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 1.60.1.70009) shows, tree by tree, with what Blizzard has said about the class in its Deep Dive recap and its September 24 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.
- Racial traits: the same 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 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.
Combat: one talent for every weapon
- Puncturing Wounds (5 points in the tree, 3 ranks): Increases the critical strike chance of your Backstab by 30% and your Mutilate by 15%, and gives Backstab a 45% chance to add an additional Combo Point.
- Flawless Execution (15 points in the tree, 1 rank): Reduces the Energy cost of your Eviscerate ability by 10. It is Combat's new 16-point talent.
- Hack and Slash (20 points in the tree, 5 ranks): Gives your melee weapon attacks a benefit depending on the weapon. Axe or sword: your successful melee attacks have a 5% chance to trigger an extra attack on the target. Dagger or fist weapon: your critical strike chance increases by 5%. Mace: your attacks ignore 15% of your target's armor.
Improved Eviscerate arrives in the first row (20% more Eviscerate damage), Deflection and Precision drop from 5 ranks to 3 (6% Parry and 3% hit at their last rank), and Adrenaline Rush is still the 31-point talent.
Subtlety: Thousand Cuts and an earlier Premeditation
- Dirty Tricks (5 points in the tree, 2 ranks): Reduces the Energy cost of your Sap and Blind abilities by 50%.
- Improved Distract (10 points in the tree, 2 ranks): Increases the radius of your Distract ability by 5 yds, and further reduces the Stealth detection of distracted enemies as though they were an additional 2 levels lower.
- Premeditation (15 points in the tree, 1 rank): Adds 2 Combo Points to your target. You must add to or use those combo points within 20 sec or the combo points are lost. The Classic Era capstone is now Subtlety's 16-point talent.
- Quietus (25 points in the tree, 5 ranks): Your Sinister Strike, Ghostly Strike, and Hemorrhage abilities cause 10% more damage against targets below 35% health.
- Cutthroat (25 points in the tree, 5 ranks): Your Backstab has a 15% chance to cause your next Ambush within 10 sec to not require Stealth.
- Thousand Cuts (30 points in the tree, 1 rank): When your Rupture ability deals periodic damage, the Energy cost of your next Hemorrhage or Backstab ability within 10 sec is reduced by 3, stacking up to 5 times. It requires Preparation.
Other talents come earlier: Camouflage now opens the tree, Setup and Improved Ambush need only 5 points in it, and Heightened Senses 15. Master of Deception drops from 5 ranks to 3 and Opportunity from 5 to 2; Opportunity's 10% bonus also covers Mutilate.
What leaves the trees
Eight Classic Era Rogue talents are gone from the beta client's trees, none of them from Assassination:
- Combat: Improved Backstab, Dagger Specialization, Fist Weapon Specialization, Mace Specialization and Sword Specialization. Puncturing Wounds takes Improved Backstab's row, Flawless Execution sits in Dagger Specialization's, and Hack and Slash in the row of the other three. In the client's spell data, Hack and Slash also takes over the old Dagger, Mace and Sword Specialization spells.
- Subtlety: Sleight of Hand, Improved Sap and Deadliness. Their rows now hold Dirty Tricks, the moved Heightened Senses and Premeditation, and the new Quietus and Cutthroat.
Build yours in our Rogue talent planner, check every rank of Mutilate and the rest in our Rogue spell list, and see how the new 16-point milestone works in our talent guide. Our race and class combinations guide lists every Rogue race, and our racial traits guide gives each race's four traits.
