Best Rogue Feats Icewind Dale 2 IWD2

List of IWD2 Rogue Feats

It depends on IWD2 Build, but the best Rogue feats in Icewind Dale 2 are Dash, Improved Critical, Evasion, Rapid Shot and Sneak Attack.

The best Rogue feats are highlighted in blue.

• AMBIDEXTERITY. You are equally adept at using either hand.

◦ Prerequisite: Dex 15+

◦ Benefit: You ignore all penalites for using an off hand.  You are neither left-handed nor right-handed.

◦ Normal: Without this feat, a character suffers a -4 penalty to his or her off hand attack while using two weapons.

• ARTERIAL STRIKE: ROGUE SPECIAL ABILITY. Your skill with sneak attacks allows you to cause a bleeding wound.

◦ Prerequisite: At least one level of rogue, base attack bonus +4 or higher.

◦ Benefit:  Allows the rogue to sacrifice 1d6 points of sneak attack damage to inflict a bleeding wound that causes damage over many rounds.

• CRIPPLING STRIKE: ROGUE SPECIAL ABILITY. When making a sneak attack, you are able to deal a devastating blow that weakens an enemy.

◦ Prerequisite: 10th level rogue

◦ Benefit: Any time the character makes a successful sneak attack, the attack does its normal damage and also causes 1 point of temporary Strength damage.

• DASH. Your character moves a little faster than his or her comrades.

◦ Benefit: Your character moves about 15% faster than normal.

Movement rate boosts are useful since they allow our melee warriors to more quickly close in on and pin down wizards and archers.

• DIRTY FIGHTING. You know how to land blows that can blind or cripple your foes.

◦ Prequisite: Dex 13+, base attack bonus +2 or greater

◦ Benefit: On a critical hit, the character causes Blindness (50% chance) or Slow (50% chance) for five rounds unless a Fortitude save is made.  Undead, golems, and elementals are immune to these effects.

Dirty Fighting inflicts Blindness on crits with a 50% chance, even with ranged weapons.

• DODGE. You are adept at dodging blows.

◦ Prerequisite: Dex 13+

◦ Benefit: You receive a +1 dodge bonus to armor class against attacks from an opponent.

• EVASION. When a rogue reaches 2nd level, he or she gains the ability to evade damage from area affect spells.  Whenever a rogue makes a successful reflex save against an area effect spell that allows a reflex save for half damage, he or she takes no damage.

Mirror Image > Evasion.

• HAMSTRING: ROGUE SPECIAL ABILITY. When making a sneak attack, your character can maim their target in such a way that their movement is significantly decreased.

◦ Prerequisite: At least three levels of rogue.

◦ Benefit:  Allows a rogue character to sacrifice 2d6 points of sneak attack damage to reduce the target's movement by 50% for ten rounds.

The movement rate reduction is non-trivial, making this feat tactically useful.

• IMPROVED CRITICAL. You are especially adept at causing critical hits.

◦ Prerequisite: Base attack bonus +8 or higher.

◦ Benefit: When determining criticals, the threat range of the weapon being wielded is increased by 1.

One of the best martial feats in the game.

• IMPROVED EVASION: ROGUE SPECIAL ABILITY. As a rogue, you have become even more adept at escaping the effects of damaging spells.

◦ Prerequisite: 10 Levels of Rogue

◦ Benefit: This ability works like evasion, except that while the rogue still takes no damage on a successful Reflex save against spells such as fireball or a breath weapon, he now takes only half damage on a failed save (the rogue's reflexes allow him to get out of harm's way with incredible speed.

Mirror Image > Improved Evasion.

• RAPID SHOT. You can use ranged weapons with exceptional speed.

◦ Prerequisite: Dex 13+

◦ Benefit: You can get one extra attack per round with a ranged weapon.  The attack is at your highest base attack bonus, but each attack (the extra one and the normal ones) suffers -2 penalty.  NOTE: This feat does not increase the reload time for crossbows.

All ranged units should take the Rapid Shot feat (bows and slings only). Even Wizards.

• SLIPPERY MIND: ROGUE SPECIAL ABILITY. This extraordinary ability represents your ability as a rogue to wriggle free from magical effects that would otherwise control or compel you.

◦ Prerequisite: 10 Levels of Rogue

◦ Benefit:  If you are affected by either Charm or Command enchantments and fail your saving throw, 1 round later you can attempt your saving throw again.  You only get this one extra chance to succeed at your saving throw.

Mind Blank > Rogue Slippery Mind.

• SNEAK ATTACK: To use Sneak Attack, attack an enemy's back when you have a melee weapon equipped.  Your first successful attack at the creature's back will do normal damage plus 1-6 points of damage with an additional 1-6 points at 3rd level and every two levels thereafter.

Sneak Attack doesn't work for ranged weapons and Sneak Attacks can only be executed once per four rounds. Subject to certain regulations, in Neverwinter Nights (also 3.0), ranged Sneak Attacks and many-attack Sneak Attacks are possible, which is much cooler.

• TWO-WEAPON FIGHTING. You can fight with a weapon in each hand.  You can make one extra attack each round with the second weapon.

◦ Benefit: Your penalties for fighting with two weapons are reduced by 2.

◦ Special:  The Ambidexterity Feat reduces the attack penalty for the second weapon by 4.

• UNCANNY DODGE. 3rd level: Uncanny Dodge. Rogues retain their Dexterity bonus to Armor Class if they are attacked by invisible foes. 6th level: Uncanny Dodge: Rogues can't be Sneak Attacked by another rogue unless the attacker is four or more levels higher.

• WEAPON FINESSE. You are especially skilled at using daggers and short swords, which allows you to benefit as much from Dexterity as from Strength.  

◦ Prerequisite: Proficient with small blade, base attack bonus +1.

◦ Benefit: With the selected weapon, you may use your Dexterity modifier instead of your Strength modifier on attack rolls.  Since you need your second hand for balance, if you carry a shield, apply the shield's armor check penalty to your attack rolls.

The usefulness of weapon finesse is reduced by IWD2 allowing for extreme min-maxing: most Rogue builds can easily max Strength in addition to maxing Dex and Int.

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