Rogue tactics General Tactics . Weapons and Talents . PvP : The most common PvP spec ( post 3 . 2 . 2 ) is a " deep " Assassination spec , using Mutilate and Envenom for huge burst , relying on the use of deadly poison , which in other specs is generally not ideal , as the ticking DoT can break CC . Another viable spec is Assassination ( 41 / 5 / 25 ) going down into Preparation in the Subtlety Tree . Since early 3 . 1 , Shadowstep ( Hemorrhage or Ambush ) specs have become far less common . The most common Shadowstep spec is 20 / 0 / 41 . PvE : There are two highly viable specs to use in PvE , A Combat spec using either the Hack and Slash talent with swords / axes , or the Close Quarters Combat talent with a Fist / Dagger combination . Alternatively , if your gear is good enough , you may wish to go into the Assassination Tree , Maintaining Hunger for Blood , gaining combo points with Mutilate and using Envenom for its newly improved burst DPS . At earlier stages in the game , it ' s advisable to choose combat , especially pre - 60 , as Killing Spree combined with Blade Flurry helps immensely when grinding mobs / questing . Blind . Blind is an attack that makes your target wander aimlessly , essentially dazed for 10 seconds . It is broken by any damage caused to your target . Be careful you don ' t try to Blind a person with DoTs on him / her ! Blind now shares the same diminish category as Cyclone and is now diminished in PvE as well as PvP . Please note Blind no longer needs any kind of reagent , and without Elusiveness has a 3 minute cooldown . With Elusiveness , it has a 1 . 5 minute cooldown . Blind is most useful when soloing a difficult monster or fighting multiple mobs , or in a PvP environment ; typical uses include : Poisons . See Rogue Poisons for information on the actual creation of poisons . But with Deadly Brew , applying Crippling Poison to your weapons is not such a good idea . EDIT The slow weapon should always be in your MH and be coated with Instant Poison and Deadly Poison should be on your OH fast weapon for more proc s and the ability to Shiv at higher levels ( when this ability is learned ) . Also for Combat Rogues you will get the talent Savage Combat granting a party / raid - wide 4 % bonus to damage every time this ( or other debuff ) poison is present on the enemy as of 3 . 1 . Picking Pockets . Pickpocket is one of the bread - and - butter skills of the Rogue . It is an easy way to raise your cash flow starting at a mere level 4 . Some have wondered , why pickpocket a mob when I can just kill it and take its stuff ? Pickpocketing loots from a different pool , so you double your take . Here are a few tips to remember . PvP Tactics . Solo PvP . Also see : Rogue PvP tactics , for more details on how to kill specific classes . Equipping Yourself . In PvP your primary goal is to drop Healers and cloth - wearers first , because you have the ability to sneak around the battle and get to these players with ease , this obviously makes damage a priority . While it is true that most Priest and Mage characters have really low armor class , Rogue is a more hit - and - run PvP character than a stand - and - fight type . Focus your equipment on the highest Attack Power possible , Agility being your primary and Strength being your secondary . All your equipment should have at least some bonus to Agility and you should have the highest damage range weapon in your main hand , and highest DPS weapon in your offhand that you can buy , with + damage or agility enchants , or proc enchants like Fiery , Lifestealing , Icy , Crusader , etc . Additionally , you should be well stocked in poisons and reagents before entering any sort of PvP . Carrying a variety of poisons may take up bag slots , but it allows you to adapt to any given PvP situation . Additionally , keeping a steady stash of healing potions and special consumables such as Jungle Remedy ( explained above ) can prove to be invaluable in PVP . Group PvP . In group PvP , a rogue ' s role can be split into the following : The rogue ' s main strength is probably their ability to mess with the casters . Firstly , their low AC and hp makes them relatively vulnerable to quick surprise attacks . Secondly , rogues can interrupt much of their spell casting , even their instants if mind - numbing poison hits . Finally , rogues can keep them stunned for a fairly long duration . A typical rogue might hang - back in the first seconds of battle until confusion kicks in , before sneaking around the back to where the casters are . Priest s are often best attacked with a Cheap Shot to keep them stunned , but against a Mage who can Blink right out of a Cheap Shot , an Ambush or Garrote may be best . If a rogue can move quickly and catch an enemy not already engaged , then Sap is another good option to take them out of the battle briefly . At level 61 rogues get rank 7 Garrote which silences the target for 3 seconds in addition to doing damage over time . This is also a good tactic to use against mages as it prevents them from blinking away and does a decent amount of damage to their already low amount of HP . Note that in end - game PvP ( level 70 ) , opponents tend to have very high resilience making ambush without talents almost worthless ( even against cloth wearing opponents ) . However , with talents like improved ambush and waylay , ambush can be one of the rogue ' s