WoW Forever Rogue guide: leveling 1-60, talents and level 60

WOW FOREVER · CLASS GUIDE

Updated November 3, 2026

Overview Leveling 1-60 How to play Level 60 PvP Professions Still to come Macros Calculator

Overview

The rogue is the melee specialist who strikes from the shadows: stealth, poisons, stuns and heavy single-target damage. Forever adds Shank (an off-hand strike that gives Energy back), Mutilate and Venom (Assassination), lets rogues use axes, and a single talent, Hack and Slash, now works with every weapon type. It suits players who like choosing when a fight starts and who ends it.

Strengths

High single-target damage and strong finishers.
You choose when the fight starts: stealth, Sap and openers from behind.
Plenty of escapes: Evasion, Sprint, Vanish, Gouge and Blind.
In PvP, near-constant control with Cheap Shot, Kidney Shot and Kick.
Energy comes back smoothly (10 per second, no tick to wait for), so the pace feels smoother than in Classic.

Weaknesses

No self-healing: you rely on bandages, food and potions.
Almost no area damage: only Blade Flurry (Combat) reaches a second target.
Brings little raid utility beyond damage and Expose Armor.
If several enemies catch you with your defences on cooldown, you go down fast.
Hard to learn: you juggle energy, combo points (lost when you switch targets) and many crowd controls that need the right timing. Not the easiest class to start with.

The specs

Combat	Melee DPS · Leveling, dungeons and raids The simplest and most consistent tree. Hack and Slash makes every weapon type viable, Riposte and Deflection keep you alive, and Blade Flurry adds some two-target damage. Since November 2 its new talents (Composure and Flash of Steel) revolve around Poised and Shank: more Energy to spend.
Assassination	Melee DPS (poisons) · Raids and PvP with daggers The reworked tree: Mutilate (two daggers, 2 combo points) and Venom, which since November 2 is passive: after Shank, your poisons hit harder and apply more often. Mutilate is now the final talent, so the tree feels thin until level 40, then grows fast. Needs daggers in both hands.
Subtlety	Melee DPS (stealth and bleeds) · PvP and duels Better stealth, Premeditation, Preparation and cheap tricks (Sap and Blind cost half with Dirty Tricks). Since November 2 its capstone is Death Mark, a finisher that stores part of your damage and releases it after 6 sec (Thousand Cuts, Quietus and Cutthroat are gone), and Boot Knife makes Shank award 2 combo points. Bleeds with Hemorrhage, Garrote and Rupture. Mostly for PvP.

Recommended races

Human (Alliance)	Ruthless gives a permanent +1% crit and Will to Survive breaks stuns: good for both PvE and PvP.
Night Elf (Alliance)	Elune's Light: +10% crit for 15 sec. Quickness makes you harder to spot in stealth and Shadowmeld is one more escape.
Gnome (Alliance)	Expansive Mind gives 5% more maximum Energy, Eureka! makes your strikes cheaper and stronger, and Escape Artist breaks slows.
Dwarf (Alliance)	For PvP: Stoneform clears poisons, bleeds and diseases and cuts physical damage. +1% hit from Artisan's Precision.
Orc (Horde)	Blood Fury: +10% Attack Power for 15 sec. Hardiness shortens stuns on you by 20%. The most complete Horde pick.
Undead (Horde)	The PvP pick: Will of the Forsaken breaks fears and sleeps, and Touch of the Grave drains health as you hit.
Troll (Horde)	Berserking: +10% attack speed for 15 sec, plus health regeneration for fewer breaks while leveling.
Skyborne (Windshaper) (Horde)	New race (Heroic pack). Wind Blessed gives a flat +2% Haste and Skysight adds movement speed. The Alliance has its own version (High Order).

