Rogue

How Forever changed the class

Blizzard's class deep dive keeps the Classic kit and changes how it fits together:

• Poisons have more charges and can sit on a weapon alongside a sharpening stone or weightstone.
• Sap no longer breaks Stealth, so you can Sap one mob and still open on another. Blizzard wants it used as group crowd control.
• Feint sheds twice the threat. Distract also lowers enemies' Stealth detection for 10 seconds, though enemy players can tell a Rogue is near.
• Expose Armor now matches five stacks of Sunder Armor and no longer stops Warriors from using Sunder.
• Rogues can learn one-handed axes. Combat's old weapon specialisations are merged into one talent, Hack and Slash, that rewards whichever weapon you hold.
• New talents include Mutilate (Assassination tier 5), Venom (Assassination capstone), Puncturing Wounds and Flawless Execution (Combat), and Quietus, Cutthroat and Thousand Cuts (Subtlety). Coup de Grace is a new trainer passive at 30 that makes Eviscerate stronger against targets with your Deadly Poison.

The client shows some numbers moving down as well as up. Rupture deals far less than in Classic, Backstab's flat bonus is lower, and Dual Wield Specialization gives half the off-hand bonus (ForeverDB changes). Wowhead adds that poisons now scale with attack power and that missed abilities refund some Energy. ForeverDB says poison scaling is a server rule it can't confirm from the client.

Poisons

You learn Poisons at level 20 from a class quest: Klaven's Tower for the Alliance, Hinott's Assistance for the Horde. You then craft them from vendor reagents (ForeverDB poisons). Instant Poison and Crippling Poison come at 20, Mind-numbing Poison at 24 and Deadly Poison at 30. Icy Veins recommends Instant Poison on both weapons while levelling. ForeverDB's Assassination group build pairs Deadly Poison with Instant Poison for long fights.

Choosing a spec

A dagger Backstab build works in any spec. Puncturing Wounds sits in Combat's second tier, and Wowhead's level 20 pages recommend the same dagger split (Combat with two points of Subtlety's Opportunity) for all three specs (see [Hybrid builds](hybrid.md)).

Which spec to level

Combat is the safe recommendation: ForeverDB names it the most forgiving, and Icy Veins' Combat levelling guide builds around Riposte at 20 and Blade Flurry at 30. Assassination gets a big power spike at 30 with Mutilate, as long as you have two daggers (Icy Veins, Wowhead). Combat also has the fewest weaknesses later on, because it doesn't rely on poisons or bleeds, which some enemies are immune to (Wowhead). ForeverDB's simulator shows auto attacks making up 43–50% of a Rogue's damage at levels 20–30 in every spec, so a strong main-hand weapon matters more than any single stat.

Races and professions

Earlier guide rankings use superseded racials. Blizzard's 26 October notes remove Orc Savage, reduce Human Ruthless to 1% crit and set Skyborne Wind-Blessed to 2% haste. Orc Command is a pet-damage racial and does not improve a Rogue's ordinary attacks. Compare the remaining damage, escape and defensive tools for the content you play; there is no launch-tested race ranking here.

Skinning and Leatherworking support self-crafted levelling gear. First Aid is a separate secondary profession, so it does not consume either primary slot. Check bind-on-pickup requirements before assuming a recommended craft can be bought.

Class quests worth doing

Wowhead and Icy Veins point to two Stealth quests: The Horn of Xelthos at 20 (rewarding the Pyrewood Signet Ring) and The Eye of Bhossca at 30 (the Ruby-Adorned Blade, which Wowhead rates the best weapon at 30 for Combat and Subtlety).

Looking ahead to 60

The WoWSims presets model level 60 with gear still marked developer-only. They default to a Combat Sinister Strike build (18/33/0) with Instant Poison on the main hand and Deadly Poison on the off hand. Treat this as a projection.

The hybrid tax, briefly

Blizzard said on its podcast that hybrid damage specs should deal about 5% less than Hunters, Mages, Rogues and Warlocks. It defined a hybrid as a class that can fill more than one role (ForeverDB). That's about classes, not talent mixes, so a split Rogue build pays nothing. The figure is a design target, not a number in the client.

Levelling hybrids

Wowhead's dagger split (level 20). Wowhead's Assassination, Combat and Subtlety pages all offer the same 0/9/2 Backstab build. In Combat it takes Improved Eviscerate 3, Improved Sinister Strike 2, Puncturing Wounds 3 and Precision 1; in Subtlety, Opportunity 2. Wowhead says Puncturing Wounds brings Backstab's effective cost down to about 41 Energy, level with Sinister Strike, and Improved Sinister Strike covers the times a mob turns to face you.

Other Wowhead splits. The level 20 Combat sword build is 3/8/0: Malice 3 with Combat's core, or Remorseless Attacks 2 and Malice 1 when soloing. The Subtlety Ambush build is 1/2/8: Malice 1, Improved Sinister Strike 2, Master of Deception 3, Opportunity 2 and Improved Ambush 3. At 30, "Relentless Strikes Combat" is 13/8/0, with Malice 5, Ruthlessness 3, Murder 1, Improved Slice and Dice 3 and Relentless Strikes, plus Improved Eviscerate, Improved Sinister Strike and Precision. With Legacy points, Wowhead's Assassination build adds Improved Eviscerate 3 and Opportunity 2 (21/3/2), and its dagger Blade Flurry build adds Opportunity 2.

Icy Veins' paths to 60. Each Icy Veins levelling page completes one tree, then spreads into the others:

Icy Veins' Subtlety page also offers an early hybrid: take Improved Sinister Strike and Remorseless Attacks first, then reset at 30 for Hemorrhage.

