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This guide takes a Rogue from level 1 to 30 in WoW Forever, with a talent plan for Combat, Assassination and Subtlety. Ability levels, costs and talent values come from the beta client (build 1.60.1) and may still change before launch.
Riposte at level 20, 
Evasion and 
Sprint on a 2-minute cooldown, then 
Blade Flurry at level 30. Assassination and Subtlety are covered in their own tabs.Why Combat comes first
- No positioning, no weapon rule.
Sinister Strike hits from the front with swords, maces, axes, fist weapons or daggers. Whatever drops, you can use it. - Steady damage from the first second. You do not need Stealth to open, so you move from enemy to enemy without the slow walk.
- Built-in defense.
Deflection adds parry, every parry lights up Riposte, and Riposte disarms the enemy for 6 seconds. - Two enemies at level 30. Blade Flurry makes your attacks hit a second target for 15 seconds, the first real multi-target tool the class gets.
The honest trade-offs: a Rogue wears leather, has no healing and depends on Energy, so there is a hard limit on how fast you can press buttons. Tier lists for the current beta place the class in the lower half for leveling speed. It rewards players who use their control abilities and keep bandages in their bags.
The three specializations at a glance
Combat Recommended
Sinister Strike, Riposte, shorter defensive cooldowns and Blade Flurry. Any weapon type, any situation, and the usual choice for dungeons.
Assassination
Critical strikes and extra combo points: 
Malice, 
Ruthlessness, 
Lethality, 
Cold Blood. It ends on the new 
Mutilate at level 30, which needs a dagger in each hand.
Subtlety
Every fight starts from Stealth with a dagger: 
Ambush with Improved Ambush and 
Initiative, then 
Ghostly Strike and 
Hemorrhage. The biggest opening hits, the slowest pace between fights.
What Forever changes for every Rogue
- Energy flows continuously. You regain 1 Energy every tenth of a second instead of 20 every two seconds. The rate is the same as in Classic, but there is no tick to wait for.
- Combo points are kinder. Changing target no longer wipes the points you have built, so a quick
Kick on another enemy costs you nothing. - One-handed axes. Rogues can now use them, and the Combat talent
Hack and Slash gives each weapon family its own bonus. - New abilities: Mutilate (Assassination), with the Venom finisher further down the same tree, and the Thousand Cuts capstone in Subtlety.
- Riposte and Ghostly Strike are third-row talents you can take at level 20. Cold Blood and
Premeditation are available at level 25. - Poisons start at level 20 with Instant Poison and Crippling Poison. Deadly Poison follows at level 30.
Talents
You earn one talent point per level from level 10, which gives 21 points at level 30.
Works with every weapon type. Put your highest-damage weapon in the main hand and a fast one in the off hand.
- Levels 10-11 — Improved Sinister Strike (2): 5 Energy off the ability you press most, which adds up to an extra strike every few fights.
- Levels 12-14 —
Improved Eviscerate (3): +20% damage on your finisher. - Levels 15-17 — Deflection (3): +6% parry: less damage taken, and the requirement for Riposte.
- Levels 18-19 —
Precision (2/3): +2% chance to hit. Dual wielding misses a lot, and a miss still costs Energy. - Level 20 — Riposte: after each parry, a 10-Energy strike for 150% weapon damage that disarms the target for 6 seconds.
- Level 21 — Precision (3/3): the last point of hit, needed later for
Dual Wield Specialization. - Levels 22-23 —
Endurance (2): the cooldown of Sprint and Evasion drops from 5 minutes to 2. You can afford to use them on ordinary pulls. - Level 24 —
Lightning Reflexes (1/5): a little dodge, and the 15th point that opens the fourth row. - Levels 25-29 — Dual Wield Specialization (5): +25% damage from your off-hand weapon.
- Level 30 — Blade Flurry: +20% attack speed for 15 seconds, and each attack also strikes a second nearby enemy. Two-minute cooldown.
Leveling with daggers anyway? Take 
Puncturing Wounds (3) instead of Endurance and Lightning Reflexes: +30% critical strike chance on Backstab and a chance at a bonus combo point.
A critical strike build. It plays like Combat until level 30, when Mutilate asks for two daggers.
- Levels 10-14 — Malice (5): +5% critical strike chance on all attacks, and in Forever on poisons too.
