Rogue Guide

hat slows our movement. Sprint’s cooldown is normally 5 minutes. Elusiveness brings it down to 3 minutes and 40 seconds and Improved Sprint brings it down to 2 minutes and 10 seconds. That’s a lot of sprinting.

Improved Kick- The ability to silence a caster for 2 seconds is nice, but 2 seconds just isn’t that long. This is not the answer to warlock and priest fear, it is not the answer to polymorph and it is not the answer to paladin invulnerability.

Dagger Specialization- 5% extra chance to crit with a dagger. Man that’s sweet. Too bad it’s in a tree I don’t like and deep into it. In phase 2 open beta it was at the top of the tree. That kind of made it a no brainer if you used daggers. But now it’s too far out of reach for a rogue to get opportunity, improved ambush and all of the good stuff in the assassination tree. Forget about seal fate. If you dump the entire subtlety line, you can still only get 2 points in seal fate.

Dual Wield Specialization- This is one of the best talents in the combat tree. Increasing offhand damage by 50% is gigantic.

Mace Specialization- You get a 6% chance to stun your opponent when using a mace. I’ve tested this extensively. It just doesn’t proc enough for me. It was an occasional benefit, but it would really seem to proc when I already had my opponent stunned. It by no means sucks. If I find a legendary mace in Molten Core this weekend I will reconsider it.

Blade Flurry- First off its fLurry not fUry. It’s like the thing you get at McDonalds, the McFlurry, not the rage and fury that the Incredible Hulk builds when he is angry. This is a nice addon to slice and dice. With SnD and this running at the same time and 2 daggers in your hand the ginsu action is extremely cool.

Sword Specialization- You get a 6% chance to gain an extra swing when using a sword. This procs more often than you’d think. With this, a thrash blade in your hand and a shaman with a wind fury totem down, you will get a lot of extra hits. It’s not a no brainer talent by any means.

Fist Weapon Specialization- Is fisting supposed to hurt? O_o ‘Cause I’ve yet to see a fist weapon that really impressed me. This talent gives 5% to crit, just like daggers.

Throwing Weapon Specialization- Increases your range with a throwing weapon by 6 yards. This talent upsets me more than boy bands and the billionaire Olsen twins combined. Do you need me to explain it to you? Cause if I do, you need to stop reading this guide, uninstall WoW and reistall Diablo II. Play it on single player and don’t update it with 1.10. Ok, I’m feeling better now, let’s move on.

Aggression- 6% extra damage on SS and eviscerate. That’s a pretty nice boost. It’s way down the tree but a worthy investment if you are in the combat line anyway.

Adrenaline Rush- Increases your energy regeneration rate by 100% for 15 seconds. This is probably the only good “ultimate” talent we have. The cooldown is longer than I’d like to see, but getting this talent is usually inevitable as once you get half way down the combat tree there are so many things worth taking that extra step for.

SUBTLETY

Rapid Concealment- Why would anyone want to get into stealth faster? I mean, how many fights do you get into that only last 5 seconds and require you to get back into stealth quickly? I’m not going to get upset again, I’m really not. Ok, breathe. I could see getting this if you were using an ambush build with remorseless attacks. In beta it was possible to one hit a mob, but it just doesn’t happen now against mobs our approximate level.

Master of Deception- Harder to detect in stealth. On one hand a rogue could argue that with good skill, a rogue doesn’t need MoD. That’s absolutely true. But why on earth not take that extra step towards invisibility. I can stand about 15 yards away from a level 60 player and be almost completely undetectable. With MoD I can get a LOT closer. I like that a lot. It will always be in my template.

Camouflage- Increases stealth speed by 15%. Speed is good. The faster you move, the less of a chance you have of a roaming mob catching you by surprise. It really helps with players too. When an opportunity arises, you need to be able to respond to it before they hearth, ride off, have their buddies join, etc.

Elusiveness- This is a must if you like to duel and PvP a lot. I recently dropped it to test something else and I just find myself waiting a lot. An impatience talent? Perhaps. But how effective a rogue is in PvP is in part dictated by his special abilities being ready. There are guildmates of mine that I simply cannot beat in a duel if I don’t have any of my cooldowns ready.

Opportunity- Increases ambush, BS and garrote damage by 20%. If you are a pure ambush/BS rogue, this is an absolute no brainer. 20% is gigantic with crits factored in.

Improv