Rogues are everything you expect them to
be in Runes of Magic.   They are a damage dealing class with
bleed and grievous wound effects.   Sneaking up behind your
enemy to deal quick damage will be your bread and butter!  And for
those harder to kill mobs you can cause them to bleed away their life
as you continue to do what I like to refer to as the stabie polka.

Rouges use a very familiar consumption
type for their attacks called “energy”.  A lot of the Rogues I
have played in recent games are using this as a way for them to not
have unlimited attacks.  If they ever created a class that had
that as a capability it would really be beyond crazy.  Alas I
digress...

-By the Numbers-

ll Rogues start out with the exact same
statistical set up.  As you level, you will also gain the same
number of base stats for each of your attributes.  The only way to
customize your character and make them you own is through the use of
gear, weapons, runes, and the boost you get from your secondary class
that you choose at level 10.  The beginning stats and equipment
skills for Rogues are:

Starting Attributes

• Strength: 12
• Dexterity: 14
• Constitution: 11
• Intelligence: 7
• Wisdom: 7

Starting Equipment Skills

• 1H Sword
• Projectiles
• Cloth
• Leather

-Venturing through the Land of Taborea-

Runes of Magic does an amazing job of
introducing you into the land of Taborea without just assuming you know
what you are doing or more importantly assuming that you have never
played an MMO before.  They set you up first with a very quick and
easy to follow Tutorial that introduces you to the basics of the
game.  So the wonderfully crafted and short (and it can be even
shorter if you just walk up to the lady and get your quest for the
buffs) should be done by all for two reasons.  One, It is
amazingly quick.  You get dropped in a little starter area where
you’ll have to run to some flags, introduce yourself to an NPC (non
playable character) and kill a “boss” all of which can be done in max
time of about 5 minutes and leads you to reason two to do the
tutorial.  You get yourself a little bag of goodies for your
troubles that help a bit, a mount that lasts one day and a +20% to all
attributes which will help you get to level 10 in about 4-5 hours of
solid game play.  Really, it’s a must do.

Once done you are back at the very same
place you loaded into the game at.  As is typical of most MMO’s of
this generation you are set out on a quest chain that kind of gives you
the lay of the land and as an added bonus in Runes of Magic if this is
your very first MMO the introductory quest line has little tips that
explain everything out even further than the normal go here and do this
description of the quest at hand.

Working through a quest chain to learn
the ropes is not a new concept but the flow in Runes of Magic is good
and you are opened up to more options in quick fashion.  Since the
Rouge is a damage dealing class, in the starter areas up to level 10
taking on a mob or two at a time is a non issue.  I would however
be very careful once you venture out of the starting area as you can
only wear leather armor and there are more aggressive mobs populating
the explorable zones.  You are very squishy for a melee class so
being constantly aware of your surroundings is a must for Rogues as
drawing agro from multiple enemies at once is a sure way to find
yourself taking a quick dirt nap!

-Stepping into the Realm of Shadow-

Ah the Rogue, what else is there to say
but stab, stab, and then stab some more.  Once you reach level 16
you will get a dual wield skill that does not appear to increase your
overall damage but it does allow you to apply poisons twice as fast
which over time will equal more damage.

Even though a Rogue is not the most
powerful class in the game, when you couple them with their decent
damage and their other tricks you will find yourself a valuable
player.  A Rogue in Runes has some things that are unique to the
class.  You can 1) lay traps to help with crowd control 2) scout
out an area without being seen [hide received at level 18] and
3) increase the gold acquired for your entire party.

The skill selection is fairly small for
a Rogue but this makes them all the easier to manage and focus on
keeping your bleeds up and applying your poisons so you can deal the
maximum amount of damage.  Even with their somewhat smaller number
of overall skills you will find yourself in a very technical class that
is part damage and part finesse.

If you are looking for a class that is
more than just point and die then the Rogue is for you!