World of Warcraft: Forever · class guide
Combat Rogue: PvP
How Combat Rogue fights other players in the open world: where it ranks on the PvP tier lists, and why.
Forecast. Rated from the client data and our research, before anyone has played it at this level on this build. Where the data stops, the write-up says what it assumed. Rated as of , build 1.60.1.70450.
Battlegrounds are not rated yet; builds, matchups and battleground roles are being written for this spec. Honor, ranks, gear and the battlegrounds themselves are on PvP in World of Warcraft: Forever.
Verdict
- At 60
- Ranked 3 of 28 on Open-World PvP
Sustained damage with
Blade Flurry and 
Adrenaline Rush, escapes back on 2 minutes, and the best Rogue answer to a second player. - While leveling
- Ranked 3 of 28 on Open-World PvP Leveling
Stealth from level 1 and 
Sprint at 10, with Blade Flurry at 30 turning a two-on-one from a run into a fight. - Battlegrounds
- Not rated yet.
Profile
The rubric the lists score on, 1 to 5 on each line, with the weight each line carries. The class’s other specs are shown at 60 for comparison.
| Criterion | Weight | At 60 | While leveling | Assassination | Subtlety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burst and kill pressure | 25 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Survival and escapes | 20 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Control | 15 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| Fighting outnumbered | 15 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Choosing the fight | 10 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| Sustain between fights | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Group fights | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Weighted score | 3.80 | 3.40 | 3.85 | 3.80 |
Strengths and weaknesses
At 60
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Blade Flurry hits a second target | No heal |
 Evasion and Sprint on 2 minutes | No  Cold Blood |
| Improved Sprint removes slows |  Gouge shorter than  Assassination's |
 Kick with a 2 s  Silence |  Riposte needs a parry first |
| Riposte disarm | Weaker opener than Assassination |
Why it ranks where it does on Open-World PvP
Combat fights with 
Sinister Strike, 
Slice and Dice and Eviscerate. Blade Flurry adds 20% attack speed, Adrenaline Rush doubles energy regeneration for 15 s, and 
Hack and Slash lets any weapon use the talents. It has no Cold Blood, so it has no guaranteed crit. Its control is Gouge, Kick with a 2 s Silence, a 6 s disarm from Riposte, and the class's 
Cheap Shot, 
Kidney Shot, 
Blind and 
Sap.
Endurance puts Evasion and Sprint on 2 minutes, Improved Sprint removes movement-impairing effects, and 
Deflection, 
Lightning Reflexes and 
Vanish add to that, though it has no heal. Blade Flurry hits a second target, so with Evasion it can win some two-on-ones that the other Rogue specs cannot. Stealth openers choose the fight. In a pile-up Blade Flurry and Kick are its contribution.
It is not S because it has no Cold Blood, no heal, and a shorter incapacitate than Assassination, which owns Improved Gouge. Its opener hits less hard than Assassination's. 3.80 is 0.45 short of S.
While leveling
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Stealth at 1 and Sprint at 10 | Burst arrives late |
| Evasion at 8, Deflection and Riposte | No heal |
| Gouge at 6 and Kick at 12 | No stun before 26 |
| Blade Flurry cleave at 30 | No cleave before 30 |
| Fewer poison costs than Assassination | Vanish needs Flash Powder |
Why it ranks where it does on Open-World PvP Leveling
Eviscerate and Slice and Dice arrive between 1 and 10, Gouge at 6, Sap at 10 and Kick at 12, and Improved Sinister Strike and Improved Eviscerate from 10. Riposte and its 6 s disarm come at 20, Cheap Shot at 26 is the first stun, Kidney Shot comes at 30, and 
Dual Wield Specialization lands between 25 and 30. Blade Flurry arrives at 30 and Adrenaline Rush at 40, so burst stays modest until then.
