought that Chris didn't say it, because of the embargo/ NDA).

[@DnDDeepDive]

@@SomeRandomDude161 Thanks for your concern :). WotC watched and approved of this vid before I released it, so I should be ok :).

[@chadross5647]

You didn't specify a specific background that you used for Alert and ability mods..assuming this was intentional (not approved) or did you use a custom background?

[@redwolfwes1]

Just watched the Rogue Update on the official DnD channel and immediately saw your video and came here for your run down. Very responsible of you to hold off until today. Keep up the great work. Love your channel.

[@geltza7]

"Nor do I have access to Jeremy Crawford if I need to clarify something" Am I the only one annoyed that Crawford has managed to escape the little cupboard at d4 headquarters that Colby kept him in? We trusted you Colby

[@shadowcrane2634]

A wizard will have to be hired, to cast arcane lock in the future!

[@DnDDeepDive]

Ha ha... I wish! :)

[@laoxep]

@@shadowcrane2634 So you want Colby to not only kidnap Jeremy Crawford but also Ed Greenwood?

[@edwinvermeulen8187]

Can you imagine a miniturized Jeremy Crawford jumping out of the cupboard aka toy story style? It would scare the hell out of me...

[@mattfitzgerald7836]

A series of single class builds exploring a baseline for nova and sustained damage using the 2024 PHB rules would be no bad thing. Possibly interspersed with revisions of your favourite, or most popular, old builds. Alternatively, if you wanted to make changes to your baseline assumptions for The Almighty Spreadsheet, then the publication of the 2024 PHB would seem an ideal opportunity to do so - your basis of comparison is already being changed, after all. Oh, and some of us *do* remember your surprise attack during Treantmonk's 20th level one shot. :)

[@DnDDeepDive]

That poor child...

[@theowraight3223]

Just found out after watching from the OG bladesinger video that its called D4 because of the 4 D's in DnD Deep Dive

[@JamCliche]

He did a collab with the Dungeon Dudes once. You should see what they did in that video

[@onima1753]

@@JamCliche do you have any link for what you're talking about? i'd love to see what u mean

[@eleishar18]

@@JamCliche Twice, and a few oneshots.

[@FrozenLavaDragonProd]

​@@onima1753 the Arcane Hand Monk video

[@williamking7800]

Colby: Welcome to d4: D&D Deep Dive! Also Colby: 15:20

[@RubberGamesHD]

lmao

[@malakus0606]

I do think the idea to have the D&D content creators review certain parts of the new PHB is a pretty great marketing strategy tbh. It allows the content of the new book to get out to more people and makes it feel like a big event.

[@ethanharris6226]

Agreed! I do hope though that they listen to the reviews/reactions of the community and adjust things accordingly. Don't even get me started on the Ranger and Hunter's Mark...

[@sinisterplank3113]

I'm getting very excited for the new handbook. I especially love the weapon mastery features.

[@ferencfeher2647]

Not sure if you caught this, but wanted to mention that Envenom Weapons is a damage over time (DOT) ability. They take damage every time they fail the save so that's pretty cool.

[@SortKaffe]

That's actually amazing!

[@DnDDeepDive]

Right - I forgot that the poison option from cunning strike lasts for a minute.

[@elementzero3379]

I'm an avid weapons and armor nerd, and your pronunciation of scimitar barely registered a blip in my brain. As you said, both are perfectly fine and common.

[@Reepicheep-1]

Better than the SKIMitar I've occasionally heard from other creators.

[@elementzero3379]

@@Reepicheep-1 Yikes. That's humorous and mildly disappointing.

[@evillaughinthebackground5732]

I'll say SKEE-mitar from now on just to annoy lol

[@TheLaensman]

I’d LOVE to see a 2024 updated version of the Four Elements Monk

[@blakeroyal-gordon811]

Well they’ve already announced each of the subclasses being released, and it’s one of the 4 monk ones they’re doing, so, good news…

[@caosisaac]

In my next high level campaign i'm planning on making a 11th lvl 4 elements monk/6th level storm cleric. Push on electric damage + flight means an insane electric shoryuken as i launch enemies into the sky for some crazy damage.

