World of Warcraft Rogue Guide: Class Overview

The rogue is one of the most dynamic and fun to play classes in World of Warcraft. No other class can dish out melee damage like the rogue does; it’s an excellent choice for anyone who likes to do their killing up close and personal.

There are eight races that can become rogues, four from the Alliance and four in the Horde.

Alliance Rogue Races

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• Dwarf
• Gnome
• Human
• Night Elf

Horde Rogue Races

• Blood Elf
• Orc
• Troll
• Undead

Rogues are restricted to cloth and leather armors. They are able to wield four different types of melee weapons and can attack from a distance with four ranged weapon types.

Rogue Melee Weapons

• Daggers
• Swords
• Maces
• Fist Weapons

Rogue Ranged Weapons

• Bows
• Crossbows
• Guns
• Thrown Weapons

A rogue is a damage-dealing machine. Their single most important focus is taking enemies down quickly. Well-equipped rogues are capable of equaling even mage damage output when grouped with a decent tank.

A rogue’s special attacks are fueled by energy, a constantly-replenishing gauge located below their hitpoints. Each attack deals bonus damage and garners the rogue a combo point. These combo points can then be used to perform finishing moves that deal a large amount of instant or DoT (damage over time) damage. Unlike mana, the energy bar refills very quickly, leading to very little downtime.

Stealth is another key weapon in a rogue’s arsenal. Many quests that ask the player to kill a certain mob or open a certain chest can be completed more quickly by simply stealthing past most of the mobs to the objective, then stealthing out again. Stealth is also a huge advantage in PvP.

Lockpicking is a skill unique to the rogue class. It can be used to open locked treasure chests and even open some doors within instances that normally require keys. Opening lockboxes is also a decent way to generate income, as most players are willing to tip a rogue who cracks one open for them.

Rogues can also learn to apply poisons to their weapons which can slow the enemy or deal damage over time.

Unfortunately for a character that is so often right in the enemy’s face, the rogue has very few hitpoints compared to other melee classes. High agility can mitigate this somewhat, as a rogue can dodge a large number of attacks, but rogues aren’t built to outlast their opponents the way a paladin or warrior can. Rogues must down their opponents quickly or risk taking a beating in a toe-to-toe battle.

One disadvantage to dealing insane amounts of damage is the likelihood of pulling aggro when grouped. If the rogue is not careful or the main tank isn’t very skilled, a rogue can find themselves the subject of a boss’s attention very quickly. Fortunately, the rogue has skills like Feint which allow them to shed aggro quickly.

While ample energy regeneration can reduce downtime, a rogue still must find a way to regain their limited hitpoints between battles in order to be effective. With no innate healing skills, rogues must level First Aid or carry health potions when not grouped with a healer.

The rogue is a fantastic class for both solo and social players. The fast energy regeneration coupled with the availability of secondary skills like First Aid makes the rogue a soloing machine with little to no downtime.

In a group, the rogue can provide lockpicking services and speed up group kills with their massive damage output. In a pinch, a rogue can even make a decent secondary tank, provided there is a competent healer in the group.

The rogue is a decent class for anyone interested in fighting up close and personal while still maintaining some independence.