WoW Classic, Phase 2.

Rogue Compendium

The Rogue Compendium is the collective work of optimal Classic Rogue play, based on years of theorycrafting, log analysis, and many smart folks. The primary goal of this tool is to help educate Rogues of all skill levels and elevate their performance in a raid environment.

The "💦" icon emphasizes a sweaty tip that most players won't bother with, but may improve your performance if it meshes with your raid environment.

Quick Links

Talents & Gear

For more detailed comparison data, refer to the P2 Rogue Sims spreadsheet.

Leveling

Leveling options as you progress your Rogue from 1-60.

Leveling SS
Leveling Sub

Pre-BiS

Simulations for fresh Phase 2 gearing for optimal play going into raids. Sims shown at 60s for the majority early phase crowd.

prebis backstab

Backstab
905 DPS

prebis ss

Best in Slot (Casual)

Simulations for the larger, more casual crowd at 30s. These are very attainable, do not require any professions, and are more forgiving to mistakes in gameplay with average kill times.

bis ss

Sinister Strike
1091 DPS

bis bs

Backstab
1084 DPS

BEst In Slot (Sweaty)💦

Simulations for the smaller, more hardcore crowd at 15s. These requires strict planning, best professions, full consume coverage, near perfect performance, and fast kill times.

sweaty bs

Backstab
1604 DPS

sweaty ss

Sinister Strike
1537 DPS

Improved Expose Armor

Simulations for the larger, more casual crowd at 30s for when you are on IEA duty.

iea ss

Consumables

Buffs

World Buffs

Raid Buffs

Raid Debuffs

Rogue Tips

Learn How To Sim

With the fresh Classic experience, we are evolving away from a world of spreadsheets into a brave, new world and the ability to leverage the Classic WoWSims tool for a far more accessible way to help Rogues determine which gear is an upgrade for them and how to optimize their performance.

Learning how to sim yourself is something that might seem intimidating, but it’s genuinely not that complicated - especially for Classic, given its simplicity. Do yourself a favor and learn how to sim.

Expose Armor

A single Rogue per raid being assigned to IEA duty is very common and benefits the raid greatly. As such, it’s important you understand how it works. While running IEA is a personal DPS loss for you, the damage gained from the raid will outweigh your lost damage in a vast majority of situations. Listed are the major points you should understand when on IEA duty to perform your role well.

Expose Armor vs Sunder Armor is a contentious topic, but it really shouldn’t be. Rogues’ Improved Expose Armor is objectively a better raid utility than Warriors’ Sunder Armor and should always be a priority, especially given the Warrior meta of Classic WoW.

  • When talented 2/2 into Improved Expose Armor, the armor reduction is raised from 1,700 to 2,550. For comparison, Warrior’s Sunder Armor only reduces armor by 2,250.

  • You MUST only cast Expose Armor at 5 CP for its full effectiveness.

  • Priority order for the IEA Rogue should be:

    • Apply 5 CP IEA to target as quickly as possible.

    • Maintain 5 CP IEA on target as close to 100% uptime as possible.

    • Maximize your DPS, but not at the risk of IEA falling off the target.

Macros

You can view all Comfy’s archived Macros on Wago.

WeakAuras

You can view all Comfy’s archived WeakAuras on Wago.

FAQs

What is the optimal rotation for my spec?

There are a couple different ways to better understand your optimal rotation; both of which you can view in the spec links above. First, you can review the “Rotation” tab. This shows your APL (Action Priority List), which executes top to bottom for priority. If an action meets the conditions, it executes and returns to to the top of the list again. If it fails, it checks the next action. The second way is to press “Simulate” and review the “Results” -> “Timeline” tab. This view shows the entire fight timeline and where each ability was cast.

Which poisons do I use?

If you’re Horde, you always want to leverage Windfury Totem for your main hand, so no poison there. If you’re Alliance, you generally want to run [Instant Poison] on your main hand, unless the boss is an elemental and immune to poison, in which case you run [Elemental Sharpening Stone].

For off hand, the same rule for [Elemental Sharpening Stone] applies. But for non-elemental bosses, you’re running [Instant Poison] for fights shorter than 30s and [Deadly Poison] for fights longer than 30s. Note, only one Rogue can apply [Deadly Poison] to a boss, so others will have to opt for [Instant Poison] instead.

Which professions are BiS?

Engineering is really the only profession which offers a proprietary DPS gain, as other professions you can simply buy their benefits from the Auction House. The two notable items from Engineering are [Goblin Sapper Charge] and [Gnomish Battle Chicken].

