Perceived as “frontline” mercenaries or swashbucklers, Combat Rogues are one of the most engaging and fun to play DPS Specializations in World of Warcraft, serving as a pure Damage Specialization. This trend is continued in Cataclysm, doubling down on the Specialization’s identity as a Melee Specialist who can destroy its foes in both Single-Target and Cleave encounters.
Combat Rogue in Cataclysm
Unlike other specializations that were heavily changed in Cataclysm, Combat Rogue mostly plays the same, receiving a huge overall buff. Their gameplay feels amazing, their damage output is great, and their overall learning curve is fairly easy!
The only clear difference in terms of Combat Rogue’s playstyle compared to its previous version is the addition of three distinct talents: Revealing Strike, Bandit’s Guile, and Restless Blades. Revealing Strike empowers all their offensive Finishing Moves while Bandit’s Guile and Restless Blades add a new flavor to the specialization. The first effect introduces a cycling buff that empowers Combat Rogue’s attacks gradually while the second effect reduces the cooldown of their main offensive cooldowns every time they use a Finishing Move.
Combat Rogue Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
- Great Damage Output
Combat Rogues have a great Damage Output in both Single-Target and Cleave encounters once they acquire powerful items.
- Easy Learning Curve
The Combat Rogue specialization has one of the easiest rotations, making it a very easy specialization to learn.
- Fun and Engaging Playstyle
Combat Rogue is the perfect specialization for players who dislike downtime during an encounter as its rotation is extremely spammy, especially after acquiring a lot of Haste Rating.
Weaknesses
- Gear Dependent
The specialization is rather underwhelming until it acquires the proper equipment. Once Combat Rogue gets access to powerful gear, the damage output skyrockets considerably.
- High APM Rotation
Combat Rogue’s rotation involves a lot of button mashing, even if it’s simple by design. This specialization requires a high APM to generate a peak performance.
- Low Utility
In terms of usable utility during an encounter, Combat Rogue falls short when compared to the rest of the specializations, boasting only three powerful utility tools, Tricks of the Trade, Savage Combat, and Expose Armor plus a lot of crowd control that won’t be of much use.
Best Races
Horde
The horde has the better races from a PvE point of view, with most of their racial abilities providing direct damage-enhancing effects. The strongest available race for Combat Rogue is Troll as it has access to Berserking, followed by Orc with Blood Fury, and Goblin with Time is Money.
- Troll: Berserking, Da Voodoo Shuffle, Regeneration, Beast Slaying, Bow Specialization, Throwing Specialization.
- Orc: Blood Fury, Axe Specialization, Hardiness, Command.
- Goblin: Time is Money, Rocket Barrage, Rocket Jump, Best Deals Anywhere, Better Living Through Chemistry.
- Blood Elf: Arcane Torrent, Arcane Resistance, Arcane Affinity.
- Undead: Will of the Forsaken, Cannibalize, Shadow Resistance, Underwater Breathing.
Alliance
The Alliance has stronger PvP racial effects than PvE racials, with most PvE racial effects being represented by passive effects. Gnome is the strongest option due to Shortblade Specialization, followed by Human with Sword Specialization & Mace Specialization. Dwarf is also a solid pick for Stoneform and Mace Specialization, however, Worgen is slightly better in terms of DPS output than Dwarf thanks to Viciousness.
- Gnome: Shortblade Specialization, Engineering Specialization, Escape Artist, Expansive Mind, Arcane Resistance.
- Human: Sword Specialization, Mace Specialization, Will to Survive, The Human Spirit, Diplomacy.
- Worgen: Darkflight, Flayer, Viciousness, Abberation.
- Dwarf: Stoneform, Explorer, Mace Specialization, Gun Specialization, Frost Resistance.
- Night Elf: Elusiveness, Quickness, Shadowmeld, Wisp Spirit, Nature Resistance.
Conclusion
We hope this guide has been able to help you decide if PvE Combat Rogue is the class/spec for you. Make sure to check out our other sections, such as talents, gear, gems, etc., to get more information on how to improve your performance as a Combat Rogue in Cataclysm!
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