World of Warcraft - Rogue FAQ

[tayman]

Rogue FAQ v4 by Chalon

This document originated towards the end of the Beta, when lots of newcomers joined in on the World of Warcraft experience. I saw many questions being asked repeatedly, so I compiled this FAQ. It would not have gotten to the form it is today were it not for the people listed in the "thanks" section.

For a little background of myself...I played a Rogue up to the level 60 cap on the Closed Beta server, so I have quite a bit of experience with the class. That being said, if you see any mistakes or things which need clarification, or if you have additional questions you think I should add, definitely let me know.

This FAQ is organized into multiple posts and sections, to make it easier to browse.

Note: A few questions may appear in multiple sections in cases where it makes sense.

Contents
I. General - These are basic questions, and questions which did not fit into the other categories
II. Training - This answers questions about where you can train weapons and abilities.
III. Mechanics - This covers questions about the "number crunching" behind the rogue
IV. Talent Builds - This section covers general talent questions, and questions about creating talent builds
V. Specific Talents - Here's where questions regarding specific talents are answered
VI. Equipment - This covers what you should consider for your equipment, and how you can find out where to get it
VII. Poisons - This covers all your poison questions
VIII. Lockpicking and Pickpocketing - All the questions about theivery
IX. Glossary - If you see a word or abbreviation you aren't familiar with, chances are it is here
X. Thanks - Here's where I give thanks to all the people who have contributed to this FAQ.

[tayman]

Q: What is the best (Horde/Alliance) race for a rogue?

A: The differences between starting stats are minor, at best. The amount of health and stats you gain per level is based solely on your class, so by the time you get to level 60, the difference in stats is basically nonexistant.

As for racial traits, they are not designed to make a clear-cut best or worst race for a class. Generally, I recommend picking a race not based on the racial traits, but based on which race you want to play the most. While it is true that certain traits are not useful for the rogue (such as axe specialization or added intelligence), the ones which can be useful will rarely turn the tide of a battle. The traits are merely bonuses; they do not make or break your play.

With that being said, it still is a hot topic of debate, and I'm sure you'll find many posts on it arguing one way or another.

Q: What is the best weapon for a rogue?

A: This depends on what abilities you want to use. Backstab and Ambush can only be used when you have a dagger equipped in your main hand. However, if you plan on using Sinister Strike all the time, and not Backstab, you are better off using a sword or mace, since those weapon types will generally do more damage with SS.

Q: Is it possible to be a viable ranged weapon rogue?

A: No. The only use you have for a ranged weapon generally is pulling enemies, or for the stat boost it may provide. You cannot, however, do any reasonable damage with a ranged weapon. The only class which can do so is a hunter.

Q: Is it possible to be a viable fist weapon rogue?

A: No, not really. Fist Weapons basically have all of the disadvantages of a dagger, without the advantages of one. Not to mention, there are so few fist weapons in the game currently (less than 10 blue/green fist weapons). If you happen to get one with a good DPS, though, there's no harm in putting it on your off-hand.

Q: What are good profession combinations for a rogue?

A: There are quite a few combinations to look at...

Engineering/Mining - Engineering has some nifty gadgets you can make, like the Gnomish Net Gun and Catseye Goggles, which can be quite useful, especially in PvP. Also, as a rogue you often can survive party wipes, and with Goblin Jumper Cables you have 25-50% chance of saving the wipe. Mining is basically essential as a support skill. A drawback here is that you won't really be able to make anything that will sell to other players, beyond explosives and mechanical squirrels. Most of the gadgets require some skill in engineering.

Blacksmithing/Mining - This can be very profitable, but the problem is you won't really be able to make that many items that are useful for a rogue. There are only a handful of daggers and other one-hand weapons you could use, and all the armor would not be equippable.

Alchemy/Herbalism - Herbalism is nice, since two rogue items require herbs (Thistle Tea and Blind Powder). Also, Alchemists can make some nice potions, and some pretty good money at the same time (especially from transmuting).

Leatherworking/Skinning - Prior to this patch, there was very marginal use for leatherworking at the endgame, since there were no patterns past 250 skill. There are now some, and seeing some of the patterns (like Stormshroud Pants) has made me consider keeping it for release. It will remain to be seen, though, how many nice patterns there really are out there. One other thing to consider is that leatherworkers don't really have anything they make that will sell to non-leather users. Armor Kits are nice, but at higher levels people will usually want enchantments instead.

