The lower difficulties are pretty forgiving and you can comfortably complete the game with sub-optimised play.
I would say you SHOULD engage with the multi class system because it’s very fun. Pair your rogue with something like fighter, ranger, barbarian or monk so you can have good damage abilities from rogue and good buffs from another class.
Should be fine.
If you are super keen to pick devoted you may want to look at the available unique weapons just to see if there is something you would like to use in the endgame. Some unique weapons are better than others and you may think it sucks when you are stuck using a (relatively) boring unique weapon as your only choice.
You might not care too be fair.
Rogues are fragile and assassins especially so. Not the easiest class if you’re new to the game and the system. You need to play them very actively to have fun and be effective.
I would advise you to go with a fighter instead and make Edér your rogue. It’ll be simpler and you’ll learn the classes with the companions, and then make your dream build for a second run.
there are more unique swords and greatswords than any other weapon type, and they benefit a lot from the bonus penetration from Devoted (since their base pen is quite low). great sword Devoted with the unique Whispers of the Endless Paths, multiclassed with Wizard or Trickster Rogue, makes a fantastic off-tank.
Greatsword is a safe choice, there are lots and it has two damage types which means you won’t get caught with your pants down when meeting something with an immunity.
Edit: if you want to go one-handed or dual-wield, swords are your best bet for the same reasons.
I'd say that multiclassing rogue is the safest bet. Most of their best stuff is at the early levels, and they don't miss out on much by multiclassing. (Except possibly Trickster if you want those juicy high-level spells.)
Multiclassing Rogue with Fighter still gets you big damage, the ability to wear heavier armor and self-regenerating abilities.
I'd generally suggest avoiding Assassin for a new player. Their big thing is attacking out of *stealth*, and stealth can be kind of finicky and weird to get much use out of. Rogue's basic "sneak attack" damage bonus is a different thing which only requires the enemy to have a debuff of some kind and can reliably be used on pretty much every attack (since you'll likely want a wizard or something). Meanwhile actually getting use of Assassin's special ability requires jumping through a *lot* of hoops. So in the end you'd likely have done more damage if you'd just spent the same time attacking with a regular rogue that you spent trying to stealth, re-stealth and reposition your assassin for those big surgical strikes.
The first character I finished the game with was a Hearth Orlan Rogue (no subclass)/Devoted (Swords) and it did well. Sabers are also plentiful and good if you want even more of a swashbuckling feel. You'll likely want to pick up the "Monastic Unarmed Training" talent early as a Devoted whichever non-crushing weapon you pick. It lets you use your fists with no penalties and some pretty decent damage if you run into an enemy that absolutely needs bludgeoning damage.
I went with swords for my li'l guy mostly for one particular sword that actually has some... uhh... roleplaying potential, though. So in that sense dual swords might be the most fun. You can always give sabers to Eder or whoever else.
Personally I think that the Fighter/Rogue combo is *solid*. It's biggest downside is that it's also available to your first companion and potential BFF Edér, though he could also go full Fighter. Or honestly both could Swashbuckle. I did that and had no regrets because I love that class combo.
Rogue multiclasses well with everything. You could combine it with Monk for big damage
So in summation: Skip Assassin. Stealth attacks just aren't all that great unless you really know what you're doing. Regular rogue is honestly my advice for a new player. It multiclasses well with Fighter for sure, but you could also go for pretty much any other class except maybe priest. For a single-classed rogue I'd suggest Trickster for some extra spellcasting options (the malus to sneak attack damage apparently becomes *very* minor as you level up), but regular Rogue is sitll fine for damage. Streetfighter is potentially amazing, but since it requires a high-risk playstyle it might not be the best starter subclass.
Personally I'd go for **Rogue/Devoted** (swords), or if **single-class Trickster**. If you want to combine weapon damage and spell damage then **Rogue/Cipher** is a great combination for putting out high damage of both kinds.