- Levels 15-16 —
Remorseless Attacks (2): after a kill that gives experience, +40% critical chance on your next opening strike. Excellent when you chain enemies. - Levels 17-19 — Ruthlessness (3): each finisher has a 60% chance to leave one combo point on the target.
- Level 20 —
Relentless Strikes: finishers have a 20% chance per combo point to give back 25 Energy. - Levels 21-24 — Lethality (4/5): bigger critical hits on Sinister Strike, Backstab and
Gouge. - Level 25 — Cold Blood: a guaranteed critical on your next Sinister Strike, Backstab, Ambush or Eviscerate, every 3 minutes.
- Level 26 — Lethality (5/5): +20% critical damage in total.
- Levels 27-28 —
Murder (2): +4% damage against Humanoids and Giants. - Level 29 —
Improved Slice and Dice (1/3): a longer Slice and Dice, and the 20th point. - Level 30 — Mutilate: strikes with both daggers for 75% weapon damage each, 20% more on a poisoned target, and awards 2 combo points. No positioning required.
Without two good daggers at level 30, put the last point into 
Vigor (+5 maximum Energy per point) instead and keep using Sinister Strike.
The dagger and Stealth build. Each fight begins behind the enemy, and most of the damage comes in the first three seconds.
- Levels 10-11 —
Opportunity (2): +10% damage on Backstab, and later on 
Garrote and Ambush. - Levels 12-14 —
Camouflage (3/5): you move faster in Stealth and can re-enter it sooner. - Levels 15-17 —
Setup (3): a combo point each time you dodge the target's attack. Very strong during Evasion. - Levels 18-19 — Improved Ambush (2/3): you learn Ambush at level 18; this gives it +30% critical chance right away.
- Level 20 — Ghostly Strike: 180% weapon damage with a dagger and +15% dodge for 7 seconds, every 20 seconds.
- Level 21 — Improved Ambush (3/3): +45% critical chance on the opener.
- Levels 22-24 — Initiative (3): Ambush, Garrote and
Cheap Shot always award one more combo point. - Levels 25-27 —
Serrated Blades (3): your attacks ignore 9% of the target's armor and 
Rupture deals 30% more. - Level 28 — Premeditation: 2 free combo points on a target from 20 yards, every 2 minutes.
- Level 29 — Camouflage (4/5): the 20th point.
- Level 30 — Hemorrhage: a 35-Energy strike (145% weapon damage with a dagger) that needs no positioning and makes your Rupture hurt 15% more.
Bonus points from the Legacy perk Talented: Combat takes Hack and Slash, Assassination adds Improved Slice and Dice, Subtlety finishes Camouflage or picks up 
Dirty Deeds.
Playable Races
Nine races can be Rogues in Forever, the two Skyborne orders included, and the new racials make every one of them playable. If you want the most help while leveling, choose Human or Night Elf for the Alliance and Troll or Orc for the Horde.
Alliance — Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome & Skyborne
Human
Sword Specialization gives +2% critical strike chance while you hold a sword, and swords are easy to find. The Human Spirit speeds up Health regeneration between fights, Perception reveals stealthed enemies and Will to Survive removes stuns.
Night Elf
Elune's Light is +10% critical strike chance for 15 seconds, Quickness adds 1% dodge and 2% movement speed and makes you harder to detect in Stealth, and Shadowmeld can drop you out of sight.
Gnome
Expansive Mind raises your maximum Energy by 5%, Eureka! makes your next three damaging abilities cost 10% less and hit 10% harder, and Escape Artist is the best PvP racial for a melee class.
Dwarf
Stoneform removes Bleeds, Poisons and Diseases and cuts Physical damage by 10% for 8 seconds. Mace Specialization gives +1% crit with maces, and Big Game Hunter adds damage against Beasts.
High Order Skyborne
1% haste, 5% damage against Elementals, the Walk on Air glide and Read Ley Line for faster Health regeneration between pulls.
Horde — Orc, Undead, Troll & Skyborne
Troll
Rapid Regeneration restores half your Health over 6 seconds every 3 minutes, a real gift for a class with no heal. Berserking adds 10% attack speed for 10 seconds and Beast Slaying 5% damage against Beasts.
