One of the most common questions I’m asked is "What is the best race for a Rogue?" The answer to this is that it depends on what you intend to do in WoW – as in, what aspects of the game you intend to focus on. Before moving on I want to note that in the end there is no wrong decision; if you’re playing for fun, choose the race you will be happy with.

Alliance

Human

Starting Stats: Strength 21- Agility 23 – Stamina 21 – Intelligence 20 – Spirit 21

Notable Racials:

Perception – Activate to dramatically increase Stealth detection – Lasts 20 sec – 3 min cooldown

Easily one of the strongest racials available to a Rogue. Essentially a counter to other Rogues in arena, allowing for an opener on an opposing Rogue, which can be devastating and really set the tone for the game. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, this negates a Druid’s ability to hide in stealth at the beginning of a match. An opener on a Druid in cat form can put pressure early on in the fight. That being said, there are counters to this, such as opposing Rogues Vanishing in Stealth or waiting for the buff to expire. There is also AoE, Paranoia, and opposing Perceptions that will cause a Human Rogue to play conservatively – which means not using Perception to its full potential for fear of being destealthed in a bad position. Regardless, even when countered in these ways Perception forces the use of a cooldown and causes the other team to work around it.

Sword Specialization – Expertise with Swords and Two-Handed Swords increased by 5.

Mace Specialization – Expertise with Maces and Two-Handed Maces increased by 5.

These are great talents to have for both PvE and PvP.

Expertise is an attribute introduced in patch 2.3.0. One point of Expertise decreases the chance that melee attacks made by the player will be Dodged or Parried by 0.25%. Which means you are essentially gaining 1.25 % reduced Dodge and Parry. This racial really shines in PvE as Expertise is the strongest statistic for Alliance raiding Rogues, due to the fact that mobs have an innate chance to Dodge from behind.

Expertise Cap Values:

0/2 Weapon Expertise, non-Human: 103
1/2 Weapon Expertise, non-Human: 83
2/2 Weapon Expertise, non-Human: 64
0/2 Weapon Expertise, Human (wielding swords or maces): 83
1/2 Weapon Expertise, Human: 64
2/2 Weapon Expertise, Human: 44

Diplomacy - 10% bonus to faction point gain

Fairly self explanatory. No matter what point you are at as a character, this is nice to have. Whether it would be increasing reputation with Aldor and Scryer, or trying to acquire the exalted Hyjal ring as well as the Ashtongue trinket.

Other Racials:

The Human Spirit – Increase Spirit by 10%

Summary: Human is one of the strongest races available for Rogues. Perception allows you to have an advantage against other Rogues and Druids, which when you consider the number of teams currently using these classes in arena, the strength of this racial becomes quite obvious. Outside of arena, a Human Rogue has an advantage against other Rogues in landing the all important opener. Weapon Expertise is a bonus for PvP, and makes Humans one of the strongest PvE Rogue races. Diplomacy is really just the icing on the cake, unless you enjoy rep grinds.

Gnome

Starting Stats: Strength 16 – Agility 26 – Stamina 20 – Intelligence 24 – Spirit 20

Notable Racials:

Escape Artist - Activate to break out of a Root or Snare effect – Instant – 1 min, 45 sec. cooldown

A really strong PvP racial. A Rogue is required to remain on a target to be effective (one of the biggest reasons Shadowstep is so strong). Free root breaks in duels and arena really set Gnomes apart as the most mobile of the Rogue races. Add in the fact that this ability sits on a cooldown of less than two minutes, meaning that multiple uses in an arena game is fairly common. Essentially saving a cooldown for a Rogue, this is one of the best Rogue PvP racials.