Leveling 1-60

Leveling spec: Combat

For leveling we recommend Combat: almost every guide agrees, and it is the tree that depends least on gear. You build with Sinister Strike, spend combo points on Slice and Dice and Eviscerate, and survive with Riposte, Evasion and Sprint (which Endurance brings back much sooner). Thanks to Hack and Slash any weapon works: swords and axes give extra swings, daggers and fist weapons give crit, maces ignore armor. Put your slowest, hardest-hitting weapon in the main hand. From 24, Shank with your off-hand gives extra Energy. On November 2 Blizzard reorganized all three rogue trees and the new tree isn't in the game data yet: this build is our adaptation using the rows given in the note and ends at 15/36/0. Check it in game on the 5th.

Talents, point by point

10-11	2/2 Efficient Strikes Formerly Improved Sinister Strike: it now cuts 5 Energy from Sinister Strike and Hemorrhage too.
12-14	3/3 Coup de Grace Formerly Improved Eviscerate: +20% to the finisher that kills almost everything.
15-17	3/3 Precision You miss less, and in Forever it also counts for poisons.
18-20	3/3 Deflection +6% Parry and the requirement for Riposte.
21-23	1/1 Riposte, 2/2 Endurance Riposte: a free strike after a parry that also disarms for 6 sec. Endurance: Sprint and Evasion recharge 60% sooner.
24-26	2/2 Composure, 1/1 Flawless Execution Composure (new, row 3): Poised saves 10 more Energy on your opener (20 in total). Flawless Execution: Eviscerate costs 15 less Energy (was 10). (New November 2 tree: the row comes from Blizzard's note; column and prerequisite still to be confirmed in game.)
27-29	3/3 Aggression Moved up to row 4: Sinister Strike and Eviscerate deal 15% more (no longer Backstab). This gets you to 20 points.
30	1/1 Blade Flurry +20% attack speed and your hits reach a second enemy for 15 sec.
31-35	5/5 Hack and Slash Combat's key talent: a bonus based on the weapon you use.
36-39	2/2 Dual Wield Specialization, 2/2 Weapon Expertise Dual Wield Specialization moved down to row 5 and now has 2 ranks: +50% off-hand damage (Shank included). Weapon Expertise moved up to row 4; it used to require Blade Flurry, which you already have. This takes you to 30 points in Combat. (New November 2 tree: the row comes from Blizzard's note; column and prerequisite still to be confirmed in game.)
40	1/1 Adrenaline Rush Double Energy regeneration for 15 sec: use it on elites and multi-mob pulls.
41-45	5/5 Flash of Steel New (row 6): Shank gives 15 more Energy and comes back 2 sec sooner. More Energy, more strikes.
46-56	Assassination: 5/5 Malice, 3/3 Ruthlessness, 3/3 Improved Slice and Dice In that order: +5% crit on everything, free combo points after finishers and a longer Slice and Dice.
57-60	Assassination: 2/2 Lethality, 2/2 Vigor Lethality now has 2 ranks (+20% crit damage on Sinister Strike, Hemorrhage and other strikes). Vigor moved up to row 3: +10 max Energy. You finish at 15/36/0.

Leveling as Damage (Assassination / Mutilate) · Assassination (37/14/0)

For players who want to fight with two daggers and poisons and end up in the level 60 Mutilate build. Since November 2 Mutilate is the final talent and arrives at 40: until then you level with Sinister Strike and Shank, slower than Combat. From 40 on, crits and Seal Fate make it very fast.