Some Combination of Mining, Herbalism, and Skinning - This can be a good way to make money, as there is always a market for people who want to buy materials. If you go this route, it is probably best to get Mining OR Herbalism, and then throw in Skinning. You can only actively be "finding" one type of resource, and you'll be killing lots of animals anyways, so why not skin them?

Enchanting + Gathering Skill - Enchanting can be a decent way to make money, and doesn't require a gathering skill in the strict sense, as you get your mats from disenchanting blue/green items. This may seem like an "odd" set of skills for a Rogue in the RP sense, but it's still a useful skill to have. A variation on this would be to get Tailoring, so you have a constant supply of greens for disenchanting. Enchanting/Tailoring is not really a rogue combination, though .

Q: What secondary skills should I learn?

A: You should learn them all, since you can. Cooking is good to get up to at least 60 skill, so you can make Thistle Tea. First Aid is very nice for reducing downtime, and for popping on during a stun or gouge on the enemy. And finally, fishing can be a good way to kick back (or get meat for cooking).

Q: Where do all my abilities on the toolbar go when I stealth?

A: When you go into stealth, it automatically changes to a special "stealth" toolbar. You will have to drag and drop the abilities you want to use there from your spellbook (press P).

Q: Is there any way to increase my total energy, or how fast it regenerates?

A: The highest-tier Combat talent, Adrenaline Rush, will give you the ability to double your regeneration rate for 15s, with a cooldown of 6 minutes. The highest-tier Assassination talent, Vigor, will increase your total energy by 10. One of the set bonuses for the epic Nightslayer set also increases your total energy by 10.

There is also a drink called Thistle Tea which can be made with 60 cooking, that you can drink to instantly restore 100 energy. The cooldown for the drink is also 6 minutes.

Q: What Rogue quests are there?

A: There's basically three quest series we have. At level 10, there's the pickpocketing quest you get, and the reward is a dagger. At level 16, you have the lockpicking quest, and at level 20 you get the quest to learn poisons. There is now also an early 30s quest at Ravenholdt Manor, but it seems to not be fully implemented yet.

Q: Where should I go to quest/grind at level X?

A: I would suggest taking a look at Haunted's thread, which does a pretty good job of listing out areas by level. It's currently from mostly an Alliance perspective, but it is expanding: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=wow-rogue&t=29182&p=1&tmp=1

Q: What talent build do you use, and what equipment do you have?

A: If you want to see my talent build and equipment, just check out my profile on Allakhazam:

http://wow.allakhazam.com/profile.html?18408

[tayman]

Q: What weapons can a Rogue use, and how do I train them?

A: Rogues start out only knowing how to use daggers and throwing knives. However, you can train one-hand swords, one-hand maces, fist weapons, crossbows, bows, and guns. You can train these weapons with a weapon master trainer in a major city. The cost is 10s per weapon style you want to learn. Once you are in a major city, to find the weapon master, simply ask one of the guards. However, each trainer only has certain weapons they can train.

Alliance:
Darnassus - Bow, Fist
Stormwind - Sword, Crossbow
Ironforge - Gun, Mace, Fist

Horde:
Orgrimmar - Bow, Fist
Undercity - Sword, Crossbow
Thunderbluff - Gun, Mace

Q: I've heard that Night Elves can't use guns, and X race can't use Y. What gives?

A: There was a time in the Closed Beta where there were also racial restrictions on weapons, one of which was that Night Elves could not use guns.

However, it was changed so that the weapon restrictions are only per-class. Your race no longer has any bearing on which weapons you can and cannot use.

Q: Can I train two-hand weapons?

A: No, you cannot.

Q: Can I use a shield?

A: No.

Q: Can I train mail or plate armor?

A: No. I would imagine it is difficult to be agile in mail or plate .

Q: Can I dual wield weapons? Should I?

A: Yes, you can dual wield weapons. You learn the ability from your rogue trainer, at level 10. And yes, you should dual wield weapons (for more details, check the dual wield question in the “mechanics” category).

Q: Are there any restrictions as to which weapon combinations I can dual wield?

A: In terms of type of weapon (eg., 2 maces, 1 sword/1 mace, 1 dagger/1 sword, etc.) there are no restrictions. You can use whatever combination you want to, as long as you are trained in the weapon types.

However, there is one restriction. Weapons which are listed as "Main Hand" can only be used in your main hand, and cannot be equipped in your off-hand. Likewise, weapons listed as "Off-Hand" can only be equipped in your off-hand. Weapons which are listed as "One Hand" can be used in either hand.

