Rogue leveling guide for WoW Forever: Combat, Subtlety or Assassination

All three Rogue specs are comfortable to level. Method suggests Combat for solo play and Subtlety in a group. This page condenses the main guide so you can start playing; where the source is silent, we say so.

Method's weapon notes seem misplaced in places, so check items in game.

Which spec to level

• Combat: take Blade Flurry as early as possible, dip into Assassination for Cold Blood, prefer Sinister Strike over Backstab and avoid daggers.
• Assassination: Backstab until you unlock Mutilate; do not rely on poisons for damage.
• Subtlety: Ambush through Ghostly Strike, then Vanish and Preparation, with Hemorrhage as the combo point generator.

Plan and share any build in our talent calculator, or see the full Rogue class page.

When each ability arrives

Level	You learn
4	Backstab
6	Gouge
8	Evasion
10	Dual Wield (train it at once for a huge damage boost), Slice And Dice
12	Kick
14	Expose Armor
16	Feint
18	Ambush
20	Poisons unlock
22	Vanish
26	Cheap Shot

First-rank levels from Method. Check your trainer for exact levels.

Weapons and gear

• Daggers: Blade of Cunning (level 10, class quest), Thornblade (18 to 20, Alliance), Meteor Shard (24 to 26, Shadowfang Keep), Subdued Dragon's Fang (32, Alliance).
• Swords and others: Daryl's Shortsword (15 to 17, Alliance), Cruel Barb (18 to 20, Deadmines), Ruby-Adorned Blade (30, class quest). Horde options include Deathstalker Shortsword (10), Hammer of Orgrimmar (14 to 16), Wingblade (20 to 22) and Outlaw Sabre (24 to 26).

Professions

Skinning and Mining until a major city, then Blacksmithing, then Leatherworking. First Aid, Cooking and Fishing as secondaries.

Strengths and weaknesses

Strengths: Several viable builds: poison, bleed and auto-attack; Strong survivability: Evasion, Vanish, Feint.

Weaknesses: Limited utility beyond raw damage.

Next steps

See our launch FAQ, and the Paladin leveling guide for the same layout on another class.

Based on Method's guide updated 6 Nov 2026. The source does not give a full point-by-point talent order or levels beyond the early game in every case; Method says it will expand to 1 to 60. Last checked 7 November 2026.