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Encrypted Text: Weapon speed analysis
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the rogue class. This week, we discuss the reason we're picky about weapon speeds. If you've ever played with a hunter, then you know that every weapon is a hunter weapon. Either they need to gear for some special gear set they're working on they're hoping that Blizzard allows them to use maces and wands someday. Polearms, swords and even daggers can all fall prey to their instant need rolls. I'm just happy that they're not allowed to equip their pets with gear à la Diablo II, or else there would be a massive weapon shortage. Rogues, on the other hand, have very narrow weapon requirements. In most cases, weapon speed can trump nearly any other stat weight, due to specific mechanics that favor a certain type of sword or dagger. While Cataclysm has promised to roll all weapon types into a single, balanced specialization, we are currently forced to pick our instruments of destruction carefully.
Encrypted Text: Vanish fix in the alpha
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the rogue class. This week, we discuss the possible fixes for Vanish that Blizzard is testing. I am not in the Cataclysm alpha. I'm fine with waiting until the official release date to experience the goblin and worgen races first hand and to see the destruction that Deathwing's arrival has wrought upon the world. However, that hasn't stopped me from reading up on any alpha information I can get my hands on. A prepared rogue is a successful rogue, knowledge is power, knowing is half the battle, etc. My curiosity gets the best of me, and I can't help but speculate about the tentative changes that are coming our way. There is one upcoming item in particular that has me incredibly excited: a possible fix for Vanish. The best part is that's there's even more to it than that: a possible "clutch" ability to replace the old Vanish immunity windows. I can't imagine rogues asking for anything more, considering that guaranteed restealths through Vanish are required for Vanish to remain a powerful cooldown. Let's be honest here -- who has seen a video of a rogue vanishing a Death Coil and not immediately wanted to go try it out? I can tell you that I called my warlock friend up that minute and had him outside of Durotar testing the technique with me. All rogues need is an instant of protection mixed with fast reflexes to get the job done.
Encrypted Text: What it feels like to be a rogue
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the rogue class. This week, we discuss the experience of playing a rogue and how it differs from every other class. I have recently been reading a variety of forum threads concerning Cataclysm and noticed an interesting trend. Many people like to state that they know their class the best, because they've been playing it "since day one." I think that's a funny thing to say, considering that most classes barely resemble their original forms. Hybrids are now capable of tanking and doing damage, and many classes have more than one viable tree for both PvE and PvP. Even the basic playstyle has been drastically altered, with Blizzard moving more and more classes to the reactive model of DPS instead of the fixed rotation of previous years. I firmly believe that rogues have changed the least over the past expansions, when compared to any other class. Our basic playstyle remains unaltered, and the majority of our new abilities and deep talents are cooldowns or trick attacks: Mutilate and Envenom are the only two new abilities that we've added to our rotation repertoire. Assassination's 51-point talent is so bland that Ghostcrawler confirmed it's being yanked in Cataclysm. What is it about the rogue class that makes it so resistant to change? I think that we had a very solid original design, coupled with several unique mechanics that make it impossible to flex the rogue experience without breaking it entirely.
Encrypted Text: How to gear your rogue to be raid-ready
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the rogue class. This week, we talk about the proper way to start gearing your rogue to succeed in the raiding scene. Step 1: Don't forget your pants. I would love to see the Horde conduct a democratic election. We've heard that Garrosh will be taking the reins from Thrall, but just think of the fun that we could have watching various candidates debate the issues. I can assume that Garrosh would be in support of stricter immigration policies, while Vol'jin would be voting for any measure that protected the Echo Isles rainforest. Sylvanas would be accused of campaign fraud by some pro-Earthmother TAC (Tauren Action Committee) members, who would then mysteriously disappear a week later without a trace. The hot topics would obviously be the economy (or what's left of it, after Basil's had his shot), setting up a universal epic system, and perhaps the most controversial matter: GearScore. The primary cause for PUG elitism is the mentality that anyone with worse gear than me is a scrub, and anyone with better gear than me is a nerd. GearScore is only a means to an end, which is to make it easy for a raid leader to quickly judge players. Rather than complaining, there's an even easier way to bring your rogue up to the minimum GS bar set by trade chat: let's get you into some new gear!
