Another attempt at cost efficiency analysis, this time of the Rogue's powers. All powers were tested at maxed-out level by a new level 1 Rogue. The Rogue is
much trickier than the Wizard, since most powers seem to depend on the bow's damage.
Arrow damage increases not only with Dexterity, but also through upgrading the bow by finding Soul Shards and in the case of most powers, also through critical hits. Improved Critical feat therefore improves most arrow powers as well. Damage noted with * is subject to critical hits (about double damage).
Arrow powers:
- Arrow Strike: 0 MW (yes, that's free!). Hits one target for about 7* damage.
- Multi-Shot: 9 MW. 5 regular Arrow Strikes spreading out (meaning about 35* damage if you hit up close with all 5).
- Sloth Arrow: 7 MW. Hits one target for about 8* damage (more than Arrow Strike despite the description). Slows target for a few seconds.
- Vampire Arrow: 10 MW. Homes in a bit. Hits one target for 21 damage, then explodes. Deals 5 damage in a small radius. Don't know how much it feeds back.
- Poison Arrow: 13 MW. Hits one target for 4* damage, then explodes, poisoning all enemies in a small radius. Poison/acid causes about 3 poison damage on the initial hit and about 26 damage per second after that. Don't know for how long.
- Sleep Arrow: 15 MW. Hits one target for about 7* damage, then explodes. Causes 4 damage and a few seconds worth of Sleep in a small radius.
- Ice Arrow: 13 MW. Hits one target for 4* damage, then explodes. Deals about 49* damage in a small radius with a low chance of freezing for a few seconds.
- Exploding Arrow: 25 MW. Hits one target for about 3 damage, then explodes. Deals about 50* damage in a reasonable radius.
- Volley of Arrows: 55 MW. Calls down 20 arrows in what resembles nothing so much as an airstrike, covering a large area. Each arrow explodes, dealing about 21 damage in a small radius.
Melee damage depends on Strength, the Inner Strength skill's bonus, weapon skill specialization, the weapon's base damage and criticals.
Since the Rogue's default melee weapon (the Seven Stars Daggers) is usually not at least comparable to what you find underway (unlike the other three heroes' ancestral weapons), the Rogue actually has a need for the various weapon skills.
Melee powers:
- Hide & Move Silently: 20 MW. The Rogue becomes somewhat invisible. Enemies still see her if they're close enough long enough. The first attack made removes the invisibility, but is a double damage critical hit (which is about 4 times regular damage). I don't know how long the invisibility lasts, but it's at least "long".
- Bomb Finisher: 9 MW. The bomb explodes when an enemy moves into it (which is almost always), dealing about 10-16 damage twice in a small radius. This damage is not subject to criticals (and I'm not sure if it's influenced by any of the other melee damage modifiers).
- Flip Kick Finisher: 12 MW. Hits enemies to the front for about 44 + 10 melee damage (two simultaneous hits). Has a very small chance of freezing for a few seconds.
- Sweep Finisher: 15 MW. Hits enemies to all sides for about 44 + 9 melee damage (two simultaneous hits, the second one doesn't always come out), poisoning them. Poison deals about 19 damage per second for a few seconds.
Then there's only one left:
- Set Traps: 16 MW. Places a bomb that goes off when an enemy walks over it. Since they don't see it, they're easily lured onto it. The bomb deals about 13 damage twice in a small radius. Only 3 bombs can be placed at any time. If a fourth one is placed, the first one disappears. I don't know if bomb damage increases any which way.
What's really interesting about the Rogue is the
free ranged attack, which no other hero has. Like melee hits, the arrow hit knocks back and stuns a bit, so you don't ever have to resort to melee combat unless you get swarmed.
Of the other arrow powers, the Ice Arrow seems most worth its MW. It deals excellent damage to several targets for an average amount of MW, and has a small chance of freezing to boot.
While Volley of Arrows does not deal more damage in less time than four Ice Arrows, you're free to pursue other matters once the air strike has been called in (like run, melee or fire other arrows). This makes it a good addition to Ice Arrow later in the game.
Random thoughts:
- The Rogue is average melee fighter with quick but light attacks.
- The Hide & Move Silently is less useful in multiplayer. In single player, not being seen totally negates all enemy attack. In multiplayer, it merely redirects attacks to the rest of the party.
- Bombs are less useful in multiplayer, since the rest of the party has to bother and help in persuading enemies to step on the bombs.
Linear Mode
