This guide has been developed to assist both novice and veteran players in getting their Rogues prepared for all that Northrend has to offer. Whether you’ve just dusted off your old level 70 Rogue or have already reached level 80, you should find a wealth of useful information in this guide to help improve your Rogue for endgame play. Throughout this guide, I’ll be helping you gear up your Rogue for endgame PVE and PVP in the fastest and most efficient manner possible. Knowing how to gear yourself up and get fully prepared is what will separate you from the sea of mediocre level 80 Rogues. Refer to the charts available at ShadowPanther.net when researching items listed in this guide.

Leveling Your Rogue to 80

Some players think that leveling is easy. Just grab some cheap Bandit gear and you should be 80 in no time, right? Other players think that leveling is a pain. Their Rogues may be undergeared, unprepared and/or inexperienced. Maybe they haven’t taken the time to learn how to properly play a Rogue or how to get geared up for maximum effectiveness. Well, this guide is going to change all that. No matter what condition your Rogue is in, this guide will help you quickly level your way up so you can hit the ground running as soon as you reach 80.

Initial Leveling Gear Profiles

Leveling from 70-80 is going to be easier for some and harder for others. Your current gear plays a big part in that. If you spent a lot of time maximizing your Rogue at level 70, then you should have little trouble leveling to 80. However, if you’ve recently rerolled to a Rogue, then your weapons and armor will be relatively ineffective by the time you enter Northrend. Listed below are several “Initial Leveling Gear” profiles that describe the various states of progression from which your Rogue may begin his own journey of leveling from 70-80.

“Hardcore 70” You stopped playing your Rogue shortly before Wrath of the Lich King (WotLK) released, after many months spent conquering The Burning Crusade (BC). Your gear is a mixture of Tier 6 (T6) set pieces from Sunwell Plateau and/or Season 4 (S4) pieces earned through Arena (complete with powerful set bonuses) and most of it has epic gems and quality enchants. You’ll have little trouble leveling to 80 and will replace very few items along the way.

“Average 70” Your gear is a combination of T4/T5/T6 and/or S2/S3/S4 pieces with some Heroic and Badge items mixed in. The majority of your gear is probably enchanted and socketed with BC rare/epic gems. You won’t have much trouble leveling to 80 and will only need to replace a few items along the way.

“Casual 70” Your gear is a mixture of PUG (pickup group) Karazhan T4/Badge gear and/or S1/S2 weapons and “welfare” armor farmed from BGs. You probably didn’t bother to properly enchant or socket many of those items. You may have some trouble leveling if you don’t replace many of the weaker items with some quality quest gear available in Northrend.

“Ding 70!” For you, level 70 is nothing more than the level that happens to fall between 69 and 71 on your long, tiresome road to 80. You’ve gotten used to being undergeared and overmatched due to substandard gear and weak stats. You’re going to have some trouble leveling unless you upgrade your gear soon. Pay close attention to the following sections of this guide and you should quickly see significant gains in your damage and effectiveness.

Superior Pre-70 Outlands Gear

Whether your Rogue falls under the “Ding 70!” or the “Casual 70” category, there are several high-quality pre-70 upgrades available to you before you even enter Northrend. Or, if you’re still working on leveling from 60-70, these easily acquired items can help you reach that goal even faster. Most of the items listed below, if enhanced with inexpensive enchantments and gems, can potentially last you well into your mid-70’s before you’ll find better upgrades.

Head

q Deathblow X11 Goggles (62) - Requires 350 Engineering

q Helm of the Claw (67) - Steamvault quest reward

Neck

q Necklace of the Deep (65) - Jewelcrafting craftable

Chest

q Vest of Vengeance (61) - 19% Drop rate from Keli’dan the Breaker in The Blood Furnace

q Warden's Hauberk (62) - Cenarion Expedition Honored reward

Trinket

q Bladefist's Breadth (58) - Hellfire Peninsula quest reward

q Core of Ar'kelos (67) - Netherstorm quest reward

Superior Pre-70 Northrend Gear

Who says you need to be 70 to experience WotLK? Players can safely enter Northrend a couple of levels before reaching 70 and pick up some very nice pre-70 upgrades. Many of the items listed below can be obtained as early as level 68 and are often highly prized by level 69 Twink Rogues.

