Dungeons And Dragons Online: DDO News: Sneak Attack

There are a few ways for a rogue to get his extra sneak attack damage. The first few of those ways involves putting the monster into a state in which he is vulnerable. Helpless monsters, such as those that are under the effect of a hold spell, can be sneak attacked. Also, a monster that have been successfully bluffed can be the victim of a sneak attack (one, anyway, before they are no longer so vulnerable).

The second way is to initiate a sneak attack is to make the attack while hiding, against a monster that has not detected you. (Your Hide skill vs. its Spot skill, etc...)

The last way involves bringing some friends. DDO doesn't have flanking per se. There are some technical reasons for us not using flanking -- obviously we don't have a grid for combat like the paper grid. It would be both server-expensive to draw rays to determine flanks with every melee swing. Without a grid, it's also more difficult to coordinate flanks in a faster-paced game. Our players don't have as much opportunity to plan out their locations in between turns as they do when playing around a table (though, judging by my pen-and-paper group's performance last night, that doesn't always happen either.)