Encrypted Text: Add the finishing touches to your rogue
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the rogue class. This week, we talk about how to make sure your rogue is ready for the next expansion! If you've been following along with the recent news in the WoW stratosphere, you know that patch 3.3.5 is currently being tested on the PTR. Included in this patch is the new Ruby Sanctum raid dungeon, which is very likely to be the last raid that we'll see this side of the Cataclysm. While I think it will be more of a Sartharion-like raid and less of an actual progression instance, the fact is that after Halion and company go down, Deathwing's emergence will be soon to follow. I talked last week about how the various trade skills can enhance your rogue in a multitude of ways. While these are certainly some of the more tangible benefits you can receive by working on your character's progression, there are several other ways to make your rogue all it can be. With Icecrown Citadel on farm status for many guilds, you might have some free time to start rounding out your rogue for Cataclysm's imminent release. Read on for a few pointers on how to get yourself into top shape for the upcoming expansion.
Encrypted Text: Profession perks for rogues
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the rogue class. This week, we talk about which professions are the best for rogues and how to maximize their benefits. Our story today starts all the way back in Molten Core, the first raid dungeon in WoW. Back then, warriors were the only tanks and unless you were a warlock or druid, none of your gear dropped. Rogues were the only true melee DPS class in the game, as warriors were stuck tanking and the melee hybrids had nothing in their arsenal besides the fearsome Auto Attack. It was a good period for Blizzard's favorite class, and we enjoyed a time of prosperity and abundance. If you look at the game as it stands today and compare it to its humble beginnings, it's easy to see the numerous improvements to both gameplay and also to the general quality of life of a player. One area that saw an abundance of changes was the profession system, which has gone through several iterations. We've seen new trade skills introduced with each expansion to the game, as well as many additions to the capabilities of each. Due to the strong tradition of min/maxing in the rogue culture, choosing the right professions has obviously become a topic of discussion amongst those looking to perfect their characters.
Encrypted Text: The cooldown class
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the rogue class. This week, we talk about our shared reliance on cooldowns, and how to break the cycle of being overpowered and underpowered at the same time. Rogues have somewhat of a paradoxical standing amongst the other classes, in both PvP and PvE. At times, we're unparalleled, and we become the goal that everyone else can only chase. During other times, we are frail and vulnerable, barely capable of holding our own against our opponents. Rogues have a toolbox of active abilities that were designed to give the class flavor, but have the unfortunate side effect of leaving us bland without them. We are intensely hot peppers with all of our moves ready to go, and we are simply plain rice when they're not. Are our cooldowns so powerful that they really define the class? Absolutely. Are we so weak without them that our raid leaders and arena partners are looking to recruit wet noodles instead of rogues? Probably not. However, the place we're in right now isn't necessarily where we want to be either, where our CD addiction restricts us from having a more engaging time playing the game. While being demi-gods for 20 seconds every three minutes may seem enjoyable, it still leaves quite a long stretch of impotence for us to deal with. What we need to do is find the middle ground where our CDs are still meaningful, but we're not sitting ducks for the majority of our time outside of Stealth.
Encrypted Text: What the Cataclysm preview was missing
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the rogue class. This week, we talk about a few questions we still have following our class preview. Rossi also sent me the above picture of his rogue, and I have to say that I was not surprised in his choice of character customization. If you haven't had a chance to yet, you should take a peek at the Cataclysm preview for rogues that was released last week. We've learned about several new moves being added to our arsenal as we level to 85, in addition to being privy to developers' plans for the class as we fight against Deathwing and company. Cataclysm looks to be the most ambitious expansion to date, and Blizzard is pulling out all the stops to ensure that many of the issues the game has faced since launch are handled while also developing each class to a more robust level of play. There was a lot of great info in the preview, but there were also a few details missing. Does Blizzard have any plans to replace Vanish, is there any chance of a new combo system ability (generator or finisher), and what about ever having Shadowstep become trainable? These are just a few of the questions I've been considering, and I've heard many more from other rogues as well. What's your biggest questions for the developers after having read their plan for the rogue class?
