Cailel’s Guide to Rogue Gear
To help rogues find gear that will maximize their dps.

This guide assumes the following:
You are a rogue.
You are level 70.
Your goal is to do as much DPS in PvE as possible.
You are specced combat swords, 20/41/0 or something similar.
You do not PvP for items.

The gear I am going to recommend may not be as useful in PvP. I make no claims to knowing post-BC pvp strats. My focus is purely on pouring as much damage into a mob as I can to help a raid team advance through 10 & 25 man content. If you have access to PvP rewards, I recommend picking up most (but not all) of the items that you can buy with honor and arena points. Start with the weapons and gradually replace the worst damage gear in your set. I will say that if you get all of the heroics and Karazhan gear, most of the PvP armor will be DPS downgrades.

Also, this guide does not address crafted BoP items, most notably the Primalstrike bracers and the engineering goggles. If you can craft epic gear for yourself, I urge you to research your options there for yourself.

I have been combat swords pretty much since I started the game. If you feel that mutilate or some hemo build is more useful/powerful/leet that is fine. I am not here to debate the merits of different specs. If you are already combat swords, or you want to try combat swords, this is intended to help you do as much damage as possible with that build. If you wish to stay daggers, then the gear in this guide will increase your dps, but may not be optimal.

Step One: Gear You Can Be Proud Of
or How I Geared My Rogue Without Running a Raid or an Heroic

All of the following gear can either be quested, farmed, purchased off the AH, or picked up in normal instances. There is no reason your gear should be lacking any of the following items.

The most important item in your entire inventory is your mainhand weapon. It is the primary variable in how much damage is done by your sinister strikes, eviscerates, etc. Therefore, the most important item you can get is…

Mainhand Sword
Edge of the Cosmos
This drops off the last boss in Mechanar. The drop rate may be low enough to be frustrating, but you must get this weapon. With a good group, you can run a Mechanar in about 30-40 minutes. Kill the two sub-bosses that unlock the door to the upper level, ignore everything else, zerg to the last boss, and pray for a good drop. The best way to go about this is to get some friends and ask them to run you through it over and over until you get it. As a bonus, both the Tunic of Assassination and Abacus of the Violent Odds drop from the last boss as well. You might get lucky and get several upgrades.

Enchant this with mongoose. That’s right, mongoose. If you feel this enchant is too expensive, remember that it will add about 15 damage per second, and that you will not replace this sword until the Spiteblade off of Netherspite in Karazhan.

The second most important item is your offhand weapon. Speed plays a major role here, since every swing you hit with has a chance to give you energy back from combat potency. You want the fastest sword you can get, and that means you need to farm for…

Offhand Sword
Latro’s Shifting Sword
Drops off last boss in Black Morass. People are always running BM to get attuned to Karazhan. Offer to help a group by DPSing the Rift Lords and Keepers, and run it over and over until you get this sword. (When I run guildies through it for Karazhan attunement, it takes about 22 minutes)

Other items from Black Morass: Handgrips of Assassination, Hourglass of the Unraveller, Sun-gilded Shouldercaps.

Enchant this with Mongoose as well. For anyone who tells you this is a complete waste of gold, simply explain that you will not replace this offhand until Black Temple. The only offhand sword for rogues better than this prior to Tier 6 equivalents is the PvP reward. If you can do some Arena, I highly recommend getting the OH sword. If you don’t PvP, you will wield Latro’s for a very long time.

The following list can be acquired in any order. I recommend you spend as much time on quest chains as possible, with only Mechanar and Black Morass taking precedence. If you have completed all the quests or are on steps that require instance runs, farm as necessary while trying to get groups together.

Ranged Weapon
Veteran’s Musket
Expensive and requires exalted with honor hold. One of the best ranged you can get for DPS. Purchased from the Honor Hold Quartermaster.

2nd Choice
Felsteel Whisper Knives
Cheaper (probably) and you can farm most if not all of the mats. Also, equipping a throwing weapon allows rogues to deadly throw, which is a very useful ability.

Head
Helm of the Claw
Quest reward for killing the last boss of Steam Vaults. My personal record for clearing SV is 27 minutes, and this was back when my gear was mostly blues. There is no excuse for you to lack the Neon Swim Cap of Death.

