World Of Warcraft

Rogues - How to kill in 3 hits.

Rogues may be some of the most hated players in the World Of Warcraft. Everyone on a PVP server has been killed by a rogue at some point in time. The first time I got ganked by a rogue, I never saw it coming and had no idea what happened until I saw the rogue running away and vanish. Instantly I was in awe and dropped all current characters to create a my rogue, the perfect rogue.

I have played a few rogues since the first time I got ganked by one. I knew I wanted to be the sneaky kind of rogue who slipped out of hiding just long enough to kill and slip back into hiding. This type of rogue is based on BURST attacks and massive criticals. I will refer to this build as the Assasin Rogue build, but let us NOT confuse that with the Assasin skill tree. It is my opinion that rogues less than 30 suck at PVP, I'm not talking about the battle grounds either. It isn't until about level 30 that a rogue has enough talent points sunk into his/her talent tree to actually start being effective. At level 40 is when you truly become a menace, able to take out warriors a few levels ABOVE you!

Note: DO NOT JUDGE THE TRUE POWER OF YOUR CHARACTER BY FRIENDLY DUELS. This type of build is not the dueling type. You will probably lose more than you win, in a friendly duel. Half of your power comes from the fact that the victim never knows what has hit them until they are dead or about to die. It is called the element of suprise.

The underlying rule to being an Assasin Rogue is to sacrifice defense for offense. Just remember offense offense offense and you can't go wrong. Base all your item selection on achieving a great offense. A rogue's attack power comes from agility and strength. Agility will allow the rogue to land more critical blows. Strength will allow the rogue to hit harder with the criticals that he/she does land. Also let us never forget those lovely wonderful items labeled "of Power" which give a direct bonus to attack power.

I have no items in my inventory which do not give a bonus to either Power, Agility or Strength. Specifically in that order. I even have armors which give an Power bonus instead of a defensive bonus.

The next thing you need to know is that the perhaps the weakest set of weapons in the World of Warcraft may be your best friend. Daggers give the Assasin Rogue his/her most powerful attacks. You can not pull off some of these attacks using any other weapon. These attacks are ambush and backstab and you must have a dagger in your main hand. In addition daggers are quick, so when using poisions a dagger will give you the most chances to infect your victim.

In addition to the dagger, rogues are able to duel wield, which allows them to carry a weapon in their off hand. Your off hand attack is usually not as powerful as your main hand attack, but by using two weapons it allows you to attack twice as much (remember poisions) than just using one. Your off hand weapon does not have to be a dagger. Rogues can carry swords and maces. The sword or mace must be labeled as "one hand" and NOT be labeled as "main hand". Main hand weapons can not be held in the off hand.

The talent Tree:

Subtelty and Assasin Talents are about the best. Since I say Rogues don't get good until level 30, I will just list what talents you should have AT level 30 and allow you to decide what to take and when... just remember these are the talents you should have once you are 30...

Subtelty Tree

Assasin Tree

Ok you've waited for it and here is the 3 hit combo which will take out the majority of your unsuspecting victims. First you deliver an ambush, then immediately a backstab and finally another back stab. I have found that this combination will take out a cloth or leather wearer more times than not. Also this whole combo can be done in seconds and as I have said many times your victim usually doesn't even know what's happening.

If your 3 hit combo doesn't work, just remember the victim is at half power, confused and usually now running (WITH THEIR BACKS TO YOU). What more can you ask for? This is a mamed victim who is showing you his sweet spot (back) and proned for another backstab. With your sprint ability there is usually no way they will out run you. Also remember you are still at full health and have a huge advantage. Also get used to using the distract skill which can force a fleeing victim to literally turn around and run towards you.

I will admit sometimes when attacking a warrior you get into a pissing contest where you have to go toe to toe. Some more things you need to know when your 3 hit combo doesn't work: You can always use vanish and ambush them again, ambush hurts alot. The icing on the cake is the eviscerate which is a finishing move and not always necessary, but it's powerful and will have combo points waiting to be used if necessary (the more combo points the stronger it will hit). If the opponent turns to face you, use a gouge to stun them for a few seconds and circle around their backsides for another backstab attack.

An experienced PVPer will never run with his back to you or his front to you, because an experienced pvper knows if their back is to you they will get hurt and if their front is to you they will get stunned. They will usually try to run in a circle around you. In these cases what you can do is build up combo points and hope to hit a huge eviscerate critical. Don't forget sinister strike, which doesn't cause too much damage but does add a combo point.

Honor in killing? I smile when I kill a mage who is sitting drinking a mana potion. I don't mind attacking an oponent who isn't at full health. I find it good strategy to attack a victim who just attaked a monster, essentially the victim has to defend against two attacks now.

Always have plenty of consumables

Befriend, or create another character, who is an alchemist. In addition to all the bonus stats that come on armors and weapons, it never hurts to have more bonuses from potions. Have plenty of swift thistle teas, even learn how to make them yourself with cooking. Never, and I meant never, forget your flash powder for use with the vanish ability. Crippling posisions will slow the opponents' run speed and instant poision basically gives you an extra chace to land a hit. Always and I mean always have your weapons coated with each poision.

Things an Assasin Rogue needs to look out for in World of Warcraft:

Hunters get a neat trick which allows them to see hiders. Learn this and watch out for it. It is your bane.
Don't try to hide or vanish if you are taking damage from a disease, spell or poision. This will cause you to come out of hiding almost immediately.

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