(N)EverQuest Scrolls

I have been leveling up a rogue, some solo, some duo, very little grouping. At the moment he is 63 with a few AAs (see below).

The main web site is The Safehouse, but information is slow to update here.

Hot keys

First thing to set up is some hot keys; rogues need them more than most classes. This comes down to hide/sneak, or evade. Evade, put simply, is turning off attack and hiding during combat, which drops you way down the aggro list, even on a failed evade.

First, I always have on my main hot button for any character:

1) Melee Attack (this is an EQ default).
2) Assist – which in turn is a macro for /assist; I always use this on conjunction with an f-key for targeting a group member. Depending on Leadership AAs, you may prefer to use ‘/assist group’, or ‘/assist raid’ (which work over a longer range than plain /assist, it seems).
3) Various others depending on class.

Item clickies go on the bar, if they are commonly used, like Fabled Journeyman Boots. There are three good clickies from the PoP ornate armor range: gloves, legs and chest – haste (30%, Miraculous Visions), summon poison, and Shield of the Arcane (hp/ac/mr).

Also important abilities/disciplines; so for rogue I have backstab, disarm, intimidation, range attack, sneak, hide and pick pocket.

Another macro to have is evade:

/attack off
/doability (sneak – this isn’t required, but has the side effect of making this also a sneak/hide key)
/doability (hide)

For a rogue, it’s probably worth putting an opening attack (Thief’s Vengeance, or Sneak Attack), and Deadeye on the button bar, as these are both fast reuse disciplines; possibly Nimble as well. I need to review discs so that I know what are just upgrades in a series. See this post on Safehouse for the only information on discs for rogues that I have been able to find.

Important Quests

Epic 1.0: Ragebringer
Epic 1.5: Fatestealer
Epic 2.0: Nightshade

Rogue Redemption (Burning Rapier)
Grandmaster Assassin’s Seal
Rogue Master Sketch

Gear

Some basic weapons for a 65(ish) rogue:

Fearpoint (17+1/19), Bejeweled Parrypoint (24/21, sec only), Twisted Shank.

Fearpoint drops from Mino named in fort and mines.
Twisted Shank – freemind gatherer, Undershore
parrypoint – Diddle D, Fiddle D, dsh
Soulpiercer ? (pre-65) 15/19, rec 60, drops in WoS, Chimera Seether
eg Elaborate Defiant Rapier is 13/20 (at 63)
Ragebringer (epic 1.0) 15/25 (yes, worse ratio than Elaborate Defiant!, although better for backstabs)

Choker of Battles (37% haste, Direwind drop)

Runelinked Bracer (66 req) Armor supplies quest, Valdeholm – 4 Icefall grizzly pelts
Arcstone – Cloak of the Spirit Tracker/Stalker/Hunter (65 req).

TSS quests: fero puppy/mana puppy ( Direwolf Totem of Battle/Direwolf Totem of Spirit, Dog Whistle), Orb of Mystic Fury (aug, Vergalid), Stonefed Chip (aug) + Nightmoon Stone (aug), Orb of Duskmold (Steppes, hp buff). Also 2 WR bags, these are all in Icefall so far. Glowing Green Silver Earring of Dragoste (Mesa quest, stats buff). Also the Halloween quest familiar (Freemind Spore Earring, hp regen).

Augments
These are mainly ac/hp, which may not be ideal, but it’s a start:
DoN haste aug – Wayfinder’s Soapstone, 36% haste, 250 radiant crystals, 63 req, 70 rec

Weapon augments?

Hot zone augs:
Nadox, Nobles Causeway, Halls of Honor, Acrylia Caverns, Cazic-Thule (all 10 ac)
Wall of Slaughter, Bastion of Thunder (hp, resists)

Time gear:
Primary/Secondary: Jagged Timeforged Blade, (Inny) 20/19, 12% BS
Dagger of Distraction, 18/20, P3
Range: Symbol of the Planemasters (Saryrn, proc)
Serrated Dart of Energy (Inny, atk buff)
Bow of the Tempest (VZ)
Ton Po’s Mystical Pouch (RZ) – summons Shuriken of Eternity
Shoulders: Shroud of Survival (Inny, 46% haste)
Waist: Cord of Temporal Weavings (Quarm), Girdle of Stability (Inny), Belt of Tidal Energy (CT), Girdle of Restoration (P2)
Back: Shroud of Eternity (Quarm), Platinum Cloak of War (RZ)

clickies:
Silver Hoop of Speed (Quarm, ear, overhaste)
Prismatic Ring of Resistance (Quarm, finger, resists)

AAs

I have taken the following, so far:

RS3/regen3 at 51 (6); CF3, CA3, CS1, ND1 at 55 (+28); Escape, Ambi, PE at 59 (9+9+5 = +23).
At 61: Nimble Evasion (1), Ferocity (3), run speed 4 (5), rs5 (5)
62: oops, forgot
63: SoS, Nimble Evasion 2, Ferocity 2 (3), CF 4, CS 2

Basic recommendations, consolidated from SOE forums and from safehouse:

Escape (59/9) and SoS (63/6) are usually the first two “automatics”. It’s worth leveling just to be able to earn them.

Early essentials:
Run 3 (51/3)
Combat Fury 3 (55/12)

Very handy AA’s:
Nimble Evasion 5 (61-65, 5 total)
Stealthy Getaway (70/9)
Origin (67/7)
Run 5 (61/2×5)
Ligament Slice (71/3+)

Quality DPS AA’s:
Rogue’s Fury 73/7+)
Ambidexterity (59/9)
Ferocity (61-65, 3×6)
Triple Backstab (65/3+)
Precision (66/3×6)

Various hasten escape/stealth, etc

Sub-65 also has Chaotic Stab(59/6)/Seized Opportunity(65/3+) (front BS, which has some attractions), Hastened Stealth(61/3+)/Hasty Exit(63/2+), Sinister Strikes (65/12), Ingenuity(61/1+)/Weapon Affinity(55/5+) (affect weapon procs), – and some traps and poison and safe fall related AAs. There is also the argument for CA/CS, through PoP levels, “a dead rogue does no dps”.

Finally, a recent Safehouse post that looks to be very useful, from Sincro:

“Your first AAs, in order, should be: Run3, Escape, SoS, Run5.

Next, the following statements are intended as a general rule, but is not 100% accurate: Older AAs tend to have more bang for the buck then newer ones. The first ranks of an AA line are much more valuable then the last ranks of an AA line. (Especially the first 3 ranks of any extended AA line.)

With that said, you can take one of three AA paths. Pure dps, pure defense, some sort of balance. Most will tell you to go pure dps, I prefer to advocate striking at least a little balance.

The lists. A few AAs fall into multiple lists, most notably Physical Enhancement. (Which should be near the top of any rogue’s list of things to get.) Note, AAs which have no affect on combat at all are not listed. Get those whenever it feels right for you. Also note, that since I tend to advocate getting more defense-oriented AAs then many rogues, some of my lists, especially the ‘catch-all’ will reflect that bias.

Catch-all AA, in my opinion of decreasing value: Natural Durability, Physical Enhancement, Planar Power, Nimble Evasion, Mystical Attunement, General Sturdiness, Stealthy Getaway, Innate Regen, Natural Healing, Energetic Attunement, Delay Death, Discordant Defiance, Hasty Exit, Heightened Endurance, Quick Draw, Battle Ready, Concentration, Tumble, Purge Poison

The pure dps AAs: Ambidexterity, Triple Backstab, Combat Fury, Rogue’s Fury, Chaotic Stab, Sinister Strikes, Vet’s Wrath, Enhanced Aggression, Precise Strikes, Envenomed Blades, Seized Opportunity, Precision, Weapon Affinity, Ingenuity, Burst of Power, Anatomy, Finishing Blow, Killing Spree, Virulent Venom (does NOT affect EB!), Twisted Shank, Rake’s Deadly Aim, Rake’s Powerful Aim

The defensives: Combat Agility, Combat Stability, Hastened Stealth, Nimble Evasion, Slippery Attacks, Shielding Resistance, Double Riposte, Knave’s Return Strike, Delay Death, Stealthy Getaway, Hasty Exit, Dirty Fighting, Discordant Defiance, Purge Poison, Tumble, Fear Resistance, Nerves of Steel, Shield Block

A few notes about the defensives. While I listed CA and CS first, the importance of Hastened Stealth cannot possibly be overstated. It lets you evade more often. Get CA/CS3, then max HS, then go back to CA/CS. Also on CA/CS, while everyone will tell you (and I agree with) that getting missed entirely is better then getting hit for slightly less, the difference in damage taken by a rogue with CS 23 and one with CS 3 is dramatic.

If I were rebuilding Sincro today, from the ground up (with the intention of being a raid rogue, who spends a lot of off-hour time soloing): Run3, Escape, SoS, Run5, Ambi, ND, CA3, CS3, PE, HStealth, TripBS, PlanPow, ComFury, RogFury, ChaoStab, SeizedOpp3, finish CA/CS, finish SeizedOpp, SinStrike, VetWrath, DoubRipo, KRS, EnAgg, PrecStrike, E-Blades, NimEv, WeapAff, Ing, BoPow, SlippAtt, ShResi, MysAtt, GenStur, Stealthy, all remaing dps until Vir Ven, all remaining defensives until Tumble, all remaining catch-alls, finish Defense, finish Offense.

A few non-combat AAs would also be sprinkled in there. For quite a few of these AAs, I would get the first few of one, then the first few of the next one, then finish off the previous one, etc. It is possible that a few lower priority items, like Mystical Attuning would have to be gotten piece-meal as buff slots became an issue (the more clickies you have, the more buff slots you need…) I might be forced to get Dirty Fighting much earlier too, due to guild demands.”