Spend 8 spirit shards (attained by killing Auchindoun instance bosses) and get the Swift Windfire Diamond for the meta-gem slot.
Delicate living ruby or rigid dawnstone in the gem slot (your choice, doesn’t really matter)
Enchant with Glyph of Ferocity. Purchased from the Cenarion Expedition Quartermaster, requires revered with CE.

Neck
Earthen Mark of Razing
Quest reward from a chain that starts in Nagrand with Elementalist Untrag. Again, no excuse not to have this item.

2nd Choice
Natasha's Choker
Quest reward from chain that starts in Blade's Edge with "Damaged Mask". I've listed this as second even though it is a tiny dps ugrade because the quest chain is more involved, and with proper raid buffs Earthen Mark will actually give you more dps.

Shoulder
Expedition Scout's Epaulets
Quest reward for killing the first(!!!) boss in Shattered Halls.

2nd Choice
Sun-gilded Shouldercaps
Drops off first boss in Black Morass. Will tide you over until you get the Expedition Scout Shoulders.

Augment the Expedition Scout Shoulder with your Scryer/Aldor shoulder enchant. (Requires honored and two fel armaments/arcane tomes)

Back
Cloak of the Inciter
Drops off second boss in Shadow Labs.

2nd Choice
Cloak of Malice
Drops off first boss in Shattered Halls, which you should be killing for the Expedition Scout Shoulders anyway.

3rd Choice
Delicate Green Poncho
Quest chain reward from Wazat in Nagrand.

Enchant with +12 Agi.

Chest
Vest of Vengeance
Drops off the last boss in Blood Furnace. No, not heroic. Normal Blood Furnace. How easy do you think it would be to get group to take a level 70 rogue along with them to normal Blood Furnace? Gem with delicate blood garnets.

2nd Choice
Chestguard of the Prowler
I’ve listed this as the second choice even though it’s slightly more DPS because you would need to purchase it unless you are lucky enough to have it drop into your lap. On my server it runs 40-60g. Check the AH if you want to just buy some dps in the form of this BoE blue.

3rd Choice
Tunic of Assassination
The bad news is that your dungeon set chest piece is less DPS than a blue you can get at level 60 of the first BC instance. The good news is that you might have gotten this simply by running Mechanar to get the Edge of the Cosmos. If so, don’t bother looking to upgrade this item until you get to Heroics/Karazhan. Gem with delicate blood garnets.

Enchant with +6 to all stats.

Wrist
Nightstalker's Wristguards
Quest reward from a chain that starts with "The Sunfury Garrison" in Netherstorm. Another amazing DPS piece that every rogue should have prior to Heroics and Karazhan. If you don’t have this item, yer just lazy. Get off your butt and go get it.

2nd Choice
Spymistress Wristguards
Quest reward for collecting soul devices in Shadow Labs. Easy to get and will tide you over until you get the Nightstalker's. Gem with delicate blood garnet.

Enchant with +24 to AP.

Hands
Fel Leather gloves
Created by a leather worker. This will require some farming, or buying the mats off the AH. Six heavy knothead leather, six fel hides, six primal shadow, three rune thread. I estimate this should take you about two hours of farming, and you will need a skinner to help you. Gem with Delicate Living Ruby and Rigid Dawnstone.

2nd Choice
Handgrips of Assassination
Drops from last boss of Black Morass. Will tide you over until you can farm up the fel leather gloves. Unless you got extremely lucky with Latro's, you should see these at least once in Black Morass.

Enchant with +15 agi.

Waist
Socrethar’s Girdle
This is the reward from a quest chain become available when you have completed the Scryer quests in Netherstorm. One of the best DPS belts in the game, and well worth the effort. Plus, you gain faction for the shoulder enchants. If you are Aldor yer out of luck, but you can get a nice ring instead.

2nd Choice
Naaru’s Belt of Precision
Another quest chain reward. It begins in Netherstorm with “Warp-raider Nessad”. Slightly shorter chain, and still a really good item. The only option for Aldor rogues.

Legs
Fel Leather Leggings
The best DPS legs you can get for awhile. Everything past these are drops in heroics or raids. Farm or buy the mats. Ten heavy knothead leather, ten fel hides, ten primal shadow, three rune thread. About 2-2.5 hours of farming. Gem with Delicate Living Ruby, Rigid Dawnstone x2.

2nd Choice
Leggings of Assassination
Drops from the last boss of Shadow Labs. Worth taking if you get the drop and don't have the Fel Leather yet. A dps downgrade from Fel Leather.