Q: Is there any way to disable dual wield once I've learned it?

A: The only way to disable it is to equip something which is not a weapon in your off-hand. This can be a fish, flower, torch, or any non-weapon item that can go there. There is some debate over whether or not this will actually disable the dual wield chance to hit penalty. However, I have personally tested this, and it does certainly seem like it disables the penalty.

Q: How do I train poisons?

A: At level 20, Alliance characters train poisons with a quest from the SI-7 operatives in the Stormwind Barracks. Horde characters can get this quest by speaking with the rogue trainer in the Cleft of Shadows in Orgrimmar. For more information about poisons, look at section VI of this FAQ.

[tayman]

Q: Why is my dodge/crit chance going down as I level?

A: It is actually not going down as you level. The tooltip which shows your dodge/crit percent (press P and look at your attack/dodge abilities) shows your chance to crit versus an enemy that is your level. This chance to crit is solely based on your agility, talents, and +crit gear.

So, suppose you are level 1, and have a 15% chance to crit listed. This means that you have enough agility to crit 15% of the time versus level 1 enemies. When you level up to level 2, let's suppose it says your crit chance is 14.5%. Your crit chance versus level 1 enemies is still 15% (in fact, it is a little bit higher because your agility went up when you leveled). However, you only have enough agility to crit level 2 enemies 14.5% of the time.

The reason for this is basically that as you level, your agility goes up, and you also have better equipment which will raise it, as well. For the first few levels, though, your crit chance will spiral down as there really isn't much +agility gear you can get.

One thing to note here is that if your weapon skill is not capped out, it will adversely affect your crit chance with that weapon.

Q: How much agility do you need to add 1% to your crit or dodge chance?

A: This is based on your level. A rough guideline for agility needed for 1% crit chance is level / 2, and level / 4 for 1% dodge. At level 60, it's roughly 29 agility for each 1% crit, and 14.5 agility for 1% dodge.

Q: How does my strength/agility add to my melee attack power?

A: Your strength and agility both add directly to your attack power, in a 1:1 ratio. So 10 agility will add to 10 melee attack power, as will 10 strength.

Q: How does the attack power bonus work? Why is a slow weapon better in the main hand?

A: The attack power bonus is a pure DPS bonus. Roughly 14 points in attack power equals 1 point of DPS bonus...I don't believe it scales by level.

Since it is a DPS bonus, and not a damage bonus, it works in an interesting way. Suppose you have a 20 dps attack power bonus, so roughly 300 attack power. For argument's sake, lets suppose you have a main-hand weapon which is 1.00 speed with an average damage of 20. For this weapon, 20 dps means 20 damage per per hit. So your average damage in your main hand will go up 20 damage points due to the attack power bonus.

Weapon #1:
20 average damage, 1.00 speed = 20 dps
+20 average damage = 40 average damage, 40 dps

Now let's say you have another weapon which is 20 dps, but 2.00 speed. So, it's average damage per swing is 40. For this particular weapon, 20 dps = 40 damage per hit. So in this case, your average damage will go up 40 damage points due to your attack power bonus.

Weapon #2:
40 average damage, 2.00 speed = 20 dps
+40 average damage = 80 average damage, 40 dps.

Both weapon #1 and #2 have the same DPS, but weapon #2 is a much better mainhand weapon. Obviously there are no 1.00 speed weapons, but the point still holds.

All this explains why, for instance, the Toxic Revenger ends up having a slightly higher damage range than the Black Menace. Black Menace has an average damage of 44.5 @ 1.5s. Toxic Revenger, on the other hand, has an average damage of 39 @ 1.9s. The Black Menace has a much higher DPS, but since the average damages are so close, you'll notice that your tooltip damage range will be slightly higher with the Revenger, assuming you have a reasonable attack power.

This raises a very interesting dilemma when choosing a main-hand weapon. How much DPS are you willing to give up on the weapon for a higher damage range?

Q: Why is my Eviscerate not doing the damage as stated on the tooltip?

A: The tooltip damage does not take into account the armor of the enemy. Since most enemies have armor, your non-crit damage will rarely be as high as the tooltip states.

Q: Why does my Backstab/Ambush do less damage than the "+ X" damage on the tooltip?

A: Same answer as above.

Q: Why would I ever want to use Backstab instead of Ambush? Ambush does more damage!

