The Rogue class has been a staple of Dragon Age since Dragon Age: Origins. Rogues are a fun and dynamic class that rely on stealth and cunning to get the upper hand on their enemies. Rogues are knowledgeable in the ways of poison, trap-making, and subterfuge. They often disable their targets by knocking them out, poisoning them, or debilitating their movement. The Rogue then moves in for the final kill.

RELATED: How To Build The Best Mage In Dragon Age: Inquisition

Having a Rogue in the party is essential. Rogues are the only class that can unlock doors, and their ability to pass by enemies undetected is essential when setting up the battlefield. They have a special affiliation with the underworld, and have special dialogue options pertaining to their trade.

10 Double Daggers

dragon age inquisition rogue

Retained from previous Dragon Age games, the Double Daggers skill tree is back. Dual wielding Rogues take advantage of this skill tree, which focuses on dealing high levels of damage as quickly as possible. While abilities in this tree are aimed at dealing high damage, the upgrades offer some versatility in specializing in taking down individual wounded opponents, or dealing lighter damage on larger groups of enemies.

Spinning Blades with the Neverending Spin upgrade is one of the best abilities in the tree, and should be acquired as soon as possible. Combining it with Deathblow and its Thrill of Victory upgrade creates a Rogue that hits hard and fast. While most of the abilities in this tree are essential for the successful dual wielding Rogue, Parry is an ability that can be skipped to save on points or the staying power of the Inquisitor.

9 Archery

Dragon Age Inquisition Sera

Like the Warrior class, Rogues have the choice of two weapons. Archery is the second option for the Rogue, and Archery is the skill tree for this weapon. In stark contrast to the dual wielding Rogue, archers are long-distance fighters whose arrows cause debilitating effects and damage groups of enemies.

RELATED: Mass Effect 3: How To Build The Best Vanguard

Unlike the Double Dagger tree, all of the abilities and passives in Archery are worth acquiring. Passives such as Death from Above encourage the player to make strategic use of the environment. Archer abilities can deliver debilitating blows, but can also focus on disabling the enemy and creating advantages for other members of the squad.

8 Sabotage

Dragon Age Inquisition Rogue Battle

Traps make something of a return in Inquisition, though the system is nowhere near as detailed as in Origins. Rather than using a crafting system, traps and poison appear in the Sabotage tree.

This tree could be ignored by Rogues, but it has some talents and passives that add a deadly edge to the Rogue. Sabotage skills support the Rogue's propensity at taking down individual enemies. Talents such as Hook and Tackle with the No Escape upgrade are helpful at dealing with enemies that move quickly across the battlefield, such as Despair Demons. Caltrops modifies the environment and makes it less agreeable to enemies, giving the Rogue the advantage.

7 Subterfuge

Dragon Age Archery

The Subterfuge tree is a good support tree to consider. Its first talent, Stealth, is an essential skill for any Rogue. Stealth allows the Rogue to be overlooked by enemies, and attacking from Stealth results in massive damage bonuses. If only one talent from this tree is picked, Stealth should be it.

RELATED: Mass Effect 3: How To Build The Best Infiltrator

Subterfuge has some other talents that are useful for certain Rogue builds, particularly ones built for maximum damage. This tree has talents that add threat reduction and improve the Rogue's odds of being hit, all while improving their odds of landing critical hits and ignoring armor.

6 Tempest

Dragon Age Inquisition Sera

Tempest is one of the three specializations available to Rogues. Tempests specialize in elixirs that give the Rogue tactical benefits in combat. The elixirs use the elements of ice, fire, and lightning, and each has different effects. These effects include freezing all enemies that surround the Rogue, limiting the consumption of stamina, and increasing the Rogue's speed.

One of the best draws of the Tempest is its Focus special ability, Thousand Cuts. This ability deals massive damage across the battlefield, and particularly on the Rogue's main target. Activation of Thousand Cuts is often enough to halve the life bar of dragons and other bosses, or even take them out completely in one go. Sera is the Rogue companion who has this specialization.

5 Assassin

Cole Knockout Powder Dragon Age

Assassin makes a return from Origins and Dragon Age II. The general concept of the Assassin remains the same, where the Rogue specializes in stealth and taking down individuals with ruthless efficiency.

RELATED: Mass Effect 3: How To Build The Best Adept

One of the most accepted tactics for the Assassin is to use Knockout Powder to subdue an opponent, and then take them down using any of the Assassin's offensive talents. Hidden Blades is a good talent to invest in for this purpose. The Assassin's Focus ability, Cloak of Shadows, is useful as its effects stretch across the entire party. The Rogue companion who specializes in this tree is Cole.

4 Artificer

Dragon Age Inquisition Varric

Trapmaking continues with the Artificer specialization. Artificers drop traps and mines across the battlefield, and make the environment more hazardous for enemies. This specialization is more of a support role than the offensive Tempest and Assassin, and its abilities and passives are aimed towards better teamwork.

The Artificer's Focus ability is Hail of Arrows, which is limited to Rogues who use archery. This makes this specialization less attractive to dual wielding Rogues, but this disadvantage can be mitigated through investing in the Sabotage tree, making this a workable specialization for Rogues of all types. The Rogue companion Varric specializes in this tree is Varric.

3 Weapon

Varric Dragon Age Inquisition Bianca

Rogues have the option of two types of weapon: the bow and double daggers. Both weapons use different skill trees for abilities, and it's better to invest in one, rather than both. Both weapons may be used by the Rogue, even if they haven't invested any points in their relative skill trees.

RELATED: Mass Effect 3: How To Build The Best Sentinel

Bows can be crafted and upgraded like any other weapon. Daggers come in two subtypes: single and dual-blade. Single bladed daggers deal damage to individual enemies and can be upgraded, while dual-blade daggers deal AoE damage and cannot be upgraded. Try to align the Rogue's weapon with their specialization: single blade daggers would be best for an Assassin, while a Tempest may make good use of dual-blades' wide reach.

2 Squad

Dragon Age Inquisition Cassandra

Rogues are best when used as offense or support. As such, their exploits will generate threat, which gains the attention of enemies. A tank character like Cassandra or Blackwall is essential in this regard. Also important is having a mage in the party equipped with Barrier to add an additional layer of defense.

RELATED: Dragon Age: Everything We Know About The Next Installment's Story (So Far) 

Adding another Rogue to the party is a good idea, ideally one who has a different weapon set to the Inquisitor. Sera is a great option for a dual wielding Inquisitor, especially with her Tempest specialization.

1 Tactics

Solas with glowing blue eyes in Dragon Age: Inquisition

Tactics largely depend on the Rogue's build, but the main idea to aim for with a Rogue is to get in and out quickly. Enemies can target Rogues because of their offensive output and, while Rogues are better armored than mages, they still aren't hardy enough to endure an assault.

Make liberal use of Stealth and upgrades on talents which allows the Rogue to enter stealth upon activation. This will reduce or remove the amount of threat the Rogue has accumulated, and will let the Rogue take down enemies unawares. Always try to flank enemies, which deals more damage.

NEXT: 10 Best Moments In Bioware Games