most vicious and effective openers in PVP . It is for this reason that many rogues prefer swords , maces , or fist weapons later on as burst damage isn ' t nearly as effective as it used to be in level 60 PvP . Once the rogue has made their first move , there are two main options . He can either stay in the thick of things ( suits the combat builds well ) or he can back out and try to return to stealth ( suits the assassination / subtlety rogues more ) . Strategic use of Vanish can also be very powerful , but he must be wary for any DoT s present . In a Capture the Flag scenario ( e . g . Warsong Gulch ) , a rogue can often make a good flag - bearer by staying in stealth for part of a battle , then grabbing the flag and running like hell while a mage freezes the enemy in place . Abilities like Sprint , Shadowstep and the talent Improved Sprint can give the rogue a way to cross large open spaces with extreme speed . Raid PvP . In raid PvP go for the healers . Rogues are good at interrupting spells and making a caster ' s life hell . Just stealth and while everyone is working fighting at the front creep around back and get the healers and mages . PvE Tactics . Solo PvE . A quick note : Match your play style and talent build to your weapons . - If you stick with daggers , invest more in heavy burst damage ( Assassination ) , as many Rogue abilities with high burst damage require daggers . You can inflict a lot of damage in a matter of seconds , but after that your damage will drop sharply . You want your enemy to be dead ( well , as close as possible ) in the first ten seconds or so . - If you go for swords or other weapons , invest in more sustained damage ( Combat ) , as your opening attacks will not be as powerful , but you will put out higher sustained damage throughout your fights . Quick and Easy . Battle for lower level Rogues . Alternatively , open up by sneaking up behind them , use pickpocket and then Backstab or Ambush if you are high enough . OR At the levels 10 - 15 , the mobs usually die at around step 3 / 4 so Eviscerate " usually " isn ' t necessary . Equipping Yourself . Rogues main attribute is Agility and should be the foremost thing equipment is chosen for . In PvE situations , it ' s best to also have equipment that boosts Stamina as Rogues generally have low hitpoints . Each point of Stamina equals 10 more hitpoints . Spirit is also helpful to avoid long downtimes between fights . Also , any equipment that gives + % to crit or raw attack power is very nice , in addition to agility 1 % Crit ~ ~ 29 Agility at level 60 ( keep in mind this does not increase your attack power or dodge as straight agility would ) Think of AP as strength , it gives you the same bonus : 1AP = 1 Str and vice versa As of 3 . 1 there is more to keep in mind then merely Agility . A link to start off your research Stat Weights Self - Healing as a Subtlety Rogue . UPDATE : In the 4 . 0 . 3 patch , two changes were made that alter the strategy below somewhat . First , Recuperate no longer always breaks stealth . That is , if you can pick pocket a mob without dropping stealth , you can more than likely hit it with premeditation and / or recuperate without dropping stealth . When done against neutral enemies the change your recuperate and / or pick pocket will unstealth you is virtually zero , so you can now use the trick below on them in areas populated by hostile enemies with relative safety . Second , Recuperate ticks now heal you for 2 % of your health per tick , down from 3 % in the 4 . 0 . 1 patch . This means that , at maximum duration , recuperate will only recover 60 % of maximum health instead of the 90 % it previously could . However , if you do wait the maximum duration ( nearly 30 seconds ) in the same time , your normal health regeneration should give you at least 10 % to 15 % , maybe more , so this is still a free 75 % heal , which isn ' t anything to balk at . As an additional note that probably applied in 4 . 0 . 1 but is nonetheless worth mentioning now , when you kill a mob with combo points still on it , those can still be consumed by abilities such as Slice & Dice or , for example , Recuperate . This means that , in dungeons or areas where you are killing multiple enemies in groups , it is wise to make a habbit of tapping your recuperate button after every pull . In fast moving groups , you should be under the effects of this free HoT about 70 % to 80 % of the time . Since Recuperate does not conflict with any other HoT in the game ( i . e . totally separate from Healing Stream Totem and other similar effects ) then healers will thank you for this , especially single - target - centric healers like Holy Paladins . Since the 4 . 0 . 