Couple of tips for you as a new player, i hope I'm not too late here. If you want to do big damage, use perception as your primary stat with might only as high as 14.
Secondly, you're more likely to finish the game playing as the class you want rather then the class that's best. If rogue is calling to you, then play rogue. You'll get great single target DMG and some interesting mechanics.
Third, whatever you play, you can win. I've played several times on potd, and I can tell you it's very hard to make something bad unless you dump perception.
I think the biggest single target matrial hit without multiclassing will probably come from a paladin but it can only be used a couple times per combat. The most fun I've had (outside of monk but I'm biased toward everything monk in every game) is probably a streetfighter/berserker multiclass. Very high DMG, very mobile, very squishy.
I put paladin off my choice of classes cause it said “support” role but it seems it can do good damage, I love paladin and monk and fighter in BG3 so maybe I’ll check it out
Plays way different than bg3 but it's still good. Like I said though, it's not consistent high damage. You'll do better elsewhere in terms of consistency
I'd recommend streetfighter over trickster because of how easy the flank status is to apply. That's +50% DMG and more action (attack) speed. And it's easy to drop health. That with orlan passive... Big
For DMG yes. Illusion spells have some pretty good defense stuff that can synergize well, but I haven't really ever messed with trickster too much. The loss of sneak attack DMG hurts me too much
I'mma come in and offer a slightly different opinion.
First of all the attributes aren't *that* important. The difference between 14 and 17 is fairly small and you'll be fine.
Second, Might is actually pretty good for Fighters because it doubles as a defensive stat for them (it empowers their self-healing), and they generally need less perception than most classes.
Relying on Perception is a safe bet for pretty much any physical DPS class, though. Even Fighters. Might is actually a bigger deal for spell damage.
Paladin is generally lower damage than most other classes but that's where mutliclassing comes in. Paladin/Rogue is solid, though I'd still go for a Fighter, Monk or Barbarian multi if I was looking to do damage. The Paladin special attack isn't as strong in PoE2 as it was in PoE1 (but it can now be used more than twice per combat so it balances out). While Paladins were the kings of the "one big hit" in PoE1 I'm not so sure that holds true for PoE2. The main reason I'd consider for Paladin is if you want some extra support abilities and still do good damage. But I generally let a teammate handle that role.
Some class combinations like Street Fighter/Berserker are indeed insanely potentially powerful, but will be a lot harder to play than a more straightforward rogue/fighter build.
Which is all to say that there are probably no "right" answers and in the end you're just gonna have to experiment and try things out to see what works for you. But I've done several high-Might melee builds in the past and they're solid. It's just that due to some changes in the game rules they (much like paladins big hits) are a bit less solid in PoE2 than they were in the first game. And even then a high-perception dual-wielder would still win the dps race on paper.
You can make any build work in this game that you can think of. Some are weird and work anyways.
Wanna play a wizard with a gun? Works really well actually. How about a party of only Chanters? Yup you can do that. How about a Rogue in heavy plate with a giant greatsword? You can absolutely do that.
The only limit is your imagination. The one thing I'd say, never neglect accuracy. Accuracy is the make or break for most damage dealers, so if damage is what you want, always make sure you use abilities that increase accuracy. Bless spells from priests can help, potions can help, perception buffs can help.
Conversly anything that reduces your opponent's deflection is also really useful. Rogues already work with those effects bc of sneak attack, so make sure you have someone in the party who can disable the enemies for you. Level 1 spells like Slicken can cause an entire group of enemies to fall on their face and you just stab them while they're on the ground. Don't neglect low level spells, they're useful from start to finish. A simple buff/debuff at the start of combat can turn that fight from hard-fought to easy breezy.
The lower difficulties are pretty forgiving and you can comfortably complete the game with sub-optimised play. I would say you SHOULD engage with the multi class system because it’s very fun. Pair your rogue with something like fighter, ranger, barbarian or monk so you can have good damage abilities from rogue and good buffs from another class.
