Combat Rogues

[Zlinka]

Here is a quick summary of the basics of playing a combat raiding rogue:

* Spec

The top combat spec is currently 20/51/0

* Weapons

For a main hand, get a slow weapon (2.5-2.7) which is as high-DPS as possible. DPS matters more than speed. For the off-hand, you want something as fast as possible (1.4 - 1.5).

You want two weapons of the same type so that both use your specialization. There's currently a preference for Hack and Slash: sword/sword and axe/axe builds are currently favored due to itemization issues.

* Stats

All the rogue stats are good (Agility, Attack Power, Hit, Haste) for where we are (early ICC).

(Late in ICC, theory has it that combat rogues should look into gemming hit to reach their Crit cap, and then stacking Armor Penetration.)

* Attack rotation

(1) Get Slice and Dice up ASAP
(2) Sinister Strike to 5 combo points (Sinister strike is your main attack and combo-point generator)
(3) Eviscerate (5-point Eviscerates are your main finisher)

- Keep Slice and Dice up at all times, no matter what your combo points are at
- Blow cooldowns whenever possible. Killing Spree + Blade Flurry; Blade Flurry + Adrenaline Rush are both good. Adrenaline Rush + Killing Spree is not recommended as your energy will cap (will sit at 100).

* Poisons

Main hand: Instant Poison
Off-hand: Deadly Poison


For more general advice on playing and gearing a rogue, see my post on The Art of DPS.

[Cloudjumper]

You want two weapons of the same type so that both use your specialization. There's currently a preference for Hack and Slash: sword/sword and axe/axe builds are currently favored due to itemization issues.

I never thought to use 2 of the same, one slow and one fast to take advantage of my specialization, I just always used a fast dagger in my off hand.

Thanks Zlinka! :O

[Cloudjumper]

I have been reading in a few places that suggest to put Rupture into the rotation as the priority after S&D is up and running. Then only use Eviscerate as filler between keeping the other 2 abilities active.

Is this something I should be trying to do?

[Zlinka]

Hi Cloud,

The research I have done (3.3 Rogue FAQ and Pocket Guide to Wolk 3.3 from Elitist Jerks, which is frequently updated) indicates that Combat rogues are not using Rupture. They use Sinister Strike + 5-point Eviscerates in between Slice and Dice renewals.

Rupture used to be part of the cycle up to a few weeks ago, but it was dropped with 3.3.

-Z

[Cloudjumper]

Thanks Zlinka !

[Cloudjumper]

Just wanted to comment on some glyph choices for Combat Rogues.

Major Glyphs

These are the recommended Major glyphs for a Combat Rogue to use.

Sinister Strike - This provides a 50% chance to add an additional combo point. More combo points means we can get to 5-point Eviscerates faster, so a good DPS boost.

Killing Spree - This provides a 45 second reduction on the reuse timer for your Killing Spree ability. Using this more often means more DPS !

Eviscerate - Provides a 10% increase in your crit chance for Eviscerate, a decent boost to DPS as Eviscerate is our main finishing move.


Optional Major Glyphs

These glyphs tend to be focused more towards raiding than regular PvE and PvP play. If you want to use one of the two of these glyphs it is recommended you drop the Eviscerate glyph listed above. Loosing either of the other two glyphs is not recommended as it would compromise your DPS too much.

Fan of Knives - Provides a 20% increase in FoK damage. This is a good DPS increase if you are using FoK a lot in your raid content.

Tricks of the Trade - Provides a 4 second increase in the duration of the increased damage and threat reduction of your TotT ability. More damage and less threat are always a good thing.


Note on Slice and Dice glyph; It is not recommended for a Combat Spec Rogue to use this glyph. As we already should have 2 points into Improved Slice and Dice talent we don't need the increased duration provided by this glyph. There are better choices listed above for improved DPS.