WoW Classic Rogue Leveling Guide

Welcome to our rogue leveling guide for WoW Classic! When it comes to deception and mastering the shadows, there simply isn’t a better class than the rogue. Through the use of energy and combo points, rogues effectively string together attacks for a fluid and rewarding gameplay experience. If you enjoy fast-paced, up-in-your-face action, then you’ll love playing a rogue!

One downside of leveling a rogue is that the class is quite squishy, wearing only leather armor to defend from attacks. To counteract this, you’ll need to effectively use your utility spells and crowd control to flip situations into your advantage. Rogues absolutely have the ability to be one of the best classes in the game, but they require dedication and effort to master. There’s no denying that playing a rogue is extremely rewarding, making all the early struggles worth the hassle.

Rogues are the ultimate skirmisher when it comes to leveling, but you’ll need to understand how you can always start fights with the upper hand. In this guide we’ll cover everything you’ll need to know about leveling a rogue! That includes your talent build path, rotation, relevant abilities to train, and useful gameplay tips. Leveling may be a little slow to start, but once you start unlocking more talents and learning the rest of your toolkit, you’ll quickly grow to love the sneaky rogue class.

Pro

• Unmatched freedom with the use of Stealth.
• Great burst damage.
• Fantastic crowd control.
• Almost impossible to kill with smart use of Vanish and Evasion.
• Excellent overall damage output.
• Can avoid any unnecessary enemies.
• Lockpicking!

Con

• If all cooldowns aren’t available, you’ll die very quickly.
• Takes time to master and play well.
• Far more effective when initiating rather than reacting.
• Can’t use Backstab when fighting by yourself.

General Leveling Tips

Reaching level 60 is quite the journey, and it will definitely take you days of in-game time to finally get there. With more than 100 hours to slog through, you can take some comfort knowing that the adventure is absolutely worth it. Even better, you can definitely feel each gear or weapon upgrade you acquire. There’s nothing more rewarding than watching your dedication and effort result in an improved and more powerful character. Rush if you must, but don’t forget that the magic is in the journey itself.

Take note of these tips for leveling:

• Don’t be afraid to delve into dungeons every few levels. This will give you a nice break from the grind of questing, but it is also an excellent source of powerful gear upgrades. Plus, there just aren’t enough quests in the game to reach level 60 through questing alone.
• Even if it seems counterintuitive, try to kill monsters in between objectives you travel to. Rogues are perfect for avoiding enemies with the aid of Stealth, but you’ll need some extra experience to reach level 60 if you exclusively kill what you need to complete your quests.
• Make sure to have a healthy supply of up-to-level food at all times. You don’t have access to any heals as a rogue, so you’ll inevitably have downtime to eat. Consider picking up First Aid for bandages too.
• It is true that rogues are great at skirmishing, but this goes out the window when the odds aren’t in your favor. The best way to avoid this is by fighting one enemy at a time, using Blind, Sap, or even Gouge to keep the fight fair.
• If you ever get the opportunity to join a group, go for it! Rogues are certainly capable of leveling alone, but their innate squishiness can make it challenging at times. Not only that, but you can’t even use Backstab when soloing because enemies will always be facing you. This allows you to actually make use of Backstab, drastically increasing your damage output (for dagger rogues).
• You’ll earn the most experience if you stick to fighting enemies that are your exact level. Lower and higher level enemies only give reduced experience.
• Don’t forget to update your Hearthstone to the closest inn wherever you are questing. This will allow you to eliminate minutes of travel time, effectively increasing your leveling speed.
• Try to map out what zones you’ll use to quest in advance. Every zone has different leveled monsters, and you always want ones that are around your level. You’ll also want to make sure your faction has plenty of quests there. The last thing you’d want is to cross several zones to find a new place to quest, only to find that you can’t quest there.