Encrypted Text: My favorite rogue addons
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the rogue class. This week, we talk about my favorite rogue addons, and how to use them to improve your WoW experience. It's about time I wrote this guide, as I'm pretty sure I promised it all the way back in fall of 2009. My planned column posting schedule was completely upheaved with the announcement of the patch 3.3 Vanish fix (which ended up being vaporware), and so I never got around to the topic of rogue addons. Luckily for you, I've had the opportunity to work with several new addons in the meantime! Now, I'm going to preface this guide with the disclaimer that I haven't had the chance to test every rogue mod out there, so if you have a favorite, please post it in the comments. I'm always looking for the best mods out there, and once I've found one that solves a particular problem, it can be a while before I go looking to replace them. With ICC becoming a more of a regular farm raid and less of a great unknown, I've had more free time to begin my period of self-examination before the next tier of content is released. If you're looking to add some spice to your rogue experience, try adding a few new addons to the mix!
Encrypted Text: Guide to patch 3.3.3 changes for rogues
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss the recent changes in patch 3.3.3, and what they mean for rogues everywhere. I can always tell when it's patch day. I don't have to read it on the forums or check our tip line for a Blizzard insider spilling the beans. All I have to do is watch my iPhone. It'll be mid-morning on a Tuesday, and my phone will start blowing up with texts from all the rogues in my address book. They're eager to bounce various spec ideas off of me, ask if I've done any testing with the new glyphs, and to see if I can spot them 40 Cardinal Rubies for their brand new gearing strategy. The answer to the last question is always "no", as I have more important things to spend my gold on, like a shiny new ilvl 277 cloak from a GDKP run. If something is rebalanced, it's done via hotfix. Only the really major changes make it into a patch, and so a patch is inherently a Big Deal. That's the reason that any rogue forum you visit for the next few days will be inundated with "what's good in 3.3.3?" threads. I'm going to do my best today to lay all of the changes on the table, and let you know which ones are important and which ones you can safely ignore. The patch notes affect all 3 rogue specs, and so you'll want to understand the updates even if you're not interested in the subtlety revival (which is more of a whimper).
Encrypted Text: Hit and expertise in Icecrown
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss hit and expertise (or the lack thereof) on ICC gear. I want to open this week's column with a quick anecdote from the life of a rogue: My fianceé's low-level shaman was being camped in Felwood by a higher-level warlock. I did my roguish duties and took care of the problem, via a sharp dagger through the rib cage. The warlock escalated the situation by bringing out a retribution paladin, whom I also dispatched. After fighting (read: them dying a lot) for some time, I was watching over the paladin's corpse. I saw him resurrect, mount, and ride off, and pursued him in stealth. I used Sprint, used Preparation, Sprinted again, and finally used my rocket boots to make up the ground. The paladin had left my sight range, due to Crusader Aura and my slowed movement in stealth, but I did not stop running. Watching me, my ward asked why I would pursue the target after they had clearly escaped my grasp. My instincts as a rogue have been honed after years of playing the class, and I am familiar in the ways of tracking my opponents. I said simply, "The wounded enemy always stops to eat". About 10 seconds later, I found the paladin sitting and eating some biscuits behind a tree (his long guild name gave him away). A few short moments later, and there was one less living soul in Felwood that night. Do you have any stories of "rogue moments" that made you certain you chose the right class at the character creation screen? I have a lot of characters. While I'm not sporting a geared 80 of every flavor, I do enjoy playing a variety of classes. Now, I don't know how many of you are in a similar situation, but with so many toons to manage, it can be pretty hard to focus on any one's needs at a time. I've always got to weigh the pros and cons of every decision: figuring out who I should buy gear for, who I should be saving my emblems on, and what my upgrade paths looks like. It can be tough work, and needless to say, I spend a good deal of time each week filling out various spreadsheets and trying to map out a plan.
