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Running Heroics As A Starting Rogue

Posted by on Apr 21, 2010 in Guides |

Note that this was written with new rogues in mind. I recently ran a fail group on my DK and it was tough to see a fellow rogue just suck at DPS. I was tanking Anub’Arak in AN and things were going well until he burrowed and the adds came. Recount told me that I was number two in DPS, behind the mage but above the rogue. You know that a group is fail when the tank is doing more damage than the rest of the group.

So, here’s a little something to raise your DPS in heroic 5-mans:

  • Go Combat. Equip your best weapons, then spec into it.
  • Set the tank as your focus target (click on the tank, type “/focus”).
  • Make this macro and map it to a button:
    • /cast [target=focus] Tricks of the Trade
  • Doing the above will cast TotT on the tank.
  • Everytime your tank pulls, hit the macro, then spam Fan of Knives.
  • Profit!
  • For big pulls, cast Blade Flurry, TotT, FoK. Whenever BF is up, remember to stand close to two adds or more since you’re cleaving.
  • For big, prolonged pulls, cast Adrenaline Rush, Blade Flurry, TotT, FoK.
  • More profit!

It’s an oversimplification and sort of a repeat post, but hopefully it should get things started on the road to better DPS. Seriously. What I just saw was painful to watch.

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Tricks Of The Trade

Tricks Of The Trade

Posted by on Aug 4, 2009 in Commentary, Tips | 2 comments

Ability_Rogue_TricksOftheTrade

Tricks of the Trade is the lesser known (as opposed to Misdirect) aggro management skill that allows Rogues to redirect threat to the tank. Think of it as a short-ranged version of the more popular Misdirect. Used properly, it will allow you to unleash damage without having to worry about getting aggro.

As you can tell from the description, Tricks will redirect all of the threat caused by your actions to whoever you cast it on for six glorious seconds. Minus macros and addons, you can cast it by hitting the spell, then clicking your target, which is usually the tank. I don’t have a habit of casting it on another DPSer because I don’t want threat issues and I don’t want to share the damage buff. Yes, I’m selfish. Terribly, horribly selfish.

Now, doing it that way is a bit tedious. As rogues, we’re used to casting skills without having to worry about who or what to cast them on. When we press a button, there’s usually no need to select a target because we’re already on it. That’s where Tricks is…well, tricky. You have to cast it then click on your tank to use it successfully. Macros will remove that unnecessary click.

  1. Select your tank, then enter “/focus”. You can also right click on his frame and then set your focus there.
  2. Create a new macro and then type:
    • /cast [target=focus] Tricks of the Trade

Bind the macro to a key and try it out. Hitting it will cast Tricks on your focus target, removing the extra click.

What I really like about Tricks is that it gives you a full six seconds to do anything you want. The next time your raid runs into a big group of mobs, try doing Tricks + two Fan of Knives + Adrenaline Rush and watch your damage blow up everything in sight. Don’t be shy about using Killing Spree and Blade Flurry as well.

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