INTRODUCTION:
If you have read any other of my final templates then please skip this section, and jump right to “BUILD TYPE”. The Intro is the same for all 8 of my final templates, as I would like to try to convey why I am building the templates the way I am.

I was kind of surprised to find out that I have a little over 1150 hours /played in game so far. (8 peeps * 6 days /played, (average) * 24 hours in a day) This has given me a unique perspective when it comes to PvP, because not only have I killed every Alliance class with every Horde class, but I have also been killed by every Alliance class as every Horde class. The most difficult thing to do when trying to build the best overall character template, is trying to remember all the PvP encounters I have been in, and filtering out the “BS PvP”. (BS PvP encounters = encounters where, regardless of personal skill, abilities or talents, the outcome would not have changed) An example of BS PvP is me as a 50 Mage, attacking a 30 Mage, I kill him but I learn NOTHING, and regardless of my template he still would have died. Another example is me in a PvE engagement with 20% health left, and a peep 5 levels below me ganks me. Hell no I don’t feel bad, not only did he have the advantage of surprise, he also already had me 80% dead at the start. I must filter these out, so that I can accumulate meaningful data, in order to build a better template. There is other BS that also must be filtered and this is far WORSE then the BS mentioned above. That is misinformation, which is 80-90% of the crap we see in the chat channels, and on the WOW public boards. Trust me, if peeps have anything intelligent to say, they are saying it on their clan/guild boards.

Another thing to remember is that these are based on my “play style”. If I had to describe my play style in a couple of words, I would describe it as “overly aggressive”. You will not find me with a “stun rogue” and my shaman and warrior with both be 2H for PvP. (they will go 1H/Shield for end game instances/PvE). In the U.S. Army, 80% of our training was in offensive operations, and I guess it carried over because I simply refuse to defend anything. Yeah, if I am in a FPS, I’ll “camp the flag”, but there are no flags in WOW. The best defense is an overwhelming offense! (No, I do not mean a zerg either; I hate zergs, all numbers and no skill)

Bored yet? O.K O.K. The last thing I ask you to remember is the “build type”. There are only 5 types of a build that you can possibly make. (I don’t care how you place your 51 points, your overall template will fall into one of the five)
1. Offensive Group = Your template is geared toward causing massive damage, in the minimal amount of time, and you have skills that can benefit multiple members of your group, and/or you have skills that can disadvantage/damage multiple members of the opposing group.
2. Offensive Solo = Your template is geared toward causing massive damage, in the minimal amount of time, and the vast majority of your skills only benefit you or disadvantage a single opponent.
3. Defensive Group = You are a healer and buffer.(No not a floor buffer)
4. Defensive Solo = Your template is geared towards lasting longer then your opponent and you plan on winning a battle through attrition.
5. Gimped = any build type that does not fall into one of the above four, or any build type that tries to combine, in any way, the above 4.

BUILD TYPE:
Offensive Solo.
Special Notes – The Rogue was, by far, the most difficult template to make. There are simply so many things you can do with a Rogue, the task itself can be daunting, since you do not want to gimp your Rogue by trying to do too many things at once. The Dagger/Sword/Mace debate will, most likely, go on for the life of the game. There are also very different types of a Rogue you can build, for example: “Stun Lock” “High Poison” and “Premed Burst”. The best I could come up with is a combo of the 3 trees.

Why not go hardcore in one tree?
I went heavy in Assassination, and was pleased until I took the last skill. “Vigor” raises you energy pool by 10% to a total of 110. I had ASSUMED that you would Regen your energy pool at 20% per tick.(as you do normally) This is incorrect, as your energy pool builds at 20 per tick, not 20%, so instead of getting 22 energy, like I thought, I only got 20. This makes Vigor totally useless after the first skill you use. Also the poison skills I initially took gimped me, as the 5.5 sec gouge that I had counted on as an “energy Regen timeout” was blown because “Deadly Poison” is a DOT and breaks the stun that Gouge delivers.
I then looked at “Combat”, that “end skill” looks very sweet, being able to Regen energy +100% for 15 secs. But after looking thru the tree, not only would I have to dump a lot of points in “Non- Offensive Solo” skills, there is really no big “Burst” damage here. The Combat tree is mainly for “Offensive Group” types of Rogue’s, as it seems to increase your overall damage, but not really doing a ton of “up front” damage.
And finally Subtlety. This tree is awesome for “Stun Lock” Rogues as the end skill lets you add 2 points on your target before you even begin combat. But where the hell is the damage adds in this tree??? I want the kill in the first 10-15 secs, anything longer and you are giving the target time to think and use his “escape” tactics. If you play a Rogue, you know the biggest reason we can’t kill every target, is because they are always getting away!
As a soccer coach I always teach the girls that they must “act” and let the other team “react”. Because in every single combat you will experience you are either acting, or reacting. In the majority of battles you will be involved in, the peep that always “reacts” usually will lose, because they never have a chance to act. As long as you force your opponent to “react” then you will normally win because YOU dictate how the battle flows. So what I wanted was an “all action” Rogue…

THEORY OF THE BUILD:
Versatility with TWO guaranteed crit 5 point eviscerates. (Does that make sense?)

