In this Rift Rogue builds guide we will be look at some of the popular and most widely used Rift Rogue builds. First we will have a look at Rogue souls, just a brief overview and then look at different Rift Rogue builds for solo and group game play.

The Rogue calling is mainly a DPS calling, which can also provide good support to the group. One soul the Riftstalker if played well, can be used to tank as well. Let us look at the other souls of the Rogue.

The Ranger and Marksman provide ranged DPS, the Bard supports the group, and the remaining souls provide melee DPS; Saboteur, Assasin, Night Blade and Blade Dancer).

Each soul gets a basic set of abilities called the “Zero Point Abilities”. These abilities are acquired just by equipping the soul. They do not need any points put into the tree. As points a premium in the early stages, these are the building blocks of many Rift Rogue builds. Lets look at how the rogue does in Solo and group play. Now lets get started with the actual Rift Rogue builds guide.

Rift Rogue Builds Guide

Rift Rogue Builds for Solo game play

This build revolves around three factors of the rogue class; survivability, damage and sustainability (no down time). All these factors are provided by choosing the Bard, Ranger and Blade Dancer. The ranger is used for the zero point ability it brings, a pet. This can provide additional DPS. The bard is used for “Motif of Regeneration”. This is a healing over time or HoT that lasts a considerable amount of time when used. Finally the blade dancer is used for damage and defense. The order should be Blade Dancer, Bard and Ranger.

You need to put in the first seven points to get Strike Back. You will also gain 5% dodge on your way to it. Strike Back is like a counter attack. You will automatically attack your enemy when you dodge their attack. The next 12 points should then be invested into Bard so that you unlock the root ability Motif of Regeneration. It is a good healing spell which increases survivability.

On the way, you will also take abilities that increase the duration of your motifs, heal armour and get Power Cord. After you get Motif Of Regeneration, you need to get back to putting points into the Blade Dancer tree so that you get False Parry. The third soul is ranger with no points in it. You will get a pet by simply equipping that soul.

Assasin is a good choice, as the poisons can be a good substitute for a pet.

With this build you will get a 30 Seconds HoT(Motif of Regeneration), an attack that awards two combo points with a very short cooldown (Power Cord), good survivability and damage with the blade dancer. The Ranger’s pet has some tanking abilities that help you survive in sticky situations and can bring some extra DPS.

This was about Rift Rogue builds for playing Solo. Now let’s have a look at different Rift Rogue builds you can be useful in group game play.

Rift Rogue Builds for Group Play

There are 3 Rift Rogue builds which are viable for group play. The off-healer, the tank and the DPS . All three of them are pretty straight forward and pretty much require putting all your points into one single tree.

We have already seen how the Bard, Blade Dancer and Ranger work.

The off healer:

This Rift Rogue builds is all about the bard. You need to put in all your points into talents that increase your buffs. You need to make sure that you take Power Cord, and the talent that lets your cadence heal the whole group. Cadence is a two second channeled ability that creates three combo points over its duration and damage the target. This ability also heals the group while its damaging.
The rotation for this soul is fairly easy. Use Cadence and then Power Cord. You now have full 5 combo points. You should be refreshing your motifs every 30 seconds and using both the AoE debugs. You should also use Coda of Restoration to heal your group. If the group does not need healing then use a damaging finisher from another soul. Use Ranger for ranged auto attack and ranged finisher move. Saboteur for ranged AoE damage.

Bards are bad at main healing. Their healing is poor compared to other calling’s healing abilities.

Tanking:

Rift stalker is the only soul In the rogue calling that can be used for tanking. You will need to put most of your points in the tree. The Riftstalker is a very effective tank and can be used for tanking all instances.

You will want to take all talents that increase your armour and endurance increasing talents. Shifting planes provides a buff that gives armor for 10 seconds. You need to use your shifting abilities to maintain this buff as much as possible. You will want to spec talents that will reduce the cooldowns of your plane shifting abilities. You will need to take Blade dancer’s zero point ability that increases dodge temporarily .

The basic rotation should have Planar Strike, which generates a hefty amount of threat, Phantom Blow that provides a buff that reduces incoming damage. There are several finishers that increase armor and provide absorption. You need to include them in your rotation.

If you have extra points, then invest them into the Blade Dancer tree for Strike Back and increased dodge. You can also swap the Assassin soul for the bard soul for the armor buff and the increased heal the initial talents.

DPS:

The Blade Dancer is a solid DPS soul. You need to spec into offensive talents instead of defensive ones. Instead of Strike Back, put your points to get hit chance and buff the damage of your Keen Strike and Quick Strike. You need also have talents that will increase your energy regeneration and reduce the costs of the abilities. This will help you keep up sustained DPS and prevent you from getting energy starved. At level 20 with the appropriate talents, you will be using Quick Strike and Precision Strike. Precision Strike is a two combo point generating ability with a cooldown.

One can also use Ranger soul for the zero point pet or Assassin for the poisons. Spare points can be put into the riftwalker soul for increased Attack Power and Annihilate, which is a finisher ability that buffs your attack power when used.

The Assassin is also a good DPS soul. There are many talents that increase critical attacks and bleed damage. You will want to take up Puncture, which is the only two point awarding ability. You can put in more points into buffing savage strike and final blow as well buff your damage when you attack from behind. If you are going deep into the Assassin soul, then make sure that you pick up Leeching Poision, which help with energy generation.

Use the same souls mentioned for the Blade Dancer.

This was all about tips and tricks for some of the best Rift Rogue builds for Solo play and for group play. To get more in-depth and proven Rift Rogue builds, I highly recommend that you check out a premium Rift Guide.