A: The key difference here is that Ambush can only be used while in stealth, whereas Backstab has no such restriction.

Q: What is the dual-wield penalty?

A: The dual-wield penalty is that your base chance to miss for each weapon, on normal attacks, is 24%. Furthermore, your off-hand weapon does 50% damage (though it can be increased with talents). If you don’t dual-wield, your base chance to miss on a normal attack is 5%. Your base miss chance on special attacks is always 5%, the dual-wield penalty does not apply to them.

Remember here that base chance is different from effective chance. There's several other factors which determine whether or not you hit the enemy, including their level versus yours and your weapon skill. Also, misses are different from dodges and parries.

However, in spite of this it is recommended you train dual-wield and use it, as your damage per second (DPS) will be increased by about 10-15%, assuming similar DPS weapons. Furthermore, it gives you another equippable weapon, which means you can have more stat boosts on your character.

Q: How does the off-hand damage penalty work? How is it affected by the dual wield spec talent?

A: The off-hand normally just does 50% of what it normally would do. So:
(Weapon DPS + Attack Power DPS Bonus) * 0.5

WIth the dual wield spec 5/5, the off-hand does 75% damage, so just subtitute 0.75 for 0.5.

The tooltip for the off-hand was previously bugged, causing numbers which did not make sense. If you had the talent, a weapon would be listed as doing more damage in your off-hand than in your main. Some data posted prior to the tooltip fix suggested that the tooltip was bugged. The change to the tooltip seems to confirm this.

Q: How does the stealth check work? Are there any differences in PvP?

A: The details of this are not entirely known. However, a few things are known. Whether or not you are detected by an enemy is based on the following factors: your subtlety skill, the level of your enemy, whether you are in the 180 degree arc in front of the enemy, and how close you are to the enemy. Your base subtlety is 5x your current level. So, at level 60 you have 300 subtlety.

Once you are within a certain radius of the enemy (based on your subtlety skill versus their level), and within the 180 degree arc in front of them, periodic stealth rolls are performed. If you lose the roll, you are detected and dropped out of stealth.

When you are behind the enemy, you will never be dropped out of stealth. However, if your level is substantially lower than the enemy, they will almost always turn around to face you.

The only difference I am aware of in PvP is that stealth checks may be performed with greater frequency. Also, I do not know how stealth detection items really factor in, but I would imagine the roll is your subtlety vs. (enemy level x 5 + stealth detection).

Q: What does the Master of Deception talent do?

A: It adds 3 points to your subtlety skill per point spent in the talent. So, at 5/5, you are effectively considered 3 levels higher for stealth checks.

Q: How does Shadowmeld affect stealth?

A: Though the exact numbers are not known, Shadowmeld does have a noticable affect on stealth. Karath performed some tests during the Beta, but unfortunately that thread is no longer accessible. According to his findings, it appears that Shadowmeld passively adds the equivalent of one Master of Deception point (so roughly +3 to Subtlety), when you are in stealth. The actual ability Shadowmeld should not be used, though, as you are harder to detect while in stealth mode.

Q: Why is Sinister Strike more effective with a sword/mace, instead of a dagger, when the DPS is almost the same?

A: This is because your Sinister Strike damage is not based on the DPS of the weapon, but rather its damage range. This is the case for all special attacks. Since swords and maces of the same DPS of a dagger generally have a much slower speed, their damage range is quite higher. It especially becomes apparent once you factor in the attack power bonus. This is also why say, the Barman Shanker, is a better main-hand dagger than daggers which have a DPS 4-5 points higher than it.

Q: How do weapon procs ("Chance on Hit") work?

A: This answer is somewhat speculation, but it's probably more accurate than what was previously written here. Basically the "Chance on Hit," is most likely a percent chance that's a function of the weapon speed.

What this maens basically is there's a set guideline for how many procs they want to occur. For argument's sake, suppose it's designed so you get roughly 2 proc per minute. So if your weapon is 1.00s, that means the "Chance on Hit" for this weapon is 1/30 or 3.2%. But for a weapon that's 2.00s, the "Chance on Hit" is 1/15 or 6.4%. It's designed like this so faster weapons don't get a serious proc advantage, but rather all weapons proc roughly the same amount during a set time period.

This is most likely a simplification of how it works, but probably a pretty good explanation. There definitely is not any sort of artificial thing prevent procs from going off after a certain duration, as sometimes weapons will proc two times consecutively.

