WoW Forever beta Rogue build for level 20: Combat without Restless Blades

Overview

Levels 10–20 · Combat Rogue, solo questing and grinding.

Combat players are the unhappiest Rogues in the beta, because Restless Blades is gone from the tree, and many testers say Rogues feel energy-starved at low levels. This build follows Icy Veins’ level 20 path and puts every early point into doing more with each point of Energy. Improved Sinister Strike makes your main builder cheaper, Improved Eviscerate hits harder with your main finisher, and Precision stops you wasting Energy on misses. Puncturing Wounds completes the 11 points. Icy Veins skips the dodge and parry talents because you do not need them at this level. Written for the first beta phase: level cap 20, client build 1.60.1.69913. Talents and tuning will change before the level 30 phase and again before launch on November 4.

Why this build

• Cheaper Sinister Strike is the single best fix for early Energy starvation.
• Precision means fewer misses, and every miss is wasted Energy.
• Burst. Stealth openers and a strong Eviscerate kill most quest mobs before they hit back much.

Weak spots

• Energy-starved at low levels. Players describe the beta Rogue as clunky, and there is no Restless Blades to smooth cooldowns later.
• Weak against groups of mobs. Pull one at a time and use Gouge or Sap to control the rest.
• Combo points sit on the target, so switching targets mid-fight wastes them.

Talent order by level

One point per level from level 10 to 20. The talent tree above shows the finished level 20 build; use the level slider to see it at any level.

• Levels 10–11 · Improved Sinister Strike 2/2 — Sinister Strike costs 5 less Energy. The biggest fix for early Energy starvation.
• Levels 12–14 · Improved Eviscerate 3/3 — +21% Eviscerate damage, your main finisher.
• Levels 15–17 · Precision 3/3 — +3% hit with attacks and poisons, so less Energy is wasted on misses.
• Levels 18–20 · Puncturing Wounds 3/3 — More crits on Backstab and Mutilate, plus a chance for Backstab to add an extra combo point. Icy Veins’ pick to round out the 11 points.

Key levels

• Level 10 · Improved Sinister Strike first: cheaper builder from the start.
• Level 12 · Start Improved Eviscerate.
• Level 15 · Precision for hit.
• Level 18 · Puncturing Wounds completes the level 20 build.

How to pull and kill

1. Open from Stealth with Cheap Shot or Ambush where you can.
2. Sinister Strike to 3–5 combo points, then Eviscerate. Use Slice and Dice on longer fights.
3. Gouge the second mob if a pull brings an add, finish your target, then deal with it.
4. Evasion and Sprint are your escape buttons when a pull goes wrong.

Leveling tips

• Racials: Icy Veins highlights Gnome and Orc for Rogues. Undead players envy the Orc, Troll and Skyborne racials.
• Weapon speed matters. A slow main hand makes Sinister Strike hit harder.
• Eat between pulls rather than starting a fight with low health; you cannot heal yourself.
• Watch for Restless Blades. Blizzard has not said whether it is gone for good.

After level 20

After 20, the Combat Swords Rogue leveling guide continues to 60. The beta class report tracks the Restless Blades feedback.

Sources

The talent path and leveling advice adapt these Classic guides to the WoW Forever talent trees; talents that are new or changed in Forever are chosen from this site’s talent data.

• WoW Forever Builds: beta class report (level 20)
• Icy Veins: Combat Rogue DPS Guide - WoW Forever
• Official forums: Blizzard removed Restless Blades from Combat