Rogue Race Options in Forever
Every race except Tauren can play Rogue. Blizzard's Create the Hero tables, published September 22, 2026, list them. Skyborne and the Zephras Isle starting experience need the Skyborne Heroic Pack or higher; see the editions guide.
| Race | Rogue in Forever | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Skyborne | Yes, Alliance and Horde | Confirmed |
| Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome | Yes, Alliance | Confirmed |
| Orc, Troll, Forsaken | Yes, Horde | Confirmed |
| Tauren | No | Confirmed |
The Warcraft Tavern hands-on demo report showed the same rows earlier. See the class hub and the race hub's matrix for every class. The Rogue Combat talent order gives a Combat talent order from the reported tree to Adrenaline Rush at 31 points, spellbook and trainer advice, and links to faction zone brackets; it makes no measured 1-60 quest-by-quest promise.Source: Rogue leveling guide, "How should you spend talent points from level 10 to 60?", "Are Rogue trainer abilities mapped by level?" and "Where should you quest from 1 to 60?", checked Oct 8, 2026. The confirmed progression mechanics are campfire resting and food XP bonuses.
Blizzard Evidence and Open Questions
Skyborne on both factions get Rogue access, the panel recap confirms. The recap also says class identity stays central while abilities and race-class combinations are added. The Battle.net product page confirms updates across all specializations. It names Dwarf Shaman and Forsaken Paladin, and no Rogue pairing. A BlizzCon 2026 roundup lists the combat-and-talents Deep Dive as planned.
Blizzard's October 7 deep dive covers the Rogue talent trees and mechanic changes below. Still unknown: Skyborne racial interactions, and any Rogue role or build Blizzard has not named. A deleted first roadmap image listed two spring 2027 race-class combinations, and whether they are still planned, or include Rogue, is unknown. Blizzard's current roadmap graphic drops them.
October 1 Beta Build Changes
Blizzard's October 1 beta build changes Expose Armor and the Setup talent, and adds Rogue to the Cooldown Manager. Confirmed for the beta, not promised for launch. The October 1 patch notes summary covers every class.Source: WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 1, checked Oct 1, 2026.
- Expose Armor fix: misses no longer cost all combo points.
- Cooldown Manager: Rogue and racial abilities are now supported.
- Combo points: new target frame and Personal Resource Display art.
Subtlety Setup: adds combo points to your current target only if it is the one you dodged or resisted a spell from.
Duplicate Cooldown Manager entries for each spell rank on supported classes should no longer appear. The notes don't say whether the September 24 combo point display issue is fixed.
Known issue: enemies can parry and block from behind if you stand close. Blizzard says not standing too close avoids it for now.
Rogue Leveling
Our Rogue leveling guide gives a Combat talent order from the reported tree to at 31 points, advises using the in-game spellbook and trainer for spell levels, and links to faction zone brackets; it does not promise a measured 1-60 quest-by-quest itinerary.Source: Rogue leveling guide, "How should you spend talent points from level 10 to 60?", "Are Rogue trainer abilities mapped by level?" and "Where should you quest from 1 to 60?", checked Oct 8, 2026. The RestedXP WoW Forever guide sells class-specific routes, which RestedXP says are not yet complete.Source: RestedXP Horde product page, checked Sep 28, 2026. To weigh it against Zygor before you level your Rogue, see Zygor vs RestedXP.
Builds, PvP, Role, and Mechanics
Blizzard's October 7 deep dive shows the three Rogue trees with 51 points to spend, but names no build. The trees at the top of this page are the community read of the beta client. The Wowhead calculator and wowtbc.gg calculator host other unofficial trees that may change. Treat them as reported possibilities, not confirmed builds, and see /talents for evidence labels. The Rogue tree in the talent calculator carries the same community New and Changed flags.
No Rogue-specific PvP build, talent setup, or queue rule is announced. The PvP guide collects broader confirmed facts, including Darkspear Islands, honor quests, seasons, and reward language, but doesn't give a Rogue build.
The general Rogue class page lists Damage, Health, Energy, Combo Points, Stealth, Poisons, and Combos as WoW context, not Forever documentation. Blizzard's October 7 deep dive names Rogue mechanic changes: Feint's threat reduction doubles, Sap no longer breaks Stealth, Distract cuts enemies' Stealth detection for 10 seconds, and matches five Sunder Armor stacks.Source: Blizzard's Rogue and Warlock deep dive, October 7, 2026; official.
Rogue Talent Trees in the Beta Client
Subtlety holds five of the nine new Rogue talents in the community read of beta client build 1.60.1.70009; Assassination and Combat get two each in that read.
Blizzard's deep dive names Mutilate and Venom as new Assassination talents, and Flawless Execution and Hack and Slash as new Combat talents.
That read lists 53 Rogue talents, two more than Classic Era's 51. Nine are new, 32 are reworked, and 12 match Classic Era once capitalization is ignored.Source: Rogue Talents, WoW Forever Talent Calculator, checked Sep 28, 2026. This is reported: a third party reading the client files is a datamine, not a Blizzard statement.
Assassination: Mutilate and Venom
Assassination gets a new builder and a new finisher. Mutilate is a builder, not a finisher. It strikes with both weapons for 75% weapon damage plus 17.25 per weapon, awards 2 combo points, and deals 20% more to Poisoned targets. Like Backstab, it needs a dagger.Source: beta client data, build 1.60.1.70205, SpellEquippedItems table; Mutilate and Backstab carry the same dagger rule, retrieved Oct 8, 2026. Venom is the new finisher: 30% more Poison damage and a 10% higher chance to apply Poisons. It lasts 9 seconds at 1 combo point, up to 21 seconds at 5. The Assassination talent page has every rank.
