WotLK Classic Subtlety Rogue Guide

Rogue, for the most part, brings a very useful set of tools to parties and raid groups alike, but Subtlety is less suited to PvE than the other specs available to Rogue. Due to this, it is generally less desirable in a PvE or raid setting.

Despite its lower output, Subtlety does bring a very unique debuff to the raid in the form of Hemorrhage, which causes targets to take additional damage when attacked with Physical damage by someone in your raid, but removes a stack each time. Alongside this debuff, they also bring Tricks of the Trade, which will greatly boost the threat of their target, as well as increase their damage.

For a better understanding of where Rogue falls in regards to other classes and specializations in Wrath Classic, you can check out our PvE DPS rankings below. However, ultimately, you should not let these lists dissuade you from playing what you enjoy.

For the most part, the choice of race for Subtlety Rogue depends entirely on the faction you choose. As for Alliance players, it makes little to no difference for PvE.

For Alliance players, the choice of race comes down entirely to the utility of Humans and Gnomes, with Will to Survive and Escape Artist.

If you wish to choose based on an absolutely minimal DPS increase, you could choose Night Elf, but the different is only in their base stats when compared to other races, and the difference is truly tiny.

Horde is where the difference between races shines slightly more for Rogue, with Troll and Orc pulling ahead. Unlike with Assassination, Troll does not remain the best choice throughout the entirety of Wrath Classic, as Orc pulls ahead very slightly upon reaching Icecrown gear levels.

Engineering grants the most damage-increasing benefits of any profession for Rogues and should definitely be taken as one of your choices. With the glove enchantment granting massive Haste rating, their consumable bombs, and more benefits available, Engineering is simply the top output profession by far.

Jewelcrafting is the best pairing with Engineering due to the gems you can use, such as Bright Dragon's Eye, but it is worth noting that Tailoring is very close behind with its Attack Power buff on the cloak. The two are nearly on par with one another and you can choose which to use based on your preferences and the economy of your server for gold-making.

Using macros and addons makes your life significantly easier when playing Wrath Classic, and they can improve your experience a lot, depending on how skilled you are at customizing them.

If you are interested in learning more about addons and macros suited to Subtlety Rogue, check out our guides below: