Fires of Heaven Guild Message Board - View Single Post - WoW Rogue write-up. Long.

Grimmlokk · 03-29-2004, 11:45 AM

Gonna copy Furor's format somewhat here.

Rogues are a leather class. Along with Shaman it's the heaviest armor they can wear. As such you will never have the Armor to tank like a Warrior or Paladin. In fact you'll probably be around half of their armor. You *can* tank in a pinch, but it will never be particularly efficient.

One of the things that seperates a Rogue from every other class is that their damage is based on agility rather than strength. As such you'll notice the leather gear is tailored to this a lot more.

There's really only two ways to go stat-wise. Either high Agility, or high Stamina. Both methods can and do work. With high Agility you will do absolutely disgusting damage with good weapons. At the cost of a *lot* of agro and not very good ability to take the inevitible beatings. With high Stamina you will do noticably less damage, and still pull agro some. You will take the beatings better though, but the added hitpoints will really only buy you a few hits.

My Rogue right now(link will die fast probably=))

I initially went the stamina route, and am currently in the process of switching to more agility.

Equipment

To start you can use Cloth and Leather armor, Daggers, and Bucklers. Later as you level you will have the option to buy the ability to use swords.

Swords vs. Daggers is an interesting choice. As it stands right now, you can backstab with either one, as long as you have a dagger off-hand at least. The vast majority of swords are main-hand only. In general the advantage to swords if bigger backstabs/ambushes(will get to those). The drawback is in general slower speeds which leads to lower normal melee DPS, and you look like a dork.

Either way can work, but it's strongly suggested you pick one and max out specialization in it. The difference for me with maxed out dagger spec vs. normal sword is huge.

Combat Abilities
Giving maxed current rank numbers for all skills.

To start, all rogue abilities are based on Energy. Which is locked at 100 total. Each ability uses a set amount instantly. Energy refills very fast, enough so that you are never left with no abilities to use for more than a few seconds. Ability cost is static, it nevers goes up woth higher ranks in a skill.

Charge up > Finishing Moves
I hate to say it's like D2 Assassins for the fact that it will surely make people jabber on about how it was there, but it is a *similar* system. Most special attacks will be charge up moves. They do what they do, damage etc, and give you 1-2 charge up points. Finishers can only be used on the mob you charged up against. 5 total can be saved up. Finishers get progressively stronger/longer the more charge up points you have saved when you use them. Finishers CAN miss, and some have longish cool down timers. All Charge Ups right now add 1 combo point except for Cheap Shot which adds 2.

Dodge, Block, Parry
Standard passive defensive abilities. Block requires a buckler, and will usually be completely neglected after level 10, when you get Dual Wield.

Evasion
Increased Dodge by 50% for 15 seconds. 5 min cool down. Uses no Energy.

Dual WIeld
Passive. Allows you to wield a dagger in the off-hand, or a sword should you find one able to go there. there is some debate as to the actual mechanics of DW still. But from what I have seen it fires independent of main-hand based on weapon delay. And it does half damage per hit.

Charge Ups

Sinister Strike - 1 Combo Point
This is your standard Charge up. At maxed rank it adds 20 damage to the normal damage. Cost: 45 Energy

Backstab - 1 Combo Point
Backstab attack hits at 150% of weapon damage(20dmg weapon will hit like 30dmg one) + 60 straight damage. Must be behind target. Cost: 60 Energy

Gouge - 1 Combo Point
Causes 20 damage and dazes the opponent for 4 seconds. Opponent must be facing you. The next attack on the mob will break the Daze effect instantly. Gouge automatically turns off you attack. What this does is allows you to Gouge a mob, then run behind and backstab for a quick 2 combo points and some decent damage. It is also a handy escape tool when used properly, buys you a small headstart. Cost: 45 Energy. 10 second cool down.

