Combat rogues are a tried and true solution for massive DPS, traditionally
being at the top, or near the top, of melee DPS meters. These days
Rogues fall behind some other classes in melee DPS, depending on the
patch, but can still pump out solid damage in raids and cause massive
complaining from other classes in PvP. With patch 4.3 Combat is looking
pretty good again.
The Combat
build can also be used effectively in PvP, as shown by some of the
top ranking rogues using this tree. The key, of course, if to make
effective use of stealth and stuns and then make use of Combat's damage
potential.
The Nerf and the Buff
Typically all classes with go through periods of agony and pleasure
after the reelase of any big patch or expansion. 4.0 was no exception.
Day one your Rogue is a doormat and day two it kills everything
with ease. And on day 3? So the builds here will not reflect the "flavor
of the minute,"
rather they will focus on basics, good builds, and how to be a
good Rogue.
This page is intended to provide a general overview
of the Combat Rogue.
For a far more in-depth and highly detailed
resource on everything Rogue related, from leveling
to PvP to Raiding to earning gold, check out the Killer
Guides' Rogue guide.
This guide is simply intended to provide a general
overview of the Subtlety.
For a more in-depth and highly detailed resource
on everything Rogue related, from leveling to PvP to
talent analysis to Raiding to earning gold, check out
the Killer
Guides' Rogue guide.
PvE: Orcs, Trolls, and Goblins all have abilities which will increase
their damage in PvE content. The Goblin Attack Speed bonus is the
least of these three.
PvP: Blood Elves have a SIlence effect and the Undead
can wash away fears and such. Neither has any special offensive capability.
Goblin
Increased attack speed is a small DPS increase. This is not
"haste" and has zero effect on energy regen.
Rocket jump is much like the Mage's "Blink," and
has definite escape use in PvP and certain PvE situations.
It breaks stealth, so it's not a cheap "Shadowstep," but
then again, Combat Rogues don't necessarily need to attack
out of stealth.
Orcs
Blood
Fury provides a comparable, or better, DPS increase than
the Landslide enchant.
Resistance to stuns has definite PvP use and occasional PvE
use.
Trolls
A decent DPS cooldown, Berserking,
provides 20% attack speed (again not haste which would give
you more energy regen) every 3 minutes which can be used in
conjunction with every Vanish.
Trolls also have reduced snare/root duration which has PvP
and occasional PvE use.
if there ever is a boss classified as a beast, Trolls would
be the clear dominate race for DPS with Beast
Slaying.
Blood Elf
Arcane Torrent generates some energy every 2 mins. and does
an AoE silence (also interrupts non-player targets.) This gives
it both PvP and PvE use.
Undead
Their racials have no DPS use
Will
of the Forsaken has definite PvP value and could
allow you to deal some extra damage or trivialize a mechanic
for some bosses.
Alliance:
PvE: The Worgen have the best DPS increasing ability,
while Gnomes, Dwarves, and Humans have some form of Expertise with
certain weapons.
PvP: Humans and Gnomes have the escape, Gnomes have
the small size, and all but the Night Elves have something which icreases
DPS.
Worgen
the 1% add to crit rating is the best of the DPS racials
and has similar PvP utility.
The run speed special has situational use and Worgen seem
to be good flag runners in the BGs.
Gnome
The dagger & small sword expertise makes gnomes good for Assassination.
If you're using sword & dagger then it works well for Combat,
also. If you're mace/dagger then it has less value, but still
some.
Escape artist has definite PvP use and situational PvE use.
Night Elf
A bit more Agility and a bit harder to hit both have some
small value.
Shadowmeld has some small PvP utility in that you're that
much harder to detect while lurking in stealth.
Human
Mace/Sword expertise save a few points to put into something
else. This is a small, but real, DPS increase.
"Every man for himself" has
definite PvP use and occasional PvE use.
Their perception increase, useful for finding sneaky things,
is gone with 4.0.
