Races (Written by Nooblestick, with additions from myself.)
The actual stats on each race don't really matter. At 60, the difference in stats will be negligible compared to the gear you're wearing, and even more so at 70, and even more at 80 and 85. We will instead be comparing racial abilities and traits.
Alliance
Night Elf
Elusiveness
Passive; Increases your stealth by five points (this is equal to one extra level in stealth). Also increases speed while stealthed by 5%.
Nature Resistance
Passive; Decreases the chance you will be hit by Nature spells by 2%.
Quickness
Passive; Reduces the chance you will be hit by melee and ranged attacks by 2%. The non-magic version of the nature resist one. (Works as chance to miss instead of dodge now, so will not proc overpower on enemy warriors for example.) Double as effective as it used to be.
Shadowmeld
Ability; a slightly less-powerful Vanish on a 2 min cooldown. You cannot move while Shadowmelded, but you can use openers. In PvE, threat is wiped while Shadowmelded, but restored on exit.
A decent race to pick for Rogue. Their racial ability can be very useful.[/li]
Human
Every Man for Himself
Ability; functions like a PvP trinket, but also shares cooldown with the PvP trinkets. 3 min cooldown.
Mace/Sword specialization
Passive; expertise with maces and swords increased by 3.
Diplomacy
Passive; reputation gains increased by 10%.
The Human Spirit
Passive; 3% increased spirit.
Another decent race to pick as a rogue (the best for PvE on Alliance). The increased weapon skill and diplomacy are nice for PvE. Every Man for Himself is worthless in PvP, as trinkets are on a 2 min cooldown.
Gnome
Escape Artist
Ability; removes all movement impairing effects. 1:45 cooldown. Very nice PvP tool. Quick cooldown makes for very effective use in BGs.
Traits:
Expansive Mind (+5% Intellect), Arcane Resistance (2% chance for Arcane spells to miss), Engineering Specialist (+15 Engineering Skill), Sortblade Specialist (+3 expertise with daggers and one-handed swords).
Not the best race for a Rogue, but a good race in general. Escape Artist will save you in PvP more often than you think.
Dwarf
Stoneform
Ability: 8 Second immunity to poisons, diseases and bleed effects, as well as 10% increased armor. 3 minute cooldown. Nice to use before a Vanish so you don't get knocked out instantly due to Warrior/Rogue DoTs.
Traits:
Gun Specialization (+1% crit), Frost Resistance (2% chance for Frost spells to miss), Mace Specialization (+3 expertise with 1h and 2h maces), Explorer (+15 Archaeology skill).
Probably has the third most useful abilities and traits for Alliance Rogues. Stoneform is hawt.
Worgen
Darkflight
Ability: 70% speed increase for 10 secs. 3 minute cooldown. Nice racial in addition to sprint's lowered cooldown.
Traits:
Viciousness (1% additional crit), Aberration (Diseases and Curses durations reduced by 15%), Flayer (skinning increased by 15, no knife needed, and time reduced), Two Forms (changes between Worgen form and human form), Running Wild (mount; worgen drops to all fours and runs faster).
Overall the best race for alliance rogues, probably the best for PvP on alliance.
Horde
Orc
Blood Fury
Ability; increases Attack Power by 6 + (your_level -1) * 4 for 15 seconds. 2 minute cooldown. That's 242 Attack Power at level 60, 282 at 70, 322 at 80, and 342 at 85. Decreases all healing effects by 50% for 15 seconds. 2 minute cooldown. This adds a very large amount of damage while it's active, and is a very powerful ability in PvE. Also useful in PvP, but to a lesser extent.
Traits:
Hardiness (15% reduced stun duration), Command (+5% pet melee damage), Axe Specialization (+3 expertise with axes)
A good choice for a Rogue. Blood Fury makes you a PvE powerhouse. The best PvE choice for a Rogue (tied with Goblins).
Undead
Will of the Forsaken
Ability; removes all Fear, Sleep, and Charm effects. 2 minute cooldown, shared 30 second cooldown with PvP trinkets. An extremely useful PvP ability. If PvP is your primary focus, this alone should be enough to make up your mind, as classes that can Fear repeatedly often give Rogues the most trouble.
Traits:
Underwater Breathing (breath lasts 233% longer than other races under water), Shadow Resistance (2% chance for Shadow spells to miss), Cannibalize (consume a nearby Humanoid or Undead corpse to restore 35% of your health over 10 seconds).
Tied for the best PvP choice for a Rogue, out of every race (tied with Goblins, in my opinion). WotF is slightly less powerful now that it shares a 30 second cooldown with PvP trinkets, but still insanely helpful in PvP.
Troll
Berserking
Ability; increases attack speed by 20% for 10 seconds. 3 minute cooldown. Not a bad ability, but if you're just looking for a damage increase ability, Orcs are better.
Traits: Da Voodoo Shuffle (reduces the duration of all movement impairing effects by 15%. Trolls be flippin' out mon!), Regeneration (10% increased health regeneration, 10% health regeneration allowed in combat), Beast Slaying (5% increased damage against beasts), Throwing Weapon Specialization (+1% crit), Bow Specialization (+1% crit).
Not really a very good Rogue race compared to the others available. Trolls were designed more with Hunters in mind.
Blood Elf
Arcane Torrent
Ability; silences all enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds and restores 15 energy.
Traits:
Arcane Affinity (+10 Enchanting Skill), Magic Resistance (2% chance for ALL spells to miss).
With the nerf to WotF, Blood Elves are tied with Undead (and Goblins) in terms of PvP value.
Goblin
Rocket Jump(Barrage)
Abilities; tied to the same 2 min cooldown, you can either choose to fire rockets at your enemy (similar to the rocket gloves Engineering enchantment), or to use Rocket Jump and launch yourself forward. Very useful racials for PvP, decent for PvE.
Traits:
Time is Money (1% haste, unsure if this will also effect energy regeneration), Best Deals Anywhere (always get a 20% discount at vendors as if you were exalted), Pack Hobgoblin (call your Hobgoblin servant, allowing you to access your bank every 30 mins), Better Living Through Chemistry (+15 Alchemy skill).
Tied for the best race for rogues in PvP, tied for the best in PvE; you also get the bonus of being the coolest race in WoW.
Weapons
Pretty simple on what to do with weapons. For Assassination and Sub, use daggers. For combat, use whatever you want, as long as you're not using a dagger main hand.
For all specs, use a slow MH (1.8+ for daggers, 2.4+ for everything else) and fast (sub-1.5) OH, and use Instant MH, Deadly OH.
Edited, Dec 1st 2010 2:02pm by Theophany