Feint - 1 Combo Point
This is like evade. Performs a maneuver that does no damage and lowers you on the threat list. It can and does miss. It does add a point. And right now it's fairly weak. Target must be facing you. Cost: 35 Energy

That's the standard charge attacks. These next ones are stealth attacks. You must be stealthed to perform them, and behind the mob. They will break stealth so it's a 1-shot deal, or so it's supposed to be=)

Must Be Stealth And Behind Mob

Garrote - 1 Combo Point
180dmg over 18 seconds. A straight dot. Cost: 50 Energy

Ambush - 1 Combo Point
Uber backstab basically. 250% weapon damage + 85 straight added to the attack. Cost: 60 Energy

Cheap Shot - 2 Combo Points
5 second stun on the mob. Awards 2(TWO) combo points. Very useful ability. Cost: 45 Energy

Finishing Moves

Eviscerate
Standard straight dmg finisher. Adds 48dmg to the attack. With 31 more for each additional Charge point up to 172 added. Cost: 35 Energy. 5 second cool down

Slice and Dice
Short term 15% haste. 6 second duration for 1 point, 3 more for each additional. Up to 18 seconds. Cost: 25 Energy. No cool down.

Rupture
Dot with a big blood splatter graphic=). 90 damage over 6 seconds initially. 60 more per point more over 4 more seconds for each additional point for up to 330 over 22 seconds Cost: 25 Energy. No cool down.

Kidney Shot
Stun. Lasts 1 second for each point. Cost: 25 Energy. 20 second cool down.

None of the above ability

Kick
30 damage and interrupts spell being cast for 9 seconds. No points awarded/needed.

Throw
Throw a throwing dagger or axe at a mob.

So that's your current COMBAT abilities. Now for the other utility stuff you've heard so much about.

Non-Combat Abilities

These do *not* use energy.

Stealth
This is your sneak/hide. You fade out to just a be transparent to the naked eye. If you are behind a mob you are safe. Period. In front they get perception/level based check to see you. Unless you are significantly higher than a mob it *can* see you if you get close enough. Before a mob can actually *see* you it will sense you and turn to face directly at you. If you stand still or back away it will go back to what it was doing. This is how you gain Stealth skill ups, by almost getting spotted. Stealth has a 10 second cool down after you click it off. Also after you attack/get attacked it is unusable for a few seconds. 6 or 10 or so.

Sprint
Run faster for 15 seconds. 5 min cool down.

Sap
*DISCLAIMER* Sap is supposedly going to be getting changed a lot soon. All this info may be way off before too long.

Knocks the target out for 35 seconds. Must be stealthed and behind the target. Humanoids only. Cost: 65 energy. This is basically your mez. It puts the mob to sleep. And right now it is definately very powerful. I can sleep 4-5 mobs at a time with no misses. And a lot of what you fight at 30 will be humanoid. The drawback is that to sleep more than 1 mob you really can't fight, you just stealth around whacking mobs in the back of the head while your group kills.

Pick Pocket
Must be stealthed. Picks a mobs pockets. Must be mobs with pockets. This does *NOT* draw from the mobs general loot/cash table. If it fails stealth is broken.

Vanish
Think Everquest Escape ability for rogues. Uses a component(Flash powder, fairly cheap). You disappear in a cloud of smoke and are stealthed like so for 30 seconds. Can switch to normal stealth without breaking it. You lose agro. If you are within a mobs range to see you it'll just re-agro immediately. Many rogues do not seem to realize how good this is. Not only can you gouge/sprint and vanish to get out of many many sure deaths, but if you get an add during a fight and can't afford to wait for Stealth to become usable again you can just Vanish and go to Sap the mob. 5 minute cool down.

Feign Death
Uses a component. Death capsule, made with poisons skill from a fairly rare dropped item. 1 use per capsule. Right now from what I can tell after a dozen or so uses, FD does nothing useful. You fall over which looks funny, and that's it. Mobs continue to pummel you. I'm thinking it's broken currently.

Poisons
Make poisons. Most every ingrediant for the various poisons is vendor bought. Though some dropped poison recipes will call for dropped ingrediants. Some poison examples are: Snare poison. A few different DD poisons. Casting time slow poison. Snare poison rules.

Pick Locks
Rogues get this as a class ability at 15. Uses a tool(permanent, just hafta carry with you). Allows you to open locked chests/lockboxes.
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So there you have my quick write-up on rogues. Though it took a half hour or so. Right now the rogue is a great class. And as with every class it's a world of difference between the skilled ones and the un-skilled.

