Note: I will further update the guide to my final version of Burning Crusade once this gets stickied. Therefore, please click the Red Bio-hazard symbol next to the quote button. Report it for sticky and then hit "Okay"!

                             Preface

Note:
I am currently reserving slots for the guide. FINSIHED
I am currently taking a break before actually filling in the information. FINISHED
I am beginning the long process of copy-pasting an older version of the guide to have something. SOMEWHAT FINISHED.
I am writing a Preface.

Things that have changed or will change in the next few days:

The Name of the Guide.

A new PvE section.

A new 6th section that will not be announced until completely finished.

Some readability adjustments such as some preformatted text as above.

A Preface and introduction.

Updated Rogue Forum history.

And more!

Note: This guide is an update to Rod's past guide, written for Patch 2.1. Obviously, many things have changed within the Rogue class and I felt that an update was needed to keep the spirit of the guide from being a running joke. Thus, Rod was kind enough to pass this guide off without any expectations of how it'll turn out. His few requests will be honored and I'd like to thank him for this opportunity.

Much like Rod, if you feel you have a self-written article that isn't big enough for a sticky but needs a home, or would like to add/edit an already written article, feel free to e-mail me azrihe@gmail.com. Your work will be noted as this guide is hodgepodge of anything and everything Rogue!

______________________________

Hello my fellow rogues! This is an ever-changing guide to help us keep up with the facts about our class. With your help we can look over it all and update our facts, find broken links and even create more information to put in here. So "help me help you" and correct the errors, point out lapses and update anything you can. Thanks!


The Rogue Source v2.4.3 (Guide 2.0.1)

Chapters:

Note: This is a very long guide that can be difficult to find exactly want you're looking for by scrolling. Therefore, like any other guide/walkthrough/FAQ, included is a chapter system to direct the curious Rogue directly to the information they need. To access this, simply press CTRL+F and type in the chapter number (I.E.: 1.1) into the field and press enter a few times to get you to the information you're looking for.

                                                            THIS SECTION IS TO CHANGE VERY VERY VERY SOON.

1.0 Rogue
1.1 Rogues in WoW: Past, Present and Future
1.2 Rogue Lore
1.3 Abbreviations
1.4 Rogue Basics

2.0 Rogue Races
2.1 Humans
2.2 Dwarves
2.3 Night Elves
2.4 Gnomes
2.5 Orcs
2.6 Trolls
2.7 The Undead
2.8 Blood Elves*

3.0 Professions
3.1 Fishing, Cooking and First Aid
3.2 Herbalism
3.3 Skinning
3.4 Mining
3.5 Alchemy
3.6 Leatherworking
3.7 Blacksmithing
3.8 Engineering
3.9 Enchanting
3.10 Tailoring

4.0 Rogue Skills
4.1 Assassination Skills
4.2 Combat Skills
4.3 Sublety Skills
4.4 Lockpicking
4.5 Pickpocketing

5.0 Rogue Talents
5.1 Rogue Talent Builds - Current to Patch 2.4.2
5.2 Talents Overview

6.0 Wrath of The Lich King
6.1 ----
6.2 ----
6.3 ----
6.4 ----

7.0 PvE
7.1 Simplified Rogue PvE DPS Guide
7.2 Rotations

8.0 PvP
8.1 Combos and Techniques
8.2 Dueling Guide
8.3 World PvP
8.4 Battlegrounds

9.0 Discussions
9.1 ----
9.2 ----

10.0 Add-ons, Macros and UI

11.0 All Links

12.0 A brief history of the rogue forums

1.0 Rogue

http://www.wowwiki.com/Rogue

Class Role
The stealthy Rogue is a melee-range damage dealer. The defining class ability, Stealth, strikes fear and jealously in the heart of other classes. The ability to pick and choose encounters at one's own discretion and to bludgeon those when the opportunity presents itself, ah.. the life of a Rogue. Much like a Mage, Rogues can tear through packs of mobs without flinching once. But unlike a Mage, a Rogue can do this for hours, only stopping to wipe the blood out of his eyes. This is because Rogues are blessed with an ever ticking energy bar (http://www.wowwiki.com/Energy) rather than a traditional mana pool (http://www.wowwiki.com/Mana).

[BETA-WOLK] In the beta, Rogues now regenerate energy at the rate of 1 Energy per .1 second. This is huge for rotations and grinding alike. “Ever-Ticking” couldn't be more true.


Strengths

Stealth abilities allow the Rogue to reach places more easily than most classes

Strong lock picking abilities/access compared to other classes

Has multiple abilities (Sprint, Vanish, Cloak of Shadows, Gouge, etc.) that allows the Rogue escape most any battle if the fires get too hot

Weaknesses

More susceptible to damage than Paladins/Warriors because Rogues can only wear cloth or leather armor as opposed to mail and plate (For more information on this topic, please take full advantage of this article http://www.wowwiki.com/Armor)

Speed is decreased when under the effects of Stealth as a trade off for near complete removal from an enemy's field of vision.

Challenges

Mastering Stealth Usage.

Managing monster hate/aggro so that tanks can take the majority of damage when possible

Learning and using effective rotations to maximize raid DPS (Damage Per Second)

Increasing reaction timing to perform Rogue-like maneuvers to better oneself in Player vs Player combat.

Understanding when and how to use cooldowns at the right times for every situation

Gaining control of a fight and accurately predicting your enemy's every move.

We'll touch on these challenges in their respected Sections. Look for the [CHALLENGES] tag.