10-14	5/5 Malice +5% crit on everything, poisons included. The whole tree is built on it.
15-17	3/3 Ruthlessness Your finishers can leave a combo point ready for the next one.
18-20	3/3 Improved Slice and Dice Slice and Dice lasts almost half again as long: less time spent refreshing it.
21-24	2/2 Lethality, 2/2 Vigor Lethality, now 2 ranks: Sinister Strike crits (and later Mutilate crits) hit 20% harder. Vigor moved up to row 3: +10 max Energy.
25-30	1/1 Cold Blood, 5/5 Improved Poisons Cold Blood guarantees a crit when you need it. Improved Poisons: poisons (from 20) land more often and use fewer charges. Murder no longer exists.
31-36	1/1 Venom, 5/5 Relentless Strikes Venom moved down to row 5 and is now passive: after Shank, your poisons deal 30% more damage and apply 20% more often for 6 sec. Relentless Strikes moved to row 5 with 5 ranks: a 20% chance per combo point to restore 25 Energy. (New November 2 tree: the row comes from Blizzard's note; column and prerequisite still to be confirmed in game.)
37-39	3/3 Seal Fate Now 3 ranks: every crit from a combo-point strike adds an extra one.
40	1/1 Mutilate Since November 2 it is the final talent (row 7): it no longer comes at 30 but at 40. A strike with both daggers (90% weapon damage, was 75%) that awards 2 combo points and hits harder on poisoned targets. Until here you level with Sinister Strike; get two daggers now. (New November 2 tree: the row comes from Blizzard's note; column and prerequisite still to be confirmed in game.)
41-46	5/5 Vile Poisons, 1/1 Blood Splatter Vile Poisons: more poison damage. Blood Splatter (new, row 3): Rupture lasts 6 sec longer and Garrote 9 sec longer.
47-51	3/3 Coup de Grace, 2/2 Efficient Strikes (Combat) Move into Combat: Eviscerate hits 20% harder and Sinister Strike costs 5 less Energy.
52-60	3/3 Precision, 3/3 Puncturing Wounds, 3/5 Lightning Reflexes (Combat) +3% hit, more crit on Mutilate and some dodge. You finish at 37/14/0.

Leveling as Damage (Subtlety) · Subtlety (18/0/33)

For players who enjoy stealth: open with Ambush and finish with Hemorrhage. It is the most comfortable choice for world PvP while leveling, though it kills packs a bit slower than Combat.

10-14	5/5 Opportunity Now 5 ranks: +20% damage on Backstab, Garrote, Ambush and Mutilate.
15-20	3/3 Improved Ambush, 3/3 Camouflage Ambush (from 18, with a dagger in your main hand) crits far more often. Camouflage moved to row 2 and now has 3 ranks: +15% speed in stealth and 6 sec less cooldown.
21-25	3/3 Initiative, 1/1 Premeditation, 1/1 Ghostly Strike Ambush and Garrote award an extra combo point. Premeditation moved up to row 3. Ghostly Strike moved down to row 4 and now also lets you use Ambush or Garrote without stealth for the next 7 sec.
26-29	3/3 Serrated Blades, 1/2 Elusiveness Serrated Blades moved up to row 3: you ignore armor and Rupture hits harder. Elusiveness moved down to row 4: Vanish and Blind come back sooner.
30-31	1/1 Hemorrhage, 1/1 Preparation Hemorrhage: your main strike from now on, cheap and no need to be behind; since November 2 it also boosts your Garrote, not just Rupture. Preparation resets Vanish, Sprint and Evasion.
32-34	2/2 Elusiveness, 2/2 Dirty Deeds Dirty Deeds moved up to row 2: Garrote and Cheap Shot cost less, and Garrote no longer needs you behind. This gets you to 25 points.
35-39	5/5 Boot Knife New (row 6), replacing Quietus and Cutthroat: Shank (from 24) always adds 2 combo points to the target. (New November 2 tree: the row comes from Blizzard's note; column and prerequisite still to be confirmed in game.)
40	1/1 Death Mark New final talent, replacing Thousand Cuts: a 20-yard finisher that marks the target, stores part of the damage you deal (Garrote and Rupture at double rate) and releases it after 6 sec. Thousand Cuts used to require Preparation, which you already have. (New November 2 tree: the row comes from Blizzard's note; column and prerequisite still to be confirmed in game.)
41-47	2/2 Heightened Senses, 5/5 Malice (Assassination) Heightened Senses moved to row 5: you spot stealthed enemies better and spells hit you less. Then move into Assassination: +5% crit on everything.
48-53	3/3 Ruthlessness, 3/3 Improved Slice and Dice (Assassination) Free combo points after finishers and a longer Slice and Dice.
54-60	2/2 Remorseless Attacks, 2/2 Lethality, 2/2 Vigor, 1/1 Blood Splatter (Assassination) More crit after a kill, harder Hemorrhage and Ghostly Strike crits, +10 max Energy, and longer Rupture and Garrote (Murder no longer exists). You finish at 18/0/33.