Encrypted Text: Stealth mechanics deep-dive
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss the rogue iconic ability: Stealth. Have you ever tried to describe the rogue class to a friend or family member? I remember when a paladin acquaintance of mine asked what rogues were all about, what their secret sauce was. The question took me off guard, because I had been playing the rogue for so long that I saw everything through rogue-colored glasses. I struggled to find a simple explanation, because we are simply such a diverse class (once you overlook the pure DPS aspect, at least). While we could be summed up by one word, awesome, I have always felt that describing our class is a real challenge. Once I started thinking seriously about it, trying to find a class-defining moment or example, it hit me. What could be more ubiquitous than a rogue stealth run? An assassination force of shadow, rogues in their most feared form. We approach our opponents unnoticed, we strike from the shadows with great force, and we retreat into darkness before we're ever seen.
Encrypted Text: Patch 3.3.3 changes mean subtlety is back
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss the upcoming patch 3.3.e changes, and what they mean for subtlety. I promised myself I would never say this. When I took up the mantle of Encrypted Text, I knew that with great power comes great responsibility. It was my duty to ensure that accurate information reached the readers of this column, and to keep them abreast of upcoming changes. The other sites could do as they pleased: I would remain steadfast. Unfortunately, as we all know, Blizzard loves to shake things up when they feel that the status quo is stale. The recent subtlety changes are an example of this. Because of those changes, I have to break that promise that I made. Today, I am forced to say something which I never thought would be seriously true. Today, I am telling you that hemo daggers is a viable spec.
Encrypted Text: Mutilate 101
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss the basics of a Mutilate build, and how to thrive as assassination. If I were choosing one word to describe the Mutilate playstyle, I'd have to go with the easy answer: Assassin. Keeping the tradition of the tree's namesake, Mutilate rogues are experts of the quick and efficient kill. Not designed for toe-to-toe combat or lengthy encounters, the last dagger-wielding rogue spec prefers a more vicious approach. You give your enemy no quarter, and expect none in return. Specializing in single-target damage, a Mutilate rogue performs at peak efficiency when there's only a solo target. The assassination tree grants us a complete mastery over all things poisonous, and in this, gives us strength against highly armored opponents that our siblings of the shadow can only envy. A properly played Mutilate rogue on an advantageous fight can be rivaled by no other DPS class in the game, and why should there be any competition? Killing is what an assassination rogue was born to do.
Encrypted Text: The art of the gank
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss how to gank with style and grace. You're tired. You've been slaying the denizens of Icecrown Citadel for hours, you've spent your entire week clearing the daily heroics for your valuable Emblems of Frost, and you can't remember the last time you left Dalaran when you weren't en route to a raid. Your work has not been in vain, and you probably have some stiff new leather armor and maybe a plastic-wrapped weapon or two to show for it. Your new armor is too tight, it is stifling and you must be nimble. If your weapons are too mint, they won't fit in your hands, and they will throw off your balance. With such little time left at level 80, we don't have the luxury of underperforming. How can you make your armor flexible to allow you to avoid enemy attacks? How can you mold your weapon to become an extension of your own arm? And how can you vent the pent up stress of mindlessly spamming Fan of Knives in heroics for hours on end? Luckily, there's a magic element that will solve all three of these problems: innocent blood.
Encrypted Text: Rogue tips for raiding Icecrown Citadel, Part 4
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss some of the tips and tricks to remember when raiding Icecrown Citadel's fourth wing, Frostwing Halls. Dragons. We've been hunting these flying lizards for years immemorable. From the first slain whelp of our rogue infancy to the most powerful reptiles in the land, we've made our bones by assassinating these majestic reptiles wherever we can find them. No phase in WoW was complete without a dragon (or several) to take out, and Northrend is no different. We've faced a variety of dragons already: black, blue, undead, and more. Our axes are strong enough to tear through their scales, while our daggers are adept enough to slide between their armored hides. The dragon encounters that we face in ICC are of a different breed than what we're used to fighting. For instance, the first encounter actually has us teaming up with a green dragon to combat Arthas' corrupting power. The second faces us against the undead brood mother, the largest and most powerful dragon we've faced to date. While Deathwing awaits us in Cataclysm, Sindragosa is clearly the ultimate dragon encounter we'll face at level 80.
