Rogue in WoW Forever

The WoW Forever Rogue trees at launch (Blizzard's Nov 2 notes): Blood Splatter, Venom and Mutilate in Assassination, Composure, Flash of Steel and Adrenaline Rush in Combat, Quick Getaway, Boot Knife and Death Mark in Subtlety. Values shown at max rank.

Rogue talent calculator Race picker

Starter builds

Leveling

Combat leveling (swords)

Hack and Slash, Blade Flurry, Flash of Steel and Adrenaline Rush; Assassination for crit, Lethality and more Energy.

Split 20 / 31 / 0 · level-by-level order →

Endgame

Mutilate raid

Daggers with Relentless Strikes, Venom, Seal Fate and Mutilate at 41; Combat for hit, Puncturing Wounds and cheaper attacks.

Split 31 / 20 / 0 · level-by-level order →

Best race for each Rogue spec

Top-scoring race from our racial scores: Horde first, Alliance below. Open the race picker for the full ranking and why.

Spec	Leveling	Dungeons & raids	PvP
DPS (any spec)	Troll Night Elf	Orc Dwarf	Orc Gnome

Rogue talents changed for launch

Talent	Tree	Now
Improved Expose Armor	Assassination	Expose Armor costs up to 10 less Energy and, at 5 combo points, gives up to 2 combo points back. Moved up to row 2.
Vigor	Assassination	Up to +10 maximum Energy. Moved up to row 3.
Blood Splatter	Assassination	Rupture lasts 6 sec longer and Garrote lasts 9 sec longer.
Lethality	Assassination	Up to +20% critical damage bonus (10% per rank) on Sinister Strike, Gouge, Backstab, Mutilate, Ghostly Strike and Hemorrhage. Now 2 ranks.
Relentless Strikes	Assassination	Each combo point spent on a finishing move gives up to a 20% chance (4% per rank) to get 25 Energy back. Now 5 ranks, moved to row 5.
Venom	Assassination	Passive: Shank makes your poisons deal 30% more damage and apply 20% more often for 6 sec. No longer a finishing move and no longer needs Mutilate; moved up to row 5.
Seal Fate	Assassination	Crits from combo-point abilities have up to a 100% chance (33 / 66 / 100%) to add an extra combo point. Now 3 ranks.
Mutilate	Assassination	Dagger attack with both weapons: 90% weapon damage plus a larger flat bonus per weapon (the new amount isn't published). 20% more damage to poisoned targets. 2 combo points. Now the 31-point talent in row 7.
Coup de Grace	Combat	Eviscerate deals up to 20% more damage (7 / 13 / 20%), and Death Mark deals up to 20% more and stores damage up to 20% faster. Renamed from Improved Eviscerate.
Efficient Strikes	Combat	Sinister Strike and Hemorrhage cost up to 5 less Energy (3 / 5). Renamed from Improved Sinister Strike; now also covers Hemorrhage.
Improved Sprint	Combat	Sprint has up to a 100% chance to remove movement-slowing effects. Moved up to row 2.
Composure	Combat	Poised lowers the cost of your next Energy ability by up to 10 more (5 / 10). Poised is a new level-18 Rogue ability: out of combat at full Energy, your next Energy ability costs 10 less.
Flawless Execution	Combat	Eviscerate costs 15 less Energy (was 10).
Aggression	Combat	Sinister Strike and Eviscerate deal up to 15% more damage (5 / 10 / 15%); Backstab is no longer included. Moved up to row 4.
Weapon Expertise	Combat	Your attacks are up to 2% less likely to be dodged or parried. Moved up to row 4, so it no longer follows Blade Flurry.
Dual Wield Specialization	Combat	Off-hand damage up to +50% (25 / 50%). Now 2 ranks, moved to row 5.
Hack and Slash	Combat	By weapon type, up to: Axe/Sword 5% chance for an extra attack, Dagger/Fist +5% crit, Mace ignores 15% armor. Same effect; placed in column 4 here because Dual Wield Specialization moved into row 5.
Flash of Steel	Combat	Shank gives up to 15 extra Energy (3 per rank) and its cooldown is up to 2 sec shorter (0.4 sec per rank). Shank is a new level-24 Rogue ability: off-hand strike for 50% weapon damage that can't miss, 5 Energy, gives back 15 Energy, 10 sec cooldown.
Setup	Subtlety	Up to a 45% chance (15 / 30 / 45%) to gain a combo point when you dodge an attack or fully resist a spell. Moved up to row 1.
Opportunity	Subtlety	Backstab, Garrote, Ambush and Mutilate deal up to 20% more damage (4% per rank). Now 5 ranks.
Camouflage	Subtlety	Stealth slows you up to 15% less (5 / 10 / 15%) and its cooldown is up to 6 sec shorter. Now 3 ranks, moved to row 2.
Dirty Deeds	Subtlety	Cheap Shot and Garrote cost up to 20 less Energy, and Garrote works from the front. Moved up to row 2.
Premeditation	Subtlety	Adds 2 combo points to a target from Stealth; use them within 20 sec. 2 min cooldown. Moved up to row 3.
Serrated Blades	Subtlety	Attacks ignore up to 9% of target armor and Rupture deals up to 30% more damage. Moved up to row 3.
Elusiveness	Subtlety	Vanish and Blind cooldowns up to 90 sec shorter. Moved down to row 4.
Ghostly Strike	Subtlety	125% weapon damage, and your next Ambush or Garrote within 7 sec can be used without Stealth. 1 combo point, 40 Energy, 20 sec cooldown. Moved to row 4. The extra damage with daggers was a bug and is fixed; the notes don't say whether the dodge bonus stays.
Quick Getaway	Subtlety	Sap can hold one more target, and after you Sap something you move up to 30% faster (15 / 30%) for 3 sec.
Heightened Senses	Subtlety	See stealth as if up to 3 levels higher, and up to 4% less likely to be hit by spells and ranged attacks. Moved down to row 5.
Hemorrhage	Subtlety	100% weapon damage; the target takes 15% more Rupture and Garrote damage from you for 15 sec. 1 combo point, 35 Energy. Garrote is new; the extra damage with daggers was a bug and is fixed.
Boot Knife	Subtlety	Shank has up to a 100% chance (20% per rank) to add 2 combo points to the target.
Death Mark	Subtlety	Curse for 25 Energy (20 yd, 10 sec cooldown): for 6 sec it stores part of the damage you deal for each combo point (Garrote and Rupture store at double rate), then deals the stored damage, capped by your Attack Power and crit chance.