Elf Rogue Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start with a Rapier and Shortbow. At level 1, your free Keen Senses proficiency frees up your Rogue skill choices for Stealth, Acrobatics, Investigation, and Sleight of Hand. Put your Expertise into Stealth and Investigation. At level 3, choose the Phantom subclass. Whispers of the Dead lets you swap a skill proficiency every short rest, and Wails from the Grave adds splash necrotic damage to your Sneak Attack. At level 4, take the Elven Accuracy feat. This bumps your 15 Dexterity to 16 and gives you super-advantage. Use the Steady Aim optional feature to trigger Elven Accuracy on demand.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 brings Uncanny Dodge, doubling your effective survivability against big single hits, and pushes your baseline melee DPR to 20.4 with a 3d6 Sneak Attack. Level 7 grants Evasion, protecting your d8 hit die from fireballs. At level 8, take a +2 Dexterity ASI to reach 18 DEX, boosting your attack modifier and AC. Level 9 is a massive power spike for Phantom Rogues: Tokens of the Departed gives you advantage on Constitution saves (crucial for your 13 CON) and lets you deal Wails from the Grave damage without expending uses. At level 10, take another +2 Dexterity ASI to cap your primary stat at 20.

Levels 11-16

At level 11, Reliable Talent comes online. Combined with your Expertise and Elven Keen Senses, your minimum Perception and Stealth rolls will easily exceed 20, making you effectively invisible to most enemies. Your Sneak Attack reaches 6d6 here, pushing your DPR to 30.25. At level 12, take the Resilient (Constitution) feat to bump your 13 CON to 14, granting you a massive boost to poison and necrotic saves when combined with Tokens of the Departed. At level 16, take the Piercer feat. This lets you re-roll one low damage die on your Rapier or Shortbow and adds an extra damage die on your Elven Accuracy-fueled critical hits.

Levels 17-20

Level 17 brings Death's Friend, the Phantom's capstone, which automatically triggers Wails from the Grave on your primary target and a secondary target. With a 9d6 Sneak Attack, your DPR soars to 41.8. At level 19, take the Alert feat. Your 10 Wisdom means your passive Perception is decent but not infallible; Alert prevents you from being surprised and guarantees you can use Uncanny Dodge in the first round of combat. Level 20 grants Stroke of Luck, ensuring that even if Elven Accuracy fails you, you can still guarantee one crucial hit per rest.

Elven Accuracy

The cornerstone of this build. Taken at level 4, it rounds your 15 Dexterity to 16. Because Rogues can reliably generate advantage using Cunning Action (Hide) or Steady Aim, you will roll three d20s on almost every attack. This drastically increases your chance to land Sneak Attack and doubles your critical hit rate, which is vital for a Striker.

Resilient (Constitution)

Taken at level 12 to round your 13 Constitution to a 14. Rogues naturally gain proficiency in Dexterity, Intelligence, and Wisdom (at level 15 via Slippery Mind) saves. By adding Constitution proficiency, you protect yourself against the most common debilitating effects like poison and cold damage, keeping you alive in the frontline.

Piercer

A phenomenal half-feat for Rogues using Rapiers or Shortbows. Because you roll so many dice with Sneak Attack, the ability to re-roll a 1 on your weapon damage die is a nice DPR bump. More importantly, the extra damage die on a critical hit synergizes perfectly with the critical-fishing nature of Elven Accuracy.

Alert

Initiative is everything for a Striker. Going first allows you to eliminate a squishy target before they can act. Since you only have a 10 Wisdom, you are susceptible to being surprised by high-Stealth enemies. Alert entirely negates the surprised condition and gives you a +5 to Initiative, stacking with your capped 20 Dexterity.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Start with a mundane Rapier and Studded Leather armor. Your primary goal is to acquire Boots of Elvenkind. Because you already have a high Stealth modifier and Wood Elf speed, removing the disadvantage from noisy floors makes your scouting flawless.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Seek out a +1 Rapier to keep your attack rolls scaling ahead of enemy AC. This is also the tier to hunt for a Cloak of Elvenkind. When combined with your Boots and Expertise, opponents will need magical senses to detect you. A Bag of Holding is essential here for looting during your Trance downtime.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

Upgrade to a +2 Rapier. Defensively, aim for Glamoured Studded Leather for a flat +1 to AC, putting you at 18 AC total. An Amulet of Health is a massive boon if you can find one, as it overwrites your 13/14 Constitution to a 19, instantly padding your d8 hit die with dozens of extra hit points.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

You want a +3 Rapier or a legendary weapon like a Defender. The ultimate goal is a Manual of Quickness of Action to permanently push your Dexterity to 22, raising your AC, Initiative, attack rolls, and damage. Finally, a Cloak of Displacement forces disadvantage on attacks against you, effectively doubling your lifespan.

As a Striker with a 6/10 synergy, the Elf Rogue relies heavily on party composition to reach its maximum potential. You are exceptionally squishy with a d8 hit die and 13 Constitution, meaning you absolutely need a dedicated frontline to draw aggro while you utilize Steady Aim or Cunning Action to deliver Sneak Attacks.

The absolute best partner for this build is a Path of the Totem Warrior Barbarian (Wolf Totem). The Wolf Totem grants you automatic advantage on melee attacks against hostile creatures within 5 feet of the Barbarian. This means you don't need to burn your bonus action on Steady Aim or Hide; you simply walk up, trigger Elven Accuracy via the Barbarian's aura, and use your bonus action for Two-Weapon Fighting or Cunning Action (Disengage).

A Battle Master Fighter is another god-tier pairing. If the Fighter takes the Commander's Strike maneuver, they can forgo one of their attacks to allow you to make a reaction attack on their turn. Because Sneak Attack is limited to once per turn, not once per round, this allows you to apply your massive Sneak Attack damage twice in a single round, completely melting boss monsters.

Fighter 5 dip

Taking five levels of Fighter (Battle Master) gives you the Archery fighting style (+2 to hit with your Shortbow), Action Surge, and Extra Attack. Action Surge allows you to attack on your turn, then use a Ready action to attack on another creature's turn, guaranteeing two Sneak Attacks per round. Riposte and Brace maneuvers also allow for reaction Sneak Attacks in melee.

Ranger 3 dip

A three-level dip into Gloom Stalker Ranger capitalizes on your Elf Darkvision. Umbral Sight makes you practically invisible in darkness, guaranteeing advantage (and thus Elven Accuracy) without needing to Hide. Dread Ambusher gives you an extra attack and bonus movement on the first turn of combat, turning you into an unparalleled turn-one assassin.

• Overusing Steady Aim: As a Wood Elf, you have 35 feet of movement. Steady Aim drops your speed to 0. Don't trap yourself in melee range of a boss just to trigger Elven Accuracy; sometimes Cunning Action (Disengage) is the smarter play.
• Ignoring Fey Ancestry: Players often forget they have advantage on saving throws against being charmed. Remind your DM every time an enemy spellcaster targets you with an enchantment spell.
• Wasting Wails from the Grave: Phantom Rogues have limited uses of this feature early on. Don't waste it on a minion with 2 HP; save it to break the concentration of an enemy spellcaster standing near your primary target.
• Sleeping through Trance: Trance finishes your long rest in 4 hours. Don't skip the next 4 hours! Use that time to scout the dungeon perimeter using your Darkvision and Keen Senses while the party sleeps.