Rogue Specific Gameplay Advice

• You have access to two important offensive cooldowns while leveling. At level 30, you’ll unlock Blade Flurry, which increases your attack speed by 20% for 15 seconds with just a 2 minute cooldown. At level 40, you’ll unlock Adrenaline Rush, which doubles your energy regeneration for 15 seconds on a 5 minute cooldown. Use both whenever they are available.
• There are four useful defensive cooldowns for a rogue, all with 5 minute cooldowns. Vanish removes you from your fight and puts you into Stealth, which is useful for an immediate reset switch. Sprint boosts your movement speed by a whopping 70% for 15 seconds, great for evading enemies or just for covering distance. Evasion gives you 50% Dodge rating for 15 seconds, quite useful for managing multiple enemies. Blind disorients a target for 10 seconds, nice for allowing you to keep an extra enemy out of the fight.
• If engaging a target up close simply isn’t an option, you can always use your thrown weapon to pull an enemy away to safer grounds.
• Make sure to interrupt important spell casts with Kick, but you can also use Gouge in a pinch, or even Kidney Shot if you have combo points built up.
• One benefit of receiving damage is that you have the ability to parry it, which will enable the use of Riposte. This useful ability instantly deals 150% weapon damage at the cost of just 10 energy, and it also disarms the target for 6 seconds. Make sure to use this whenever it is available.
• You shouldn’t use Slice and Dice until level 42 because the attack speed increases from 20% to 30% at this point. You’ll only really be using it right after exiting stealth with an opener and whenever you get a free combo point from the Ruthlessness talent.
• Save all your built up combo points to finish with Eviscerate. Only use Eviscerate when you have 5 combo points to do the most damage.
• The only poisons you should ever use are Deadly Poison and Instant Poison. These two do the most damage, but neither of them stacks. This means you should have Deadly Poison on your main-hand, and Instant Poison on your off-hand.
• Learn how to use Distract to put yourself in position for an effective Sap. This will allow you to even the odds and fight one enemy rather than two.
• Another great use for Gouge is so you can bandage yourself. You’ll almost have enough time to use a full bandage, serving as a decent healing option once every minute.

Stat Priority

1. Agility
   • Your best stat is definitely going to be Agility. This will directly increase your Attack Power and Critical strike chance, but it also boosts your chance to Dodge. This makes it effective for attacking and defending.
   • Increases Attack Power with both melee and ranged weapons by 1 for each point of Agility.
   • Increases chance to score a critical hit with a weapon. You gain 1% Critical chance increased for each 29 points of Agility.
   • Also increase your Armor and chance to Dodge.
2. Strength
   • Just below Agility is Strength. Strength gives twice as much Attack Power as Agility, but nothing else. Strength is extremely powerful, but pick Agility if it comes between the two.
   • Increases Attack Power with melee weapons. Rogues gain 1 melee Attack Power per point of Strength.
3. Stamina
   • You’re also going to want some Stamina for extra health. With careful execution you shouldn’t take extreme amounts of damage, but this will allow you to duel enemies for longer before needing to eat.
   • Increases health points by 10 per point.
4. Spirit
   • Spirit is also quite useful for leveling as it increases your health regeneration. This means less downtime, which means more killing and experience for you!
   • Increases your out of combat health regeneration rate.

Rotation

Playing as a rogue is fairly simple, but your rotation might slightly change depending on if you’re using daggers or swords. To start off with, you’ll want to have Deadly Poison on your main-hand weapon and Instant Poison on your off-hand weapon. Every fight should be initiated via Stealth, so you can launch with a powerful opener. Use Riposte anytime it is available.

Sword rogues will open with Garrote, while dagger rogues will definitely want to use Ambush. At this point, you should have just one combo point, which you’ll use to cast Slice and Dice. Until level 42, you’ll skip this step because it isn’t worth it until Slice and Dice is rank 2. The rest of the fight is simple combo point generation and finishing with Eviscerate.

If you’re a sword rogue, you’ll default to using Sinister Strike to generate combo points, while dagger rogues will do the same unless they have the opportunity to be behind a target so they can use Backstab. Once you have 5 combo points, spend them on Eviscerate.

To simplify:

• Sword Rogues:
  • Poisons: Deadly Poison on main-hand, Instant Poison on off-hand
  • Opener: Garrote > Slice and Dice > Riposte > Sinister Strike to 5 combo points > Eviscerate
• Dagger Rogues:
  • Poisons: Deadly Poison on main-hand, Instant Poison on off-hand
  • Opener: Ambush > Slice and Dice > Riposte > Sinister Strike (or Backstab if you can use it) to 5 combo points > Eviscerate

Glancing Blows

Players have a chance to perform a glancing blow against mobs equal to 10% plus 2% per point of difference between attack rating and defense. Non-melee classes level 30 and higher have a 60% chance to glancing blow. Non-melee classes from level 11 to level 29 have a (level – 10) 3% chance of a glancing blow. As noted above, your maximum attack rating in this formula is 5 times your level. A mob’s Defense skill is equal to its level 5.