1.1 Rogues in WoW: Past, Present and Future

Past:(in progress) During Beta, we were unstoppable. Over the course of a year, we were slowly nerfed patch after patch to bring other classes in-line (For more information on Nerfs/Bugs/Fixes to the Rogue class, please see: http://shadowpanther.net/roguechanges.htm). Then, Battlegrounds came out and we quickly discovered that once out of stealth we were easily a quick kill if caught without our precious cool-downs, or a force to be reckoned with them. Much of the direct nerfs stopped at our class review. The God-send of an ability, Cloak of Shadows came out and suddenly we had a way to kill that priest or warlock and actually live afterwards by wiping dots. It also gave us slightly more utility against many boss encounters in a raid setting.
A short time later, Burning Crusade came out, which truly showed the power of the rogue class. Many classes suffered from poor scaling against the tough monsters that greeted players as they passed through the Dark Portal. Rogues, on the other hand, had much more relative ease thus allowing for many to reach 70 in a very short amount of time. Season 1 of Arena was released and this gave, not only Rogues, but all classes a shocking wake-up call to what a synergistic group composition can do the the competition. Seasons ended and started new as Rogues seemed to do well the 2v2 and 3v3 brackets, but not so much 5v5. That, of course, changes in Season 3 and Which brings us to today...

Present: World of Warcraft Client Patch 2.4.3 (xx/xx/2008)

The latest patch notes can always be found at http://worldofwarcraft.com/patchnotes/

The patch notes highlights from a rogue perspective:

Rogues

Cheat Death: This talent has been rebalanced significantly. Killing blows are no longer 100% absorbed. If the Rogue is below 10% health, the killing blow is still completely absorbed; if the Rogue is over 10% health, enough damage will be absorbed to reduce the Rogue’s health down to 10%. For the following 3 seconds, damage is not always reduced by 90%; it is now reduced by a maximum of 90%, depending on how much resilience the Rogue has. The damage reduction will be four times the damage reduction resilience causes against critical strikes.

Sinister Calling now increases damage to Backstab and Hemorrhage by 1/2/3/4/5%. (down from 2/4/6/8/10% .)

Bug Fix

Rogues: The talent Heightened Senses, Rank 1 and Rank 2 will now affect attacks from wands.

Notes of the Patch:

Both Rogue specific adjustments are “nerfs” depending on who you ask. Several Rogues agree with the change in Cheat Death and have changed spec accordingly. On paper, it's still a nerf as you have to gem for Resilience to regain the full 90%. The Sinsiter Calling nerf was an effort to tone down the damage output Rogues can do with PvE gear. But, the change actually causes Rogues to seek out the Slayers Set for the four piece bonus to bring Hemorrhage back to its pre-patch glory.

The Bug Fix is simply a buff, but you'll never notice it.

1.2 Rogue Lore (More needed!)

The Rogue Class from past MMOs has always been a sort of a thief/pirate/ninja thing. Not always with the ability to stealth, but usually allowed to dual wield daggers and swords. Blizzard's World of Warcraft expanded on the ideas of past games and gave rogues the abilities and tools needed to complete their jobs. Unfortunately, there are few noteworthy characters that are presumed to be Rogues in the World that is Warcraft. One such person is Garona Halforcen. For a great read-up, check out:
http://www.wowwiki.com/Garona

1.3 Abbreviations

The following are abbreviations you should become familiar with as you will see them used throughout this guide, WoW forums and even during game play:

NPC: Non-player Character. These are your quest-givers, your townsfolk, your bankers, your auctioneers. These are the people that live and inhabit Azeroth.
Mob: Monster using artificial intelligence to fight.
DPS=Damage per Second. For a weapon, this is the average damage of your weapon, divided by the speed. For a character talking about their overall DPS, this is how much damage they can deal over the course of a fight. If someone is looking for DPS for a group like "LF1M for MgT. DPS/CC needed" then that means they are looking for you...a rogue.
CC: Crowd Control. These are abilities that take a NPC or a player (usually for much less time than a NPC) completely out of combat for the duration of the ability.
CP: Combo Point. The points allowed to do finishers. You learned about them at level 1.
Crit : Critical Strike. These are attacks that do roughly 2x more damage than normal ones
SS: Sinister Strike
Spec: Specialization. Usually applies to what talent build you have.
CS: Cheap Shot
KS: Kidney Shot
BS: Backstab
SnD or simply 's' when referring to raid rotations: Slice and Dice
Rup or simply 'r' when referring to raid rotations: Rupture
EA:Expose Armor
CB: Cold Blood (Assassination 21-point talent)
BF: Blade Flurry (Combat 21-point talent)
AR: Adrenaline Rush (Combat 31-point talent)
Hemo: Hemorrhage (Subtlety talent)
Prep:Preparation (Subtlety 21-point talent)
Premed: Premeditation (Subtlety 31-point talent)
CoS or CloS: Cloak of Shadows (Former 41-point talent turned ability when its raid/PvE utility was recognized)
ShS or SStep: Shadowstep (Subtlety 41-point talent)
Mut: Mutilate (Assassination 41-point talent)
DD: Dirty Deeds (Subtlety talent)
DT: Dirty Tricks (Subtlety talent)
FF: Fleet Footed (Assassination talent)
MoD: Master of Deception (Subtlety talent)
ES: Enveloping Shadows (Subtlety talent)
CD: Cooldown or Cheat Death (Subtlety talent)
DoT: Damage over Time. These are things like bleeds, which do their damage over a set duration.
Imp: refers to getting the improved version of the skill by use of talent points.
Proc: Programmed Random OCcurance. These are listed on weapons, trinkets, and gear as a "Chance on Hit”. Also refers to the chance for enchantments on weapons to activate. Also refers to talents such as Cheat Death to activate. Also loosely refers to passive talents such as Enveloping Shadows that give a static 15% resist AoE effects. When you resist a Frost Nova, for example, you can claim that ES proc'd.
AI: Artificial Intelligence, or the computer generated thinking of a creature
PvP: Player verses Player
PvE: Player versus Environment (against NPC Mobs only)
PvM: Player versus Monster (against NPC Mobs only)

