Rogue Rookie: 51/18/2 Assassination Spec for Patch 3.3

It’s been a while since patch 3.3 dropped and I often get asked in-game what talents Assassination Rogues should put their points in. My guildies have also been asking this question as some have moved away from Combat and want to give Mutilate a go (I was the only Assassination Rogue in guild over the last 6 months!).

Following the introduction of Tier-10 Rogue Armor sets (with very nice bonuses) and various buffs (overall) to Assassination Rogues we are moving away from using Rupture. Now it’s all about poisons and getting as many poison procs as possible during a fight.

The standard raiding spec for Mutilate Rogues is now 51/18/2; we’ve dropped the Rupture-related talents like Blood Spatter and Serrated Blades and picked up +10% melee haste from Lightening Reflexes for more poison procs. Of course, if you are still wearing Tier-8 gear then you should proabably stick with 51/13/7 and continue to use Rupture until you’ve got ToC and Icecrown Gear.

If you’re not sure whether it’s worth changing then go try it out on a target dummy. I noticed a substantial increase in switching to 51/18/2 in full iLevel 245 Tier-9 gear (unfortunately I cannot say for sure with Tier-8 gear).

Admittedly I do still stick a Rupture on now and then but it’s no longer a major source of damage; if I need to get a bleed on for Hunger for Blood or if there’s a lot of movement involved in the fight I might get a Rupture off before I run away.

Anyway, without further ado, here’s the 51/18/2 Assassination spec for you:

Rogue Rookie: Rogue Power Bars – An Essential Add-On

Rogue Power Bars is an essential add-on for raiding in my opinion and it has its uses in PvP too. What does it do? It displays all your self-buffs and target-debuffs in colour-coded bar form which you can place anywhere on screen.

How useful is it?

Rogue Power Bars helps you maximise your DPS in terms of keeping your rotation up as much as possible and enables you to blow your cooldowns at the opportune moment.

For example; if I see the Greatness buff from my Darkmoon Card: Greatness or Beserking from my weapon enchants I know it’s a good time to pop my Mark of Supremacy trinket or drink a Potion of Speed.

It’s also useful for showing you when you’ve gained temporary buffs from other classes such as Bloodlust or Battle Shout. These are also good times to pop your trinket, drink a potion or swap Tricks of The Trade with a fellow Rogue.

For you Combat Rogues out there these are opportune moments for your Adrenaline Rush and Killing Spree moves too.

If you’ve already blown your trinkets and drank your potion you can always pop Vanish for the Overkill buff (and you might as well stick a cheeky Garrote in there too while you’re at it).

In PvP Rogue Power Bars is very handy when it comes to timing all your stuns, dismantle and blind abilities.

Where do I put the bars?

Well, it’s up to you really. You can stick them wherever you want. As you can see above I’ve placed the Rogue Power Bars above my character’s health/energy bar and just below his feet. Why? For 3 reasons:

1) Positioning & Reactions

As a melee class, Rogues fight up close and personal and need to be in close proximity to the target. This means it’s very important for us to be aware of our positioning at all times (i.e. not standing in the fire!). By keeping the Rogue Power Bars within what I call my “core viewing space” I can react quicker as I don’t have to keep looking all over the place to keep my eye on everything.

2) Survivability & Energy

Obviously, it goes without saying, in order to keep my rotation up I need to constantly monitor and pool my energy. Also being relatively “squishy” I like to keep an eye on my health so I know when to use my Healthstone, Feint or pop Cloak of Shadows. This is why I like to have the Power Bars right next to my health/energy bar.

Yes, its the healers’ job to keep the raid up throughout the fight. However, tanks take priority (and so they should!). If it comes down to a choice between a tank and a melee going down, as a healer, I’d heal the tank every time. You also have a responsibility for your own survivability (and if you sit there in the fire without any intention of moving, as a healer, I’d let you burn just to teach you a lesson).

3) Visibility

Fights can be messy, especially on 25-man, with a lot of stuff going on; you’ve got the Boss, lots of adds all over the place, fire everywhere as well as area-of-effect spells. I want to be able to see as much as possible on-screen without too much clutter.

Are there any other similar add-ons?

I’m sure there are but I’ve always used Rogue Power Bars and see no reason to change. It does everything I want and it can be customized to prioritise or ignore certain buffs/debuffs if you so wish.

Do you use a similar add-on for watching your self-buffs and target-debuffs? Why not share it and your experiences with your fellow Rogues by leaving a comment?

You can download Rogue Power Bars from Curse.com for free.

