Library BooksDonate library books for a necklace and an Agility ring, the Field Researcher’s Loop.What Forever Changes for Rogues
- Sap no longer breaks Stealth, and Distract also dulls the Stealth detection of the enemies it turns for 10 seconds. Enemy players can see that debuff, so it tells them a Rogue is close.
- One-handed axes join your weapon list. Hack and Slash, which folds Combat’s weapon specializations into one talent, gives axes the same extra-attack chance as swords.
- Every poison carries more charges and sits on your weapon alongside a Sharpening Stone or Weightstone. Improved Poisons adds a 50% chance for an application not to use up a charge.
- Feint sheds twice as much threat. Expose Armor matches five Sunder Armors and no longer stops a Warrior from applying Sunder Armor for threat.
- Mutilate is Assassination’s 21-point talent: a strike with a dagger in each hand that awards 2 combo points and hits poisoned targets 20% harder.
- Assassination and Subtlety gain new 31-point talents, Venom and Thousand Cuts, and Cold Blood and Premeditation move up to the 16-point milestones.
New and Reworked Rogue Abilities
These are the spells the Forever client adds, opens to every race, or hands you without a talent, in the order you learn them. Spells marked with a race are that race’s own.
| Level | Ability | Status | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Sap | Reworked in Forever | Incapacitates the target for up to 45 sec. Only works on Humanoids that are not in combat. Any damage taken will break the effect. Only 1 target may be sapped at a time. Does not break Stealth. |
| 14 | Expose Armor | Reworked in Forever | Finishing move that exposes the target for 30 sec, reducing Armor per combo point: 1 point : 450 Armor 2 points: 900 Armor 3 points: 1350 Armor 4 points: 1800 Armor 5 points: 2250 Armor |
| 16 | Feint | Reworked in Forever | Performs a feint, causing no damage but lowering your threat by a large amount, making the enemy less likely to attack you. |
| 22 | Distract | Reworked in Forever | Throws a distraction, attracting the attention of all nearby enemies and reducing their Stealth detection as if they were 1 level lower for 10 seconds. Does not break stealth. |
| 60 | Occult Poison II | New in Forever | Coats a weapon with poison that lasts for 30 minutes. Each strike has a 30% chance of poisoning the enemy for 136 Nature damage over 12 sec and causing the enemy to take 4% increased Arcane, Fire, Frost, Nature, and Shadow damage. Stacks up to 5 times on a single target. Occult Poison counts as Deadly Poison and benefits from all talents and effects that trigger from or modify Deadly Poison. |
Recommended Builds
Each build lists the order to spend every point from level 10, so you can follow it while you level. Open any step in the talent calculator to see the build at that level.
Assassination Beta Start
Levels 10–20, fast solo kills with Sinister Strike and Eviscerate
11 Assassination0 Combat0 Subtlety
Critical strike first, then combo points: Malice, a near-guaranteed crit after every kill, and Ruthlessness feeding the next finisher.
Why these talents
- Malice adds 5% critical strike chance with all attacks and poisons.
- Remorseless Attacks gives a 40% critical strike chance on your first strike after a kill, which chains quest mobs together.
- Ruthlessness gives finishing moves a 60% chance to hand a combo point straight back.
- Relentless Strikes returns 25 Energy per combo point spent, 20% of the time.
Swaps to consider
- The source guide leaves the eleventh point unspent; we put it in Relentless Strikes because Energy, not damage, is what limits a level-20 Rogue.
- Improved Slice and Dice is skipped on purpose: nothing at this level lives long enough to pay for the duration.
Combat Beta Start
Levels 10–20, straight damage in the world and in dungeons
0 Assassination11 Combat0 Subtlety
A cheaper Sinister Strike, a harder Eviscerate, and 3% hit so nothing whiffs. No defensive talents at all.
Why these talents
- Improved Sinister Strike takes 5 Energy off your main builder, which is close to one extra strike per fight.
- Improved Eviscerate adds 20% damage to your finisher.
- Puncturing Wounds adds 30% critical strike chance to Backstab and gives it a 45% chance to add a combo point.