Dwarf
Mace expertise has some DPS value if you stick with maces.
Stoneform has PvP value and
might have occasional PvE value. In 4.06 it reduces damage
by 10% for the duration of the effect.
Certain professions provide self-only buffs/enchants. Some of these are of more
use than others, but none are wildly better. A few points of Crit (skinning) instead
of Ag (leatherworking) won't ruin the raid, though you might be punted from the
MinMax club.
Blacksmithing, Leatherworking, and Engineering all have self-only bracer enchants,
so you lose out if you pick two from this trio.
Best min/max? Blacksmithing (two more epic gems slotted, for +20 total Ag over
any other Prof.) and Alchemy (better living through chemistry) or Inscription.
Best for cash, but still being useful? Pick two from Herbalism, Skinning, and
Mining.
Jewelcrafting - Self only gems, such as Delicate
Chimera's Eye, can replace the Delicate
Inferno Ruby. You get three of these which gains a total of 81 net Agility,
a mighty 1 more Agility than the rest of the craft professions. Note that with
the intro of the epic gems in patch 4.3 JC will only give you +51 (not +81) total
Ag bonus over the "other guy," who's slotting +50 gems.
Alchemy - Your passive Mixology buff
increases the effect of Flask
of the Winds by 80 Agility. Additionally, the buff doubles the
duration of your flasks. Alchemists are also able to create a Flask
of Enhancement for 80 Agility.
Enchanting -
Enchanters are able to enchant their rings with Enchant
Ring – Agility for a total of 80 Agility.
Tailoring - Swordguard
Embroidery procs a 15 second long buff (1000 AP) which
works out to a value of about 74.5 Agility.
Engineering -
Lots of Engie gadgets have fun value, but Synaps Springs will increase
your Agility for 10 seconds, by 480 points, on demand. Which is very nice
right before you blow your big cooldowns.
Herbalism - Lifeblood provides
a heal over time and which also grants you 480 haste rating for a short
time, which is about 80 haste rating averaged out over a long fight. This is clearly
the best gathering profession for Combat rogues.
Skinning -
Skinners gain Master
of Anatomy which gives a passive 80 crit rating,
again crit is the weakest stat for Combat rogues making skinning
a very weak profession.
Mining -
Miners have 120 stamina from Toughness which
provides no DPS gain other then additional survivability.
This would seem to make ait a better PvP profession.
4.3 Patch Notes for the Combat Rogue
Wound poison does a 25% healing debuff.
Tank threat has been improved, so pulling aggro off the tank should be harder.
Weapons: Generally you want a slow main hand (MH)
and a fast off-hand (OH). The MH weapons should have the highest DPS
possible, which usually means the slowest weapon. For the
OH speed rules over DPS. If you have two OH weapons and one is a bit
faster with a bit lower DPS pick it anyway. The reason is for the energy
procs from Combat
Potency.
Weapon specializations have been removed and you no longer have to
"level up" a weapon. This means that you can use whatever
weapons you can find, matched or not. You no longer have to use pairs
of the same weapon type.
When you pick the Combat spec you will be locked into the spec until
you spend 31 points, afterwhich you can move out. You special abilities
are:
Blade Flurry is your level 10 special ability. Your attacks
strike a nearby opponent. This abilitiy does not increase your attack
against single opponents.
Dual Weild
Specialization - gives extra damage to your
off-hand and thrown weapons
Vitality increases
your Energy regeneration rate and your Attack Power
Mastery: Main Gauche - (A main guache is the
off-hand weapon used by fencers, usually a form of dagger) This gives
your offhand weapon a chance for extra strikes, based off your main-hand
weapon attacks. Indirectly this makes your Mastery ability
an energy regeneration ability, since the off-hand strikes
will proc the Combat Potency talent.
Improved Recuperate - Rank 2/2 - Causes your Recuperate
ability to restore an additional 2% of your maximum health
and reduces all damage taken by 6% while your Recuperate ability
is active. This saves on healer mana. Note that this will heal
less (only 1%) in 4.1.