[@infra_r3d133]

Dungeon Dudes made a “Way of the Arcane Hand” Monk that is what the FEM should’ve been

[@roninhare9615]

With the addition of the nick propery. Magic items like a scimitar of speed are a much more attractive magic item. Get your nick attack intergraded into your attack action and you still get the bonus action attack it provides.

[@EdibleFriend05]

Glad to have confirmation that youll be spliting the spreadsheets for the 2024 rules. Some build ideas for 2024 release - The baseline: I think every class should get the same treatment rogue just got. A straight class build to serve as a baseline - Skill monkey: Rogue getting Reliable Talent at 7th level is just begging to be combined with some bard and maybe ranger or fighter levels to see just how high and how many skills you can have - Padlock: Warlock and Paladin, a classic, but with lots of new options if pacts are still invocations - The Bladesinger 5.24: Time to test out how legacy subclasses feel in a new system - The feat master - Just a build focused on taking as many feats and feat-like abilities as possible

[@karlosdel93]

Baseline is so interesting to DMs IMO. Let's us know what we can boost and what should be left alone. One for each subclass would be amazing but even just one per class (always going for the most optimal option) would be enough to set a baseline for DPR per class.

[@UltimateGamer-dc9vf]

Just saw your message in the Rogue reveal chat, and I thought i would have to wait until tomorrow, but i guess i was wrong.

[@danielbeshers1689]

My wife is a huge Muse fan, she swears by Knights of Cydonia.

[@SeanClaudeVanQuam]

Re: Infiltration Expertise and Steady Aim You can take the bonus action before your action, then move and then attack. It really doesn't limit you at all, Colby.

[@GhostofRazgriz]

Just finished the premiere and found this. Tis a glorious Monday.

[@TheDisplacerBeast]

20:00 does this mean youre doing kraken week?‽!

[@DnDDeepDive]

Maybe 😅

[@twitwit99]

18:20 it'd be cool if there was a feat that could add more dice to sneak attack? Call it "Dirty Fighting" or something?

[@caosisaac]

Theres a 3rd party feat i really like called backstab. Essentially it gives you a critical hit range of 19-20 and allows you to add your sneak attack damage to any critical hit.

[@crusaderjoe52]

Haven’t finished the video yet, but I was starting to rest my eyes a bit and got hit with the impeccably timed “hey you! wake up!” And holy crap that perfectly timed fourth wall break was like an intravenous espresso shot.

[@shadowmancer7040]

I think you might need to consider adding a lvl 19 check onto your builds due to the uber feats added in 2024 book

[@SortKaffe]

47:32 Your friendly banter with @TreantmonksTemple gets me every time 😂 Taking Resilient Con at level 12, Skilled wouldn't be a bad feat at level 16 to raise Con to 18 and get another Expertise and Skill Proficiency for Reliable Talent.

[@insertname5371]

they really kept the name speedy for a feat huh. WHY???????

[@terrypalmer193]

JC said the intent of the level 9 steady aim, speed not =0, was to turn your character into John Wick. So the intent is to allow character to move before before and after attacking and still have steady aim.

[@DnDDeepDive]

Indeed! I was happy to see that - mentioned it in the pinned comment 😉

[@tylercool1400]

Even if you couldn’t move before Steady Aim, using Steady Aim doesn’t mean you attack immediately; it would only force you to decide how to spend your bonus action before using your movement. That said, the difference is so minimal that while it may be rare for a DM to enforce, it shouldn’t even be much of an inconvenience as a player anyway.

[@bigsmoke8816]

One interest bit of synergy between reliable talent and the new alert feat is that since initiative rolls count as dexterity ability checks, if they were to gain a boost equal to your proficiency modifier, that would mean reliable talent would work with initiative rolls as well. Which would be a huge buff to Rogues

[@capt.cloudsworth4924]

Getting to roll initiative with both advantage and reliable talent would be amazing! 😁

[@unholyxeras8182]

I don't think that works. Pretty sure reliable talent requires you to be making an ability check with a *skill* you are proficient in. Initiative is not a skill

[@bigsmoke8816]

@@unholyxeras8182 "By 11th level, you have refined your chosen skills until they approach perfection. Whenever you make an ability check that lets you add your proficiency bonus, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10." No mention of it only working on skill checks

[@unholyxeras8182]

