Rogues as tanks Introduction . " Rogue tanking " is the use of a rogue as a / the tank of a party or raid . However , rogue tanking was a phenomenon that is no longer practically feasible . During TBC , many bosses could be tanked with the right party / raid setup and by stacking agility / dodge rating . However , with the addition of diminishing returns to dodge rating in patch 3 . 0 . 2 , it is highly unlikely that rogues can have the necessary avoidance ( 102 . 4 % ) at level 80 . This article discusses some of the history of the use of rogues as capable alternative tanks , and describes some of the tactics and circumstances that made rogue tanking feasible . The information on this page is more for historical or nostalgic purposes . How It Worked . Rogues ' advantages as tanks are their high damage output , potentially extreme avoidance , and several key abilities , such as Cloak of Shadows ( a 5 - second magic debuff remover and spell shield ) and Evasion . Limitations stem from their lack of AoE ( since remedied with Fan of Knives ) , inferior threat generation compared to conventional tanking classes , lack of a " taunt " ability , and poor damage mitigation in most circumstances . Also , having lower effective health means they have little hope of surviving bosses that do frequent and significant spell damage . Rogue tanking has two objectives ; becoming un - hittable and maintaining aggro . Neither of these are easy tasks to accomplish . To become physically unhittable by a level 70 or below , you will need an avoidance rating of 100 % . Your avoidance rating can be calculated based on your character sheet ingame . The formula is Avoidance = Block + Parry + Dodge + Enemy Miss Chance ( 5 % base , increases with defense ) . Since rogues cannot block , the formula reduces to Avoidance = Parry + Dodge + Enemy Miss Chance . If your parry + dodge + enemy miss chance reaches 100 % , you cannot be physically hit ( by an attacker in front of you ) at all . The avoidance necessary increases to 102 . 4 % while fighting raid level bosses . Fortunately , the best avoidance stat to stack happens to be one of our best offensive stats as well , agility . At level 70 , 1 point of agility = . 025 crit , . 05 dodge , 1 attack power , and 2 armor . You will need approximately 1000 agility , which will result in approximately 25 % crit , 50 % dodge , 1000ap , and 2000 armor . By getting your dodge up to 40 % with a 10 % chance of parry ( 5 % class base and 5 % from deflection ) , when you use evasion you will become unhittable . Now keep in mind the goal here is to become unhittable 100 % of the time WITHOUT evasion , so you will need at least a 60 % passive dodge chance , which is very difficult . Some key talents that will help you tank : 1 . Lightning reflexes ( 5 % total avoidance ) 2 . Deflection and Riposte ( 5 % total avoidance and the ability to disarm ) 3 . Preparation ( Double evasion ) 4 . Sinister Calling ( 15 % more agility ) 5 . Improved sprint ( So you can ' t get rooted , you can always get back to the action ) 6 . Improved Kick ( silence on your kick ) 7 . Ghostly Strike ( 15 % avoidance for 7 seconds ( 20 sec cd ) 8 . Blade Flurry ( essential when pulling more than three mobs ) 9 . Setup ( 45 % chance to gain combo point when you dodge ) The rogue must be sure to use stuns , interrupts , and avoidance abilities ( Evasion and Ghostly Strike ) effectively to prevent dying quickly . Between Gouge , Kick , Cloak of Shadows , Blind , and Kidney Shot , a rogue should be able to mitigate a large share of whatever spell damage is facing them . Never use Evasion except in an emergency , but Ghostly Strike should be used as often as possible ( that is , every 20 seconds ) . In addition to Ghostly Strike , subtlety is probably the optimal spec for basic rogue tanking because of the talents Preparation and Setup . Setup grants a combo point 45 % of the time the rogue dodges ( which will occur quite often ) , assisting threat generation substantially . Preparation can be used to cancel the cooldown on Evasion in a pinch , allowing for up to 30 seconds of nigh - invulnerability . Subtlety spec will also net a rogue Cheat Death if enough points are invested , which can easily mean the difference between a wipe and glorious success . Vs . a single stunnable mob , the rogue may also vanish and immediately Cheap Shot , buying time for either a heal or for their Kidney Shot cooldown to end ( such that the rogue may stunlock it further ) . Other than these basic strategies and spec details , the other main factor to rogue tanking " damage " . Besides being the only means of threat generation , it also benefits a group because the rogue is effectively both a tank and an additional damage dealer . In essence , a group using