Many Rogue changes incoming

Rogues were one of the last classes to get new talent trees for LK; in general, it seems like they've been a bit behind during the beta. However, today another blue I've never heard of, by the name of Gamnin, dropped a lot of information about what's in store for the most stabbity of classes. Here are the changes that jump out at me:

General:

• All reagents and tools (such as Thieves' Tools and poison reagents) are being removed.

• Poison skill is being removed. Poisons can now be bought from vendors.

• Evasion, Sprint, and Vanish cooldowns reduced from 5 minutes to 3 minutes (2 minute with talents).

• Cloak of Shadows cooldown raised to 2 minutes (1 minute with Elusiveness).

• An unspecified new level 75 ability is coming, which will "add some much needed group utility." The previous level 75 ability, Dismantle, will be trainable at level 20.

Assassination:

• Mutilate no longer requires you to be behind the target.

• Relentless Strikes will be made "more accessible"; Vigor is taking its place, and a new talent is going in Vigor's place.

• Find Weakness will be passive.

Combat:

• Riposte now generates a combat point.

• Mace Specialization will give armor penetration with maces.

• Deflection down to 3 ranks from 5.

• Fist Weapon and Dagger Specializations merged.

• Dual Wield Spec moved to tier 1 (!), swapping places with Lightning Reflexes (which will be buffed).

Subtlety:

• "More attractive Tier 1"

• Fewer dagger-specific talents to allow for more build flexibility.

That's not all, that's just what struck me as especially cool. The complete rundown is over at the official forums.

I am excited. More exited than I was about the Furor change earlier today, by a long shot. It seems more and more like LK is going to be the iteration where Blizz really gets it right, ironing out a lot of kinks that have been there since day one. Don't get me wrong, WoW has been a great game so far, but LK looks like it's going to make it even better. And most of this stuff will probably be going live in the 3.0.2 patch.

As far as the specific changes, I'm particularly excited about the reagents being dropped. They add a lot of flavor, but ultimately a lot of hassle as well. And although I can't say I'm pleased to see CloS nerfed like that, I can see the need for it. I'm also happy to see Relentless Strikes and DW Spec moved to more accessible places; those were both often seen as must-have talents for PvE specs, significantly limiting build options. I'm also looking forward to playing with Dismantle; on the face of it, it looks a bit imba in certain situations. It'll be pretty good to be a rogue in Northrend.