This formula means that, for a level 60 player with fully trained weapon skill, 30% of all white-damage melee attacks will be Glancing Blows against level 62 mobs, and 40% of all white-damage melee attacks will be Glancing Blows against level 63 mobs.

The presence of your weapon skill in this formula, rather than just your level, explains why training up a newly-acquired weapon skill against mobs close to your own level results in many, many Glancing Blows at first.

The damage of a glancing blow is complicated. It starts by calculating the difference of Defense minus attack rating. This is then used to calculate a minimum and maximum damage factor. The actual damage factor is then randomized between these two values. The low value starts at 1.3 – 0.05 rating difference. If the attacker is a caster then this is reduced by 0.7 more. The smaller value of this and 0.6 is kept as the low end. If the attacker is a melee class then instead the lower value of 0.91 and (1.3 – 0.05 rating difference) is used for the low. Regardless, the low end will not go below 0.01.

The high end of the range starts at 1.2 – 0.03 rating difference. Casters are reduced a further 0.3. The high value regardless of class is kept between 0.2 and 0.99.

The average reduction from a glancing blow is therefore (high + low) / 2 using the formulae above. This gives a level 60 player, with fully trained but otherwise unbuffed weapon skill, a 15% damage reduction with all Glancing Blows against level 62 mobs, and a 35% damage reduction with all Glancing Blows against level 63 mobs.

Unlike the chances of getting a glancing blow, the player’s weapon skill is not capped at level 5 in the damage reduction formula. With +5 weapon skill, a level 60 player attacking a level 63 NPC will see the same amount of glancing blows (40%), but only 15% damage reduction. With +10 weapon skill, the damage reduction becomes a negligible 5%.

Combat Swords

At level 31 you will get your first point in Sword Specialization. This extra attack proc will reset your swing timer, so if you are about to attack again naturally and this procs, the benefit will be wasted.

Let’s say you are auto attacking normally every 2.0 seconds. Your Sinister Strike normally doesn’t interfere with your auto attacks, but due to this talent, they can now proc the additional sword hit which would reset your swing timer, potentially clipping into your normal auto attack cycle.

For this reason, from the point you get Sword Spec onwards you need to use Sinister Strike only after your main hand strike animation. This makes it so if it procs off Sinister Strike you won’t have much of a reset loss if anything at all.

Poisons

Poisons are a rogue-exclusive profession learned at level 20 by way of a questline. This ability allows rogues to coat their weapons, both main hand and off-hand, with poisons.

“When a weapon coated with Poison strikes an enemy, it has % chance of applying damage or a debuff based on which poison was applied”.

Poisons are a core aspect of rogue gameplay and the class quest should not be skipped despite how challenging it can be solo.

Notes About Poisons:

Faster weapons do not always increase the rate at which you apply poisons.

Instant Poison and Wound Poison use a proc per minute system (PPM). This means that regardless of your weapon speed, you will be doing the same damage with poisons.

Instant Poison

This is your default poison, apply to both weapons while leveling.

Deadly Poison

More damage > instant over time, but takes time to build stacks, making it weaker for leveling.

Why is a Swing Timer Important?

Before you get started leveling, it is of vital importance that you download and setup a swing timer.

A swing timer addon measures the time between your weapon swings. It is useful to know this information so you can use abilities and move freely without clipping into your natural auto attack cycle and consequently losing damage.

While the bar is loading to full, you can move freely, as you are not wasting any damage. As it starts to fill back up this signals that your auto attack cooldown has almost reset and you should position yourself to swing again.

Talent Path

This build gives you a nice mixture of offensive talents, defensive talents, and talents that help you generate combo points. All specializations are viable for leveling, but Combat provides the most consistent damage output. Up until level 30, it doesn’t really matter that you use a specific weapon type, but this is when you’ll need to put points into either Dagger Specialization or Sword Specialization. After level 50, you’ll have no issue generating combo points and your rotation should feel much more fluid.

