WoW Forever Class Highlights Part 1: Warrior, Shaman and Rogue changes, checked

2026-09-30 · ForeverDB

Blizzard's first Class Highlights video walks through Forever's Warrior, Shaman and Rogue changes: Vanguard, Spearing Strike, the totem bar, Riptide, Lava Burst, Mutilate, Venom and more. We checked every ability against the beta client. Most match and the client adds the numbers, but the finisher is Venom (not Envenom), Cutthroat only lets Ambush skip Stealth after a Backstab proc, and one totem still lasts 2 minutes. We also list what the video skipped, class by class: new talents such as Boundless Rage, Mental Dexterity and Dirty Tricks, weaker Battle Shout and low-level shocks, and the Classic talents that are gone.

Official. Everything under "Blizzard says" is from Blizzard's own video on the World of Warcraft YouTube channel. The numbers are from the Forever beta client (build 1.60.1.70124), the game's own data. Where the two differ, we say so. The beta is capped at level 20, so most of these talents (from level 25 up) can't be played yet.

On 30 September Blizzard posted Class Highlights - Part 1, a 5:54 video on the official World of Warcraft channel about what changes when you play a Warrior, Shaman or Rogue in World of Warcraft: Forever. It's the first of three: Blizzard says Part 2 covers Hunters, Paladins and Mages. Below, every ability and talent the video names is checked against the beta client, with its real numbers, the level you get it at and a link to its page. The last section, What the video didn't mention, lists the other changes the client has for these three classes.

The short version

• Almost everything Blizzard names is in the client, and the client adds the numbers: Spearing Strike deals 40% weapon damage (80% more against Giants, Dragonkin and mounted targets), Lightning Overload gives a 3%, 7% or 10% chance, Riptide makes Chain Heal 25% stronger on its target, and Venom adds 30% poison damage.
• The Assassination finisher is called Venom, not Envenom. The video says "Venom", and so does the client. Envenom exists in the files only as a Season of Discovery rune.
• "Weapon Master" is spelled Weaponmaster in the client. Arms gets it; Combat Rogues get the same idea as Hack and Slash.
• Cutthroat has a condition the video leaves out. Cutthroat lets Ambush skip Stealth only after a Backstab proc: a 3% to 15% chance, and the next Ambush has to follow within 10 sec.
• Totems last 5 minutes, except a few. Most buff totems went from 2 minutes (1 minute for Healing Stream and Mana Spring) to 5, but Disease Cleansing Totem still says 2 minutes, and short totems such as Searing and Magma keep their short timers.
• Blizzard says "new talents" for Revenge; this build has one: Improved Revenge, which now adds 20% to 60% damage instead of a stun chance.
• Two changes can't be checked in the files: how Warriors gain Rage and how Rogue Energy regenerates are worked out by the game's servers, not stored in the client.
• What you can use in the beta now (level 20): Thunder Clap in Defensive Stance, Improved Revenge, Call of the Elements, Totemic Recall and Fire Nova. Most of the rest are talents from level 25 to 40.
• The video skips a lot. The client also has new talents you can take at level 20 or below (spell #1310236, Puncturing Wounds, Mental Dexterity, Mindfulness), a weaker but longer Battle Shout, a stronger Demoralizing Shout, and Shaman shocks with lower damage but higher spell power coefficients. They're all in the last section, class by class.

Claim by claim

Talent tiers open every 5 levels: tier 1 at level 10, tier 4 at 25, tier 7 at 40. The beta's level 20 cap reaches tier 3.

Warrior

Every Warrior talent below is on the Warrior talent calculator, and every Warrior change is listed on Warrior changes. Guides and builds: Warrior. DPS simulations at the cap: Arms and Fury.

Protection: Rage

rage is generated consistently over time while dealing damage tied to your weapon speed. Also, you now generate rage based on the damage the enemy attempted to deal before damage reduction, not after. Blizzard, Class Highlights - Part 1 (0:26)

Blizzard's reason is that better defensive gear should no longer cost you Rage. The client can't confirm either change: how much Rage a hit gives is worked out by the game's servers, not stored in the game files. What the client does show is more Rage from talents: Shield Specialization now gives 5 Rage on every block at 5/5 (Classic Era: 1), the new Master of Defense (Protection tier 3) gives 5 Rage when you dodge or parry with a shield, Anger Management gives 1 Rage every 3 sec in combat, and Unbridled Wrath gives 2 Rage instead of 1 with a two-handed weapon.

