Rogue talent analysis Rogues are often the DPS class of choice . However , there are multiple problems with the Rogue . One of the most immediately imposing problems is that they are very delicate . Though not as vulnerable as a mage due to their ability to wear leather as well as cloth , they must always be in the front line with the warriors . A slight error in aggro can easily decimate a Rogue ' s hit points . Despite the fact that the Rogue can potentially do the most damage ( an essential of fast leveling ) , they do not fare as well in PvE as hunters because of their inability to kite and lack of a pet or other aggro - diverting mechanism . Rogues must often party up to complete quests because of their fragility ( even on certain yellow quests ) . Rogues have immediate access to thrown weapons ( a possibility for kiting ) , but they have a much lower damage output than daggers and without a pet to aggro the enemy , it is only a temporary option ( though even with a warrior distracting the enemies , it is still not worth doing ) . The main function of throwing weapons is getting aggro early , which is rarely useful . Second , there are so many Rogues and other miscellaneous DPS , that they aren ' t in high demand for Raids or Instances and since they have no alternative talent tree to spec for or abilities to do any other job , they are stuck as another DPS class , which is a blessing and a curse . The true blessing of being a Rogue is how much fun PvP / Battlegrounds are . Since they have stealth abilities , they automatically get the upper hand in PvP and it can also very entertaining whenever you decide to duel someone , you activate stealth and they start jumping around like an idiot " trying " to avoid you . The curse is that its functionality in PvE is compromised , mainly because monsters , and other humanoids manage to always be able to detect you if you are too close to them and not facing their back . Despite stealth being relatively hard to use in PvE , what happens in PvP when you stealth , depending on how your enemy allocated their talent points , their equipment , and whether or not they have perception up , the Rogue is virtually invisible to the opposing eye and therefore virtually untargetable . Still with a cleverly placed AoE spell , you can reveal a Rogue . All in all , however the Rogue isn ' t the most veritable class , let alone the most unique class ( you ' re not going to feel very unique when you see four other Rogues in your raid party ) , still they can be very fun to play in PvP and sometimes in PvE because they can deal massive amounts of damage with or without stealth attacks . Each talent is listed with its maximum talent point investment ; notes are included in the analysis where lesser investments are common or useful . Talent Trees In General . In general , all of the talents for the Rogue increase damage , but there are many different types of damage ( burst damage , constant damage , DoT s , or all three ) , and ways of dealing damage ( whether you sneak up for extra damage or you just run up and spam Sinister Strike , them finish with Eviscerate ( or Slice and Dice ) . Another thing that the Rogue excels in , is the ability to stun enemies . Each of these different specializations will help you in different combat situations ( PvP , Raids , PvE , Battlegrounds , Instances , The Arena , duels , etc . ) . Assassination is tree centered much on burst damage , improving your poisons , critical strike chances , or the bonuses you get from a critical strike for particular abilities or just in general . It also includes a few Passive Skill s that don ' t involve increasing burst DPS such as Deadened Nerves , or Quick Recovery . The Combat tree is much like the Arms tree for a Warrior , in the sense that there are passive skills that increase your skill with weapons , or give you specific bonuses if you wield certain weapons . It also has a large collection of passive skills unrelated to weapon bonuses that vary in functionality . And though there are a few cast able skills ( any skill you need to click , press a button , or key binding to use ) and improvements on cast able skills , there isn ' t much of a difference in these skills from the assassination skills , except that they are more focused on constant damage . In general , a good tree for leveling and PvP . Subtlety is based upon the idea of a Rogue remaining in the shadows and improving skills that are related to stealth . Though DPS is not fully forgotten on this tree and there are once again passive skills that complement your attacks , burst damage skills , and improvements upon these stealth - only burst damage / stun skills . It has a great deal of auxiliary talents , such as Cheat Death or Shadowstep . This tree is best suited for PvP , but it can never hurt to throw in some subtlety to augment your others skills , and dependent on your playstyle , Subtlety can be very enjoyable . Assassination . Improved Eviscerate . " 3 points : Increases the damage done by your Eviscerate ability by 20 % . Remorseless Attacks . " 2 points : After killing an opponent that yields experience or honor , gives you a 40 % increased critical strike chance on your next Sinister Strike , Hemorrhage , Backstab , Mutilate , Ambush , or Ghostly Strike . Lasts 20 sec . Malice . " 5 points : Increases your critical strike chance by 5 % . Ruthlessness . " 3 points : Gives your finishing moves a 60 % chance to add a Combo Point to your target . Requires 5 points in the Assassination tree . Murder . " 2 points : Increases all damage caused against Humanoid , Giant , Beast and Dragonkin by 2 % . Requires 5 points in the Assassination tree . Puncturing Wounds . " 3 points : Increases the critical strike chance of your Backstab ability by 30 % and the critical strike chance of your Mutilate ability by 15 % . Requires 5 points in the Assassination tree . Relentless Strikes . " 1 point : Your finishing moves have a 20 % chance per combo point to restore 25 energy . Requires 10 points in the Assassination tree . Improved Expose Armor . " 2 points : Increases the effect of your Expose Armor Ability by 50 % . Requires 10 points in the Assassination tree . Lethality . " 5 points : Increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Sinister Strike , Gouge , Backstab , Ghostly Strike , Mutilate , Shiv , and Hemorrhage abilities by 30 % . Requires 10 points in the Assassination tree and 5 points in Malice . Subtlety . This is page still a work in progress .