Improved Sinister Strike - Rank 3/3 - Increases the
damage dealt by your Sinister Strike ability by 30% and reduces
its Energy cost by 6.
Precision - Rank 3/3 - Increases your chance to hit
with weapon and poison attacks by 6%.
Improved Slice and Dice - Rank 2/2 - Increases the
duration of your Slice and Dice ability by 50%.
Aggression - Rank 3/3 - Increases the damage of your
Sinister Strike, Backstab, and Eviscerate abilities by 20%.
Lightning Reflexes - Rank 3/3 - Increases your chance
to dodge enemy attacks by 9% and your attack speed by 6%.
Revealing Strike - Rank 1/1 - An instant strike that
causes
125% of your normal weapon damage and increases the effectiveness of your next
offensive finishing move on that target by 20% for 15 sec. Awards 1 combo point.
Combat Potency - Rank 3/3 - Gives your successful
off-hand melee attacks a 20% chance to generate 15 Energy.
Blade Twisting - Rank 2/2 - Gives your damaging melee
attacks a 40% chance to daze the target, reducing movement
speed by 70% for 8 sec. Useful for some encounters & trash.
Adrenaline Rush - Rank 1/1 - Increases your Energy
regeneration rate by 100% and your melee attack speed by 20%
for 15 sec.
Savage Combat - Rank 2/2 - Increases your total attack
power by 4% and all physical damage caused to enemies you have
poisoned is increased by 4%.
Bandit's Guile - Rank 3/3 - Your Sinister Strike
and Revealing Strike abilities have a 100% chance to grant
you an evolving insight into an opponent's defenses, increasing
damage to that target by up to 30%. Opponents can adapt over
time, negating this benefit, and Striking a different opponent
will begin the cycle anew.
Restless Blades - Rank 2/2 - Your damaging finishing
moves reduce the cooldown of your Adrenaline Rush, Killing
Spree, and Sprint abilities by 2 sec per combo point.
Killing Spree - Rank 1/1 - Step through the shadows
from enemy to enemy within 10 yards, attacking an enemy every
.5 secs with both weapons until 5 assaults are made, and increasing
all damage done by 20% for the duration. Can hit the same target
multiple times. Cannot hit invisible or stealthed targets.
Assassination (7 Points)
Coup de Grace - Rank 2/3 - Increases the damage done
by your Eviscerate and Envenom abilities by 14%.
Lethality - Rank 3/3 - Increases the critical strike
damage bonus of your Sinister Strike, Backstab, Mutilate and
Hemorrhage abilities by 30%.
Ruthlessness - Rank 2/3 - Gives your melee finishing
moves a 40% chance to add a combo point to your target.
Subtlety (3 Points)
Relentless Strikes - Rank 3/3 - Your finishing moves
have a 20% chance per combo point to restore 25 energy.
Prime Glyphs
Glyph of Sinister Strike - Your Sinister Strikes have
a 20% chance to add an additional combo point.
Glyph of Adrenaline Rush -
Increases the duration of Adrenaline Rush by 5 sec.
Glyph of Slice and Dice - Increases the duration of Slice and Dice by 6
sec.
Major
Glyph of Blade Flurry - Reduces the penalty to energy
generation while Blade Flurry is active by 50%.
Glyph of Feint - Reduces the energy cost of Feint by 20.
Glyph of Tricks of the Trade - Removes the energy cost of your Tricks of
the Trade ability but reduces the recipient's damage bonus by 5%.
Minor Glyphs
Glyph of Blurred Speed -
Enables you to walk on water while your Sprint ability is active.
Glyph of Distract -
Increases the range of your Distract ability by 5 yards.
Glyph of Poisons -
You apply poisons to your weapons 50% faster.
Talent Notes:
Improved Recuperate: With so many Cataclysm mobs dropping
AoE poop, firing off random damage, tanks losing aggro, and limited
healer mana IR looks like a really good talent to take. This is also
true of the 4.3 dungeons and raids.
