Combat Rogue Tank Guide & Best Runes – Phase 4 Season of Discovery (SoD)

Welcome to the SoD Phase 4 Combat Rogue Tank Guide!

This guide focuses exclusively on the Combat Rogue Tank build, exploring key components such as Runes, Talent Trees, Stat Priorities, Rotations & Abilities, Best Professions, BiS (Best in Slot) items, and Race Choices. The new Rune System introduced in the Season of Discovery has allowed Rogues to finally tank bosses properly, no longer being considered a meme or a temporary distraction until Evasion wears off. They now have access to powerful defensive abilities and passive effects, ensuring that they can match the performance of other traditional tanking specializations.

Talents

• Main Gauche 1
• Main Gauche 2
• Mutilate

Runes

• Helm: Combat Potency
• Cloak: Crimson Tempest/Fan of Knives
• Chest: Just a Flesh Wound
• Wrist: Unfair Advantage/Carnage
• Hands: Main Gauche/Mutilate
• Waist: Shadowstep/Shuriken Toss
• Legs: Blade Dance
• Feet: Rolling with the Punches
• Ring: Sword Specialization/Dagger Specialization/Fist Weapon Specialization
• Ring: Nature Specialization

Stat Priority

1. Hit Chance
2. Stamina
3. Agility
4. Dodge Chance
5. Parry Chance
6. Attack Power
7. Critical Strike Chance
8. Strength
9. Armor

Rotations & Abilities

While most of Phase 2 and Phase 3 were dominated by the Mutilate rune, the devs decided it was time for a change in Phase 4. Phase 4 of Season of Discovery brings many changes, with Combat Rogue Tanks now having viable AoE tools, stronger abilities with far better scaling, and most importantly, a different way of playing through the Main Gauche rune besides Mutilate. However, the new changes that occurred didn’t obliterate the Mutilate play style entirely, the build itself remaining quite viable even in Phase 4.

Furthermore, the T1 set-bonuses further enhance Combat Rogue Tank’s performance, granting even more avoidance, threat generation, and even a powerful defensive ability through an overhaul to Vanish.

Main Gauche Single-Target Rotation

1. Prioritize Adrenaline Rush for building initial Threat
2. Cast Blade Flurry on cooldown
3. Cast Blade Dance and prioritize keeping it up 100% of the time
4. Cast Slice and Dice and prioritize keeping it up 100% of the time
5. Cast Shadowstep as a repositioning tool/engage tool
6. Cast Eviscerate as long as both Blade Dance and Slice and Dice have sufficient remaining uptime
7. Cast Main Gauche on cooldown
8. Cast Riposte on cooldown after parrying an attack
9. Cast Sinister Strike while Main Gauche is active (Main Combo Point Generator)
10. Cast Tease to taunt targets

Mutilate Single-Target Rotation

1. Prioritize Adrenaline Rush for building initial Threat
2. Cast Blade Flurry on cooldown
3. Cast Blade Dance and prioritize keeping it up 100% of the time
4. Cast Slice and Dice and prioritize keeping it up 100% of the time
5. Cast Shadowstep as a repositioning tool/engage tool
6. Cast Eviscerate as long as both Blade Dance and Slice and Dice have sufficient remaining uptime
7. Cast Riposte on cooldown after parrying an attack
8. Cast Mutilate (Main Combo Point Generator)
9. Cast Tease to taunt targets

AoE Rotation

1. If you pick the Fan of Knives rune
   • Spam Fan of Knives as much as possible in the initial moments of the encounter and throughout it
2. If you pick the Crimson Tempest + Carnage runes
   • Cast either Shadow Strike or Mutilate to build up combo points
   • If you also pick up the Shuriken Toss, cast Shuriken Toss as an initiation tool to instantly build 5 combo points
   • Cast Crimson Tempest as quickly as possible to deal damage and heal off Carnage
3. Cast Blade Flurry on cooldown in Cleave/AoE scenarios
4. Cast Evasion if you’re receiving heavy amounts of damage
5. Build up combo points and cast Blade Dance & Upkeep it

Best Professions

Leatherworking

Unsurprisingly, Leatherworking is among the top professions for a class such as Rogue, providing the ability to craft Leather Armor and various useful other items. Moreover, Leatherworking provides access to special epic recipes in the Season of Discovery, granting Combat Rogue Tank powerful equipment that would help in any dangerous situation.

Engineering

Being known as one of the top professions in both PvE and PvP in the Classic Era, Engineering’s reputation remains true in the Season of Discovery as well. It grants access to powerful bombs, various gadgets, and even specially crafted equipment that can be used to enhance your overall performance.

Skinning

Skinning is a viable alternative for both gold and material generation in case you pick Leatherworking. This profession is one of the easiest to grind as all you have to do is kill mobs in the world and skin their pelts.

Best Races

For the Alliance, the best race for Rogue Tank is a choice between Night Elf and Dwarf, with both having strong racial abilities. Stoneform takes the edge regarding what it can offer in the spur of the moment, but Quickness is more efficient overall since it’s not locked behind a cooldown. Meanwhile, the best option for the Horde

Human

• The Human Spirit, Sword Specialization, Mace Specialization, Perception, Diplomacy

Dwarf

• Stoneform, Frost Resistance, Gun Specialization, Find Treasure

Night Elf

• Nature Resistance, Quickness, Shadowmeld, Wisp Spirit

Gnome

• Expansive Mind, Escape Artist, Engineering Specialization, Arcane Resistanc

Orc

• Blood Fury, Command, Hardiness, Axe Specialization

Undead

• Will of the Forsaken, Shadow Resistance, Cannibalize, Underwater Breathing

Troll

• Berserking, Beast Slaying, Bow Specialization, Throwing Specialization, Regeneration