Class Guide · Updated for patch 0.30 (Early Access) · September 2026
How to build, level and play a Rogue in Monsters and Memories — race and trait picks, the full stealth and backstab toolkit, poisons, group and solo tactics, a leveling path and gear to chase.
01The Rogue at a Glance
The Rogue is the stealth and backstab specialist of Monsters and Memories — a purely martial melee class that fights with a pair of blades, thrown weapons and a satchel of crafted poisons. While your tank holds the enemy’s attention, you slip behind it and deliver the hits that end fights. When things go wrong, you vanish.
The official class page calls the Rogue an “Opportunistic Striker” and sums it up in one line: “Other classes may pass through the shadows, but the Rogue lives there.” You use no magic at all. Everything you do comes from positioning, timing and preparation.
Strengths
The strongest positional melee damage in the game through Backstab · the most powerful stealth of any class, usable for scouting, travel and escapes · Vial of Smoke wipes your threat · crafted poisons that snare, slow attacks or slow casting · interrupts and stuns · Sap and Blinding Powder take a mob out of the fight · strong ranged finishers.
Weaknesses
Your best damage only works from behind, so you rely on someone else to hold aggro · light armor means you fold quickly if a mob turns on you · no heals, no buffs for the group · stealth does not fool mobs that con red · poisons take gathering and crafting to keep stocked.
02Is the Rogue Right for You?
You’ll love it if…
You like big, satisfying hits; you enjoy moving around a fight to find the right angle; you like scouting ahead and knowing what’s around the corner; you enjoy preparing for fights with poisons and consumables; you want a class that can simply disappear when a pull goes bad.
You might not if…
You want to stand in one place and press buttons; you’d rather not depend on a tank to hold aggro; you dislike gathering and crafting; you want to heal or support your group; you want to solo tough content without friends.
The Rogue is a good first class for players who already understand the basics of melee in classic MMOs. You have no mana to manage, so the learning curve is about positioning and threat: stay behind the mob, let the tank build aggro before you open up, and know when to back off. If you’ve never played this style of game, the Rogue is forgiving to learn in a group and punishing when you get greedy.
03Choosing Your Race
Eight races can be Rogues at Early Access. Your class adds +4 DEX and +4 AGI to your race’s base stats, and you get 10 bonus points to spend at creation. Starting values before bonus points:
| Race | STR | STA | DEX | AGI | Starts in | Why pick it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human | 16 | 17 | 20 | 20 | Night Harbor, Underdocks | The flattest spread and the busiest hub. Tenacity protects you from being mezzed or incapacitated. |
| Wood Elf | 14 | 14 | 22 | 24 | Faelindral, Night Harbor | Highest AGI of any Rogue. Hide is extra insurance on top of your own Stealth. |
| Goblin | 15 | 15 | 23 | 23 | Underdocks | The best DEX + AGI total. Bribe can reset a bad situation with an angry mob. |
| Gnome | 14 | 15 | 23 | 20 | Night Harbor, Underdocks | Tied-best DEX. Slippery breaks roots and snares, a second escape tool. |
| Deep Gnome | 14 | 15 | 22 | 22 | Underdocks | High DEX and AGI with Ultravision. Kill-on-Sight in Ail’Vorith. |
| Deep Elf | 14 | 15 | 20 | 22 | Underdocks, Ail’Vorith | Good AGI and Ultravision. Evil-aligned, so surface guards are less friendly. |
| Dwarf | 17 | 17 | 22 | 19 | Night Harbor | Tougher than the rest. Stone Form cuts physical damage and raises AC when a mob turns on you. |
| Halfling | 15 | 17 | 20 | 21 | Faelindral, Night Harbor | Good STA and innate Sneak and Forage, but plans a bigger food budget. |
Spending your 10 bonus points
Rogues want Dexterity and Agility first, with Strength for damage and Stamina for the hits that land when a mob turns around. Your race already gives you a strong base in one or two of those, so use bonus points to shore up the gaps.
- Recommended for most players:+4 STR / +3 DEX / +3 STA. Rogues already start with high DEX and AGI, and a little Strength and Stamina go a long way at low level.
- Wood Elves, Goblins and Deep races start light on STR and STA — put more there (+5 STR / +5 STA is fine).
- Dwarves and Humans already have decent STR and STA, so lean DEX and AGI instead.
- Don’t spend anything on INT, WIS or CHA. Rogues use no magic.
Trolls are listed as a Rogue race on the official site but aren’t playable at Early Access.
