DevUpdate #4: 2020, Year of the Rogue

Hey everyone,

Welcome to DevUpdate #4 where I’ll be delving into some details about the new changes coming to the Rogue Tree in patch 3.8. We wanted to really lean into the class fantasy of an RPG Rogue archetype and create a Skill Tree that made it feel like you’re playing everyone’s favorite scoundrel with some magic sprinkled in (think an Arcane Trickster from Dungeons and Dragons). We created the Rogue Tree with a slew of new skills that will offer some interesting mechanics to the earlier game players, but also some pretty heavy hitting skills designed around later game players with a high amount of Skill Points / Mana at their disposal. To kick things off let’s talk about the existing skills that aren’t changing.

Master Thief: Unchanged

Assassinate: Unchanged

Ambush: Unchanged

These three skills still fit with the class fantasy feel of the Rogue Tree that we’re aiming for and thus will remain as they are currently in the new iteration of the tree. The old tree had 3 different skills to enable Pet, Clan Ship, and Shadow Clone to benefit from Deadly Strikes. We’ve rolled all three into a singular skill called Stroke of Luck.

Stroke of Luck:

• All companions will be able to benefit from your Deadly Strike skill
• Chance at earning a x1000 Gold Drop whenever a Titan dies.

We’re introducing a new mechanic to the Rogue Tree called Cloaking. The Cloaking skill is a little complicated so let’s get some details sorted out. When you have points invested in Cloaking, each time you prestige, you’ll obtain the Cloaked status for a chunk of stages. While cloaked, each time you kill a boss titan you’ve got a chance to skip ahead some stages. The Cloaked status will work similar to a miniature Portar in essence where you’ll be able to skip some stages when it procs.

What rogue would be complete without a set of trusty daggers? The revamped Rogue Tree will be introducing a sweet new QTE where you can throw daggers at unsuspecting Titans. They can even be enhanced with some arcane arts and dastardly poisons by progressing down the talent tree, giving them the ability to splash through enemies, skip stages, and increase all damage taken by the target.

Being able to spot weaknesses and exploit them is a key skill known by rogues worldwide. Guided Blade is another new skill coming forth in the Rogue Tree re-work where Deadly Strikes will have a chance to increase the damage of your subsequent Deadly Strikes (up to a cap); this bonus lasts until Deadly Strike wears off.

Finally, la pièce de résistance of the new Rogue Tree is another new QTE called Forbidden Contract. Rogues are known for making shady deals and Forbidden Contract is among the shadiest of deals on the market. Upon activation Sword Master will be infused with immense power, however this newfound strength comes at a price. When the Forbidden Contract is signed your mana will drain constantly while you earn a ramping damage buff. This contract has a no cancellation policy and will be unable to be reversed until Sword Master has been fully drained of mana or simply does not have enough mana to sustain the spell.

Thanks everyone for tuning in to DevUpdate #4: 2020 Year of the Rogue! We’ll see you next Friday for even more details about the hot new changes coming in v3.8.

Cheers,

Felkin GH