Heya,
I am considering levelling a few chars during Timewalking and I am currently at my Rogue.
I am interested in levelling in LFD only, I don’t mind the wait (I am working on my other computer literally half a meter away), and I don’t want to be a dead weight.
I am mostly interested in top trash/AoE damage and I am OK with not being #1 on bosses.
What would you recommend? Any recommendations are welcome, including what you find fun in which spec.
(For context, I stopped playing Rogues sometime during Cataclysm… I am completely lost on what’s what there.)
If your aim is better AoE dmg, then it is Outlaw. Your second-best option is Assassination until lvl 52. After hitting lvl 52, you can switch Subtlety because Black Powder will be available and it is the easiest way to deal AoE damage for new rogues. Please keep in mind, that Outlaw is a little bit different spec while Assassination and Subtlety are closer to each other.
Is there something super different about the Outlaw play style? I heard they have ranged attacks (pistol)? I admit I am not very much into that but in the end it all comes down to how fluid the playstyle is and how fun the skills are.
Outlaw spec greatly circles around maintaining self-buffs and cooldowns. You should always keep them up as much as you can. Keeping them on early levels is easier, however as you lvl up, more and more self-buff and cd will be included and if you don’t like that play style, the things will become overwhelming. On max lvl, each self-buff and cd deals approximately %8 of your total damage excluding large cds. This is what makes Outlaw different.
However, on Assassination and Subtlety, you are filling your combo points by spending your energy and spending that combo points with your finishers. Finishers are the most damage-dealing abilities.
Assassination is a DoT-based pro-active spec and its playstyle is slow.
Subtlety is a more reactive combo spending spec, as a result, it is much faster than
Assassination.
Both specs’ gear is the same. Stat priority is almost the same by thinking you are leveling and wearing Heirlooms or buying gear from AH every 5 lvl increase intervals.
Assassination and Subtlety are twins specs and they are considered real rogue.
On leveling, your energy regeneration will be very slow. This will result in slower combo filling and spending. This is why playing Subtlety, and more important, Assassination is not recommended.
For reference, I enjoy the more reactive prioritizing style of Enhancement Shaman and Survival Hunter. Does that mean that I’m more likely to enjoy Subtlety Rogue after I hit max level, how do you think?
Your remark on energy regeneration on lower levels is actually super valuable, by the way.
When leveling my sub rogue, it was indeed slow until the magical levels 26 (Relentless Strikes) and 27 (Shadow Techniques). Still not as intense as being max level of course, but it got satisfying to play at that point instead of barely being able to afford doing more than keeping up SnD. Starting from 30, it should be nice enough.
Just a quick note on stats. (I see you’re posting on a classic character and you may not be aware of current stat priorities in retail.)
Subtlety places much higher value on versatility than assassin does.
Assassin places much higher value on haste than sub does.
I haven’t played outlaw, but I’m pretty sure the best secondaries are crit and versa, which is the same as sub. (Assassin leans more towards crit and haste.)