Main Hand Weapon

q Borean Smasher (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward fist weapon

q Fang of the Desolate Soul (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward dagger

Offhand Weapon

q Ice-Rimed Dagger (68) - Howling Fjord quest reward dagger

Neck

q Hundred Tooth Necklace (Horde) (68) - Utgarde Keep quest reward

q Chain of the Tolling Bell (Alliance) (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

q Choker of Forceful Redemption (Horde) (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

Shoulder

q Cured Mammoth Hide Mantle (68) - Nexus quest reward

Feet

q Treads of Torn Future (69) - Nexus quest reward

Wrist

q Vendetta Bindings (Horde) (68) - Utgarde Keep quest reward

Hands

q Time-Stop Gloves (69) - Nexus quest reward

Finger

q Executioner's Band (68) - Utgarde Keep quest reward

Trinket

q Fury of the Encroaching Storm (68) - Howling Fjord quest reward

q First Mate's Pocketwatch (69) - Howling Fjord quest reward

Back

q Shroud of Fluid Strikes (69) - Nexus quest reward

Ranged

q Fury of the Raging Dragon (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

Leveling Preparations

Now that we’ve identified some premium leveling gear, it’s time to start leveling, right? Not so fast. Before you begin your journey into Northrend, you should make some final preparations to help your leveling experience go smoother.

1. If you don’t already have Artisan Riding Skill, then start saving up your gold now! It will make your life at 80 so much easier in the long run. I know that 5,000 is a lot of gold (in addition to the 1,000g you’ll need for Cold Weather Flying at level 77) but it really is worth it. Complete every quest possible (including Daily Quests) and save up your gold along the way to 77. My other tips below are based on frugal yet wise usage of your gold.

2. Empty out your bags and buy some inexpensive, higher capacity bags if you can. Having extra bag space will enable you to be more efficient while leveling. Remove everything except for the essential items listed below.

3. Make sure you’re stocked up on useful consumables. Bring along bandages, inexpensive healing potions and a stack or two of poisons. Dual Wound Poison is usually going to be the ideal poison for leveling, because it hits hard and often and sticks to your target, giving you the full benefit of Savage Combat or Mutilate.

4. If you can get them cheaply enough (perhaps old Level 70 leftovers from BC raiding or your guild bank), see if you can pick up a stack of Elixirs, Stat Food and even Haste Potions (also Drums of Battle if you’re a pre-80 Leatherworker). Save these items for those special occasions when you need to buff up to take down a particularly tough quest objective or fight your way through groups of enemies, such as escort quests.

5. Pick up some cheap WotLK gems to replace any inferior BC gems in your current sockets. I recommend Delicate Bloodstone, which gives a nice mix of offensive (AP/Crit) and defensive (Armor/Dodge) capabilities.

6. Respec for maximum leveling effectiveness. Talents like Unfair Advantage and Remorseless Attacks don’t see much use in raiding or PVP, yet they’re very useful for leveling/grinding/farming. Remorseless Attacks is an especially effective pacing mechanism that can help speed up your overall leveling process. A strong build for leveling is Combat, which has several useful talents for handling multiple mobs. However, Mutilate is also a good choice. More information on these builds can be found here: https://shadowpanther.net/leveling.htm

7. Once you’ve decided upon your leveling spec, make sure you get the appropriate Glyphs to go along with it.

Leveling Professions

One final preparation you can make upon entering Northrend is to powerlevel your crafting professions to 400 in order to get access to some very nice profession-specific benefits. This mainly applies to “Hardcore 70” and “Average 70” Rogues who have plenty of gold and already maxed their professions to 375 before WotLK released. Powerleveling some of those crafting professions just 25 more points can make a big difference due to the nice perks you’ll receive. Grandmaster Trainers can be found as soon as you enter Northrend, both in Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord. I’ve created Powerleveling Guides for Blacksmithing, Engineering and Leatherworking if you’ve chosen those professions. Also, you can research and compare the benefits of each profession here: https://shadowpanther.net/professions.htm

Alchemy: At 400, you get access to the reusable Flask of the North (new in 3.2). You can also make Endless Healing Potion, which works well with Mighty Alchemist's Stone, a nice trinket available to Alchemists at level 75.