@@bigsmoke8816 that's the 2014 version. In the play test it had updated language to clarify that it worked when "making an ability check that uses one of your skill or tool proficiencies". As that was always the intended interaction, and making things more clear has been a design goal for the 2024 PHB, I think they'll be sticking with that language

[@bigsmoke8816]

@@unholyxeras8182 alright thanks for that

[@jakewarman7277]

They need to hire you TreantMonk and the dungeon dudes as consultants

[@KorhalKk]

Thanks for the shade thrown at imperial measurement system, metric gang for great justice

[@jpedro971]

My main issue with the new Assassinate skill is: i think youre NOT supposed to endure or be good on long encounters. An Assassin tries to kill his victim in the shortest time possible, and the auto crit is just for that. You cant killed it with that? Now youre fucked. The problem is not change autocrit for flat damage, and yes for a very tiny flat damage. We gain 1d6 every two levels on sneak attack. In the autocrit, transforms to 1d6 per level, which gives us 7 plus dmg on average, or 3.5 dmg by rogue lvl. I'm up to 2*level all day, since we can now dip 2 fighter levels and just action surge. But for me, assassin rogue is maybe one of the worst subclasses by now. "Look What They Need to Mimic a Fraction of Our Power" - 5e Assassin

[@mjsstujo1]

Todd Kenreck gave you a direct shout out at the end of the premier video on the rogue!

[@zenotoff]

10:30 You made my day with this comment, I burst into laughter in my car alone, and I had to stop and thank you. For everything, of course!

[@SortKaffe]

Haha, as a European, understanding inches, feet, miles, ounces, and gallons has been the most challenging part of learning D&D 😅 I expected a Bugbear, but Goliath pays off at later levels.

[@override367]

the new rogue is just, flatly, terrible. It's still the lowest damage class in 5e other than artificer, just letting the assassin crit every first round of combat, or doubling the damage of their sneak attack, isn't that much damage in the scheme of things. WOTC dramatically overvalues crits for DPR. I legitimately am absolutely stunned that WOTC goes on vibes and nobody at their company knows how to do basic math. The new rogue does about 4/5 of the damage of a sword and board fighter (who doesnt ever use action surge) at level 20, it's a joke. A Ranged rogue is a bit better, but not as much as they should be. I would make assassinate twice rogue level for ranged and thrice for melee. Rogues need a reason to use melee. It really sucks right out of the gate already we're going to have to homebrew terrible untested design out of the gate because the player testers don't know how to do math and think rogues do significant damage. Cunning Strike is a trap, oh great if you drop your damage down be equivilent to a druid thwacking with shillelagh you can maybe poison an enemy.

[@Marionettetc]

2x Ranged 3x Melee Assassinate is a great idea, I'm going to homebrew that, see how the damage feels and keep the auto critical rule.

[@feltrix334]

Okay, so, looking over this build, it occurred to me that I don't think the Assassin is getting a ton as a burst damage build, so I decided to crunch the numbers and see how it performs as a sustained damage dealer. I've listed the AC in between --these-- and listed the level to the left. Some caveats: I included the same assumptions you did (Sentinel is triggered 25% of the time and enemies always fail saves against poison). I also assumed that the rogue has advantage on all of the attacks on its turn between Vex and Steady Aim, which isn't exactly accurate, but is relatively close and saved me a lot of math. I also wasn't able to find a satisfactory way to account for damage die rerolls from Piercer, so I left them out of the build as penance for my always-advantage crimes. In conclusion: this build is still hovering around Tier 4 as a sustained damage dealer. That being said, you built for burst damage, so an assassin built for sustained damage could very well do better. Additionally, like the Baseline, this requires no resources or setup and in fact will hit the ground running with its burst turn. I would love to see how well a rogue could keep up with sustained damage dealers in the future. Behold, the numbers: -14- 3- 16.695 -15- 4- 19.84 -16- 5- 24.215 6- 24.215 7- 28.59 -17- 8- 31.725 -18- 9- 36.017 10- 38.56 11- 42.935 12- 42.935 -19- 13- 51.684 14- 51.684 15- 56.06 16- 56.06 -20- 17- 60.435

[@kazzdevlin5339]

JUSTIFY A 3-4 LEVEL DIP INTO ASSASSIN NOW? You can't. There is no reason to do a 3 level or four level dip in Assassin now. Hell, going pure thief pickingup an extra bonus action and using eldritch blast yields 5.5 dmg on avg! Way to make Assassin irrelevant for low level dipping! Getting 1 extra dmg for every level is not worth investing 4 levels into a class!! This change removes any desire to multiclass into Assassin! My guess is this trend will continue with other classes pushing out muliclassing and I expect that's the real reason you did a full Assassin build instead of just dipping into it!