Note that this does not apply to poisons. Poisons are, in fact, fixed percent chances on each hit. This means that faster weapons will have their poisons go off more often than slower ones.

Q: What is the normal rate of energy regeneration? Do any stats affect it?

A: You regen 20 energy per tick, and each tick is roughly 2 seconds. It is set in stone, and no stats affect it at all. However, the Adrenaline Rush talent will double the frequency of your energy regeneration ticks when it is activated.

[tayman]

Q: What are talents? What is a talent build?

A: Starting at level 10, you gain one talent point per level. Talents are the way you can customize you rogue, and is what separates one rogue from the other. While most talents are passive bonuses, several are new abilities entirely. The way you allocate these points is very similar to a Diablo 2-esque skill tree, in which there are dependencies are prerequisites. The three rogue “branches” are Combat, Assassination, and Subtlety.

Once you hit level 10, you can bring up your talent window (press N, by default).

A talent build is the way you choose to allocate your talent points points. You can’t get all the talents, so the build is which talents you pick.

Q: How many talent points do I get in total?

A: 51. One point each level from level 10 to 60.

Q: Can I reset my talents if I decide I don't like them?

A: Yes, you can "respec" your talents, if you so desire. To do this, you can talk to any rogue trainer. However, respecing is not free, and the cost goes up every time you respec. The first time is 1 gold, then 5, 10, 15, and in increments of 5 up. At 50 gold, the cost stays the same each subsequent respec.

Generally, I would suggest sticking with your talent build for at least several levels, to fully evaluate it before changing.

Q: Are there any "talent builders" online that I can play with to see how I can allocate my points?

A: Yes, there's at least a couple of good ones out there.

WoW Vault Talent Calculator: http://wowvault.ign.com/View.php?view=Talents.View&category_select_id=7

Thottbot Talent Builder: http://www.thottbot.com/?ti=Rogue

Q: What is the best talent build setup for (PvE/PvP)?

A: There is no one “best” talent setup...the exciting thing about playing a rogue is that there are several different builds and playstyles that all can be quite effective whether you PvP or PvE, solo or group.

Q: What do people mean when they say "31/8/12", "30/21", etc.?

A: This is the breakdown of how their talents are allocated in the various trees. For instance, a 31/8/12 Dagger build means they have 31 in Assassination, 8 in Combat, and 12 in Subtlety. The exact talents selected between one person and another will vary a bit, though certain key talents will be in common.

Q: Can I use one build to get to 60, and then switch to a more PvP build once I'm there?

A: You could do that if you wanted to, but I don't recommend it. In my opinion, most good builds are effective in both PvE and PvP. You don't have to switch from one to another.

The other reason I don't recommend it is that the only way you're going to be good at PvP is if you have good equipment. You won't have good equipment if you are using some wild build which is 5% more effective in PvP, but awful in PvE. At level 60, there still is a lot of good equipment out there to get. Not to mention that new group and raid instances will be added in patches and expansions.

Q: What are some things I should consider when making a build?

A: One thing you should always ask yourself is "where is my sustained DPS going to come from?" Sometimes, I see builds designed by people who have ideas for great opening combos. But once their opening moves are over, they have nothing left in their build that will help maintain a solid DPS over time. Burst DPS as a rogue is definitely important, however, without sustained DPS you are greatly limiting the types of battles in which you are successful.

Another common mistake is not picking up "signature" talents, even if you have enough for it in that tree. An example of this would be having 22 points in Subtlety, but not having Preparation. A more extreme example would be having 34 points in Combat, but having neither Blade Flurry nor Adrenaline Rush.

Also, don't be afraid to change your build. What you thought you wanted to do at level 10 may not be what you decide you want to do at level 50. Having flexbility and not locking yourself into one mindset is important. At the same time, don't be persuaded you into drastically changing your build, unless it is seriously flawed. If you are going for an Assassination Dagger build, don't let someone convince you to change to a Heavy Combat build. If you want to go for Assassination, then go for it. It is possible to make viable builds that heavily invest into any of the three trees.

Q: There's so many talents! What are some builds like?

A: Part of the fun of playing a Rogue is figuring out your style, and tweaking your build exactly to it. However, to help give some direction, I will list a few common build designs I've seen, and describe the style as well as key talents. I'll also list talents which are good inclusions for that talent build. You can't get all of them, but hopefully it will give you a good idea in terms of a direction. This is by no means a comprehensive list of all the viable talent builds, but hopefully these few will help spark some ideas.

