Rogue abilitiesedit

From WoWWiki

Rogues abilities are used in order to both deal damage and attempt to avoid it.

The majority of rogue abilities fall into one of three categories:

Opening moves - Openers are what every rogue should begin a fight with. These powerful attacks are only usable while Stealthed and break the Stealth effect upon use. A common tactic for burst damage is to open on the enemy, Vanish, and open again. A few examples are Ambush, Cheap Shot, and Garrote.

Combo moves - These moves are the bread and butter of a rogue. Combo moves generate combo points, which are required to use a finishing move. They deal the majority of your damage and fill the void between your openers and your finishers. A few examples are Sinister Strike, Mutilate, and Hemorrhage.

Finishing moves - These are the rogue's strongest attacks. They require combo points to use and increase in effect depending upon the number of combo points you have on the target. A good rogue will need to learn to use the right finishers at the right time, as there are a lot of them. A few examples are Eviscerate, Envenom, and Rupture.


In addition to these combat moves, rogues have a number of other abilities, such as Distract, Stealth, and Pick Pocket.

See detailed rogue abilities for a greater description on all abilities.

Contents

Trainable abilities

Note for Combo Points:

  • +x indicates the move will award x combo points
  • 0 indicates the move will reset the combo points back to zero
  • - indicates the move doesn't use combo points in any form

The following tables lists all of the rogue's non-passive abilities, along with the first level at which the ability can be attained.

Icon Ability Level Type Combo Pts Tree Description
Sinister Strike 1 Combo Move +1 Combat A regular weapon attack augmented by a fixed amount of additional damage
Eviscerate 1 Finishing Move 0 Assassination Deals a relatively large amount of damage, increasing with each combo point.
Stealth 1 Subtlety - Subtlety Allows the rogue to sneak around; movement speed reduced. May not be used while in combat.
Backstab 4 Combo Move +1 Combat Deals large amounts of damage. Must be at enemy's back; requires a dagger in the main hand.
Pick Pocket 4 Subtlety - Subtlety Steal items from a mob. Requires Stealth. Only works on mobs with "pockets".
Gouge 6 Combo Move +1 Combat Deals small amount of damage and immobilizes enemy for a few seconds as long as they're not hit again. Turns off auto-attack.
Evasion 8 Combat - Combat Increases dodge skill by 50% for 15 seconds, up to a maximum of 75%.
Sprint 10 Combat - Combat Increases the rogue's movement speed for 15 sec. Does not break Stealth; Turns off attack.
Sap 10 Opening Move - Subtlety Disorients the target for a short period. Only 1 target may be sapped at a time. Requires Stealth; Only works on humanoids, beasts, demons, and dragonkin that are not in combat; Any damage taken will revive the target.
Slice and Dice 10 Finishing Move 0 Assassination Provides a temporary boost to automatic attack speed; lasts longer per combo point.
Kick 12 Combat - Combat Interrupts casting and prevents further spells from that school from being cast for 5 seconds. Causes minor damage.
Expose Armor 14 Finishing Move 0 Assassination Reduces the enemy's Armor Rating for 30 seconds, increasing in duration with each combo point. Does not stack with a warrior's Sunder Armor ability.
Garrote 14 Opening Move +1 Assassination Deals damage over time. Rogue must be at enemy's back; Requires Stealth. Silences enemy for 3 seconds at ranks 7 and up.
Feint 16 Combat - Combat Causes no damage but lowers threat by a small amount. Useful in groups in case the rogue gets the aggro instead of the tank(s).
Ambush 18 Opening Move +1 Assassination Massive opening damage. Requires a dagger in the main hand; must be at enemy's back; Requires stealth.
Rupture 20 Finishing Move 0 Assassination Wounds the enemy causing Damage over Time, increasing in duration with each combo point.
Dismantle 20 Combat 0 Assassination Disarms the enemy, removing all weapons from the target, including ranged.
Detect Traps (Passive) 22 Subtlety - Subtlety A passive ability that greatly improves trap detection.
Distract 22 Subtlety - Subtlety Creates a distraction, making enemies turn to face the noise for 10 seconds. Doesn't break Stealth.
Vanish 22 Subtlety - Subtlety Allows the rogue to vanish from sight, entering an improved stealth mode for 10 sec. Also breaks movement impairing effects.
Cheap Shot 26 Opening Move +2 Assassination Stuns the target for 4 seconds. Damage will not break the effect. Requires Stealth
Disarm Trap 30 Subtlety - Subtlety Disarm traps. Stealth is not required but recommended, since most traps will go off unless you are Stealthed.
Kidney Shot 30 Finishing Move 0 Assassination Stuns the target for a certain amount of time based on combo points. Almost essential for most stunlocks.
Blind 34 Subtlety - Subtlety Causes the target to wander randomly at reduced movement speed for 10 sec. Canceled if target takes further damage.
Safe Fall (Passive) 40 Subtlety - Subtlety Reduces damage from falling.
Envenom 62 Finishing Move 0 Assassination Finishing move that consumes your Deadly Poison doses on the target and deals instant poison damage. One dose is consumed for each combo point.
Deadly Throw 64 Finishing Move 0 Assassination Finishing move that reduces the movement of the target by 50% for 6 sec and causes thrown weapon damage plus additional damage per combo point.
Cloak of Shadows 66 Subtlety - Subtlety Instantly removes all existing harmful spell effects and increases your chance to resist all spells by 90% for 5 sec. Does not remove effects that prevent you from using Cloak of Shadows.
Shiv 70 Combo Move +1 Combat Performs an instant off-hand weapon attack that automatically applies the poison from your off-hand weapon to the target. Slower weapons require more energy.
Tricks of the Trade 75 Subtlety - Subtlety The current party or raid member becomes the target of your Tricks of the Trade. The threat caused by your next attack and all actions taken for 6 sec afterward will be transferred to the target. In addition, all damage caused by the target is increased by 15% during this time.
Fan of Knives 80 Combat - Combat Instantly throw both weapons at all targets within 8 yards, causing 105% weapon damage with daggers, and 70% weapon damage with all other weapons.