Abilities to Train

Sword Spec

• Level 1-20 – Train every ability offered to you.
• Level 22 – Sinister Strike rank 4, Vanish rank 1, Garrote rank 3
• Level 24 – Eviscerate rank 4
• Level 30 – Sinister Strike rank 5, Kidney Shot rank 1, Deadly Poison, Instant Poison II, Garrote rank 3
• Level 34 – Eviscerate rank 5, Blind rank 1
• Level 38 – Sinister Strike rank 6, Deadly Poison II, Garrote rank 4, Instant Poison III
• Level 42 – Eviscerate rank 6, Slice and Dice rank 2
• Level 46 – Sinister Strike rank 7, Garrote rank 5, Deadly Poison III, Instant Poison IV
• Level 48 – Eviscerate rank 7
• Level 54 – Sinister Strike rank 8, Garrote rank 6, Deadly Poison IV, Instant Poison V
• Level 56 – Eviscerate rank 8
• Level 60 – Eviscerate rank 9, Deadly Poison V, Instant Poison VI

Dagger Spec

• Level 1-20 – Train every ability offered to you.
• Level 22 – Sinister Strike rank 4, Vanish rank 1
• Level 24 – Eviscerate rank 4
• Level 26 – Ambush rank 2
• Level 28 – Backstab rank 4, Instant Poison II
• Level 30 – Sinister Strike rank 5, Kidney Shot rank 1, Deadly Poison
• Level 32 – Eviscerate rank 5
• Level 36 – Backstab rank 5, Ambush rank 3, Blind
• Level 38 – Sinister Strike rank 6, Deadly Poison II, Instant Poison III
• Level 42 – Eviscerate rank 6, Slice and Dice rank 2, Ambush rank 4
• Level 46 – Sinister Strike rank 7, Deadly Poison III, Instant Poison IV, Backstab rank 6
• Level 50 – Eviscerate rank 7, Ambush rank 5
• Level 54 – Sinister Strike rank 8, Deadly Poison IV, Instant Poison V, Backstab rank 7
• Level 56 – Eviscerate rank 8
• Level 60 – Eviscerate rank 9, Deadly Poison V, Instant Poison VI, Backstab rank 8, Ambush rank 6

Class Quests

• Poisons: The only quest you really need to worry about is the quest that gives you poisons. Poisons are technically a profession, but you can buy all the required materials for leveling from a vendor. The quest becomes available at level 20, but is fairly hard to do until level 24. You can technically buy all of your poisons after completing another quest at level 24, but what kind of rogue doesn’t take the time to make their own poisons? Poisons are definitely an essential part of your toolkit and should be applied to both weapons at all times (unless you’re grouped with an Enhancement Shaman).

Equipment

• Always try to seek out a new weapon upgrade. Rogues are melee attackers, which means you’ll deal a good amount of auto attack damage. Some of your abilities also hit harder based on your weapon damage. Both of these mean that weapons are by far your biggest source of equipment upgrades, so don’t be afraid to go out of your way into dungeons to find new weapons.
• Commit to either swords or daggers and stick with them. After level 30, you’ll need to decide whether you want to use daggers or swords. The talents you choose will decide your fate, considering both weapon types give a unique benefit for using them. 5 points in Dagger Specialization will give you an extra 5% critical strike chance, while 5 points in Sword Specialization gives you a 5% chance to land an extra attack anytime you deal damage.
• Prioritize damage over safety. As a rogue your mindset should definitely be to stab first, ask questions later. Rogues are innately very squishy, meaning you won’t last long with enemies wailing away at you. With that in mind, you should aim to deal as much damage as you can, relying on Vanish and Evasion to keep you alive. Make sure you’re not being reckless and are only fighting one enemy at a time with this mindset.

