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 (more…)