Rogue (WoW)  

See also: Rogue ability list, Rogue talent trees
For a more detailed set of information about the class, see Rogue FAQ.

Theme

Rogues are the shady and the under-handed of Azeroth. Always looking out for themselves, rogues will employ whatever dirty tricks they can to win a fight, often ambushing or gouging their opponents. Capable as thieves, agents, assassins, and thugs, rogues represent a large group of characters, none of whom is completely on the up-and-up.

Available Races

Every class can play rogue except for Tauren and Draenei. Perhaps the best-known rogue was Garona, the half-orc assassin that murdered King Llane during the first war.

Class capabilities

Weapon proficiencies:

• Dagger (starting weapon)
• Sword
• Mace
• Fist Weapon
• Bow
• Crossbow
• Gun
• Thrown

Armor proficiencies:

• Cloth
• Leather

Rogues use stealth to avoid detection by opponents so they can get the drop on them. Through the course of fighting, certain attacks will grant combo points to the rogue, which allows him to perform a finishing move that becomes stronger with an increasing number of combo points available.

It should also be noted that rogues activate their abilities using energy rather than mana. The rogue's energy bar always has a maximum of 100 points (excluding any bonuses,) and they recover 10 energy every second. Abilities cost anywhere from 10 to 60 energy, meaning the rogue will never be left helpless for long, but they may have to wait a moment to catch a second wind.

Rogues primarily fight by dual wielding one-handed weapons.

The three areas of focus for rogues are Combat, Assassination, and Subtlety. Combat is the preferred talent tree for rogues who like a (sort of) fair fight, and use brute force to get the job done. Assassination is for brutally slaughtering opponents, using whatever techniques you are able to, often through the use of stealth and finishing moves. Subtlety is the aspect of the rogue class that avoids detection and does not actively attempt to engage in battle, much like a thief would.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Rogues are capable of dealing large amounts of damage over long periods of time. Because they don't run out of mana, length of battle is rarely an issue so long as they haven't died. Obviously, stealth plays a big part in the strength of a rogue, and they gain the ability to Vanish from combat if they are in trouble.

However, rogues are primarily a short-range class. If they are detected from a distance, they may have difficulty dealing with a ranged attacker such as a hunter or mage. Additionally, many rogue abilities are on a cooldown of 5 minutes, making it difficult to use all advantages at once on a routine basis.

Group roles and expectations

Rogues are expected to deal damage, plain and simple. It is possible the group may ask the rogue to be the main assist or to sap a target at the beginning of combat, but the primary purpose for bringing a rogue to a party is to hurt things. Rogues can also pick locks on chests and doors.

Class Quests

Every rogue is offered a few early quests from their trainers. At level 10, rogues have the ability to learn lockpicking. At level 16, there's the ability to learn about the use of poisons. After that, there is virtually nothing.

For a complete list of Rogue quests, look here.