Alliance Sword Progression

• Gladius – 3.8 DPS – Lvl 4 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Ironforge, Stormwind, STV, Darnassus
• Brushwood Blade – 5.3 DPS – Lvl 7 – Quest Reward “Druid of the Claw” Teldrassil
• Cutlass – 6.8 DPS – Lvl 10 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Ironforge, Stormwind, STV, Darnassus
• Briarsteel Shortsword – 7.2 DPS – Lvl 12 – Quest Reward “The Fragments Within” Darkshore
• Daryl’s Shortsword – 8.7 DPS – Lvl 14 – Quest Reward “A Hunter’s Challenge” Loch Modan
• Scimitar – 8.7 DPS – Lvl 14 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Ironforge, Stormwind, STV, Darnassus
• Solid Shortblade – 9.2 DPS – Lvl 15 – Quest Reward “Red Silk Bandanas” Westfall
• Buzz Saw – 10.4 DPS – Lvl 16 – 10% Drop off Sneed’s Shredder in The Deadmines
• Thief’s Blade – 11.2 DPS – Lvl 17 – 40% Drop off Mr. Smite in The Deadmines
• Butcher’s Slicer – 11.6 DPS – Lvl 18 – 45% Drop off Razorclaw the Butcher in Shadowfang Keep
• Longsword – 12.2 DPS – Lvl 21 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Ironforge, Stormwind, STV, Darnassus
• Lucine Longsword – 12.8 DPS – Lvl 22 – Dungeon Quest Reward “What Comes Around..” Stockades
• Darkwater Talwar – 13.4 DPS – Lvl 21 – 40% Drop off Lady Sarevess in Blackfathom Deeps
• Cruel Barb – 15.5 DPS – Lvl 19 – 20% Drop off Edwin Van Cleef in The Deadmines
• Broadsword – 17.6 DPS – Lvl 31 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Ironforge, Stormwind, STV, Darnassus
• Electrocutioner Leg – 22.1 DPS – Lvl 29 – 33% Drop off Electrocutioner 6000 in Gnomeregan
• Dwarf Captain’s Sword – 26.6 DPS – Lvl 39 – Quest Reward “An Ambassador of Evil” Badlands
• Zorbin’s Mega-Slicer – 28.7 DPS – Lvl 45 – Quest Reward “Zapped Giants” Feralas
• Sang’thraze the Deflector – 29.1 DPS – Lvl 44 – 10% Drop off Antu’Sul Zul Farrak
• Sword of Serenity – 30.0 DPS – Lvl 34 – Dungeon Quest Reward “In the Name of the Light” Scarlet Monastery
• Vanquisher’s Sword – 30.0 DPS – Lvl 37 – Dungeon Quest Reward “Bring the Light” Razorfen Downs
• Linken’s Sword of Mastery – 33.3 DPS – Lvl 47 – Quest Reward “It’s Dangerous to Go Alone” Un’goro Crater
• Jang’thraze the Protector – 33.4 DPS – Lvl 45 – 10% Drop off Chief Ukorz Sandscalp in Zul Farrak
• Tidecrest Blade – 34.0 DPS – Lvl 55 – Quest Reward “The Remains of Trey Lightforge” Felwood
• Valiant Shortsword – 34.5 DPS – Lvl 51 – Quest Reward “Mission Accomplished” Western Plaguelands
• Thrash Blade – 35.2 DPS – Lvl 45 – Dungeon Quest “Corruption of Earth and Seed” Maraudon
• Blade of Reckoning – 35.8 DPS – Lvl 53 – Dungeon Quest Reward “Jail Break!” Blackrock Depths
• Enchanted Azsharite Felbane Sword – 35.8 DPS – Lvl 55 – Quest Reward “Azsharite Weaponry” STV
• Lord General’s Sword – 36.9 DPS – Lvl 51 – 20% Drop off General Angerforge Blackrock Depths