For a more advanced discussion of talents, I would suggest Oroblram's Talent Guide (Appendix B).

Assassination Dagger Build
Breakdown: 31(30) Assassination, 8 Combat, 12(13) Subtlety
Key Talents: Malice, Lethality, Cold Blood, Seal Fate, Imp. Backstab, Opportunity
Good Inclusions: Imp. Gouge, Imp. Sinister Strike, Ruthlessness, Relentless Strikes, Imp. Kidney Shot, Vigor, Imp. Ambush, Master of Deception, Camouflage
Description: This is a heavy-hitting dagger build that relies on high crit chances on Backstabs and Ambushes, coupled with increased damage (Lethality and Opportunity), and good combo point generation through Seal Fate. The DPS for dagger builds excel more in group situations, but it's still no slouch when by yourself. Also, because of the nature of crits, the damage on this build can be spiky, depending on whether you get good rolls or bad.

Assassination/Combat Dagger Build
Breakdown: 30(31) Assassination, 21(20) Combat
Key Talents: Malice, Lethality, Cold Blood, Seal Fate, Imp. Backstab, Dagger Specialization
Good Inclusions: Imp. Gouge, Imp. Sinister Strike, Ruthlessness, Relentless Strikes, Imp. Kidney Shot, Vigor, Blade Flurry, Lightning Reflexes, Deflection, Riposte, Precision
Description: This is similar to the Assassination Dagger Build, except it drops Subtlety entirely, and instead gets the Dagger Specialization for more chance to crit. It also picks up a few other Combat talents to help survive when outnumbered or overmatched.

Assassination/Subtlety Split Dagger Build
Breakdown: 21(22) Assassination, 22(21) Subtlety, 8 Combat
Key Talents: Imp. Backstab, Cold Blood, Preparation
Good Inclusions: Imp. Gouge, Imp. Sinister Strike, Ruthlessness, Relentless Strikes, Opportunity, Imp. Ambush, Intiative, Camouflage, Imp. Sap
Description: This is another Backstab dagger build, but instead of getting the CP generation boost of Seal Fate, it opts to get Preparation. Generally the decision to get Preparation is more of a PvP one.

Heavy Combat Sword/Mace Build
Breakdown: 31+ Combat, rest in a combination of Assassination/Subtlety
Key Talents: Imp. Sinister Strike, Mace or Sword Spec, Blade Flurry, Adrenaline Rush
Good Inclusions: Lightning Reflexes, Precision, Deflection, Dual Wield Spec, Aggression, Malice, Lethality, Ruthlessness, Relentless Strikes, Master of Deception, Camouflage
Description: This build tends to have much more "even" damage than an Assassination build. Your individual hits are not as high as an Assassination dagger build, but the DPS still can be roughly the same. A distinct advantage of this build is that Sinister Strike does not require you to be behind an enemy, so you can spam it all the time. Also, because of the lower energy cost of Sinister Strike, you can generate Combo Points at a fairly effective rate.

Subtlety/DoT Build
Breakdown: 31+ Subtlety, rest in a combination of Combat/Assassination
Key Talents: Premeditation, Preparation, Hemmorhage, Imp. Rupture, Opportunity
Good Inclusions: Master of Deception, Camouflage, Imp. Sap, Imp. Cheap Shot, Ghostly Strike, Setup, Imp. Slice and Dice, Imp. Garrote, Imp. Sinister Strike
Description: This is probably the least common of the builds listed. It involves using Garrote, Rupture, and Hemmorhage to literally bleed your target to death. This can work well if played properly, but is a difficult style to figure, and in some cases lags a little behind a build which concentrates more on Assassination or Combat. Also, Setup is not really that great of a combo point generator.

[tayman]

: What does the Master of Deception do?

A: It adds 3 points to your subtlety skill per point spent in the talent. So, at 5/5, you are effectively considered 3 levels higher for stealth checks.

Q: Is Imp. Sap required to be viable in high-end instances?

A: No. There are no talents we have that are absolute requirements for you to be an effective Rogue in high-end instances. While yes, Imp. Sap is a nice talent, you still are desired as DPS in a group if you don't have it. Plus, not having the talent does not mean you can't sap in an instance...it is very possible to work out a system with your group so you can sap pull without dying. If the talent fits into your build, then by all means pick it up. But, you don't need to make your build around it.

Q: Is the Camouflage 15% added onto your stealth speed, or just 15% faster?