Key abilities by level

1	Sinister Strike Your combo point builder with any weapon.
1	Eviscerate Direct damage finisher: more damage the more points you spend.
1	Stealth Makes you invisible at the cost of moving slower; it opens most of your fights.
4	Backstab Big hit from behind; needs a dagger in the main hand.
4	Pick Pocket Steal coins and locked Junkboxes from humanoids without being seen.
6	Gouge Incapacitates an enemy facing you for 4 sec; use it to stop a cast or reposition.
8	Evasion +50% Dodge for 15 sec: your emergency button against melee.
10	Slice and Dice Finisher that raises attack speed; keep it up in longer fights.
10	Sap Takes an out-of-combat humanoid out of the fight. In Forever it no longer breaks your stealth.
10	Sprint +50% movement speed for 15 sec, even in stealth.
12	Kick Interrupts a spell and locks that school for 5 sec.
14	Garrote Stealth opener that makes the target bleed.
14	Expose Armor Finisher that lowers the target's armor; in Forever it reduces more than in Classic.
16	Pick Lock Opens locked chests, boxes and some doors (see the section below).
16	Feint Lowers your threat in groups so the enemy does not turn on you. In Forever it drops about five times as much threat as in Classic.
18	Ambush Huge opener from stealth and from behind; needs a dagger.
18	Poised New New passive from November 2: out of combat at full Energy, your next ability costs 10 less Energy. Wait for a full bar before you open.
20	Rupture Bleed finisher; useful on high-health enemies.
20	Instant Poison Your first damage poison and the one to level with (alongside Crippling Poison, which slows). Since November 2 it scales twice as well with Attack Power.
22	Vanish Vanish mid-fight and shed slows: to escape or reopen.
22	Distract Turns enemies around and, in Forever, lowers their stealth detection for 10 sec.
24	Shank New New off-hand strike from November 2: costs 5 Energy and gives back 15 (25 at rank 2, level 44), 10 sec cooldown, 50% weapon damage and it can't miss. Use it every time it's ready.
26	Cheap Shot Stuns for 4 sec from stealth and awards 2 combo points.
30	Kidney Shot Finisher that stuns for up to 5 sec (6 sec with rank 2, at level 50).
30	Blade Flurry Combat talent: attack speed and hits on a second enemy.
30	Venom New Assassination talent (row 5). Since November 2 it is passive: after Shank, your poisons deal 30% more damage and apply 20% more often for 6 sec.
30	Deadly Poison Poison that stacks up to 5 times; shines in long fights. Since November 2 it scales twice as well with Attack Power.
34	Blind Disorients an enemy for up to 10 sec; needs Blinding Powder.
40	Adrenaline Rush Combat's final talent: double Energy regeneration for 15 sec.
40	Mutilate New Assassination's final talent since November 2 (row 7, it used to come at 30): a strike with both daggers (90% weapon damage) that awards 2 combo points and hits poisoned targets harder.
40	Death Mark New New Subtlety capstone (November 2, replaces Thousand Cuts): a 20-yard finisher, 25 Energy, 10 sec cooldown. It marks the target, stores part of the damage you deal (Garrote and Rupture at double rate) and releases it after 6 sec.

How to kill while leveling

Open from stealth: Cheap Shot (from 26) or Garrote; with a dagger, Ambush. On weak enemies, just walk in without stealth. From 18, open at full Energy to use Poised.
Build points with Sinister Strike. From 24, Shank every time it's ready: it costs 5 Energy and gives back 15. Never use a builder at 5 points.
High-health enemy: Slice and Dice at 1-2 points, then Eviscerate at 4-5.
Normal enemy: Eviscerate at 3-5 points; skip Slice and Dice if it will die first.
Use Riposte whenever it lights up after a parry.
Two or more enemies: Blade Flurry and Evasion; Adrenaline Rush to end the fight fast.
Kick casters and Gouge to buy time. If it all goes wrong, Vanish or Sprint.

