Rogues, the masters of stealth, are responsible for some of the highest damage rolls, all thanks to their beautiful Sneak Attack. That said,Baldur’s Gate 3gives you many opportunities to shine here, as it’s not difficult to sneak up on enemies, even with heavily armored characters. Still, to ensure maximum damage, you have to wield a proper weapon.
Whether you’re fighting with two light weapons, a mighty rapier, or bows, you may use some powerful, magical versions of these weapons to cause the utmost devastation. Usually, a Rogue can wield any simple weapon plus shortbows, longswords, rapiers, and shortswords, but there are ways to get other weapons which will be worth mentioning as we go.
We’ve selected a variety of weapons here, including ones you can obtain in the early game and then replace later, to give you a wider range of options no matter where you are in the game.
11Sword Of Screams
By the end of Act 1, there will be a character in the Underdark you will likely fight against if you’re being a good person. That said, he drops theSword Of Screams, which, though not the best weapon on this list, deserves credit for showing up relatively early, being a good option until you find other weapons.
What makes this weapon effective is the simple fact it has two damage types. Along with the primary d8 of piercing damage, it also deals an extra d4 of psychic damage, which makes it quite useful, as few opponents are resistant to this sort of damage, and more dice to double when doing a critical hit is always good.
10Ambusher
A shortsword that is beneficial at the beginning of a fight, useful for Rogues and particularly Assassins.Ambusheris a +1 Shortsword that also gives you a +1 on your initiative rolls, giving you a higher chance of being the first one in the turn order or at least one of the first. It gives you an advantage on Perception checks, too, which is good but not our focus right now.
It also deals an extra d6 of necrotic damage if you target someone who hasn’t had their turn yet. They are usually the targets Assassins go for since they naturally get an advantage against these opponents. However, it’ll be a +1 Shortsword throughout the rest of the fight.
9Bow Of The Banshee
This bow is essentially one of the best bows, and it’s quick to get, as it’s in the same area as the aforementioned Sword of Screams. It’s a +1 shortbow that may causethe frightened conditionon whoever you hit. Considering how effective this condition is, that’s already amazing.
That said, whenever you attack this opponent again, you’ll get an extra d4 to hit, making it easier to strike them, and an extra d4 on the damage, causing some additional pain over your scared enemy.
8Cold Snap
The sad part about being a dual-wielding Rogue is that you won’t cause as much damage with your off-hand unlessyou start multiclassing.Cold Snapis an interesting option for your off-hand, however, as it causes the usual d4 damage from daggers and an extra d4 of cold damage.
It also has particular features that only trigger if the weapon is in your off-hand. You get a +1 to your AC (Armor Class), and hitting people may give them the Chilled condition, which makes them vulnerable to cold damage, ensuring this dagger will hurt even more the next time. Chilled also makes them resistant to fire, so be careful with what spell your Wizard/Sorcerer/Warlock will use on their turn.
7Darkfire Shortbow
Though theDarkfire Shortbowwon’t make you hit harder, it’ll make you harder to be killed. It grants you resistance to both fire and cold damage types. Though cold isn’t as common between enemies, fire is a good resistance to have, and having multiple resistances in general is helpful.
That’s not all, though. It also allows you to cast Haste once per long rest. One of the best spells in the game, you’ll be able to attack twice with it, or you can haste your party’s Fighter and watch as they attack six to nine times in a row, depending on whether they have their Action Surge available.
6Sussur Dagger
As you learn about the forge in the Blighted Villagewith the Sussur Bark,you get to forge a weapon among a few options, one of them being a +1 Dagger, something you are proficient with. Generally, daggers won’t cause a lot of damage, but theSussur Daggerwill have a particular feature that makes it effective against spellcasters, so it might be good to leave it in your off-hand.
This feature is the ability to silence opponents you hit. Most spells in the game require the user to speak something, so silencing them blocks them from using most of their abilities.
5Blightbringer
Though powerful, theBlightbringerrequires its user to be a Gnome or Dwarf — the former is agood race option for Rogues,so it’s not a problem. When one of these races uses this shortbow, it causes an additional d4 of its damage rolls and also has an extra d4 to hit.
Also — and this time for anyone wielding it — you’ll cause the Slow condition on whoever you do a critical hit. Through hiding and attacking, Rogues have a good chance of causing critical strikes, meaning you can slow people quite often.
The Dead Shotis a Longbow, so we advise playing as an Elf for this one — or multiclassing or using a feat for proficiency. Longbows already cause more damage (d8) and have better range, and this one is a +2 Longbow, which makes it better than the average weapon in terms of raw damage.
It also decreases the number you need to roll for a critical hit by one — and it stacks with other equipment that does the same — and the proficiency bonus you get when attacking is doubled, meaning a level 12 Rogue with 20 on their Dexterity score would have a +15 to hit with this bow.
3Bloodthirst
This +2 Dagger also decreases the number needed for a critical hit by one, immediately making it an exciting choice. Still, as a Legendary weapon, it has other effects, though it changes depending on which hand you’re wielding the dagger.
IfBloodthirstis in your main hand, people hit with it become vulnerable to piercing damage, meaning your next strike will cause double the damage. If it’s in your off-hand, you gain a +1 to your AC and may hit the enemy again if they try to hit you and miss while also causing them the True Strike condition. We recommend wielding this one in you off-hand, as the bonus is far better — attacking more often as a Rogue is already a beautiful plus.
2Crimson Mischief
This +2 shortsword is the perfect pair with Bloodthirst, especially considering you’ll get them together anyway.Crimson Mischiefcauses an additional d6 of necrotic damage on every hit. When wielded on your main hand, it causes an additional d4 of damage if the enemy’s health bar is below 50 percent and an extra seven points of damage if you had an advantage before hitting the opponent.
If the weapon is in your off-hand, it’ll instead let you keep your ability modifier for your attacks, essentially acting as a dual-wielding fighting style. Still, we recommend having this one on your main hand purely for the high extra damage.
