Rogue in WoW Forever: what the datamine says is coming

Rogue talent tree paintings from the WoW Forever client

2026-09-24 · updated 2026-10-31 · ForeverDB

The WoW Forever client and Blizzard's posts show 1 new ability and 39 new class items for Rogues. We list them all and give our read on the class.

Speculation. This outlook is built from datamined WoW Forever client data (build 1.60.1.70707) and official Blizzard posts. The beta stopped at level 30; the game launches on 4 November with the whole of 1 to 60, and anything above level 30 is untested and can change.

What Blizzard's notes changed

Kaivax posted these Rogue changes in WoW Forever Beta Development Notes – Updated October 15 on 16 October 2026:

Rogue Poisons will no longer incorrectly activate against targets that are attacking them.
Sap no longer has a chance to activate weapon procs.
Fixed an issue where Rogues could swap specializations to keep their energy full.

Assassination

Cold Blood is now correctly consumed when Mutilate lands a critical strike.

New abilities in the client

One Rogue ability is in the Forever client but not in Classic Era:

Coup de Grace (level 30). Rank 1: Increases the damage of your Eviscerate ability against targets afflicted with your Deadly Poison by 2% per application.

What levels 31 to 40 bring

The beta stopped at level 30. WoW Forever launches on 4 November with the whole game to level 60, and this is what the client has for the next ten levels, 31 to 40.

Talent points go from 21 to 31, which opens talent tier 7 of a tree (up from tier 5).
Abilities first trained between levels 31 and 40: Blind (34), Safe Fall (40).
12 higher ranks of existing abilities also become trainable in that range.
Talents that come into reach include Venom, Thousand Cuts, Quietus, Adrenaline Rush, Seal Fate, Aggression, Weapon Expertise, Cutthroat.

Talent trees

Talents that are new in Forever, by tree:

Assassination: Mutilate and Venom.
Combat: Puncturing Wounds and Flawless Execution.
Subtlety: Dirty Tricks, Improved Distract, Quietus and Thousand Cuts.

Rogue-only gear that's new in Forever

Pyrewood Signet Ring, level 20
Ruby-Adorned Blade, level 31 (above the level 30 cap)
Premier Shadowhide Armguards, level 55 (above the level 30 cap)
Premier Shadowhide Girdle, level 55 (above the level 30 cap)
Premier Leather Bracers, level 55 (above the level 30 cap)
Premier Leather Belt, level 55 (above the level 30 cap)
Assassin's Waistguard, level 60 (above the level 30 cap)
Premier Legionnaire's Shadowhide Girdle, level 60 (above the level 30 cap)
Champion's Vestments, 6 pieces at level 55 (above the level 30 cap): Premier Shadowhide Vices, Premier Shadowhide Hauberk, Premier Shadowhide Headguard, Premier Shadowhide Mantle and more
Lieutenant Commander's Vestments, 6 pieces at level 55 (above the level 30 cap): Premier Leather Boots, Premier Leather Gauntlets, Premier Leather Armor, Premier Leather Veil and more
Warlord's Vestments, 6 pieces at level 60 (above the level 30 cap): Premier Centurion's Shadowhide Treads, Premier Champion's Shadowhide Mitts, Premier Warlord's Shadowhide Helm, Premier General's Shadowhide Spaulders and more
Field Marshal's Vestments, 6 pieces at level 60 (above the level 30 cap): Premier Knight-Champion's Leather Footguards, Premier Field Marshal's Leather Chestpiece, Premier Lieutenant Commander's Leather Handgrips, Premier Field Marshal's Leather Mask and more

Weapon and armour skills

Rogues can now use One-Handed Axes, which they couldn't in Classic Era.

Our read (speculation)

Blizzard's 24 September notes only fixed Sap's PvP flagging, so the Rogue picture comes almost entirely from the client, and it points to an Assassination style built on poisons and Eviscerate. Coup de Grace at 30 makes Eviscerate hit harder for each application of your Deadly Poison on the target. Venom, the Assassination capstone talent at 40, is a finisher that raises poison damage and application chance. Flawless Execution, a Combat talent, trims Eviscerate's Energy cost. Mutilate, a former Season of Discovery rune, is now a tier 5 Assassination talent you can take at level 30, with higher ranks from the trainer from 40, and Puncturing Wounds, a Combat talent, boosts both it and Backstab. The Deep Dive recap adds that merged hit chance helps Rogues land Poisons.

The level 30 cap, live in the beta from 1 October until the beta closed on 23 October, also brings Vanish, Cheap Shot and Kidney Shot. Its 21 talent points reach tier 5, where Mutilate, Blade Flurry, Preparation and Hemorrhage sit; Cold Blood and Premeditation are in tier 4, at level 25. Rogues can now use One-Handed Axes, and the client's Combat tree has a Hack and Slash talent whose bonus depends on weapon type, with axes and swords grouped together, which suggests axes are meant as a real Combat option. Combat's second tier also holds Puncturing Wounds, so the dagger Backstab build now lives in Combat rather than Assassination, and every Combat build starts with Improved Eviscerate, which moved over from Assassination.

Rogue-only gear includes a few levelling pieces alongside PvP-rank sets at 55 and 60: Pyrewood Signet Ring at level 20, Ruby-Adorned Blade at 31 and Field Researcher's Loop at 35. (Update, 2 October: build 1.60.1.70170 opened Field Researcher's Loop to every class and cut it to item level 35; it is the reward for handing in 20 library books.) We don't know where the other two come from, but class-specific items in that range would fit the Deep Dive recap's note that quest rewards were expanded to support more classes and roles. If Coup de Grace and Venom play the way their tooltips read, keeping Deadly Poison on the target could become the core of Assassination.