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Rogue Basics in Wrath of the Lich King
Rogues are widely regarded as one of the top DPS classes in Wrath of the Lich King Classic.Combat roguesutilize many weapons, mainly swords or axes, and sometimes maces. This differentiates them from their exclusively dagger-wielding brothers of theAssassinationand Subtlety specializations.
Rogues will also find many changes and new features available in WOTLK, includingTricks of the TradeandFan of Knives. Fan of Knives finally gives rogues a much needed AOE tool to finally be useful in big pack pulls. This allows them to be a top tier AOE class for the first time, as well as their traditional top tier single target DPS as well. Wrath of the Lich King allows more rogues in a raid composition than The Burning Crusade, thanks to their high damage output in almost all scenarios.
Best Race Options
ForHordeplayers, Orcs and Trolls are considered the best two options. While Blood Elves and Undead can also be rogues, their racial abilities do not offer much in terms of PvE raid capability and are not suggested if you are interested in min-maxing. Some players like Undead for Will of the Forsaken, but it is a very situational cooldown to use and much more useful in PvP.
Orcs are generally chosen forCombat Roguesin Wrath due to the high abundance of axes in the expansion, and Trolls are arguably even stronger forAssassinationand Subtlety specializations:
ForAllianceplayers, there really is only one racial option if you want to maximize PvE DPS: Human. No surprise here, it has been the same in Vanilla and TBC, humans are the best rogue class in WOTLK.
Stat Priority - Main Skill Rotation - Talents - and BIS Gear for Rogues
Stat Priority, main skill rotations, talent choices, and BIS gear will differ between each specialization of rogue. To remain simplified, please visit the specific Rogue Class Specialization Guides below for this information.
Nightmare Tear (+10 All Stats)
Enchanted Tear (+6 All Stats)
Only use 1 Blue Gem to activate Meta slot. All other Gems should be red
Pristine Ametrine (+20 Attack Power + 10 Hit Rating)
Pristine Monarch Topaz (+16 Attack Power + 8 Hit Rating)
Only use 1 Yellow Gem to activate Meta slot. All other Gems should be red
Chance to increase Attack Power by 400
+1 Socket to Belt
+32 Attack Power
Enchant Exceptions by Profession
If you chose any of the following professions, you will want to use the profession-specific enchant as it will be more powerful than the list above:
Conclusion
You’ve come to the end of the Rogue Class Overview, but there is still much to explore! Don’t forget to dive into each recommended PvE specialization:CombatandAssassinationto master your class, and get ready for raiding with ourRogue Pre-Bis Raid Gear Guide