Arcane Resistance - All Gnomes get +10 Arcane Resistance

Other Racials:

Expansive Mind - Increase Intellect by 5%

Engineering - 15 skill bonus to Engineering

Summary: Despite only having one racial that has a high potential to be game breaking, a Gnome Rogue remains a strong choice for an Alliance PvP’er. Although Shadowstep solves most Rogue mobility problems, eventually one can run out of cooldowns and be kited by classes like Mages and Warriors that use Hamstring / Howl effectively. The ability to not have to expend Cloak of Shadows or Vanish on a Frost Nova should be noted as well. Arcane Resistance is a nice little bonus for both PvE encounters and some PvP situations.

Night Elves

Starting Stats: Strength 18 – Agility 28 – Stamina 20 – Intelligence 20 – Spirit 20

Notable Racials:

Shadowmeld – Activate while immobile and out of combat to enter Stealth mode – lasts until canceled – 10 sec cooldown

For those of you thinking "Wait, I already have Stealth as a Rogue AND I can move with it’ – there are some effective aspects to Shadowmeld. Once broken, Stealth does have a cooldown of 5-10 seconds depending on the amount of talent points spent into Camoflage. When out of combat you can Shadowmeld while waiting for the Stealth cooldown to expire. You can also eat and then Shadowmeld while doing so, which can be pretty effective. Also of note, shadowmeld adds one effective stealth level. This means that you are slightly harder to detect than any other rogue with equal talents.

Quickness - Dodge chance increased by 1%

Not a top tier racial, but it doesn’t hurt to have.

Nature Resistance - All Night Elves get +10 Nature Resistance

Other Racials:

Spirit Wisp - Become a wisp when dead with movement speed increase of 50% (25% faster than normal ghost)

Summary: Night Elf Rogues are often considered to be the weakest race for Rogues. Shadowmeld is a nice ability but it is extremely situational. Both Dodge and Nature Resistance are helpful, but can’t really be considered as essential racials. Spirit Wisp is nice to have, but personally I prefer racials that help you stay alive over one that helps you when you’re dead.

Dwarf

Starting Stats: Strength 23 – Agility 19 – Stamina 24 – Intelligence 19 – Spirit 19

Notable Racials:

Stoneform – While active, grants immunity to Bleed, Poison, and Disease effects. In addition, Armor increases by 10%. Lasts 8 sec. – 3 min cooldown

A somewhat underrated racial in my opinion. In PvE, it is effective in many encounters and will likely continue to be. In PvP it allows Rogues to have an advantage primarily against other Rogues and Warriors. Against Rogues in arena, if you are focused as a Dwarf you have a Blessing of Freedom for 8 seconds on demand, along with a way to drop off a five stack Wound Poison instantly without using Cloak of Shadows. Bleeds that are generally undispellable and that prevent Vanishing, restealthing and sometimes the integral Blind + bandage, can be removed.

Frost Resistance – All Dwarves get +10 Frost Resistance

Other Racials:

Gun Specialization - Your chance to critically hit with Guns is increased by 1%

Find Treasure - Activate to see treasure chests on mini map – lasts until canceled – no cooldown

Summary: Stoneform is a very powerful racial when used effectively. The season three era of gear scaling has brought with it the trend of melee strength in arena and throughout WoW in general. Having a racial that helps you against Bleeds and Poison gives you a huge advantage against both Rogues and Warriors. This is also a strong racial for staying alive in current and future PvE encounters. Frost Resistance is one of the better resistances to have, as it can counter a Mages primary form of CC. Find Treasure is generally terrible, as is Gun Specialization, unless your guild is currently stuck on Shazzrah in MC.

Horde

Undead

Notable Racials:

Starting Stats: Strength 20 – Agility 21 – Stamina 22 – Intelligence 18 – Spirit 25

Will of the Forsaken – Activate to become immune to Fear, Sleep, and Charm effects. Can also be used while already afflicted by Fear or Sleep – lasts 5 sec – 2 min cooldown

Easily stands with Perception as one of the strongest available racials. Fear is the primary form of control for both Priests and Warlocks, and is available to Warriors as well. The ability to not use a PvP trinket on a Fear means that you are free to use it on any other form of CC. For all other races, Fear either has to be eaten with the hope of an early break or trinketed. An early trinket on Fear can easily equate to a full Blind into Sap, a full stunlock, or any other crowd control. In PvE, encounters such as Archimonde remind us that Fear remains a typical ability of PvE mobs and will likely remain as such, so it is an effective tool here as well.