Protection: Thunder Clap, Vanguard and Revenge

• Thunder Clap in Defensive Stance: confirmed. The client lets you use it in Battle Stance or Defensive Stance. It's stronger too: it slows the attack speed of up to 4 enemies by 20% (Classic Era 10%), with a 6 sec cooldown (Classic Era 4 sec), from level 6. Improved Thunder Clap has moved to the Protection tree and cuts its cost by up to 6 Rage.
• Vanguard: confirmed. A new Protection talent at tier 4 (level 25), 1 rank, in the slot Classic Era's Improved Taunt had: "Your Charge ability is now usable while in Defensive Stance." Charge itself is still Battle Stance only without it.
• Revenge talents: one, not several. The client's Protection tree has one Revenge talent, Improved Revenge (tier 3, level 20, so you can take it in the beta now): 20%, 40% or 60% more Revenge damage. In Classic Era it gave a chance to stun. Revenge itself hits harder: rank 1 deals 20 to 24 damage (Classic Era 12 to 14). If Blizzard adds more Revenge talents, they aren't in this build.

Big cooldowns no longer shared

Blizzard says Shield Wall, Retaliation and Recklessness no longer share a cooldown. The client can't show that link either way, because the game's servers decide it, but it does show what changed underneath: in Classic Era each of the three sat on a 30 minute category cooldown, and in Forever they have plain cooldowns of their own, two of them halved:

• Shield Wall (Defensive Stance, needs a shield, level 28): 60% less damage from all attacks for 12 sec, 15 min cooldown. Classic Era: 75% for 10 sec, 30 min. Improved Shield Wall (Protection tier 5) cuts the cooldown by 5.5 or 11 min.
• Retaliation (Battle Stance, level 20): 15 min cooldown (Classic Era 30 min).
• Recklessness (Berserker Stance, level 50): 100% more critical strike chance for 15 sec, 20% more damage taken, 30 min cooldown.

Arms: Weaponmaster and Spearing Strike

• Weaponmaster (the video says "Weapon Master"; the client writes it as one word): Arms tier 5, level 30, 5 ranks, in the slot Classic Era's Mace Specialization had. At 5/5: Axes and Polearms get 5% more critical strike chance, Maces and Staves ignore 15% of the target's armour, and Swords get a 5% chance of an extra attack. Classic Era's Sword and Polearm Specialization are gone, and Axe Specialization's slot now holds Bloodthrill. One real change hides in the merge: Maces lose the Classic stun chance and get armour penetration instead.
• Spearing Strike: Arms tier 4, level 25, 1 rank. It deals 40% weapon damage, and 80% more against Giants, Dragonkin and mounted targets; mounted targets are dismounted. It costs 15 Rage, has a 20 sec cooldown and needs a two-handed weapon. The video says it dismounts players; the tooltip says any mounted target.

Fury: Raging Blows

Raging Blows is a new Fury talent at tier 4 (level 25), 1 rank: "Causes your Whirlwind to also strike with your off-hand weapon, and reduces the Rage cost of your Cleave ability by 2." It matches the video. Worth knowing: Whirlwind is still learned at level 36 in the client, so until then only the Cleave part does anything. Improved Cleave now also cuts Cleave's cost, by up to 3 Rage.

Shaman

Shaman talents: Shaman talent calculator. Every change: Shaman changes. Guides: Shaman. Simulations: Elemental and Enhancement.

The totem bar and the three call spells

three new spells allow you to summon a customizable set of four totems with a single cast. Blizzard, Class Highlights - Part 1 (2:11)

The client has all three, and they're trainer spells for every Shaman, not only Restoration (the video brings them up under Restoration and says Elemental gets them too). Each "Simultaneously places up to 4 totems specified in the Totem Bar" with a 3 sec cast:

• Call of the Elements at level 20, so you can use it in the beta now.
• Call of the Ancestors at level 30, which "Can call different totems than Call of the Elements".
• Call of the Spirits at level 40.
• Not in the video: Totemic Recall (level 20) returns your totems and gives back 25% of the mana each one cost, and Totemic Focus now cuts the cost of totems "and any spells that summon or move them" by up to 25%.

