PvE Combat Rogue DPS

Combat Rogue in Mists of Pandaria is a straightforward specialization focusing on powerful cooldowns and spammy abilities through their increased Energy Regeneration. Their gameplay relies heavily on Haste, and their performance increases as the expansion progresses.

In this guide, we’ll cover every aspect of a Combat Rogue, ranging from gameplay, to gearing, to quick tips & tricks so you can tackle the endgame and get to the top of the Damage Meters!

One of the few specializations that didn’t get overhauled entirely, Combat Rogues received massive quality-of-life improvements to their already balanced kit from Cataclysm Classic. Their rotation and playstyle still revolve around a few key mechanics such as Bandit’s Guile, Adrenaline Rush, Combat Potency, Revealing Strike, and Restless Blades.

Bandit’s Guile is a lot easier to manage now since players have complete control over it, using Sinister Strike and Revealing Strike to trigger one of the 3 cycles of the ability: Shallow Insight, Moderate Insight, & Deep Insight. In the meantime, Revealing Strike is now a static debuff that can be applied to the target instead of a mandatory press before any Finishing Move. While active, Adrenaline Rush has a reduced GCD component for their main offensive spells, making burst sequences far better. Combat Potency and Restless Blades remain largely the same.

Besides the changes to their core kit, they also benefit from the overhauled Talent System, which grants them a few powerful perks such as Anticipation and Shadow Focus.

However, they do face a significant issue, especially early on in the expansion. While the specialization can be very dynamic later on, focusing on spamming its abilities, the lack of Haste early on makes it perform poorly. Adrenaline Rush provides a slight safety net early on, but their true potential is unlocked once they reach high amounts of Haste while unbuffed.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

• Smooth Gameplay
  Thanks to massive improvements to Bandit’s Guile, Adrenaline Rush, Combat Potency, and Revealing Strike, Combat Rogues have a simplified rotation that makes them play much smoother. The more Haste they acquire, the more their Energy Regeneration amplifies, turning them into ability spamming machines with close to no downtime, especially when considering Restless Blades.

• Great Mobility Tools
  Combat Rogues benefit from two strong mobility tools, Shadowstep and Sprint, which allow them to reposition easily during most encounters.

• Great Crowd Control & Decent Utility
  Rogues are known as masters of Crowd Control, and this is no exception in Mists of Pandaria. Combat Rogues also provide their group with strong Utility tools like their brethren, such as Master Poisoner, Tricks of the Trade, and Swiftblade’s Cunning.

Weaknesses

• Weaker Damage Output Early On
  Due to their dependence on Energy Regeneration and spamming their abilities to ensure consistent Bandit’s Guile procs, their Damage Output is considerably weaker early in the expansion. As such, their damage is underwhelming until they acquire enough Haste, and is expected to be average at best. They also depend on cooldowns such as Adrenaline Rush and Killing Spree, which are also directly tied to their Haste and Energy Regeneration, which is a huge issue early on.

Best Races

While racial effects were significant in previous versions of WoW, their importance has been overall reduced in MoP Classic. The effects now act as slight bonuses instead of actual game-changing mechanics. Pandaren, Trolls, and Orcs are the only exceptions to this due to the Epicurean, Berserking, and Blood Fury effects, which are very strong for DPS specializations.

Horde

The best race for Combat Rogue in the Horde is Orc due to their Blood Fury and Axe Specialization, followed by Troll with Berserking. Pandaren with Epicurean come after that, followed by Goblin with Time is Money. Undead and Blood Elves are typically better for PvP environments.

• Orc: Blood Fury, Axe Specialization, Hardiness, Command.
• Troll: Berserking, Da Voodoo Shuffle, Regeneration, Beast Slaying, Dead Eye.
• Pandaren: Bouncy, Epicurean, Gourmand, Inner Peace, Quaking Palm.
• Goblin: Time is Money, Rocket Barrage, Rocket Jump, Best Deals Anywhere, Better Living Through Chemistry, Pack Hobgoblin.
• Blood Elf: Arcane Torrent, Arcane Resistance, Arcane Affinity.
• Undead: Will of the Forsaken, Cannibalize, Shadow Resistance, Touch of the Grave.

Alliance

The best race for Combat Rogue in the Alliance is Pandaren — due to Epicurean! Gnome, Human, and Dwarf can be useful depending on the weapons you use, with Gnome being overall better due to Shortblade Specialization. Night Elves are also a decently strong option due to the interaction between Shadowmeld and Ambush or Garrote. Worgen is a decent choice for the Viciousness effect, yet Critical Strike Chance is not as important to Combat Rogue as other possible stats.

• Pandaren: Bouncy, Epicurean, Gourmand, Inner Peace, Quaking Palm.
• Gnome: Shortblade Specialization, Engineering Specialization, Escape Artist, Expansive Mind, Arcane Resistance.
• Night Elf: Elusiveness, Quickness, Shadowmeld, Wisp Spirit, Nature Resistance.
• Worgen: Darkflight, Flayer, Viciousness, Aberration.
• Dwarf: Stoneform, Explorer, Mace Specialization, Crack Shot, Frost Resistance.
• Human: Sword Specialization, Mace Specialization, Will to Survive, The Human Spirit, Diplomacy.