1.4 Rogue Basics

Melee Attack Normalization: (affected moves: Ambush, Backstab, Mutilate, Hemorrhage, Sinister Strike)

Since patch 1.8, Attack Speed is no longer multiplied by your weapons exact weapon speed, but is now multiplied by a fixed speed based on weapon type. For Daggers it is 1.7 and for Swords/Maces/Fists it is 2.4. In short, this is a slight nerf to slow weapons and a slight buff for fast weapons. When choosing what weapon to use in your main hand, weapon speed plays no part in your choice anymore, but generally speaking the weapon with the highest average damage (Top-end value/Low-End value) will tend to be a slow weapon anyways.

I'll start with a disclaimer. All the below comments are given without regard to stats, special attacks or procs. The reason being is that these seriously complicate the issue of which weapon is better than the next. Also, there is a lot of room for preference. Lets just keep it simple for now.

Weapon basics:

-MAIN HAND-

Daggers are required for Backstab, Ambush, and Mutilate. In order to get the most damage from these moves, you should use the highest median damage range weapon possible.

Swords/Maces/Fists are more effective if using a Combat or Subtlely build. Since these weapons do not have an option to Backstab or Mutilate, your main attack will be Sinister Strike or Hemorrhage . The same rule applies for these weapons as for daggers. The best way to maximize your instant attack is to Main hand the weapon with the highest average damage range possible. Since Attack power is multiplied by a static speed based on weapon type, choosing a sword/mace with a speed of 2.4 or greater is better for Sinster Strike and Hemorrhage than a 1.7(8) dagger.

The exact equation the game follows to determine the final value of your attack on a mob/player with a non-crit hemorrhage is as follows:

[(AP/14)*2.4 + WpnDamage +42]*1.2*1.02*[1- Armor / (Armor + 10557.5)]

For a standard 20/41/0 Raid spec Sinister Strike non-crit:

[([(Attack Power / 14) * Normalized Weapon Speed + Weapon Damage + 98] * 1.06) * 1.1] = Damage

For the WpnDamage value: Get the average damage of your mainhand weapon.
For the Armor Values, research the general value of armor the class you're fighting and input that. For a raid boss, see here: http://elitistjerks.com/f31/t16629-raid_boss_armor_values/&sid=1

Main Hand: (in order of priority)

High Damage Range

DPS

Stats

-OFFHAND-

For your off-hand (This does not apply to PvP Mutilate), you will want the fastest weapon you can find but still with an acceptable DPS. Another note is if you are a raiding rogue, you will want it to be the same weapon type as your mainhand (Sword/Mace/Dagger/Fist Specialization)In the Burning Crusade expansion it will be even more important to weild a fast off-hand as they will introduce an ability called "Shiv" which requires 40 energy but may require more energy if the weapon speed in that hand is slow. Your off-hand weapon will never do it's full DPS because it's damage is cut in half. (Even with talents its still reduced by 25%) Also, its important to know that your off-hand is not even considered in any of rogues special abilities. It basically just keeps swinging at a constant rate while fighting melee. The only special abilities that help an off-hand are ones that increase your attack rate, like Blade Flurry or Slice and Dice.

Off-Hand: (in order of priority)

Weapon Speed – FAST (Mutilate: Using a "Mutilator" type off-hand is preferable)
Same as MH weapon (Only applies to full Combat Spec; exceptions apply)
DPS
Stats

2.0 Rogue Races

Rogue Race Guide by: Lvlonealt
Edited/updated by: Bisquick
Version 2.0

rogue n.
1. An unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable person; a scoundrel or rascal.

Size:
While it shouldn't have a large impact on your decision, you should keep the size of your character in mind. Gnomes can have a rather large advantage in PvP situations since they are often less likely to be noticed, which is more or less the point of a Rogue fundamentally speaking. Its also important to note that Rogues are very often the Main Assist for Raids, and are always up front in the middle of the action. Will being a giant Orc make it more difficult for your Casters to see what is going on? Probably not but will you be an easier target in Alterac Valley when you come out of Stealth? You bet!

Animations & Emotes:
I personally think it is important to pick something with emotes that do not drive you crazy. As stupid as it seems, some people cant stand a character just because of how they say Not enough Energy (which happens a lot) so pick something that appeals to you and you will enjoy. Also, keep in mind you will be watching this character a lot so choose wisely. I, personally. cant stand how Humans Sprint. Best way to find yourself though is to just go play with the different races. Lastly, all of the races have different animations for the Rogue abilities. Gnomes for example can do a full back flip when they Kick, and female Undead have a cool jump-flip Eviscerate Animation. The most noticeable ones though are the Stealth Animations in my opinion which are quite different. Gnomes look like they are running at top speed where as Trolls look like a giant trying to sneak up on something. Night Elves appear to move very slow, and Undead have a cool zombie thing going on, so when you try to decide don’t limit yourself to trying /Train and /Silly and deciding.

2.1 Humans

Starting Attributes
Strength 21
Agility 23
Stamina 21
Intelligence 20
Spirit 21


Perception - active
Activate to dramatically increase stealth detection - Lasts 20 sec - 3 min cooldown

Perception is near useless in PvE and a near legendary ability for PvP. Human Rogues are the best PvP scouts as they can move into an enemy area and provide a more accurate assessment of the situation than anyone else. The real beauty of this ability is simple, it allows you to get the opening on other Rogues and stealth Druids you know are around. A great PvP scouting utility and really gives them the one up on other Rogues.

