To Rogue or not to Rogue.
It’s not really a question.
Rogues for every season:
Just like there’s 101 ways to build a mage or a priest or a druid, the same is true with Rogues. You can build an assassin rogue that has crazy high criticals or a stun-lock rogue that’s outstanding for PvP play. I tend to think my skills as a rogue are better contributed to the group in raiding parties if I can cause massive amounts of carnage.
I can’t heal folks. I can’t tank worth a crap because my AC sucks. I have very limited range attacks. I do have some limited mob control, but nothing compared to a Warlock or really even a mage. At least a mage can re-sheep someone. I only get the chance to do that once combat has started if I'm a stun rogue.
So what am I? My primary contribution is carnage. Pure, straight-up unadulterated whoopin, especially on a single target. My job is DPS (damage per second) and a LOT of it. I owe it to myself and my teammates to be the best at that job that I can if I'm going to be doing raiding/grouping.
The Sword Rogue:
IMO, and with much testing, the best way to maximize DPS on a rogue is to use swords, not daggers. It all breaks down to numbers and game mechanics, as with all of Warcraft. Here’s the simple logic though. About 70-80% of a rogue’s damage is dealt with Sinister Strike and Eviscerate abilities. These abilities allow you “free” attacks that ignore regular attack/weapon speed rules. That means the speed and averaged DPS rating on the weapon is ignored.
Logically, you can conclude that if you get an attack free of weapon speed, you want it to hit as hard as you possibly can. The weapons that hit harder per-strike are the slower weapons. Slower weapons have a much higher damage-range on a per-hit basis because the slow speed of the weapon is supposed to balance out the damage. Well, we’re special. We get to ignore weapon speed 70-80% of the time because we’re rogues.
So you generally want to look for a weapon that is pretty slow. Slow weapons have a higher per-hit damage rating. Actually, to be truthful you just look at the damage range and ignore DPS, but as a rule of thumb, slow weapons hit harder.
Swords are almost always slower than daggers and almost always have a higher per-hit damage than a dagger. Once you tweak your talent build to take advantage of swords instead of daggers you become a truly awesome pwning machine.
Poisons:
While I don’t advocate spending talent points to tweak your poison skills (those are better spent elsewhere), I can say that poisons give you a lot. They allow you to up your damage even more, and allow you some nice effects like slowing escaping mobs so they can’t bring help before you kill them, reducing a mob’s ability to heal itself or other mobs or inhibit mana regeneration. These abilities in no way effect your ability to deal out a whoopin, so they’re basically free effects you can add.
Some would say that since poison stacking on a mob is rolled on a per-hit basis that it’s best to use a fast weapon in the off hand (like a dagger) so that you have a greater chance to apply your poison. There is some truth in that. However, I’ve found that if you invest your talent build in swords, it’s not worth giving up the benefits of using a sword in the off-hand at that point for just the % chance that you’ll land one or two more poison stacks. Most fights (other than bosses) don’t last long enough to make THAT much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. Use swords in both hands. If you’re going to do it, commit to it all the way and reap the benefits thereof.
Gear Selection:
This can be a hotly-debated topic for sure. The general rule of thumb is rogues need agility. Agility governs upping your % chance of critical strike. It also increases your AC (sorely needed on rogues) and your chance to dodge an attack outright. Dodging and improved AC is great especially since you’re highest armor is Leather.
Strength and Attack Power bonuses also come into play in this too though and both are important. There is a translation though. Basically you need to understand AEP (Agility Equivalence Points). See: http://www.wowwiki.com/AEP for reference, but here’s the info.
Formula: 1 Agility = 1 Stamina = 2 Strength = .1% Crit. = .2% Dodge = .13% Parry = .13% To Hit = 2 Attack Power = 5 Daggers = 4 Any Resistance = 5 Health/5 Sec. = 50 Armor
Sinister Strike AEP Formula: .33 Avg. SS Dam. = 1 Agility = 1 Stamina = 2 Strength = .1% Crit. = 5 Defense = .33% Dodge = .2% Parry = .13% To Hit = 2 AP = 4 Any Resist = 5 Health/5 Sec. = 50 AC
Off Hand AEP Formula: .17 Off Hand DPS = 1 Agility = 1 Stamina = 2 Strength = .1% Crit. = 5 Defense = .33% Dodge = .2% Parry = .13% To Hit = 2 AP = 4 Any Resist = 5 Health/5 Sec. = 50 AC
AP to DPS: 14 AP = +1 DPS (damage per second)
It’s a bit boggling at first, but if you look at it things start to make sense. As an example, using the formula above, if you had a choice between say a +10 agility item and a +30 AP item, you would get WAY more benefit overall from the +10 agility. You would get more DPS from the +30 item, because the +10 agility item only gives you +20 AP, but you’re missing out on the other % to crit, dodge and AC bonuses that the +10 agility give you. If you go for the +30 AP item you just get the DPS bonus, not the other stuff.
Therefore, you logically should conclude that agility rules for rogues and should take priority, but you need to refer to the formula. If your choice is between a +5 agility item and a +40 AP item, you’re probably better off going with the +40 AP, because your true job, afterall is carnage (DPS).
Also see: http://www.wowwiki.com/Agility#Agility for reference
I will also say that my Krol Blade and Assassination Blade have served me well for a long long time.
Krol Blade
http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/item-info.xml?i=2244
This is an epic word drop often found in the AH for under 100g. I have used it since level 51. There’s only one or two swords at level 64 that are better for a sword rog.
Assassination Blade (off-hand)
http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/item-info.xml?i=13036
This is also a world drop that’ll run you about 100g at AH. The % to crit is crazy. I should have gotten another AGI enchant on it, but I didn’t have the $ at the time.
