At home in the shadows and skilled at disappearing from sight, the Rogues of Azeroth are most comfortable when acting in the background. Twisting events to their favor, striking only when advantage is greatest: this is where a Rogue excels. With their cunning tricks, physical abilities, and mastery of concealment and disguise, Rogues have no trouble finding employment as thieves, cutthroats, spies, and assassins. Here are a few sample skills available to Rogues: Backstab - Silent as a whisper, a Rogue can slip behind a target, and in the blink of an eye, bury a weapon into the victim's back. Stealth - From a clump of bushes in the deep forest to the streets of a bustling city marketplace, Rogues can render themselves invisible and unseen to all but the keenest of observers. Dual Wield - Through diligent training and practice, Rogues are able to master the art of dual-weapon combat, making them an even more dangerous foe.

The Rogue is a very involved and fun class to play. Your effectiveness depends on how well you learn how to use the Rogue effectively. There is a lot to take in but players can master the rogue with knowledge and experience.

Strengths

• Stealth abilities allow the Rogue to reach places through stealth more easily than most classes.
• Strong lock pocketing abilities/access as opposed to other classes
• Sprint Ability allows the Rogue to more easily escape battle and get a free short burst of speed in traveling

• Susceptible to more damage than Paladin/Warrior because Rogues can only wear Leather

• Mastering Stealth Usage
• Managing proper monster hate so that tanks can take the majority of damage when possible
• Learning and using effective combos

Standard Bars: Health/Energy

Allowable Equipment: Cloth, Leather, Bucklers
Allowable Weapons: Daggers, Thrown (with training), Swords (with training), Bows (with training), Crossbows (with training)

This page does not have a complete listing of all abilities that are available. Look for more once our database section is active.

Energy
The Rogue requires energy to perform most abilities. Energy is built up over time. You cannot increase your energy pool.

Stealth
Stealth is the ability to remain undetected by the enemy. It is not the same as invisibility. When something is in stealth mode it can still be seen. However, players in Stealth mode become clear or transparent and blend in with the background making them more difficult to spot.

Your success at remaining undetected depends on your stealth skill level, direction of the monster, and how close you get to the monster.

Using Stealth
By using Stealth you can sneak up behind monsters to perform various abilities such as Sap, Backstab, and Ambush. Without stealth the monster would simply turn around and attack. Try to predict the movement/patterns of the monster and then sneak up behind them at the right moment. This becomes much easier once you reach Stealth level 2 which allows you to move faster. A common way for a Rogue to fight is to first sneak up on a monster from behind using stealth. The Rogue then uses a Backstab, Sap, or Ambush (later on). The Rogue then continues with combat now that the rogue in a weakened state.

Stealth Pulling
Stealth is also great for pulling. The Rogue can activate Stealth, and then sneak up on the enemy without aggroing nearby monsters. As the Rogue's skill in Stealth becomes higher they can become even more effective at pulling.

Building up Stealth
To increase the stealth skill you need to be facing a monster and grab their attention. You will know you have achieved this when the monster stops and makes their normal (under alert/angry) sound. You must then continue to remain undetected (by not moving, and stopping in the right spot) and you will then receive a skill bonus.

Combo Points and Finishing Moves
There are many Rogue abilities that build up combo points and then "finishing" moves that release the power of these combo points you have earned.

Combo Points Indicator
After you have earned your first combo point, look at the monsters name bar located at the top middle of the screen. To the right of the portrait you will see a little light up dot and other dots that are not lighted. This is the combo point indicator. It tells you that you have one combo point. If you receive a second combo point two dots would be lit. By watching this indicator you can tell how many combo points you have stored up and you will know when to release them with a finishing move. Look at the finishing moves to see how many combo points are required for a particular effect.

Deception

Feint (Combo Move) - Perform a feint, causing no damage but lowering your threat a small amount. Target must be facing you. The point of this ability is to reduce the amount of monster hate so a target will attack another party member instead that is better equipped to handle the attack such as a Paladin or Warrior.

Distract - Throws a distraction, attracting the attention of all nearby monsters for X seconds. Does not break Stealth.

Blind - Blinds the target, causing it to wander at X% of move speed confused for up to X seconds. This requires Blinding Powder.

Sinister Strike (Combo Move) - A wicked strike that ads X damage to your normal weapon damage. This is typically the main skill used for generating combo points.

Gouge (Combo Move) - Causes X damage and dazes the opponent for X seconds. Target must be facing you. This ability can give you time to run, give you time to get some extra hits, or can allow you to get behind the monster for a backstab.

Kick - A quick kick that injures a single foe for X damage and interrupts the spell being cast X% of the time for X seconds. This ability should be used against spellcasters when they are in the process of casting to interrupt them. 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.

Slice and Dice (Finishing Move) - Finishing move that increases melee attack speed by X%. Lasts longer per combo point. 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.

Cheap Shot (Combo Move)(Requires Stealth) - Stuns the target for X seconds. This ability allows you to start off the fight with some cheap hits on the enemy that they can't respond to. A Rogue could also stealth during a fight in a party and use a Cheap Shot at the end of the fight to prevent the monster from escaping.

