Class Of The Week - Rogue

One of the 4 Basic Paths, and notorious for sneak-attacks, the Stealthy Rogue is best noted for it's highly powerful offense while being able to slip away into the shadows.

A Rogue starts of with 410 Base-HP, gradually increasing their HP by 9 points as they level, granting them a total max-HP of 680 points at level 30 (the level cap for all basic classes).

Juggling both Melee and Archery skills, a Rogue is just as good from a distance as they are up close. The best weaponry for these guys is to always have a Bow with plenty of Arrows (deals 55 dmg) and an Iron-sword (deals 60 dmg) for close-quarters melee combat. These guys pack a punch with their swords, giving them an extra 18 damage points on the Iron Sword compared to Warriors. IF you don't have an Iron Sword laying around, you can still get by with stone swords (45 dmg) and even wooden swords (30 dmg), but this isn't advised unless you're prepared to let your bow and skills do all the work.

Skills and Abilities 

If you're experienced with the basic skill system, you won't have any problems with this class. A Rogue's damage isn't solely focused on their skills, but they do pack a huge punch when used properly. There are 3 skills to this class; 1 passive skill, 1 direct-hit skill, and 1 skill that is certainly unlike any other skills you will find in the 4 Basic classes.

Sneak is the first skill you will learn, kicking the class off at level 5. This Passive skill is what really makes this class powerful, because you could be right around the corner and nobody would know until after you took damage. This skill works by putting you into a "sneak" state for 8 minutes. You will stay in this state even when you attack or kill another player, as long as you don't take any damage or get hit. The cooldown for this skill is only 3 seconds with a stamina cost of 10.

Kick is later gained at level 15, and is definitely worth the patience it takes to get there. This aggressive skill does 67 points in direct damage and silences your opponent for 2.5 seconds. That's a long enough window to do some serious damage without taking any at all and can prove useful if your opponent is preparing to use a powerful skill on you. Although the cooldown is 10 seconds long, this skill only costs 6 stamina, making it a great skill to use when you're low on stamina and need to buy some time.

The last skill gained is Envenom, acquired at level 25, and could be one of the most potent and most convenient skills you could have in a basic class with a small stamina cost of 6 and an even smaller cooldown of 3 seconds long. Envenom poisons your sword for 30 seconds, meaning that your opponent will be damaged an additional 19 damage every 2 seconds, for 6 seconds after the initial blow. That's 57 damage on top of the 60 damage dealt from just the first hit, dealing a total of 117 damage points with just one hit.

Strategies 

Group Battle

When you're in a group, you can choose to be either upfront with Melee or a little further away with Range attacks. The best strategy for group battles as a Rogue is to be beside the "Tank" (if there is one) and directing your attacks to the main "focus" of whom is attacking the Tank. You can also choose to stay back, closer to any Casters or Healers to protect them, while still being able to your range-shots against the opponent. It is best to know what classes you're working with first, rather than immediately assume your role as a Rogue, especially if there are multiple Rogues in one group. 

Going Solo

Unlike with Warriors, Rogues are very flexible in their advantaged battlegrounds. You can take to the waters and open areas with your Bow or you can take to areas like forests and caves for forced melee combat. It depends on what you're most comfortable with and who you're up against. When going solo against a Warrior, your best bet is to take to an area that forces them either into the open or an area that will help you gain distance and use your range attacks, giving you the upper hand. If you're fighting against a Caster, you would instead do the exact opposite as you would with a warrior and try to take cover in a forest or someplace that would encourage melee combat. Just as Warriors are melee based, Casters are range based, and so you want to use that against them before they can use it against you (and their fireballs do more damage than your bows do). If you're going against a Healer, you want to do as much damage as you possibly can in the shortest amount of time to prevent them from healing themselves in the midst of your attacks, wasting your stamina. If your opponent is another Rogue, be sure you know your personal weakness and pick accordingly. If you're better at the bow, go range. If not, go melee. 

Weaknesses 

1. Not Knowing Your Role - This isn't exactly an official weakness only because it varies from player to player. This is, however, something that new Rogues need to always be aware of. You always want to do the exact opposite of your opponent (range for melee, melee for range). If you don't, the battle will be quick as their specialties will quickly wipe-out your health. 
2. Healers - Some may laugh at this, but it is true. Nearly every class has a slight weakness to healers mostly because many players don't realize they need to do as much damage as they can as quickly as they can. A Healer's entire role is focused on healing themselves and others, with one very powerful skill that does a lot of damage. With not having any way to heal, your only possible shot is to melee them and, if they run away, silence them with your kick and shoot away (if you have a bow). 

Now that you know the basic mechanics of the class, get out there and level, practice, and kick some butt, Hero! 

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