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Beta, level cap 30 · data read 13 Oct

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Combat Rogue guide

Melee DPS · our guide of 13 Oct 2026 Recommendation

Talent trees, every tier list's rating and the sim: the Combat tab.

In short

  • A melee damage dealer with two weapons, building combo points and spending them on finishers.
  • Number 14 of 20 damage specs in our newest sim run, at 682 DPS. Sourced: Sim · 11 Oct run
  • Any weapon type works at 60: Hack and Slash gives axes and swords extra attacks, daggers and fist weapons more crit, and maces armor penetration. Sourced: Talent database
  • Weak spot early: nothing hits two targets until Blade Flurry at level 30.

How it plays

Up to level 30. Build combo points with Sinister Strike, keep Slice and Dice up and refresh it as late as you can, and spend five points on Eviscerate. Kick casters. Improved Eviscerate, Improved Sinister Strike and Lightning Reflexes come first; Precision 3 of 3 opens Dual Wield Specialization, and Flawless Execution makes Eviscerate cost 10 less Energy. Your 21st point buys Blade Flurry: use it for 15 sec of 20% faster attacks that each also hit a second enemy close by.

Sourced: Guide · 2 Oct, Talent database

At level 60. Theory Slice and Dice, Sinister Strike, Eviscerate at five points. Use Adrenaline Rush together with Blade Flurry: it doubles your Energy regeneration for 15 sec. Weapon Expertise, which needs Blade Flurry, makes your attacks less likely to be dodged or parried. A slow main hand and a fast off hand.

Sourced: Talent database

Talents at a glance

  • Level 20: Improved Eviscerate 3, Improved Sinister Strike 2, Lightning Reflexes 5, Endurance 1

    Community L20 route (wowforeversite, 20 Sep): Improved Eviscerate, Improved Sinister Strike, Lightning Reflexes, one point of Endurance (row 3 at 10).

    Tested · See the trees · Open in the calculator

  • Level 30: Improved Eviscerate 3, Improved Sinister Strike 2, Lightning Reflexes 5, Puncturing Wounds 3, Precision 3, Endurance 2, Flawless Execution 1, Dual Wield Specialization 1, Blade Flurry 1

    Precision 3/3 unlocks Dual Wield Specialization (row 4); Flawless Execution (new); Blade Flurry with the 21st point (row 5 at 20).

    Planned · See the trees · Open in the calculator

  • Level 60: Improved Sinister Strike 2, Lightning Reflexes 5, Improved Eviscerate 3, Precision 3, Puncturing Wounds 3, Dual Wield Specialization 5, Flawless Execution 1, Blade Flurry 1, Hack and Slash 5, Weapon Expertise 2, Aggression 3, Adrenaline Rush 1, Malice 5, Ruthlessness 3, Murder 2, Improved Slice and Dice 3, Relentless Strikes 1, Lethality 3

    Weapon Expertise requires Blade Flurry; Adrenaline Rush at row 7 (30 Combat points). Assassination: Malice 5/5, then Lethality (requires Malice), Ruthlessness, Murder, Improved Slice and Dice, Relentless Strikes.

    Theory · See the trees · Open in the calculator

Rotation at level 30

Recommendation

Single target

Open with Cheap Shot (26), Sinister Strike.

  1. Slice and Dice always
  2. Sinister Strike
  3. Eviscerate at 5 combo points
  4. Blade Flurry on 2+ targets
  5. Kick casters

Groups

  • Blade Flurry with 2 targets

Tip

Hack and Slash means swords, maces, axes and fists all work — pick by DPS.

Stats

Each guide's stat order as it gives it, the sim's stat weights, then ours. Guides dated before the last big tuning are shown but not counted.

Guides agreeSame order on 2 guides for the stats they all name.

WhereStat order
Guide · 5 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctWeapon damage › Hit and Expertise › Agility › Crit › Strength › Stamina
Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctWeapon damage › Hit › Agility › Crit › Strength › Stamina
Guide · 22 Sep leveling, level 30 · read 12 Oct · dated before 1 Oct, not countedNot ranked
Sim · stat weights level 60 · run 12 Oct, 5,000 iterations

Per 1%: Expertise 4.91 tied with Crit 4.89 › Hit 4.32 › Attack speed 3.25

Per point: Main-hand weapon DPS 2.51 › Physical damage 1.64 › Off-hand weapon DPS 0.735 › Agility 0.453 › Strength 0.265 › Attack power 0.241 › Armour penetration 0.0805

No DPS change in this run: Stamina.

The DPS each stat adds, for a level-60 character on the engine's preset gear in a 2-minute fight on a beta engine: a direction, not a verdict. = marks a tie: stats within each other's margin. Not counted toward "Guides agree".

Where they differ: ours puts Hit before Crit, which the sim weighs higher per 1%; ours puts Hit before Expertise, which the sim weighs higher per 1%; the sim measured no DPS change from Stamina.

Ours RecommendationMain-hand weapon damage (slow) › Hit › Crit › Agility › Attack power › Expertise › Stamina

Ours adds Attack power, which neither guide lists.

Where ours differs: ours puts Crit before Agility, which both guides rank higher.

Race

Each guide's race picks for Combat, then our pick for the Rogue.

Alliance

Guides agreeGnome on 2 guides.

  • Guide · 5 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctGnome
  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctGnome
  • Guide · 22 Sep leveling, level 30 · read 12 Oct · dated before 1 Oct, not countedGnome
  • Ours, for the Rogue RecommendationHuman S

Horde

Guides agreeOrc on 2 guides.

  • Guide · 5 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctOrc
  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctOrc
  • Guide · 22 Sep leveling, level 30 · read 12 Oct · dated before 1 Oct, not countedTroll, Orc
  • Ours, for the Rogue RecommendationUndead S

Professions

Guides agreeThe same professions on 2 guides.

  • Guide · 5 Oct PvE, level 30 · read 12 OctSkinning, Leatherworking
  • Guide · 1 Oct PvE, level 20 · read 12 OctSkinning, Leatherworking
  • Guide · 22 Sep leveling, level 30 · read 12 Oct · dated before 1 Oct, not countedNot given
  • Ours, for the Rogue RecommendationMining + Engineering; or Skinning + Leatherworking

What changed for Combat

  • 1 Oct: Expose Armor missing no longer eats combo points; Subtlety's Setup only adds combo points on the target you dodged/resisted.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 1 Oct

  • Sap now correctly flags the Rogue for PvP when used on a PvP-flagged target.

    Sourced: Dev notes · 24 Sep

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