The Human Spirit - passive
Increase Spirit by 5%

Unfortunately Spirit doesnt do a whole lot for Rogues, as it doesnt effect anything but Health Regeneration. However it really doesnt hurt, and in the long run it does cut your down time.

Diplomacy - passive
10% bonus to faction point gain

This on the other hand, is really quite amazing as it cuts down faction grinds considerably. At 70, this is one of the best things you can have for PvE.

Sword and Mace Specialization - passive
Increases expertise with maces, two-handed maces, swords, and two-handed swords by 5.

This is is the other half to what makes a Human Rogue. Expertise, a stat that reduces a mob/player's chance to dodge or parry an attack, is a god-send of a PvE and PvP stat. Arguably, human rogues are the best PvE rogues in the game due to this stat.

Summary: Human Rogues are unparalleled in the role of PvP scout, and with a bit of luck you'll always get the opener against other Stealth classes. Diplomacy makes all of the level 70 reputation grinds that much easier. And lastly, Mace/Sword Specialization brings human rogues to the top of the PvE food chain.

2.2 Dwarves

Starting Attributes
Strength 23
Agility 19
Stamina 24
Intelligence 19
Spirit 19


Stoneform - active
While active, grants immunity to Bleed, Poison, and Disease effects. In addition, Armor increases by 10%. Lasts 8 sec. - 3 min cooldown

Probably one of the most underrated Rogue racials in the game as it adds so much utility to the class. In PvE, you have a free Cleanse from level 1. Awesome for solo PvE, this skill reduces downtime while increasing survivability. Second is the armor bonus, which can really make a difference in trying to hang on in those last few seconds of Evasion tanking. In PvP it truly shines:

Removes Undead Priests Devouring Plague

Removes Bleeds like Rend and Rupture which prevent Stealth and do damage over time

Removes Crippling Poison

Prevents/Removes various other attacks

Extra armor in a pinch

Gun Specialization - passive
Increases chance to critically hit with Guns by 1% as of Patch 2.3 (was increase Gun Skill by 5).

Absolutely worthless for PvP and useful against the Frost Wyrms in Hyjal for PvE. Otherwise, worthless. Movin' on!

Frost Resistance - passive
All Dwarves get +10 Cold Resistance

You really cant complain about free resists, even better is the fact that its against the magic school frequently associated with movement effects.

Find Treasure - passive
Activate to see treasure chests on mini map - lasts until canceled - no cooldown

Very annoying from the point of view that if this is up you cant be searching for Mining or Herbalism nodes if you choose those professions. Aside from that, it is nice for leveling your lock picking skill and if nothing else, its nice to be aware of Chests in Instances since we usually have to open them anyway.

Summary: Stoneform is an awesome utility for PvE and PvP that can apply to a multitude of situations. Because of it, Dwarf Rogues have a much better chance for survival in PvE, and some fun things to play around with in PvP and allow for easier restealthing. All the other little things, are nice overall bonuses that compliment that class and give it a unique flavor.

60 posts? That's kind of overkill, don't you think?

2.3 Night Elves

Starting Attributes
Strength 18
Agility 28
Stamina 20
Intelligence 20
Spirit 20


Shadowmeld - active
Activate while immobile and out of combat to enter stealth mode - lasts until canceled - 10 sec cooldown

Shadowmeld isnt the best ability but it can be useful. For starters, it's on a separate cooldown from Stealth so you can run off and Shadowmeld if you need to restealth quickly if you unexpectedly drop stealth (An example of this is coming too close to a flare, but unseen by the hunter. Quickly moving away and Shadowmelding, the hunter never noticed and you just saved yourself from quite an embarrassing situation!) Another small trick is the ability to drop stealth, begin eating, and shadowmeld instantly and never be seen on the field of battle. If you're quick enough, you can do this in front of an enermy mob and not have to worry about agro.
An added bonus to this otherwise useless ability is that it adds 3 points of extra Stealth much like the Tier 1 Subtlety talent, Master of Deception. Considering MoD gives 15 points of stealth, Shadowmeld is like a free point of MoD. Nifty, I must say!

Quickness - passive
Dodge chance increased by 1%

This is quite literally a free Talent point, if you were going to put a Talent point into Lightning Reflexes. This is a decent damage reduction skill, but is quite lackluster in PvP in PvP

Wisp Spirit - passive
Become a wisp when dead with movement speed increase of 50% (25% faster than normal ghost)

A nice ability for reducing PvE downtime. Depending on how much you die, your use will vary but realistically it does save you a lot of time in the end.

Nature Resistance - passive
All Night Elves get +10 Nature Resistance

More free resists! Due to the mechanics of Random Numbers, having a resist on another rogue's Shiv: Crippling or a druid's Entangling Roots is a simple plus. Not that bad of a talent. If there was a rating scale to this, it's probably the second best racial for the Night Elf, which tells you quite a lot about the quality of racials a NE rogue has.

Summary: Night Elves are a decent class, if you're anything but a rogue. Shadowmeld has its uses, but will rarely win a PvP match because of it. Wisp form can be considered an insult, and dodge is useless for PvE. One great thing about Night Elves, I'm not going to lie... it's why I rolled one, is that we look great in all rogue gear out there. Just make sure to pick one with a permanently pissed-off face and Goku hair. You'll be the star of the Ironforge mailbox.

2.4 Gnomes

Starting Attributes
Strength 16
Agility 26
Stamina 20
Intelligence 24
Spirit 20


Escape Artist - active
Activate to break out of a Root or Snare effect - 0.5 sec cast - 1 min 45 sec cooldown.