a rogue tank has one healer and FOUR dps classes , meaning mobs die much quicker . This both makes the instance run more smoothly and makes the tank ' s chances of survival much greater . In reality , when party buffed a rogue tank should have 100 % avoidance while doing much greater damage than a prot warrior or pally could hope for . However , if another player out - aggros a mob , we do not have anything in our arsenal to regain threat other than pure damage . Since this is the case its is very wise to bring a paladin for salvation buff to put on everyone BUT the rogue . This will even the threat field . Now , just make sure you pull first and use blade flurry asap , switching targets after every finisher to cement threat on all mobs . Make your party wait about 3 - 5 seconds before they unleash on the mobs . Level 70 Heroic Dungeons . Do NOT attempt to tank a heroic instance if you do not have 102 . 4 % avoidance . Rogues have tanked every heroic in the game , but it requires a competent party that has patience , gear , and skill . In order to reach that avoidance rating , you will want to bring : Holy pally : Salvation on party , Blessing of Kings on you ( extra 10 % agility ) Hunter : Freezing Trap , Scorpid Sting ( 5 % enemy miss chance ( 5 % avoidance ) ) and misdirect / FD Shaman : Grace of Air ( 77 agility ) Another CC : Won ' t help with your avoidance , but can negate one mob per pull Druid : Mark of the Wild ( slight stat buff ) and insect swarm ( 2 % enemy miss chance ) Level 70 Raids . Again , do not attempt if you do not have the required avoidance ! Rogues do have a much harder time holding aggro in raid groups . In raids the avoidance rogue has a MUCH easier time as an OT . That way only he is on his target , dodging all attacks till the team has defeated the kill target . Because of the ability to become fully melee invincible , in some situations rogues make far better tanks than a warrior / druid / paladin ever could . Because the rogue " avoidance tank " requires no extra healing in fights such as Gruul , Magtheridon , Tidewalker , Sharhaz , and other melee based encounters , healers are free to better assist the raid . Note also that enrage timers can often be effectively ignored : the boss ' damage may triple , but that doesn ' t mater to the rogue who can still dodge every swing . While total avoidance is possible in practically auction house greens with raw agility alongside defense / agility enchants , threat generation is lacking , and other classes must use abilities such as Scorpid Sting and Insect Swarm in order to bring avoidance over 102 . 4 % . For these reasons , rogues must rely on gear that provides decent damage alongside equal if not better avoidance . Given high enough avoidance , a rogue may choose to use more DPS - based gear for threat purposes , substituting the use of abilities like scorpid sting for the lesser avoidance from gear . Formulas for Avoidance . Night Elves gain a 1 % bonus to dodge via the racial ability quickness , and have higher agility as a base stat . However , total avoidance is still possible with all races of rogues given appropriate gear and talents . Wrath of the Lich King ; Rogues as Tanks ? Blizzard altered the avoidance formulas and mechanics in patch 3 . 0 . 2 . Dodge and parry rating now have diminishing return , i . e . additional 10 agility at 40 % dodge now gives significantly less extra dodge % than at 20 % dodge . Therefore , it is very likely that total avoidance is impossible at level 80 . It appeared that Blizzard looked disfavorably on the prospect of avoidance tanking . From the look over the WotLK talent trees , someone may still argue that rogue tanking has partially improved . Here are the relevant new talents : Due to the improvement of AoE threat generation , rogues are better suited for trash pulls / burst AoE threat . One can also expect some impressive defensive efforts from the Unfair Advantage talent . ( For the new WotLK talent calculator for rogues , see http : / / www . wowhead . com / ? talent # f ) Conclusion : Despite some positive changes , 102 . 4 % avoidance is nigh impossible given current gear levels . Level 80 Rogue tanking in action . While true Rogue tanking [ i . e . 102 . 4 % avoidance ] may be impossible , that does not make Rogue tanking something that will never happen . November 8th , 2009 , a party of 10 defeated Patchwerk , with a Rogue as the OT , soaking the Hateful Strikes . Birdcage died with Patchwerk at roughly 2 % HP remaining , but the boss died with the MT surviving long enough for the DPS to finish him . Birdcage and co . Rogue Tanking Patchwerk His talent spec can be seen here Avoidance tanking can also be used in earlier WOTLK content through the use of tactics . Patchwerk 25 Rogue Tank