[@seanholmes3658]

Yeah, if Legendary Resistance still ends up a thing, some encounters will drop your damage a decent amount during your nova round.

[@rayindc2074]

I get the reliable damage thing, but personally, I don't like the elimination of autocrit on a surprised opponent, since an assassin who successfully surprises their target SHOULD do massive damage. One way to partially mitigate that would be to use improved crit range during the first round against an opponent who hasn't taken a turn yet. I would go 18+ at Assassin-3 (because why wouldn't an assassin be as deadly as a 15th level Champion fighter), which would improve thereafter, capping at 11+ at Assassin-17. Now THAT would be a reason to stick with Rogue levels, and it's both more reliable and more realistic in terms of what a skilled Assassin SHOULD be able to do. What do you think?

[@kciref6016]

52:07 PLEASE UPDATE RANGER BUILDS!! I BEG YOU!! CAST AWAY THE TRASH FEATURES OF OLD, BRING FORTH THE REVISED 2024 RANGER!! Thanks 🙏

[@Acatia2]

Less damage than a Fighter or Barbarian? Sure. If that's the price to save the party from traps and open locks, then yeah. You wouldn't play a tank for their damage, same thing for scouts.

[@Ramschat]

Don't worry about "Scimitar" You're an American who bashes the imperial system, you can do no wrong. Sincerely, a European

[@DaDunge]

23:00 I really don't like the extra weapon damage. I'm sorry but at best it's your rogue level in extra damage per combat. That's nothing. I really wish they'd have gone with being allowed to sneak attack more than once per round so long as the target hasn't taken a turn yet.

[@topherrobeson4446]

When it says they take 2d6 poison whenever they fail their saving throw, does that mean on subsequent turns as well assuming they fail against the poisoned condition at the end of their turn? If yes and assuming they fail it every time thats 20d6

[@RevocerGM]

Been wandering this too

[@RamyASMR]

Now, that the video ends in 10 minutes, don't forget to like before you leave! *this message goes out to all "instant-watchers" like me* ~everyone else will be confused, sorry lol

[@TheArchmike]

They only just finished the rogue video! The speed of this! :p xx

[@beastslayer8729]

Posting on a Monday?! I am not pleased with this breach of protocol.

[@RobThePrincess]

For Muse recommendations it's too difficult to pick even 2 or 3 tbh. I dont think you will regret spending the time to just listen to every single thing they have to offer and let it consume you. Because they are great! But off hand, the ones I can think of now, are Hysteria, Madness, Supermassive Black Hole... uhh just please listen to everything, they are great! Lol

[@apollosungod6673]

It's so awesome to hear that WotC reached out to you directly to do a build!! I love that you're getting the recognition you deserve ❤️

[@theangry_wookie_man1830]

I would love to see an updated assassin/gloomstalker build. I know that is a super popular subclass and definitely want to see if it still holds up

[@michalberanek2783]

I think I speak for everyone here when I say YIPPEEEEE! Also, inb4 Hexblade 3.0

[@GunnarWahl]

To DMs, give your rogues magic items that are tailored to sneak attack: 3 ideas 1) When you perform a sneak attack with this weapon, roll an additional 2d6, then drop the lowest 2d6 rolls. (Uncommon) 2) when a cunning strike is successful, the damage dice lost to use the cunning strike are turned into a flat +2 per die spent. (Rare) 3) when a sneak attack is performed with this weapon, you can have a blast of air target another creature with 15ft of the target, and if you hit, you deal slashing damage to that target using your sneak attack damage dice. (Rare)

[@braevblackthorn6853]

Do a Thief utilize action build! 🎬

[@societybelike]

Kinda disappointed to see that the assassin, the master of surprise sits at the bottom of the barrel in terms of nova damage, especially considering we were promised martials would be dishing out the damage. There's been barely any compensation for the loss of power attack, martials seem like they're going to remain way behind casters in damage once more

[@salemwildfire]

I honestly don't think anyone understands what assassins are anymore. Definitely no one at WotC.

