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Rogue

Rotations & Guide · PvE guide · PvP guide · Talent builds · Abilities · Talent Calculator · Macros · Changes vs Classic · Poisons

Other classes: Warrior, Paladin, Hunter, Priest, Shaman, Mage, Warlock, Druid

Rogues are energy-based melee assassins built around combo points, finishers and stealth openers. Forever gives them Shank (an off-hand strike from the trainer at 24), Mutilate (the Assassination capstone at level 40) and Venom (an Assassination talent that makes Shank boost your poisons), the Combat talents Coup de Grace for harder Eviscerates, Puncturing Wounds for Backstab crits and Flawless Execution, which makes Eviscerate cheaper, and Death Mark, Subtlety's capstone finisher.

Assassination (Melee DPS)

Assassination is the poison spec in Forever: Mutilate, the level 40 capstone, hits with both weapons for 2 combo points and 20% extra damage against poisoned targets, and Venom makes each Shank raise your poison damage by 30% and your chance to apply poisons by 20% for 6 sec. Seal Fate and Cold Blood feed crits, and Eviscerate is the finisher.

Combat (Melee DPS)

Combat is the steady sustained-damage spec using Sinister Strike or Backstab, Slice and Dice and Eviscerate with swords, axes, maces, fists or daggers. Hack and Slash is a single talent whose bonus follows your weapon (extra attacks for axes and swords, crit for daggers and fists, armor penetration for maces), Adrenaline Rush and Blade Flurry are the burst windows, and Flawless Execution, a tier 4 Combat talent, makes Eviscerate cost 15 less Energy. Dagger Combat builds with Backstab and Puncturing Wounds, a tier 2 Combat talent.

Subtlety (Melee DPS)

Subtlety is an opener and burst spec with Premeditation, Ambush and Preparation, mostly for PvP and short fights. Hemorrhage is the builder and now increases your Rupture damage by 15%, and Serrated Blades adds armor penetration and 30% Rupture damage, making Rupture the main finisher. Death Mark, the level 40 capstone, is a finisher that stores part of your damage and deals it 6 sec later.

Tips & tricks: what ForeverDB learned

Assassination

Updated 7 November 2026 for build 1.60.1.70862 · From the DPS simulator, the game client

Learning from players: DPS. Collecting comparable fights before publishing observed cast patterns.

Observed cast patterns, not a proven optimal rotation. Gear, buffs, healing assignments and incoming damage can explain performance differences. HPS is effective healing; overhealing does not increase it. HPS counts effective healing, APS counts recorded shield absorption, and EHPS is their combined rate. Shield application sizes and overhealing do not increase EHPS. Healing assignments and incoming damage still limit healer comparisons. Build groups use the version reported by the log; some logs omit the hotfix build number.

How to play it at level 60: priority, procs and cooldowns

What to press, in order. Cast the first one that is ready and whose condition holds.

  1. Slice and Dice: When it's missing from you: Keep it up: 90% of the sim's fight; worth 1.6% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)
  2. Eviscerate: Whenever it's ready: Cast it when it's ready; worth 10.9% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)
  3. Sinister Strike: Fill the gaps with it: Your filler: cast it when nothing above is ready; worth 47.8% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client)

Keep up:

Cooldowns:

Before the pull:

Latest changes:

Combat

Updated 7 November 2026 for build 1.60.1.70862 · From the DPS simulator, the game client

Learning from players: DPS. Collecting comparable fights before publishing observed cast patterns.

Observed cast patterns, not a proven optimal rotation. Gear, buffs, healing assignments and incoming damage can explain performance differences. HPS is effective healing; overhealing does not increase it. HPS counts effective healing, APS counts recorded shield absorption, and EHPS is their combined rate. Shield application sizes and overhealing do not increase EHPS. Healing assignments and incoming damage still limit healer comparisons. Build groups use the version reported by the log; some logs omit the hotfix build number.

How to play it at level 60: priority, procs and cooldowns

What to press, in order. Cast the first one that is ready and whose condition holds.

  1. Slice and Dice: When it's missing from you: Keep it up: 88% of the sim's fight; worth 2% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)
  2. Eviscerate: Whenever it's ready: Cast it when it's ready; worth 10.7% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)
  3. Sinister Strike: Fill the gaps with it: Your filler: cast it when nothing above is ready; worth 46.4% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)

Keep up:

Cooldowns:

Before the pull:

Latest changes:

Subtlety

Updated 7 November 2026 for build 1.60.1.70862 · From the DPS simulator, the game client

Learning from players: DPS. Collecting comparable fights before publishing observed cast patterns.