Evasion at 8, Sprint at 10, Vanish at 22, Deflection from 15 and Riposte from 20 make it harder to kill than Assassination, and Endurance at 20 shortens its cooldowns. Before 30 the answer to two attackers is Evasion and Improved Sprint (20 to 30), and Blade Flurry then adds a cleave. Stealth from 1 chooses the fight. It has no heal, so it eats and bandages, and Kick at 12 and Blade Flurry at 30 are its group tools.
It is not A because its burst is modest until Blade Flurry at 30 and Adrenaline Rush at 40, and it has no heal and no stun before 26. 3.40 is 0.35 short of A.
Leveling timeline
The level each of Combat’s PvP tools arrives. A talent shows at the earliest level a point can reach it; the Talented Legacy perk brings talents 5 levels sooner.
- Level 1 Stealth
- Level 6 Gouge
- Level 8 Evasion
- Level 10 Sap, Sprint
- Level 12 Kick
- Level 20
Crippling Poison, Riposte (talent) - Level 22 Vanish
- Level 26 Cheap Shot
- Level 30 Kidney Shot
- Level 34 Blind
- Level 40 Adrenaline Rush (talent)
Races
The Rogue’s races as Races PvP ranks them, best first.
Alliance
Human: 
Will to Survive is the only full stun break in the game, and Ruthless and 
Perception add steady crit and stealth detection.
Dwarf: 
Stoneform is the strongest defensive racial of any race, and the widest class choice helps, but burst and mobility are the weakest.
Night Elf: 
Shadowmeld, extra stealth and speed give the joint best mobility of any race, and 
Elune's Light is a crit burst, but it breaks nothing.
Gnome: 
Escape Artist breaks roots and slows and its burst racial adds +10% damage, but Gnome lacks defense, mobility and class choice.
Skyborne (High Order): 
Wind Blessed gives steady haste, but High Order has no control break, no defensive and only a glide for mobility.
Horde
Undead: 
Will of the Forsaken breaks fear and charm and 
Touch of the Grave drains in combat, but it has the weakest burst and no mobility.
Orc: 
Blood Fury is the strongest burst cooldown of any race, and 
Hardiness and 
Shatter Curse give some breaks and defense, but no mobility.- Skyborne (Windshaper): Wind Blessed gives steady haste and
Skysight a 30 second sprint, but it has no control break and no defensive. 
Troll: 
Berserking is a burst for seven classes, but Troll has no control break or mobility and 
Rapid Regeneration works out of combat.
What we don’t know yet
At 60
Rated on assumptions:
- The level-60 build, including Adrenaline Rush at 40, is projected from the tree. Nothing past the beta cap of 30 has been played.
- The class guide expects Combat to be the strongest sustained single-target Rogue; nobody has measured it.
- Whether Blade Flurry wins two-on-ones is untested.
- Diminishing returns on Forever stuns, incapacitates and fears are not documented.
What would move it: A measured two-on-one result for Blade Flurry and Evasion, or diminishing returns being documented.
While leveling
Rated on assumptions:
- Adrenaline Rush at 40 is projected from the own tree; Improved Kick's silence comes at 25 in the client tree. Levels 31 to 60 are projected; nobody has played past the beta cap of 30.
- Blind at 34 and Kidney Shot rank 2 at 50 are client data and unplayed.
What would move it: Play past 30 showing Blade Flurry and Adrenaline Rush arriving at 30 and 40 as projected, or an earlier stun.
PvP in the ability notes
- Sap: Changed: no longer breaks Stealth, though it still needs it (the client's stance data and the tooltip: "Requires Stealth"), so you can Sap one mob and still open on a second while staying hidden. Still out-of-combat Humanoids only, 65 energy; it can't trigger weapon procs. PvP only: Sapping a flagged player flags you.
Mind-numbing Poison: 40–60% slower casting; 75–150 charges, half again Classic's. Useful on caster packs and in PvP.
Wound Poison: Stronger: each stack reduces healing by more than Classic (67 at rank 1, 165 at rank IV, was 135). Mostly PvP.