Poisons and lockpicking

When: poisons arrive at level 20 through a class quest (guides place it between levels 20 and 24). At that point you learn Instant Poison and Crippling Poison; later come Mind-numbing (24), Deadly (30) and Wound (32), with new ranks up to 60.
For leveling: Instant Poison on both weapons. Fights are short, so instant damage pays off more.
At high level and in raids: Instant Poison on the slow weapon (usually the main hand) and Deadly Poison on the fast one (the off-hand). Assassination also uses Shank to trigger Venom.
In PvP: Crippling Poison against runners and kiters, Wound Poison against healing and Mind-numbing against casters.
New in Forever: poisons can crit, scale with Attack Power, have more charges and stack with sharpening stones and weightstones on the same weapon. Malice and Precision now count for them. On November 2, Instant Poison and Deadly Poison started scaling twice as well with Attack Power.
Lockpicking: Pick Lock is learned from the trainer at level 16 and needs Thieves' Tools. It opens locked chests, the Junkboxes you get from Pick Pocket and some dungeon doors that work as shortcuts.
How to raise it: the skill goes up by opening locks at your level. Open the Junkboxes you steal as you level and you will not fall behind. How high it can go depends on your character level.

Tips

Level First Aid and Cooking from the start: in Forever First Aid makes healing potions and food gives bonus experience.
Sap one humanoid in a group and fight the rest: in Forever Sap no longer breaks stealth.
Visit your trainer every two levels: rogues get new ranks very often.
If you find a good sword, mace or fist weapon, train that skill in a capital city. One-handed axes are now allowed too.
With the Talented Legacy perk your first talent arrives at level 5, moving the whole plan 5 levels earlier.
Skinning gives you money and leather without detours: you are already killing beasts.
In dungeons, attack from behind and use Feint if the enemy turns on you.
Weapons you can learn: daggers, fist weapons, one-handed maces and swords and, new in Forever, one-handed axes; at range, bows, crossbows, guns and thrown. Your race already knows some; the rest come from a weapon master. Each skill costs 10 silver from a capital-city weapon master and can be learned from level 1; polearms cost 1 gold and need level 20. Learn one-handed swords, maces and axes early so you can put any slow drop in your main hand, and daggers if you plan to play around Backstab or Ambush. A ranged weapon lets you pull enemies one at a time.
Legacy: Reagent Economy (Resourcefulness tree) means your class abilities no longer need vendor-bought reagents, such as Vanish's Flash Powder. For a rogue it saves a lot of gold and restocking trips.

Level faster with the 5 experience boosts (food, sleeping bag, tent, inn and Legacy).

Key levels

10	First talent, Slice and Dice, Sap, Sprint and dual wielding.
16	Pick Lock and Feint.
20	Poisons (class quest), Rupture, and Riposte with the Combat talents.
24	Shank: a cheap off-hand strike that gives Energy back. From here you strike much more often.
22	Vanish: you can now leave almost any fight.
26	Cheap Shot: stun openers.
30	Blade Flurry, Kidney Shot and Deadly Poison. Venom if you play Assassination.
34	Blind and Blinding Powder.
40	Adrenaline Rush (Combat), Mutilate (Assassination) or Death Mark (Subtlety), your mount and, according to guides, a second talent specialization.
60	Full 51-point build, top ranks of poisons and Eviscerate.

How to play

In PvP

Open and chain stuns

Opener / stunlock

From stealth, Cheap Shot stuns for 4 sec and gives 2 combo points. Build points with your generator and, right as the stun is about to end, not before, cast Kidney Shot (up to 6 sec with 5 points at rank 2). Casting it while the first stun is still running wastes control time. As Subtlety, Premeditation gives you 2 points before the opener (spend them within 20 sec) for a longer chain.

