At a glance
- Role
- Melee damage (Assassination, Combat or Subtlety)
- Difficulty
- Unconfirmed
- Recommended races
- Unconfirmed
- Primary stats
- Unconfirmed
Blizzard published its Rogue and Warlock class deep dive on October 7, 2026 (U.S. date).
Its forum thread went up at 22:00 UTC that day.
This guide lists every Rogue change in that article.
It adds the Rogue items from the beta notes of September 24, October 1 and October 8.
We checked the English, German and Korean pages of the article on October 10, 2026.
On October 7 (U.S. time), Blizzard posted two corrections to the Rogue section.
They cover the weapon support line and the Puncturing Wounds note.
This guide uses the corrected text.
It is a summary of Blizzard's posts; we have not tested these changes in the beta.
Blizzard says the update builds on Stealth, control, Poisons and precise weapon attacks.
Sap no longer breaks Stealth.
Poisons get more charges and work alongside temporary weapon enchantments.
Rogues can also learn to equip one-handed axes.
Assassination gets Mutilate and Venom.
Combat gets Hack and Slash and Flawless Execution.
Subtlety gets Thousand Cuts.
Talents open at level 10.
One-point milestone talents sit at 11, 21 and 31 points in a tree.
A new 16-point milestone joins them.
You change talents, including Legacy talents, at a class trainer in a major city.
Dual Specialization becomes available at level 40.
Blizzard: Assassination specializes in daggers and in buffing itself with finishers.
Combat and Subtlety have support for all weapon types.
Combat focuses on hard-hitting direct damage, with a little cleave from Blade Flurry.
Subtlety focuses on combat tricks and Bleeds.
Blizzard says Rogues are welcome in any group for their Stealth and control.
It adds that they have the highest potential single-target melee damage in the game.
| Tree | Weapons | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Assassination | Daggers | Poisons and finishing moves that buff the Rogue |
| Combat | All weapon types | Hard-hitting direct damagea little cleave from Blade Flurry |
| Subtlety | All weapon types | Combat tricks and Bleeds |
How Blizzard's deep dive describes each Rogue tree.
Blizzard notes that abilities and talents may keep changing during the beta.
Community reaction, from our daily data collected on October 10, 2026:
In that data, the most-liked Rogue thread on Blizzard's U.S. forums was a complaint.
It had 134 posts, 2,209 views and 312 likes.
Several smaller threads asked why recent beta notes had few Rogue class changes.
From the official notes: the October 8 build notes list no Rogue class changes.
These counts show how much people discussed Rogues, not what most Rogues think.
What changes in Forever
Poisons: all poisons get more charges.
Blizzard does not give the new charge numbers.
Poisons can now go on a weapon at the same time as temporary enchantments.
Blizzard's examples are weightstones and sharpening stones.
Blizzard points out that only Rogues have access to Poisons.
Feint: its threat reduction is doubled.
Sap: using it no longer breaks Stealth.
Blizzard wants Rogues to bring crowd control that needs their own skills to set up.
Stealth and Distract are the examples it gives.
The tool is meant for groups with too many monsters to tank safely.
Distract now also lowers affected enemies' Stealth detection for 10 seconds.
The same debuff tells enemy players that a Rogue is nearby.
Expose Armor: its armor reduction now matches 5 applications of Sunder Armor.
That comparison is for Sunder Armor at about the same level.
Expose Armor no longer prevents Sunder Armor from being used on the target.
Sunder Armor still won't overwrite Expose Armor unless its effect is weaker.
Blizzard says Warriors can build threat with Sunder Armor without Expose Armor in the way.
Axes: Rogues can now learn to equip one-handed axes.
Blizzard says this lets it offer more varied weapons that Rogues still benefit from.
It also ties axes to the brigands and outlaws of fantasy stories.
Blizzard lists Pick Pocket, Distract, Sap and Garrote as unique Stealth abilities.
| Ability | Change |
|---|---|
| Poisons | More charges on all poisonscan share a weapon with weightstones and sharpening stones |
| Feint | Threat reduction doubled |
| Sap | No longer breaks Stealth |
| Distract | Lowers enemy Stealth detection for 10 secondsenemy players learn a Rogue is near |
| Expose Armor | Same reduction as 5 Sunder Armor applicationsno longer prevents Sunder Armor |
| One-handed axes | Now learnable |
Baseline Rogue changes in the deep dive.
Change history: the beta notes of September 24 include one Sap fix.
Sap now flags the Rogue for PvP (Player versus Player) on a target flagged for PvP.
The October 1 build fixed a bug where a missed Expose Armor removed all combo points.
The same build changed Setup to add combo points only to your current target.
That target must be the one whose attack you dodged or whose spell you resisted.
Blizzard took the beta down for maintenance on October 8 (U.S. time).
The October 8 build notes list no Rogue class or talent changes.