Encrypted Text: The last percent
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss how to maximize your DPS by using a few custom macros and clever use of your abilities. If you've been keeping up on yesterday's patch notes, you'll notice that quite a few of the hybrid and caster ranged classes received some significant DPS buffs. They have been trailing in the ICC meters, and these changes were designed to bring them back within range of the rest of the pack. Rogues have still been stunning on every fight in Icecrown, but the competition is definitely heating up. The true test will be how we fare against the Lich King himself. We've all heard about the hybrid tax: Blizzard regrets mentioning it, and every druid and ret paladin brings it up when they complain about their position on the DPS charts. Some estimates put it between 5-10%, but obviously hybrid classes are currently designed to stay near the pure DPS without passing them up. However, how many rogues are actually doing their maximum theoretical DPS? There are several common mistakes or oversights that can cost us dearly. Read on for a detailed list of ways you're hurting your own DPS, and how to fix it before your next raid.
Encrypted Text: Rogue tips for raiding Icecrown Citadel, Part 3
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss some of the tips and tricks to remember when raiding Icecrown Citadel's third wing, the Crimson Halls. Blizzard has been bringing their A-game in Icecrown Citadel, with each new wing's difficulty greater than the last. The most recently released wing, The Crimson Halls, plays host to a quartet of vampiric elves who will push your raid to the limit. ICC has been gradually becoming less and less PUG friendly, with complex fights, tight DPS checks via innovative berserk timers, and about twenty different ways to die per encounter. Add in the fact that each end-wing boss has a limited number of attempts, and it's easy to see why raid leaders only want to bring the best of the best to their runs. The two boss battles we find in the Crimson Halls are night and day when it comes to how a rogue should approach them. The first, an unconventional 'council fight', will have your thief senses tingling as danger comes from every angle while you move about the room. The second, a DPS race of highest order, will have you drooling over the huge numbers that appear on your screen as you assassinate yet another member of royalty: the Queen of the San'layn?
Encrypted Text: Rogue tips for raiding Icecrown Citadel, Part 2
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss some of the tips and tricks to remember when raiding Icecrown Citadel's second wing, the Plagueworks. Blizzard has stepped up the pacing mechanic in Icecrown Citadel, releasing each new wing in two week intervals. With the latest wing, the Crimson Halls / Blood Wing (also called Vampire Wing if you're a Twilight fan), recently unveiled, there's bound to be a ton of interest in raiding ICC on your server. This week, I'd like to talk about the bosses that were released in the previous wing, the Plagueworks (Unholy). Once I get a chance to fight the Blood Princes and Blood Queen Lana'Thel first-hand, I'll have a write-up posted here. The Plagueworks revolves around Professor Putricide and his two abomination creations: Rotface and Festergut. Each of his children have a 'dog' to call their own, and plenty of trash guarding the way to their inner sanctum. These fights are a tier above what you've faced so far in Icecrown, and will push your DPS, your awareness, and your reaction times to the limit. Don't hold back in the Plagueworks: use every consumable and tactic available to maximize your DPS, or find yourself facing one of a few very interesting enrage timers. Unfortunately for us, as you can see in the picture above, our view for the first two encounters involves standing behind bosses that resemble a pair of deformed potatoes.
Encrypted Text: The sun is fine after recent rogue nerfs
Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss the recent Hunger for Blood and poison coefficient nerfs. If you have been anywhere near a WoW forum or news source in the past week, you'll certainly have heard of the largest rogue nerf seen in WotLK. Hotfixed into the game on the 8th, this nerf hit both Assassination and Combat, though Mutilate was hit far worse. I've seen rogue pundits claim that the sky is falling, and death knight forum posters shouting that the nerf was well deserved. To put it in the words of a forum poster now quoted in Ghostcrawler's signature: "blizzards solution was F) destroy the sun." A full 5% nerf to Hunger for Blood is pretty simple to model: it's a 5% nerf to Mutilate's DPS. Ghostcrawler has been exalting the idea of a simple talent/mechanic that allows Blizzard to tweak a class' DPS with minimal backlash or unexpected consequences, and it seems HfB is truly the precursor of what's to come with the Mastery system. The second nerf was also calculated, it struck Combat and Mutilate both, via a poison scaling coefficient that's invisible to players. While it only amounts to a 2-3% nerf for both specs, it's enough to convince many players to abandon their thieves and assassins. Here's the secret: post-nerf, rogues are still way on top.