Kidney Shot (Finishing Move) - Finishing move that stuns the target. Lasts longer per combo point. This ability can also be used to stun a monster to prevent them from escaping or to prevent any further damage.

Backstab (Combo Move)(Requires Stealth) - Bastab the target, causing +X% weapon damage plus X to the target. Must be behind the target. This ability uses a lot of energy.

Eviscerate (Finishing Move) - Finishing move that causes additional damage per combo point. This is your instant damage SLAM spell that you should use to finish monsters off or take a chunk out of them.

Rupture (Finishing Move)(DOT) - Finishing move that causes damage over time. Lasts longer per Combo point. This is another damage-over-time ability that is more useful when you fight the monster long enough so that it reaches the full effect. Otherwise, you should use another finishing move.

Garrote (DOT) - Garrote the enemy, causing X damage over X seconds. Must be in stealth mode behind the target. If you are going to fight the target for a long time it's a wise idea to sneak up and use this skill. The monster will be damaged over time as you fight them.

Sap (Requires Stealth) - Knocks the target out for X seconds. Must be stealthed. Only works on humanoids. Any damage caused will revive the target. Only 1 target may be sapped at a time.

Ambush (Combo move)(Requires Stealth) - Ambush the target, causing X% weapon damage plus X to the target. Must be stealthed and behind the target.

Evasion
The rogue's dodge chance will increase by X% for X seconds. This is your "oh no" ability that you should use in emergency situations.

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.

Sap (Sleep) Pull
The Rogue can use Sap to put monsters to sleep. If you are alone you can use Sap to break up a group of two monsters. Sneak up on the monsters from behind using Stealth. Then use Sap to put one of them to sleep. Kill the awoken monster, and then finish off the sleeping monster.

Crowd Control
The Rogue is effective at crowd control (putting newly awakened monsters out of action) using Sap. Simple remain in Stealth mode, and continue to Sap new monsters that arrive. In a party this can be a huge help and can allow a group to be very effective since the Rogue is reducing the monsters numbers. The Rogue can only Sap one monster at a time.

Typical Battle
Sneak up behind the monster using Stealth. Perform a Backstab, Ambush, or DOT on the monster. Then begin combat. Start using Sinister Strike to build up combo points. Then release with a DOT, direct damage finishing move such as Eviscerate, or use Swift Speed. Now build up combo points again using Sinister Strike. You should always perform a move the second you have enough energy unless you're building up more energy for a more powerful ability. A common mistake among novice Rogues is to not be using their abilities enough.

Rogue Combos
Use Garrote to put a monster to sleep during a battle. Then use a Backstab from behind. You will need enough energy for this to work otherwise they monster will wake up before you can do your backstab.

Use Sinister Strike to build up combo points. Then use Slice-N-Dice after having a couple of Combo Points. Now gain more Combo points using Sinister Strike again. Now release with Eviscerate.

Away from Keyboard
When you have to leave your computer, enter Stealth mode and move to spot where the monsters are unlikely to patrol. Using Stealth the Rogue can go AFK in places that other classes generally can't.

Skill Points
Rogues should focus on getting more Agility which adds to their damage. Additionally you could also focus on Stamina for added health and defense.

Weapons
Rogues use daggers by default. You can, however, train in swords if you wish to be different. You can even build up both skills and use the best depending on what weapons you have. At level 20 you can dual wield.

Rogues can also use thowing weapons or train in Bows or Crossbows. Throwing weapons such as throwing daggers are recommended because they don't require a quiver or ammo pouch. However, Bows and Crossbows will typically do more damage. You can use throwing weapons to get some additional damage done to the monster before it reaches you. They can also be used to finish off monsters that are running away. Additionally, these weapons are useful for pulling monsters rather than sneaking up on them in stealth mode.

Poisoning
The Rogue has the unique ability to create and apply special poisons to weapons. Poisoning can be trained at level 20. To create poisons you will need to buy empty vials and purchase various reagents as dictated by each recipe. At higher character levels the Rogue can train in more powerful and unique Poison recipes. There are even additional extremely powerful recipes which require rare ingredients available out in the world.

Crippling Poison which can slow an enemies movement speed is very effective against monster that run when they are about to die. This makes the Rogue very useful in a party. Party members become accustomed to having a Rogue around for this helpful ability.

Rogues can also apply poisons to other player's weapons. This is done via the trade screen just like Enchanting. Rogues can also sell this service to other players or offer it as a gesture of friendship.

Lock picking
The Rogue has a special bonus to lock picking. You can improve this skill on locked chests. You should also purchase or create practice locks created by Engineers to more quickly develop this skill. You can also offer to unlock locked boxes from other players for free to build up skill in lock picking.

Trade Skill Options

Herbalism and Enchanting - The Rogue can enchant their equipment to make themselves more powerful.
Herbalism and Alchemy - The Rogue can create buff potions or healing potions.
Fishing and Cooking - The Rogue has no healing so the class is dependent on food when no healing party member is available. Fishermen fish up locked boxes which can improve the rogue's lock picking skill.
Skinning and Leather crafting - The Rogue can create their own equipment and sell it to others as well.