Talent abilities

Assassination

Icon Ability Reqs Range Description
Cold Blood Assassination 20 self only When activated, increases the critical strike chance of your next offensive ability by 100%.
Mutilate Overkill 1
Assassination 40
5 yards Requires a dagger in each hand. Instantly attacks with both weapons for an additional 181 damage with each weapon. Damage is increased by 50% against poisoned targets. Awards 2 combo points.
Hunger for Blood Assassination 50 self only Enrages you, increasing all damage caused by 3%. If used while a bleed effect is afflicting you, it will attempt to remove it and refund 15 energy. This effect can be stacked up to 3 times. Lasts 30 sec.

Combat

Icon Ability Reqs Range Description
Riposte Deflection 3
Combat 10
5 yards A strike that becomes active after parrying an opponent's attack. Deals 150% weapon damage and slows the target's attack speed by 20% for 30 seconds.
Blade Flurry Combat 20 self only Increases your attack speed by 20%. In addition, attacks strike an additional nearby opponent. Lasts 15 sec.
Adrenaline Rush Combat 30 self only Increases your energy regeneration rate by 100% for 15 sec.
Killing Spree Combat 50 10 yards Requires melee weapon. Step through the shadows from enemy to enemy, attacking an enemy every 0.5 secs with both weapons until 5 assaults are made. Can hit the same target multiple times. Cannot hit invisible or Stealthed targets.

Subtlety

Icon Ability Reqs Range Description
Ghostly Strike Subtlety 10 5 yards A strike that deals 125% weapon damage and increases your chance to dodge by 15% for 7 sec. Awards 1 combo point.
Preparation Subtlety 20 self only When activated, this ability immediately finishes the cooldowns on Evasion, Sprint, Vanish, Cold Blood,

Shadowstep and Premeditation abilities.

Hemorrhage Serrated Blades 3
Subtlety 20
5 yards An instant strike that deals 110% weapon damage and causes the target to hemorrhage, increasing any Physical damage dealt to the target by up to X. Lasts 10 charges or 15 sec. Awards 1 combo point.
Premeditation Preparation 1
Subtlety 30
30 yards When used, adds 2 combo points to your target. You must use or add to those combo points within 10 seconds or the combo points are lost. Requires Stealth.
Shadowstep Subtlety 40 25 yards Attempts to step through the shadows and reappear behind your enemy and increases movement speed by 70% for 3 sec. The damage of your next ability is increased by 20% and the threat caused is reduced by 50%. Lasts 10 seconds.
Shadow Dance Subtlety 50 self only Allows the rogue to use Sap, Garrote, Ambush, Cheap Shot, Premeditation, Pickpocket, and Disarm Trap outside of Stealth for 6 seconds.

Rogue Poisons

Ability Level Type Combo Pts Description
Instant Poison 20 Poisons - Coats the rogue's weapon with a poison which has a 20% chance to instantly inflict Nature damage.
Crippling Poison 20 Poisons - Coats the rogue's weapon with a poison which significantly slows an enemy's movement speed when applied.
Mind-numbing Poison 24 Poisons - Coats the rogue's weapon with a poison which increases the enemy's casting times when applied.
Deadly Poison 30 Poisons - Coats the rogue's weapon with a poison which causes nature-based Damage over Time when applied.
Wound Poison 32 Poisons - Coats the rogue's weapon with a poison which reduces the effectiveness of healing on the target when applied.
Anesthetic Poison 68 Poisons - Coats the rogue's weapon with a poison which has a 20% chance to instantly inflict Nature damage without any threat.

Abilities by type

Opening Moves

Finishing Moves

Positional

Additional Damage

Dodge and Resist

Stealth

Ability Modifiers

Debuffs

Locks

Traps

Aggro Management

Haste

Stuns

Bleed Effects (DoT)

Passive

Incapacitating

Interrupts

Energy Generation

Disorienting

Movement