[@Ricardo-zo1ti]

This build seems underwhelming until you realize it's a viable full rogue. Huge improvement lol

[@TheBlink182ify]

From the playtest the bestsubclass to parry with a rogue is 100% the battlemaster... It makes a rogue way better then it should be, and one more point, Phantom Rogue (yes can use this subclass with the new material) is going to be way better then the assassin 😂

[@studynot757]

I just realized… Colby is like the D&D Mr Rodgers!!! With these sign-offs and then singing to us 😂 Anyone else seeing it?!? Gotta start wearing sweaters!

[@scottburns7974]

The obscure I will always roleplay “POCKET SAND!! Shi Shia!!”

[@robertmayotte7317]

Sneaky stabby giant person 🎉

[@laszloszikorszky9866]

Wait, build video on monday? What a treat!

[@Stevensenegal222]

Like number 36 this time. I am somewhat mixed on the changes. More positive than negative I think.

[@JHutch-ts4nl]

Having just gotten into DnD a few years ago. I really appreciate what you do. I have spent more time with character creation than actual game play, and the truth about DnD that I have come to realize is, you don’t know what your character is truly capable of, until it is put into action. Traditional roles like tank, damage dealer, controller…. They are all ideal situations, and the fact that you focus your builds on those roles, makes me think about the game from ideal situations. This has helped me create some amazing characters and backstories, and helps me think of new ways to redefine those traditional roles. My favorite character so far is a Goliath abjuration wizard named Roran. He has proven to be the hardest character in any game that I have played in to go down. He is currently a level 14 and has only had his hp drop below half once since level 12. When I made him, I had no idea what he was actually capable of, even after watching your video on Abjuration wizard. Thank you for your spreadsheets, your restraint in sticking with them, and your knowledge.

[@matthewhelmers1426]

You might have to consider taking builds to level 20 if WOTC actually does a good job making single classes scale well all that way. Epic boon feats! I played for a while with someone who pronounced it "SKIM-tar".

[@LeoAndrares]

And most of the new monsters that are gonna be on the new Monsters Manual are apparently there to support high level gameplay, bc there wasn't that many before, that also helps the likely of wanting to play at very high levels

[@robinarmstrong685]

BTW, the commercial you refer to at the end with the "shake it shake it shake it" was for Fruity Pebbles. I have no idea why that bit of trivia is stuck in my brain, but there you go.

[@MicahSpiderWeb]

A build? On a Monday??? What is this?!

[@chokidinis1484]

The word you say in the end of your videos aways touch me, specialy in hard days, thanks for that, you are a great man!

[@TheBadRandolph]

Fitting to this episode would be "Assassin" from their album Black Holes and Revelations ;D I could recommend every song of them, but if I had to name one: Pressure from Simulation Theory. Or Dead Inside from Drones... They are all amazing ^^

[@cronykil74]

The baseline in Hysteria 🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@elementzero3379]

I might get to play in Dark Sun when the new PHB releases. I most often play mages, but this might be a great chance to play a martial. The Assassin (an Athasian Bard) and the Soulknife are two that are intriguing departures from everything I've played in the last decade. It's great that martials finally look interesting. It's been a long time since I've considered playing a character without spellcasting.

[@edwardflores6604]

" I love multiclassing." That is the understatement of the century.😅😅

[@twitwit99]

Muse is amazing. Favourite song is *Uprising* but there are so many good ones.

[@markpekel4517]

A SINGLE CLASS character by Colby 😮 is broadening his horizon by going single class.

[@ssteele1812]

My DM gave us the option of converting our characters to 5e24. We are a few sessions into Vecna. I started with a full lv10 Rogue Mastermind. I was considering going Fighter at lv11 and getting to at least Battle Master and extra attack. Mastermind isnt in the new book but i think the Base Rogue changes would still be worth it. What do you think about the multiclass? Combining cunning strike with maneuvers means I can pick different manuevers that don't overlap with the CS options.

[@phatcritz]

It's Tues....

[@drizzledaddygaming994]

Dying to see a 2024 EK Fighter, Valor Bard, and, moreso than any other, Bladesinger. I wanna see how you get weapon mastery (or if you do) and how you maximize the new True Strike, other buffed spells, and all the other new stuff!