Orc
Blood Fury is +10% Attack Power for 15 seconds, Axe Specialization gives +1% crit with the axes Rogues can now use, and Hardiness shortens stuns by 20%.
Undead
Touch of the Grave gives your attacks a chance to drain Health, Cannibalize restores a third of your Health on a Humanoid or Undead corpse, and Will of the Forsaken removes Charm, Fear and Sleep.
Windshaper Skyborne
The same haste, Elemental damage and glide as the Alliance Skyborne, with Skysight for 10% more movement speed.
Main Skills & Rotation
A Rogue builds combo points with one ability and spends them on a finisher. Because Energy now regenerates continuously, there is nothing to time: press the next ability as soon as you can afford it.
- Walk up and use Sinister Strike. Opening from Stealth is rarely worth the slow approach before you have a real opener.
- Eviscerate at 3 combo points or more, or with whatever you have when the enemy is about to die.
- From level 10, use your first combo point on Slice and Dice when the fight will last, or when a second enemy is coming.
- Gouge (level 6) to stop a hard hitter for 4 seconds: time to regain Energy, apply a bandage, or step behind for a Backstab if you use a dagger.
- Kick (level 12) every spell you can. Most caster enemies have nothing else.
- Evasion (level 8) when two enemies are on you, and Sprint (level 10) to leave when it is not enough.
At level 10 you can equip a second weapon, and the class quests of these levels are worth doing for their weapon rewards.
- Open with Sinister Strike. From level 26 you may open from Stealth with Cheap Shot on tough enemies: a 4-second stun and 2 combo points.
- Slice and Dice with the first one or two combo points on anything that will live more than a few seconds.
- Riposte every time a parry makes it available. At 10 Energy nothing else you have is as efficient.
- Sinister Strike to build, Eviscerate at 3 to 5 points.
- Kick casts, Gouge to breathe.
- Two enemies: Evasion, then Blade Flurry (level 30) and keep hitting the same target. With Endurance, Evasion is back every 2 minutes.
- From level 30,
Kidney Shot is a finisher that stuns for up to 5 seconds. Use it on dangerous casts and to escape.
- After a kill, start the next fight within 20 seconds to use the Remorseless Attacks crit bonus on your first strike.
- Sinister Strike to build. From level 30 with two daggers, Mutilate takes its place and gives 2 combo points per use.
- Slice and Dice first on long fights, then Eviscerate at 4 or 5 points. With Relentless Strikes, a full finisher always returns 25 Energy.
- Cold Blood (level 25) before a 5-point Eviscerate on elites, or before Ambush if you open from Stealth with a dagger.
- Keep Instant Poison on both weapons from level 20: Mutilate hits harder on poisoned targets.
- Approach in Stealth from behind.
Sap (level 10) a second Humanoid first if two stand together. - Open with Ambush (dagger in the main hand). On enemies that hit hard, Cheap Shot (level 26) followed by Backstab is safer.
- Ghostly Strike on cooldown: damage, a combo point and 15% dodge.
- Gouge, step behind, Backstab. When Gouge is on cooldown, use Sinister Strike from the front, or Hemorrhage from level 30.
- Eviscerate on normal enemies; Rupture on anything that will live through its full duration.
Vanish (level 22) resets a fight that is going badly, and also lets you open a second time.
Ability milestones
- Level 1: Sinister Strike, Eviscerate, Stealth. Level 4: Backstab and
Pick Pocket. Level 6: Gouge. Level 8: Evasion. - Level 10: Slice and Dice, Sprint, Sap, a second weapon and your first talent point.
- Level 12: Kick. Level 14: Garrote and
Expose Armor. Level 16: 
Feint. Level 18: Ambush. - Level 20: Rupture, and poisons with Instant Poison and Crippling Poison.
- Levels 22-26: Vanish and
Distract (22), Mind-numbing Poison (24), Cheap Shot (26). - Level 30: Kidney Shot, Deadly Poison and Disarm Trap.
Things to Remember
- Gouge is your pause button. Four seconds without being hit is enough to refill Energy, bandage, or walk behind the enemy. Remember that any damage breaks it, including a bleed or a poison.
- Learn First Aid on day one. You have no heal. A bandage during Gouge or after Vanish is how a Rogue survives a bad pull.