03-29-2004, 11:45 AM	#1 (permalink)
Grimmlokk Unlicensed Vaginoplasty Surgeon Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 3,642 +11 Internets	WoW Rogue write-up. Long. Gonna copy Furor's format somewhat here. Rogues are a leather class. Along with Shaman it's the heaviest armor they can wear. As such you will never have the Armor to tank like a Warrior or Paladin. In fact you'll probably be around half of their armor. You can tank in a pinch, but it will never be particularly efficient. One of the things that seperates a Rogue from every other class is that their damage is based on agility rather than strength. As such you'll notice the leather gear is tailored to this a lot more. There's really only two ways to go stat-wise. Either high Agility, or high Stamina. Both methods can and do work. With high Agility you will do absolutely disgusting damage with good weapons. At the cost of a lot of agro and not very good ability to take the inevitible beatings. With high Stamina you will do noticably less damage, and still pull agro some. You will take the beatings better though, but the added hitpoints will really only buy you a few hits. My Rogue right now(link will die fast probably=)) I initially went the stamina route, and am currently in the process of switching to more agility. Equipment To start you can use Cloth and Leather armor, Daggers, and Bucklers. Later as you level you will have the option to buy the ability to use swords. Swords vs. Daggers is an interesting choice. As it stands right now, you can backstab with either one, as long as you have a dagger off-hand at least. The vast majority of swords are main-hand only. In general the advantage to swords if bigger backstabs/ambushes(will get to those). The drawback is in general slower speeds which leads to lower normal melee DPS, and you look like a dork. Either way can work, but it's strongly suggested you pick one and max out specialization in it. The difference for me with maxed out dagger spec vs. normal sword is huge. Combat Abilities Giving maxed current rank numbers for all skills. To start, all rogue abilities are based on Energy. Which is locked at 100 total. Each ability uses a set amount instantly. Energy refills very fast, enough so that you are never left with no abilities to use for more than a few seconds. Ability cost is static, it nevers goes up woth higher ranks in a skill. Charge up > Finishing Moves I hate to say it's like D2 Assassins for the fact that it will surely make people jabber on about how it was there, but it is a similar system. Most special attacks will be charge up moves. They do what they do, damage etc, and give you 1-2 charge up points. Finishers can only be used on the mob you charged up against. 5 total can be saved up. Finishers get progressively stronger/longer the more charge up points you have saved when you use them. Finishers CAN miss, and some have longish cool down timers. All Charge Ups right now add 1 combo point except for Cheap Shot which adds 2. Dodge, Block, Parry Standard passive defensive abilities. Block requires a buckler, and will usually be completely neglected after level 10, when you get Dual Wield. Evasion Increased Dodge by 50% for 15 seconds. 5 min cool down. Uses no Energy. Dual WIeld Passive. Allows you to wield a dagger in the off-hand, or a sword should you find one able to go there. there is some debate as to the actual mechanics of DW still. But from what I have seen it fires independent of main-hand based on weapon delay. And it does half damage per hit. Charge Ups Sinister Strike - 1 Combo Point This is your standard Charge up. At maxed rank it adds 20 damage to the normal damage. Cost: 45 Energy Backstab - 1 Combo Point Backstab attack hits at 150% of weapon damage(20dmg weapon will hit like 30dmg one) + 60 straight damage. Must be behind target. Cost: 60 Energy Gouge - 1 Combo Point Causes 20 damage and dazes the opponent for 4 seconds. Opponent must be facing you. The next attack on the mob will break the Daze effect instantly. Gouge automatically turns off you attack. What this does is allows you to Gouge a mob, then run behind and backstab for a quick 2 combo points and some decent damage. It is also a handy escape tool when used properly, buys you a small headstart. Cost: 45 Energy. 