Best Feats For Rogues In BG3

Summary

• Feats in
  Baldur’s Gate 3
  grant powerful abilities to characters, but they are limited, so choose wisely.
• Rogues have access to additional feats at levels 6 and 10, making their choices more challenging.
• Key feats for Rogues include Ability Score Improvement, Dungeon Delver, Athlete, Mobile, Savage Attacker, Alert, Skilled, Dual Wielder, Sharpshooter, and Crossbow Expert.

In Baldur’s Gate 3, Feats are a key aspect of character creation and progression. They can grant powerful new abilities to a certain build by giving them a unique ability that provides a buff or bonus in one specific area.

Rogues, similar to Fighters, learn additional feats at levels 6 and 10, meaning players picking this class will be faced with more choices than others. They can vastly affect a character’s build, and this is already a versatile class that can do almost anything.

Updated on December 19, 2024 by Kristy Ambrose: Larian Studios isn’t going to be making Baldur’s Gate 3, or any DLCs or expansions for their hit game, but Patch 8 is expected to drop in 2025, and it contains some exciting extras. It will be the last major patch, and they’re making it count, with plans to move on to other projects after. New subclasses, Photo Mode, and crossplay are just some of the additions, and the roster might include a few extra Feats for Rogues.

16 Ability Score Improvement

Better Core Skills

• Increase one ability score by 2 or two ability scores by 1

Rogues will typically rely on two core skills, Dexterity and Constitution. When creating a character, Baldur’s Gate 3 places a soft cap on ability scores, preventing them from getting higher than 17, while they cap at 20 during gameplay. This means there’s always room for improvement on those core skills that will allow Rogues to hit their mark and toughen up.

If a Rogue chooses the Arcane Trickster subclass, this is a great feat to bolster their Intelligence score, which is their primary spellcasting ability. Rogues won’t focus their efforts on improving Intelligence, which can make the Arcane Trickster subclass a little underwhelming when casting spells. The Ability Score Improvement Feat is great to get more out of this chosen subclass.

15 Elemental Adept

Improve Casting And Magic Resistance

• Increased resistance to one kind of elemental damage and makes it impossible to critically fail when casting a spell

This Feat is useful for characters that don’t have any spellcasting abilities or that only have a cantrip or two because of their race or a special piece of gear, so it’s still ideal for Rogues. It’s even better for those who have chosen the Arcane Trickster subclass or can use racial cantrips like Ray of Frost or Fire Bolt.

When casting a spell using this type of damage, it’s impossible to roll a 1, which would equal a critical fail. The player can choose one of the five types of elemental damage, which are Fire, Cold, Lightning, Thunder, and Acid, and gain increased resistance to that type of damage.

14 Sentinel

Protect Allies And Surprise Enemies

• Gain an Attack of Opportunity against an enemy attacking an ally in melee range, and get a chance to knock them Prone with the attack.

As great as this Feat is, use it sparingly, as it can’t be used to help allies that already have the Sentinel Feat. This is why it’s more popular with physical damage classes like Rogues and Fighters that tend to stay in the melee range.

There are three parts to this Feat. When the Rogue uses their Attack of Opportunity against an enemy to protect an ally, it’s Sentinel: Vengeance. The improved chance to knock them Prone is Sentinel: Snare, and finally Sentinel: Opportunity Advantage gives them Advantage on their attack.

13 Dungeon Delver

A Deadly Adventure Is A Walk In The Park

• Advantage on Perception checks to detect hidden objects and traps and on Saving Throws to resist or avoid a trap, resistance to damage caused by traps

Entering a new dungeon can be a pretty scary experience, particularly when nobody knows what could be lurking around the next corner. Rogues are often the designated characters to handle some things a dungeon might throw at the party, such as locks or traps, and the Dungeon Delver feat improves on their natural aptitudes.

This Feat grants Advantage on Perception checks to detect hidden objects and traps, and even on Saving Throws to resist or avoid a trap. What’s more, a Rogue with this feat will gain resistance against damage from traps, meaning damage taken will be halved. For the characters who will often find themselves disarming traps, a Rogue could certainly do much worse than the Dungeon Delver feat.