Since it has limited uses in PvE and significant value in PvP, we'll only speak of the PvP aspect of it. Snares kill melee classes. It's a proven fact that if you're getting snared, you're not doing DPS. If you're not doing DPS, you're not doing your job. In PvP, not doing your job means you're probably going to lose/die. This ability is comparable to Undead's Will of the Forsaken. It's a free trinket. Here's a look at the effected abilities:

Frost Nova

Frost Shock and other Cold Effects

Nets

Entangling Roots

Wing Clip and Hamstring

Concussive Shot

Crippling Poison

Earthbind

Mind Flay

Piercing Howl

Traps

Curse of Exhaustion

Expansive Mind - passive
Increase Intelligence by 5%

Intelligence does nothing for Rogues, and as such this is pretty close to useless (Read: It's about as useful as a knife in a gun fight).

Arcane Resistance - passive
All Gnomes get +10 Arcane Resistance

There isnt a whole lot of Arcane damage out there, but a resist is a resist. Most notable Arcane spell would be Polymorph.

Engineering Specialization - passive
15 skill bonus to Engineering

Nice to help you level and gain the Deathblow Goggles a little sooner than other rogues. Other than that, it's okay. Most Rogues who are serious about end-game will drop Engineering after gaining a T5 helm or higher in favor for leatherworking and/or enchanting. (See further in the guide for reasons why)

Rod: If you pick up engineering, your pets will fight like they are 3 levels higher.

Summary: Most of the Gnome traits are pretty close to useless; but, Escape Artist really helps turn that around. It is applicable to a few effects in PvE and many more in PvP. Escape Artist allows Gnomes to perform well in Battlegrounds and Arenas as it lets you save your Vanish/Imp Sprint/Cloak of Shadows/Trinket for when its vital.

2.6 Orcs

Starting Attributes
Strength 24
Agility 20
Stamina 23
Intelligence 17
Spirit 23


Blood Fury - active
Increases base melee attack power by 25% for 15 sec and reduces healing effects on you 50% for 25 sec. -2 min cooldown

Although the healing debuff can be dangerous (especially in Instances) this is an amazing ability. You have to realize that the flat Attack Power buff factors into every attack a Rogue has. Because of that, Orcs can get the highest possible damage out of each attack with this on. Save it for your Cold Blood or even Adrenaline Rush and you can bust out a lot of of DPS very fast. Just remember to be mindful of the debuff.

Hardiness - passive
15% resistance to stun and knockout effects.

This is the best anti-Rogue/Warrior racial available to the Horde. Dwarves can break Blind and Poison, Humans can see through Stealth but only the mighty Orc can resist 15% of a Rogues utility. This ability is also nice against other classes like Paladins and Hunters. Stuns and knockouts are right up there with roots and snares as the reasons Rogue dies most. Nothing worse than sitting there helpless and getting wailed on. Amazing ability, the downside is its a % proc so you have no control over it. Sometimes you'll get lucky and it'll save the day. Sometimes you'll be up the creek without a paddle. All in all a very versatile skill for PvP and occasionally PvE.

Command - passive
Pet melee damage increased by 5%.

The only way I could see this even being applicable to your character is if it will buff Engineering pets and you happen to use them. Realistically, this does less for Rogue than an Intelligence boost.

Axe Specialization - passive
Orcs get 5 Expertise by using Axes.

This would be right up there with the Human weapon specialization if Rogues could use Axes.

Summary: The bigger they are the harder they fall, Orc Rogues are like locomotives, with Hardiness they are a pain to try to bring down, and with Blood Fury they hit harder than anybody. A solid race for Rogue across the board. Not to mention they look like vicious Ninja Turtles. Rogue = Ninja = Orc = Turtle? Conspiracy?



2.7 Trolls

Starting Attributes
Strength 22
Agility 25
Stamina 22
Intelligence 16
Spirit 21


Berserking - active
Increases your attack speed by 10% to 30%. At full health the speed increase is 10% with a greater effect up to 30% if you are badly hurt when you activate Berserking. Lasts 10 sec. 3 min cooldown Cost 10 Energy

Berserking has gone through a lot of changes, and to date is the only ability that requires rage/mana/energy. While the cost can be cumbersome, I think most will agree the current form of Berserk is better than its older forms. While, it's not the most amazing ability for PvP, it does give you awesome potential for Raid DPS. Most of our PvE damage comes from auto-attack swings, so a speed boost to that actually does more than you'd think. I think its also important to note that it can be combined with Slice and Dice and Blade Flurry to be a truly lethal ability as percentage based Haste effects are multiplied rather than added together.

Regeneration - passive
10% health regen bonus, 10% active in combat

This is one of the better passive traits a Rogue can have since it cuts downtime but more importantly gives added survivability in combat. Troll Rogues are the only race that can gain health in combat without heals/potions.

Formula for the Rogue:
1 spi = .5 hp / 2 seconds out of combat

Formula for the Troll Rogue:
1 spi = .55 hp / 2 seconds out of combat
1 spi = .055 hp / 2 seconds during combat


Beast Slaying - passive
5% damage bonus to Beasts

Considering that more than 25% of the things you fight in your WoW career will be considered beast, this is actually a nice damage bonus. Not very useful for PvP aside from hitting druids and hunter's pets, but can really move you along through PvE grinding nicely.

Throwing Specialization - passive
Increases chance to critically hit with Throwing Weapon by 1% as of Patch 2.3 (was increase Throwing Weapon skill by 5)

Only significant usage is for the ability Deadly Throw, although the purpose of the ability is to prevent kiting, having the attack crit for 1,200+ is a great bonus. I've personally killed people with 2,200 Deadly Throw crits. Having a static 1% crit to it would be better than many other racials out there.

