Rogue Jumper Guide - Guide for Dragon Age II

Guide for Dragon Age II: Making your Rogue into a “Jumper”
Index:
I. 	Introduction
II. 	Talent Tree Overview
III. 	Specialization Tree Overview
IV. 	Specific Skill/Level List
V. 	Detailed Tree Strategy
VI. 	Attributes Guide
VII. 	Party Strategies
VIII. 	Conclusion


I. 	Introduction
Being a “Jumper” refers to constantly moving throughout the battlefield. Rogues are ideal for this type of 
strategy, because of how nimble and “tricky” they can be. Many of their talents can get them out of tight 
situations. The goal of a Jumper is to deal as much damage as possible, and then disappear-only to reappear a 
few seconds later, to deal more damage. Also, I will note that I will not be referencing any DLC related 
content. Not everyone spends money to get better equipment, and not everyone has access to the same 
things. 

II. 	Talent Tree Overview
There are six Talent Trees available to Rogues in DA: 2. Only some of these will actually be used, in order to 
maximize efficiency and deadliness. 

Archery: The archery tree will not be used at all. No points should ever be spent here; otherwise, they are 
being wasted. That is all. 

Sabotage: The only talent that should be in this tree is the one you start with: Miasmic Flask. Do NOT upgrade 
it. A two second extension and a few seconds chopped off the cool down aren’t really worth it, so don’t waste 
the point. Other than that, nothing else should be in this tree. 

Specialist: You won’t need anything in here. Some of the abilities can be helpful, but they need a lot of points 
pumped into the tree to be truly useful. Just ignore this tree. 

Dual Weapons: Although this is an important tree, you won’t obtain very many talents here. All you’ll really 
want is Backstab, all its upgrades, and unforgiving chain. The other moves are good, but aren’t necessary for 
this style. There are many other talents worth more than these, as they simply do damage. 


Scoundrel: Another very important tree in this set-up. The talents to be obtained here are Back to Back (along 
with its upgrade), Armistice (without its upgrade), Blindside, and Goad. Do not bother with Twist the Blade, 
Follow Through or the upgrade for Armistice. 

Subterfuge: This is a semi-important tree. Evade should be bought and upgraded, and Stealth should be 
bought, but not upgraded; also, Ambush and Lingering Shroud should be acquired. You won’t have to worry 
about the other talents, and saving the points is important. 

III. 	Specialization Tree Overview
The ONLY specialization you should spend time on is Duelist. Eventually, you can spend your other point on 
Assassin just for its standard bonus, but do not spend points in Assassins. In Duelist, acquire everything 
EXCEPT the upgrades for Throw the Gauntlet, and Sure Strikes. Everything else needs to be purchased. 

IV. 	Specific Skill Acquiring List
This list tells you the order in which to obtain your techniques. However, this is not based on levels. According 
to the skills needed for this, you would have to reach level 21, which is relatively difficult. The best way to 
achieve these skills is to use every tome you can, do every quest, and use the potion available in Act III that 
automatically grants you a level up. 
1-Backstab (Dual)
2-Back to Back (Scoundrel)
3-Unforgiving Chain (Dual)
4-Armistice (Scoundrel)
5-Evade (Subterfuge)
6-Perforate (Dual)
7-Parry (Duelist)
8-Murder (Dual)
9-Throw the Gauntlet (Duelist)
10-Stealth (Subterfuge)
11-Invisible Friend (Scoundrel)
12-En Garde (Duelist)
13-Ambush (Subterfuge)
14-Evasive Maneuvers (Duelist)
15-Lingering Shroud (Subterfuge)
16-Vendetta (Duelist)
17-Blood Feud (Duelist)
18-Goad (Scoundrel)
19-Riposte (Duelist)
20-Blindside (Scoundrel)
21-Tactical Withdrawal (Subterfuge)
		
		
If you manage to get more ability points, through tomes, deals with demons, or higher levels, that is good. 
Use the first extra point on Sure Strikes (Duelist). After that, upgrade Stealth (Subterfuge) to its fullest point. 
Anything after that? Up to You. 

V. 	Detailed Tree Strategies
This section will explain all the moves, how to use them, and what moves to use them with. Remember, that 
the majority of a rogue’s damage isn’t from its talents: it comes from its standard attacks that do loads of 
damage. Enjoy. 

Dual Weapons: These talents are your standard damaging moves. Backstab is helpful because you disappear 
momentarily, contributing to the “Jumper” theory. Plus, Unforgiving Chain can help with Critical Hit chances, 
allowing for more standard damage. Just use these whenever you have an opportunity, as they will help, and 
cost little stamina. 
Sabotage: Since you only have one talent here, it isn’t TOO important, although it still matters. Use Miasmic 
flask whenever you’re under attack from two or more opponents. It has a relatively quick reload, and is helpful 
in getting out of tight situation. 
Scoundrel: A very important tree that can be a major help. The reason for this is because it helps you get out 
of tight situations. Back to Back is your standard talent here, and should be used frequently. Although it has a 
somewhat long cool down, it is still helpful for when you are under attack by a lot of enemies. Once you 
upgrade it, it becomes extremely useful, because you become stealthed, protecting yourself. It can also be 
used to help any allies that are under attack by too many opponents. Plus, once Ambush is obtained, the 
stealth feature allows for some critical hits to deal extra damage. Goad is basically another version of taunt. 
Basically, the rogue tells every enemy around him to attack someone else. And they listen. Use this talent to 
redirect foes to your tank, giving you a break. Armistice will be used on one condition: only when your mage is 
under attack. Otherwise, it’s wasted, since all it does is prevent the selected companion from being attacked. 
Your warriors can handle themselves, and you don’t want to accidentally send enemies to you. Finally, 
Blindside is useful at random times, when engaging enemies that are attacking your companions. 
	Subterfuge: The last of your standard trees, although still important. Evade is there for obvious reasons. 
When you’re under attack; back off, while stunning the enemy. The Tactical Retreat upgrade is not extremely 
necessary, therefore it can wait until the end of the list, since most of the time, enemies that were evaded will 
seek new opponents. However, the main focus of this tree is the Stealth option. The best technique 
combination used in this tree is a combination with the Duelist Specialization. First, use stealth. Second, have a 
companion QUICKLY use a technique that will STAGGER a target. (Preferably an elite/boss type enemy. ) 
Lastly, use Vendetta (upgraded) on that target. It will deal extra damage because you are targeting a 
STAGGERED enemy, Ambush will give it an instant critical hit, and lingering shroud will allow you to stay 
stealthed afterwards. This can do some pretty nice damage. 