Augment your legs with Cobrahide Armor kit. Made by leather workers. Four heavy knothide leather, two cobra scales, four primal air. About 90 minutes of farming. You’ll need a skinner, or pu

Rings
Kaylaan’s Signet
Aldor quest reward for all the Netherstorm quests. Very long, but still worth the effort. If you are scyer, yer out of luck. But you should have a nicer belt. So it all works out.

Slayer’s mark of redemption
Quest chain reward that begins with “The path of conquest” in Shadowmoon valley.

Band of Anguish
Quest chain reward that begins with “Bring down the Warbringer” in Shadowmoon Valley. Alternative for Scryers rogues who cannot get Kaylaan’s Signet.

All of these rings are guaranteed from completing quest lines, so every rogue should be able to get two out of the three. If you are really lazy, you can try for…

Alternatives
Ravenclaw band
Drops from the last boss of Setthekk halls.

Longstrider Loop
Drops from final boss of Mana-tombs in normal.

Trinkets
All of the following trinkets will be useful. I’ve listed them in order of pure DPS output, but if you use a mod like TrinketMenu or simply watch your cooldowns and switch them out as often as possible, you can increase your dps by always having a trinket available to use.

Abacus of the Violent Odds
Drops from the last boss in Mechanar. If you want to be properly geared as a rogue, you will become very familiar with this instance.

Core of Ar’Kelos
Quest chain reward that starts with “The Archmage’s staff” in Netherstorm. Another long chain that will give you plenty of money and a nice trinket at the end.

Hourglass of the Unraveller
Drops off the second boss in Black Morass. Another instance full of phat rogue loots.

Bladefist’s Breadth
Quest reward for “Overlord” in hellfire peninsula. I did this quest at level 60. If you don’t have this trinket, just tell people you sold it by accident.

Terokkar Tablet of Precision
Quest reward for “Torgos” in Terokkar forest. Another trinket that you probably have if you did any questing at all.

Now you have some basic gear that will allow you to do respectable DPS in all situations. I have a friend with a rogue alt with this gear set. She uses it on our Karazhan “Alt run” and she easily tops the damage meters. A simplified list of what I would aim for:

MH- Edge of the Cosmos; Mongoose
OH – Latro’s Shifting Sword; Mongoose
Ranged – Felsteel Whisper Knives
Head – Helm of the Claw; Swift Windfire, delicate living ruby, Glyph of Ferocity
Neck – Earthen Mark of Razing
Shoulder – Expedition Scout's Epaulets Aldor/Scryer augmentation
Back – Delicate Green Poncho; +12 to agility
Chest – Vest of Vengeance; delicate blood garnets, +6 to all stats
Wrist – Nightstalker's Wristgaurds, +24 to AP
Hands – Fel Leather Gloves; delicate living ruby, rigid dawnstone, +15 to agility
Waist – Naaru’s Belt of Precision
Legs – Fel Leather Leggings; delicate living ruby, rigid dawnstone x2 Cobrahide armor
Feet – Fel Leather boots; delicate living ruby, rigid dawnstone, +12 agi
Ring – Band of Anguish
Ring - Ravenclaw Band
Trinket – Bladefist’s Breadth
Trinket – Hourglass of the Unraveller

This list is easily attainable for any rogue who spends any time whatsoever focused on his/her gear.

Step Two: Gear To Kill Things In The Face
or “How Do You Do So Much Damage In Blues???”

The next set of gear will require you to run heroics, or rep grind to be eligible to purchase certain items. If you can get into Karazhan, I suggest taking a look at step three and being ready to roll for the items on that list. Any item you get from Karazhan is one less you have to get from this list. However, unless you are on a team that is clearing Karazhan each week, I would strongly suggest you continually work on your gear whenever you can. DPS classes are the engine that drive a raid. Tanks and healers are critical in deciding whether a raid succeeds or fails. But low dps will mean that even if you succeed, it takes a lot longer.

To use myself as an example… When my Karazhan team was first raiding there, we had problems on anything past Opera. I spent a week aiming for items off this list. I got pretty lucky and got 3-4 upgrades. The following week, we had a complete clear. Within two more weeks we were clearing in 3-4 hours. I wasn’t the only reason this happened. Many of the dps members went out and worked on their gear as well. But I was doing about 15% more damage. So, if you would like to increase your dps output by 15-20%...