Cannibalize – Activate to regenerate 7% of total health every 2 sec. by consuming Humanoid or Undead corpses within 5 yds – lasts 10 sec – 2 min cooldown

Cannibalize is a somewhat under utilized ability that can be effective especially in arena one-versus-one fights that we all hate to lose, and situationally in world PvP.

Shadow Resistance – All Undead get +10 Shadow Resistance

Other Racials:

Underwater Breathing – Underwater breath lasts 300% longer than normal

Summary: Undead have some of the strongest racials available to Rogues. The ability to break Fear essentially gives Undead an extra PvP trinket, which is invaluable in PvP as well as in some PvE situations. Undead Rogues are ideal for fighting Priests and Warlocks, whether solo or in arena, and a base Shadow Resistance only adds to this. Cannibalize, despite being situational, can be extremely effective coupled with a Rogues ability to CC which can result in a 35 percent heal. Underwater Breathing is relatively useless, unless you forgot to bring your Snorkeling set with you on your vacation to the beaches of Stranglethorn. Actually, I’ve heard the next arena will be a giant fish tank. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Blood Elf

Starting Stats: Strength 18 – Agility 25 – Stamina 19 – Intelligence 24 – Spirit 19

Notable Racials:

Arcane Torrent – Silences all enemies within 8 yards for 2 sec. In addition, you gain 10 Energy for each Mana Tap charge currently affecting you – Instant – 2 min cooldown.

Mana Tap – Reduces target’s mana by 51 and charges you with Arcane energy for 10 min. This effect stacks up to 3 times. Amount of mana reduced is 50 + 1/Level – 30 yd range – Instant – 30 sec cooldown.

The combination of Arcane Torrent and Mana Tap can be a big bonus to a Rogue in PvP when used correctly. Although Rogues have various ways to Silence casters, Silence negates the ability of an opponent (such as a Druid) to perform instants casts as well. The Energy returned is very much notable, and it boosts damage while draining a small portion of mana at the same time. This ability really shines in 5v5 and 3v3 arena where the possibility to Silence several targets at the same time exists. This also allows you to perform a cast interrupt without switching targets, and it comes at a greater range than a focus kick.

Magic Resistance – All resistances increased by 5.

The best racial resistance, easily.

Other Racials:

Arcane Affinity – Enchanting skill increased by 10.

Summary: Blood Elves, in my opinion, have some of the weaker racials. Although Arcane Torrent can be very effective with being on a short cooldown that can be used fairly often, when I played on a Blood Elf Rogue I found it rarely necessary to use. Although silencing an entire 5v5 team can be amazing, it rarely has a chance to occur. The real reason I find this racial Silence somewhat weak is because of Kick which must be prioritized over Torrent due to it being a 5 second Silence compared to a 2 second Silence. The Energy boost from Mana Tap is nice, but difficult to accomplish in a chaotic PvP situation and is better suited to 1v1. Overall, Blood Elves have a set of racials that are potentially effective, but in my opinion, too situational to be considered top tier.

Orc

Starting Stats: Strength 24 – Agility 20 – Stamina 23 – Intelligence 17 – Spirit 23

Notable Racials:

Blood Fury – Increases Attack Power by (Level*4)+2 per character level (282 at 70), but reduces healing effects on you 50%. Lasts 15 sec.

An extremely strong PvE and PvP racial that essentially provides a free use AP trinket to Orc Rogues. Obviously this must be used with caution in PvP and PvE when in a healing intensive situation. Coupled with deep Subtlety talents, this ability provides a free damage boost. Another use of this ability is that popping it and right clicking it off will remove the effects of wound poison.