Optional and otherwise not taken:
Improved Sprint is more useful as a PvP talent, but there
are times in PvE where it's useful.
Improved Kick and Improved Gouge are more for PvP
and have very limited value in PvE content, especially since they don't
work on bosses.
Reinforced Leather - The amount of damage reduction from
this talent isn't all that great. Good situational awareness (avoiding
poop) will more than make up for not taking this.
Basic Raiding rotation:
Instant Poison on the main-hand, Deadly on the off-hand, Wound
on the throwing weapon.
Shiv removes an Enrage effect
Open with Garrote or Ambush, if possible, otherwise SS. As Combat
you get no particular bonus from opening from stealth.
Start Slice and Dice
Build Combo points with Sinister strike
Refresh SnD, if necessary.
SS to 4 or 5 combo points
Rupture
Build combo points
Refresh SnD if it needs it, otherwise Eviscerate.
Back to step 7
The goal is to be attacking as quickly as possible and to have
a bleed up at all times. Also to keep 5 stacks of deadly poison up
at all times.
Note that you want to keep Slice and Dice up at all times.
This is where the SnD glyph helps.
Open > SnD > SS to 4 or 5 CP > SnD > SS to 4 or 5 > Rupture
Revealing Strike is a small DPS add.
Try to fire it off at 4 CP, then use the finisher.
Rupture, currently, is also a small DPS add.
You can leave both of these off your rotation without taking a
big hit to your DPS.
Bandit's Guile is good for single targets, not
so hot if your fights are short or you're target switching (eg: when
fighting trash.)
Use your Cooldowns at appropriate times
Adrenaline Rush for 15 seconds of Pew! Pew!
It adds to the Viality effect and works very well with increased
Haste.
Killing Spree can be used against single
targets for more Pew! Pew! Works well with Bandit's Guile and
should not be used aith Adrenaline Rush (because it's
not optimal, not because anything will break.) KS also makes
you immune to Crowd Control effects for 2.5 seconds,
which might be useful for certain boss mechanics.
Blade Flurry has no value against single
targets and does not apply extra poisons or DoTs
Various wags will tell you that Combat is useless in PvP. All things
being equal, which they rarely are, the wags may have a point. Maybe
a Combat Rogue won't, with the current patches, be the top arena spec.
Well, two points about that:
If Combat is your game then you will play it better than
the other specs.
80-90% of PvP is not your exact build, but your skill in using what
you have. It doesn't matter much what you tools are if you don't use
them well.
If you latency is 1.3k, like mine was the other day, then it doesn't
matter what your spec is. :)
Poisons: Wound in Main (more for the heal debuff than the dmg), crippling
in off-hand.
Weapons: Slow axe/swrd/mace main, whichever is the best available,
and fast OH.
Combat (34 Points)
Improved Recuperate - Rank 2/2 - Causes your Recuperate
ability to restore an additional 2% of your maximum health
and reduces all damage taken by 6% while your Recuperate ability
is active.
Improved Sinister Strike - Rank 3/3 - Increases the
damage dealt by your Sinister Strike ability by 30% and reduces
its Energy cost by 6.
Improved Slice and Dice - Rank 2/2 - Increases the
duration of your Slice and Dice ability by 50%. This keeps
up a little more consistent damage and is more reliable
than Relentless Strikes' chance to restore energy.
Improved Sprint - Rank 2/2 - Gives a 100% chance to
remove all movement-impairing effects when you activate your
Sprint ability.
Aggression - Rank 3/3 - Increases the damage of your
Sinister Strike, Backstab, and Eviscerate abilities by 15%.
Improved Kick - Rank 2/2 - Causes your Kick ability
to silence the target for 3 sec.
Lightning Reflexes - Rank 3/3 - Increases your chance
to dodge enemy attacks by 9% and your attack speed by 6%.