Mainhand (Mongoose)
Not a lot of options here. If you are aldor, grind to exalted and buy the sword. If you keep using your Edge of the Cosmos until you get the Spiteblade you should be fine. (This guide isn’t about PvP, but if you can earn enough arena points to buy the MH sword, do it.)

Offhand (Mongoose)
Latro’s is still the best. (Again, PvP OH is your only upgrade prior to Black Temple.)

Gun
Veteran’s Musket
Purchased from the Honor Hold Quartermaster. Requires exalted. If you want to hold out for one of the bows out of Karazhan, it would be fine. Not a lot of DPS added for picking up this weapon, but if gold is no object and you want that extra edge, pick this up.

Head (CE augment: Glyph of Ferocity)
Wastewalker Helm
Drops from the last boss in Old Durnholde. A very tough heroic that requires an amazing group. If you are getting anywhere in Karazhan, try for one of those rogue helms instead, especially your tier 4 head piece. Gem with shifting nightseye, relentless earthstorm diamond.

2nd Choice
Mask of Deceiver
Purchased for 50 Badges of Justice. Fantastic item, but it costs a lot of badges. If you can really focus on badges every day, and you’re succeeding in heroics, pick this item up. But you have several items to purchase with badges, and this shouldn’t be at the top of your list. Gem with rigid dawnstone and relentless earthstorm diamond.

Neck
Choker of Vile Intent
Purchased with 25 Badges of Justice. This should be your first purchase with heroic badges for the simple reason that you will not replace it for a really long time.

2nd Choice
Worgen Claw Necklace
Not technically a heroic, but even the worst of pugs usually drops Attunemen, the first boss in Karazhan. If you get this piece, it’s only a slight downgrade from the Choker. But you can save the badges you would normally spend and save towards something else.

Shoulder (Aldor/Scyer augment)
Wastewalker Shoulderpads
A must have for any combat swords rogue. You will not replace these before Tier 5. Tier 4 is a dps downgrade! Drops from final boss of heroic Auchenai Crypts. You should be running this heroic every single day until you get these. I spent a solid week in the Crypts after every reset until they dropped. If you do not use these, you are missing out on dps. Gem with delicate living ruby and shifting nightseye.

Second Choice
There isn’t one. Anything else is gimping yourself. Don’t believe me? Look at this.

Netherblade vs Wastewalker: Netherblade is:
MINUS 5 agility.
MINUS 3 hit rating.
Has a WORSE socket bonus.
Plus 18 ap. (Only +13 if you factor in the extra agility on wastewalker)

Not convinced?
If you get a second piece of wastewalker, you get +35 to hit rating. So one piece is an average of +17.5 hit rating on top of what it already has.

If you aren’t going to farm for this item, do us both a favor and stop reading this guide right now. Nothing I say is going to convince or help you.

Back (+12 Agi)
Auchenai Death Shroud
Drops from the final boss of heroic Crypts. Hey, weren’t you just there? Farming something? Gee, that works out well!

2nd Choice
Blood Knight War Cloak
Purchased for 25 Badges of Justice. Worth picking up if you don’t get lucky with the Death Shroud.

Chest (+6 to all stats)
Wastewalker Tunic
The second piece of wastewalker that you will not replace until tier 5. Drops from heroic Blood Furnace. If you want to do serious PvE dps, farm for this item until you get it. The second piece gives you the all important set bonus, +35 hit rating. Again, for those of you who believe that Tier Gear is everything, please to examine the following:

Netherblade has:
7 more agility
Same socket bonus (the colors aren’t as good)
11 more hit rating
18 more AP

Wait a minute!!! I thought I said Wastewalker was better? Well yes, if you factor in the set bonus. If you wear both the Wastewalker shoulders and the chestpiece instead of the netherblade you will:

Lose 6 Agi
Lose 36 AP
And gain 31 hit rating.

Wow Cailel, yer nuts. Why would I want to lose agility and AP? Oh, and by the way, you haven’t mentioned yet that I have 28 less stam in WW as well.

Yer right. You have 280 less HPS in wastewalker. So if Gruul turns and takes a swipe at you, the greasy spot that was your dps machine will be spread a bit farther along the floor. But if you care about maximizing your DPS, 31 hit rating is much more important than a small amount of agi and AP. Plus 31 to hit rating is just under 2% more chance to hit. More hits equal more procs, poisons, energy regen, white damage, etc etc etc.

Again, if I haven’t convinced you, this guide isn’t going to work for you.