12 Charger

For The Melee Fighting Rogue

• Gives the Rogue the abilities of Shove and Weapon Attack

Charger is a Feat usually associated with classes like Fighters, or anyone in the role of Defender. Any character can use these skills, and the Rogue is frequently responsible for both tanged and melee damage, plus these abilities can be used as part of the Rogue’s stealth abilities.

Shove is a handy skill that allows the Rogue to rush forward and attack the first enemy in their path. Weapon Attack works with Shove and uses both an action and a bonus action to add +5 to a melee weapon attack and works with a ranged weapon up to 30 feet.

11 Athlete

Increase Mobility During Battle And Exploration

• Grants a +1 bonus to Strength or Dexterity, increases Jump distance by 50%, uses less movement to recover from Prone

This feat not only grants a +1 bonus to Strength or Dexterity, but it means they will use less movement when getting up after being knocked prone. Rogues that typically attack at a range will often find themselves repositioning to gain advantage and deliver a devastating sneak attack against their enemies, making Athlete an ideal Feat to learn to improve this ability.

Rogues who like to jump from shadow to shadow, or from low to high ground to gain that precious advantage roll, will also benefit from their jump distance increasing by 50%. This can be an invaluable resource to get the most out of their movement.

10 Mobile

Additional Movement Options

• Increases the movement speed of a character by 10 feet and ignores Difficult Terrain after the Dash Action

Much like the Athlete feat, Mobile can be invaluable for a Rogue who wants to hit hard from the shadows. It increases the movement speed of a character by 10ft, which typically represents a 30% increase for a normal speed character, which is determined by their race. This provides a great movement opportunity to ensure a Rogue is in the best position possible before and during a fight.

This feat also grants two small boons, such as difficult terrain evasion and opportunity attack evasion. Difficult terrain will typically slow down a character who attempts to traverse across surfaces like ice or grease. Still, with the ability to evade difficult terrain, this movement penalty is ignored when the Dash action is taken.

9 Savage Attacker

Make Hits Harder And Count More

• Roll damage dice twice for melee weapon attacks

This feat is not just great for Rogues to learn, but for almost any class that relies on melee attacks. It’s a deceptively simple feat that allows a Rogue to roll damage dice for melee weapon attacks twice, and use the higher result, essentially gaining advantage on damage rolls.

When paired with a Rogue’s sneak attack ability, which is famous for dishing out troves of extra damage, the Savage Attacker feat can be devastating and allows a Rogue to potentially turn the tide of a fight in an instant.

8 Alert

Prevent Ambushes And Never Be Surprised

• +5 to Initiative and never be Surprised

The way Initiative was changed in Baldur’s Gate 3 makes the Alert feat way more valuable than it is in Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition. Instead of rolling 1d20 + Dexterity for Initiative, players will instead roll 1d4 + Dexterity, meaning it doesn’t take as much of a bonus to ensure the top spots in Initiative order.

The Alert feat grants a huge +5 bonus to Initiative. This typically means a Rogue, who will likely already have a pretty handsome Dexterity score, will often roll at the top, or near the top, of the Initiative order. This is exceptionally useful if combined with the Assassin subclass, which grants Advantage on attack rolls for creatures that have not yet taken a turn in combat.

7 Skilled

Gain Proficiency In Key Skills

• Grants proficiency in 3 skills, adds a cumulative +4 bonus to skill checks by level 9

Rogues aren’t just known for being handy with a bow, or for sneaking around in the dark. They will typically find themselves being the designated lockpicker for the party, and of course, the one to venture forth into dark dungeons to disable traps and clear the way for the rest of the group.

Skilled is a fantastic Feat to turn a Rogue into a jack of all trades, granting proficiency in 3 skills, which adds a solid +4 bonus to skill checks in each chosen skill by level 9. Combined with the Rogue’s Expertise, which is gained at levels 1 and 6, that doubles the proficiency bonus on a total of 4 skills, meaning it’s possible to pick a few key skills a Rogue will rarely fail checks for.