[@kendernavarro]

Why the poisoner Feat wasn't a option?!?! Also, Fey-touched allow you to cast Hunter's Mark and Hex, it Will be 2d6 extra damage In my opinion, better damage than the Charger for rogue Keep on the good fight, my friend

[@nonemo138]

18:35 Well... If Rogues could compete with the best martial damage dealers AND provide all those extra skills of scouting, investigating, infiltration, theft etc, why would any martial character play anything else than a Rogue? As long as they are viable and fun to play in combat, that would simply have to suffice. Those expertises are much more important than these combat focused discussions account for.

[@shadowcrane2634]

Lets go! D4 FTW. Side note though, a lot of the burst damage classes are going to drop damage with out the sharp shooter, great weapon master damage, crazyness.

[@Tanthalasa83]

Love rogues, love assassins, so this was a must watch video… although i still wait for the promised sepent monk build…lol

[@altian98]

I would love to see a 2024 Thief build. I'm not the type of guy that focus on damage when I'm playing with my rogue, instead I focus on his thievery skills to infiltrate, steal things and so on. Also I'd really wish that Rogues would have proficiency with clubs in a way that they could do non-lethal damage.

[@Reepicheep-1]

The Masteries & Cunning Strike options are exactly what I love for my characters. I prefer shennanigans to DPS. Can't wait to rebuild my Trixter/Shadow Monk in 5.5.

[@SeanBoyce-gp]

Disclaimer: just musing and opinion. Not trying to tell anyone they're wrong or have fun badly. I really enjoyed the video and am glad to have a place to talk about it. I've developed into a bit of a pessimist about weapon masteries. They've been virtually unchanged since the playtest, and while they were incredibly exciting at first, because of how they're best used and the choices of options wotc has selected to employ using the system, they essentially become static for each character (Fighter being the real exception). Like, your whole build is centered around two weapon fighting. When are you NOT going to choose a nick weapon? And if you are a rogue, why would you forgo a Vex weapon, which is an incredibly strong option for any class thst wants advantage on an attack (e.g. All of them. But rogues most especially). Very rarely does a Topple or Push weapon make sense for a rogue. Same with Graze. It feels weird to be bored by the new hotness when it's not even out yet. But I honestly think part of it is how samey the list is. With less than 10 weapon Masteries but like 30 weapons in the game, you get a lot of repetition. Like. For my money, they could bring back the Flex Mastery and put it on the Longsword if Flex said "When wielded in one hand, this weapon has the Light or Finesse property for you." Bam, there's a really cool way to get Drizzt builds back. It so makes the longsword unique among other versatile weapons as the *most* well rounded. If you're a master. What about a property for axe based weapons that lets their dice explode (the "Brutal" property maybe?) Or a Rapier property that makes you more accurate once per turn (call it Precision?). There was just so much opportunity in that design space and I'm bummed to see it basically go unchanged after a year of Playtesting it and already having the opportunity to get bored with it. Last, super nit picky and stupid: "Nick" is a terrible name for that weapon Mastery. "Deft." It means agile and quick. Nick, as a word, shares the same conceptual space with Graze.

[@hericn]

I really wish the cunning strike didn`t cost your sneak attack damage and instead had an option that increased the damage by 1d6. Something like: "Whenever you hit with your Sneak Attack you can choose one: Disarm, Poison, Withdraw, Trip or Extra d6" It's more of a psychological thing, not really a buff. Just a way of saying "see this new feature? you will be using it every round and it will always give you something nice"

[@DillonBlackner]

Seems unfair to compare this 2024 build to the nova builds of 2014 (which I would assume make use of multi-smites, GWM, Sharpshooter, action surge spells, and twin spells; all of which have been nerfed)

[@menarg1549]

i love the new assassin subclass, it's got GREAT abilities but i still feel like rogues could get extra attack at like level 6 atleast and still not be overpowered. also my favorite rogue types are the really quick death by a thousand cuts type rogues like in all the action RPGs i play. and i have modded BG3 to not only give rogues extra atack but also improved extra attack just like fighters get and they're still not overpowered I LOVE Rogues, they're generally my first pick in any new game, but i don't think the DnD Rogue functions the way i'd want it to

[@Notsogoodguitarguy]

By the way, Colby, why not take Fighting Style: Two-Weapon Fighting on level 12? Is it in the NDA? If it is, you can always excuse it as you taking the old fighting style. Or did you forget about it?