Totemic Projection

Totemic Projection: "Relocates your active totems to the specified location." 30 yd range, 1 min cooldown, 25% of base mana, level 22. It still carries its Season of Discovery spell ID and nothing in the client says how Forever teaches it, so our Shaman pages listed it as a leftover from Season of Discovery. Blizzard's video settles it: it's part of Forever.

Restoration: Riptide

Riptide is the Restoration tree's tier 7 talent (level 40). It's instant, 40 yd range, 6 sec cooldown, 245 mana: it heals for 456 to 504, then another 445 over 15 sec, and "increases the effectiveness of your Chain Heal casts directly on that target by 25%." That's the Chain Heal bonus the video mentions. Higher ranks come at level 50 (581 to 643, plus 575) and 60 (799 to 883, plus 805). Chain Heal itself is learned at level 40.

Totems last 5 minutes (most of them)

The video says totems last 5 minutes instead of 2. In the client that's true of the totems you set up and leave: Stoneskin Totem, Strength of Earth, Tremor, Poison Cleansing, the three resistance totems, Flametongue, Windfury, Windwall and Grace of Air all last 5 min, and Healing Stream Totem and Mana Spring Totem went from 1 minute to 5. Their radius also went from 20 to 30 yards, which the video doesn't mention.

• One exception: Disease Cleansing Totem (level 38) still says "Lasts 2 min." It may be an oversight, but it's what this build has.
• Short totems keep short timers: Searing Totem 55 sec, Magma Totem 20 sec, Stoneclaw Totem 15 sec, Earthbind Totem and Grounding Totem 45 sec. That matters for Fire Nova, below.

Elemental: Fire Nova, Lava Burst and Lightning Overload

• Fire Nova: a spell now, learned at level 12 (5 ranks). It "Instantly inflicts 48 to 56 fire damage to enemies within 10 yd of your active Fire totem" at rank 1 (396 to 442 at rank 5, level 52), 30 yd range, 10 sec cooldown. Fire Nova Totem isn't in the Forever client at all. You need a Fire totem down for it to do anything. Improved Fire Nova (Elemental tier 4) now adds 20% damage and takes 4 sec off the cooldown.
• Lava Burst: the Elemental tree's tier 7 talent (level 40). Rank 1 deals 143 to 185 Fire damage, 2.5 sec cast, 10 sec cooldown, 165 mana, and "If your Flame Shock is on the target, Lava Burst deals 20% increased damage." In Season of Discovery the same spell made it a guaranteed critical strike instead. Ranks 2 and 3 come at levels 50 and 60.
• Lightning Overload: Elemental tier 5 (level 30), 3 ranks: a 3%, 7% or 10% chance that Lightning Bolt or Chain Lightning casts "a second, similar spell on the same target at no additional cost that causes half damage and no threat." The client matches the video and adds the chance and the no-threat part.

Rogue

Rogue talents: Rogue talent calculator. Every change: Rogue changes. Guides: Rogue. Simulations: Assassination, Combat and Subtlety.

Energy

"Rogue energy now recovers continuously", the video says, instead of in ticks. Like Warrior Rage, Energy regeneration is handled by the servers, so the client can't confirm or measure it.

Subtlety: bleeds and Cutthroat

• Bleeds: the client backs this with talents. Hemorrhage now deals 100% weapon damage (145% with a Dagger) and makes the target take 15% more Rupture damage for 15 sec; Serrated Blades adds up to 30% Rupture damage; the new Thousand Cuts (tier 7, level 40) makes each Rupture tick cut your next Hemorrhage or Backstab by 3 Energy, stacking 5 times; and Dirty Deeds lets you Garrote from the front. Rupture itself deals less base damage than in Classic Era (rank 1 at 1 point: 25 over 8 sec instead of 40), so it leans on those talents.
• Cutthroat: Subtlety tier 6 (level 35), 5 ranks, in the slot Classic Era's Deadliness had. It doesn't simply let you Ambush out of Stealth: "Your Backstab has a 15% chance to cause your next Ambush within 10 sec to not require Stealth" at 5/5 (3% per rank). So it's a proc from Backstab, and the Ambush must follow within 10 sec.