Summary: The Troll race lends itself nicely to PvE with a damage boost to the most frequent mobs. Not to mention having one of the highest theoretical DPS in end game Raid Instances thanks to Berserking. Add Regeneration and throwing specialization on top of it, and Trolls are arguably the best Grinding race. [/quote]

2.8 Undead

Starting Attributes
Strength 20
Agility 21
Stamina 22
Intelligence 18
Spirit 25


Will of the Forsaken - active
Activate to become immune to Fear, Sleep, and Charm effects. Can also be used while already afflicted by Fear or Sleep - lasts 5 sec - 2 min cooldown

This is in many ways the definitive PvP Racial of the Rogue class. While it did lose some of its steam, initially, when PvP Trinkets came into the world it still remains one of the strongest Racials. It breaks Fear, it breaks Charm, it breaks Mind Control, it breaks Wyvern Sting, its an awesome ability. Anyone down-playing the greatness of WoTF, isn't serious or has brain-damage.

Cannibalize - active
Activate to regenerate 7% of total health every 2 sec. by consuming Humanoid or Undead corpses within 5 yds - lasts 10 sec - 2 min cooldown

A very nice ability for reducing downtime since it essential works like a bandage on a different timer. This is also great for PvP, as you can consume the corpse of the Gnome you just slaughtered. How humiliating to them, ya?

Underwater Breathing - passive
Underwater breath lasts 300% longer than normal

This actually coincides with the Rogue class rather well. First off, it gives you more time to do stuff underwater kill, hide, gather, etc The real beauty of this ability though is that Stealth slows your movement speed underwater as well as on land. This means Undead Rogues have that much more time at their disposal for moving through dangerous water or getting an opening underwater.

Shadow Resistance - passive
All Undead get +10 Shadow Resistance

The only Horde Rogue race with a free magic resist, and its a nice one at that. It goes well with Will of the Forsaken since only two classes do Shadow damage. Resisting a fear is priceless.

Summary: Undead rogues are, hands down, the best race for fighting Priests and Warlocks in the game. Which is actually a really good reason to roll an Undead Rogue, as both of those classes cause devastation on the battleground when played right, and Undead Rogues are really the strongest choice to take them down. All of their racials apply to the Rogue well for PvE and PvP, a very solid choice.




2.9 Blood Elf Raciels by Lidazlis

Starting Attributes
Strength 18
Agility 25
Stamina 19
Intelligence 24
Spirit 19

Arcane Affinity - passive
Enchanting skill increased by 15.

This has little utility in end-game aside from enchanting your rings sooner. However, it does help the grind should you take enchanting as one of your professions.

Magic Resistance - passive
All resistances increased by 5.

As resists go, it's one of the better ones, in at it actually gives you 25 resist points as opposed to the usual 10.

Mana Tap - active
30 yd range - 30 sec cooldown
Activate to reduce target's mana by (50 + Level) and charge you with arcane energy for 10 min. This effect stacks up to 3 times.

Arcane Torrent - active
Instant - 2 min cooldown
Silence all enemies within 8 yards for 2 sec. In addition, you gain 5 Rage/12 Mana/20 Energy for each charge of Mana Tap currently affecting you.
The above Mana value is indicative of a level 1 character as Mana values for this ability will scale with level. At level 70, this will return 161 for each mana tap, for potential total of
483.

This is quite possibly one of the best rogue racials in the game, although it is highly situational, requiring 1.5 minutes to set up in full. However, the energy return is better than the nerfed Rentaki Trinket. You do not need any Mana Tap charges to silience an enemy. This ability also pulls stealthed targets out of stealth.

3.0 Professions

First Aid, Cooking and Fishing should ALL be trained as rogues have no other way to heal.

Gathering Skills: Mining, Herbalism, and Skinning

These are great for selling on the Auction House (AH) for money. You may take two but make sure one of them is Skinning because if you have Mining and Herbalism you cannot search for both on your mini-map at the same time. Herbalism is great for rogues especially for Swiftthistle for cooking Thistle Tea. Skinning is good when coupled with leatherworking to provide you own leather. Mining is good for both Blacksmithing and Engineering.

Trade Skills: Leatherworking, Alchemy, Engineering, Tailoring, Enchanting, Blacksmithing, Jewelcrafting

Out of these trade skills there is one you simply should not be choosing; tailoring. You can wear leather so there is no need for cloth and it uses up you cloth you need for bandages. Blacksmithing is a weak choice too for the opposite reason; you cannot use any armor greater than leather so you would only be using it for weapons. Though it's debatable that the Dragonstrike is a great weapon, the S2 mace is honor buyable and beats it out in DPS.
Leatherworking is pretty much useless until endgame. This is due to Drums for raid DPS, thus making it the best PvE profession a rogue can have.
Enchanting is great as you can farm for weapons as a rogue and disenchant all soulbound items you cannot use but keep in mind that it is a huge gold sink early on and requires AH sitting to profit at endgame. Once at End-game, Rogues can enchant their rings(Only possible as a self-enchantment) with Stats or Striking if they're concerned about Min/maxing.
Engineering is useful in it's own way due to all the cool toys that only engineers can use. It also features the best helm that can be used from level 66 up until Hyjal and Black Temple.
Alchemy was lackluster until the recent trinkets from the Shattered Sun Offensive that give a much greater return on healing potions. But, even with this.. it's fairly lackluster.
Jewelcrafting is the craft to have if you're serious about PvP. The Shadowsong Panther is better than it looks and gives you a very obvious edge over other Rogues and Druids.