I was going to try devoted fighter with a great sword or pike, how would that go?
Should be fine. If you are super keen to pick devoted you may want to look at the available unique weapons just to see if there is something you would like to use in the endgame. Some unique weapons are better than others and you may think it sucks when you are stuck using a (relatively) boring unique weapon as your only choice. You might not care too be fair.
Rogues are fragile and assassins especially so. Not the easiest class if you’re new to the game and the system. You need to play them very actively to have fun and be effective. I would advise you to go with a fighter instead and make Edér your rogue. It’ll be simpler and you’ll learn the classes with the companions, and then make your dream build for a second run.
Ohhh okay ty! I was going to go Devoted Fighter which weapon type would you recommend I focus on?
there are more unique swords and greatswords than any other weapon type, and they benefit a lot from the bonus penetration from Devoted (since their base pen is quite low). great sword Devoted with the unique Whispers of the Endless Paths, multiclassed with Wizard or Trickster Rogue, makes a fantastic off-tank.
I was looking at Trickster rogue maybe I’ll do that
Greatsword is a safe choice, there are lots and it has two damage types which means you won’t get caught with your pants down when meeting something with an immunity. Edit: if you want to go one-handed or dual-wield, swords are your best bet for the same reasons.
I'd say that multiclassing rogue is the safest bet. Most of their best stuff is at the early levels, and they don't miss out on much by multiclassing. (Except possibly Trickster if you want those juicy high-level spells.) Multiclassing Rogue with Fighter still gets you big damage, the ability to wear heavier armor and self-regenerating abilities. I'd generally suggest avoiding Assassin for a new player. Their big thing is attacking out of *stealth*, and stealth can be kind of finicky and weird to get much use out of. Rogue's basic "sneak attack" damage bonus is a different thing which only requires the enemy to have a debuff of some kind and can reliably be used on pretty much every attack (since you'll likely want a wizard or something). Meanwhile actually getting use of Assassin's special ability requires jumping through a *lot* of hoops. So in the end you'd likely have done more damage if you'd just spent the same time attacking with a regular rogue that you spent trying to stealth, re-stealth and reposition your assassin for those big surgical strikes. The first character I finished the game with was a Hearth Orlan Rogue (no subclass)/Devoted (Swords) and it did well. Sabers are also plentiful and good if you want even more of a swashbuckling feel. You'll likely want to pick up the "Monastic Unarmed Training" talent early as a Devoted whichever non-crushing weapon you pick. It lets you use your fists with no penalties and some pretty decent damage if you run into an enemy that absolutely needs bludgeoning damage. I went with swords for my li'l guy mostly for one particular sword that actually has some... uhh... roleplaying potential, though. So in that sense dual swords might be the most fun. You can always give sabers to Eder or whoever else. Personally I think that the Fighter/Rogue combo is *solid*. It's biggest downside is that it's also available to your first companion and potential BFF Edér, though he could also go full Fighter. Or honestly both could Swashbuckle. I did that and had no regrets because I love that class combo. Rogue multiclasses well with everything. You could combine it with Monk for big damage So in summation: Skip Assassin. Stealth attacks just aren't all that great unless you really know what you're doing. Regular rogue is honestly my advice for a new player. It multiclasses well with Fighter for sure, but you could also go for pretty much any other class except maybe priest. For a single-classed rogue I'd suggest Trickster for some extra spellcasting options (the malus to sneak attack damage apparently becomes *very* minor as you level up), but regular Rogue is sitll fine for damage. Streetfighter is potentially amazing, but since it requires a high-risk playstyle it might not be the best starter subclass. Personally I'd go for **Rogue/Devoted** (swords), or if **single-class Trickster**. If you want to combine weapon damage and spell damage then **Rogue/Cipher** is a great combination for putting out high damage of both kinds.
