The WoW Forever Rogue changes through its talent trees: Assassination gains Mutilate and a new 31-point talent, Venom; Combat trades its four weapon specializations for one talent, Hack and Slash; and Subtlety now ends in Thousand Cuts. Every race but the Tauren can play one, including both halves of the new Skyborne race: Windshaper Skyborne for the Horde and High Order Skyborne for the Alliance. Here is what the beta client (build 1.60.1.70205) shows, tree by tree, with what Blizzard has said about the class in its Deep Dive recap and its September 24 and October 1 beta notes.
What changes for every Rogue
Neither Blizzard's Deep Dive recap nor its September 24 beta notes announce a new Rogue ability, and no Classic Era Rogue talent becomes a trainer spell in the beta client. Here is what reaches every Rogue:
- Hit and critical strike: spell, melee and ranged hit chance are now one stat, and so are the three critical strike chances. Blizzard's recap says this lets Rogues benefit when they make tools such as Poisons more reliable. Items with weapon skill also give less of it per item, and some items now reduce the chance for your attacks to be dodged or parried.
- Sap now correctly flags you for PvP when you use it on a PvP-flagged target. It is the only line in the Rogue section of the September 24 notes.
- Expose Armor no longer costs all your combo points when it misses, the October 1 notes add, and Subtlety's Setup now only adds a combo point to your current target when it is the one whose attack you dodged or whose spell you resisted.
- Racial traits: the September 24 notes turn the Gnome's Eureka! into a 10% discount on Mana, Rage or Energy abilities for every class, which means Energy for a Rogue; the October 1 notes take periodic effects out of it altogether, channeled spells aside. The Undead's Touch of the Grave no longer breaks crowd control or triggers from abilities with no damage component; Blizzard names Distract and Pick Pocket.
Assassination: Mutilate and Venom
- Cold Blood (15 points in the tree, 1 rank): When activated, increases the critical strike chance of your next Sinister Strike, Backstab, Ambush, Eviscerate, or Mutilate by 100%. A 21-point talent in Classic Era, it is now Assassination's 16-point talent.
- Vigor (20 points in the tree, 2 ranks): Increases your maximum Energy by 10. It was the tree's 31-point capstone in Classic Era, in 1 rank.
- Mutilate (20 points in the tree, 1 rank): Instantly attacks with both weapons for 75% weapon damage plus an additional 17 with each weapon. Damage increased by 20% against Poisoned targets. Awards 2 Combo Points. That is rank 1, for 60 Energy; ranks 2 to 4 come from the trainer at levels 40, 50 and 60, up to 50 extra damage per weapon.
- Venom (30 points in the tree, 1 rank): Finishing move that increases the damage of your Poisons by 30% and your chance to apply Poisons by 10%, for 9 sec with 1 combo point up to 21 sec with 5. It costs 25 Energy and requires Mutilate.
Improved Gouge moves in from Combat's first row (3 ranks, 1.5 sec more Gouge) while Improved Eviscerate goes the other way, and Improved Kidney Shot drops from 3 ranks to 2. In the beta client, Cold Blood, Lethality and Remorseless Attacks also list Mutilate among the attacks they affect.
Relentless Strikes stays at 10 points, in 1 rank: Your finishing moves have a 20% chance per Combo Point to restore 25 Energy. Blizzard's September 24 notes name it only in passing, as a talent that can feel required for Rogues, while explaining why they removed Improved Holy Strike from the Paladin tree and made its effect baseline.