Horde Sword Progression

• Gladius – 3.8 DPS – Lvl 4 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Orgrimmar, Undercity, Thunderbluff
• Cutlass – 6.8 DPS – Lvl 10 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Orgrimmar, Undercity, Thunderbluff
• Scimitar – 8.7 DPS – Lvl 14 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Orgrimmar, Undercity, Thunderbluff
• Cursed Felblade – 9.0 DPS – Lvl 13 – 20% Drop off Taragaman the Hungerer in RFC
• Elegant Shortsword – 10.0 DPS – Lvl 14 – Quest Reward “Serena Bloodfeather” The Barrens
• Claystone Shortsword – 10.5 DPS – Lvl 15 – Quest Reward “Arachnophobia” Stonetalon Mountains
• Butcher’s Slicer – 11.6 DPS – Lvl 18 – 45% Drop off Razorclaw the Butcher in Shadowfang Keep
• Talonstrike – 12.2 DPS – Lvl 14 – Quest Reward “Assault on Fenris Isle” Silverpine Forest
• Longsword – 12.2 DPS – Lvl 21 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Orgrimmar, Undercity, Thunderbluff
• Slatemetal Cutlass – 12.3 DPS – Lvl 20 – Quest Reward from “Torek’s Assault” Ashenvale
• Phytoblade – 12.9 DPS – Lvl 26 – Quest reward “Blisters on the Land” in Wetlands
• Darkwater Talwar – 13.4 DPS – Lvl 21 – 40% Drop off Lady Sarevess in Blackfathom Deeps
• Wingblade – 15.7 DPS – Lvl 14 – Dungeon Quest “Leaders of the Fang” Wailing Caverns
• Broadsword – 17.6 DPS – Lvl 31 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Orgrimmar, Undercity, Thunderbluff
• Outlaw Sabre – 18.9 DPS – Lvl 23 – Quest Reward “Baron Aquanis” Ashenvale
• Sword of Hammerfall – 23.0 DPS – Lvl 30 – Quest Reward “The Real Threat” Arathi Highlands
• Zorbin’s Mega-Slicer – 28.7 DPS – Lvl 45 – Quest Reward “Zapped Giants” Feralas
• Sang’thraze the Deflector – 29.1 DPS – Lvl 44 – 10% Drop off Antu’Sul Zul Farrak
• Sword of Omen – 29.7 DPS – Lvl 33 – Dungeon Quest Reward “Into The Scarlet Monastery” SM
• Vanquisher’s Sword – 30.0 DPS – Lvl 37 – Dungeon Quest Reward “Bring the Light” Razorfen Downs
• Linken’s Sword of Mastery – 33.3 DPS – Lvl 47 – Quest Reward “It’s Dangerous to Go Alone” Un’goro Crater
• Jang’thraze the Protector – 33.4 DPS – Lvl 45 – 10% Drop off Chief Ukorz Sandscalp in Zul Farrak
• Tidecrest Blade – 34.0 DPS – Lvl 55 – Quest Reward “The Remains of Trey Lightforge” Felwood
• Valiant Shortsword – 34.5 DPS – Lvl 51 – Quest Reward “Mission Accomplished” Western Plaguelands
• Thrash Blade – 35.2 DPS – Lvl 45 – Dungeon Quest “Corruption of Earth and Seed” Maraudon
• Blade of Reckoning – 35.8 DPS – Lvl 53 – Dungeon Quest Reward “Jail Break!” Blackrock Depths
• Enchanted Azsharite Felbane Sword – 35.8 DPS – Lvl 55 – Quest Reward “Azsharite Weaponry” STV
• Lord General’s Sword – 36.9 DPS – Lvl 51 – 20% Drop off General Angerforge Blackrock Depths

