Current State of the Rogue Class

I’m back, and filled with scorn, /hugs, Skittles, and a slight odor… so I thought it would be fitting to return to the fold talking about what I know a little bit more than the next guy.

The current state of the Rogue class is in confusion and a general pissed off nature. Mainly, this was due to the fact that after Hemo recently received a much needed buff to compete with Sinister Strike in damage, not only was it toned back down a little bit (which it needed, I’ll admit), but Preparation was changed to not include AR anymore. Why was it changed? Was it because a large majority of all arena Rogues were using the new cookie cutter 0/31/30 build (or some form of AR/Prep/Hemo), or because of the incessant bitching from other classes that we were now too strong?

I couldn’t honestly tell you or anyone else why… and neither could any other Rogue as we are still asking Blizzard devs for a reason behind this kind of change. The last time I checked, nearly every class is basically pigeon-holed into a specific type of spec for arena, regardless of how strong it is… so when are those specs going to be looked at? Warlocks were very briefly looked at in terms of SL/SL last patch… the same patch our nerf happened. What about Resto Druids? MS Warriors? Frost Mages? I’m I hitting any nerves yet?

Like I said before, I’ll be the first to admit that yes, the AR/Prep spec was quite strong, but it didn’t deserve the kind of nerf it did. It was nerfed because of Hemo in my opinion, since we’ve always had AR/Prep since TBC was released and the arenas were the new AV. Why didn’t they just nerf Hemo? Not a clue. But changing Sinister Calling and fixing Cheat Death to get us to spec Shadowstep was not a healthy alternative.

All of my current Shadowstep experience has been in the 2v2 bracket, which is 90% Resto Druid teams, paired with Warriors, SL/SL Warlocks, and Rogues. The burst and control needed just isn’t there. Yay! We can’t really be kited anymore! That should make up for something, right? Not really. Against many teams, I found myself rarely using Shadowstep until I tried to get fancy and Shiv Crippling Poison on the other target and using it to get back on the primary target. Whoopdy-doo. I have yet to be in a consistent 3v3 team with Shadowstep for testing, and have yet to be in a decent 5v5 team period since Season 1… GG Rogue usefulness in the 5v5 bracket. But it’s too late now, because it’s either going to be Combat Maces or the same nerfed 0/31/30 build for all arenas now… depending on which day it is due to my raiding schedule of course. =p

What other specs can we really go? There are a few, but not as many as there were in the past seasons. Mutilate is probably the most difficult to play now, more than it was in Season 1 due to everyone and their friend’s grandmother having at least 250-300 resilience. It can still be played effectively, but I would go another spec before even considering that again. Combat Maces has always been steady in terms of effectiveness across all seasons, before making a huge wave in Season 2. I’ve even seen some off the wall builds used pretty well, but required a specific play style and arena team partners to make it work. Bleh.

Oh, and we still don’t have viable Fist weapons that can be attained outside of the arena system. GG devs. I understand that you have to really make 2 models for each Fist due to the character mounting, but come on. The best one outside the arena is still lower in power than the Season 2 rewards (I’m referring to the “salad fingers” maces from Al’ar in TK).

PvE-wise, Rogues are Rogues still… thank god. Our DPS is still second to none in boss fights and we have remained where we should for instance utilization. The problem comes into PvP. This was predicted, not only by me, but other Rogues on the boards when the resilience system was introduced… that our effectiveness and usefulness in certain brackets would plunge. And oh look, it did. Did you know that the #1 class across all arena brackets is the Warrior? I bet you did. Amazing how much more use that class has over all others in all 3 brackets than say… a Shaman or a Paladin. But that’s another post down the road… and I didn’t forget about you either, Druids. ><

The Rogues’ anger is more from our confusion over the past couple patches and the changes made to them, and not to other classes. We still have no real reason as to why we were buffed in 1 tree, then nerfed in 2 trees in 2 consecutive patches. We had an idea that Hemo would be nerfed as in its first buffed form, it was actually stronger than Sinister Strike… but the Prep change took us by surprise. I still remember when Prep refreshed ALL Rogue cooldowns… then it was limited and Blade Flurry, Blind and now AR were all removed. Of course, I also remember when WotF was passive and made undead immune to polymorph… that’s how spiffy I am. Amazing how I have no other 60 or 70 character in the game… that’s my kind of dedication… or laziness. =p

Our biggest frustration is that none of us really know what Blizzard has in store for our class in terms of PvP. Maybe we will get some answers soon… otherwise, I will be looking forward to creating a DPS Death Knight in the next expansion.