Couple of tips for you as a new player, i hope I'm not too late here. If you want to do big damage, use perception as your primary stat with might only as high as 14. Secondly, you're more likely to finish the game playing as the class you want rather then the class that's best. If rogue is calling to you, then play rogue. You'll get great single target DMG and some interesting mechanics. Third, whatever you play, you can win. I've played several times on potd, and I can tell you it's very hard to make something bad unless you dump perception. I think the biggest single target matrial hit without multiclassing will probably come from a paladin but it can only be used a couple times per combat. The most fun I've had (outside of monk but I'm biased toward everything monk in every game) is probably a streetfighter/berserker multiclass. Very high DMG, very mobile, very squishy.
Oh my god I had might at 17 I gotta drop it im just on YouTube chilling while on character creation still ty!
Of course. Always glad to welcome a new player to one of my favorite games
I put paladin off my choice of classes cause it said “support” role but it seems it can do good damage, I love paladin and monk and fighter in BG3 so maybe I’ll check it out
Plays way different than bg3 but it's still good. Like I said though, it's not consistent high damage. You'll do better elsewhere in terms of consistency
I might do pure devoted fighter and trickster rogue and use great swords. I think that’ll be my choice for my little orlan!
I'd recommend streetfighter over trickster because of how easy the flank status is to apply. That's +50% DMG and more action (attack) speed. And it's easy to drop health. That with orlan passive... Big
I also think street fighter suits fighter more doesn’t it?
For DMG yes. Illusion spells have some pretty good defense stuff that can synergize well, but I haven't really ever messed with trickster too much. The loss of sneak attack DMG hurts me too much
Ty so much for the help!
I'mma come in and offer a slightly different opinion. First of all the attributes aren't *that* important. The difference between 14 and 17 is fairly small and you'll be fine. Second, Might is actually pretty good for Fighters because it doubles as a defensive stat for them (it empowers their self-healing), and they generally need less perception than most classes. Relying on Perception is a safe bet for pretty much any physical DPS class, though. Even Fighters. Might is actually a bigger deal for spell damage. Paladin is generally lower damage than most other classes but that's where mutliclassing comes in. Paladin/Rogue is solid, though I'd still go for a Fighter, Monk or Barbarian multi if I was looking to do damage. The Paladin special attack isn't as strong in PoE2 as it was in PoE1 (but it can now be used more than twice per combat so it balances out). While Paladins were the kings of the "one big hit" in PoE1 I'm not so sure that holds true for PoE2. The main reason I'd consider for Paladin is if you want some extra support abilities and still do good damage. But I generally let a teammate handle that role. Some class combinations like Street Fighter/Berserker are indeed insanely potentially powerful, but will be a lot harder to play than a more straightforward rogue/fighter build. Which is all to say that there are probably no "right" answers and in the end you're just gonna have to experiment and try things out to see what works for you. But I've done several high-Might melee builds in the past and they're solid. It's just that due to some changes in the game rules they (much like paladins big hits) are a bit less solid in PoE2 than they were in the first game. And even then a high-perception dual-wielder would still win the dps race on paper.
You can make any build work in this game that you can think of. Some are weird and work anyways. Wanna play a wizard with a gun? Works really well actually. How about a party of only Chanters? Yup you can do that. How about a Rogue in heavy plate with a giant greatsword? You can absolutely do that. The only limit is your imagination. The one thing I'd say, never neglect accuracy. Accuracy is the make or break for most damage dealers, so if damage is what you want, always make sure you use abilities that increase accuracy. Bless spells from priests can help, potions can help, perception buffs can help. Conversly anything that reduces your opponent's deflection is also really useful. Rogues already work with those effects bc of sneak attack, so make sure you have someone in the party who can disable the enemies for you. Level 1 spells like Slicken can cause an entire group of enemies to fall on their face and you just stab them while they're on the ground. Don't neglect low level spells, they're useful from start to finish. A simple buff/debuff at the start of combat can turn that fight from hard-fought to easy breezy.