[@jakubgodlewski9104]

It was pretty disheartening to hear JC say "because Rogues have so many Sneak Attack dice, we give them an opportunity to spend some they might not need on extra effects", because the Rogue's sneak attack is already so underwhelming. Also to address your final thoughts, the Barbarian and Fighter are already confirmed to have massive buffs to skills checks in the new PHB, while the Rogue does not really have any substantial buffs to damage. It was the weakest class in 5e (perhaps comparable to Monk), now this gap has widened significantly. On topic of Assassin itself, it still does not do its job. Aside from the weird Impostor feature, in 5e all its problems were tied to how surprise worked, not the subclass itself. Now it's much more plain, so it's much easier to see how weak it is. It's easy to homebrew stuff, reverse obviously mistaken changes and buff things that were left too weak.. but at that point it's just writing one's own edition of DnD. I'm really disappointed with the reveals so far unfortunately. Good video tho! Haha

[@georgeseed4009]

I believe your understanding about using player options from old books with 2024 characters might be incorrect. Some of these will surely move into DM homebrew territory, often requiring changing feats or other options from old books to balance or fit into 2024 rules. What is almost certain is that old official adventure books will fully be compatible with the new core books. For example an adventure might mention a creature requiring DM to have a look into Monster Manual for stats. Even if that monster will have different abilities in the 2024 books (say lack of restistance to non-magical weapons which is going away), the CR of such monster should be the same or similar to 2014 books, making prewritten encounters balanced.

[@Sellesion]

Oh my goodness the Knick property is gonna dramatically improve my character that dual weilds Daggers. Rogues benefit from bonus actions in so many ways, that's gonna be amazing. Now I can truly live the fantasy of just plunging both blades into a sneak attack simultaneously as one attack rather than two individual swipes. Edit: I agree with you about the Cunning Strike too. It sounds really neat but it still doesnt put Rogue at the level Extra Attack would, so I don't think we should need to sacrifice a resource for those options. Especially considering how many enemies will likely be immune to poison. I think I'd rather have the disarm feature, since with a poisoners kit, I could pre-prepare a poisoned weapon if I know I'm going up against an enemy that isn't immune.

[@PragmaticWisdom]

I'm just here waiting for all 12 re-worked classes, and their 4 sub-classes, are used as a basis to compare them to what actually happens to them when multi-classing them. 47 extra videos, why not? More Colby is better than no Colby.

[@Cyolx]

I kinda wanna see a build that applies as many different weapon attack riders as possible. Maybe like a STRogue's cunning strikes and a barbarain's brutal strikes might work + weapon masteries + battle master? Though might be too MAD if cunning strikes only scales with DEX.

[@Tusitala1967]

Starlight is my favorite Muse song. My wife and I saw them with U2 for our anniversary years ago, and they are fantastic live. Species only works as a replacement for race if you plan on having no half-elves, half-orcs, half-dwarf/half-gnomes (Gnarfs!), etc in your games. Species by definition cannot reproduce with one another. That seems sad to me. I prefer "race", because I do have slightly different physiologies for the races in my games, but the races are generally compatible for reproduction. With that said, getting your stat boosts from your background is just as valid as receiving it from shared racial features. I will use both, so you can either take a modified racial package, or the stat boosts from background in my games once the new material is released. I'm liking the new Rogue, even though it adds complexity to a rather simple, easy entry class.

[@KingThor128]

I'm working on an Assassin rogue idea now trying to make use of Nick with Crossbow Expert and range, largely using Hand Crossbow and Daggers to throw. Needs level 4 to be even potentially reliable, and its not that long of a wait to get there, but struck me that shooting first with the hand Crossbow and hitting triggers Vex at range, which makes the dagger from 20 ft easier to hit and satisfies the qualifiers sneak damage. It's probably suboptimal, but liking the concept a lot, a Rogue who doesn't get too up close and personal but still applies all of the cool stunning strike conditions, or does the rogue damage with a little extra d6 from the Crossbow. Probably a build I'll be selfish with my Alert initiative with, but if my party controller also rolls high, all the better. I really hope that initiative swap from the playtests doesn't change, I really like it.