Assassination: Mutilate and Venom

• Mutilate: Assassination tier 5 (level 30). "Instantly attacks with both weapons for 75% weapon damage plus an additional 17 with each weapon. Damage increased by 20% against Poisoned targets. Awards 2 Combo Points." 60 Energy, and it needs daggers in both hands. Two hits mean two chances to crit, which is what the video means by more Seal Fate procs: that talent (tier 6, level 35) gives a 20% to 100% chance of an extra combo point on a crit. Puncturing Wounds (Combat tier 2) adds up to 15% crit chance to Mutilate.
• Venom: the video says "Venom" and the client agrees: the talent is called Venom, not Envenom. It's Assassination's tier 7 talent (level 40): a finisher for 25 Energy that "increases the damage of your Poisons by 30% and your chance to apply Poisons by 10%", lasting 9 sec at 1 combo point up to 21 sec at 5. The client does have a spell called Envenom, but only as a Season of Discovery rune, not as a Forever ability.

Combat: Hack and Slash

Hack and Slash (Combat tier 5, level 30, 5 ranks) "Gives your melee weapon attacks a benefit depending on the weapon." At 5/5: Axes and Swords get a 5% chance of an extra attack, Daggers and Fist Weapons 5% more critical strike chance, and Maces ignore 15% of the target's armour. In Classic Era this talent only helped Swords. Fist Weapon Specialization and Mace Specialization are gone, and the Dagger Specialization slot now holds Flawless Execution. As the video says, a new weapon no longer means a respec.

Where the client and Blizzard differ

• Revenge: Blizzard says "new talents"; the client has one, Improved Revenge.
• Totem duration: Blizzard says 5 minutes instead of 2; the client's Disease Cleansing Totem still lasts 2 minutes.
• Cutthroat: Blizzard says you can Ambush outside Stealth; the client says only after a Backstab proc, within 10 sec.
• Names: the in-game names are Weaponmaster (one word) and Venom. Not Envenom.
• Rage and Energy: not in the client, so not checked either way. We'll test them in game once someone can.

Speculation. Blizzard's wording ("new talents", "5 minutes") may describe a later build than the client we have. The beta client changes often; we'll update this article when a new build or Part 2 adds anything.

What the video didn't mention

The video picks a few highlights per spec. The client has many more changes for these three classes. Below are the ones that matter most to players, spec by spec, none of them named in the video. The numbers come from the Forever client, with Classic Era's in brackets for comparison. What you can use at the beta's level 20 cap comes first in each list, and anything higher is marked. Talent tiers open every 5 levels (tier 3 at 20, tier 4 at 25).

Warrior

Protection

• Shield Block (level 16) lasts 7 sec (Classic Era 5 sec) and blocks 2 attacks instead of 1. That's what Classic Era's Improved Shield Block talent did, so the talent's slot now holds Master of Defense.
• Taunt (level 10) has an 8 sec cooldown (Classic Era 10 sec).
• Defiance (tier 3, level 20) has 3 ranks instead of 5. It still gives up to 15% more threat in Defensive Stance, but now only "while a shield is equipped".
• Shield Slam (tier 7, level 40, above the cap) hits much harder: rank 1 deals 421 to 439 damage (Classic Era 225 to 235), and rank 4 deals 640 to 670 (342 to 358).
• Bastion (tier 5, level 30, above the cap) is Classic Era's One-Handed Weapon Specialization renamed: "Increases all damage you deal by 10% while a shield is equipped", with any weapon, instead of 10% with one-handed weapons.
• Focused Rage (new, tier 6, level 35, above the cap): your offensive abilities cost up to 3 less Rage.