For more information on these, check out the Profession forums.

Profession Combo choices:

Money: Skinning & Herbalism, Skinning & Mining
Self-Sustaining: Herbalism & Alchemy, Mining & Engineering, Mining & Blacksmithing, Skinning & Leatherworking, Mining & Jewelcrafting
Usefulness without regards to money or supply: Engineering & Enchanting Leatherworking & Enchanting < Best for PvE. Enchanting & Jewelcrafting Best for PvP.

Check Chalon's FAQ for more in depth coverage on professions. Found here:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=11931383&sid=1

                       PAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION

3.1 Professions

Updating

Just a damn fine thread that tells how to power level any profession.
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=14733438&sid=1

3.1 Fishing, Cooking and First Aid
3.2 Herbalism
3.3 Skinning
3.4 Mining
3.5 Alchemy
3.6 Leatherworking
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=11871188&sid=1
3.7 Blacksmithing
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=11873312&sid=1
3.8 Engineering
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=11872218&sid=1
3.9 Enchanting
3.10 Tailoring
http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=11961338&sid=1

Might as well claim my space while I still can.

4.0 Rogue Abilities

For a detailed look at the abilities available with or without talent points spent, check out wowwiki page here:

http://www.wowwiki.com/Detailed_Rogue_Abilities

Also, for a list of the skills that will become available to you as you level I have found this page to be a great resource:

http://wowvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Skills.List&category_select_id=5


4.1 Assassination

Eviscerate (Finishing Move) - Finishing move that causes additional damage per Combo Point. 35 Energy This is your instant damage ability that you should use to finish monsters off or take a chunk out of them. Unfortunately, this ability did not scale very well from level 60 to level 70. Other finishers are preferred unless the target is undergeared/close to death. Not a viable finisher in raid rotations.

Garrote (DoT) (Requires Stealth) - Garrote the enemy, causing X damage over Y seconds. 60/40 Energy
Level 62 Rank: Also Silences any enemy for 2 seconds. Must be in Stealth mode behind the target. If you are going to fight the target for a long time, or has a large amount of armor (Mail with shield or plate), it's a wise idea to sneak up and use this skill. The monster/player will be damaged over time as you fight them. Garrote increases in potency with greater attack power and does not suffer from armor damage reduction values.

Rupture (Finishing Move)(DOT) - Finishing move that causes damage over time. Lasts longer per Combo Point. 25 Energy This is another damage-over-time ability that is more useful when you fight the monster/player long enough so that it reaches the full effect. It is also a great move to apply to enemy Rogues if you have no intention of using any crowd control as to prevent a re-stealth/vanish. Rupture increases in potency with greater attack power and does not suffer from armor damage reduction values.

Ambush (Combo move)(Requires Stealth)(Requires Daggers) - Ambush the target, causing X% weapon damage plus Y to the target. Must be Stealthed and behind the target. 60 Energy Rarely used at level 70 end-game.

Slice and Dice (Finishing Move)- Finishing move that increases melee attack speed by X%. Lasts longer per Combo Point. 25 Energy You only need to power up this ability enough such that you have the increased speed for the duration of the fight. If you are fighting multiple monsters you might find it useful to power-up on one monster, release, then use the speed on the second monster. This can trigger the Ruthlessness talent. The staple finisher for raid rotations. Detailed later in the PvE section of the guide.

Cheap Shot (Combo Move)(Requires Stealth) - Stuns the target for 4 seconds. This ability allows you to start off the fight with some cheap hits on the enemy that they can't respond to. This is subject to diminishing returns with itself.

Kidney Shot (Finishing Move) - Finishing move that stuns the target for X seconds at the cost of Y Combo Points. This is subject to diminishing returns.



4.2 Combat

Backstab (Combo Move) (Requires Daggers) - Backstab the target, causing +X% weapon damage plus Y to the target. Must be behind the target. 60 Energy. Backstab will automatically target the nearest enemy if no target is selected. This ability isn't common in level 70 End-Game PvP and only used in PvE with a Combat Daggers Spec.

Feint - Perform a Feint, causing no damage but lowering your threat a small amount. Must be in Melee Range. 25 Energy. The point of this ability is to reduce the amount of monster hate so a target will attack another party member that is better equipped to handle the attack such as a Paladin or Warrior. Unfortunately, it's a waste of energy as Vanish (See: Below) completely removes all threat in a single application.

Sinister Strike (Combo Move) - A wicked strike that adds X damage to your normal weapon damage. 45/40 Energy. This is typically the main skill used for generating Combo Points with a Combat Spec. Like most other moves, it scales with attack power.

Gouge (Combo Move) - Causes X damage and incapacitates the opponent for 4/4.5/5/5.5 seconds. Target must be facing you. Any damage caused to the target will break Gouge. 45 Energy If talented, this ability allows for a skilled Rogue to re-stealth, in PvP only, without using Vanish. This ability can give you time to run, or can allow you to get behind the monster/player for a Backstab/Mutilate. Lastly, it can be used as an interrupt to spell-casting.

Kick - A quick kick that injures a single foe for X damage and interrupts the spell being cast from that school of magic time for 5 seconds. 25 Energy This ability should be used against spell casters to interrupt them when they are in the process of casting. Watch for the casting animation, and then wait until you have enough energy to Kick. Good Rogue players are always on top of using Kick.


4.3 Subtlety

Sap (Requires Stealth) – Incapacitates the target for X seconds. Must be Stealthed. Only works on humanoids. 60/40 Energy. Any damage caused will revive the target. Only one target may be Sapped at a time. Sap will not work on a target that is in combat. Enemy rogues will always lose stealth when you Sap them. Subject to Diminishing Returns with other Incapacitating abilities.