Don't repeat the same kind of control

Diminishing returns (DR)

Against players, each control effect of the same type you repeat in a short time lasts half as long, then a quarter, and then the target is immune until about 15-20 sec pass without it (that is how Classic works; Forever keeps it and has announced no changes). So after your stuns, switch type: Gouge is an incapacitate and Blind is a different family, so they still last their full duration. If someone else already stunned your target (say with Hammer of Justice), your Kidney Shot may come out shortened: wait or use another control.

Gouge and get behind

Gouge and reposition

Gouge incapacitates a target facing you for 4 sec (longer with Improved Gouge), and any damage breaks it. Use it to stop a spell when Kick is on cooldown, or to buy time: after Gouge, stop attacking, pool energy and walk to their back. When they wake up you're not in front of them, and you can follow with Backstab or your next Kidney Shot. Watch your poisons and bleeds: if they're still ticking, they break Gouge.

Blind to bandage or restealth

Blind + bandage / restealth

Blind disorients for up to 10 sec at 10 yards and needs Blinding Powder. Any damage breaks it, so don't cast it with Garrote, Rupture or damage poisons still running. After Blind, step away and use a bandage (First Aid) or go back into Stealth to open again with Cheap Shot. Against a target that heals or still has its escape ready, hold it until they spend it.

Kick the spell that matters

Interrupt timing / juke

Kick stops the cast and locks that school for 5 sec (10 sec cooldown; Improved Kick also silences for 2 sec). Don't spend it on the first cast: good casters start one and cancel it (juke) to make you miss. Wait until the bar is past halfway on the heal, fear or Polymorph. Don't leave it to the very last moment: Forever has spell batching and the spell may still land. If Kick is on cooldown, Gouge interrupts too.

Vanish to reset the fight

Vanish reset

Vanish (Flash Powder, 5 min cooldown) puts you back in stealth and clears slows. It's not just for running: if the fight turns, Vanish, step away a couple of yards, let energy refill and open again with Cheap Shot. As Subtlety, Preparation (10 min) finishes the cooldown on Vanish, Blind, Sprint and Evasion: it's a whole second fight.

Sap and Distract to pick your fight

Sap and pick your fights

In Forever, Sap doesn't break your stealth: if two enemies travel together, Sap one (up to 45 sec, out-of-combat humanoids only) and open on the other. Distract turns enemies around and also lowers their stealth detection for 10 sec: use it to slip past a guard or behind a player unseen. With Sap, note that using it on a PvP-flagged target flags you too.

Don't let them get away

Sticking / slows

Run Crippling Poison on one weapon against runners: 70% slower for 12 sec. If you get slowed, Sprint with Improved Sprint removes the slow when you press it. Against mages and hunters, stick to their back: give them room and they'll slow you and get away. Against melee, Evasion (and Ghostly Strike as Subtlety) lets you win the trade.

In dungeons and raids

Always from behind

Positioning

From behind the enemy can't parry or block your attacks, and Backstab, Ambush and Garrote require it. In groups, stand behind the target, never between it and the tank. Solo leveling, if a hard hitter is facing you, Gouge and get behind it.

Pool energy before spending

Energy pooling

Energy refills at the same rate whether full or not, so sitting at max wastes it. Before a key moment (refreshing Slice and Dice, opening from stealth or popping Adrenaline Rush) let it build, but don't sit at 100. At 5 combo points don't use a generator: spend with a finisher first.

Manage your threat

Threat / Feint

A well-geared rogue easily pulls aggro off the tank early in a fight. Let the tank hit for a few seconds before you start and use Feint (10 sec cooldown) on cooldown on bosses. If the enemy turns to you, Evasion buys time while the tank takes it back; if someone is about to die, Vanish drops your threat.

Sap before the pull

Crowd control (Sap pull)

In dungeons, a Sapped humanoid is out for 45 sec and, in Forever, you stay in stealth. Agree with your group: you Sap the marked target and the tank pulls the rest. If it wakes early, Gouge or Blind buys a few seconds.