Blacksmithing: At 400, you can use Socket Bracer and Socket Gloves to add extra gems to your gear.

Enchanting: At 400, you can put Enchant Ring - Assault on each of your rings.

Engineering: This profession has numerous items that can be helpful during your leveling process, including Hyperspeed Accelerators, Saronite Bombs, Weakness Spectralizers, Sonic Booster, Nitro Boosts, Flexweave Underlay, Frag Belt, Gnomish Lightning Generator and Hand-Mounted Pyro Rocket. They’re great for PVP too!

Inscription: At 400, you can add Master's Inscription of the Axe to your shoulders.

Jewelcrafting: At 370, Jewelcrafters get access to powerful Epic Gems, however these usually aren’t recommended for leveling gear since they can be rather expensive and most leveling gear won’t even have sockets.

Leatherworking: At 400, you can apply both Nerubian Leg Reinforcements and Fur Lining - Attack Power to your gear.

Tailoring: At 400, you can enchant Swordguard Embroidery on your cloak.

Leveling Playstyles

Your personal preferences will often dictate your choice of spec, but there are multiple ways to play a particular spec. One important consideration to take into account is how you plan to open each battle while leveling. Using stealth openers (Cheap Shot/Garrote) allows you to Sap and Pick Pocket mobs (level up that Lockpicking skill!) as you go along, but will also slow down your overall leveling pace. If you prefer to skip stealth openers, then you can just run in and start smashing away with your main attack. Once you’ve started a battle, you need to decide which sequence of attacks is going to be most effective. Listed below are various leveling playstyles from which to choose.

“Quick Kill”: This playstyle skips the stealth opener and uses a basic sequence of attacks for quick, reliable damage.

Special Attacks (Mutilate/Sinister Strike/Hemo) -> 5pt. Eviscerate

Pros: Fast single target damage. Incoming damage reduced somewhat due to shorter battles.

Cons: Doesn’t allow for Pick Pocketing or Saps. Frequent healing may be needed, especially if fighting multiple mobs.

“Lockdown”: This playstyle relies on stuns to keep mobs locked down for most of the battle.

Stealth -> Cheap Shot -> Special Attacks (Mutilate/Sinister Strike/Hemo) -> Kidney Shot

Pros: Minimizes incoming damage. Allows for Pick Pocketing and Saps.

Cons: Battles can take longer because you’re using a stealth opener and spending energy on stuns.

“Chain Kill”: This playstyle relies on Slice and Dice to maximize sustained damage as you move from mob to mob.

Special Attack -> 1 pt. Slice and Dice -> Special Attacks -> 5 pt. Finisher (SnD if Combat, Envenom if Mutilate for CttC)

Pros: Maintains a fast, continuous pace.

Cons: Doesn’t allow for Pick Pocketing or Saps. Frequent healing/food will be needed.

“Whirling Dervish”: This Combat playstyle relies on the burst potential of Blade Flurry, Adrenaline Rush & Killing Spree to round up and mow down multiple mobs all at once. Add Fan of Knives (FoK) to the mix once you reach level 80.

Sprint -> Evasion (round up mobs) -> Special Attack x 3 -> 3 pt. Slice and Dice -> Blade Flurry - > Killing Spree ->

Adrenaline Rush -> Mow everything down

Pros: Fun.

Cons: Doesn’t allow for Pick Pocketing or Saps. Can be suicidal (Cloak/Vanish if things go bad). Frequent healing/food will be needed between cooldowns.

Road Map to Level 80

Now you’re finally ready to start leveling. The question is, where to start? Northrend has two starting zones, Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord. Borean Tundra is generally considered to be the better starting zone due to having higher quality quest rewards (as seen above). You may actually want to consider leveling up through both starting zones, starting with Borean Tundra, especially if you’re entering Northrend before reaching 70. Regardless of your level, this plan will make your initiation into Northrend easier as you’ll spend more time fighting against mobs at or below your level. Also, keep in mind that BGs now provide experience as well as honor points, which is a great way to start farming for level 80 PVP gear whenever you feel like taking a break from questing.