They do add map markers for the Rogue quest "Plundering the Plunderers".
| Notes | Change |
|---|---|
| September 24 | Sap flags the Rogue for PvP when used on a PvP-flagged target |
| October 1 | A missed Expose Armor no longer removes all combo points |
| October 1 | Setup only adds combo points to the target you dodged or resisted |
| October 8 | No Rogue class changes; map markers for a Rogue quest |
Rogue items in the beta development notes.
No beta note so far says which build contains the deep dive changes.
Talents
Gold-medal talents are the one-point milestone talents at 11, 16, 21 and 31 points.
The deep dive names six Rogue gold medals.
Assassination: Cold Blood (16), Mutilate (21) and Venom (31).
Combat: Flawless Execution (16).
Subtlety: Premeditation (16) and Thousand Cuts (31).
It does not name the other milestone talents.
| Points | Assassination | Combat | Subtlety |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Cold Blood | Flawless Execution | Premeditation |
| 21 | Mutilate | — | — |
| 31 | Venom | — | Thousand Cuts |
Rogue gold-medal talents named in the deep dive (— = not named).
Assassination: Mutilate is the new 21-point gold medal talent.
It costs 60 Energy and strikes with both hands, and both weapons must be daggers.
Each hand deals its weapon's damage, and each has a chance to trigger procs.
Mutilate deals more damage to poisoned targets and awards 2 combo points.
Venom is the new 31-point gold medal, a finisher that costs 25 Energy.
It raises your poison damage by 30% and your chance to apply poisons by 10%.
Its duration depends on the combo points spent.
Blizzard expects Assassination to spend finishers on Venom and Slice and Dice.
Damaging finishers such as Rupture and Eviscerate become a lower priority.
Blizzard says other Rogue builds would lean more on those damaging finishers.
Cold Blood moves from the 21-point to the 16-point gold medal.
It now also applies to Mutilate.
Vigor is no longer the 31-point gold medal talent.
It is now a 2-point talent in row 5 with the same total effect.
Improved Poisons now also gives poisons a large chance not to use a charge.
Blizzard wants Assassination to be a poison-focused playstyle.
Improved Gouge moves to row 1 of Assassination from Combat.
Remorseless Attacks and Lethality now also affect Mutilate.
Lethality's bonus to critical damage is lowered a little.
Malice now raises critical strike chance with all attacks and poisons.
Murder now also applies to Giants but no longer to Beasts and Dragonkin.
Improved Expose Armor is redesigned to lower the Energy cost of Expose Armor.
With it, Expose Armor refunds combo points when used with 5 combo points.
Improved Kidney Shot's bonus now applies only to your own attacks and poisons.
Seal Fate no longer needs Cold Blood first.
Mutilate triggers Seal Fate once if either hand or both land a critical strike.
| Talent | Change |
|---|---|
| Mutilate (new, 21-point gold medal) | 60 Energy, two daggers, 2 combo pointsmore damage to poisoned targets |
| Venom (new, 31-point gold medal) | 25 Energy finisherpoison damage +30%, poison chance +10% |
| Cold Blood | 21-point → 16-point gold medal; applies to Mutilate |
| Vigor | 31-point gold medal → 2-point talent in row 5 |
| Improved Poisons | Large chance not to use a poison charge |
| Improved Expose Armor | Cheaper Expose Armor; combo points back at 5 |
| Seal Fate | No Cold Blood prerequisite |
| Malice | Critical strike chance with all attacks and poisons |
| Murder | Adds Giants; drops Beasts and Dragonkin |
| Improved Gouge | Moved from Combat to row 1 |
| Remorseless Attacks, Lethality | Also affect MutilateLethality's critical bonus is a little lower |
| Improved Kidney Shot | Bonus only for your own attacks and poisons |
Assassination talent changes.
Combat: Hack and Slash is a new row 5 talent.
It combines the benefits of four removed talents.
They are Dagger, Mace, Sword and Fist Weapon Specialization.
It also adds a bonus for axes: the sword benefit, a chance to make an extra attack.
The mace bonus makes attacks ignore some armor, rather than give a chance to stun.
Flawless Execution is the new 16-point gold medal.
It reduces the Energy cost of Eviscerate by 10.
Aggression now also increases Backstab damage.
Blizzard wants Combat to support a Backstab build as well as a Sinister Strike build.
Puncturing Wounds was formerly Improved Backstab.
It now also increases Mutilate crit chance by a lesser percentage.
It also gives Backstab a chance to grant an additional combo point.
Improved Eviscerate moves to row 1 of Combat from Assassination.
Its damage bonus is higher.
Weapon Expertise is redesigned: targets dodge and parry your attacks less often.
Deflection now gives twice as much parry chance per point.
Precision raises hit chance with all spells and attacks, including poisons.