Kick rotation in groups

Interrupt rotation

Plenty of dungeon enemies heal or cast dangerous spells. Agree with the warrior or another rogue who interrupts what, so you don't burn two Kicks on one cast. Always kick heals and fears; small damage spells only when spare.

Keybinds and macros

Turn with the right mouse button and use A/D to strafe: it's how you circle a target to reach its back without wasting time.
Put Kick, Gouge, Kidney Shot, Blind and Vanish on keys you can hit without leaving WASD (1-5, Q, E, R, F or Shift+number). Don't put them where you have to look at your bars.
Focus macro to control a second enemy without switching targets: /cast [@focus] Blind. Forever supports focus macros.
Put Sprint, Evasion and your bandage on Shift+key: they are emergency buttons, and this way you won't waste them by accident.

Every technique, explained for any class: Gameplay techniques

Level 60

On November 2 Blizzard reorganized all three rogue trees, so the beta calculator builds can no longer be made. The ones below are this guide's, using the rows given in the note: treat them as provisional until you see them in game. The same day it raised damage for every class and health for high-level enemies, and it doesn't plan big tuning changes until the December raids. The beta stopped at level 30: nobody has played 60 in Forever yet.

Combat · Melee DPS · 15/36/0

Stats	Agility first: it gives Attack Power, crit and dodge. Hit until you stop missing, then crit and Attack Power; the exact cap in Forever is not confirmed yet. Strength only gives Attack Power: below Agility.
Rotation	Open with Cheap Shot or Garrote (Ambush with a dagger). Keep Slice and Dice up at all times; refresh it before it drops. Expose Armor at 5 points on bosses if nobody applies a better armor reduction. Sinister Strike to build and Shank whenever it's ready (at 60, with Flash of Steel, every 8 sec for 40 Energy back); Eviscerate with spare points. Blade Flurry and Adrenaline Rush together at the start or when there are two targets.
Consumables	Instant Poison on the main hand (slow) and Deadly Poison on the off-hand (fast). Sharpening stones or weightstones: in Forever they stack with poisons. Thistle Tea for Energy, Agility food and elixirs, and healing potions.

Assassination · Melee DPS · 37/14/0

Stats	Agility and Attack Power: poisons now scale with it. Crit: it triggers Seal Fate and poisons can crit. Hit so neither strikes nor poisons miss (Precision now affects them).
Rotation	Open with Ambush from stealth. Mutilate as your builder; at 4 points, Sinister Strike so you don't overcap. Shank whenever it's ready: it gives Energy and, with Venom (now passive), boosts your poisons for 6 sec. Keep Slice and Dice and, on bosses, Expose Armor up. Eviscerate only if it doesn't delay Slice and Dice. Cold Blood on Mutilate or Eviscerate for a guaranteed crit.
Consumables	Two daggers: Mutilate requires them. Instant Poison on the main hand and Deadly Poison on the off-hand. Thistle Tea, Agility food and elixirs.

Subtlety · Melee DPS / PvP · 18/0/33

Stats	Agility, Stamina and Attack Power: in PvP surviving matters as much as hitting. Crit for your Ambush openers.
Rotation	Premeditation, then open with Cheap Shot or Ambush. Kidney Shot at 5 points as the first stun ends. Gouge, Blind or Vanish to reset; Preparation to get it all back. Shank (2 combo points with Boot Knife) and Hemorrhage to build; Death Mark with Garrote or Rupture ticking, and finish with Eviscerate.
Consumables	Crippling or Wound Poison depending on the opponent, plus Instant Poison. Plenty of Blinding Powder and Flash Powder. Healing potions and Thistle Tea.

Gear

There is no Forever best-in-slot list yet: dungeons have reworked loot and raids arrive on 9 December. Look for leather with Agility, hit and crit. Combat can use any weapon (swords and axes are the safest bet); Assassination needs two daggers; Subtlety wants a main-hand dagger for Ambush and Backstab.