This whole template is built around delivering 2 critical hit, 5 point eviscerates, in the first 15 secs. As a Rogue your only enemy is time. You must kill and kill quickly or you are going to be rooted/sheeped/stunned… In the end game PvP make sure you always have FAP’s (Free Action Pots) and you will not have to worry about being rooted. Every single point placed in this template, (besides the 1 point in increased stealth speed) is useful in achieving a kill. This template assumes that you are using “Instant Poison” in you main hand and “Crippling Poison” in your off hand. (To stop them damn runners!) Your opening moves are very simple:

1. Cheap Shot - Gives you two points with a 75% chance of getting a third with “Initiative”. This also reduces the cost of Cheap Shot by 20 energy, with “Improved Cheap Shot”, that is HUGE!
2. Back Stab +30% damage with “Lethality”, plus another 20% with “Opportunity”
3. Here you must look at your points, you either have three or four on your target, the majority of the time it will be four. If it is four you need to Gouge the target adding the fifth. You now need to count 1001, 1002, 1003, then Cold Blood, then Evis. Your Gouge in this template lasts 5.5 secs, the reason I only say to count to three is to let your energy build a tick or two, and gives you plenty of time to activate the Cold Blood, and Evis skills. You will get the hang of the timing after you do this a few times.
3A. What happens if you only have 3 points? This will only happen 25% of the time. It really depends on the target, if it is a “low HP” target, continue with the Gouge and do a four point crit Evis. If it is a “High HP” target, you have 2 choices. You can try and get a Sinister Strike off, then Gouge. Or you can Gouge and try to get the fifth point before the Cold Blood Evis. I would try the first example as if you try the second you might be a little short on energy, of course this assumes you do not use Thistle Tea.(This Tea gives you 100% of your energy back)

O.K. now what? You got your five point crit Evis off in the first few seconds of combat. I know it probably took a total of 7-12 secs, but I do not “count time” when you target is stunned, as they cannot do crap anyway. (Please do not remind me of the Ice Mage, LOL, I know…) For those of you that do not know about an Ice Mages, Ice Block, if you see this on the Mage when you Cheap Shot, my advice is to GTF out, exit the combat area. You can, of course, continue to fight the Mage, but Ice Block blows the strat that you will be use too. You could try to predict where the mage will blink too, but watch out for the Insta sheeping. O.K. back to the attack, you must make sure the target does not cast sheep, and hopefully you have a pot or item that makes you immune to fear.(for Priests and Warlocks) If you are a Blacksmith then you already probably have the trinket that makes you immune to fear for 30 secs. You now must get that second set of 5 points for the second crit Evis. If the target is a melee target then this will not be a problem at all, but if it is a caster you are going to have to use kick or another Gouge. (Which should be cooled down by now?) When you get the second set of five points, hit Preparation, Cold Blood, Evis.(if your target is not dead already) Of course you can hit Preparation at an earlier time, Prep can also be used if things go bad and you need to Insta cooldown Gouge to use it and run

Well here it is, I almost went the “Stun Lock” route, but I do not like to take that long to kill someone. Also note the “Improved Sap” for killing two targets, and “Ghostly Strike” to help out with the melee classes.

TEMPLATE:

Class: Rogue
Level: 60


Assassination Talents (23 points)
• Improved Eviscerate - 3/3 points
Increases the damage done by your Eviscerate ability by 15%.
• Malice - 5/5 points
Increases your critical strike chance by 5%.
• Ruthlessness - 3/3 points
Gives your finishing moves a 60% chance to add a combo point to your target.
• Relentless Strikes - 1/1 point
Your finishing moves have a 20% chance per combo point to restore 25 energy.
• Lethality - 5/5 points
Increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Sinister Strike, Gouge, Backstab, Ambush, Ghostly Strike, or Hemorrhage ability by 30%.
• Improved Instant Poison - 5/5 points
Increases the chance to apply Instant Poison to your target by 10%.
• Cold Blood - 1/1 point
When activated, increases the critical strike chance of your next Sinister Strike, Backstab, Ambush, or Eviscerate by 100%.



Combat Talents (5 points)
• Improved Sinister Strike - 2/2 points
Reduces the Energy cost of your Sinister Strike ability by 5 Energy.
• Improved Gouge - 3/3 points
Increases the effect duration of your Gouge ability by 1.5 seconds.



Subtlety Talents (23 points)
• Master of Deception - 5/5 points
Reduces the chance enemies have to detect you while in Stealth mode. More effective than Master of Deception (Rank 4)
• Camouflage - 1/5 point
Increases your speed while stealthed by 3%.
• Opportunity - 5/5 points
Increases the damage dealt when striking from behind with your Backstab, Garrote, or Ambush abilities by 20%.
• Initiative - 5/5 points
Gives you a 75% chance to add an additional combo point to your target when using your Ambush, Garrote, or Cheap Shot ability.
• Ghostly Strike - 1/1 point
A strike that deals 125% weapon damage and increases your chance to dodge by 15% for 7 seconds. Awards 1 combo point.
• Improved Sap - 3/3 points
Adds a 90% chance to return to stealth mode after using your Sap ability.
• Improved Cheap Shot - 2/2 points
Reduces the Energy cost of your Cheap Shot ability by 20.
• Preparation - 1/1 point
When activated, this ability immediately finishes the cooldown on your other Rogue abilities.