ForeverDB stays mostly pure to 30. ForeverDB's builds are single-tree, except its level 20 Assassination PvP build, which borrows Combat's Improved Eviscerate. Its Combat group build notes that without a good dagger, Puncturing Wounds' three points are better spent on Malice in Assassination.

Level 60 projections

The WoWSims presets are all hybrids. The talent strings are decoded against the simulator's own Forever talent tree.

Every preset takes Malice, Ruthlessness, Improved Slice and Dice and Relentless Strikes from Assassination's first three tiers. Icy Veins' Combat path reaches the same 18/33/0 split with different points: Deflection, Riposte and Lethality instead of Puncturing Wounds, Improved Sprint and Improved Slice and Dice. These are projections with unconfirmed level 60 data.

Where the guides disagree

• Split early or stay pure: Wowhead splits at 20 in every spec; ForeverDB and Icy Veins' main guides stay mostly in one tree until 30.
• How far to go in Subtlety: Icy Veins stops after Preparation while levelling, while both WoWSims Subtlety presets go all the way to Thousand Cuts at 60.

Openers and builders

Ambush from Stealth, Garrote with Ctrl, Cheap Shot with Shift; out of Stealth the same key is Sinister Strike (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip
/cast [stealth,mod:shift] Cheap Shot; [stealth,mod:ctrl] Garrote; [stealth] Ambush; Sinister Strike
/startattack [nostealth]

Picks the target's pocket and then Ambushes it in one press (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip
/cast [stealth] Pick Pocket
/cast [stealth] Ambush; Sinister Strike

Uses Premeditation for two free combo points and Ambushes on the same press (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip
/cast [stealth] Premeditation
/cast [stealth] Ambush; Sinister Strike

Enters Stealth without ever switching it off on a second press (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip Stealth
/cast !Stealth

Uses Backstab with a dagger equipped, otherwise Sinister Strike, and keeps auto attack going (Kami Labs):

#showtooltip
/startattack
/cast [equipped:Daggers] Backstab; Sinister Strike

Sap, Kick, Gouge and Distract

Enters Stealth if needed, then Saps your mouseover, focus or target (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip Sap
/cast [nostealth] !Stealth; [@mouseover,harm,nodead][@focus,harm,nodead][] Sap

Kicks your focus, mouseover or target without switching target (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip Kick
/cast [@focus,harm,nodead][@mouseover,harm,nodead][] Kick

Gouges first, then Backstabs on the next press once you're behind the target (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip
/castsequence reset=target/5 Gouge, Backstab

Throws Distract where your mouse points, with no targeting circle (ForeverDB and Kami Labs):

#showtooltip Distract
/cast [@cursor] Distract

Blinds your target after stopping your attack, or your focus with Shift. It needs level 34, above the beta cap (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip Blind
/stopattack [nomod]
/cast [mod:shift,@focus,harm,nodead][nomod] Blind

Staying alive

Stops auto attack before Vanishing, so a late swing can't pull you back out (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip Vanish
/stopattack
/cast Vanish

Evasion normally, Sprint with Shift, and stop attacking then Vanish with Ctrl (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip
/stopattack [mod:ctrl]
/cast [mod:shift] Sprint; [mod:ctrl] Vanish; Evasion

Feints on the enemy under your mouse, or your target (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip Feint
/cast [@mouseover,harm,nodead][] Feint

Finishers, poisons and cooldowns

Eviscerate normally, Slice and Dice with Shift, Rupture with Ctrl and Expose Armor with Alt (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip
/cast [mod:shift] Slice and Dice; [mod:ctrl] Rupture; [mod:alt] Expose Armor; Eviscerate

Applies Instant Poison to the main hand, or Crippling Poison to the off hand with Shift. Change the names as you buy new poisons (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip
/use [nomod] Instant Poison; [mod:shift] Crippling Poison
/use [nomod] 16; [mod:shift] 17

Activates Cold Blood and follows it with a guaranteed critical Eviscerate (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip Cold Blood
/cast Cold Blood
/cast Eviscerate

Uses both trinkets with Blade Flurry, or with Adrenaline Rush when you hold Shift (ForeverDB):

#showtooltip
/use 13
/use 14
/cast [mod:shift] Adrenaline Rush; Blade Flurry

Weapons

Fires whichever ranged weapon you have equipped, for pulling (Wowhead):

#showtooltip
/cast [worn:Bows] Shoot Bow; [worn:Crossbows] Shoot Crossbow; [worn:Guns] Shoot Gun; [worn:Thrown] Throw

Swaps a slow weapon into the main hand and uses Sinister Strike, for dagger openers before Hemorrhage. Put your own weapon names in (Icy Veins):

#showtooltip Sinister Strike
/startattack
/equipslot 16 Slow Weapon Name
/equipslot 17 Dagger Weapon Name
/cast Sinister Strike

Swaps the dagger back into the main hand for Ambush (Icy Veins):

#showtooltip Ambush
/equipslot 16 Dagger Weapon Name
/equipslot 17 Slow Weapon Name
/cast Ambush

Icy Veins notes that a weapon swap triggers the global cooldown and resets your swing timer, so each of these takes two presses: one to swap and one to attack.

Notes on the sources

• Kami Labs describes Mutilate as a level 60 ability. In Forever it's a tier 5 Assassination talent you can take at level 30, and it needs a dagger in each hand.
• Kami Labs' poison macro names Instant Poison VI, a level 60 rank. Use the rank you actually have.
• Wowhead's guide lists [stance:1] as Stealth and [stance:2] as Vanish for Rogues, but says the guide was first written for Classic and the syntax may have changed.