The Rogue — the stealthy ganker of WoW Classic. The Rogue is one of those classes with a "unique" reputation among fans, and has a number of unique playstyles — with Lock Picking and Poisons to name just two. With 3 core damage specs in Assassination, Subtlety and Combat, the Rogue has many tools at their disposal.
World of Warcraft's answer to the thief archetype, the Rogue is second-to-none when it comes to dealing out high bursts of damage without retaliation, thanks to their plethora of stuns and high physical damage burst.
Available to: Orc, Dwarf, Undead, Night Elf, Troll, Gnome, Human
Type: Stealth, Melee Damage Dealer
Standard Bars: Health/Energy/Combo Points
Available Armor: Cloth, Leather
Available Weapons: Daggers, One-Handed Swords, Maces, Thrown, Fist Weapons, Bows, Crossbows, Guns
Subtlety is the Rogue's go-to for surviving the harsh reality of PvP. Subtlety offers a Rogue slightly more in the way of options to dish out burst damage with the Premeditation talent, while also making sure they stay alive longer or escape if things go south.
Combat is the ideal levelling spec, and will be more than serviceable in all other aspects of the game. With reliable damage via Sword Specialization and a 5-minute burst DPS cooldown in Adrenaline Rush, Combat will likely be the spec most people end up playing.
Assassination is slightly weaker than Combat and Subtlety, but it's certainly not a useless spec. One of the key talents in the row is Improved Expose Armour — sadly, the base spell is available to all specs, and the improved talent so high up on the talent build that you can easily take it on any spec. One major thing to note is that Expose Armour does not stack over the Warrior talent Sunder Armour, meaning you will only use it in PvP (assuming that all guilds use a Warrior)
Best Rogue race in Classic
|
Ranking |
Horde |
Racial Trait |
|---|---|---|
|
S |
 Orc |
Blood Fury |
|
S |
 Undead |
Cannibalize |
|
A |
 Troll |
Regeneration |
|
Ranking |
Alliance |
Racial Trait |
|---|---|---|
|
A |
 Human |
Perception The Human Spirit |
|
A |
 Dwarf |
Stoneform |
|
S |
 Night Elf |
Shadowmeld |
|
A |
 Gnome |
Escape Artist |
Rogue Abilities in Classic
Main Abilities
Allows the rogue to sneak around, but reduces your speed by 50%. Lasts until cancelled.
The sound of a Rogue entering stealth is enough to make those levelling in Stranglethorn Vale quiver in their cloth boots. Stealth is a core aspect of the Rogue class, and probably its most defining spell.
Increases the damage done by your offhand weapon by 50%.
One of the reasons Combat offers so much stable damage is the weapon specializations, with the first being Dual Wield. Later in the talent row you can spec into Swords, Daggers, Fist Weapons and Maces, which all have their own merits in different situations.
Backstab the target, causing 150% weapon damage plus 225 to the target. Must be behind the target. Requires a dagger in the main hand. Awards 1 combo point.
Backstab — not only is it one of the Rogue's signature spells, but it is likely what they do to anyone who needs their gear. Stunning a target and getting in as many Backstabs as possible is going to be a common sight in Classic PvP.
Allows the rogue to vanish from sight, entering an improved stealth mode for 10 sec. Also breaks movement impairing effects. More effective than Vanish (Rank 1).
Nothing is quite as annoying as getting a Rogue low, only for them to disappear into a fog of smoke, stun-lock you for 5 seconds and then kill you. On the other hand, being the Rogue and doing this is all kinds of fun!
Best Rogue Professions in Classic
 |
 |
Best for general gearing |
 |
 |
Best for PvP and "fun" |
Leatherworking + Skinning - It's nice to be able to make gear out of all the mobs you kill, so we think this is the safest option for Rogue, especially if you intend to do a lot of solo content.
Engineering + Mining - This is the ideal choice for those who either like to make cool toys and gadgets or like to get a little bit cheeky in PvP by throwing bombs at their foes.
Rogue Class Trainer Location in Classic