04Recommended Traits
You pick one trait from each of four categories at creation (see the New Player Guide for the full lists). For a Rogue:
| Category | Best pick | Why | Alternatives |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Combat | Dexterous | +10 DEX passive, the Rogue’s core stat. The active adds 10% more DEX for 12 seconds — pop it before a big Backstab on a named mob. | Agile (+10 AGI passive; a huge +200 AGI active for 15s as a defensive button), Strong (+10 STR) |
| Minor Combat | Cutthroat | Piercing starts 10 higher and skills up 25% faster, and you start with a Trainee’s Spear. Fewer early misses on your main weapon type. | Knife Thrower (Throwing +10 and 1,000 Trainee’s Throwing Daggers — pairs with Throw, Rain of Steel and Deadly Throw), Warrior (Offense), Defender |
| Major Non-Combat | Infravision / Ultravision | Nights and dungeons are very dark, and you need to see where the mob is facing to get behind it. Deep Elves and Deep Gnomes should take Ultravision. | Fast Metabolism (+25% Endurance, eats food faster) |
| Minor Non-Combat | Poison Maker | Poison Making starts 50 higher and rises 25% faster. Since the rework, poisons are a crafted core part of the kit, so this saves you a long grind. | Survivalist, Medicine (bandages to patch yourself between pulls), any gathering trait for money |
05Getting Started
Your starter quest
Every Rogue begins with a class starter quest that teaches the basics and hands out your first gear. For the full step-by-step walkthrough, with every NPC, location and reward, see our Rogue Starter Quest Guide. Individual quest pages: Rogue Starter Quest (Night Harbor) · Rogue Starter Quest (Faelindral).
Where to buy abilities
- Free at level 1: Stab, Sneak, Stealth, Throw and Shoot are granted automatically.
- Everything else is bought from your class vendor in your starting city. Ask a guard for directions to the Rogue trainer if you can’t find it.
- Underdocks starts (Goblins, Deep Elves, Deep Gnomes): your trainer is underground; see our Underdocks and Ail’Vorith pages, and take the boat to Night Harbor when you want the surface chain.
06Your Toolkit
Rogue abilities come in lines: you learn an ability, then buy stronger ranks every ten levels or so. Levels shown are when the first rank (and each upgrade) becomes available. You also gain Dual Wield at level 10, Safe Fall at 12 and Double Attack at 15.
| Line | Starts | Progression | What it’s for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stab / Backstab | 1 | Stab I → II 10 → III 20 → IV 30 → V 40 → VI 50 | Your core attack. From behind it becomes Backstab, which hits far harder — and doubles its weapon damage after 3+ seconds in Stealth.Rework |
| Stealth & Sneak | 1 | Stealth; Sneak | Stealth makes you invisible to most enemies; Sneak hides you while you’re behind them. Opens every good fight. |
| Swift Strikes | 2 | Swift Strikes | +15% attack speed. Now a toggled aura that counts as tertiary haste.Rework |
| Jab | 3 | Jab | Interrupts a cast and locks the enemy out of that school of magic for 4 seconds. |
| PoisonsRework | 4 | Snaring (4) · Weakening · Dulling — four tiers each | Crafted and applied to your weapons. Snare movement, slow attack speed, or slow casting. |
| Sprint | 5 | Sprint | +75% movement speed for 10 seconds, without breaking Stealth. |
| SliceRework | 6 | Slice I → II 16 → III 26 → IV 36 → V 46 → VI 56 | Weapon damage plus a bleed that ticks every 6 seconds for 22 seconds; stacks twice. |
| Uppercut | 7 | Uppercut | Stuns the target for 3 seconds. |
| Sap | 8 | Sap | From Stealth, incapacitates one target for 30 seconds. Broken by damage; doesn’t work on undead. |
| Poison resistanceRework | 9 | Poison Tolerance (+5) → Poison Desensitization 45 (+15) | One-hour self buff against poison. |
| Vial of Smoke | 12 | Vial of Smoke (consumes a Vial of Smoke) | Instant Stealth, clears your threat and prevents new aggro for 5 seconds. Your emergency exit. |
| Pick Pocket | 13 | Pick Pocket | A chance to steal an item from your target. |
| Rain of SteelRework | 14 | I → II 24 → III 34 → IV 44 → V 54 | A channeled barrage of knives: three weapon-damage hits, usable while moving. |
| Blinding Powder | 15 | Blinding Powder | Incapacitates a target for 10 seconds. |