Observed cast patterns, not a proven optimal rotation. Gear, buffs, healing assignments and incoming damage can explain performance differences. HPS is effective healing; overhealing does not increase it. HPS counts effective healing, APS counts recorded shield absorption, and EHPS is their combined rate. Shield application sizes and overhealing do not increase EHPS. Healing assignments and incoming damage still limit healer comparisons. Build groups use the version reported by the log; some logs omit the hotfix build number.

How to play it at level 60: priority, procs and cooldowns

What to press, in order. Cast the first one that is ready and whose condition holds.

  1. Slice and Dice: When it's missing from you: Keep it up: 87% of the sim's fight; worth 2.6% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)
  2. Eviscerate: Whenever it's ready: Cast it when it's ready; worth 7.3% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)
  3. Ghostly Strike: Whenever it's ready: Cast it when it's ready (20 s cooldown); the sim gains little from it (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)
  4. Hemorrhage: Fill the gaps with it: Your filler: cast it when nothing above is ready; worth 3.8% of your DPS (Simulator, Forever client, ForeverDB guide)

Keep up:

Before the pull:

Latest changes:

Every spec's latest changes. Re-studied every week and after each new game build.

Best in slot gear at any level: Assassination, Combat, Subtlety

Best professions for Rogues: Leatherworking + Skinning.

Rogue abilities

No longer trainer abilities in the live client

Common questions

What's the best race for a Rogue in WoW Forever?

It depends on your faction and spec. ForeverDB's best race for each class lists the picks, and every racial is on the races page. Forever reworked most racials, so Classic advice does not carry over.

Alliance:
- Human: Ruthless adds 1% critical strike chance to all spells and attacks, Will to Survive instantly removes all stuns, and Perception sharply raises stealth detection for 20 sec.
- Night Elf: Quickness adds 1% dodge and 2% movement speed and makes you harder to detect in Stealth, Elune's Light adds 10% critical strike chance for 15 sec, and Shadowmeld drops you out of sight.
- Gnome: Eureka! makes your non-periodic damaging abilities cost 10% less Energy and deal 10% more damage for 8 sec, and Escape Artist frees you from snares and roots.

Horde:
- Orc: Blood Fury raises Attack Power and Spell Power by 10% for 15 sec, and Hardiness shortens stuns by 20%.
- Undead: Will of the Forsaken removes Charm, Fear and Sleep, and Touch of the Grave gives your hits a 20% chance to drain Health (up to 5% of your maximum).
- Troll: Berserking raises attack and casting speed by 10%, and Rapid Regeneration restores half your Health over 6 sec out of combat.

No race is uniquely best for a Rogue; pick for your spec and whether you PvP.

Sources: Which race to play: best races for every class · Races and racials · checked on build 1.60.1.70790

Is there a Rogue levelling guide for Forever?

Yes. ForeverDB has a full Rogue levelling guide built from the Forever client: which race to pick, every ability by level, what to press on one or several enemies, class quests, gear and dungeons, and the mistakes new Rogues make.

For talents, the Rogue builds page now has builds at levels 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 for all three trees (Combat, Assassination and Subtlety), with levelling, group and PvP versions, the reason for every point and a talent calculator, all checked against the current client. Combat is the most forgiving to level with: any one-handed weapon works and you don't need to stand behind the mob.

Everything Forever changed for Rogues is on the Rogue changes page.

Sources: Leveling a Rogue · Rogue talent builds and rotations · Rogue changes in Forever · checked on build 1.60.1.70790

How much damage does Mutilate do and when do Rogues get it?

Yes, but at level 40 now, not 30. In the current build Mutilate sits at tier 7 of the Assassination tree and needs Venom at 1/1 first. The cap is 60, so you can reach it.

Rank 1, from the client: instantly attacks with both weapons for 90% weapon damage plus 40 with each weapon, with the damage raised by 20% against poisoned targets, and it awards 2 combo points. It costs 60 Energy. Higher ranks add more flat damage (Rank 2 plus 57, Rank 3 plus 79).

Mutilate needs a dagger in each hand even though the tooltip doesn't say so, and there's no positional requirement, so you don't have to stand behind the target. Everything Forever reworked for Rogues is on the Rogue changes page.

Sources: Mutilate (Forever client) · Rogue changes in Forever · Leveling a Rogue · checked on build 1.60.1.70790

The whole FAQ

Data from the WoW Forever client, build 1.60.1.70862, extracted .