Endurance cuts the Sprint and Evasion cooldowns by a percentage.
That is a larger total reduction for both.
Dual Wield Specialization now adds less off-hand damage.
| Talent | Change |
|---|---|
| Hack and Slash (new, row 5) | Combines the removed Dagger, Mace, Sword and Fist Weapon Specializationadds an axe bonus |
| Flawless Execution (new, 16-point gold medal) | Eviscerate costs 10 less Energy |
| Aggression | Also raises Backstab damage |
| Puncturing Wounds (formerly Improved Backstab) | Some Mutilate crit chance; Backstab can add a combo point |
| Improved Eviscerate | Moved to row 1; bigger damage bonus |
| Weapon Expertise | Targets dodge and parry less |
| Deflection | Twice the parry chance per point |
| Precision | Hit chance with all spells, attacks and poisons |
| Endurance | Percentage cut to Sprint and Evasion cooldowns |
| Dual Wield Specialization | Smaller off-hand damage bonus |
| Removed | Dagger, Mace, Sword and Fist Weapon Specialization |
Combat talent changes.
Subtlety: Premeditation moves from the 31-point to the 16-point gold medal.
Its duration rises to 20 seconds.
Thousand Cuts is the new 31-point gold medal.
Each Rupture tick cuts 3 Energy from your next Hemorrhage or Backstab.
This stacks up to 5 times.
Dirty Tricks (formerly Improved Sap) moves from row 4 to row 2.
Sap never breaks Stealth now, so the talent cuts the Energy cost of Sap and Blind.
Blizzard calls that cut substantial.
Improved Distract is a new row 3 talent.
It widens Distract's radius and increases its Stealth detection penalty.
Quietus is a new row 6 talent that requires Dirty Deeds.
Sinister Strike, Ghostly Strike and Hemorrhage hit harder below 35% target health.
Blizzard says Quietus supports a Sinister Strike build.
Cutthroat is a new row 6 talent for a Backstab build.
Backstab gets a chance to let your next Ambush be used without Stealth.
Blizzard says this creates a flow where Ambush can be used during combat.
Master of Deception now takes 3 points instead of 5 for the same effect.
Its tooltip now states the exact Stealth improvement.
Setup and Initiative now reach a 100% chance at 3 points.
Ghostly Strike and Hemorrhage deal a higher damage percentage with a dagger.
Hemorrhage now also raises your Rupture damage on the target for 15 seconds.
Dirty Deeds now also lets you use Garrote when you are not behind the target.
Serrated Blades ignores a percentage of armor, not a flat value that rises per level.
Camouflage moves from row 2 to row 1, and Improved Ambush from row 3 to row 2.
Heightened Senses moves from row 5 to row 4.
Its tooltip now describes the exact increase to Stealth detection.
Opportunity now also affects Mutilate.
Removed from Combat: Dagger, Mace, Sword and Fist Weapon Specialization.
All four are subsumed into the new talent Hack and Slash.
Removed from Subtlety: Sleight of Hand and Deadliness.
| Talent | Change |
|---|---|
| Premeditation | 31-point → 16-point gold medal; 20 seconds |
| Thousand Cuts (new, 31-point gold medal) | Rupture ticks cut 3 Energy from your next Hemorrhage or Backstabup to 5 stacks |
| Dirty Tricks (formerly Improved Sap) | Row 4 → row 2; much cheaper Sap and Blind |
| Improved Distract (new, row 3) | Wider Distract; bigger Stealth detection penalty |
| Quietus (new, row 6) | More Sinister Strike, Ghostly Strike and Hemorrhage damage below 35% healthrequires Dirty Deeds |
| Cutthroat (new, row 6) | Backstab can let Ambush skip Stealth |
| Master of Deception | 5 → 3 points, same effecttooltip states the exact Stealth improvement |
| Setup, Initiative | 100% chance at 3 points |
| Ghostly Strike, Hemorrhage | Higher damage with a daggerHemorrhage also raises Rupture damage for 15 seconds |
| Dirty Deeds | Garrote no longer needs you behind the target |
| Serrated Blades | Ignores a percentage of armor |
| Camouflage, Improved Ambush | Each moved up one row |
| Heightened Senses | Row 5 → row 4tooltip describes the exact Stealth detection increase |
| Opportunity | Also affects Mutilate |
| Removed | Sleight of Hand, Deadliness |
Subtlety talent changes.
The article gives no exact values for wording like a large chance or a higher bonus.
Leveling
Blizzard does not publish a Rogue leveling route or leveling talent build.
The deep dive does give the levels that shape a leveling Rogue.
Talents open at level 10.
Our calculation assumes the Classic rule of one talent point per level from level 10.
Without the Legacy perk Talented, that gives 16 points in one tree at level 25.
It gives 21 points at level 30 and 31 points at level 40.
Cold Blood, Flawless Execution and Premeditation would come at level 25 at the earliest.