6 Dual Wielder

Bonus To Armor Class And Extra Damage

• Utilize two-weapon fighting even with weapons that aren’t Light, but on the other hand, they can’t be Heavy, +1 to AC

Dual Wielder provides excellent versatility for a Rogue, allowing them to utilize two-weapon fighting on weapons that aren’t light, provided they are not heavy weapons. This may provide opportunities to wield two daggers or crossbows to dish out more damage on those coveted sneak attacks.

It also provides a nice +1 bonus to Armor Class while a melee weapon is being used in each hand, which is a bonus for a Rogue when combined with their typically high Dexterity scores and tendency to favor light armor instead of heavy plate armor.

5 Sharpshooter

Bolster A Rogue’s Ranged Attacks

• Improves attack roles and deals an additional 10 damage to targets, but with the sacrifice of -5 to their attack rolls

Seeing a low chance to hit on an attack roll is perhaps one of the saddest sights as a Rogue, and Sharpshooter goes some way toward preventing this. Being on low ground and attempting to shoot a target that is higher up, anyone who doesn’t have the Sharpshooter Feat will suffer a -2 penalty to their attack roll.

Not only will this feat ensure Rogues are hitting their marks more frequently, but this Feat can also be used to deal an additional 10 damage to their targets, with the sacrifice of -5 to their attack rolls. Of course, a -5 penalty will not be ideal in every scenario, so this feature can be toggled, making this a great choice to tailor attacks.

4 Mage Slayer

• Advantage against spells cast in melee range, plus the abilities Attack Caster and Break Concentration

Just like the name of this Feat suggests, this Feat is about killing spellcasters. That includes more than the typical casting classes, such as Wizards or Bards. It also works against Rangers and a character using a racial cantrip, or even an animal like an imp that casts simple, low-level spells like Fireball.

The other skills are specifically designed to damage or interrupt spellcasting. Attack Caster lets the character use a Reaction to attack any enemy that casts a spell in melee range, and the target also has Disadvantage on their Concentration saving throws.

3 Spell Sniper

Augments Casting Power

• Best for the Arcane Trickster subclass or any build that includes casting skills

Even though the Arcane Trickster is the only Rogue subclass that has dedicated casting skills, a character might have limited spells from other sources, like their racial heritage or a piece of gear that grants a spell slot regardless of class. Astarion, for example, has a Fire Bolt cantrip because of his High Elf race, and this Feat also applies to those kinds of bonuses.

Spell Sniper is worth getting even just to augment the most basic spell powers. The character learns a Cantrip, in addition to any others they might already have, plus their ability to hit with a spell is reduced by one. Rogues use their Intelligence stat for casting, the same as a Wizard or Fighter.

2 Defensive Duellist

Increase The Rogue’s Armor Class

• Rogues can use rapiers, shortswords, and daggers, all of which are typically finesse weapons

The Defensive Duellist Feat only works with Finesse weapons, and Rogues can use almost all of them, with the exception of scimitars. It’s an ideal Feat for any class that has a high Dexterity Ability Score, and Rogues are at the top of that list.

When a Rogue with this Feat is attacked within melee range, they can use a Reaction to increase their AC and possibly make their attacker miss completely. This can happen once per turn, unlike other abilities that can only be used once per fight or need a Short or Long rest to recharge.

1 Crossbow Expert

Prevent Close-Range Penalties

• Grants a Rogue the ability to make crossbow attacks within melee range without Disadvantage

Navigating an attack with a Disadvantage when lining up a shot is indeed disheartening, especially when it seems like a target should be easier to hit at a closer range. The Crossbow Expert Feat grants a Rogue the ability to make crossbow attacks within melee range, without having to roll with Disadvantage, which opens up a lot of possibilities in combat.

On top of this, the ability inflicts Gaping Wounds on a successful hit lasts twice as long as normal. This means targets who suffer a gaping wound will receive an additional 2 piercing damage every time they are attacked for double the amount of time, which might just deal enough extra damage to deliver the killing blow against a fearsome enemy.