RaceRotationStat PriorityRunesTalentsProfessionsConsumablesBiS Gear
Rogue tanks were introduced with the release of World of Warcraft Classic: Season of Discovery and tanking is a completely new concept for Rogue players (barring any dodge-cap shenanigans in the past). Today we cover the Rogue Tank guide for phase 1 of WoW Classic: Season of Discovery (SOD). This guide will cover all you should know to maximize your threat and stay alive as a tank at level 25 for the Blackfathom Deeps 10-man raid.
We will cover the following sections within this class guide. Feel free to click on any item on the menu above to jump right into the action:
Best Rogue Races in SOD
For the Alliance in Classic WoW: Season of Discovery, the optimal choice for PvE raid scenarios is and has always been Humans. This preference stems from the significant advantages provided by Sword Specialization and Mace Specialization. These specializations increase your expertise with the weapons and therefore lower the amount of +Hit % gear you need by about 3%.
On the Horde side, Orcs stand out as a versatile choice for both PvE and PvP scenarios. The additional cooldown, Blood Fury, and heightened resistance to crowd control through Hardiness make Orc Rogues formidable contenders in various situations. The hardiness is especially good for Rogue Tanks in dungeon settings, but less usable within raids.
Another option for the Horde are Troll Rogues, as they exhibit get the Berserking ability. This racial trait proves especially valuable during encounters where increased attack speed can influence overall damage output positively. To use it efficiently, ensure you trigger Berserking when low health to gain a larger attack speed increase. As a Rogue Tank, you should have plenty of scenarios where you will be able to use this to its greatest efficiency. Additionally, Beast Slaying helps during the leveling phase, even though its relevance diminishes in the later stages of end-game content.
Rotation for Rogue Tanks in WoW Classic SOD
The rotation for Rogue tanks in WoW Season of Discovery is more of a priority system than a solid rotation. Here is what to keep in mind from a priority perspective:
You are unlikely to get many (or any) Slice and Dice uses, as you will be using Blade Dance as your main finisher. If enemies are not hitting your very hard, you can use finishers like Slice and Dice or Eviscerate for every damage for your group, instead of Blade Dance; though the defensive option is always Blade Dance.
You will want to stick to your enemies to ensure combo points are used appropriately to activate Blade Dance before swapping to another enemy. This can make it tricky to tank multiple mobs at once. If your group is in trouble with more enemies, you may need to swap to other enemies and use Tease when available, potentially losing out on combo point finishers in times of more chaos.
Rogue Stat Priority
Understanding the optimal stat priority is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of your Rogue in World of Warcraft Classic: Season of Discovery. While individual gear and playstyle may slightly influence priorities, here’s what stats you should prioritize getting first.
1.Weapon Skill
2.Hit Chance
5.Attack Power
6.Critical Strike Chance
7.Strength
Tips for Gearing:
Remember that individual preferences and playstyles can influence stat priorities. The first thing to focus on is getting Hit % wherever you can, then focus on that sweet, sweet Agility and Attack Power.
Best Rogue Tanking Runes
There are three main runes you will want to focus on as a Rogue Tank in phase one at level 25:
Just a Flesh Wound is your main “defensive stance” so to speak. This improve your overall tankiness by reducing the chance to get critically hit, while increasing your threat massively. This is also the rune you will need to gain the Rogue’s taunt ability, Tease. Just a Flesh Wound also synergizes exceptionally well with the Blade Dance rune as you will take 20% less physical damage while it is active. Main Gauche gives you an ability to increase your parry chance by 10% for 10 seconds, while also rewarding a combo point. It will be imperative to keep this buff up as much as possible for survivability. Blade Dance is now your main finishing move to increase your parry by up to 10% for 30 seconds at 5 combo points. This 10% parry chance increase stacks with the Main Gauche’s ability, to stack to a 20% increased parry chance if both are up and on full combo points.
Best Talent Build for Rogue Tanks in SOD
Tanking Rogues should focus on gaining as much dodge and parry % as possible. They also want to be able to hit their enemies and output more damage to hold threat. It can be a challenge to hold threat on multiple enemies as a Rogue tank, as you will want to utilize your combo points before swapping targets.
Best Professions for Rogues
The two best professions for rogues in Season of Discovery are Leatherworking and Engineering. Of course to supply Leatherworking thoroughly, you make want Skinning as your secondary profession rather than engineering. If you may afford to go both Leatherworking and Engineering, then go for it.
Engineering boasts several benefits in SOD, the same as always:
Leatherworking brings:
Where Leatherworking really shines is the ability to craft and use extremely powerful items in early phases, such as the Void-Toucher Leather Gloves. These gloves give much-needed hit %, the most important stat for any rogue to stack until yellow hit cap.
Other suitable options are shared with most other classes, such as alchemy allowing you to make your own potions. However, none of these other professions shine quite like Leatherworking and Engineering for rogues in SOD.
Rogue Raid Consumables for Level 25 BFD
The following are all consumables rogues can use at level 25 to help improve damage or survivability in WoW Season of Discovery:
Offensive Consumables
Defensive Consumables
Best in Slot Gear Rogue Tank
We’ve completed a separate piece detailing the Best in Slot for this particular class. You can find these detailshere.