1 patch , Subtlety rogues can use a combination of Premeditation and Recuperate to self - heal in the field at level 39 ( when you can first talent Premeditation ) . To do this , find a neutral , but attackable mob . Stealth , use Premeditation , then use Recuperate . You won ' t attack the mob but you will gain a HoT . This can be done every 20 seconds , i . e . every time Premeditation is off cooldown , and when grinding in areas far away from a shop , it can be invaluable . Keep in mind your recuperate will break stealth , so this should be done after clearing the area of hostile mobs first . For bonus points , get 3 points in Energetic Recovery and in an area with an even mix of neutral and hostile mobs you should be able start each battle with about 5 seconds of Recuperate remaining , generating 60 extra energy during that time , i . e . enough for a free Backstab . If you ' re desperate , you can also do this trick on a hostile mob . Stealth , Sap , Premeditation , Recuperate , Vanish . This is a pretty lousy way to waste your Vanish cooldown , but again , if you ' re desperate , a heal is a heal . Of course , if you ' re grinding in a very sparsely populated area , where you are unlikely to need Vanish very often , you might as well . Advanced Combos . " Stunlocking " is a common tactic for Rogues . This basically stems from the concept that if they can ' t attack you , they can ' t harm you . This is especially effective for fighting warrior mobs , or in general anything that will deal a great deal of damage with just one hit . Stunlock Combo - Long Version . This assumes you are not using any DOT poisons . I prefer Instant Poison on the main hand and Crippling Poison on the off hand which deals extra DPS on assassination moves , and a chance to slow the mob during normal rolls . Mutilate Stunlock . This is an alternative stunlock for mutilate rogues . Specc ' d right , and assuming everything hits , your mob will only have 2 seconds to do any damage on you . If everything goes dandy , a mob of similar level will be killed in about 18 seconds . But don ' t be dependent on this , as this will receive a nerf when Cataclysm comes out for play . Rogues will rely on passive survivability rather than Stun locks . Modified Mutilate Stunlock Build . It is in fact possible to use Deadly Poison in a stunlock build and use envenom instead of eviscerate , but you need to look for the deadly poison tick . Deadly poison only ticks once every 3 seconds so it ' s very possible to see it tick , hit gouge and get behind for a mutilate before it ticks again but it might take some practice . Envenom in general actually does superior damage to eviscerate ( even though you wouldn ' t say so while looking at the descriptions ) because Envenom ignores armor . Especially if you have the Vile Poisons talent maxed . Group PvE . General . Whatever the situation , the key thing to remember is that you are there to deal damage and up the group ' s average DPS . In practice , this means two things - killing things fast , and minimizing downtime . Killing things fast is , in general , the easy bit . The Rogue is born for this very task ! Minimising downtime typically means not dying , and letting the Tank take all the hits . Make good use of Feint if you find you ' re stealing aggro from the tank . Conversely , if you see a cloth - wearer in trouble , help them out and try to pull the mob off them and onto you . Resist the urge to start dps ' ing like mad though , but instead make sure the tanks picks up the mob from you asap since even though you might be able to kill it eventually , you require too much healing which needlessly increases the stress on the healer . Rogues need to be very aware of the entire area that you ' re doing battle in . Most classes will be content to stand behind the tank and let him hold aggro , hitting the target with their nukes , melee and ranged attacks . But you need to be behind the mob being tanked to do your best damage . This may mean you ' re further down the hallway than the rest of your party . Look around before you just slip behind the mob by default . Are you going to end up pulling an add ( or worse a group of them ) because you ' ll be in a threat radius that nobody else is in ? Then maybe it might be better to forgo some DPS in favor of party survival . Think about what skills you use , especially when the fight starts . You may be accustomed to open with cheap shot and backstab / mutilate a lot , or maybe you ambush first and then backstab / mutilate while solo ' ing , but cheap shot will make the tank generate less rage , which makes his job harder and ambush is really even worse as it ' s a sure way of having the mob pound at your right away . Instead , it might be wiser to start slow . By using Garrote to open with and following up with a rupture after a few more combo points you not only minimizes the chance you pull the tanks aggro , but you will make full use of armour piercing effect of bleed s on the usually highly armoured elites . Using deadly poison instead of instant poison further enhances this effect . How you get the combo points for your initial rupture is debatable and highly dependant on your talents , but generally backstab is not recommended until the tank establishes a good threat level . Healing will be focused on the Tank first , and depending on the situation and how many healers there are , there may not be enough for you . Be sure to back off and use First Aid to heal yourself ; healthstone s and healing potions can also be useful . For emergencies , be ready to use abilities such as Gouge , Kidney Shot and Evasion - these can make the difference between life and death for the group . Just be aware that not all enemies can be stunned , especially bosses and many enemies in large raid PvE . Also see : Rogue PvE tactics for a guide on how to assist specific classes . Equipping Yourself . Rogues are the most useful in group situations . Since you want to increase the group ' s DPS it ' s necessary to focus your equipment on Agility . Every point of Agility raises