2nd Choice
Wastewalker Tunic
Gem with glinting noble topaz (x3)

3rd-5th Choice
Wastewalker Tunic, Wastewalker Tunic, or Wastewalker Tunic

Wrist (+24 to Attack Power)
Shard-bound bracers
Requires exalted with Orgi’la. Worth picking up if you’ve done your dailies every day and gotten to exalted. Gem with a rigid dawnstone.

2nd Choice
Nightfall Wristguards
Drops from the last boss in heroic Durnholde. Worth the pain and anguish if you have a good enough group to pull it off.

3rd Choice
Bracers of Maliciousness
Again, not technically a heroic. Drops from the Maiden in Karazhan. But if you get these, they will tide you over if you want to focus on other upgrades you need more.

Hands (+15 agi)
Wastewalker Gloves
Drops from the last boss in heroic Shattered Halls. Only worth the time and agony if it will give you the 4-piece set bonus for wastewalker. (Or 2-piece set bonus prior to picking up the other wastewalker pieces). Otherwise, the Handgrips of the Assassination will work just fine. Gem with 2x delicate living ruby.

Belt
Girdle of the Deathdealer
Drops from the last boss in Heroic Black Morass. Here is the deal… This is the best belt short of SSC and The Eye. Even then, you need to get the pattern to drop, then the mats to drop, yada yada yada. But the problem is that Black Morass is the toughest heroic in the game. You don’t want to bring anything less than the best group you can sc@!*! together for this run.

2nd Choice
Socrethar’s Girdle/Naaru’s belt of Precision
These will tide you over. Seriously.

Legs (Nethercobra Armor Kit)
Wastewalker Leggings
Drops from final boss in heroic Mana-tombs. Gem with 2x delicate living ruby and shifting nightseye.

Second Choice
Midnight Leggings
Drops off the last boss in heroic Slave Pens. Gem with 2x delicate living ruby and shifting nightseye.

It is critical to get one of these if you don’t have a shot at the Skulker’s Greaves off Netherspite, because otherwise you will not be gemmed correctly. (see below)

Starting with these leggings, use Nethercobra Armor Kit. 4x heavy knothide leather, 4x cobra scales, 8x primal air, 1x primal nether. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? You betcha.

Feet (+12 agi)
Fel Leather boots
Congrats, yer done.

Ring
Shaffer’s Band of Brutality
Drops of the optional boss in heroic Mana-tombs. This is a really tough mob to get to. Requires some major grinding or someone who is exalted with The Consortium. If you can get it, great. If not, you’ll get what you need in Karazhan.

Trinkets
Bloodlust Brooch
Purchased with 41 Badges of Justice. This should be your second heroic badge purchase after the Choker. If you already have the Worgen Claw necklace, this should be your first purchase. A “must have”.

Darkmoon Card: Crusade
Comes from “Blessings” cards. This can be really expensive to pick up. If you have the gold, look for cards on the AH or try to trade with people. The Ferrari of Trinkets. If you have to ask how much this is gonna cost you, you can’t afford it.

Simplified list to this point:

MH- Edge of the Cosmos; Mongoose
OH – Latro’s Shifting Sword; Mongoose
Ranged – Felsteel Whisper Knives
Head – Helm of the Claw; Swift Windfire, Delicate Living Ruby, Glyph of Ferocity
Neck – Vile Choker of Vile Intent
Shoulder – Wastewalker Shoulderpads; delicate living ruby, shifting nightseye Aldor/Scryer Back – Auchenai Death Shroud; +12 to agility
Chest – Wastewalker Tunic, 3x glinting noble topaz +6 to all stats
Wrist – Spymistress Wristguards; delicate living ruby, +24 to AP
Hands – Handgrips of Assassination; +15 to agility
Waist – Naaru’s Belt of Precision
Legs – Midnight Leg Guards, Nethercobra Leg armor, 2x delicate living ruby, shifting nightseye
Feet – Fel Leather boots
Ring – Band of Anguish
Ring - Ravenclaw Band
Trinket – Bloodlust Brooch
Trinket – Abacus of the Violent Odds

This gear set will give you excellent dps and put you in a position to be a fantastic member of any raid you go on.

