The best Rogue feats in DnD 5e are those that complement their playstyle and base class features well. Rogues are naturally nimble, able to dip in and out of a fight with their Cunning Action to Dash, Disengage, or Hide as a bonus action. They’re resilient, after a fashion, able to use their Uncanny Dodge reaction to take half damage from one attack per round, or Evasion to always take less damage from Dexterity saving throw effects.

Rogues are also experts outside of combat, able to become proficient and gain expertise in a variety of skills, usually favoring Stealth and Perception as the group’s natural scout. And their signature class feature, Sneak Attack, as well as their lack of Extra Attack, emphasizes the importance of a Rogue landing at least one attack each turn to trigger this massive burst damage.

Then there’s the divide between ranged Rogues, who typically wield a light crossbow or shortbow, and melee Rogues, who usually favor a rapier or two light weapons, like a shortsword, scimitar, or dagger.

With all these factors in mind, I’ve broken down the 11 best Rogue feats into three categories, depending on your playstyle: ranged-specific, general utility, and skills-focused.

DnD 5e Best Rogue Feats (Ranged Attacker)

These are the best feats for a Rogue character who wants to primarily attack using a ranged weapon.

1) Crossbow Expert

Being within 5 feet of an enemy doesn’t give you disadvantage on ranged attacks and when you take the Attack action with a one-handed weapon (including a hand crossbow), you can use a bonus action to attack with a hand crossbow you are holding (including the same hand crossbow you used for the first attack). It also allows you to ignore the loading quality of crossbows (not important for a Rogue, since you don’t have Extra Attack anyway).

This is crazy good for two reasons. #1 is that you don’t have to worry about enemies being in melee range ruining your Sneak Attack damage (since you can’t Sneak Attack while you have disadvantage), nor do you have to use Disengage to move out of range if you’d rather use your bonus action for something else…like the bonus action attack granted by this feat.

#2 is that a bonus action attack allows you to attack twice per turn at range, something a Rogue can’t do otherwise. That extra attack is important, since it essentially doubles your opportunities to hit each turn, which in turn makes your Sneak Attack damage (your main damage source) more reliable. It’s like a better version of two-weapon fighting and at range to boot.

2) Fighting Initiate (Archery)

A flat +2 bonus to your attack rolls with ranged weapons. While this might not be sexy, it’s mechanically strong and consistent. If it brings you from a 65% chance to a 75% chance to hit, that’s a flat +15% damage boost for your character, at all times.

These small bonuses are worth a lot in DnD 5e’s system of bounded accuracy.

3) Sharpshooter

No disadvantage for attacking at a long range with ranged weapon attacks, ranged weapons ignore half and three-quarters cover (no +2 or +5 AC bonus for your target), and before you make a ranged attack roll, you can choose to take a -5 penalty for +10 attack damage.

The first two points are the more important ones for a ranged Rogue character. Being able to stay as far away as possible is ideal, and going from a 30-foot range to a 120-foot range with a hand crossbow is a huge difference. The value of ignoring cover depends on how often your DM uses cover, but if they do use it regularly, being able to ignore it is also a nice perk.

Taking a -5 to your one attack roll per round is a little too risky for a Rogue, who needs that one hit to land (and deal Sneak Attack damage) to be effective, but it is an option against low-AC monsters.

Overall, I think Crossbow Expert or Fighting Initiate (Archery) are the stronger choices for a Rogue who wants to attack at range, but Sharpshooter can make a good secondary feat.

DnD 5e Best Rogue Feats (Melee and General Utility)

These are the best general feats for a Rogue character who wants utility effects that complement the class’s features well.

4) Alert

You can’t be surprised, aren’t attacked with advantage by unseen attackers, and, most importantly, you gain a +5 bonus to initiative. Going first in combat is a big deal for Rogues (especially Assassins, who get mammoth bonus damage on the first round of combat), and a +5 bonus makes a big difference.

Being unable to be surprised or attacked with advantage by unseen attackers is also nice, since you’ll often be scouting ahead for your party. When a stealth check goes wrong in these scenarios, you won’t get annihilated before you can make your way back to your allies.

5) Fey Touched

You get Misty Step (a 2nd-level spell that allows you to teleport up to 30 feet for a bonus action) and a 1st-level spell of your choice from the Divination or Enchantment school of magic. You can use each of these spells without expending a spell slot once per long rest, and can cast them using spell slots if you have them. You also get +1 Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma, which can provide a small but welcome boost to some of your skill checks/saving throw.

Rogues love mobility in all its forms, and Misty Step is one of the ultimate spells for mobility. Sure, you already have Cunning Action to Disengage for a bonus action, but Misty Step offers more direct routes and vertical teleportation access.

As for a free 1st-level Enchantment or Divination spell, I recommend Bless. It’s a straightforward buff for yourself and two other allies; +1d4 (2.5 average) on attack rolls and saving throws for one minute (concentration permitting).