Distract - Throws a distraction, attracting the attention of all nearby monsters for X seconds. 30 Energy. Does not break Stealth. Can be used outside of Stealth. Target must be out of combat to distract. Distract is effective against creatures that are already distracted. Great to use on fleeing players to get them to stop. To make using this skill easier, bind it to a key.

Blind - Blinds the target, causing it to wander at X% of move speed confused for 8 seconds. Any damage will cancel the Blind effect. Blind cancels combat when used. Using Blind and waiting 6 seconds allows for a free re-stealth against other players.

Vanish - Allows the Rogue to vanish from sight, entering an improved Stealth mode, but reducing the speed to X% of normal for Y seconds. Spellcasting against a Rogue that successfully uses Vanish will now be interrupted. Vanish breaks root and snare effects. Vanish cancels spells in progress and missiles in flight if they are being cast at the vanished player. If a DoT is active when you use Vanish, unless it is a snare as well, it will remain and break Vanish the next time it does damage. Vanish removes effects that allow the caster to always remain aware of their target (currently Hunter's Mark and Mind Vision).

Pick Pocket (Requires Stealth) - Pick the target's pocket. You can use this ability to get some free loot off the monster. It does not take away loot that would be normally received when killing the monster. Pick Pocket is a special chance to loot the monster. Typically minor amounts of cash or items are found. You can find valuable gems at higher levels. Pickpocket can be used on targets that are in combat, as long as the rogue remains stealthed.

4.4 Lockpicking

This skill allows the rogue to open locked doors, chests, and lockboxes. It is a gathering skill, like fishing or mining; the rogue must have it at or above a certain level to open certain types of locks. This skill typically doesn't advance quickly enough with casual use; rogues must occasionally go out on runs to improve their lockpicking. Fortunately, your rogue trainer can point you to areas which contain footlockers at your skill level.

New Guide found here:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=11872172&sid=1

Also:

www.wowwiki.com/lockpicking

4.5 Pickpocketing

Pick Pocket (Requires Stealth)

This ability allows the rogue to get some extra loot from an enemy NPC. The rogue must be stealthed and within 5 yards of his target to use this skill. If it is successful, a loot box will pop up, allowing him to choose which items to take; typically, this is a handful of silver, with a chance for odd monster-specific items. If the skill is resisted, the monster immediately detects the rogue and aggros. Failure rates depend on relative levels, but the base failure rate seems to be around 5%.

Many monsters have no pockets, and thus cannot be pickpocketed. Typically humanoid types will have pockets and beasts won't, but there are numerous exceptions. If a rogue attempts to pickpocket a monster who doesn't have pockets, the moster does not aggro. Enemy players never have pockets.
The items recieved from picking pockets are not subject to group looting rules, so you always get all the items and 100% of the money. The money and items picked up with this ability are extras, in addition to the monster's normal loot when it is killed, so a rogue picking pockets is not depriving his companions of loot. Each monster has only a few items in his pockets when he spawns; if one rogue goes through an area, picking all the monsters' pockets but killing none of the monsters, then the next rogue through the area will find that all the monsters pockets are empty. For this reason, it is considered polite to kill every monster whose pockets you pick, unless you are in an instance; that way, the monsters will respawn and the next rogue through the area can pick their pockets as well. Pickpocket can be used on targets that are in combat, as long as the rogue remains stealthed. (since patch 1.12)


Rod's take: Pickpocketing is a very lucrative ability. Coupled with grinding, It usually is cappable of giving you 50% more money than grinding alone. It is an a skill you must do from stealth but is non-positional. that means you CAN pickpocket from the front of a Mob so long as he is not a high enough level to detect you. Distract is you friend when wanting a mob that doesn't move. It will buy you the time necessary to pickpoket without being noticed. As of patch 1.12 you can find junkboxes with rogue reagents inside ( Flash Powder, Essence of Agony etc...). Also since patch 1.12 you can pickpocket from a mob in combat with someone else. Now you pickpocketing isn't ruined if a party member starts attacking someone a little early; now your party has to wait for you to finish pickpocketing to get your help on the mob. =P

Interesting Facts about Pickpocketing:

Pickpocket can be used on targets that are in combat, as long as the rogue remains stealthed.

It is possible to sap a mob and then Pickpocket it while it is sapped as long as you remain stealthed.

All manner of rogue reagents can be found in locked junkboxes (obtained from pickpocketing).

Epic Gems and Uncommon items can occasionally be found in the pockets and junkboxes of the mobs you pick

Some Rogue Specific items can be found only by pickpocketing, such as “Rogue's Diary: The pages are blank” and “Gnome Effigy”.

5.0 Rogue Talents

First, get to know The Three Talent Trees and each talents. It might help to use a talent calculator.
This is my new favorite: http://www.wowhead.com/talent/
Or there is: http://wowvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Talents.View&category_select_id=7
Or Blizzards own: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/rogue/talents.html

Assassination - Burst or Frontloaded Damage, Critical Hit Increases, More potent Finishing moves and Poison Improvements.

Combat - Sustained Damage and Passive Bonuses and improvements to Open Melee Fighting.

Subtlety - Stealth Improvements, Opening Move Improvements, DoTs, Energy Conservation and Cooldown Control.

Most accepted builds go to the 41 pt talents, Mutilate, Surprise Attacks, and Shadowstep. The builds below are fairly common and keep in mind there are variants for all of them and as long as you keep the key talents, are fully customizable. The talent builds are simplified to a series of numbers separated with a "/" to read as Assassination/Combat/Subtlety. (eg 20/41/0, 49/0/12)