From WoWWiki

Gouge
Gouge Instant Cast 5 yd range 45 Energy Causes X damage, incapacitating the opponent for 4 sec, and turns off your attack. Target must be facing you. Any damage caused will revive the target. Awards 1 combo point.
Usable By
Class	Rogue
Properties
Type	Offensive, Defensive
School	Physical
Cooldown	10 sec
Talents
Improvement Talents	Improved Gouge
Other Information
Ranks	6
Requirements	Target must be facing you.
Related Debuff
Gouge Incapacitated. Duration: 4 sec

Every being has vulnerable spots; Rogues make it their business to know them all.

Gouge is a useful Rogue ability that causes damage, adds a combo point and incapacitates the target for a short period of time. Gouge costs 45 Energy and can first be acquired at level 6. Once a successful Gouge has been made, any damage will negate its incapacitation effect. Note that using Gouge will turn off auto attacks.

Contents 1 Rank table 2 Notes 3 Talent improvement 4 Tips and tactics

Rank table

Rank	Damage	Level	Cost
1	10	6	1
2	20	18	29
3	32	32	1 20
4	55	46	2 79
5	75	60	4 86
6	105	67	8 91

Notes

Gouge breaks upon receiving damage; this means that it does not work well with Garrote or Rupture. However, Gouge is useful as an interrupt. If Kick is on cooldown, Gouge can be used just for the purpose of interrupting a spellcast.

Talent improvement

The only talent that specifically improves Gouge is Improved Gouge. Some other Rogue talents do improve Gouge, however.

• Improved Gouge increases the duration of Gouge by X seconds.
• Lethality increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Gouge by X%.
• Blade Twisting gives your Gouge an X% chance to daze your target for 8 seconds.
• Surprise Attacks increases the damage of Gouge by X%.

Tips and tactics

• Backstab is a great skill for dealing burst damage, but you must be behind the Mob to use it. Gouge first, then move behind the mob to enable you to Backstab. You've got two combo points off the bat! (And if you are Seal Fate/Vigor spec and it crits, you'll have three combo points!)
• Gouge gives you an opportunity to apply a bandage, recover energy, or plan a quick escape. Also note that during those 4-5.5 seconds one can recover up to 40-60 energy, so it can be seen as a free combo point anyway.
• Facing multiple enemies can be quite difficult. Simply gouge one. This will give you time to finish one of them. This will greatly reduce the amount of incoming damage.
• In PvP, Improved Gouge gives you a good chance (barring diminishing returns) to leave combat and re-enter stealth without using vanish, and gives you more time to recover energy.

Playable Classes
Classes	Death knight • Druid • Hunter • Mage • Paladin • Priest • Rogue • Shaman • Warlock • Warrior
Rogue	Rogue races • Rogue quests • Rogue abilities • Rogue trainers • Rogue talents • Rogue builds • Rogue tactics • Rogue sets
	Starting a Rogue • Rogue PvE guide • Rogue PvP guide • Rogue macros • Rogue category