10 second cool down. Feint - 1 Combo Point This is like evade. Performs a maneuver that does no damage and lowers you on the threat list. It can and does miss. It does add a point. And right now it's fairly weak. Target must be facing you. Cost: 35 Energy That's the standard charge attacks. These next ones are stealth attacks. You must be stealthed to perform them, and behind the mob. They will break stealth so it's a 1-shot deal, or so it's supposed to be=) Must Be Stealth And Behind Mob Garrote - 1 Combo Point 180dmg over 18 seconds. A straight dot. Cost: 50 Energy Ambush - 1 Combo Point Uber backstab basically. 250% weapon damage + 85 straight added to the attack. Cost: 60 Energy Cheap Shot - 2 Combo Points 5 second stun on the mob. Awards 2(TWO) combo points. Very useful ability. Cost: 45 Energy Finishing Moves Eviscerate Standard straight dmg finisher. Adds 48dmg to the attack. With 31 more for each additional Charge point up to 172 added. Cost: 35 Energy. 5 second cool down Slice and Dice Short term 15% haste. 6 second duration for 1 point, 3 more for each additional. Up to 18 seconds. Cost: 25 Energy. No cool down. Rupture Dot with a big blood splatter graphic=). 90 damage over 6 seconds initially. 60 more per point more over 4 more seconds for each additional point for up to 330 over 22 seconds Cost: 25 Energy. No cool down. Kidney Shot Stun. Lasts 1 second for each point. Cost: 25 Energy. 20 second cool down. None of the above ability Kick 30 damage and interrupts spell being cast for 9 seconds. No points awarded/needed. Throw Throw a throwing dagger or axe at a mob. So that's your current COMBAT abilities. Now for the other utility stuff you've heard so much about. Non-Combat Abilities These do not use energy. Stealth This is your sneak/hide. You fade out to just a be transparent to the naked eye. If you are behind a mob you are safe. Period. In front they get perception/level based check to see you. Unless you are significantly higher than a mob it can see you if you get close enough. Before a mob can actually see you it will sense you and turn to face directly at you. If you stand still or back away it will go back to what it was doing. This is how you gain Stealth skill ups, by almost getting spotted. Stealth has a 10 second cool down after you click it off. Also after you attack/get attacked it is unusable for a few seconds. 6 or 10 or so. Sprint Run faster for 15 seconds. 5 min cool down. Sap DISCLAIMER Sap is supposedly going to be getting changed a lot soon. All this info may be way off before too long. Knocks the target out for 35 seconds. Must be stealthed and behind the target. Humanoids only. Cost: 65 energy. This is basically your mez. It puts the mob to sleep. And right now it is definately very powerful. I can sleep 4-5 mobs at a time with no misses. And a lot of what you fight at 30 will be humanoid. The drawback is that to sleep more than 1 mob you really can't fight, you just stealth around whacking mobs in the back of the head while your group kills. Pick Pocket Must be stealthed. Picks a mobs pockets. Must be mobs with pockets. This does NOT draw from the mobs general loot/cash table. If it fails stealth is broken. Vanish Think Everquest Escape ability for rogues. Uses a component(Flash powder, fairly cheap). You disappear in a cloud of smoke and are stealthed like so for 30 seconds. Can switch to normal stealth without breaking it. You lose agro. If you are within a mobs range to see you it'll just re-agro immediately. Many rogues do not seem to realize how good this is. Not only can you gouge/sprint and vanish to get out of many many sure deaths, but if you get an add during a fight and can't afford to wait for Stealth to become usable again you can just Vanish and go to Sap the mob. 5 minute cool down. Feign Death Uses a component. Death capsule, made with poisons skill from a fairly rare dropped item. 1 use per capsule. Right now from what I can tell after a dozen or so uses, FD does nothing useful. You fall over which looks funny, and that's it. Mobs continue to pummel you. I'm thinking it's broken currently. Poisons Make poisons. Most every ingrediant for the various poisons is vendor bought. Though some dropped poison recipes will call for dropped ingrediants. Some poison examples are: Snare poison. A few different DD poisons. Casting time slow poison. Snare poison rules. Pick Locks Rogues get this as a class ability at 15. Uses a tool(permanent, just hafta carry with you). Allows you to open locked chests/lockboxes. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So there you have my quick write-up on rogues. Though it took a half hour or so. Right now the rogue is a great class. And as with every class it's a world of difference between the skilled ones and the un-skilled. __________________ "The eyes are the groin of the face" Last edited by Grimmlokk : 03-29-2004 at 04:46 PM.