Duelist Specialization: This is actually a pretty simple strategy. Only use vendetta for the above strategy, and 
use the rest of the moves now. Use a move like Goad or Stealth to eliminate any enemies attacking you. Next, 
use Throw the Gauntlet on one enemy. Now, between Parry and its upgrades, you have an additional 40% 
defense, 40% attack, and 20% critical chance. Having Sure Strikes can give an additional 20% attack, and 
Evasive Maneuvers can give an additional 20% defense. This should make your one on one fight pretty easy. 

VI. 	Attributes Guide
The two main attributes that a Rogue uses are Dexterity and Cunning. It’s a good idea to put a few points into 
Willpower and Constitution, just to get a little extra health and stamina. After that, start pumping every point 
you get into Cunning and Dexterity. A good plan for this is to put two into Dexterity, and one into Cunning. 
Next time you level up; put one into Dexterity, and two into Cunning. Just make sure you keep your Dexterity 
high enough to use all the strong daggers, and keep your Cunning high enough to pick locks/disarm traps. 
However, the main point of Cunning is not for traps/locks. You only actually need a Cunning level of 27 to pick 
every lock, if you have a piece of equipment that gives “a bonus to lock picking”. However, the best part of 
Cunning is the defense bonus. Every point into Cunning will give you another point in defense. A high defense 
means an invulnerable character. I’ve had characters with defense levels so high (In Dragon Age Origins and 
Dragon Age 2) that they only get hit about 4% of the time. (According to online calculators) And, from what I 
say, those calculators worked. I had a Rogue with such high defense, that during a boss fight, I was attacked 
by the boss and four or five of its helpers. I killed the boss, while taking EXTREMELY low damage from 
everyone else. I probably used one health potion, mainly from the boss’ special attacks. 

VII. 	Party Strategy
The last part of this guide is based on what your party should consist of. Some people like to have a tank, a 
DPS Rogue, and two Mages. I don’t like that. Two mages only works sometimes. It all depends on how good 
your tank is. Honestly, it could work, but it’s more fun to have two Warriors. Battles just seem less epic when 
one guy is just getting pummeled, while three people soot enemies from fifty yards away. Having three 
members fighting up close while the mage is sniping them and healing is just so much more fun. The 
recommended party from me consists of Aveline, Fenris, and Anders. I will explain further below…


Aveline: Your basic tank, and the backbone of your group. Teach her talents from Shield and Sword, Defense, 
and Vanguard, as well as her own specialization. Only get a few of the talents from her specialization, since 
some are pretty useless. However, tanking isn’t my thing, so I’ll leave that to you. Give her some tactics that 
will keep enemies off allies, buff companions, and do damage while STAGGERING enemies. 

Fenris: He’ll be your DPS Warrior. Give him a good sword, and some moves from Two Handed, and his 
specialization, and he’ll do just fine. Whatever else you give him, is up to you. His tactics should be set so that 
he does massive damage, mainly through attacking BRITTLE targets. 

Anders: Anders will be your healer. Focus on the Elemental tree; upgrade Healing, and then his specialization. 
However, my advice is to only work on his healing traits in his specialization. The “Justice” mode may look cool, 
but it doesn’t work well. He’ll do a little more damage, at the cost of reducing health and not being able to heal. 
Just stick to healing. Have his tactics set to heal allies, while trying to freeze targets. 

Any other companions most likely won’t be used, except for their own quests. Just try to keep things balanced 
for those quests. 

As for cross class combos, my recommendation is as follows:
Have Aveline STAGGER enemies with Shield Bash, and then use your Stealth + Vendetta combo for massive 
damage. Also, having Anders BRITTLE enemies, then allowing Fenris to shatter them is very powerful. Don’t 
worry about DISORIENING any enemies, since not many moves rely on that. Just stick to the strategies 
mentioned about. 

VIII. 	Conclusion
This ends my guide for making a “Jumper” rogue. Remember, that the point of this isn’t to simply do damage, 
or simply sneak around the battlefield. It’s to travel the battlefield freely, choosing your target, and then 
engaging them with intense force. After you engage (and hopefully kill) the target, choose your next victim. If 
things go bad, you always have a way to escape, and seek support. 

If anyone has any questions/comments about the guide, please feel free to email me at keegan94@aol. Com. 
As with all guides, please do not copy this guide for another websites use without my permission. Also, if you 
see any spelling/grammar mistakes that I missed, please let me know so I can make any adjustments. Thank 
you!