Alliance Dagger Progression

• Stiletto – 3.3 DPS – Lvl 3 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Ironforge, Stormwind, STV, Darnassus
• Craftsman’s Dagger – 6.8 DPS – Lvl 9 – Quest Reward “A Pilot’s Revenge” Dun Morogh
• Blade of Cunning – 6.8 DPS – Lvl 10 – Rogue Lvl 10 Class Quest
• Blade of Cunning – 6.8 DPS – Lvl 10 – Rogue Lvl 10 Class Quest
• Curvewood Dagger – 7.0 DPS – Lvl 12 – Quest Reward “The Fragments Within” Darkshore
• Jambiya – 7.1 DPS – Lvl 11 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in IF, SW, Wetlands, Stonetalon, STV, Darnassus
• Poniard – 8.5 DPS – Lvl 14 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in IF, SW, Wetlands, Stonetalon, STV, Darnassus
• Scrimshaw Dagger – 8.9 DPS – Lvl 15 – Dungeon Quest “Red Silk Bandanas” Deadmines
• Relic Blade – 10.0 DPS – Lvl 17 – Quest Reward “The Absent Minded Prospector” Darkshore
• Thornblade – 10.0 DPS – Lvl 18 – Quest Reward “ A Dark Threat Looms” Loch Modan
• Kris – 10.9 DPS – Lvl 19 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in IF, SW, Wetlands, Stonetalon, STV, Darnassus
• Prison Shank – 16.7 DPS – Lvl 21 – 33% Drop off Bruegal Ironknuckle in Stockade
• Bite of Serra’kis – 17.7 DPS – Lvl 23 – 30% Drop Old Serra’kis in Blackfathom Deeps
• Meteor Shard – 18.3 DPS – Lvl 24 – 20% Drop off Archmage Arugal in Shadowfang Keep
• Toxic Revenger – 20.5 DPS – Lvl 27 – 33% Chance off Viscous Fallout in Gnomeregan
• Torturing Poker – 21.1 DPS – Lvl 29 – 10% Drop off Interrogator Vishas in Scarlet Monastery
• Swinetusk Shank – 23.0 DPS – Lvl 33 – 40% Drop off Agathelos the Raging in Razorfen Kraul
• Rondel – 24.1 DPS – Lvl 39 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Orgrimmar, Undercity, Thunderbluff
• Ceremonial Elven Blade – 26.7 DPS – Lvl 42 – Quest Reward “A Hero’s Welcome” Feralas
• Gahz’rilla Fang – 28.1 DPS – Lvl 42 – 50% Drop off Gahz’Rilla in Zul Farrak
• Black Menace – 29.7 DPS – Lvl 34 – Dungeon Quest Reward “In the Name of The Light” Scarlet Monastery
• Coldrage Dagger – 29.7 DPS – Lvl 39 – 20% Drop off Amnennar the Coldbringer in Razorfen Downs
• Satyr’s Lash – 33.2 DPS – Lvl 45 – 33% Chance Drop off Lord Vyletongue in Maraudon
• Hunt Tracker Blade – 33.7 DPS – Lvl 55 – Quest Reward “The Remains of Trey Lightforge” Felwood
• Blade of Eternal Darkness – 34.4 DPS – Lvl 49 – 4% Drop off Princess Theradras Maraudon
• Enchanted Azsharite Felbane Dagger – 35.7 DPS – Lvl 55 – Quest Reward “Azsharite Weaponry” STV
• Skilled Fighting Blade – 35.7 DPS – Lvl 53 – Dungeon Quest Reward “Jail Break” Blackrock Depths
• Lifeforce Dirk – 35.9 DPS – Lvl 44 – Dungeon Quest Reward “The God Hakkar” Sunken Temple
• Barman Shanker – 36.5 – Lvl 50 – Soloable* 8% Drop off Plugger Spazzring in Blackrock Depths
• Dire Nail – 36.7 DPS – Lvl 51 – 28% Drop off Shade of Eranikus in Sunken Temple
• Keris of Zul’Serak – 39.4 DPS – Lvl 55 -20% Drop off War Master Voone Blackrock Spire
• Distracting Dagger – 40.8 DPS – Lvl 57 – 19% Drop off Prince Tortheldrin in Dire Maul