A small discussion of gems:
There are several epic gems you can get that will increase your dps by quite a bit. Keep an eye out for the following:

Brutal Tanzanite (Heroic Botanica)
Pulsing Amethyst (Quest chain reward for killing Nightbane in Karazhan)
Glinting Fire Opal (Heroic Black Morass)
Pristine Fire Opal (Heroic Sethekk Halls)

The one thing you need to remember is that you must have 2 red, 2 yellow and 2 blue gems to utilize the Relentless earthstorm diamond meta-gem. Gemming some of your gear with purple gems may lower the dps of that particular item by a small margin, but you will greatly increase your overall dps because your meta-gem bonus will be activated.

Luckily, if you get these upgrades and gem them according to the list, you will have the proper configuration. What’s more, you will not have to re-gem any of the previous items when you upgrade further.

Step Three: Serious Power for Serious DPSers
or How I Helped My Guild Kill Curator During The First Evocate

If you aren’t running Karazhan regularly, we have come to the end of my ability to help you. Go back and look over the list again, and get as much as you can. Look over this list and see if there is any crumbs of damage you can pick up here and there.

For those of you who are running Karazhan and want to aim for the absolute best gear you can get prior to 25-man content, roll up your sleeves, press your nose firmly to the nearest, most convenient grindstone, and prepare to work hard for your ubeRogue status.

Mainhand (Mongoose)
Spiteblade
Drops from Netherspite in Karazhan.

Offhand (Mongoose)
Latro’s
Still. Crazy, eh?

Ranged
Sunfury Bow of the Phoenix
The Prince in Karazhan. Don’t steal this from any hunter that wants it. But if you have a chance, grab it.

2nd Choice
Veteran’s Musket
Exalted with Honor Hold

Head (Glyph of Ferocity)
Netherblade Facemask
The Prince in Karazhan. Gem with relentless earthstorm diamond and delicate living ruby.

2nd Choice
Cowl of Defiance
Netherspite, Karazhan

3rd Choice
Mask of Deceiver
Purchased for 50 Badges of Justice. Gem with rigid dawnstone and relentless earthstorm diamond.

Neck
Choker of Vile Intent
Purchased with 25 Badges

Shoulder (Scryer/Aldor augment)
Wastewalker Shoulderpads
Last boss, Auchenai Crypts. Gem with delicate living ruby and pulsing amethyst, the quest reward for killing Nightbane. (alternate gem: shifting nightseye)

Back (+12 agi)
D#%## of the Dark Reavers
Shade of Aran in Karazhan.

2nd Choice
Auchnei Death Shroud
Last boss, heroic Crypts.

Chest (+6 Stats)
Wastewalker Tunic
Last boss, heroic Blood Furnace. Gem with 2x glinting noble topaz and pristine fire opal which drops from Heroic Sethhek Halls. (alternate gem: glinting noble topaz)

Wrist (+24 AP)
Shard-bound Bracers
Exalted with Ogri’la. Gem with delicate living ruby.

2nd Choice
Nightfall Wristguards.
Last boss, heroic Durnholde.

3rd Choice
Bracers of Maliciousness
Maiden of Virtue, Karazhan.

Hands (+15 agi)
Netherblade Gloves
Curator, Karazhan.

2nd Choice
Gloves of Dexterous Manipulation
Attunemen, Karazhan. Gem with 2x delicate living rubies.

3rd Choice
Grips of Deftness
Trash mobs, Karazhan.

Waist
Girdle of the Deathdealer
Last Boss, heroic Black Morass

2nd Choice
Girdle of Treachery
Chess Event, Karazhan. Gem with 2x delicate living rubies.

Legs (Nethercobra leg armor)
Skulker’s Greaves
Netherspite, Karazhan. Gem with 2x delicate living rubies, brutal tanzanite (alternate gem: shifting nightseye).

Feet
Edgewalker Longboots
Moroes, Karazhan. Gem with delicate living ruby and glinting fire opal.

Rings
Ring of a Thousand Marks
The Prince, Karazhan.

Garona’s Signet Ring
Curator, Karazhan.

Alternate
Violet Signet of the Master Assassin
Exalted with the Violet Eye

Trinkets
Bloodlust Brooch
Purchased with 41 Badges.

Romulo’s Poison Vial
Opera Event, Karazhan

Darkmoon Card: Crusade
Auction House

Note on trinkets: If you really want to maximize your dps effectively, download a mod like trinket menu that will automatically swap out trinkets on cooldown so that you are constantly using multiple trinkets during chain trash pulls. Then decide which trinkets will do you the most good for boss fights. Do you need steady, long term dps (like Nightbane, Moroes, Attunemen) or do you need quick bursts of huge output (Prince 60% to 30%, Curator during evocate, Netherspite when you are in the blue beam, etc.)? Equip accordingly.

