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In fact, it’s pretty much a given that the Rogue class scales and snowballs way more during a run than either of the other two classes, no matter the build. So, let’s go over the class, how it works, and how to make it as strong as possible.
Rogue Class Explanation
First up, to play the Rogue, the player needs to know how it works and how Loop Hero works in general. Basically, the Rogue is a lot like the classic DnD-type Rogue, prioritizing evasion, attack speed, and critical attacks in exchange for low HP and Defense.
Thankfully, in Loop Hero, the player controls the character’s stats and what enemies they go up against with the different Cards, one of the best aspects of the game. So, they can easily cover for the Rogue’s inherent weaknesses depending on how they build their Loop.
As far as the Rogues stats go, it has:
Damage Damage To All Evasion Critical Damage Chance Attack Speed Counter Defense Critical Damage Vampirism
Out of all those stats, the ones that are unique to the Rogue Class are the Critical Damage Chance and Critical Damage stats. Well, to be fair, it’s also the only class with innate Vampirism, but that doesn’t fully count.
As far as its other systems go, the Rogue also obtains its equipment uniquely. When the Rogue kills an enemy, it has a chance to get a “Trophy” in exchange. Then, once the Rogue reaches the campfire at the start/end of the Loop, it trades in all these Trophies for Equipment. This means that, for the most part, during a Loop, the Rogue doesn’t have the chance to get better equipment midway through, which makes each Loop a lot riskier than it is for the Warrior or Necromancer.
The only other special ability the Rogue has is that it also gets a ten percent bonus for every item equipped with the same effect, making it even better for stacking into one or two stats rather than spreading out equal distribution to all of them.
What Stats & Cards Should A Rogue Prioritize?
So, now that the general explanation of the Rogue class is out of the way, how exactly should it be built?
Well, most commonly, people build the Rogue with their Evasion, Attack, Speed, and Critical Damage/Chance stats in mind. Sure, there are other ways to build this class, such as prioritizing Damage, Damage to All, or even Counter chance, but they just aren’t as good in most cases.
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No, the best way to build the Rogue is by buffing its Attack Speed as much as possible while also lowering the Attack Speed and Max HP of the enemies on the Loop. But how is this done? Well, using the right deck of Cards, of course.
The Deck that most players tend to use is:
Now, this is just the default, and players can add or subtract any cards they don’t think work best for them. For example, Oblivion can be a useful card to use for making Hungry Groves, and Villages are great for getting Equipment mid-Loop.
A Typical Loop Build For The Rogue
With all this said, what does the actual Loop of a good Rogue player look like? Well, it should look pretty similar no matter the Loop shape. Let’s go over the specifics:
There should be a Grove next to the Campfire with a Blood Grove as well so that the 15 percent execution bonus is applied to the Boss of the stage. There should be Spider Cocoons everywhere, as these are the best enemies for the Rogue to fight, and they give a ton of Trophies and Cards. Next is a Smith’s Forge somewhere after the Campfire, and behind it as well, so that the Rogue can equip their best gear, trade it to the Forge for the reduced damage effect, and refresh the effect right after the next Loop starts. A Cemetery should be placed not far from the Campfire, as Skeletons are easily beaten by a high Attack Speed stat. The outer area of the Loop should be a long, winding River that forms a variety of U-shapes with Thickets and Sand Dunes adjacent to it. The empty areas of the map will also have Forests and Deserts placed in them whenever the player wants to accelerate the time before the Boss Spawns.
Outside that, it’s completely up to each player, and these rules aren’t exactly ironclad. But, for the most part, a Rogue’s Loop always has a ton of Spiders, a long River, and a lot of Thickets.
Best Camp Items & Traits
Last up are the more passive effects that will propel the Rogue to all new heights during a run.
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For the most part, these are the Supply Depot Camp Items selected before a run and the Traits picked mid-run on each level-up.
Camp Items
The thing is, there are a ton of Camp Items, so this part of the build is a lot more based on each player’s personal choice rather than one “set” list of Items to use. But, these are the Camp Items that seem to positively influence the Rogue the best:
In particular, the Count’s Chair, Old Frying Pan, Cheese, and Old Painting are the most universally incredible on the Rogue.
Traits
Finally, it’s time to talk about Traits. There are a ton of Traits to choose from in Loop Hero, and a lot of them serve different purposes in different situations. For example, something like Deep Pockets or Post-Mortem Toil is great for runs focused on grinding Resources, while Traits like Omicron’s Technique or Gift of Blood are great for trying to clear a tough Stage.
But, in general, these are the General, Boss, and Rogue-Specific Traits that are the best overall:
Overall, the best Traits for the Rogue are the ones that give Shields or Allies for enemies to attack instead, ones that give permanent effects of Kill, or ones that seem absurd when the Rogue’s lightning-fast Attack Speed is taken into account.
Loop Hero was released on March 4, 2021, and is available for PC and Nintendo Switch.
MORE: Loop Hero: Build Guide
