Boosting sneak attack

[JellyPooga]

Arcane trickster can gets haste.

Did you hear me say otherwise? Being able to cast Haste yourself, whether you do it with a spell slot or a magic item, isn't the key component here, as has been mentioned earlier. Being a Thief is. Arcane Trickster can't cast a spell to get two turns, but Thief has a Class feature that does. A Thief can Sneak Attack four times in one Round, an Arcane Trickster cannot.

UMD should have been a class feature not a subclass feature and thieves should have a feature that isn't completely 100% DM dependent.

UMD isn't a great ability because, as you menton, it's very GM dependent on what (if any) magic items you can get your sticky fingers on. Then again, the level 13 subclass abilities of any Rogue subclass are not that great; Assassins get a ribbon that allows them to impersonate a specific individual after three hours of observation (aka: a useless piece of trash ability, when Disguise Self is a 1st level spell that takes a single action to cast) and Arcane Tricksters get advantage on attack rolls (and let's face it, if you don't have reliable advantage on attack rolls by level 13, you don't deserve to be playing a level 13 character). UMD may not be great, but it's better than the other options IMO.

[clash]

Haste allows you to attack with your haste action for sneak attack then ready an action with your main action to easily and consistently get another sneak attack with your reaction.

[stoutstien]

Did you hear me say otherwise? Being able to cast Haste yourself, whether you do it with a spell slot or a magic item, isn't the key component here, as has been mentioned earlier. Being a Thief is. Arcane Trickster can't cast a spell to get two turns, but Thief has a Class feature that does. A Thief can Sneak Attack four times in one Round, an Arcane Trickster cannot.



UMD isn't a great ability because, as you menton, it's very GM dependent on what (if any) magic items you can get your sticky fingers on. Then again, the level 13 subclass abilities of any Rogue subclass are not that great; Assassins get a ribbon that allows them to impersonate a specific individual after three hours of observation (aka: a useless piece of trash ability, when Disguise Self is a 1st level spell that takes a single action to cast) and Arcane Tricksters get advantage on attack rolls (and let's face it, if you don't have reliable advantage on attack rolls by level 13, you don't deserve to be playing a level 13 character). UMD may not be great, but it's better than the other options IMO.

I really miss understood your first post. I thought you were using haste to get an extra attack not thieves reflex.

Yea they use the lv 13 ablity as a exploratory pillar feature for a few the sub classes and combat focused for most.
Assissian-explore
Thief-1/2 and 1/2 but extremely dm reliant
Arcane trickster-combat
Scout-combat(strongest one)
Mastermind-combat
Swashbuckler-combat
Inquisitive- exploratory maybe combat if invisibility counts.

[ProsecutorGodot]

I'm a bit disappointed to see nobody has mentioned that the Inquisitive Rogues 17th level feature gives them 3d6 additional sneak attack damage against a target affected by their Insightful Fighting feature.

[Montesquieu P.]

MC to Ranger; pick "Hunter's Mark" at 2nd Level (+1D6 damage per hit); pick "Colossus Slayer" at 3rd for another +1D8 -- if the target is wounded.

Also, pick 'Thief' specialization, and use your "Cunning Action" to poison your blade. Rinse & repeat.

[Naanomi]

I'm a bit disappointed to see nobody has mentioned that the Inquisitive Rogues 17th level feature gives them 3d6 additional sneak attack damage against a target affected by their Insightful Fighting feature.

... I mentioned it in the third post...

[ProsecutorGodot]

... I mentioned it in the third post...

Yep, I missed that, sorry. I blame lack of coffee. The reason I brought it up, is that it is the only thing I'm aware of that directly boosts your sneak attack damage and I was surprised that nobody (that I noticed) had brought it up.

I'm glad to see that it was actually brought up very quickly, I feel like the subclass is often overlooked because it's mostly non-combat oriented.

[Naanomi]

Yep, I missed that, sorry. I blame lack of coffee. The reason I brought it up, is that it is the only thing I'm aware of that directly boosts your sneak attack damage and I was surprised that nobody (that I noticed) had brought it up.

I'm glad to see that it was actually brought up very quickly, I feel like the subclass is often overlooked because it's mostly non-combat oriented.

It is one of my favorite... who doesn’t love 35+ passive perception?

