To Rogue Or Not to Rogue

[schuriscloa]

Hey guys!  I'm currently leveling all my classes to level 15/16 other than my main class (Gladiator) for my main on Siren, and I'm running into a number or problems with Rogue.  I'm excited about the Job that Rogue branches off into, but the start up is pretty shaky.  It reminds me of Rikku, having more HP but significantly less than the other classes and significantly low MP.  For those of you who have made it to ninja, what are your thoughts on Rogue?  Were the leves hard as it is currently for me?  Was there a different region in order to take part in the Levequests to up your character's level?

 

Any pointers?  I'm curious.

[Kellach Woods]

Rogue was... my fourth non-DoH/DoL 50, and I didn't find it excessively difficult.

 

Keep in mind that if you do your combos correctly, use Perfect Dodge, and splash some extra utility from PGL/LNC you should be fine.

[schuriscloa]

Thanks : )!  I'll keep that in mind.  O: Though, what abilities do you recommend from PUG?

[Darien Cadell]

I'm doing 'all the classes to 15' on an alt. It's kinda fun. Rogue is pretty crazy fragile to start, but it gets some stability to it later on. I do all my fate/treasure hunting/dailies/any solo-y stuff on my main with NIN and my healing chocobo (which you can't really get 'til 30 on something). But if you're only taking it to 15, I wouldn't worry too much about it. The consequences for death aren't that huge and as you get more comfortable with the class, you'll probably have an easier time with leves and such.

 

If you are going to NIN and find you're having a lot of trouble, you could try changing your home point around to whatever's closer to where you're working or lowering the level on the leves you try. If you have the patience for DPS queues, you shouldn't have to worry about low health at all in dungeons/hests and it's sweet exp in there.

 

In my experience getting to NIN, you're not crazy, ROG is dang squishy when doing things alone. (PUG and LNC can have similar problems without the sturdiness of tankery or backup heals.) I had a few deaths, which isn't something I really experienced with other classes.

 

PUG to 4 will get you Featherfoot, which is a short duration Evasion buff. Getting it to 8 should get you Second Wind, which is a convenient little heal (long cooldown) to have on your growing ROG. And LNC to 6 will get you Keen Flurry, which is a short duration Parry buff. Cure is always available from CNJ 2, but yeah, your mp will be so low and the strength of the cure will be so sad, it's a hard sell.

[Edda]

Pretty much what Qhora said will help you a lot in terms of survivability on ROG. It's definitely not just you - the class is crazy fragile, and so is NIN to a certain degree. I remember one of the earlier NIN quests I got cocky, ended up getting my shit slapped, and was like on my last 5% HP, no more cooldowns or anything so I just kited the last mob and killed him with the throw dagger move. It was awful (and kind of fun). The upside being ROG does some insane damage, especially early on, so dungeons are a great, fast way to level.

[Kellach Woods]

I mentioned PUG/LNC specifically because that's what they'll have post Job.

Also, another thing you can have is an extra attack by virtue of the Perfect Dodge/Haymaker combo. Haymaker is a level 10 ability that strikes for a potency of 170 and causes slow +20% on enemies. Perfect Dodge allows you... well, one dodge.

 

So essentially you have an emergency button that strikes quite hard as an independent attack, and IIRC Haymaker is tagged to not break combos so you can interweave it in your own.

[Dogberry]

I like Rogue! She's an interesting character, and her relationship with Gambit always interested me. Plus, I like her overall character design and... wait. Oh. You're talking about the class in FFXIV.

 

Rogue is a lot of fun! I mean, as Melee DPS goes it's not as long rotation dependent as Dragoon, and not as frantic as Monk. It's a good middle ground, and when you go to Ninja you get the ninjutsu combos to break things up. Plus, I think Rogue has one of the best class storylines and quests in the game. Seriously, the plot is great and the quests are a lot of fun.

[Proud Dahlia]

Thanks : )!  I'll keep that in mind.  O: Though, what abilities do you recommend from PUG?

 

The standard internal release and second wind. Second Wind especially is nice for leveling as its an MP-less self heal.

 

From LNC you'll want invigorate primarily. Blood for blood is important for grouping at 50, but its more likely to kill you when leveling. Keen Flurry can be nice though.

[V'aleera]

From LNC you'll want invigorate primarily. Blood for blood is important for grouping at 50, but its more likely to kill you when leveling. Keen Flurry can be nice though.

This. Blood for Blood without the Lancer trait enhancing it gives a bigger damage bonus against you than it does for you, so it's not very good unless someone else is tanking the bad guys.

[Caspar]

You'll eventually want b4b, and judicious use when not directly in danger is worth it. When leveling solo it can be risky in some cases, but it's not a big deal. Thought I'd say it just in case someone accidentally gave you the crazy idea you don't need b4b. I'm diehard melee and find all other dps lacking in entertainment value, just to get that bias out of the way. I feel NIN is nice, as it splits the difference between MNK, my main role, which is said to be one of the most if not the most mechanically demanding (some would say needlessly frantic) classes, and DRG, which IMO is easier, especially after the (excessive, in my opinion, but still sorely needed.) buffs, but maybe a bit too straightforward. It's a matter of whether you enjoy juggling a lot of off cool downs like drg or playing a constant "mini game" like monk, and nin is that nice median where you have a lot of toys to play with and the mini game isn't distracting to manage.