Revealing Strike - Rank 1/1 - An instant strike that
causes 125% of your normal weapon damage and increases the
effectiveness of your next offensive finishing move on that
target by 35% for 15 sec. Awards 1 combo point. This
can make for a long Kindey Strike.
Reinforced Leather - Rank 2/2 - Increases your armor
contribution from cloth and leather items by 50%. (Or drop
this and put the points elsewhere.)
Improved Gouge - Rank 2/2 - Increases the effect duration
of your Gouge ability by 2 sec and reduces its energy cost
by 30.
Combat Potency - Rank 3/3 - Gives your successful
off-hand melee attacks a 20% chance to generate 15 Energy.
Adrenaline Rush - Rank 1/1 - Increases your Energy
regeneration rate by 100% and your melee attack speed by 20%
for 15 sec.
Savage Combat - Rank 2/2 - Increases your total attack
power by 4% and all physical damage caused to enemies you have
poisoned is increased by 4%.
Bandit's Guile - Rank 3/3 - Your Sinister Strike and
Revealing Strike abilities have a 100% chance to grant you
an evolving insight into an opponent's defenses, increasing
damage to that target by up to 15%. Opponents will adapt their
defenses once this maximum is reached, or if you Strike a different
opponent, and the cycle will begin anew.
Restless Blades - Rank 2/2 - Your damaging finishing
moves reduce the cooldown of your Adrenaline Rush, Killing
Spree, and Sprint abilities by 2 sec per combo point.
Killing Spree - Rank 1/1
Step through the shadows from enemy to enemy within 10 yards, attacking an enemy
every .5 secs with both weapons until 5 assaults are made, and increasing all
damage done by 20% for the duration. Can hit the same target multiple times.
Cannot hit invisible or stealthed targets.
Subtlety (1 point)
Nightstalker - Rank 2/2 - Increases your speed while
stealthed by 15% and reduces the cooldown of your Stealth ability
by 6 sec.
Assassination (6 Points)
Coup de Grace - Rank 2/3 - Increases the damage done
by your Eviscerate and Envenom abilities by 14%.
Lethality - Rank 3/3 - Increases the critical strike
damage bonus of your Sinister Strike, Backstab, Mutilate and
Hemorrhage abilities by 30%.
Quickening - Rank 1/2 - All healing effects on you
are increased by 10% and your movement speed is increased by
8%. This does not stack with other movement speed increasing
effects.
Prime Glyphs
Glyph of Adrenaline Rush - Increases the duration of
Adrenaline Rush by 5 sec.
Glyph of Eviscerate - Increases the critical strike chance
of Eviscerate by 10%.
Glyph of Sinister Strike -
Your Sinister Strikes have a 20% chance to add an additional combo point.
Major Glyphs
Glyph of Blade Flurry - Reduces the penalty to energy generation
while Blade Flurry is active by 50%.
Glyph of Blind - Your Blind ability also removes all damage over time effects
from the target.
Glyph of Garrote - Increases the duration of your Garrote ability's silence
effect by 2 sec.
Minor Glyphs
Glyph of Blurred Speed - Enables you to walk on water while
your Sprint ability is active.
Glyph of Poisons - You apply poisons to your weapons 50% faster.
Glyph of Safe Fall - Increases the distance your Safe Fall ability allows
you to fall without taking damage.
Options depends on your game. Drop something and get...
Precision - Rank 2/3 -
Increases your chance to hit with weapon and poison attacks by 4%.
allows reforging Hit (that's on your gear) into something else,
such as Haste.
If getting to
level 85 ASAP is your goal then check out our favorite leveling
guide, below. It also comes with a nifty talent
advisor widget.
Number Crunching,
Gems, Enchants, Macros
NOTE: The below section is nearly identical for
all three specializations of rogue, this is due to the usage of almost
entirely the same stats for any rogue no matter the attack rotation
and/or talent build.
At level 77, assuming that you're leveling, you should buy the Cataclysm
greens off the Auction House. They are a huge step up from
any green and blue Wrath gear, and even some of the lesser purple gear.