[MThurston]

He was just pointing out that one fo the Fighting Style buff the Sneak Attack damage (dueling), another the hit chance (archery), and the last one (2weapon fighting), the damage and hit chance (depending the order, as anyone can use 2 weapons to attack with the bonus action, so it will make the second attack deal more when it hits with a sneak attack -if he miss the first one-, as most other people wouldn't add the DEX mod to it)

That does nothing to buff sneak attack. That just does more damage.

[MThurston]

MC to Ranger; pick "Hunter's Mark" at 2nd Level (+1D6 damage per hit); pick "Colossus Slayer" at 3rd for another +1D8 -- if the target is wounded.

Also, pick 'Thief' specialization, and use your "Cunning Action" to poison your blade. Rinse & repeat.

This also doesn't buff sneak attack. You are just adding ways to do more damage. With an atrack that doesn't even require sneak attack at all.

[MThurston]

Haste allows you to attack with your haste action for sneak attack then ready an action with your main action to easily and consistently get another sneak attack with your reaction.

This also doesn't boost sneak attack. Just another damage build that doesnt require sneak attack to work.

[clash]

This also doesn't boost sneak attack. Just another damage build that doesnt require sneak attack to work.

This specifically works really well with sneak attack because you dont lose out on damage by readying an action. If you rely on extra attack you lose out on a lot of damage by only taking one haste attack on your turn and one single attack from readying an action. With sneak attack the hasted attack can do your entire expected damage output and then you can do your entire damage output with your readied action as well effectively doubling your damage in a way that only works with sneak attack.

[Trampaige]

Rogue's with a little strength and Battlemaster levels are decent for this.

Shield Master and Elven Accuracy Feats, maybe Sentinel with it. Anything that gives you advantage is incredibly beneficial.

You shove a creature to create your own advantage with shield master, giving yourself trivantage with elven accuracy. You sneak attack with a much higher crit chance, which is always solid. Then, you take advantage of your reaction with sentinel or riposte to do a second SA in that round.

It's important to consider Crawford's reversal of his ruling. According to him, it's no longer legal to bonus action shove, then attack. You now have to complete both attacks before you can perform the bonus action shove. It... messes up a few other things as well.

[iTreeby]

This also doesn't boost sneak attack. Just another damage build that doesnt require sneak attack to work.

Does - 2 to hit debuff sneak attack? Does - 2 damage debuff sneak attack? Does missing attacks in a turn debuff sneak attack? The answer to these questions is yes. Do a test fight with a rogue that is fighting a practice dummy and see how much damage is getting done in each case.

Let me put it to you like this which weapon is better for sneak attack, a +1 dagger or a +2 dagger?

[Maxilian]

This also doesn't buff sneak attack. You are just adding ways to do more damage. With an atrack that doesn't even require sneak attack at all.

We are adding things that could buff sneak attack damage, could they be used with anything else? Yes, but those things work with sneak attack? yes.

"Buff sneak attack" is just a way to say "How can i make my sneak attack better overall? be it damage, hit chance or effects in general"

[Maxilian]

It is one of my favorite... who doesn’t love 35+ passive perception?

the DM. /10char

[MThurston]

This specifically works really well with sneak attack because you dont lose out on damage by readying an action. If you rely on extra attack you lose out on a lot of damage by only taking one haste attack on your turn and one single attack from readying an action. With sneak attack the hasted attack can do your entire expected damage output and then you can do your entire damage output with your readied action as well effectively doubling your damage in a way that only works with sneak attack.

Does it boost sneak attack. The lerson is looking for ways to boost it. Adding damage from another source doesn't boost sneak attack.

[MThurston]

We are adding things that could buff sneak attack damage, could they be used with anything else? Yes, but those things work with sneak attack? yes.

"Buff sneak attack" is just a way to say "How can i make my sneak attack better overall? be it damage, hit chance or effects in general"

Boosting sneak attack is what the person asked for. Not ways to do more damage.

[Maxilian]

Does it boost sneak attack. The lerson is looking for ways to boost it. Adding damage from another source doesn't boost sneak attack.

That's how you boost the damage of it, you combine it with other abilities to make it hit harder.

OP wants to know how to increase sneak attack damage, those are ways to do it.

