The New PHB Controversy: Rogue's Downfall? 

Cunning strike should have been proficiency bonus times per day without costing sneak attack dice.

Concerning the subclasses: Assassins - they no longer get an auto crit from their Assassinate feature, they just do an amount of damage equal to their level in addition to their regular damage and sneak attack... so 3 more damage at level 3, unless they've switched it again between their last UA and final printing... we will soon see as more previews will be made from Aug. 1st going forward. Arcane Trickster - sorry to hear you found this boring as it's literally one of the only Rogue subclasses that can't be boring... because of the spellcasting, what spells does each player take, what do you do with them, the combinations are virtually limitless... and now they've removed those limitations... WOW! Soulknife - was always great and now some of the few things holding you back hve been addressed, get to use the psychic weapons a lot more, able to make more attacks with them. Thief - now you get to use Fast Hands to activate magic items, and can maybe sneak attack and not get detected if you're hidden. Doesn't that make them the best at assassinating someone now?

rogues are overreacting cuase they buffed monk. if anything the bard could be brought down a peg

Trading away sneak attack dice sucks... BIG TIME! Want BIGGER sneak attack dice... want MORE sneak attack dice... want to be able to do sneak attack more!!!

Sorry if I sound negative about some of the changes, this is probably my own personal bias. If you ever get the chance again try the Soulknife over the Arcane Trickster... it's newer and the features are fun (having a pool of psionic dice to use on different features etc.). I'm curious, what were some of the things you heard online about the new Rogue? Until I see the final version of the PHB. and what all the changes are I will try to keep an open mind and a more positive attitude.

So, I like most of the changes to Rogues here. A lot of the changes in the 2024 PHB in general seem good. The thing with Rogue there is in comparison to the other significantly overhauled classes like the Fighter, Barbarian, Monk. Those classes got several things adjusted that just ADD ON to what they were already doing, to round them out to make them smoother to pilot and just directly better. Rogues have to trade things, like Sneak attack dice, for their improvements. Especially so with Assassin - there was a low bar to clear. The Assassin subclass mechanics used to literally not work 90% of the time due to the extremely elusive Surprised condition, even when you had something surprised to attack it was usually not on the target you wanted. But when Assassination did land right it was incredible. They just needed consistency really. The new version has BARELY managed to clear that bar and "improved" the Assassin subclass, which now has to be compared to the other new subclasses which also got a lot of very cool enhancements. Now its only like 2% of the time where the Assassin doesnt get to use their Assassinate on something, great. But that came at the expense of the damage bonus they actually receive which basically halved as well as meant losing all synergy they had with tons of cool spells, magic items, multiclass options which previously was the only way Assassin was even used. Even in the newly updated Surprised condition - they made it only Disadvantage on Initiative and totally dropped the "surprised creatures cannot take reactions" which means nobles can Parry as a reaction and enemy spellcasters (the exact kind of thing Assassins are looking for) can now cast Shield as a reaction to your attack and make you likely to miss... All that negativity and it doesn't even actually solve the real issue it had. For YEARS now I have said the fundamental flaw with the Assassin was that WotC have this idea that assassins don't WAIT. They say they have to act first, strike hard RIGHT NOW and if they don't, well then, go suck eggs. They are all about initiative, they want to attack enemies that havent taken a turn yet, they only have their Assassinate feature in their first turn of combat. But... why? Why not let them CHOOSE when to activate the Assassinate bonus damage after they hit with an attack? Why couldn't they spend the first turn of combat letting their target get distracted by a duel with the barbarian, let their bodyguards run past, why couldn't an assassin disguised as a guard spend the first turn deceiving their target to follow them to safety as an accomplice start conflict in the main room, THEN stab the target? Why do assassins, in contrast to every other class in the game, only exist in round 1 and only if they do one specific thing and only if they succeed that attack roll? And your 8th level Assassin get a grand total of 8 bonus damage out of their subclass when they do. Booming Blade, a cantrip cast by the Arcane Trickster EVERY turn, is 2d8 + 2d8 if the enemy ever moves.

New Rogue is just so bad compared to New Monk. For reference, here's where they're both at when class level 5 [early tier 2 or a decent time to start multiclassing out if you want to multiclass]: New Rogue at level 5 has bonus action dash/hide/disengage only [unless they spend a feat in character creation], Expertise and Thieves Cant [decent but minor overall], Steady Aim [good], Uncanny Dodge, 3d6 sneak attack, Cunning Strike [-1d6 damage to either poison for a minute or prone on a failed save or move half movement speed without provoking opportunity attacks], their level 3 subclass feature, and you get two weapon masteries. New Monk at level 5 gets extra attack, 6 options for bonus action [unarmed attack, grapple, push 5 feet, prone, disengage, dash] with 3 additional for focus points [dash plus disengage with jump distance, disengage plus dodge, or any two of the four unarmed attack options which means its actually _16 option configurations_ baked into one, _24_ if Warrior of Mercy or _36_ if Warrior of the Open Hand], deflect attack on physical damage types [worse than Uncanny Dodge at tier 3+, still decent], 1d8 martial arts die, first subclass feat, Slow Fall, Unarmored Defense, +10 ft movement, force damage on unarmed strikes [woof], *Stunning Strike* [only once per turn, but -15 ft movement and advantage on next attack on a *successful* save is brutal and you can fish for it off bonus action attack instead of being forced to use your attack action to proc it], and the new Uncanny Metabolism from level 2 which means up to 15 focus points per long rest if accounting for only one short rest/day despite a max of only 5. New Monk makes Rogue look like a joke. Paladin and Ranger both got bad beats as well with the change to Smite and Hunter's Mark still being concentration, but I think Barbarian is the only class around as weak as the Rogue now on paper and even they got some good stuff.

But why even bother with new phb if you guys already have 5e?