For a list of optimized quest circuits through each zone, I suggest that you follow Jame's Leveling Guides, which are free and very well-designed. He also recommends leveling through both starting zones - - Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord from 70-74. After that, you’ll continue on to Dragonblight from 74-75 and Grizzly Hills from 75-77. Once you’ve reached level 77, assuming that you’ve saved up enough gold for Artisan Riding Skill and Cold Weather Flying, I recommend that you go directly to The Storm Peaks from 77-78 and finish up in Icecrown from 78-80. Those two zones contain a considerable number of useful daily reputation quests to help you earn gold and rep with The Sons of Hodir and The Knights of the Ebon Blade for your shoulder and helm enchants. In addition to that, Icecrown, in particular, has a good amount of quest and rep rewards that will help you get prepared early for level 80 content.

Levels 70-72: Borean Tundra

Your first few levels in Northrend should be spent in Borean Tundra. If your gear is weak, then this zone will provide you with numerous upgrades. In particular, four rare quest rewards can be obtained in a single run through The Nexus, a relatively easy instance located in the northwest section of Borean Tundra, called Coldarra. Many of those upgrades will last you well into your mid-to-late 70s, so it’s really worth your time to complete every quest in Borean Tundra and The Nexus before moving on to the next zone. If you have trouble joining a Nexus run, then try creating a group yourself. Even if you avoid every other instance in early Northrend while leveling, try not to skip The Nexus.

Borean Tundra: Wowwiki - Wowhead - Jame’s Alliance Leveling Guide - Jame’s Horde Leveling Guide

Coldarra: Wowwiki

The Nexus: Wowwiki - Wowhead

Level 70-72 Starter Set

Listed below is a checklist of easily acquired weapons and armor you should expect to have by the time you finish up Borean Tundra and The Nexus. This gear should last you well into your late 70s, with a few upgrades along the way.

Main Hand Weapon

q Borean Smasher (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward fist weapon

q Fang of the Desolate Soul (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward dagger

Offhand Weapon

q Nimble Blade (70) - Borean Tundra quest reward dagger

Head

q Deathblow X11 Goggles (62) - Requires 350 Engineering

q Helm of the Claw (67) - Steamvault quest reward

q Rhinohide Mask (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

Neck

q Necklace of the Deep (65) - Jewelcrafting craftable

q Chain of the Tolling Bell (Alliance) (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

q Choker of Forceful Redemption (Horde) (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

Shoulder

q Cured Mammoth Hide Mantle (68) - Nexus quest reward

Chest

q Vest of Vengeance (61) - 19% Drop rate from Keli’dan the Breaker in The Blood Furnace

q Warden's Hauberk (62) - Cenarion Expedition Honored reward

q Reinforced Caribou-Hide Chestguard (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

q Marshwalker Chestpiece (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

Waist

q Charred Drakehide Belt (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

Legs

q Whalehunter Leggings (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

Feet

q Treads of Torn Future (69) - Nexus quest reward

q Reinforced Caribou-Hide Boots (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

Wrist

q Vrykul Shackles (70) - Utgarde Keep BoE drop, usually available on the Auction House (AH)

q Whalehunter Cuffs (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

Hands

q Time-Stop Gloves (69) - Nexus quest reward

Finger

q Ring of Indignant Rage (70) - Borean Tundra quest reward

q Milan’s Mastercraft Band (71) - Random World drop BoE, usually available on the AH

q Icy Ripper Ring (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

Trinket

q Bladefist's Breadth (58) - Hellfire Peninsula quest reward

q Core of Ar'kelos (67) - Netherstorm quest reward

q Warsong's Fervor (Horde) (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

q Talisman of the Tundra (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

Back

q Shroud of Fluid Strikes (69) - Nexus quest reward

Ranged

q Fury of the Raging Dragon (68) - Borean Tundra quest reward

Levels 72-74: Howling Fjord

After Borean Tundra and The Nexus, you’ll want to continue on to Howling Fjord and Utgarde Keep (the low level instance located in the center of Howling Fjord). However, unlike Borean Tundra and The Nexus, Howling Fjord and Utgarde Keep only offer a handful of decent upgrades, as seen below. The primary reason for continuing to level in Howling Fjord, as mentioned earlier, is that you’ll have an easier time overall since you’ll be leveling through both of Northrend’s starting zones. If you find that you have trouble getting a group together for Utgarde Keep, then feel free to skip it, since the quest rewards are only slightly better than gear you should already have by then. Note: Rogues can solo stealth the Disarmament quest with the use of Distract/Sap and a few instance resets, for an easy 40,200 experience plus a decent rare necklace (Horde version only).