Because you’re going to use them for so long they’re well worth the $ to get high level enchants. Note, they’re both slow weapons with very high per-hit damage. Technically the off-hand doesn’t have to be slow, because SS goes off of main hand damage, but you get a nice % crit from this and the benefits of using a sword with the right talent build.
Talent Point Builds:
Again, your job is DPS and you are a sword man for the reasons cited above, so your talents need to take FULL advantage of that. You need to be almost completely focused on Combat. You can take assassination abilities that up your direct damage and % to crit and combo point/energy, but primary focus needs to be on combat by far. Stealth is all but useless for you. Don’t sneak behind that which you can slaughter.
You can see Elfintod’s current talent point build at http://armory.worldofwarcraft.com/character-talents.xml?r=Hellscream&n=Elfintod
I’ve found this to be very effective for Sword / DPS modes. I plan on finishing out points in both Malice and Combat Potency. I’ve found that I have a very high DPS with this build, decent % to crit and I build up combo points and energy at an astonishing rate.
I do regret not having Riposte, but honestly, the points are best spent elsewhere.
Rogue Talent Calculator: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/rogue/talents.html
Addons:
The only really essential addon for a non-dagger rogue is RSWAPPER. This will automatically swap out your main hand sword with a dagger anytime you stealth and will swap back when you un-stealth. This lets you take advantage of backstab and ambush abilities that you can only use with a dagger in main hand.
Rswapper: http://wowui.incgamers.com/ui.php?id=4000
Because your damage is DPS, it’s also good to keep an eye on what your DPS is compared to others in the party. You should be doing the lion share of damage outside of a caster with an AOE. Damage Meter will let you keep an eye on that. However, it should be noted that folks get really competitive with damage meter involved so sometimes it’s best to keep that stat info to yourself. Afterall, it’s not really fair if you compare your amount of damage to that of a non-dps class like a tank. A tank’s job is NOT to dish damage, it’s to keep agro and take damage. Priests sitting in the back healing people aren’t causing much damage at all, but odds are they’re saving you from a party wipe on more than one occasion during a raid. Not everyone can be compared with the same stick. Keep that in mind.
Damage Meter: http://www.wowinterface.com/downloads/info5294-DamageMeters.html
Button Setup:
Setting up your button configuration is very important for ease of access. I use the following setup.
Slot 1: Kick (to stop casters)
Slot 2: Sinister Strike
Slot 3: Eviscerate
Slot 4: Adrenaline Rush
Slot 5: Evade
Slot 6: Blade Flurry
You’re primarily going to need buttons two and three and those are most comfortable to reach with your left hand in those positions. You will need easy access to kick if you’re dealing with a caster. If you get into trouble you’re going to need buttons 4-6. Hitting those abilities in quick succession puts you into super combat mode. You’re generating much more energy for combo points, not easily hit because of evade and you’re attacking more than one opponent at a time with Blade Flurry. I usually use them when I get one or two more creatures than I could normally handle and will just stand my ground.
If it looks like I'm not going to make it even after that, I'll reach up and click the Vanish icon that I keep just above the combat icons. I also have sprint handy there too if Vanish doesn’t work.
Of course there are other ways to set up your abilities, but this works great for me and you get access to all of the really commonly use abilities with one hand.
I think I have Kidney shot as #7 but in all honesty I don’t use it much.
Other Notes:
Keep 2 stacks of vanish powder on you at all times. Like my trusty 45, it’s better to have it and not need it than it is to need it and not have it.
Always carry crippling poison for those mobs that try to go for help when they realize they’re gonna die.
Sprint is your friend. If a creature can see through your vanish/stealth you had better have a pot handy and then run your butt off.
Gnomish rogues are nice, because they have a special ability to escape from movement hindering things like nets. Being gnomish is also damn cute, and damnit that counts for something. If you're on horde side, blood elves mana tap ability let you re-build energy faster. That's by far the best ability available for horde rogues.
Engineering is nice because you can make bombs which is ranged AOE and has a stun if you need it for a quick get-away. Besides, there are such great toys with engineering. Everyone needs a Tranquil Mechanical Yeti, Gnomish Universal Remote, +100 fishing Lures, Explosive Sheep, Combat Pets, Distraction tools, Chest Opening Tools, Fire Resist Gear, Shrink Ray, Slow Fall, Water Breathing, Mind Control, Death Ray, Free ports to Gadget or Winterspring or Blades Edge, Mobile Repair Station/Vendor, etc.
Don’t be afraid to run. It’s better to run and live to fight another day than to stand your ground and die like a stuck pig.
ALWAYS be mindful of combo points and use Sinister Strike and Eviscerate both.
Bandages are your friend. You need a good supply. I carry 2 stacks of bandages at all times.
Cooking is also nice. You will need to heal yourself a lot if you’re soloing and many is the time I needed to bandage and was still recently bandaged. That’s when you break out the cooking. The stat bonuses are nice too.
Get a ranged weapon with a + AGI bonus. You’ll need ranged for pulling anyway, so you might as well get the stat bonus with it. You get that bonus as long as the weapon is equipped, it doesn’t necessarily have to be out.
If you see a creature is about to die, it’s better to get a lower level Evis than it is to hit with sinister strike again. If they’re going to die before you can get 5 points anyway, then go ahead and Evis. Hitting with a 2-3 point Evis will often let you out-damage other rogues who just keep spamming SS. Otherwise, always wait for 5 combo points before you Evis. if the creature isn’t going to die before you get to 5 points.
Rogue Talent Calculator: http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/rogue/talents.html