Horde Dagger Progression

• Stiletto – 3.3 DPS – Lvl 3 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Orgrimmar, Undercity, Thunderbluff
• Jagged Dagger – 6.0 DPS – Lvl 8 – Quest Reward “Skull Rock” Durotar
• Compact Fighting Knife – 6.0 DPS – Lvl 6 – Quest Reward “Supervisor Fizsprocket” Mulgore
• Blade of Cunning – 6.8 DPS – Lvl 10 – Rogue Lvl 10 Class Quest
• Jambiya – 7.1 DPS – Lvl 11 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Orgrimmar, Undercity, Thunderbluff
• Poniard – 8.5 DPS – Lvl 14 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Orgrimmar, Undercity, Thunderbluff
• Chanting Blade – 9.0 DPS – Lvl 13 – 20% Drop off Jergosh the Invoker in Ragefire Chasm
• Kris of Orgrimmar – 9.0 DPS – Lvl 13 – Quest Reward “Hidden Enemies” Orgrimmar.
• Serrated Knife – 9.1 DPS – Lvl 14 – Quest Reward “Wand to Bethor” Silverpine Forest
• Harpy Skinner – 9.6 DPS – Lvl 14 – Quest Reward “Serena Bloodfeather” The Barrens
• Kris – 10.9 DPS – Lvl 19 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Orgrimmar, Undercity, Thunderbluff
• Tail Spike – 11.1 DPS Lvl 17 – 50% Drop off Skum in Wailing Caverns
• Main Gauche – 16.6 DPS – Lvl 29 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Orgrimmar, Undercity, Thunderbluff
• Bite of Serra’kis – 17.7 DPS – Lvl 23 – 30% Drop Old Serra’kis in Blackfathom Deeps
• Meteor Shard – 18.3 DPS – Lvl 24 – 20% Drop off Archmage Arugal in Shadowfang Keep
• Toxic Revenger – 20.5 DPS – Lvl 27 – 33% Chance off Viscous Fallout in Gnomeregan
• Torturing Poker – 21.1 DPS – Lvl 29 – 10% Drop off Interrogator Vishas in Scarlet Monastery
• Swinetusk Shank – 23.0 DPS – Lvl 33 – 40% Drop off Agathelos the Raging in Razorfen Kraul
• Silent Hunter – 23.1 DPS – Lvl 33 – Quest Reward “Call to Arms” Arathi Highlands
• Rondel – 24.1 DPS – Lvl 39 – White Weapon Sold by Vendors in Orgrimmar, Undercity, Thunderbluff
• Tok’kar’s Murloc Shanker – 25.0 DPS – Lvl 40 – Quest Reward “Threat from the Sea” Swamp of Sorrows
• Fiendish Skiv – 26.6 DPS – Lvl 40 – Quest Reward “Challenge Overlord Mok’Morokk” Dustwallow Marsh
• Gahz’rilla Fang – 28.1 DPS – Lvl 42 – 50% Drop off Gahz’Rilla in Zul Farrak
• Black Menace – 29.7 DPS – Lvl 34 – Dungeon Quest Reward “In the Name of The Light” Scarlet Monastery
• Coldrage Dagger – 29.7 DPS – Lvl 39 – 20% Drop off Amnennar the Coldbringer in Razorfen Downs
• Satyr’s Lash – 33.2 DPS – Lvl 45 – 33% Chance Drop off Lord Vyletongue in Maraudon
• Hunt Tracker Blade – 33.7 DPS – Lvl 55 – Quest Reward “The Remains of Trey Lightforge” Felwood
• Blade of Eternal Darkness – 34.4 DPS – Lvl 49 – 4% Drop off Princess Theradras Maraudon
• Beasthunter Dagger – 35.6 DPS – Lvl 53 – Quest Reward “Shy-Rotam” Winterspring
• Enchanted Azsharite Felbane Dagger – 35.7 DPS – Lvl 55 – Quest Reward “Azsharite Weaponry” STV
• Lifeforce Dirk – 35.9 DPS – Lvl 44 – Dungeon Quest Reward “The God Hakkar” Sunken Temple
• Barman Shanker – 36.5 – Lvl 50 – Soloable* 8% Drop off Plugger Spazzring in Blackrock Depths
• Dire Nail – 36.7 DPS – Lvl 51 – 28% Drop off Shade of Eranikus in Sunken Temple
• Keris of Zul’Serak – 39.4 DPS – Lvl 55 -20% Drop off War Master Voone Blackrock Spire
• Distracting Dagger – 40.8 DPS – Lvl 57 – 19% Drop off Prince Tortheldrin in Dire Maul

Professions

You’ll also want to spend some time leveling up professions. This will take away from you actively killing enemies and completing quests, but it fulfills your need for a way to make gold. How fast you move is crucial to determining how long it takes for you to level. The quickest way to impact this is with a mount, which is quite expensive. Professions will allow you to fund a mount, or alternatively you can use them for an extra edge in combat. Pick whichever professions suit your playstyle better.

Rogues will find the greatest use from these professions:

• Mining – You’ll definitely see plenty of convenient mineral veins across your travels; mining will let you collect them. Save this all to sell, or save it for use with engineering.
• Engineering – Engineering is one of the best professions in the game. It offers you many unique gadgets and bombs, both of which will make leveling just a little bit easier.
• Skinning – Another good choice here is skinning. You’ll kill several beasts to get to level 60, most of which will be skinnable. Every time you don’t spend a few seconds to right click and collect skin is like literally leaving gold on the ground.
• Leatherworking – With the use of leatherworking, you can turn your skins into armor and armor kits. This will give you a stronger cushion when fighting.