Arms

• Victory Rush is a trainer ability at level 20, so you can use it in the beta now. Within 20 sec of killing an enemy, it hits for 15% of your attack power and heals you for 10% of your maximum health, on a 30 sec cooldown. It began as a Season of Discovery rune, which hit for 45% and healed 30% with an 8 sec cooldown.
• Tactical Mastery is now a passive every Warrior learns from the trainer at level 14: it keeps up to 10 Rage when you change stances. Improved Tactical Mastery (tier 2, level 15) adds up to 15 more. In Classic Era the talent alone kept up to 25.
• Slam has a new rank 1 at level 20, so you can use it in the beta now: weapon damage plus 16, 1.5 sec cast, 15 Rage. Classic Era's first rank came at level 30. Every rank now has an 18 sec cooldown (Classic Era: none).
• Improved Slam (tier 6, level 35, above the cap) moved from Fury to Arms and has 2 ranks instead of 5. At 2/2 it cuts Slam's cast time and global cooldown by 0.5 sec and its cooldown by 3 sec, and Slam no longer interrupts your swing.
• Bloodthrill (new, tier 5, level 30, above the cap) replaces Axe Specialization: main-hand hits on a target with your Rend have up to a 20% chance to let you use Overpower for 6 sec.
• Two-Handed Weapon Specialization (tier 4, level 25, above the cap) has 3 ranks instead of 5: 3% more damage with two-handed weapons instead of 5%.

Fury

• spell #1310236 (new, tier 3, level 20, in the beta now) raises your maximum Rage by 10 at rank 1, up to 30 at 3/3. It sits where Classic Era's Improved Battle Shout was.
• Battle Shout is weaker but lasts longer: rank 1 adds 9 attack power (Classic Era 15), rank 2 at level 12 adds 21 (35) and rank 3 at level 22 adds 33 (55). Every rank lasts 3 min instead of 2. The top rank adds 139 instead of 232.
• Demoralizing Shout (level 14) is stronger and lasts 45 sec instead of 30: rank 1 lowers attack power by 49 (Classic Era 35), rank 2 at level 24 by 77 (55). The talent Improved Demoralizing Shout is gone.
• Iron Will (tier 2, level 15) moved from Protection to Fury, and now shortens Stun and Fear effects on you by up to 15% (Classic Era: a 15% chance to resist Stun and Charm).
• Dual Wield Specialization (tier 4, level 25, above the cap) still adds 25% off-hand damage, and now also 100% more off-hand Rage and 10% more chance to hit with the off-hand.
• Precision (new, tier 5, level 30, above the cap): up to 3% more chance to hit.
• Death Wish (tier 5, level 30, above the cap) still gives 20% more Physical damage for 30 sec, but the cost is 5% more damage taken instead of 20% less armour and resistances.
• Bloodthirst (tier 7, level 40, above the cap) is reworked: 35% of your attack power plus 30 damage, and 10% more movement speed for 10 sec. In Classic Era it dealt 45% of attack power and healed you on your next 5 hits.

Season of Discovery leftovers. The client still holds Season of Discovery Warrior spells such as Devastate, Commanding Shout, Rallying Cry and Shockwave. Nothing in the Forever client teaches them, so they're most likely unused files, not Forever spells. Victory Rush, above, is the exception.

All 63 Warrior changes, rank by rank →

Shaman

Elemental

• The shocks have less base damage but much higher spell power coefficients, so gear matters more. Earth Shock rank 1 (level 4) has a coefficient of 0.386 instead of 0.154. Rank 3 (level 14) deals 47 to 51 instead of 60 to 64. More in Low-rank spells get full spell power.
• Flame Shock rank 2 (level 18) deals 33 plus 32 over 12 sec (Classic Era 45 plus 48), with a coefficient of 0.214 instead of 0.198. Rank 1 (level 10) has 0.214 instead of 0.134.
• Frost Shock rank 1 (level 20) deals 64 to 68 Frost damage (Classic Era 89 to 95).
• Elemental Alacrity (tier 3, level 20, in the beta now) is Classic Era's Lightning Mastery, renamed and moved up from tier 6. It has 3 ranks instead of 5, and cuts the cast time of Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Lava Burst by 0.5 sec (Classic Era 1 sec).
• Call of Flame (tier 2, level 15) now also adds up to 15% to Flame Shock, Fire Nova and Lava Burst, not just your Fire totems.
• Call of Thunder (tier 4, level 25, above the cap) is 1 rank for 3% more critical strike chance (Classic Era: 5 ranks for 6%).
• Earthbound (new, tier 5, level 30, above the cap): your Earthbind Totem immobilizes nearby targets for 5 sec when cast.