Combat: Puncturing Wounds and Flawless Execution
Part of a dagger Rogue's Backstab and Mutilate scaling sits in the Combat tree rather than Assassination. Puncturing Wounds has three ranks. At rank 3 it adds 30% critical strike chance to and 15% to Mutilate, and gives Backstab a 45% chance to add a combo point. Flawless Execution, one rank, cuts Eviscerate's Energy cost by 10. funkusz's talent video also shows Hack and Slash replacing the weapon talents with a bonus set by your weapon type. The Combat talent page lists the rest.
Subtlety's Five Additions
Subtlety gets five new talents: two cut Energy costs, one adds damage against low-health targets, one widens Distract, and one can let Ambush skip the Stealth requirement. Dirty Tricks cuts Sap and Blind's Energy cost by 25% per rank, up to 50%. Improved Distract widens Distract by up to 5 yards and lowers the stealth detection of distracted enemies by up to 2 more levels. Quietus adds 2% damage per rank, up to 10%, to Sinister Strike, Ghostly Strike and Hemorrhage against targets below 35% health.
Cutthroat gives Backstab a 3% chance per rank, up to 15%, to let your next Ambush within 10 seconds skip the requirement. Thousand Cuts lowers the Energy cost of your next Hemorrhage or Backstab by 3 each time Rupture ticks, stacking five times. The Subtlety talent page shows where each one sits.
Racials That Matter for Rogue
Blizzard's September 22 list gives every race two active and two passive traits. The October 15 notes replace Human Sword Specialization with Ruthless, 2% increased critical strike chance, with no sword condition stated. Classic Era racial knowledge therefore needs a dated source check. See the racials guide.Sources: Blizzard, September 22 racial list for unchanged baseline effects; October 15 beta development notes, post 6, for the stated changes; retained capture Oct 18, 2026. Official wording; realm behavior not tested.
Alliance Picks
Human Perception and Will to Survive answer an enemy Rogue opening from Stealth, and Gnome racials raise maximum Energy and discount Energy abilities.
- Human: Will to Survive removes stuns.
- Human: Perception detects for 20 seconds.
Human: Ruthless adds 2% critical strike chance in the October 15 notes; no sword condition is stated.Sources: Blizzard, September 22 racial list for unchanged baseline effects; October 15 beta development notes, post 6, for the stated changes; retained capture Oct 18, 2026. Official wording; realm behavior not tested.
- Gnome: Expansive Mind raises maximum Energy by 5%.
Gnome: Eureka! is an 8-second buff with no charges in the October 15 notes; the previous build's damage and ability-cost effect remains without restated numbers.Sources: Blizzard, September 22 racial list for unchanged baseline effects; October 15 beta development notes, post 6, for the stated changes; retained capture Oct 18, 2026. Official wording; realm behavior not tested.
- Dwarf: Stoneform grants Bleed, Poison and Disease immunity.
- Night Elf: Elune's Light adds 10% crit for 15 seconds.
- Night Elf: Shadowmeld grants Stealth while standing still.
Perception detects an enemy Rogue opening from Stealth, and Will to Survive removes stuns. The September 24 notes described Eureka! as a 10% resource discount; the October 15 notes later give it an 8-second duration and no charges, with the same damage and ability-cost effect as the preceding build. They do not restate numeric magnitudes.Sources: Blizzard, September 22 racial list for unchanged baseline effects; October 15 beta development notes, post 6, for the stated changes; retained capture Oct 18, 2026. Official wording; realm behavior not tested.
Horde and Skyborne Picks
Orc and Troll Rogues get timed attack boosts. Orc Rogues get Blood Fury, 10% more Attack Power and Spell Power for 15 seconds, plus Hardiness, which shortens stuns by 20%. Troll Rogues get Berserking, 10% faster attacks for 10 seconds. Forsaken keep Will of the Forsaken against Charm, Fear and Sleep, and Cannibalize restores 35% of Health and Mana over time.
Skyborne of both factions share Walk on Air, Wind Blessed and Elemental Insight. Blizzard's September 22 text gives a 10-second glide and 5% more damage against Elementals; the October 15 notes raise Wind Blessed to 3% Haste and reduce Walk on Air's cooldown to 90 seconds. Windshaper Skysight retains the published 10% run speed, and High Order Read Ley Line the published increased Health and Mana regeneration. Those published effects name neither Energy nor combo points. See the Skyborne race page.Sources: Blizzard, September 22 racial list for unchanged baseline effects; October 15 beta development notes, post 6, for the stated changes; retained capture Oct 18, 2026. Official wording; realm behavior not tested.
What the September 24 Notes Change for Rogues
A Forsaken Rogue can and pickpocket without an accidental proc. Touch of the Grave, the Forsaken passive, no longer breaks crowd control or fires from abilities with no damage component. Blizzard's developer note names Rogues directly: "you can't pull Rogues and Druids out of Stealth with Distract and it activating."Blizzard: September 24 beta development notes.
Confirmed. Pick Pocket no longer triggers it either.
The beta also cut the respec cost to 1 silver if you have not changed talents recently. A second reset costs much more, then drops back to 1 silver after an hour. Blizzard says this is temporary for the beta, so compare builds now.