6) Magic Initiate

Learn two cantrips and one 1st-level spell from the class spell list of Bard, Cleric, Druid, Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard. You can cast the 1st-level spell once per long rest.

The popular choices for a Rogue who chooses Magic Initiate are the Booming Blade and Minor Illusion cantrips, for extra damage and utility. Booming Blade deals an extra 1d8 thunder damage if a target you hit willingly moves before the start of your next turn, with pairs incredibly well with a Rogue using Cunning Action to Disengage and create distance after hitting a foe. Minor Illusion allows for easier hiding, allowing you to start fights as an unseen attacker. It’s also great for out-of-combat utility in a number of situations.

Find Familiar allows you to summon an ally for up to 1 hour. While it cannot attack, it can help you trigger Sneak Attack, as it counts as an ally within 5 feet of your target. The best option is the Owl familiar because it has Flyby, a trait that causes it to not provoke opportunity attacks. This means it can dip in, help you trigger your Sneak Attack damage, and then fly up, out of range of melee attackers, without being at risk at any point.

7) Shadow Touched

You get Invisibility (a 2nd-level spell that makes a creature you touch, including yourself, invisible for up to an hour, breaking early if they attack or cast a spell) and a 1st-level spell of your choice from the Illusion or Necromancy school of magic. You can use each of these spells without expending a spell slot once per long rest, and can cast them using spell slots of if you have them. You also get +1 Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma, which can provide a small but welcome boost to some of your skill checks.

Invisibility grants you guaranteed attack advantage (and therefore Sneak Attack damage) on your first attack in combat, increasing your odds of a critical hit and absolutely annihilating your first target. It’s also great for scouting ahead, helping a non-stealthy ally get through a group stealth check, or infiltrating a location unnoticed.

As for a 1st-level Illusion spell, good options include Silent Image (diversions, distractions, etc.) and Disguise Self (infiltration, persuasion, fact-finding, etc.). Cause Fear is a decent option among 1st-level Necromancy spells, and your spellcasting modifier is whatever ability you upgraded with this feat (likely Wisdom or Charisma), so your spell save DC might not be too terrible for it either. False Life seems attractive at early levels, but you’re always capped at using this spell at 1st-level, and the 6.5 average temporary hit points it provides will quickly become negligible.

8) Elven Accuracy (Elf or Half-Elf only)

Roll 3d20 when you have advantage on your attack rolls, and gain +1 Dexterity to boot. This is incredibly impactful on a Rogue, who wants nothing more than to land a critical hit to double their Sneak Attack damage. With Elven Accuracy, you have a 50% greater chance of that happening whenever you have attack advantage.

9) Lucky

You can reroll up to 3 d20 rolls per long rest. This is stupidly powerful on all characters in DnD 5e, but even more so on a Rogue who absolutely needs one attack per round to hit to be useful.

Lucky is never a bad choice for a feat, but it’s also quite boring. In my experience, there’s also kind of a stigma around taking Lucky at some tables.

DnD 5e Best Rogue Feats (Skill Monkey)

These are the best feats for a Rogue character who wants to be the most reliable at the most possible skills.

10) Skill Expert

+1 to an ability score of your choice, proficiency in one skill, and expertise in one skill that you’re proficient in (double proficiency bonus).

Rogues already start with expertise in two skills (or one skill + thieves’ tools) at 1st level. They also get expertise in two more skills at 6th level. This just brings the total up to 5, with a half-ASI (Ability Score Improvement) to boot.

Having expertise in Stealth, Perception, Investigation, Acrobatics, Persuasion, Insight, or Deception are all good options for a Rogue. No matter what you pick, your Rogue character will be incredibly gifted at a large share of DnD 5e’s skills.

11) Skilled

Proficiency in three skills/tools of your choice. If you’d rather be good at a wider range of skills (7 Proficient) rather than great at a smaller range of skills (5 Expertise), Skilled is the better feat for you.

Plus, with Rogue’s 11th-level Reliable Talent feature, your minimum d20 result is a 10 for any skill you’re proficient in, so Skilled helps this apply to more skills than Skill Expert does.

Good Rogue Feats Runners-up

These feats are neat and can be fun on a Rogue, but I don’t think they’re “optimal.” That said, they’re worth considering if they suit your character’s backstory, role in the party, or you just think they’re nifty and would be cool in your campaign or with your party composition.

• Dungeon Delver

• Skulker

• Actor

• Telekinetic

• Mage Slayer

• Inspiring Leader

• Resilient (Constitution)

• Poisoner

DnD 5e Rogue Guides

How does Sneak Attack work in 5e?
Rogue subclasses ranked
Swashbuckler Rogue build
Best Arcane Trickster Rogue spells
How does disengage work in 5e?