[iTreeby]

Boosting sneak attack is what the person asked for. Not ways to do more damage.

Sneak attack does damage and nothing else.

[bid]

Boosting sneak attack is what the person asked for. Not ways to do more damage.

The only way to boost single-turn SA-specific damage is the inquisitive feature mentionned by Naanomi.
There are ways to boost SA-specific damage per round by using your reaction, but that's it.

If you don't want to nitpick those answers, ask a better question.

[MThurston]

The only way to boost single-turn SA-specific damage is the inquisitive feature mentionned by Naanomi.
There are ways to boost SA-specific damage per round by using your reaction, but that's it.

If you don't want to nitpick those answers, ask a better question.

You can only do SA damage once per turn.

So, you must have advantage.
You must have someone within 5 feet.
Or take a subclass that allows you to have SA some other way. Swashbuckler get it when only touching one enemy.

Now the next part is you must hit. Getting a +2 to archery is great but it doesn't boost SA.

Brute from the Fighter and Battle Master dice also do not boost SA.

Someone mentioned a 17th level bonus to get an extra 3d6. That is your only true boost.

Assassin has a nice trick to give you auto crit. But it isn't always guaranteed.

The rules are terrible when it comes to surprise rounds. You still have to roll init and if you roll bad, the guy you attack knows you are there. Even though you are hidden and just blew a poison dart at them.

[ProsecutorGodot]

You can only do SA damage once per turn.

So, you must have advantage.
You must have someone within 5 feet.
Or take a subclass that allows you to have SA some other way. Swashbuckler get it when only touching one enemy.

You need to have advantage
*or*
Have an ally within 5 ft of the target

You being correct in the fact that you can only do sneak attack damage once per turn is a key point in many optimizations for Rogues, per turn not per round. Getting methods that allow you to sneak attack more than once per round are, in effect, a potential boost to your sneak attack.

It's true that the OP asked a question with a simple answer, but discussion that springboards off that isn't off topic and could still be a viable answer.

[Keravath]

Note: Have in mind, that adding extra attacks increase your chance of hitting with your SA, but also decrease the damage your sneak attack does (as you would require lvls in other classes, pushing back the damage of your sneak attack), so making your Sneak Attack damage go down by 2d6 in most cases (or 1d6 if you assume you hit with both attacks)

Also note that getting a second attack gives two chances to land sneak attack AND also gives the chance to land TWO attacks.

Even just using a long bow or rapier the second attack will do d8+5 = 9.5 damage while the 2d6 sneak attack damage that was sacrificed was only 7 damage.

So hitting with both attacks is BETTER than the 2d6 sneak damage given up. Hitting with ONE of the two attacks is either 2d6 worse or d8+5 + 8d6 BETTER (if your one SA attack would have missed) since you at least landed one of the attacks and if everything misses ... well they are equal ... but the odds of missing twice are a lot less than missing just once.

So, overall, the 5 levels to get extra attack are MUCH better than the possible 2d6 sneak attack lost. The real question is whether the rogue class features from 16 to 20 are worth the trade off for 5 levels in fighter/barbarian/paladin/ranger/warlock or six levels in bard/bladesinger (lose 3d6 sneak attack but arguably some really worthwhile additional features).

If you are a ranged rogue then the +2 archery from fighter or ranger makes the 5 level dip for extra attack even more worthwhile. As a ranger you can even throw in hunters mark for extra d6 damage on each hit if you really want it.

[iTreeby]

You can only do SA damage once per turn.

So, you must have advantage.
You must have someone within 5 feet.
Or take a subclass that allows you to have SA some other way. Swashbuckler get it when only touching one enemy.

Now the next part is you must hit. Getting a +2 to archery is great but it doesn't boost SA.

Brute from the Fighter and Battle Master dice also do not boost SA.

Someone mentioned a 17th level bonus to get an extra 3d6. That is your only true boost.

Assassin has a nice trick to give you auto crit. But it isn't always guaranteed.

The rules are terrible when it comes to surprise rounds. You still have to roll init and if you roll bad, the guy you attack knows you are there. Even though you are hidden and just blew a poison dart at them.

If you don't hit, you do zero sneak attack damage. Increases to accuracy boost sneak attack damage. Decreasing your accuracy is absolutely a debuf to sneak attack. Having 18 Dex is better for sneak attack than having 8 Dex (ignoring Str).

