All - I was recently elected to be class leader in my guild. I wanted to write a basic guide to let the Rogues in my guild know what are acceptable builds and some basic strategy. I left out builds I thought were stupid (e.g. dodge builds) and just kept ones that I thought were most useful. I'm posting this up so that some others can benefit from this. Also, there are many experts here and I would love some constructive feedback.
I am writing this guide to help you do the best you can in instances and PvP. Fortunately, there is a lot of flexibility with our builds so none of you should feel too constricted with what you should play.
So, what makes up a good build? This depends on whether you are more focused on PvP or running instances. While any of these builds will be decent in both categories, they will definitely favor one or the other (with the exception of the Hemo build).
So let's jump right in to this. I will supply a link to builds and discuss the pros and cons of each build.
Combat builds
Sword/Mace:
(20/31/0) http://www.wowhead.com/talent/?fhecoxZGoEzMVzx0o
(18/33/0) http://www.wowhead.com/talent/?foecoxZG0EzMVzxco
Dagger:
(16/25/10) http://www.wowhead.com/talent/?i0eMoxZhfi00yzZ0xx
PvP Dagger build
(21/8/22) http://www.wowhead.com/talent/?ihecox0oZGcZ0xE0hbk
Hemo build
(21/3/27) http://www.wowhead.com/talent/?fhecox0oZhZVEV00cR0o
Seal Fate build
(31/8/12) http://www.wowhead.com/talent/?fhecoxLotGcZV0x0b
If you are in a raid and want to do the most damage, the combat builds are hands down the best build you can possibly choose. It gives you the most damage output and the best chance to lead the DPS meters. If you play mace, then replace sword specialization with mace specialization. For Combat daggers, you can choose either MoD or Camo (or a combo). I feel MoD is less useful than Camo for both PvP and raids but opinions vary. While these builds are great in instances, in PvP you don't have as much burst damage and can not stun lock as effectively. Note: combat daggers scales the most with AP. It really begins to show off its power when you have about 800 AP and shines when you can take it to 1000 AP.
The PvP Daggers build is great for PvP. You get both CB and prep allowing you to guarantee a crit as well as reset all of your cool downs. I would say the points in this build are distributed exactly where they should be. The only place I would think about changing is the 2 points in Imp. Rupture for Imp. Sap or MoD. While still great for instances, this is weaker than the combat builds.
The Hemo build is one that can do well in both PvP and PvE. Hemo uses so little energy, it makes stunlocking your opponent a breeze. Also, it's debuff is very useful to everyone in the instance increasing overall DPS. This build is generally used by people who have extremely powerful epic quality weapons as the damage output isn't as high as other builds.
Basic PvE Instance Strategy
Surprisingly, the majority of the damage that a Rogue does is not through your special attacks or finishers. It is from the normal swings you do. That is why the single most important thing you can do is keep Slice and Dice up the whole battle. The general rule of thumb is on trash mobs you start your SnD with 1 CP and on bosses you start with 2. You will then BS or SS until SnD is about to expire and then hit it again. If you have lots of time left on SnD and built up 5 CP, you can use a finisher. This will generally be evicierate or Rupture. Whatever you do, do not use Expose Armor as this overwrites Warriors sunders which makes it harder for them to hold hate.
I know that you may like seeing the nice Eviscerate crits and brag about that large amount of damage you are doing. But, ultimately, Eviscerate and Rupture do a fixed amount of damage. No matter how much you improve your weapons, those abilities will do the exact same damage. SnD on the other hand scale with your weapons and armor...that's why it is so important to keep that up in all battles.
Ultimately, if you want to lead the charts you need to stay alive. So at all costs, avoid pulling aggro. While Feints can help with this, they will be taking away from your energy. Your main form of hate control will be trhough vanish. It can be used if you pull aggro, but mainly you use it to erase all your hate once the tank has it firmly on them allowing you to go all out.
I hope you find this guide useful and if you have any questions about your build or what you should be doing in an instance. Feel free to send me a tell in game and I will be glad to help you out.
Raid Requirements: Always come prepared
When you show up to a raid, please be prepared. This means having plenty of flash powder, bliding powder, and poisons. If we are fighting runners, be sure to use crippling poison on your MH. If you show up to a raid and have to ask others for these rogue basics, it will not look good to others. Please have these on hand at all times.
Edited, Jun 11th 2006 at 1:55am EST by Phaltruism
