we all know rogues usually aren't the greatest in combat. i myself have pointed out on more than one occasion the benefits of instead playing a ninja or vivisectionist, but is it possible that there is at least one decent combat build for rogues?
i have one possible idea, but i'm not sure how well it would really work out. it hinges on the gang-up feat. gang up makes you count as flanking regardless of your positioning (as long as two allies threaten the enemy)... flanking gives you +2 to hit on melee attacks, which is where things start to go down hill for the rogue, but what if you sacrifice that +2? if you attack at range the feat still (RAW, as far as i can tell) makes you count as flanking, so you miss out on the +2 to hit with melee attacks but astronomically increase your chance to be able to full attack with sneak attack damage! archery is (obviously) feat intensive but if you took the swashbuckler archetype you could add longbow proficiency and be able to take 'combat trick' twice (plus weapon training) to help with some of that.
the issue here is that you're still not able to address the rogue's attack bonus problems but if you're in a party where you can get a couple buffs fairly reliably it seems like it might be a pretty functional build, maybe? is there something i'm missing or would this possibly be a decent combat rogue build?
a viable option would be to check out the ACG
lol- i have... poor rogue was already pretty obsolete and then they dropped the slayer and investigator like so much dirt on the coffin. i've never been a rogue fan but when i noticed the wording for gang-up i thought maybe i'd try to do something nice for them.
not the playtest
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In the ACG, look up underground chemist. It is a rogue that gets the Alchemist's +int to splash weapons, and can sneak attack with splash weapons.
Other than that, Elf roge using the FCB for multiple chill touch casts per day fixes the accuracy problems of the rogue, as does the a Tengu using natural weapons.
Gang Up feat is nice, but be aware this is one instance where the "You are your own ally" rule does not apply. You need to have three people total engaged to count as flanking.
If it helps, Unchained will come out next year and it promises a new take take on the rogue, monk, barbarian and summoner. At the moment I have one rogue, and do not plan to make any more, the concept of the shady/underhanded character can literally be adopted by any class in the game (Save a few classes like the paladin), so to myself ACG wasn't even when I decided to leave the rogue. That decision have been made when I found out how mechanically inferior they are, for myself concept does not equal class, again there are exceptions, once more paladin comes to mind but if you want a holy warrior and not specifically a paladin you've got options with the warrior priest and the inquisitor.