Hardiness – 15% resistance to stun and knockout effects.

When you start to consider all of the classes and encounters in WoW that can stun, you really start to see the strength of this ability. A resisted Kidney Shot, Hammer of Justice, Cheap Shot, Intercept, Charge, Impact, and any other stun represents a free PvP trinket. Against melee teams or opponents, Rogues really only become vulnerable when stunned because they lose the ability to Dodge and Parry, and even Evasion counts for nothing.

Other Racials:

Command – Pet melee damage increased by 5%.

Axe Specialization – Expertise with Axes and Two-Handed Axes increased by 5.

Summary: Orcs are easily one of the strongest Rogue races, as they have two top tier racial abilities. While Blood Fury may be situational, the MS that it is coupled with isn’t too problematic in the majority of situations. Hardiness comes with both a PvP and PvE boost, as stuns are and will continue to be a huge part of WoW, especially in PvP as they are a huge danger to Rogues. Orcs also have two completely useless racials, even though I sometimes dream of having Command, and beasting my Ember of Azzinoth to hit for 5 more damage.

Troll

Starting Stats: Strength 22 – Agility 25 – Stamina 22 – Intelligence 16 – Spirit 21

Notable Racials:

Berserking – Increases your casting and attack speed by 10% to 30%. At full health the speed increase is 10% with a greater effect up to 30% if you are badly hurt when you activate Berserking. Lasts 10 sec.

This racial really shines in PvE. When you consider abilities like Slice and Dice, Bloodlust, and Blade Flurry, as well as items such as Haste Potions, Haste gear etc., we can see why this makes Trolls an excellent choice for those concerned primarily with PvE. This ability is also nice for PvP, but is relatively ineffective due to its short duration and the fact that PvP rarely involves sitting on your target.

Beast Slaying – 5% damage bonus to Beasts

Another talent that has a lot of PvE potential. Although Blizzard has shied away from implementing Beast type bosses, this doesn’t mean this will be the case in future content. Its also nice both when killing PvE mobs as well as Hunter pets in arena.

Throwing Specialization - Your chance to critically hit with Throwing Weapons is increased by 1%

Other Racials:

Regeneration – 10% health regen bonus, 10% active in combat

Bow Specialization – Your chance to critically hit with Bows is increased by 1%.

Summary: Trolls are a strong choice for Rogues that are concerned primarily with PvE. Berserking becomes increasingly effective as Haste becomes a bigger part of PvE, a pattern that occurs as one progresses deeper into Burning Crusade raid content. Beast slaying has a lot of potential should Blizzard release further Beast bosses and mobs, which seems likely in the future. At the same time Trolls are somewhat weak in regards to PvP when compared to other races. One percent crit with throwing weapons may rarely serve to be important in some PvP situations. The effect of Regeneration is decent, but ultimately a very weak racial for a Rogue to have.

Conclusions:

As was aforementioned, there is no "correct" or "best" Rogue race. While some have stronger abilities than others, the primary determinant in deciding your character’s race should be choosing the one you want to play. Hopefully this guide can help you know the facts before making that decision. As countless others have proven in the past, weak racials can’t stop you from being successful.

That being said, here is my list of Rogues in order of the effectiveness of their racials from the viewpoints of both PvE and PvP.

Horde PvE

Troll > Orc > Undead > Blood Elf

Horde PvP

Undead > Orc > Blood Elf > Troll

Alliance PvE

Human > Dwarf > Gnome > Night Elf

Alliance PvP

Human > Gnome > Dwarf > Night Elf

Related posts:

1. Why use PvE gear in PvP?
2. The Viable Specs at level 70– PvP and PvE
3. A Guide to Gemming and Enchanting Gear for PvE at level 70
4. Elitist Jerks 3.1 Mutilate Guide
5. Krymu 7 – Rogue PvP