Having more chances to hit, gives you more chances to trigger sneak attack (until you hit). If you can't attack you do no sneak attack damage. If your only attack misses you do no sneak attack damage.

[Maxilian]

Also note that getting a second attack gives two chances to land sneak attack AND also gives the chance to land TWO attacks.

Even just using a long bow or rapier the second attack will do d8+5 = 9.5 damage while the 2d6 sneak attack damage that was sacrificed was only 7 damage.

So hitting with both attacks is BETTER than the 2d6 sneak damage given up. Hitting with ONE of the two attacks is either 2d6 worse or d8+5 + 8d6 BETTER (if your one SA attack would have missed) since you at least landed one of the attacks and if everything misses ... well they are equal ... but the odds of missing twice are a lot less than missing just once.

So, overall, the 5 levels to get extra attack are MUCH better than the possible 2d6 sneak attack lost. The real question is whether the rogue class features from 16 to 20 are worth the trade off for 5 levels in fighter/barbarian/paladin/ranger/warlock or six levels in bard/bladesinger (lose 3d6 sneak attack but arguably some really worthwhile additional features).

If you are a ranged rogue then the +2 archery from fighter or ranger makes the 5 level dip for extra attack even more worthwhile. As a ranger you can even throw in hunters mark for extra d6 damage on each hit if you really want it.

You're completely right.

[Maxilian]

You can only do SA damage once per turn.

So, you must have advantage.
You must have someone within 5 feet.
Or take a subclass that allows you to have SA some other way. Swashbuckler get it when only touching one enemy.

Now the next part is you must hit. Getting a +2 to archery is great but it doesn't boost SA.

Brute from the Fighter and Battle Master dice also do not boost SA.

Someone mentioned a 17th level bonus to get an extra 3d6. That is your only true boost.

Assassin has a nice trick to give you auto crit. But it isn't always guaranteed.

The rules are terrible when it comes to surprise rounds. You still have to roll init and if you roll bad, the guy you attack knows you are there. Even though you are hidden and just blew a poison dart at them.

For something to boost X, that something does not need to be only useful for X

[Ganymede]

It requires a higher level, but the Inquisitive can enhance sneak attack damage by 3d6 under certain circumstances.

Inquisitives are also able to get sneak attacks in unique situations, such as against flying foes.

[Keravath]

Weird - somehow a duplicate of post #54 - no idea how it was double posted with several other replies in between.

Note: Have in mind, that adding extra attacks increase your chance of hitting with your SA, but also decrease the damage your sneak attack does (as you would require lvls in other classes, pushing back the damage of your sneak attack), so making your Sneak Attack damage go down by 2d6 in most cases (or 1d6 if you assume you hit with both attacks)

Also note that getting a second attack gives two chances to land sneak attack AND also gives the chance to land TWO attacks.

Even just using a long bow or rapier the second attack will do d8+5 = 9.5 damage while the 2d6 sneak attack damage that was sacrificed was only 7 damage.

So hitting with both attacks is BETTER than the 2d6 sneak damage given up. Hitting with ONE of the two attacks is either 2d6 worse or d8+5 + 8d6 BETTER (if your one SA attack would have missed) since you at least landed one of the attacks and if everything misses ... well they are equal ... but the odds of missing twice are a lot less than missing just once.

So, overall, the 5 levels to get extra attack are MUCH better than the possible 2d6 sneak attack lost. The real question is whether the rogue class features from 16 to 20 are worth the trade off for 5 levels in fighter/barbarian/paladin/ranger/warlock or six levels in bard/bladesinger (lose 3d6 sneak attack but arguably some really worthwhile additional features).

If you are a ranged rogue then the +2 archery from fighter or ranger makes the 5 level dip for extra attack even more worthwhile. As a ranger you can even throw in hunters mark for extra d6 damage on each hit if you really want it.

[Steampunkette]

Whips. As the only finessable reach weapon, a whip allows you to sneak attack on enemies provoking attacks of opportunity by moving around at the edge of a reach range. That can do some magical things for increasing the number of sneak attacks you get in a round.

Just hold the Whip in your off hand for that specific benefit and use your more damaging weapon in your primary hand.