This is my example of a rogue overhaul to make our specs play more differently and feel more exciting to use. Pretty much this is my wishlist to make rogues neater in how they currently work. Some things will be changed, but to me this just makes rogues a lot more "logical" in how they operate. I have played a rogue since mid tbc/2006 and it's always been my main, I've played on cataclysm PTR too which imo is when rogues started going downhill.
General
Energy + Health
- Static Energy Regeneration, so there is no more balancing us around end game haste and gear.
- Recuperate : Is now passive, under the excuse that it is tied to energy regeneration. Rogues gain 1% health and 10 energy per second, regardless of combat as a baseline.
Stealth
New self buff aura
- Enveloping shadows : Whilst active, the rogue will constantly attempt to enter stealth as soon as possible whenever they are not in combat.
Clickable in the way it works similar to righteous fury tanking buff for paladins. Optional, and prevents the need to spam stealth when running away.
Combo points
The 1st talent tier is devoted to combo points instead of stealth. Redirect as an ability is removed.
Choose between one of the below abilities:
- Anticipation : Store up to 10 combo points on a single target.
- Redirect : Combo points are now stored on the rogue.
- Executioner : 5 combo point offensive melee finishing moves will now instantly teleport you up to 40 yards to reappear behind your target.
Finishing moves
Have been reworked.
- Finishing moves are no longer on the global cooldown, however they now share a 1 second cooldown, effectively giving them a separate global cooldown.
- Finishing no longer cost energy to use, instead they only cost combo points.
Addressing Button Bloat
Some finishing moves are removed and merged:
- Recuperate is now passive (removed from action bar).
- Slice and Dice is no longer an active ability (removed from action bar).
- Crimson tempest is merged with rupture (removed from action bar).
- Rupture functions as a strong single target dot, with aoe cleave capability, making it superiour to eviscerate over time and in aoe situations.
Mobility & Cooldown management
- Shadowstep is now learnt from a trainer instead of preparation. Preparation is now a talents.
- New Ability "Blinkstep" shares a cooldown with shadowstep. Shadowstep to the targeted location.
Choose between:
- Preparation : Instantly resets affected cooldowns. 4 minute cooldown. In addition, affected abilities restore 5% of your health when used.
- Elusiveness : 50% shorter cooldowns.
- Set up : Two ability charges but no cooldown reduction.
Abilities affected:
Major: Smoke bomb, Evasion, Vanish. Minor: Sprint, Shadowstep.
Assassinations
Flavour/Concept: An assassin who utilises fast attacks from daggers drenched in poison to dispatch enemies.
Quick Overview: Less ramp up time. More target switch friendly, more poison emphasis, and more new more fun/interesting abilities. Slightly more stealth friendly.
- Energy Regeneration redesigned.
Venomous wounds : The rogue gains 2 energy for every poison attack dealt.
Compliments new AOE ability. You no longer "need" rupture, instead you "want" to use rupture because of its new damage and cleave.
- Envenom no longer costs energy, it instead helps to restore energy by improving poison application rate.
- New AOE Ability:
This is the new ability. It offered great aoe potential and rewards smart game play, or can be used to refresh deadly poison at range. Use this right and it helps to restore your energy. It only applies 1 stack, but energy regen is not stack dependant.Deadly Poison Vials. 40 yard range, 60 second cooldown, 3 charges.
Throws and Smashes a vial of deadly poison into the targetable 10 yard area (similar to distract, or death and decay), contaminating all enemies with a stack of the rogues deadly poison. Does not break stealth.
- New End Talent (replaces vendetta):
[I]Literally this ability "assassinate" allows you to stab the crap out of their back. It doesn't deal the damage for you like an ability like killing spree would, instead it lets you use backstab so that it remains interactive and the player feels like they are doing the damage. It also requires you to pool energy, and is treated like cheap shot.Assassinate. 45 second cooldown, 40 yard range.
Leap and knock an enemy to the ground, lowering the cost of dispatch/backstab to 20 energy and guaranteeing you apply poison with every attack for 4 seconds. In addition, the target is also marked for death, increasing damaging attacks you deal to the target by 10% for 60 seconds.
Combat Specilisation
Flavour/Concept : An incredibly fluid blademaster who is able to utilise an enemies momentum against them.
Overview : Slow, but powerful combo point builders and progressively faster auto attacks. Not much emphasis on damage dealing finishers, but instead on the attacks themselves.
Now this is quite drastic. I've changed (redesigned/deleted) slice and dice and adrenaline rush and removed insight.
Fact is we don't need to stack damage cooldowns. It isn't fun, it isn't balanced. We already have killing spree and now shadowblades for damage cooldowns.
Removed insight. Replaced with slice and dice.
New Passive:New passive : Slice and Dice
- Each weapon strikes generates momentum, increasing your attack speed by 2% for 30 seconds, stacking up to 25 times. Upon the 10th application, you gain adrenaline rush, increasing your attack speed by 50% and energy regeneration by 100% for 10 seconds and then slice and dice will reset.
- Unfair Advantage: When the rogue would successfully dodge or parry an attack, he will instead deflect it back onto the attacker and generate 1 combo. Cannot occur more than once per second.
This is not intend for tanking, instead for flavour and uniqueness and to go to toe to toe with enemies whilst levelling and during pvp.
Relentless Strikes - Passive/Redesigned. Sinister Strike Reduces the cooldown of Revealing Strike by 1 second.
Revealing Strike - Now has a cooldown but is more powerful than sinister strike.
50 energy cost. 8 second cooldown. Causes 250% melee damage and awards 2 combo points.
Sinister Strike - 40 energy cost. Deals 200% weapon damage. Awards 1 combo points.
Subtlety:
I don't want it to be as much about bleeds. I want it to be about powerful finishing moves and mobility.
Concept: Weak but fast combo point generation, strong finishers, supported by tricks mobility, deception, and stealth.
- New finishing move :
This lets you use garrotte in pve, or cheapshot whilst levelling. It's like subterfuge but with only 1 stealth ability. It doesn't stop auto attacking or drop combat.Cloak and dagger: Shadowstep and Blinkstep now grant subterfuge and allow the use of one stealth ability within 3 seconds.
- New mobility move :
Hit and Run lets you whack a target and then retreat quickly. It can be used to make quick attack, stun, or intterupt and then seek immediate cover. Everything has been decided with trade offs, so you have to balance a combination of offensive and defensive play which in my opinion is what makes rogues interesting and can keep them balanced.Hit and run. Requires Shadowstep/Cloak and Dagger/Blinkstep. 40 yard range.
Using the ability after shadowstep or blinkstep will return you to your previous location and increase movement speed by 100% for 3 seconds.
The intent is to make rogues less annoying to other classes by reducing their dependency of stun mechanics, instead replacing them with flare and mobility as well as control without damage. This is my new list so let me know what you think so far.