Enhancement

• Mental Dexterity (new, tier 2, level 15, in the beta now) gives attack power equal to up to 100% of your Intellect (33% at rank 1). Later, Mental Quickness (new, tier 5, level 30) adds spell damage and healing equal to up to 30% of your Intellect.
• Shamanistic Focus (new, tier 3, level 20) cuts the mana cost of your Shock and Lightning Shield spells by 45%. It takes the slot of Classic Era's Two-Handed Axes and Maces, and the client doesn't show how a Forever Shaman learns those weapons now.
• Thundering Strikes (tier 1, level 10) now gives up to 5% critical strike chance with spells too, not only weapon attacks. Ancestral Knowledge (tier 1) gives up to 10% Intellect instead of 5% maximum mana.
• Improved Ghost Wolf (tier 2, level 15) cuts Ghost Wolf's cast time by up to 3 sec (Classic Era 2 sec) and lets you use Ghost Wolf indoors. Ghost Wolf itself comes at level 20.
• The weapon imbues' tooltips now say "Lasts for 60 minutes" instead of 5 minutes (Rockbiter Weapon at level 1, Flametongue Weapon at level 10). Our data doesn't show the stored duration, so that's the tooltip's word until someone tests it. On the main hand, Flametongue Weapon and Windfury Weapon turn off your own benefit from the matching totem.
• Stormstrike moved from tier 7 to tier 4 (level 25, above the cap). It now strikes for weapon damage and makes your next Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning or Earth Shock on the target deal 20% more. Improved Stormstrike (new, tier 5, level 30) can reset its cooldown when you dodge or parry.
• Maelstrom Weapon (new, tier 6, level 35, above the cap) replaces Weapon Mastery: melee hits can cut the cast time and mana cost of your next Lightning Bolt by 20%, stacking up to 5 times. Rage of the Farseer (new, tier 7, level 40) gives 30% attack speed for 25 sec.
• Gone from the tree: Shield Specialization and Enhancing Totems.

Restoration

• Mindfulness (new, tier 2, level 15, in the beta now) lets up to 50% of your mana regeneration continue while casting (17% at rank 1).
• Water Shield (tier 3, level 20) is a talent: 3 globes of water, each restoring 2% of your maximum mana when you're hit or land a critical heal, for 10 min. It takes the slot of Classic Era's Totemic Mastery.
• Healing Wave's low ranks get much more from healing power: a coefficient of 0.429 at rank 1 (Classic Era 0.123) and 0.571 at rank 2 (0.271). Base healing is lower from rank 3: rank 4 (level 18) heals 235 to 277 instead of 268 to 316.
• Lesser Healing Wave rank 1 (level 20) heals 142 to 164 (Classic Era 162 to 186).
• Tidal Focus (tier 2, level 15) now also gives up to 5% more chance to hit. Classic Era's Nature's Guidance, which gave 3% hit, is gone.
• Mana Tide Totem moved from tier 7 to tier 4 (level 25, above the cap) and restores 88 mana every 3 sec at rank 1 (Classic Era 170), to group members within 30 yards.
• Restorative Totems (tier 4, level 25, above the cap) adds up to 50% to Healing Stream Totem (Classic Era 25%).
• Healing Way (tier 5, level 30, above the cap) is simpler: Healing Wave heals up to 25% more, instead of a stacking 6% bonus on the same target.

Season of Discovery leftovers. Earth Shield, Lava Lash, Molten Blast and Healing Rain are Season of Discovery Shaman spells still in the client files. Nothing in the Forever client teaches them. Totemic Projection, from the video, is the exception: it's a Forever spell.