Swords or Daggers?

The question is actually “Sinister Strike or Backstab?” Both specs are very close in balancing, so realistically you can choose whichever you enjoy more. Daggers will have less loot competition.

Warriors tell me I need to run Improved Expose Armor??

Yes, one Rogue in the raid should run IEA, as the armor reduction is higher than any other class in the game. Warrior’s Sunder Armor reduce by 2250, whereas a Rogue’s Improved Expose Armor reduces by 2550.

Does spell power affect poisons?

No, spell power ONLY affects the damage done by [Dragonbreath Chili] and is only generally focused on increasing by Rogues who are attempting to be sweaty at the high end of competitive parsing.

Tier 0 or Tier 1?

The 6p set bonus from Tier 0 is very good, so it’s quite competitive with the extra stats provided from Tier 1. For more casual players who don’t gather all world buffs, consumables, optimal raid comps, etc, Tier 1 will generally perform better for you for both BS and SS. However, for the more sweaty players, while SS prefers T1 at all fight lengths, BS prefers T0 at all fight lengths. Refer to the corresponding BiS lists above to determine what’s best for you specific raid environment and build!

Onyxia’s Lair

Onyxia

Starting Ground Phase (100%)

  • Stay away from head & tail, allow Tank to secure threat before engaging.

  • Burn cooldowns upon engaging to ensure full uptime and back for P3.

Air Phase (65%)

  • Follow boss to maintain uptime while in air.

    • Stay away from Tank, so you don’t wipe their threat if targeted by Fireball.

    • If raid lead asks you to kill adds, go for it.

  • Save Sprint for Breath, run to sides immediately, then back on boss.

Final Ground Phase (40%)

  • Upon landing, boss will cast Bellowing Roar. Use Vanish just before it ends.

    • This will drop any threat you have, but also if timed properly you will not get feared.

    • If done properly, start burning the boss immediately

  • Stay on side of boss, reposition after fears.

  • Kill adds if raid lead asks you to, else kill boss.

Illustration of Onyxia, drawn by Thiago Almeida.

Molten COre

Lucifron

Single Phase

Lucifron, boss in Molten Core

Magmadar

Single Phase

Magmadar, boss in Molten Core

Gehennas

Single Phase

  • Use [Free Action Potion] on pull.

  • Cleave off Gehennas, since you want him dead ASAP, but want the added cleave damage.

  • Burn CDs on pull, be mindful of Blade Flurry threat on adds.

  • Move out of Rain of Fire. 

  • Boss does not require IEA (Sunder will suffice).

Gehennas, boss in Molten Core

Garr

Single Phase

Garr, boss in Molten Core

Baron Geddon

Single Phase

Shazzrah

Single Phase

Shazzrah, boss in Molten Core

Sulfuron Harbinger

Single Phase

Golemagg

Single Phase

Majordomo Executus

Single Phase

Ragnaros

Burn Phase

Submerge Phase

  • Use another [Greater Fire Protection Potion].

  • Run to ranged stack and drop a target dummy.

  • Once Tank has adds gathered, kill adds quickly, then get out and back to boss melee stack.

  • Boss goes back to Burn Phase, finish him off.

Changelog

12/24/2024

  • Last minute holiday present. We found a bug with T0 which was adding extra procs, making it a little stronger than it should be. The impact was a shift in sweaty BiS for SS to T1 at all fight lengths. Sweaty BS remains unchanged and still prefers T0. Also added a couple extra FAQs for poisons and tier selection.

12/23/2024

  • Happy Holidays - WoWSims Classic is live! Updated builds with direct links to corresponding sims - enjoy!

12/18/2024

  • Updated SS Pre-BiS back to Dal/Dal, as we found a bug in the sims which was not including the set bonus. Dals now back ahead by about 10 DPS for SS Pre-BiS.

12/9/2024

  • Adjusted SS Pre-BiS to include Krol / Mirah and Devilsaur for a slight upgrade. Still recommend the free options for more casual players, as you’ll replace these.

12/7/2024

  • Adjusted BiS to reflect replacing Nightslayer (T1) with Shadowcraft (T0), as T0 performs better in almost every situation. Removed Rend world buff from Standard sims, since most casual players will not put in the effort to acquire it.

12/3/2024

  • Initial P1 Rogue Compendium launched. SixtyUpgrades links in place for builds until WoWSims is publicly available.