A: It is 15% added. There was a little bit of confusion here, but I've had it verified in game that it does add on. So w/ level 60 stealth you move at 85%.

Q: Does Precision affect special attacks?

A: Honestly, I don't know. I would guess that it does, but it hasn't been proven one way or another. If you want to run some tests, go out there and tell me what happens!

Q: Are the crit/dodge/parry percents from talents added, or multiplied on?

A: They are added. So, say you have a 15% chance to crit. If you get Malice 5/5, you now have a 20% chance to crit. This also means that the 100% crit increase from Cold Blood gives you a guaranteed crit.

Q: Does Hemmorhage stack? How does it work exactly?

A: No, it does not stack. If it did, it would be insanely powerful . As for how it works, bascially think of it as a temporary weapon damage enchantment.

Q: Is Cold Blood a "guaranteed" crit?

A: Yes.

Q: Can your special attack miss when you have Cold Blood active?

A: Yes, it can. In that case the Cold Blood will still get used up :(.

Q: When you have Blade Flurry up, will your Sinister Strike and Eviscerate hit another target? How about Backstab/Ambush/Gouge?

A: SS and Eviscerate will. As far as I know, Backstab/Ambush/Gouge do not.

Q: Do Initiative and Seal Fate stack? Meaning, is it possible to get a 3 combo point Ambush?

A: Yes.

Q: How does the off-hand damage penalty work? How is it affected by the dual wield spec talent?

A: The off-hand normally just does 50% of what it normally would do. So:
(Weapon DPS + Attack Power DPS Bonus) * 0.5

WIth the dual wield spec 5/5, the off-hand does 75% damage, so just subtitute 0.75 for 0.5.

The tooltip for the off-hand was previously bugged, causing numbers which did not make sense. If you had the talent, a weapon would be listed as doing more damage in your off-hand than in your main. Some data posted prior to the tooltip fix suggested that the tooltip was bugged. The change to the tooltip seems to confirm this.

[tayman]

VI. Equipment

Q: What stats should I concentrate on raising through my equipment?

A: As a rogue, your most important stat is agility. Agility affects yout chance to crit and your chance to dodge. It also adds directly to your Attack Power and Armor Class.

As for your second most important stat, it likely is Stamina, as each point in Stamina gives you 10 health points. The idea is that more health means you will survive longer.

As for Spirit and Intelligence, you can basically ignore them entirely.

Now obviously this is oversimplistic since there's gear that gives *just* attack power or *just* chance to dodge, crit, etc. But at least in terms of basic stats these are good guidelines.

Q: What ranged weapon should I use?

A: Most players will choose a gun, bow, or crossbow, as they can have + to stats, which will apply even when you're not using your ranged weapon.

VII. Poisons

Q: How do I train poisons?

A: At level 20, Alliance characters train poisons with a quest from the SI-7 operatives in the Stormwind Barracks. Horde characters can get this quest by speaking with the rogue trainer in the Cleft of Shadows in Orgrimmar. Note that in order to complete the quest, you need to have around 85-90 skill in lockpicking. I would suggest getting it up to 100 before giving the quest a whirl.

Q: Where do I get poison reagents?

A: Almost all of them can be purchased from a Poisons Vendor or "Shady Dealer." However, for blinding powder (which is not really a poison, but requires poison skill to make), you will need the herb fadeleaf.

Q: Can I apply poisons to other player's weapons?

A: No. You can only apply poisons to your own weapons.

Q: What are fadeleaf and swiftthistle, and where do I get them?

A: These are both herbs. If you have herbalism, you can gather them in the world. Gathering fadeleaf requires 160 skill in herbalism, and swiftthisle can be acquired from Mageroyal and Briarthorn, which require 50 and 70 herbalism, respectively.

If you don't have herbalism, you will probably have to get them from another player. Although, you can sometimes get them from the Morrowgrain quest, if you're Alliance, and there are some enemies which will randomly drop herbs. But neither of these are with enough frequency to really make it a legitimate way to gather them. Note that swiftthistle is used for Thistle Tea, which is an energy drink, not a poison.

Q: What do the various poisons do?

A: Instant Poison - Chance on hit that you deal a certain amount of damage instantly.

Crippling Poison - Chance on hit that you reduce your targets movement speed by X amount.

Deadly Poison - Chance on hit that you land a DoT(Damage over time) poison on your target. The effect can be stacked up to 5 times.