Howling Fjord: Wowwiki - Wowhead - Jame’s Alliance Leveling Guide - Jame’s Horde Leveling Guide

Utgarde Keep: Wowwiki - Wowhead

Howling Fjord Upgrades

Neck

q Hundred Tooth Necklace (Horde) (68) - Utgarde Keep quest reward

Wrist

q Vendetta Bindings (Horde) (68) - Utgarde Keep quest reward

Finger

q Executioner's Band (68) - Utgarde Keep quest reward

Trinket

q Fury of the Encroaching Storm (68) - Howling Fjord quest reward

q First Mate's Pocketwatch (69) - Howling Fjord quest reward

Levels 74-75: Dragonblight

Now that you have the two starting zones out of the way, it’s time to move on to Dragonblight. Dragonblight is an interesting zone that gives you the chance to use a special, fast flying dragon mount called a Wyrmrest Vanquisher during portions of your journey. After you fly this mount, you’ll never want to go back to slow mounts again. Another difference you’ll find with this zone is that you’ll get a number of quests to kill Elite mobs scattered throughout the zone. Save these quests up and try to find or form a group specifically to run through all of these quests at one time.

One last difference you’ll notice in this zone is that it has not one, but two group instances, Azjol-Nerub and Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom, both located in western Dragonblight. Azjol-Nerub is a very quick and easy instance, with two possible quest rewards, however only one of them is slightly better than gear you should already have by now. Ahn'kahet is a tougher and longer instance, which only offers one quest reward, but it’s a nice set of shoulders.

As far as gear upgrades in the rest of Dragonblight go, you won’t find too many others, as long as you’ve already geared up using the previous sections of this guide. However, one upgrade that you should be able to get here is a decent offhand weapon for most specs. Listed below are the significant upgrades you’ll find in this zone:

Dragonblight: Wowwiki - Wowhead - Jame’s Alliance Leveling Guide - Jame’s Horde Leveling Guide

Azjol-Nerub: Wowwiki - Wowhead

Ahn'kahet: The Old Kingdom: Wowwiki - Wowhead

Dragonblight Upgrades

Offhand Weapon

q Claw of the Undead Ravager (74) - Dragonblight quest reward fist weapon

q Scourgeslayer's Shank (74) - Dragonblight quest reward dagger

q Time-Bending Smasher (72) - Dragonblight quest reward mace

Shoulder

q Shoulderpads of Abhorrence (73) - Ahn'kahet quest reward

Waist

q Belt of Vengeful Purification (71) - Dragonblight quest reward

Legs

q Wrynn's Legguards of Brutality (Alliance) (71) - Dragonblight quest reward

q Warchief's Legguards of Brutality (Horde) (71) - Dragonblight quest reward

Feet

q Don Soto's Boots (72) - Azjol-Nerub quest reward

Trinket

q Scarab of Isanoth (Horde) (71) Horde - Dragonblight quest reward

Level 75: Detour to Zul’Drak

Once you’ve completed Dragonblight and reached level 75, Jame’s guide recommends that you continue on to Grizzly Hills. However, before you do that, I suggest that you make a quick detour into the Zul’Drak zone to upgrade your main hand weapon. Since a main hand weapon is a Rogue’s most important piece of gear, you always want to keep an eye out for any potential upgrades. One option would be buying one of the craftable Blacksmithing weapons available at level 74, Savage Cobalt Slicer or Saronite Ambusher. Alternatively, you could go and complete a fairly easy questline in Zul’Drak for an even better upgrade, Crimson Cranium Crusher or Wodin's Second-Best Shanker.