If you don’t already have this mod (or a similar one) go get it NOW!

Rogue Rookie: Horde Racial Abilities for Rogues

As most of you are probably aware by now; Blizzard launched the World of Warcraft Race Change Service this week so we thought we’d take a look at the different racial abilities. We’ve already checked out the Alliance so now it’s the Horde’s turn…

Blood Elves

The pretty people on Horde side. They do look good, not as good as Undead in my opinion, but then I would say that wouldn’t I?

Arcane Torrent is a useful interrupt which silences all enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds. Woah I hear you say… Is that it? No… This ability also restores 15 energy. Ok, it’s on a 2 minute cooldown but every little helps right?

Arcane Affinity gives you a +10 skill boost to Enchanting. This helps with levelling the profession but once the skill is maxed out it’s not really of any use (well, not until the next expansion anyway). Still, if you want to learn enchanting it is handy.

Magic Resistance reduces the chance you’re hit by spells by 2%. Similar to other racial resistances but this one applies for ALL spells. 

Orcs

They look a bit too… Errr… Wide to be Rogues in my opinion. Orcs look a bit more chunky than the sleek and agile silouette you’d expect for a Rogue. Having said this though they do have very nice racial abilities… Especially for Combat Rogues.

Axe Specialization gives Orcs +5 expertise when using Axes and Fist Weapons.

Blood Fury is a nice racial ability for Rogues. This one increases your attack power for 15 seconds every 2 minutes… And it scales with your level too! How much attack power? Take your level and multiply this by 4 then add 2… Thats an extra 322 attack power at level 80!

Hardiness reduces the duration of stun effects on you by 15%. A nice PvP ability this one and also of some use in certain PvE fights too.

Trolls

These are my second favourite in terms of looks. As well as looking pretty damn cool they sound cool too and have perfect racials for a Rogue.

Beast Slaying is a 5% damage bonus on beasts. Granted… It’s not fantastic but as a Rogue it’s your job to maximise your damage so don’t complain.

Beserking increases your attack speed by 20% for 10 seconds every 3 minutes. Again… A very nice damage bonus indeed. Pop it at the same time as your DPS trinket (or when your trinket procs) and watch the numbers! One of the best racials in game for the Rogue.

Da Voodoo Shuffle reduces the duration of all movement impairing effects by 15%. This one might just give you that edge you need in PvP. Also nice to be just that little bit more mobile in some PvE situations too.

Regeneration can make all the difference between life and death. This increases your health regeneration by 10%. That’s not all… You will continue to regenerate health right up until you hit 10% of your total health… Even during combat!

Throwing Specialization is just a 1% extra chance to critically hit with your thrown weapon. It’s not brilliant but hey, did I mention the other FOUR Troll racial abilities?

Undead

My favourite… The Forsaken look the best by far and the animations are great to boot. I won’t say any more on the matter. Let’s just take a look at those racial abilities shall we?

Cannibalize can be very handy in PvP. This ability regenerates 7% of your total health every 2 sec for 10 sec when activated. It only works on Humanoid or Undead corpses within 5 yds and any movement, action, or damage taken while cannibalizing will cancel the effect… It’s nice to be able to eat your enemies after you’ve slaughtered them… Just to rub it in… Just a little… Especially Gnomes! Mmmmmmmmm.

Will  of The Forsaken is the best racial in game for PvP. It does have some use in a few PvE fights too but PvP is where this ability owns and it’s on a 2 minute cooldown. What does it do? This ability simply removes any charm, fear and sleep effect… BUT… unlike the Humans’ Every Man for Himself ability it does not share a cooldown with your PvP trinket (e.g. Medallion of the Horde or Titan-Forged Rune of Determination)…

HOWEVER…

Unfortunately, it looks like Blizzard are changing Will of The Forsaken in patch 3.3 so it will share a 45-second cooldown with PvP trinkets .

Meh! Meh! MEH!

… So there you have it; Alliance and Horde racial abilities for Rogues.

In addition to the racial abilities listed here, there are others; however some racials are just useless for Rogues. Take a look at Wowhead’s Racial Traits Database if you want to see a more comprehensive list of racial abilities.

So are you going to do the race change? What race are you and which one are you going to pick?

