Originally Posted by
Verain
Well there's '1 best spec, 1 best weapon type" for mages as well, and they have no problems. Plus, combat has use, and sub is not bad- rogue specs in pve are much more diverse than hunters, and are on par with locks.
I don't think that's the issue.
So, I've said this before but broadly- the rogue class needs to be stronger. I don't mean in raids, and I'm not even talking about the type of pvp that they are fixing in 5.2. I just mean, when I level my paladin, she has a spell that literally one shots equal level mobs when it crits- from range (exorcism). When nothing crits she stands for a few seconds, each hit more than decimating the life bar, and win in a couple globals.
On my lowbie rogue, fights are much slower, even if I start with a full energy bar.
If I attack an enemy player, my lowbie paladin can holy flame or word of glory to max health every 10 seconds or so. My lowbie rogue can vanish once the enemy casts power word: shield, because it's over but for the rogue screaming. While I'm sure you all remember twink rogues one-shotting your alts at level 30 BGs (I certainly do), remember that even this one trick stunt required some nonsense and stacking to work- and it got fixed.
These experiences, though brief for me, are actually a big part of why players pick classes. Many of the lowbie classes are wildly overpowered- and those moves continue to be defining and powerful through level 90. A mainstay of our pvp is actually shuriken throw, a level 90 ability.
Now, lets forget about lowbies levelling in the world- lets take something ubiquitous to pve up to level 90- dungeons. Dungeons ARE pve in this game outside of the folks that LFR or raid. While numerous, is that even a majority? Leveling, it is obvious which job does the most damage- the tank. This is even true at level 90. For all of the Pandaren dungeons, the tank is the most damage until your item level is well past the 463 that the dungeons SHOULD be relevant up to (you will often still run dungeons even in 510+ gear, for valor, but that's just Blizzard putting something for you in obsolete content so you'll run it with new players). There's even a raid boss that offers sustained aoe (a mutilate trick, with survival now boss- but really, it's the tank). If you could simply spawn mundane 5 man elite adds on command, that would be a dps boost on some fights, because the tank could take them.
In order for a pure to top a meter in any content that is current for him, he has to be super dedicated- he has to be raid geared in current raid gear. At any point before that, tanks blow him away in damage dealt (and even after, depending). Unlike the other three pures, the rogue is wasting a melee spot doing terrible dps. Unlike the healing hybrids, he can't heal. He has to be in melee, and he's the worst guy for that job- until you level him to 90 and raid for months. Then and ONLY then do you have a character that is anything but a burden to the rest of the wow populace.
Almost all our time is spent discussing that narrow section of the class- people like us who pvp each season, who raid at decent intensity, who math out stuff with spreadsheets and play their best. But WoW is more than just us, and if you want to ask why rogues are underpopulated, it's because the class is objectively terrible at all content that a casual player sees.