| Twin BladesRework | 18 | I → II 28 → III 38 → IV 48 → V 58 | Hits once per equipped weapon; consumes your Slice bleeds for extra damage per stack. |
| Nimble Evasion | 20 | Nimble Evasion | Dodge every incoming melee attack for 12 seconds. |
| Escape ArtistRework | 22 | Escape Artist | Removes roots and snares and grants 15 seconds of immunity to them. |
| Deadly ThrowRework | 25 | Deadly Throw | 200% weapon damage at range; doubled if the target is below 20% health. |
| GambitRework | 32 | Gambit | If you’re hit within 5 seconds, resets Stab, Uppercut and Vial of Smoke. |
| AssassinRework | 35 | Assassin trait | Lets Stab and Backstab land critical hits. |
| Fury of the Assassin | 40 | Fury of the Assassin | +100% physical damage for 12 seconds. Your burn button. |
07Abilities to Prioritize, Levels 1–28
You won’t always be able to afford every ability as soon as it unlocks. This is the order that matters most for a new Rogue:
| Level | Key abilities | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stab, Stealth, Sneak, Throw, Shoot | All free. Practice getting behind mobs from the very first rat. |
| 2 | Swift Strikes | Turn it on and leave it on. |
| 3 | Jab | Interrupt every caster heal and nuke. |
| 4 | Snaring Poison | Your first poison. Stops runners from bringing friends. |
| 5 | Sprint | Escape tool that doesn’t break Stealth. |
| 6–8 | Slice, Uppercut, Sap | Slice twice on every target. Sap takes an add out of a pull before it starts. |
| 9–10 | Poison Tolerance, Stab II | Stab II is a big Backstab jump. Dual Wield arrives at 10 — get an off-hand weapon. |
| 12–13 | Vial of Smoke, Pick Pocket | Vial of Smoke is the most important purchase of your early career. |
| 14–16 | Rain of Steel, Blinding Powder, Distract, Slice II | Rain of Steel gives you ranged damage while moving. Double Attack arrives at 15. |
| 18–20 | Twin Blades, Nimble Evasion, Stab III | Twin Blades consumes your Slice stacks. Nimble Evasion saves you when a mob turns. |
| 22–28 | Escape Artist, Rain of Steel II, Deadly Throw, Slice III, Twin Blades II | Deadly Throw finishes runners and low-health mobs from range. |
Past level 28, the pattern continues: upgrade Stab first, then Slice and Twin Blades, then Rain of Steel. Gambit (32), the Assassin trait (35) and Fury of the Assassin (40) are the big milestones.
08Playing in a Group
A Rogue in a group has one job: kill the target the tank is fighting, as fast as possible, without taking aggro. Everything else — poisons, interrupts, stuns — supports that.
Before the pull
- Apply the poison that fits the fight: Weakening for a hard-hitting melee mob, Dulling for a caster, Snaring for anything that runs.
- Turn on Swift Strikes and put up Poison Tolerance if the zone has poisonous mobs.
- Scout ahead in Stealth and tell your group what’s in the next room — how many mobs, what they are, which ones are casters.
- If there’s an extra mob in the camp, Sap it from Stealth before the tank pulls. It stays out of the fight for up to 30 seconds as long as nobody damages it.
During the fight
- Let the tank build aggroWait a few seconds after the tank engages. Your Backstab hits hard enough to rip aggro off a tank who hasn’t had time to build threat.
- Get behind and stay behindBackstab only works from behind the mob. If the mob turns toward you, step around it rather than fighting from the front.
- Open with BackstabIf you’ve been in Stealth for at least 3 seconds, your first Backstab deals doubled weapon damage. Start every fight hidden if you can.
- Stack Slice, then Twin BladesPut two stacks of Slice on the target, then use Twin Blades to consume the bleeds for extra damage. Keep Stab on cooldown throughout.
- Interrupt and stunJab enemy casters mid-cast to lock them out of that school of magic. Uppercut stuns for 3 seconds when the healer needs a breather.
- Drop threat if it turns on youIf the mob comes for you, use Vial of Smoke to clear your threat and vanish, or Nimble Evasion to dodge melee for 12 seconds while the tank taunts it back.
09Soloing
Monsters and Memories is a group-focused game, but the developers wanted Rogues to have “at least some ability to play solo while looking for a group.” The rework added ranged abilities and cooldown resets to help.
- Pick your fights: solo mobs that con blue or white, not yellow or red. You don’t have a tank, so the mob will be facing you — no Backstab after the opener.