- Precision adds 3% hit, removing the misses that waste Energy you cannot spare.
Swaps to consider
- Dodge and parry talents are skipped deliberately: at level 20 nothing in PvE hits hard enough to need them.
Subtlety Beta Start
Levels 10–20, opening from stealth and slipping past what you do not need to fight
0 Assassination0 Combat11 Subtlety
Stealth that moves faster and returns sooner, plus a 45% critical strike chance on Ambush that takes half the health bar off most targets.
Why these talents
- Camouflage reduces the Stealth speed penalty by 9% and its cooldown by 4 seconds, so staying stealthed between pulls is practical.
- Improved Ambush adds 45% critical strike chance to Ambush, and Opportunity adds 10% damage to Ambush, Backstab, Garrote and Mutilate.
- Ghostly Strike deals 180% weapon damage with a dagger equipped, adds 15% dodge for 7 seconds, and has no positional requirement.
Swaps to consider
- Setup leans towards PvP; in PvE those two points can finish Camouflage for the full stealth speed instead.
Talent Tree Changes from Classic
New talents, talents moved in from another tree, and the Classic talents each tree no longer has. Compare them in the talent calculator →
Assassination
2 new · 2 moved in · 0 removed
Mutilate rewards poisoned targets, and Venom at 31 points is a finisher that raises your poison damage by 30% and your application chance by 10%. Keep Venom and Slice and Dice running first; Rupture and Eviscerate come after.
New
Mutilate
Venom
Moved in
Vile Poisons
Seal Fate
Combat
3 new · 0 moved in · 5 removed
Hack and Slash replaces the four weapon specializations and adds axes, and maces now ignore 15% of armor in place of the old stun. Flawless Execution at 16 points makes Eviscerate 10 Energy cheaper, and Puncturing Wounds and Aggression open a Backstab build here: more Backstab and Mutilate critical strikes, a chance at an extra combo point, and more Backstab damage.
New
Puncturing Wounds
Flawless Execution
Hack and Slash
No longer in this tree
Dagger Specialization, Fist Weapon Specialization, Improved Backstab, Mace Specialization, Sword Specialization
Subtlety
5 new · 1 moved in · 3 removed
Thousand Cuts at 31 points makes each Rupture tick cut the cost of your next Hemorrhage or Backstab, stacking up to 5 times. Quietus adds damage to Sinister Strike, Ghostly Strike, and Hemorrhage on targets below 35% health, and Cutthroat gives Backstab a chance to unlock an Ambush in the middle of a fight.
New
Dirty Tricks
Improved Distract
Quietus
Cutthroat
Thousand Cuts
Moved in
Improved Ambush
No longer in this tree
Deadliness, Improved Sap, Sleight of Hand
Leveling a Rogue
Every class follows the same zones and dungeons; your faction decides the route. Start in your race's zone, follow your faction's route, and spend your talents with the Combat Beta Start build above.
- HumanAlliance · Elwynn Forest
- DwarfAlliance · Dun Morogh
- Night ElfAlliance · Teldrassil
- GnomeAlliance · Dun Morogh
- SkyborneAlliance · Zephras Isle
- OrcHorde · Durotar
- UndeadHorde · Tirisfal Glades
- TrollHorde · Durotar
- SkyborneHorde · Zephras Isle
Playable Race Options
Every race that can play a Rogue in WoW Forever. Racials are balanced around offensive consistency, so choose the aesthetics, utility, and movement tools that fit your playstyle.
Alliance Races
5 Options
Murder
Improved Slice and Dice
Improved Expose Armor
Lethality
Cold Blood
Improved Poisons
Vigor
Improved Kidney Shot
Lightning Reflexes
Deflection
Endurance
Riposte
Improved Sprint
Improved Kick
Dual Wield Specialization
Blade Flurry
Weapon Expertise
Aggression
Adrenaline Rush
Master of Deception
Elusiveness
Initiative
Heightened Senses
Premeditation
Serrated Blades
Dirty Deeds
Preparation
Hemorrhage