Mind-Numbing Poison - Chance on hit to poison the target increasing its spell casting timer.

Wounding Poison - Chance on hit to reduces all healing effects on target by X amount.

Q: What poisons should I use in PvE/PvP?

A: For solo PvE, I generally like to put Instant Poison on both daggers, as it can provide a noticable boost to your damage (roughly 15% of the total damage you deal to an enemy). When I am in instances, I will generally put Crippling Poison on both daggers, as enemies running away can lead to instant death for you and your group. Sometimes, if I am confident enough in my group being able to catch runners, I will put Crippling on one and Instant on the other.

For PvP, crippling poison is probably the most popular, as it can be a very useful snare. Depending on your weapons, you may be able to get away with putting it only on one, and putting either Instant or Mind-Numbing on the other, depending on the enemy.

I generally do not overwrite poisons I've already applied on a dagger, as the high-level posions can cost over one gold per stack of 10.

[tayman]

VII. Lockpicking and Pickpocketing

Q: Where do I get the Lockpicking quest?

A: Once you train the ability Lockpicking at level 16, you can get the quest. Alliance characters will first talk to the SI-7 operatives in the Stormwind Barracks before going to Lakeshire. Horde players can get their quest in the Cleft of Shadows in Orgrimmar. For both of these quests, near the chest you need to pick there are practice chests which respawn quickly.

Q: Where do I get the "Thieves' Tools" required for lockpicking?

A: Your local "Shady Dealer" should have them in stock.

Q: Do the Thieves' Tools ever get used up?

A: No. You can pick locks with em for the life of your character .

Q: What are things I can lockpick to gain skill?

A: You can pick practice locks from Engineers, lockboxes, junkboxes, certain chests, and doors in and around certain instances. Note that currently there appears to be a bug where you will never skillup from picking a lockbox in the "will not be traded" slot of the trade box.

Q: When can I lockpick X? What's a good way to level up lockpicking?

A: For a pretty good list of skill requirements and tips on leveling lockpicking, I'd suggest looking at Laenis' lockpicking thread here: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?fn=wow-rogue&t=20276

Q: My lockpicking is capped at X, how do I raise the cap?

A: Your lockpicking cap is just 5x your level. When you level up, it will automatically raise. So, at level 20 you have a cap of 100 lockpicking, but when you ding 21 your cap will be raised to 105.

Q: What targets can I pickpocket?

A: Almost all targets which are classifed by the game as "Humanoid" can be pickpocketed. Some Undead and Dragonkin targets can be pickpocketed, as well, and it is likely there are some exceptions. If the target is invalid, you will be told that the target has no pockets to pick.

Q: What kind of items can I get from pickpocketing?

A: Usually, you'll just get coins, though junkboxes, food, and potions are fairly common, also. Sometimes, you'll get items which can only be pickpocketed, such as junk pocket watches, or the "How to Eat Man" cookbook. And if you're lucky, you might even get a gemstone or jewelry.

Q: Does pickpocketing an enemy take stuff that you would normally loot from the enemy when it is killed?

A: No. The pickpocket loot table is separate from the regular loot table.

Q: Do you have any tips for getting into position for pickpocketing?

A: The most important thing is to approach the target from behind. This will become much easier once you get the Distract ability.

Q: Can a pickpocket fail?

A: Yes, there is a chance that the pickpocket will be resisted. This chance is based on your level vs. the level of the enemy. If a pickpocket is resisted, the enemy will aggro you.

Q: Can I pickpocket other players?

A: No.

IX. Glossary
Here's a quick breakdown of various terms used in this FAQ, and their respective definitions.

BS - Backstab
CP - Combo Point
Crit - Critical Hit. These are attacks that do roughly 2x more damage than normal ones
DoT - Damage over Time. These are things like bleeds, which do their damage over a duration
DPS - Damage per Second. For a weapon, this is the average damage of your weapon, divided by the speed. For a characer talking about their overall DPS, this is how much damage they can deal.
Proc - Process. These are listed on weapons as a "Chance on Hit"
LP - Lockpicking
PP - Pickpocketing
PvE - Player versus Environment
PvP - Player versus Player
SnD - Slice and Dice
Spec - Specialization
SS - Sinister Strike

X. Thanks

(Beta)
Oroblram
Acumen
Elahrairah
Stabstab

Tristar
Karath
Quickie
Derex

(Release)
Wizardcat
Backbiter
Haunted
Valar (Gnomercy!!)