

To/hit with spells (Fireball, principally) is determined by a character's magic value, and at least 150-200 magic is required for good accuracy in Hell or the Crypt on Hell difficulty. If a Rogue does manage to boost her spells at least a few levels with Enchanted Shrines, she needs quality equipment too, ideally stuff that boosts her magic. This means a Rogue must engage in some serious shrine running to try to find at least 6 Enchanted Shrines to max out her Fireball. Fireball is the biggest handicap, since it requires 166 magic to read level 8 and 199 to read level 9, andĪbove that it's 255, and out of reach for a Rogue. Worst of all, Rogues in Diablo (but not Hellfire) can not raise their magic to 255 (245 is the max), so are unable to read the higher level books. They can not raise their mana as high as a sorcerer, they do not cast as quickly, and they do not have the natural magical to/hit values. Rogues can be effective playing as mini-mages, but it requires good technique and excellent equipment, since Rogues have some magery shortcomings. But it's seldom an approach that's best suited to a rogue's long term needs. Rogues may choose to use melee combat and spells on levels where using a bow is dangerous when stunlock risks such as Stormbringers, Drakes, or Lava Dogs abound, for instance. However, they can not match a Warrior in damage, they can not swing fast enough to stun lock targets (even with of Haste on a weapon), and they don't usually have high enough hit points to take the sort of toe to toe damage melee fighting requires. They have naturally high to/hit and AC, thanks to their dexterity, and they block well and have a decent swing speed. Rogues can engage in melee combat with some effectiveness. Rogues enjoy a hidden +20 To/Hit bonus when using a bow, and their enormous dexterity total boosts their damage, while their to/hit easily reaches levels other characters can only achieve with specialized equipment. Rogues are the master of the bow, firing more rapidly and with much more accuracy and damage than any of the other characters. *** No life or mana increases are granted at level 50.

The values for mana and life do not include the unique jewelry that transfers life to mana, or vice versa.

