Sam’s PvE F.A.Q. – Questions I get all the time

I answer some of the same questions here often, so I thought I’d compile a list of frequently asked questions and their answers for everyone.  I’ll probably end up linking on the sidebar as an essential post, and updated when called for.  If there’s anything you’d add to the list of questions, leave a comment, and if deemed appropriate, I’ll add it, along with credit to you.

Sam’s PvE F.A.Q – Last Update:  5/12/09

What Glyphs should I use?

It really depends on what you’re doing, and your spec. Here’s some solid choices for Assassination and Combat:

Depending on your gear you may choose to take Slice and Dice, which will help you maintain rotations.  If you can keep SnD up at all times without it (easier to do with better gear), go with one of the following Glyphs:  Killing Spree, Tricks of the Trade, or Adrenaline Rush.  KS is the highest DPS option, Tricks is great for buffing another player’s DPS, and Adrenaline Rush, while not as strong as the other two choices is still a DPS boost.  For your other two glyphs, I suggest Rupture, which will help you keep it on the target, and Sinister Strike which occasionally grant you a combo point.

You’ve actually have a few options for Assassination.  Slice and Dice, by extending its duration will make sure it’s always up, or you can take Glyph of Mutilate to shorten your rotation and basically accomplish the same thing. Mutilate is the stronger DPS option of the two, and the Glyph you should choose if you can keep up a solid rotation without Slice and Dice dropping.  Glyph of Hunger for Blood, and Glyph of Rupture are good solid DPS boosts for your rotation.  You can also swap Rupture for Tricks if you want to buff someone else’s DPS.

Basically, any combination of three reasonable glyphs should be used.  It really depends on if want your glpyhs to make your rotation easier, buff your DPS, or buff someone else’s.  Thanks to Chronic for some suggestions on how to make this answer better.

What Poisons should I be using?

For Combat, using Wound Poison is your best main hand option.  It will proc a ridiculous amount of times, and outperform Instant Poison.  Using Envenom or Eviscerate is up to you, but regardless, use Deadly on your off hand.

Assassination will use deadly on the off hand, just as Combat does, becuase you will be using Envenom.  However, Instant Poison is your choice for your main hand.  It gets some nice buffs from the standard Assassination spec.

 What weapon type should I use?

Two matched weapons are usually your best bet, as the changes in 3.1 pretty much stripped the ability to take multiple weapon skills.  The only notable exception would be for a Combat Rogue to use a powerful, 2.3+ speed main hand fist, along with a fast 1.5- speed off hand dagger, as fists and daggers share the same weapon specialization (Close Quarters Combat).

As far as weapons go, Assassination Rogues use daggers exclusively, and Combat Rogues generally go for Fists or Swords, although maces are also an option.  Find your best pair of like weapons and go from there.  If you happen to be using Subtlety for Honor Among Thieves, and Hemorrhage, You’ll want weapons similar to Combat.  Those weapons do not have to be matched, as you won’t be going deep enough into combat to grab a specialization.

What speed weapon should I be using?

In most cases weapon speed is best summed up by the phrase:  Slow main hand, fast off hand.  For instance, Combat Swords would optimally have a hard hitting sword with a speed around 2.6 in your main hand, and a sword closer to 1.5 in your off hand.  Regardless, the best resource for figuring your best weapon combo is shadowpanther.net.  The weapons spreadsheets take into account more factors than just weapon speed, and can help you decide which two weapon combination from your personal stockpile is the best.

Which Spec should I be using?

I can’t actually answer that for you, as it depends on several factors, such as the weaponry you have access to.  I know plenty of people that make much better Assassination Rogues than Combat, and vice versa.  I would take the standard specs of both and decide which one your gear and skill allow you to perform better.  Also, if you absolutely hate one of the two, I’d stick with the other. 

Also, remember that being #1 on the DPS chart, while fun, isn’t the only point in the game.  I personally strive to be the best Rogue I can be, which drives me to experiement with spec and max out my damage as best as possible.  If your enjoyment of the game comes from some other factor, and you’re doing acceptable DPS, by all means continue what you’re doing, just don’t expect invites into high end raiding guilds.

I’m only pulling XX damage, can you tell me why?

Many people ask me this question, and they usually don’t include an armory link.  I answer every single one of these questions when sent to me, but that answer usually has to wait until I am sent an armory.  Here’s generally what the issue is:

1. Comparing unbuffed Combat Dummy numbers to fully buffed numbers on Bosses which buff your DPS.  I get this often.  People write in and ask me what they are doing wrong when they are only pulling 1900 DPS on a combat dummy, and their friend is pulling 5k+ on Loatheb or Thaddius.  In addition to raid buffs, both of those fights give you serious buffs to your damage.  If you’re comparing numbers, make the situation as close to the same as possible.
2. Lack of Hit Rating or Expertise – If your Hit Rating is substantially below 315 or your Expertise well below 26, it’s likely part of your problem.  Note that Expertise beyond 26 is wasted, and Hit Rating, while not wasted, isn’t as good of a stat past 315.
3. Not attacking from behind.  Even if you’re Expertise capped at 26, you’ll still get parried, and that will lower your DPS
4. Non Optimal Rotation.  If you’re just mashing buttons, your DPS will suffer.  There are rotations for both of my PvE Guides.  Try and learn how to use them.  That being said, even I don’t rigidly stick to them.  Sometimes the situation will require you to adapt, for example using an ability early, skip part of a rotation, or start back at the begining of a rotation.  That’s the exception though, so if you’re doing that often, it’s likely due to something awry in your rotation.
5. Insufficient Weapon Skill.  I’m guilty of this myself.  When I switched back from Assassination to Combat in 3.1, my DPS was abysmal, and I couldn’t figure out why.  The problem was that I hadn’t used swords or Fists since level 76, so when I was testing on the combat dummy, I was basically a level 76 Rogue attacking a level 83 enemy.  This caused my DPS to drop significantly; so if you’re using new weapons, double check your skill.

I’ll be adding to this F.A.Q over time, and again, any suggestions as always are welcome.

-Sam