All 86 Shaman changes, rank by rank →

Rogue

Combat

• Rogues can use one-handed axes from level 1. Classic Era Rogues couldn't. Hack and Slash, from the video, gives axes the same extra-attack chance as swords.
• Puncturing Wounds (new, tier 2, level 15, in the beta now) replaces Improved Backstab. On top of the Mutilate part, it adds up to 30% critical strike chance to Backstab and gives Backstab up to a 45% chance of an extra combo point.
• Improved Eviscerate moved from Assassination to Combat tier 1 (level 10) and adds up to 20% Eviscerate damage (Classic Era 15%).
• Precision (tier 2, level 15) has 3 ranks for 3% hit instead of 5 ranks for 5%.
• Endurance (tier 3, level 20) cuts the cooldowns of Sprint and Evasion by 60% instead of 1.5 min.
• Flawless Execution (new, tier 4, level 25, above the cap) replaces Dagger Specialization: Eviscerate costs 10 less Energy.
• Dual Wield Specialization (tier 4, level 25, above the cap) adds 25% off-hand damage at 5/5 instead of 50%.
• Aggression (tier 6, level 35, above the cap) now adds up to 6% to Backstab as well as Sinister Strike and Eviscerate.

Assassination

• Malice (tier 1, level 10): the 5% critical strike chance now covers your Poisons too.
• Murder (tier 2, level 15) gives 4% more damage against Humanoids and Giants (Classic Era: 2% against Humanoids, Giants, Beasts and Dragonkin).
• Improved Expose Armor (tier 3, level 20) is reworked: Expose Armor costs 10 less Energy and refunds 2 combo points when you use 5. In Classic Era it made Expose Armor 50% stronger.
• Lethality (tier 3, level 20) adds 20% critical strike damage instead of 30%, and now covers Mutilate.
• Cold Blood moved from tier 5 to tier 4 (level 25, above the cap) and now works with Mutilate. Vigor moved from tier 7 to tier 5 (level 30) with 2 ranks, for up to 10 more maximum Energy.
• Improved Poisons (tier 4, level 25, above the cap) now also gives Poison applications up to a 50% chance not to use a charge.
• Coup de Grace is a new trainer passive at level 30 (above the cap): "Increases the damage of your Eviscerate ability against targets afflicted with your Deadly Poison by 2% per application."

Subtlety

• Dirty Tricks (new, tier 2, level 15, in the beta now) makes Sap and Blind cost 25% or 50% less Energy.
• Combo point talents are now certain at full rank: Setup (moved to tier 2, level 15) gives a combo point after every dodge or full resist (Classic Era 45%), and Initiative (tier 3, level 20) gives the extra one on every Ambush, Garrote or Cheap Shot (Classic Era 75%).
• Opportunity (tier 1, level 10) has 2 ranks for 10% more Backstab, Garrote, Ambush and Mutilate damage (Classic Era: 5 ranks for 20%, from behind only).
• Ghostly Strike (tier 3, level 20) deals 180% weapon damage with a dagger in your main hand (125% otherwise, as in Classic Era).
• Distract (level 22, above the cap) now also lowers enemies' Stealth detection by 1 level for 10 sec. The new Improved Distract (tier 3, level 20) adds up to 5 yards of radius and 2 more levels, but does nothing until you learn Distract.
• Premeditation moved from tier 7 to tier 4 (level 25, above the cap). It works in or out of Stealth (Classic Era: in Stealth only), and its combo points last 20 sec instead of 10.
• Quietus (new, tier 6, level 35, above the cap): Sinister Strike, Ghostly Strike and Hemorrhage deal up to 10% more damage to targets below 35% health.
• Gone from the tree: Improved Sap and Sleight of Hand.

Season of Discovery leftovers. Shiv, Shadowstrike, Saber Slash and Between the Eyes are Season of Discovery Rogue spells still in the client files, like Envenom. Nothing in the Forever client teaches them.

All 56 Rogue changes, rank by rank →

Sources

• Class Highlights - Part 1: Warrior, Shaman, Rogue | World of Warcraft: Forever (World of Warcraft, YouTube)
• Warrior changes in the Forever client
• Shaman changes in the Forever client
• Rogue changes in the Forever client
• ForeverDB datamine of build 1.60.1.70124