[@Etekatte]

This is the second video I've watched where you brought up the metric system and frankly it's asinine and out of place. I came here to watch a D&D character build guild not some metric fanboyisms. I watch other D&D youtubers and none of them go into the merits of imperial vs metric systems, even if passive aggressively. D&D uses the imperial system. Don't like it don't play it.

[@Mrjosifal]

Been a longtime viewer, since 1000 k subs i think, and member, but i have been falling off a little bit lately. Mostly because the latest builds have not been that appealing for me personally, and also i have less time now than i used to. I like the more simple builds without a lot of caveats, but i am a fan of you and your work and i understand that it is harder and harder do find new "simple" builds. That said i am REALLY looking forward for more new builds, using the new PHB, from you. I love to see that your channel are doing so great, and keep up what you are doing. PS: You should ditch autofocus, it is very distracting.

[@groovydude4511]

Others have said it but I'd also be interested in a series of videos that creates a sort of baseline for a straight-classed build of each class. Doesn't have to be 24 videos in a row, but building a straight-classed sustained damage and burst damage build using only the options in the 2024 PHB would be very interesting I think! Also don't necessarily need to make a video out of every single one - could definitely cover multiple in one video. For example, during the sustained damage Barbarian build you could just say "Also, the Paladin version of this build looks very similar. Just move X stats around, choose Y subclass, and cast Z spells instead of raging. Its on the spreadsheet and the write-up is available to channel members. 😉"

[@crispyjokingtuna1495]

The updates to rogue are having me reconsider what to do past level 8 for my gloomstalker assassin. The current plan with the 2014 rules is 3 in rogue and the rest in ranger (with possibly a 2 level fighter dip for action surge). The new updates might have me go rogue 15 ranger 5

[@cyrilmartin5613]

I like human for an assassin because alert and lucky are both amazing for an assassin and can’t choose juste one of them

[@Mass0404]

14:00 If you say ‘Dragon Skimmy’ when you refer to scimitars, you’ll engage all the RuneScape players’ brains and they’ll be too distracted to brow beat you into a specific pronunciation 👍

[@b1ackm4gic]

Rogue imo shouldn't be insecure about not matching up with the best martial damage dealers. That's the tradeoff of being useful OOC. skill monkey(and they're lowering Reliable talent lvl), the theives tools user, the scout, etc. All these OOC things where the fighter/paladin/ etc justs sits there and looks at you cus they can't do what you do

[@alexandredaspe2425]

I disagree with you on the final thoughts when you say that WotC lean into the "Rogues don't have a lot of damage but they have a lot of utility outside of combat and that is their thing". My point is, Fighters now get to use Second Wind to bolster their skill checks (another good reason to multiclass into fighter when you are a Rogue), Barbarian can use Strength for a bunch of skills while raging (not as utility as the Rogue, but still), Rangers do have some really good utility as well. I assume, and I could be wrong about this, that those classes are better damage dealers than the Rogue. However, like you said, as a Rogue, you also have the cunning strike as in combat utility (even if you forgo a precious resource for something that is gatekept behind a saving throw). To empathise it, That Fighter 3 dip you talk about in the end would be a boon to your damage, but also your survivability AND your utility thanks to Second Wind, as well as all the good things the Battle Master brings.

[@SuperSorcerer]

ב"ה Can't you say which background gave you alert, and support DEX and CON increase?

[@caosisaac]

Hey colby, love the vid! Now that rogues are overall the weakest dpr martial class and the other martials got skill buffs i was considering buffing rogues and would love your opinion. I was thinking of 2 changes, changing sneak attack dice to d8s at 11th level and reducing the cost of all cunning strikes by 1 dice at 20th level (added to their current cap; not replacing it). Do you think these changes would be good, or would they be too much?

[@deanrutland9047]

I’m tempted to consider Rogue level + Proficiency bonus for Surprising Strike damage

[@ZariesTheHealadin]

38:35 I might be wrong, but I don't actually think there's a problem with this wording of the alteration to Steady Aim. Unless the new version says you must immediately attack after using it, you should just be able to start your turn, BA Steady Aim, move, then attack. Likely they just didn't feel like being redundant by saying you can use it even if you've moved and also your movement doesn't become zero. All this to say that I'm pretty sure you can charge to your heart's content!