your Attack Power by 1 , Armor by 2 , your Critical Strike chance , and your chance to Dodge . Attack Power , Hit Rating , and Crit Rating are also important for rogue damage . Stamina is a secondary consideration to help keep the rogue alive . Strength , while common in rogue gear before The Burning Crusade , has essentially been replaced with the more useful Attack Power . Engineering ' s Goblin Jumper Cables ( it does not depend upon spec , gnomish engineers can also get it ) can save the group from wiping , and they give you an excuse to vanish and save your own hide ( otherwise it may anger your party members ) . Be sure to get the XL version asap , as it is much more effective . Chance to work is also increased if the target has not released , so tell your rezzer at the start of the instance . Outdoors . Outdoors , your main role is simply dealing damage . You may , on occasion , have to help out with some Crowd Control using Sap before a pull . Instances . Enter a dungeon and the Rogue can really start to shine . You are the group ' s eyes and ears . Make sure you know how to use Distract and Stealth to move about undetected . Your role will be to scout ahead and call the shots . Quite often you won ' t be the actual puller , but you will direct the puller to tell them what mob s are around . You will also be called upon to use Sap a fair bit . Once battle commences , your role is much as it is in any other group situation . However , you ' ll often find mob s are elite and have a very high Aggro Radius , making you less effective than normal . If this is the case , be ready to use other abilities such as Rupture , and also Expose Armor if there ' s no Warrior ( If there are Warriors , don ' t use it , as they ' ll likely need to use Sunder Armor to keep aggro , but that can ' t be used if Expose Armor is active on the target ) . A rogue can also use Feint to attempt to get the mob to switch targets from the rogue to another player if the rogue is in danger of being killed . If Feint fails , and you have some Combo Points try and use Kidney Shot . So the person tanking can try and retake the Aggro of the mob . If that fails or no combo points , use Vanish as a rogue tanking is a dead rogue , more often then not . One of the biggest threats in an instance is that a mob will run when low on health , and call its buddies to help . Make sure to keep Crippling Poison on your weapons to prevent this happening . Dueting . If you have a friend that you want to play with , a duet combination can work well with a Rogue . Have your friend choose a profession that can pull mobs . Most caster professions work well since they have nukes that can hit at range . A Hunter partner would work well too . Pairing with a priest , druid or shaman would give the two of you some healing to reduce downtime . The tactic you want to use is to let your friend pull the mob , then with all its hate focused on your friend , you can fire off your back attacks . Basically it works like this . . . If your friend happens to pull two mobs , don ' t panic . You ' ll probably find that you can kill off the first one fast enough that the one add isn ' t a big deal . In that case , you might want to spam your biggest threat moves to try to get aggro from the main mob . Your friend will thank you for not having both of them pounding on her . If your friend is new to WoW , you may find that at times you pull more than you can handle . Wipeouts will happen at first . But eventually , the puller should be able to learn to judge threat radius , social mobs , etc . and get better at pulling . Not only will you be learning skills that will help with bigger groups , but your friend will also be learning about pulling and aggro management that will help once you get into instances and raids . Raid PvE . In endgame raid instances such as Karazhan , rogues are no longer called upon to perform any sort of crowd control . This is partly because the majority of mob s in these instances are immune to the rogue ' s stuns , and also because raid groups have more room for other classes with more reliable forms of crowd control . In some fights the rogue ' s ability to kick will be called upon to interrupt certain spells from being cast , but beyond that the rogue ' s only role is to provide melee DPS . They do this best when grouped with other melee DPS classes , as those classes usually have abilities that benefit rogues ( such as the Warrior ' s Battle Shout , the Druid ' s Leader of the Pack , and the Shaman ' s Windfury Totem ) . Movement and positioning - which are already quite important to rogues - are even more so while raiding . Attacking from behind is always ideal as it is the optimal way for melee DPS to deal damage ( and necessary in the case of dagger rogues trying to use Backstab ) , but when raiding it becomes a matter of survival ; many raid bosses have powerful cleave attacks that can kill any rogues in front of them with a single blow . There are also many powerful AoE attacks that must be either evaded or dealt with in some other manner , though these effects are usually as much a concern for other classes as they are for rogues . Further many bosses have frontal cone attacks making it necessary that no melee dps or anyone is in front of the boss save the tank . Cloak of Shadows is often useful when dealing with these effects . Go to Rogue See also . Go to