The Numbers
Which stats are best?.
In Cataclysm, your priorities
for DPS (based on high level gear) are...
Main hand weapon DPS
Agility - the value of this stat is increased by Vitality and by
the Leather Specialization sbility.
8% Hit (Sinister Strike and other specials use this)
Expertise
Haste
Spell Hit (Poisons use this, to 17%)
Mastery
White Hit (for your auto-attacks, to 27%)
Crit rating
Reforging - Crit into 8% Hit, Expertise,
and Haste. If you dual-build then Hit and Haste are probably the best
choices.
Quick and dirty: If item A has more Agility than item B, then it's
better.
For PVP...
Factor in Stamina and Resilience
Agility > Resilience > Hit to 5% > Haste
Reforging
If you're less than 8% hit, then reforge crit & mastery
->Hit
At or over 8% hit: reforge crit & mastery ->Expertise (to
the cap of 26) and
then haste if
the piece doesn't already have Haste. Haste increases everything
you do.
don't reforge into mastery.
Enchants for Level 85 Rogues
Enchants range from dirt cheap to pretty expensive. If you need more
gold to get the best stuff, then check out tycoon.
Use this for your Tof T button. Fill in the name of the party member who will be the focus of your T of T. Fire it off, he gets the benefit, and you don't have to fuss with target picking or focus changing. This macro will not deselect your current target:
#showtooltip Tricks of the Trade
/cast [target=YOURPARTYMEMBERHERE] Tricks of the Trade
Blind
Mouseover a target and hit the Blind button.
If there's no target under your mouse then it will blind your target.
/cast [target=mouseover, exists] Blind; blind
Gouge + Bandage
Cast gouge and immediately start bandaging. Works just fine when out of combat.
/cast Gouge
/stopcasting
/use [target=player] Heavy Netherweave Bandage
Mashable Sap
This one will dismount and stealth you, then cast Sap. Keep mashing it if you suspect there's a Rogue/Druid nearby.
#show Stealth
/dismount
/cast [stance:0] !Stealth
/targetenemy [harm][nodead]
/cast Sap
Startattack
This makes sure that your autoattack starts, even if you don't
have the energy to actually use SS.
#showtooltip
/startattack
/cast Sinister Strike
Gear for Combat Rogues
If you need the cash to buy the stuff then check out this gold
addon or our gold guide.
Quick and dirty advice:
Agility is #1 and sockets should get the +50 Ag gems, if you can
afford them, unless the socket bonus is +20 Ag or better.
Reforge Mastery and Crit to 8% Hit > Haste > Expertise
Enchants for Ag > Hit > AP > Haste
1-85 Rogue Leveling Guide
Now that you're on the way to becoming a lean, mean, killing
machine you should consider a full blown leveling guide for
your 1-85 blast. Why? It will save you many days of
in-game time and will also save a good deal of frustration,
even if you already know many or most of the quests.
Our recommended leveling guide is Zygor's
Guide. Zygor's automates the whole 1-85 path
(automatically updating as you complete tasks and quests)
and is like having an expert helping you every step of the
way. Pick your starting point and the guide automatically
updates and advances as you complete quests, sets a waypoint
arrow automatically, and includes all the important quest
info.
Even though WoW's in-game quest guide is far superior
to what it was previously it still doesn't give you the right
path to take or keep your from tackling things that are way
to high or too low. With Zygor's you'll
never wonder about where to go or what to do. Even if you take
a break to do some PvP leveling or some other quests that aren't
in the guide it's not a problem. The guide will pick up from
where you left off, adjust for your new levels, clean up your
old quests, and you'll go from there.
Zygor's is fully 4.3 Cataclysm ready and
comes with some nice extras, like a killer talent advisor and
the ability to work for the LoreMaster achievements. Get
it now and blast to 85. Grab
your copy of Zygor's Leveling Guide, here
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