PVE TBC Combat Rogue DPS Guide (Short)

Welcome to our PVE Combat Rogue DPS guide for WoW TBC. This guide will show you what you need to know to play a Combat Rogue in dungeons and raids. This guide covers everything from talents to consumables. 

Talents

There are three main builds for Combat Rogues in TBC. These three builds change based on your weapon choices, so as your gear changes you may want to swap your build around.

This first build is designed for someone with a slow main hand sword, in the 2.5 to 2.8 range and a faster sword in their off-hand. Combat Potency and Sword Specialization are a big part of why you want a faster off-hand.

This build is setup to have a slow first weapon as your MH and a fast sword as your OH.

This last build is designed to use a Dagger as your MH and a Sword as your OH. The dagger should have a speed between 1.7 to 1.9. This would be the build that uses backstab as it requires a dagger. Generally speaking the sword build is better though.

Gear

Gems

Gems can change based on your build, equipment and caps. You may need to adjust your gems to account for your gear.

• Meta: Relentless Earthstorm Diamond 
• Red: Glinting Pyrestone, Glinting Noble Topaz
• Blue: Shifting Shadowsong Amethyst, Shifting Nightseye (only to activate meta)
• Yellow: Rigid Lionseye, Rigid Dawnstone

Enchants

You may need to adjust your enchants to your gear. 

• Head: Glyph of Ferocity
• Shoulder: Greater Inscription of the Blade, Greater Inscription of Vengeance or Might of the Scourge
• Back: Enchant Cloak – Greater Agility 
• Chest: Enchant Chest – Exceptional Stats 
• Bracers: Enchant Bracer – Assault
• Gloves: Enchant Gloves – Superior Agility 
• Legs: Nethercobra Leg Armor 
• Boots: Enchant Boots – Dexterity or Enchant Boots – Cat’s Swiftness 
• Weapons: Enchant Weapon – Mongoose 

If you pick up enchanting you can benefit from Enchant Ring – Stats or Enchant Ring – Striking on both rings.

Consumables

Below is a list of consumables which help in any raid.

• Potion: Haste Potion 
• Elixir: Elixir of Major Agility or Elixir of Demonslaying
• Flask: Flask of Relentless Assault 
• Food: Spicy Hot Talbuk, Warp Burger
• Other: Thistle Tea or Flame Cap
• Drums: Drums of Battle, Drums of Restoration

Professions

• Leatherworking – This is a great choice for feral druids. Allows you to craft useful gear all the way through. You also benefit from Leg enchants. You can also increase your raid utility by crafting Drums of Battle.
• Enchanting – Enchanting both of your rings will give you a boost plus you can save money enchanting your own gear.
• Jewelcrafting – Great gold making choice and you can make your own gems early on. Can also be used to make Figurine – Shadowsong Panther, Hard Khorium Band, and Hard Khorium Choker.
• Engineering – You can create Deathblow X11 Goggles and Quad Deathblow X44 Goggles, both of which are great. You can also Vanish once your party dies and then attempt to use Goblin Jumper Cables XL! 

Stat Priority

1. Expertise
2. Agility & Hit rating
3. Haste
4. Critical Strike 
5. Armor Pen

After getting Precision you need an additional 64 hit rating to hit your soft cap. Once soft capped hit rating drops down a little in the priority list.

Weapon Expertise will provide you with all but the 64 expertise rating you will need to hit soft cap. If you are a human using while using swords or maces you will only need 44 additional expertise rating.

Rotation

Mutilate rogues have a pretty simple rotation.

Open with Garrote applying the bleed.

Apply Slice and Dice with 3-5 combo points and keep applying it for the rest of the fight.

Apply Rupture, always using 5 combo points and keep this applied for the entire fight as well.

Eviscerate when you have extra combo points.

Sinister Strike is your main combo point generator unless you are using daggers. If you are using daggers, Backstab is your main combo point generator.

Shiv is used to apply Deadly Poison when it is about to fall off. It should only be used if the debuff is about to run out.

Poisons

With a shaman, get Windfury Totem on your MH and Deadly Poison on your OH.

Without a shaman, use Instant poison on your MH and Deadly Poison on your OH.