Mutilate would come at level 30, and Venom and Thousand Cuts at level 40.
Blizzard's Legacy article says Talented unlocks talent points up to 5 levels lower.
A character with that perk reaches each milestone sooner.
Blizzard raised the beta level cap to 30 with the October 1 build.
Even with Talented, a level 30 character has 26 points by our count.
So the 31-point talents are out of reach in the beta for now.
Dual Specialization becomes available at level 40.
Each talent change still needs a visit to a class trainer in a major city.
Rogue milestones in Forever
- Level 10Talents open
- Level 2516-point gold medals (our calculation)
- Level 30Mutilate at 21 points; beta cap
- Level 40Dual Specialization; 31-point talents
Stat priority
Blizzard has not published a stat priority for any Rogue specialization in Forever.
The deep dive does show which stats the changed talents touch.
We list those instead of guessing a ranking.
| Stat | Where it shows up | Priority |
|---|---|---|
| Critical strike | Malice, Cold Blood, Seal Fate, Lethality | Not published |
| Hit | Precision (includes poisons) | Not published |
| Dodge and parry | Weapon Expertise | Not published |
| Armor | Serrated Blades, Hack and Slash (maces) | Not published |
| Energy | Vigor, Flawless Execution, Thousand Cuts10 per Eviscerate; up to 15 with 5 Thousand Cuts stacks | Not published |
Stats tied to Rogue changes in the deep dive. No priority has been published.
Critical strike: Malice now covers all attacks and poisons.
Cold Blood and Seal Fate work with Mutilate.
Lethality's critical damage bonus is a little lower.
Hit: Precision now covers all spells and attacks, including poisons.
Dodge and parry: Weapon Expertise lowers the chance that targets dodge or parry you.
Armor: Serrated Blades ignores a percentage of the target's armor.
The mace bonus of Hack and Slash also ignores some armor.
Energy: Vigor keeps its total effect as a 2-point talent.
Flawless Execution saves 10 Energy per Eviscerate.
Thousand Cuts can save up to 15 Energy on your next Hemorrhage or Backstab.
That is our calculation: 5 stacks of 3 Energy.
We will add a ranking once Blizzard or final tuning makes one verifiable.
Gear
Weapon choice is where the deep dive changes Rogues the most.
Mutilate needs a dagger in both hands.
Blizzard says Assassination specializes in daggers.
It says Combat and Subtlety have support for all weapon types.
| Weapon | What changes |
|---|---|
| Daggers | Mutilate needs two; Ghostly Strike and Hemorrhage hit harderDagger Specialization is removed and subsumed into Hack and Slash |
| Swords | Hack and Slash: chance to make an extra attackSword Specialization is subsumed into it |
| One-handed axes | Newly learnable; Hack and Slash gives them the sword benefit |
| Maces | Hack and Slash: ignore some armor instead of a stun chance |
| Fist weapons | Fist Weapon Specialization is removed and subsumed into Hack and Slash |
Weapon types and the Rogue changes that touch them.
Hack and Slash combines the benefits of the removed weapon specializations.
Those are Dagger, Mace, Sword and Fist Weapon Specialization.
It also adds an axe bonus: axes gain the same benefit as swords.
That benefit is a chance to make an extra attack.
The mace bonus makes attacks ignore some of the target's armor.
It replaces the old chance to stun.
The article does not describe the dagger and fist weapon parts of Hack and Slash.
Ghostly Strike and Hemorrhage deal a higher damage percentage with a dagger.
Aggression and Puncturing Wounds add Backstab support to Combat.
Cutthroat and Quietus give Subtlety a Backstab build and a Sinister Strike build.
Rogues can now learn one-handed axes, a new option for Combat and Subtlety.
Poisons can now share a weapon with a weightstone or sharpening stone.
Blizzard has not published a Rogue gear list.
This guide does not name best-in-slot items.
Recommended professions
Blizzard did not recommend professions for Rogues.
One change in the article touches crafted items.
Poisons now stack with temporary enchantments like weightstones and sharpening stones.
Until official guidance appears, this guide does not rank Rogue professions.
Legacy profession perks and the new camping features apply to every class.
Addons and macros
The deep dive does not mention Rogue addons or macros.
The October 1 beta build added Rogue support to the built-in Cooldown Manager.
The October 8 build supports all classes, racial abilities and trinkets.
Blizzard says more support for consumables will come in a later patch.
The Cooldown Manager is off by default.
You turn it on in Options under Gameplay Enhancement.
The September 24 notes listed a known issue with it.
Item enhancements such as rogue poisons could not be tracked.
No later note says that was fixed.
The October 8 known issues call the Cooldown Manager a work in progress.
The September 24 notes also said the Personal Resource Display lacked combo points.
The October 8 build updated combo points in the Target Frame and that display.