Rogue Rookie: Alliance Racial Abilities for Rogues

For those of you who don’t know, Blizzard released the World of Warcraft Race Change Service this week. So… What better time is there to take a look at each of the races from a Rogue perspective? Let’s start with the Alliance…

Dwarves

I don’t see many Dwarf Rogues. they’re not exactly the most agile looking race are they? Dare I say it?… Dwarves are… How shall I put it?… ”Dumpy”. Personally, I think  there are better races  out there for Rogues but Dwarves do have quite a nice ability…

Stoneform removes all poison, disease and bleed effects and increases your armor by 10% for 8 seconds. There’s also a 2-minute cool down. Useful in PvP for removing those annoying poisons and bleeds so you can Sprint and Vanish without it breaking. Also could be useful in PvE wherever there’s poison, diseases… Or… Errr… Bleeds… Obviously.

Mace Specialization gives Dwarves a +5 expertise bonus when using Maces… Nice bonus for you Combat Rogues.

Gnomes

Yes, they are annoying! Why? Well, before we even get into their racial abilities, they can be difficult to target and they can run places most of us wouldn’t fit. For Horde there is nothing more satisfying than seeing a Gnome being thumped.

Escape Artist is a useful ability which allows you to escape the effects of any immobilizing or movement speed reduction effect. Nice for Gnome Rogues and it’s on a 1-minute 45-second cool down. Speaks for itself really.

Engineering Specialization gives you a +15 boost to Engineering skill. Useful for levelling Engineering but once you’re maxed out, you’re maxed out (until the next expansion that is).

Humans

I see a lot of Human Rogues out in Battlegrounds and come up against them a fair bit in Arena too and it’s no wonder really… They have, by far, some of the best racial abilities in the game for Rogues:

Perception gives you slightly increased stealth detection which is useful in PvP (for getting the opening move on other stealth classes). 9 times out of 10 if you can get the opener on another Rogue you should win.

Diplomacy gives a nice 10% boost to reputation gains. Who really enjoys grinding reputation with whatever-faction anyway?

Sword & Mace Specialization gives Humans +3 expertise when using Swords and/or Maces for you Combat Rogues.

Every Man for Himself is probably the best racial in-game now following the incoming nerf to Will of The Forsaken in patch 3.3. Effectively this is a Medallion of the Alliance trinket which removes all movement impairing effects and all effects which cause loss of control of your character. It shares a cool down with other similar effects (e.g. PvP trinkets) and has a 2-minute cool down. This racial means you can equip 2 other trinkets instead of the PvP ones and still have your “get out of jail free card”.

Night Elves

I see quite a few Night Elf Rogues out there, not as many as Gnomes and Humans but still a popular race. It’s not difficult to work out why when you take a look at their primary racial ability. Looks wise Night Elves are the most convincing Rogues on Alliance; they look fast, dark and shadowy. On the downside they do have floppy ears though.

Shadowmeld is effectively a second vanish. When activated you slip into the shadows in an improved stealth mode which lasts until you cancel it or until you move.

Quickness reduces the chance melee and ranged attacks will hit you by 2%. Ok, it’s not quite as exciting but still a nice little bonus. What more do you want?

Wisp Spirit transforms you into… Wait for it… A Wisp! When you die you can run back to your battered body at 75% speed and resurrect yourself. A bit of a funny one this – perhaps Night Elves die a lot? I suppose it helps minimize downtime when levelling… Especially when you do that “ooops-i-pulled-too-many-mobs” trick some Rogues are so good at.

… And those are the Alliance Races for Rogues.

In addition to the racial abilities listed here, there are others; however some are just a general 2% resistance to this and a 2% resistance to that and; some are simply useless for Rogues. If you want to see a comprehensive list of racial abilities take a look at Wowhead’s Racial Traits Database.

What race are you? Are you going to use the new Race Change Service? Which race are you going to pick?

Rogue Rookie: Onyxia Rogue Loot and Tactics

In celebration of the World of Warcraft 5-year anniversary the dreaded brood mother Onyxia was revamped. Ok, this isn’t really news anymore and most will already know the dungeon has been converted into a 10 and 25-man encounter.

For those who have done the encounter before back in the day it’s a chance to relive those memories and a bit of nostalgia for you. For those who haven’t, it’s a fantastic opportunity to get to see what all the fuss was about.

Anyway, what has all this got to do with Rogues I hear you ask? Ok, ok, I’ll get to the point…

Onyxia Rogue Loot

There are a couple of items well worth picking up from this raid encounter:

Bloodfang Mask - This is an updated version of the original Tier-2 Bloodfang Hood. There’s a level 232 and 245 version (from 10 and 25-man) so if you haven’t got the T9 headgear go get it!

Sparkling Onyxia Tooth Pendant - This is a must have! According to Shadowpanther.net this is the best in-slot neck item for Rogues bar the Collar of Unending Torment and Charge of the Eredar. These 2 necklaces are only available from Heroic Trials of the Crusader 10 and 25-man so my guess is you’ll be using this one for some time.