- Open from Stealth: sneak up, wait until you’ve been hidden 3 seconds, and Backstab for doubled weapon damage. It’s your one free big hit.
- Stack bleeds: Slice twice, then Twin Blades. Use Uppercut and Blinding Powder to buy time when you need it.
- Stop runners: keep Snaring Poison on your weapons and use Deadly Throw and Rain of Steel to finish fleeing mobs before they bring friends.
- Use Gambit (32+) to reset Stab, Uppercut and Vial of Smoke mid-fight.
- Make money on the side: Pick Pocket mobs before you fight them. The developers plan dedicated pick-pocket loot tables in a future patch.
10Leveling Path
A suggested route for a Rogue. You’ll level fastest in groups where a tank holds aggro for you, so aim for dungeons over open-field grinding whenever you can find a party.
| Levels | Where | Why it’s good for Rogues |
|---|---|---|
| 1–5 | Night Harbor newbie yards / Evershade Weald outskirts / Underdocks newbie yard | Do your starter quest. Practice getting behind rats, bats and beetles. |
| 3–11 | Tomb of the Last Wyrmsbane | The best early group dungeon. Skeleton pulls give you plenty of Backstab practice behind a tank. |
| 4–9 | Evershade Weald scout paths | Wolves and Fellstone orc scouts; good solo targets once you have Slice. |
| 8–10+ | Shaded Dunes Ashira & Smugglers camps | Low-level named camps. Toma the Two-Faced drops Toma’s Signet Ring; the Shimmering Shadow Veil drops from a shimmering shadow. |
| 8–15 | Ail’Vorith caves (Deep races) | Cultist warrens and patrol grounds. Jab the cultist priestesses before they heal. |
| 10–15 | Tel Ekir Ashira Outskirts | Animist Wafi drops the Claws of Bonding and Scratched Armguards. |
| 10–16 | Infested Crypt tunnels, Ancient Crypt, deeper Tomb | Dense dungeon pulls where Sap and Vial of Smoke earn their keep. Watch for pit traps in the Ancient Crypt. |
| 18–27 | Fallen Pass, Keeper’s Bight | Dense camps for groups; Twin Blades and Stab III make you the group’s main damage. |
See Where to Level in the New Player Guide for more spots, and each zone page for maps and named mobs.
11Gear to Look For
Stack Dexterity and Agility, then Strength and Stamina. For weapons, look at the damage-to-delay ratio as well as stats: Stab, Slice, Twin Blades and Rain of Steel all scale with weapon damage, so a better weapon raises almost every ability you use. From level 10 you can dual wield, so an off-hand weapon is a real upgrade. Avoid gear with big penalties to HP or Stamina — you can’t afford to lose health in light armor.
Early gear (roughly levels 1–16)
| Item | Slot | Stats | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark of the Lamplighters | Jewelry | AC 6, STR +3, DEX +3, AGI +3, HP +20 | Rogue starter quest, Night Harbor |
| Mask of the Forest Walker | Face | AC 3, STR +1, DEX +2, AGI +1 | Rogue starter quest, Faelindral |
| Delicate Ashira Pack Ring | Ring | AC 7, STR +4, DEX +5, AGI +2, HP +15 | The Yowling quest (Mayana), Night Harbor |
| Heartplate Scout Cap | Head | AC 13, STR +5, STA +1, DEX +2 | Eamon Kassir, Night Harbor |
| Moorcalf Hide Boots | Feet | AC 9, STR +3, DEX +3 | Mila Dastan, Night Harbor |
| Chompers’ Hide Tunic | Chest | AC 10, STR +3, STA +3, DEX +3 | Cheikho’s quest, Shaded Dunes |
| Shimmering Shadow Veil | Face | AC 6, STA +1, DEX +2, AGI +4 | A shimmering shadow, Shaded Dunes |
| Claws of Bonding | Primary | STR +5, DEX +5, AGI +2, DMG 10/32 | Animist Wafi, Tel Ekir |
| Scratched Armguards | Wrist | AC 13, STR +3, STA +3, DEX +2 | Animist Wafi, Tel Ekir |
Upgrades for later
| Item | Slot | Stats | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vessa’s Silent Fang | Secondary | DEX +5, AGI +3, DMG 9/18 | Vessa the Backstabber, Sungreet Strand |
| Nyxa’s Shadowscale Cloak | Chest | AC 9, DEX +10, AGI +13 | Nyxa the Unseen, The Hidden Grotto |
| Vrax’s Needlefin Spine | Primary | DEX +6, AGI +8, DMG 22/26 | Needlefin Vrax, The Hidden Grotto |
| Gale-Touched Wraps | Hands | AC 6, DEX +8, AGI +12 | Sister Gale, Glinting Hollow |
| Band of Cinder | Ring | AC 5, STR +7, DEX +8, AGI +4, HP +10 | Guillome The Accursed, Glass Flats |
| Blackwash’s Ledger Blade | Secondary | DEX +9, AGI +7, DMG 16/20 | Quartermaster Blackwash, Shallow Shoals |
| Dexterous Wristguard | Wrist | AC 18, DEX +8, AGI +4, HP +10 | Witchguard Hellblade, Shallow Shoals |
| Vessik’s Bone-Etched Claw | Primary | DEX +8, AGI +6, DMG 19/26 | Burrow-Queen Vessik, Fallen Watch |
| Bane of the Twin Drakes | Primary | STR +10, STA +10, DEX +10, HP +50, DMG 13/24 | High Master Farwyn Nyxx, Fallen Pass |
Stats from our item database. Item levels aren’t published, so “early” is based on where they drop. Check that you can wear an item before you chase it, and browse the database for more DEX/AGI gear.