- Carry your reagents. Vanish uses Flash Powder, and poisons need vials and ingredients from a poison vendor. Running out in the field is a common and avoidable mistake.
- Train new weapon types on easy enemies. A sword you have never used misses constantly until its skill catches up.
- Do not waste a finisher on a dying enemy. Let auto-attacks finish it and arrive at the next one with a full Energy bar.
- Keep a food buff active. In Forever, food that grants a buff also gives 5% extra experience.
- Visit the trainer every two levels. New ranks of Sinister Strike and Eviscerate are your biggest upgrades after a new weapon.
Stats to Prioritize
- Weapon damage — not a stat on the character sheet, but it decides more than anything else. A better main-hand weapon beats every other upgrade.
- Agility — Attack Power, critical strike chance and dodge in one stat.
- Strength — Attack Power as well. Take it when Agility is not on offer.
- Stamina — Health for a class that cannot heal.
- Hit and critical strike — rare before level 30, and worth taking when you find them: dual wielding misses often, and crits also apply to poisons in Forever.
- Spirit — faster Health regeneration between fights. Fine early on, less useful once bandages and food cover it.
Tips & Tricks
- Slow weapon in the main hand, fast weapon in the off hand. Sinister Strike uses the damage of the main-hand weapon, so a slow, hard-hitting one is best there. The off hand is for extra swings and poison applications.
- Poisons (from level 20). For ordinary questing, Instant Poison on both weapons. From level 30, on elites and dungeon bosses, Deadly Poison on one weapon pays off because the fight lasts long enough for it to stack. Keep a stack of Crippling Poison for enemies that run away.
- Sap before you fight when two Humanoids stand together. It lasts up to 25 seconds and does not break Stealth.
- Sprint is also an opener. It does not break Stealth, which helps you reach a patrolling enemy.
- Pick the weapon family for your talents later. Hack and Slash is beyond a 21-point Combat build, so before level 30 simply use the best weapons you own.
Lockpicking & pickpocketing
- Raise Lockpicking as you level. You need Thieves' Tools, and practice boxes in the zones your class quests send you to. Skill left behind is tedious to catch up on, and groups will ask you to open chests and doors.
- Pick Pocket Humanoids before you attack them. It is a little money each time, and the occasional lockbox to practice on.
Dungeon & Group Tips
A Rogue brings strong single-target damage, an interrupt on a 10-second cooldown and several ways to take an enemy out of the fight. Between levels 13 and 30 you can run Ragefire Chasm, The Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron, Wailing Caverns, the Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep, the Stockade, Excavation Site: Wetlands and Blackfathom Deeps. Level ranges and quests are in the dungeon guide.
- Stand behind the target. Enemies cannot parry or block attacks from behind, and it lets dagger users Backstab freely.
- Keep Slice and Dice running for the whole fight. In a group, enemies live long enough for it to be your best first finisher.
- Sap before the pull when the group wants one Humanoid out of the fight, and tell the tank which one.
- Kick is your job. Healers and dangerous casters first.
- Feint (level 16) when you get close to the tank's threat, and never open before the tank.
- Expose Armor is worth a finisher on bosses only when no Warrior is applying
Sunder Armor. - Blade Flurry on packs of two or more once the tank has them, and Evasion if one turns on you.
Macros
Sinister Strike + start attack
Starts your auto-attack even when you are short on Energy. Add /startattack to all your main strikes.
#showtooltip /startattack /cast Sinister Strike
Mouseover Kick
Interrupts the enemy under your cursor, or your target if you are not pointing at one.
#showtooltip Kick /cast [@mouseover,harm,nodead][] Kick
Pick Pocket, then open
Picks the pocket and uses your opener in the same press. Replace Cheap Shot with Ambush or Garrote as you prefer.
#showtooltip Cheap Shot /cast Pick Pocket /cast Cheap Shot
Sap the nearest enemy player
For PvP: clears your target, picks the nearest enemy player and tries to Sap them.
#showtooltip Sap /cleartarget /targetenemyplayer /cast Sap
Riposte on the same key as Sinister Strike
Tries Riposte first. It only fires after a parry, so the rest of the time the key is a normal Sinister Strike.
#showtooltip Sinister Strike /startattack /cast Riposte /cast Sinister Strike