Simplified List:
MH- Spiteblade; Mongoose
OH – Latro’s Shifting Sword; Mongoose
Ranged – Sunfury Bow of the Phoenix
Head – Netherblade Facemask; delicate living ruby, relentless earthstorm diamond, glyph of ferocity
Neck – Vile Choker of Vile Intent
Shoulder – Wastewalker Shoulderpads; delicate living ruby, shifting nightseye Aldor/Scryer Back – D#%## of the Dark Reavers; +12 to agility
Chest – Wastewalker Tunic, 3x glinting noble topaz +6 to all stats
Wrist – Shard-bound bracers; delicate living ruby, +24 to AP
Hands – Netherblade gloves; +15 to agility
Waist – Girdle of the Deathdealer
Legs – Skulker’s Greaves, Nethercobra Leg armor, 2x delicate living ruby, brutal tanzanite
Feet – Edgewalker Longboots, +12 agi, delicate living ruby, glinting fire opal
Ring – Ring of a Thousand Marks
Ring – Garona’s Signet Ring
Trinket – Bloodlust Brooch
Trinket – Darkmoon Card: Crusade
Trinket – Romulo’s Poison Vial

This list represents the best dps gear you can get in the Burning Crusade prior to 25-man content. If you do the hard work to get everything on this list, you will be at the top of the damage meters. We all know that tanks and healers are in high-demand on raid teams, but if you bring this level of commitment to putting out damage, you will be a valuable asset that leaders will want to invite.

I hope you find this guide to gear helpful. You can also find a copy of it located at kestrel.starforge.co.uk, the website for our raiding team.

I want to thank the following people and guilds that helped make this guide better: Ohbasan, Baldazar, Faiyd, Pharyn, Thunder Downunder, and Synthesis.

Great post, ty.

Right you are. The Hauberk of Karabor an Aldor Quest chain reward. It's slightly more dps if you are soloing (about 1) and slight less if you are getting buffed in a raid (about 1).

I'll keep it on my list for when I'm ready to update/edit. Thanks!

I stand by my contention that you need Chapter and Page numbers for this thing. I wonder how much it could be adapted for some feralicious goodness.

With 2 netherblade pieces and some kara gear you are likely near the hit cap and don't need the 2 wastewalker set bonus. You also get an extra 3 seconds on SnD which is a very nice DPS boost. I disagree with your wastewalker over netherblade assertion.

I don't think I've ever posted on my rogue. Perhaps I shall have to level her and use this guide.

Wow, awesome AWESOME guide. I'm currently gearing my rogue for Kara and theres a ton of things here you've listed that are not only better than the things I've been going for recently, but also a HELL of a lot easier to get it seems (those shoulders as a QUEST REWARD from 1ST boss of SH???? im so there).... leaves me thinking "how the hell did I miss all these"? I forsee some huge upgrades for me next time I play.

You read my mind, this was exactly what I was looking for. I would like to take you out for a nice steak dinner.

to suggest to grind exalted with thralmar/HH for the musket but DONT suggest to get the aldor sword?







great advice.

You forgot to mention the Veteran's Bracers. Just a shade better than Maliciousness, and easy to farm.

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Q u o t e:
You read my mind, this was exactly what I was looking for. I would like to take you out for a nice steak dinner.

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I think he lives in California and he would probably take you up on that offer.

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Q u o t e:
You forgot to mention the Veteran's Bracers. Just a shade better than Maliciousness, and easy to farm.

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He specifically said in his guide "and you do not PvP", hence the omission.

with a little MORE effort than what the OP is suggesting, you can pretty much gear up to the level of NEAR or even equal to Tier 4 but my idea might not work for everyone, its only tuned for Sword rogues because Sword rogues rely more on AP and +Hit than Dagger rogues do as they rely on +Crit and +hit for PVE and +Crit and +AP for PVP

Cobrascale Hood
Cobrascale Gloves
Primalstrike Vest
Primalstrike Belt
Primalstrike Bracers
Shoulderpads of Assassination
Leggings of Assassination
The Master's Treads
Skyguard's D*!%*
Core of Arkelos
Uniting Charm
Bloodlust Brooch
Vindicator's Brand
Latro's Shifting Sword

Love the name there Sam. :-)

/bump