12Stealth, Backstab and Poisons
How Stealth works
- Who can see you: mobs that con yellow or lower can’t see through Stealth. Mobs that con red can, and their detection range gradually returns in their front arc.
- What doesn’t reveal you: See Invisibility no longer reveals Stealth. Only an Archer’s Flare and a Beastmaster’s Bat pets can negate it.
- Sneak vs. Stealth: Sneak hides you while you’re behind an enemy; Stealth makes you invisible to most enemies. Sprint doesn’t break Stealth.
Backstab
Stab turns into Backstab when you’re behind the target. Since the rework, Ambush is gone and its power went into Backstab: weapon damage scaling was nearly doubled, and if you’ve been in Stealth for at least 3 seconds the weapon-damage portion is doubled again. The developers made this change because “needing to Stealth mid-fight to use an ability wasn’t very satisfying gameplay.” From level 35, the Assassin trait lets Stab and Backstab land critical hits.
Poisons
- Snaring Poison slows movement (from level 4). Weakening Poison slows attack speed. Dulling Poison slows casting speed. Each comes in four tiers.
- Crafting: combine venom glands, venom sacs or poison ducts from venomous creatures of the right tier with an activating agent — Soporific for Snaring, Torporific for Weakening, Deliriant for Dulling — in vials.
- Stock up by killing spiders, snakes and other venomous creatures as you level, and keep a supply of each type.
- The developers plan experimental poisons as undiscovered recipes, so it pays to keep experimenting.
13Common Rogue Mistakes
- Opening before the tank has aggro. Count to three, then Backstab.
- Fighting from the front. Backstab only works from behind; step around the mob.
- Forgetting your poisons. A Weakening or Dulling poison on a named mob can matter more than your damage.
- Running out of Vials of Smoke. Restock every time you’re in town.
- Trusting Stealth near red-con mobs. They can see you.
- Letting casters cast. Jab interrupts and locks out that school of magic for 4 seconds.
- Ignoring your off-hand. From level 10, a second weapon adds damage to auto-attack and Twin Blades.
14Rogue FAQ
Is the Rogue good for new players?
Yes, if you’re willing to learn positioning. You have no mana to manage, and a group makes the class easy to learn. The main lessons are staying behind the mob and not pulling aggro off your tank.
What’s the most important Rogue stat?
Dexterity and Agility, which your class already boosts by +4 each. Strength adds damage and Stamina keeps you alive in light armor.
Can a Rogue solo?
Somewhat. The rework added ranged abilities like Rain of Steel and Deadly Throw and the Gambit cooldown reset to help Rogues play solo while looking for a group. Stick to easier mobs and always open from Stealth.
What’s the best race for a Rogue?
Goblin for the best combined DEX and AGI, or Wood Elf for the highest Agility. Humans and Dwarves are sturdier starts in Night Harbor.
What happened to Ambush, Incapacitate and Double Backstab?
They were removed in the rework. Ambush was merged into Backstab, which now deals doubled weapon damage after 3 seconds in Stealth. Avoidance, Incapacitate, Low Blow and Double Backstab were removed as well.
Do Rogues use mana or cantrips?
No. Rogues are purely martial and use no magic, so they don’t meditate for mana or get cantrip slots. Your resources are cooldowns, poisons and Vials of Smoke.