Recommended level 60 builds

Assassination 29% · Combat 25% · Subtlety 46%

Rogue · level 60

El árbol de talentos del pícaro se reorganizó el 2 de noviembre (llegan Shank y Death Mark, desaparecen varios talentos): las builds de la beta ya no encajan. Mira la guía del pícaro.

Nuevo en Forever: Poised (18), Shank (24, golpe con la otra mano que da energía), Mutilate (Assassination), Venom (Assassination, ahora va con Shank), Death Mark (Subtlety).

These are the level 60 builds the community plans most with beta data (the percentage is how many players pick each tree); nobody has reached 60 in Forever yet and talents may change before launch.

Plan your own in the calculator

PvP at level 60

Subtlety is the PvP tree: Premeditation, Preparation and Dirty Deeds give you long openers and a second attempt.
Chain Cheap Shot into Kidney Shot, but keep Gouge, Blind or Vanish for when the opponent breaks free.
Against casters, Kick the spell that matters (a heal or crowd control), not the first one you see. Combat can silence for 2 sec with Improved Kick.
Pick poisons per opponent: Wound against healers, Crippling against runners and Mind-numbing against casters.
Sap doesn't break stealth and Distract lowers the enemy's stealth detection: use them to choose who you fight. With Quick Getaway (Subtlety, new) you can keep 2 enemies Sapped at once and run faster after using it. Improved Distract is gone.
In battlegrounds, hunt lone casters and healers; avoid long fights against several enemies.
Engineering adds grenades and gadgets that win duels; a PvP rogue almost always has it.

Professions for this class

Skinning + Leatherworking	The easiest for leveling: leather with no detours and your own armor, with reworked recipes. Skinning's camp chair gives +2% crit.
Engineering + Mining	The pair for PvP and for squeezing out damage at level 60.
First Aid	A must with no self-healing: bandages, antidotes, tourniquets and, in Forever, healing potions.
Cooking	Agility food with bonus experience, and it is the base of camping.

What we don't know yet

Exact name and level of the poison quest in Forever (in Classic they were Klaven's Tower for the Alliance and Mission: Possible But Not Probable for the Horde).
Hit cap and exact stat priority at level 60.
Forever's best gear and weapons: reworked dungeon loot and raids from 9 Dec 2026.
Which tree deals the most raid damage: we need the first logs.
New November 2 talent tree: Blizzard's note gives the row of every changed talent, but not the column or prerequisites (arrows). Still to confirm: Weapon Expertise (used to require Blade Flurry), Venom and Mutilate (Venom used to require Mutilate), Death Mark and Dual Wield Specialization. All three builds also take the talents that used to be prerequisites, in case they still are; we'll review them once the tree is in game (November 5). It's also unknown whether Shank awards combo points on its own (the note doesn't say).
Whether Forever changes Pick Lock's skill cap from Classic, and how Thistle Tea is obtained.

This guide is updated every time Blizzard publishes changes. Whatever is still missing goes in as soon as it is known, and the date at the top tells you when we last touched it.

Sources: Notas de desarrollo de Blizzard (2 de noviembre) · Talents Forever (calculadora y datos del cliente de la beta, CC BY 4.0) · Warcraft Tavern: guía de subir de nivel del pícaro · Warcraft Tavern: Combat Rogue · Warcraft Tavern: Assassination Rogue · Warcraft Tavern: cambios de pícaro y brujo · Method: guía de subir de nivel del pícaro · Warcraft Wiki: habilidades del pícaro en Forever · wowtbc.gg: Assassination Rogue (Forever) · Notas de la beta de Blizzard · Icy Veins: Combat para subir (Forever) · Warcraft Wiki: stun lock (cadenas de Classic y TBC) · Warcraft Tavern: guías de JcJ del pícaro (TBC Classic) · Icy Veins: guía de JcJ del pícaro (WoW Classic Era) · Warcraft Wiki: rendimientos decrecientes (todas las ediciones; tabla de Wrath Classic).