The pendant doesn’t actually drop from Onyxia. It’s a quest reward for A Most Puzzling Circumstance which you get when you pick up the Head of Onyxia. There are other rewards for this quest but this is the only useful one for Rogues.

Onyxia’s head is guaranteed to drop from both 10 and 25-man and the reward from both encounters is the same (level 245!).

Onyxia Rogue Weapons:

There are some weapons. They’re not great but if you can get into a group and you’ve got worse they could provide a nice upgrade for you:

• Empowered Deathbringer
• Rusted Gutgore Ripper
• Singed Vis’kag the Bloodletter
• Snub-Nose Blastershot Launcher

Is that it?

Of course it wouldn’t be much of a celebration if that was it now would it? In both 10 and 25-man you can also pick up the 22 slot Enlarged Onyxia Hide Backpack with some nice gems inside if you’re lucky. 

And probably THE coolest mount in-game…

Reins of the Onyxian Drake

There’s only a 1% drop-rate apparently but if you are lucky enough a) for it to drop and; b) to win the roll; you’ll be the envy of everyone as you fly around Outland and Northrend at 310% speed on Onyxia herself… Well ok, not quite but near enough!

Emblems of Triumph

In addition to the loot above you’ll also pick up 2 Emblems of Triumph each from both encounters which will go towards getting your T9 armor set and Emblem gear.

Onyxia Video & Tactics

In my opinion Onyxia is one of the most impressive bosses in terms of looks. In fact, I’d go so far as to say she is my personal favourite. So I suggest if you haven’t already had a go, even if you don’t need the loot, go check her out. You don’t know what you’re missing!

Oh, and make sure you take a look at the 10-man and 25-man Onyxia videos and tactics before you do…

A bit of Onyxia Nostalgia

And of course, this wouldn’t be an Onyxia post without this. The sound is actually taken from a real 40-man Onyxia raid back in the good ol’ days….

WARNING: Contains adult language some people may find funny… Or offensive.

MORE DOTS!

Rogue Rookie: Hallow’s End Loot

 

Once again the Headless Horseman is back and if you’re looking to gear up your Rogue there are a couple of level 200 Epic items just for you.

Rogue Hallow’s End Gear:

• Ring of Ghoulish Glee
• The Horseman’s Baleful Blade

To celebrate the event there are also a couple of mounts and a pet up for grabs as well:

• The Horseman’s Reins
• Magic Broom
• Sinister Squashling

And of course, if you want to run around with a pumpkin on your head or jam it on someone else’s head you can also get Weighted Jack-o’-Lantern.

Hallow’s End starts tonight!

Are you going to take part in this event? What drops do you really want?

Rogue Rookie: 5-Man Trial of the Champion Gear

Ok, you’ve hit level 80 and now you want to get ready for raiding. What now? Well, before you can really start raiding you need to kit out your Rogue with some nice gear.

The first place I recommend is Trials of the Champion 5-man. There are 6 level 200 Epic items up for grabs and the dungeon resets every day (which means you can do it EVERY day!).

ToC Rogue Gear:

• Gloves of the Argent Fanatic
• Leggings of Brazen Trespass
• Shoulderpads of the Infamous Knave
• Belt of Fierce Competition
• Uruka’s Band of Zeal
• Banner of Victory

Heroic Trial of the Champions

When you’re ready to run heroic dungeons Trials of the Champion should be your first stop.

If you’ve managed to get your hands on all the Epic items from normal mode, you can fill another 4 of your armor slots with level 219 Epic items (and pick up a nice weapon too!).

Heroic ToC Rogue Gear:

• Mask of Distant Memory
• Treads of Dismal Fortune
• Armbands of the Wary Lookout
• Ancient Pendant of Arathor
• Aledar’s Battlestar
• Black Knight’s Rondel

Voila! From one dungeon you can get 10 Epic armor slots and an Epic weapon too.

Emblems of Triumph

Obviously, make sure you pick up the daily heroic dungeon quest Proof of Demise: The Black Knight when it’s available and you’ll pick up a couple of Emblems of Triumph too which you can exchange for even better gear.

Trial of the Champion Video & Tactics

If you’re looking to get more into raiding you might as well get used to looking up the tactics and watching videos of the fight.

It’s well worthwhile spending 10-15 minutes of your time getting to know the fight before you log on and get stuck in…

Read up on the Trial of the Champion tactics and take a look at the video: