Formerly known as the Thief, the rogue of the Dungeons & Dragons universe is part of the game's earliest foundations. Every roleplaying game, including the big ones that everyone plays online, has some variation of this favorite class. It's highly customizable, fits into virtually any backstory you could create for one, and you can fill virtually any role in the party.

Related: Dungeons & Dragons: How To Build a Graviturgy Wizard

Rogues are perfect for Dungeons & Dragons players who want to play a martial character with a little more subtlety than your average lumbering fighter. However, not all rogues are created equally. Players can choose between five main archetypes with varying abilities and traits. We've made it a bit easier for you to choose which rogue subclass is better for you by ranking them.

Updated November 24, 2023, by Sean Murray: Rogues make a great addition to any party, but some rogues are better than others. That's why we've reorganized this list and added some breakout tips so you can decide which rogue is right for you.

9 Mastermind

Grim Hireling by Tomas Duchek
Grim Hireling by Tomas Duchek

Source

Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Main Benefits

Master of Tactics, you can use the Help action as a bonus action.

Ideal Skills or Feats

Dungeon Delving

Party Role

Defense, Damage

The Mastermind archetype starts out by giving you a bunch of abilities that can also be gained by a combination of backgrounds and feats, making it less popular than others. You get the ability to use the Help action as a bonus action, which isn't bad, but is pretty low on the list of useful things rogues can also do with a bonus action.

Paired with Dungeon Delver, it can also be useful in a campaign that focuses on dungeon crawls. However, plenty of rogue subclasses are good at things like infiltration and disguise while also being useful at anything else.

Most of the higher-level abilities are useful almost exclusively in intrigue campaigns.

8 Inquisitive

Arcane Investigator by Bram Sels
Arcane Investigator by Bram Sels

Source

Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Main Benefits

Grants bonuses to Insight, Perception, and Investigation skills.

Ideal Skills or Feats

Insight, Perception

Party Role

Investigation and Perception

The Inquisitive archetype lets you see things incredibly well. It gives you many bonuses to Insight, Perception, and Investigation skills, and allows you to sense the magic that is designed to fool your senses. The only other ability you have is the ability to get free sneak attacks against a creature for a minute if your Insight roll beats their Deception roll. This is pretty good, but it doesn't make a whole subclass on its own.

Perception, Insight, and some of this subclass's skills and abilities are all Wisdom-based, so this class doesn't mesh well with the standard rogue stats of Dexterity, Charisma, and Intelligence.

It's still a better choice for an intriguing campaign than the Mastermind archetype though.

7 Thief

Alora, Merry Thief by Aaron Miller
Alora, Merry Thief by Aaron Miller

Source

D&D Player's Handbook

Main Benefits

Fast Hands; using an item as a Bonus Action can include cantrips, healer's kits, or attacks with certain items.

Ideal Skills or Feats

Alert, Observant

Party Role

Stealing everything

This is the subclass for players who want to play a real rogue, with all the thievery, pickpocketing, lockpicking, and backstabbing possible. It might not be the best in combat, but it embodies all the reasons why most people choose to play a rogue.

That said, while the Thief is a versatile and fun rogue subclass to play, it can be a little underwhelming in combat. Getting the most out of Fast Hands and Use Magic Device abilities will go a long way to helping the Thief contribute when swords and arrows start flying.

Be on the lookout for powerful magical items to use! Use Magic Device lets you use any magical item regardless of class, species, or level requirements.

Related: Dungeons & Dragons: How To Build A School of Conjuration Wizard

6 Scout

Check for Traps by Zoltan Boros
Check for Traps by Zoltan Boros

Source

Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Main Benefits

Survivalist, you have two new skills and Expertise in both of them, giving you Expertise in a total of four things.

Ideal Skills or Feats

Alert

Party Role

Utility, Ranged Damage

This is one of the better options for a no-frills ranged damage rogue. The bonus you get on Initiative is actually useful since you give a full round of advantage against the first creature you hit to your entire party. You can also use your reaction to stay away from enemies that rush you, leaving you free to rain damage from afar.

The extra proficiencies in Nature and Survival are most useful in a wilderness-heavy campaign, but extra proficiencies are good for any rogue. This subclass makes for a good choice for any adventure and a great choice for an adventure full of outlanders and rangers.

Consider the Scout if you want to play a ranger with more skills but fewer animal companions.

5 Phantom

Phantom Warrior by Anna Podedworna
Phantom Warrior by Anna Podedworna

Source

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Main Benefits

Soul Trinkets; the Phantom gathers trinkets when creatures die nearby, then spends those trinkets for extra damage or to ask dead creatures questions.

Ideal Skills or Feats

Magic Initiate, Shadow Touched

Party Role

Damage

The Phantom talks to dead people. This isn't scary or anything--they actually provide you with skill and tool proficiencies every short or long rest. Later, you gain some ghostly features by floating through objects and being harder to hit.

But what really sets this rogue subclass apart is being able to use half a Sneak Attack on a second creature after successfully Sneak Attacking a first. This vastly increases your damage per round provided you can keep Sneak Attacking.

Tokens of the Departed is also a great way to extract information from the recently departed, although the soul you interrogate might not be truthful if you're the one who inflicted the departure.

4 Assassin

Poison the Blade by by Matt Forsyth
Poison the Blade by by Matt Forsyth

Source

D&D Player's Handbook

Main Benefits

Bonuses in Infiltration and Assassination.

Ideal Skills or Feats

Actor, Observant, Alert

Party Role

Damage, Infiltration

Although perhaps overshadowed by newer subclasses, the Assassin remains one of the top picks for rogues. Assassinate ensures you've likely got the drop on at least one enemy per combat, providing a reliable Sneak Attack source. If the dice are on your side, you can single-handedly eliminate a target before it can raise an alarm.

The rest of the Assassin features enhance your ability to infiltrate strongholds and get out without anyone being the wiser.

Just remember that Assassins typically want a higher Charisma score than most rogues to pass those all-important Deception checks.

Related: Dungeons & Dragons: Hexblade Patron, Explained

3 Soulknife

Rogue spy in a study with her soulknife out.
Soulknife Spy by Miguel Mercado

Source

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

Main Benefits

Use a pool of Psionic Energy dice to wield Psionic Powers.

Ideal Skills or Feats

Martial Adept, Eleven Accuracy

Party Role

Damage, Utility

Every class has a psionic option these days, and for rogues, it's the Soulknife. What makes this subclass unique is the use of Psionic Energy dice that are used to determine how you wield your powers. The nice thing about these dice rolls is that they're low risk, unlike certain other rolls, and you can store the better ones to use for later.

Psychic Blades (and later the Soul Blades feature) provide reliable damage up close and at range, while your Psionic Energy Dice make you excellent at most skills--at least until your dice run out. Later, you can make yourself invisible and stun targets, making them helpless for repeated Sneak Attacks.

Since the Soulknife's Psionic Energy Dice are only expended upon success, this subclass is perfect for the player who hates feeling cheated by their dice rolls.

2 Swashbuckler

A spelljammer crew pose together at the helm of their ship
Spelljammer by Daniel Castiblanco

Source

Xanathar's Guide to Everything

Main Benefits

Fancy Footwork, the ability that allows you to attack your opponent but not land any hits.

Ideal Skills or Feats

Defensive Duelist, Heavily Armored

Party Role

Damage

There is no more reliable rogue subclass for Sneak Attacks than the Swashbuckler. Rakish Audacity ensures your Sneak Attack so long as you're not surrounded--something most rogues already find pretty easy to achieve thanks to being able to disengage as a bonus action.

But you don't even need to use your Cunning Action to stay out of trouble. Fancy Footwork ensures your ability to reposition without taking opportunity attacks, and Elegant Maneuver keeps you from being grappled by foes trying to tie you down.

The Swashbuckler's Panache ability also makes it an excellent face for the party by charming people with a high Persuasion score. If that doesn't work, you can just be the center of attention in combat.

1 Arcane Trickster

Sorcerer casts magehand during an auction to try and steal an item on display from behind the curtain
Magehand Thief by Craig J. Spearing

Source

D&D Player's Handbook

Main Benefits

Spellcasting, although limited to Illusion and Enchantment.

Ideal Skills or Feats

Spell Sniper

Party Role

Damage, Spell-based trickery

This archetype turns rogues into a “half-caster” class. Basically, it allows you to use a few spells in addition to your normal rogue abilities. You can also get a few other abilities, such as an invisible Mage Hand, which lets you pickpocket from across a room, and the ability to ambush enemies with spells. However, the main benefit is the spells.

Illusion spells and Find Familiar (which can be exploited to allow you to sneak attack every turn) can greatly increase your damage and utility, and the ability to steal the knowledge of other people’s spells is just icing on the cake. If you enjoy playing half-casters and rogues, this is the perfect subclass for you.

There are so many good spells to use for Arcane Trickster. Minor Illusion can distract enemies to set up a Sneak Attack. Booming Blade with Cunning Action can keep enemies off-guard while you try to find an angle for Sneak Attack. Silvery Barbs can keep you safe if you're caught out in the open while ensuring your response is a Sneak Attack. And Invisibility is perhaps the best spell any rogue can learn.

Next: Dungeons & Dragons: Eldritch Invocations, Explained