A really first-class and legendary burglar would at this point have picked the trolls' pockets– it is nearly always worth while, if you can manage it–, pinched the very mutton off the spits, purloined the beer, and walked off without their noticing him. Others more practical but with less professional pride would perhaps have stuck a dagger into each of them before they observed it. – J.R.R. Tolkien, "The Hobbit".
Summary
A master of tricks and bewilderment, the Burglar excels at evading the ire of their enemies. They rely on their mastery of Stealth to remain unseen, using their array of Tricks to confuse and weaken their foes. Preferring to attack from behind, the Burglar is learned in the art of twisting their enemy's will to yield to their own. They draw their strength from revealing an enemy's weaknesses and exploiting their openings to their fullest advantage. Additionally, the Burglar demonstrates great prowess in the art of Crowd Control, enabling them to mesmerize enemies considerably, buying them and their Fellowship ample time to devise their next move. Most importantly, the Burglar is the only member of a Fellowship that can forcefully initiate a Fellowship Maneuver: a special chaining sequence that provides unique Fellowship-wide benefits. While quite adept at standing toe-to-toe with their enemies, the Burglar thrives most in the company of more provocative Fellows, allowing them to bide their time, slowly bringing their opponent to his knees.
The Burglar will be the class of choice for players who enjoy using cunning and tricks to defeat their opponents. Using stealth, a Burglar can strike from the shadows, taking his opponents unawares. A Burglar can blind foes by tossing dust in their eyes, or befuddle someone with a riddle. A Burglar's combat style hinges on his ability to outmaneuver and outwit his opponents while hitting them where it hurts.
Burglar Pros & Cons
(+) Strengths
(-) Weaknesses
+ Strong debuffs
- Can't take much damage
+ Can begin Fellowship Maneuvers
- Limited weapon selection
+ Can use Stealth
- No ranged capability
- Difficult to solo at low levels
Note: While Hunters have the use of Camouflage and Elves and Hobbits have racial traits which let them Stealth, both of these options have severe drawbacks. Hunters must remain stationary to use Camouflage, and the racial skills have a long cooldown. If you want to make stealth part of your gameplay experience, Burglar is the go-to.
A Burglar's Tricks are a core mechanic of the class. Starting with Trick: Disable at level 2 which reduces a target's attack speed and damage, Burglars gain access to several powerful debuffs. While Burglars learn several different Tricks as they move up in experience, only one Trick can be active on a target at once. Later on, you'll gain skills such as Mischievous Glee that let you remove the Trick from a target, while providing some kind of benefit for doing so.
Note: If there are multiple Burglars in a fellowship each Burglar can place his own Trick on a target.
Elements of Surprise
Use these skills to engage foes on your own terms. Sneak is the single most important skill you'll ever learn, allowing you to enter Stealth and position yourself behind a target for a highly damaging Surprise Strike or Cunning Attack opener. At higher levels Burglars learn more ways to manipulate encounters, such as Diversion (which forces an enemy to turn their back to you) or Hide in Plain Sight (which allows you to enter Stealth while in combat).
Razor-sharp Wit
Burglars are not just about debuffing enemies and staying out of sight. You can leverage your sharp wit to deal high bursts of single-target damage through Critical Hits. Burglar's Advantage is a skill learned at level 4 which allows you to deal a strike of opportunity whenever you score a critical attack. At level 12 you learn Aim, allowing you to ensure a Critical Hit and more reliably employ Burglar's Advantage.
The Resourceful Burglar
A successful Burglar is one who controls the combat encounter from the beginning. That being said, sometimes even the best find themselves in a tough spot. If you find yourself facing off against an enraged enemy, consider using Touch and Go to evade his attacks. If you find yourself caught off-guard and stunned, you'll want to use Find Footing to get back in the fight before the enemy can finish you off.
Burglars gain proficiency with medium armor at level 10.
Burglars can also dual-wield starting at level 10.
Burglars would have the fewest options when it come to weapon types, if not for Lore-masters. Burglars can use daggers, 1H maces, and 1H swords.
Burglars gain passive stat increases in evade, parry, crit, and accuracy as they level-up. Make sure to purchase these as well as your active skills on level-up from the Burglar Trainer.
The best Burglars are active, and the more active they are, the more class traits they unlock. Use your Burglar skills as much as possible to unlock the traits that directly modify your class skills, providing more raw power than most race and virtue traits. After you have a few class traits, you can customize your abilities to your play style and develop a more unique Burglar.
Initially, when you unlock your first few class trait slots, you probably won't have many choices to fill; put whatever traits you have in the slots. Even these will prove advantageous. As you achieve more and more traits, you'll power up your Burglar, and no one will ever mistake you for a common thief again.
Burglar
Captain
Champion
Guardian
Hunter
Lore-master
Minstrel