Specifically, you’ll want to complete the Champion of Anguish 5-man group questline in central Zul’Drak. To start this questline, visit Shifty Vickers in the sewers beneath Dalaran, who will send you out to Zul’Drak. Completing this “Ring of Blood” style questline will allow you to pick a very nice main hand mace or dagger quest reward that should last you pretty much all the way to 80. If you find yourself having trouble joining or forming a group, then you can head a little west and start working on your Knights of the Ebon Blade reputation in Zul’Drak until you can find yourself a group.

Assuming that you followed Jame’s Dragonblight guide, you should already have the quest Into the Breach!. Upon completing that quest, you’ll find Crusader Lord Lantinga standing nearby, who gives you the quest In Search Of Answers. Completing that quest and the follow-up quests Orders From Drakuru and The Ebon Watch will lead you out to the Ebon Watch where you can complete a long series of quests that will eventually earn you 2,150 Knights of the Ebon blade rep. While not absolutely necessary, these quests can give you a nice head start on your way to Revered. While in Zul’Drak, you should also become familiar with the Pa’troll daily quests that give valuable Argent Crusade rep.

Zul’Drak: Wowwiki - Wowhead - Theos’s Alliance Leveling Guide - Theos’s Horde Leveling Guide

Levels 75-77: Grizzly Hills

After securing your new main hand weapon in Zul’Drak, you’re now free to head over to Grizzly Hills. In the western half of this zone, you’ll find a significant number of PVP quest objectives including several PVP daily quests. The quests themselves aren’t very difficult, but when you throw in the PVP factor, you may face the potential hassle of getting ganked by higher level players lying in wait. If you enjoy world PVP and/or play on a PVP server, then this may be right up your alley. For those who don’t enjoy PVP, then you may want to skip those particular quests, or try to complete them during off-hours when you’ll face less resistance. As far as upgrades are concerned, you’ll find very few in this zone, which includes Drak’Tharon Keep, the instance located in the northwest corner of Grizzly Hills. Once you hit level 77, you may just want to drop Grizzly Hills and move on to the more important zones that follow.

Grizzly Hills: Wowwiki - Wowhead - Jame’s Alliance Leveling Guide - Jame’s Horde Leveling Guide

Drak'Tharon Keep: Wowwiki - Wowhead

Grizzly Hills Upgrades

Chest

q Wax-Coated Chestguard (72) - Grizzly Hills quest reward

Wrist

q Shackles of Dark Whispers (73) - Drak'Tharon Keep quest reward

Finger

q Kurzel's Rage (72) - Drak'Tharon Keep quest reward

Levels 77-80: The Storm Peaks / Icecrown

I’ve lumped both of these zones together for one very good reason. You’re going to want to start grinding rep early for both The Sons of Hodir (The Storm Peaks) and The Knights of the Ebon Blade (Icecrown) in order to get your shoulder and helm enchants. What this means is knocking out the bare minimum number of quests to open up the daily quests for both factions. Once you’ve done that, you’ll want to get in the routine of beginning each day with an hour or so of daily quests before you do anything else in game. Follow this plan and you’ll be exalted with both factions in no time.

Hopefully you’ve saved up enough gold for both Artisan Riding Skill and Cold Weather Flying by now. Having Artisan Riding Skill is not a requirement for these zones, but it will make a big difference. You can get by without a fast flying mount, but your progress through these zones will be significantly slower. So, as soon as you hit 77, head back to Dalaran and purchase Cold Weather Flying (and Artisan Riding Skill if you can afford it) from Hira Snowdawn. You can find a complete list of available flying mounts here: https://www.wowwiki.com/Mount#Flying_mounts

Next, speak to Officer Van Rossem (Alliance) or Sky-Reaver Klum (Horde) to get the Preparations for War quest. Then, head into the Dalaran sewers to get Luxurious Getaway! from Rin Duoctane (located in the far western corner of the sewers). After you get these two quests, go to The Storm Peaks. Once you reach the K3 camp, get both quests from Gretchen Fizzlespark inside the Inn to begin a long series of quests to reach Neutral with The Sons of Hodir. An excellent write-up can be found in the comments section of the first quest, They Took Our Men!. A total of 6 daily quests can be opened up with The Sons of Hodir, however, some of the daily quests won’t be unlocked until you reach Friendly, Honored & Revered. Also, look for Everfrost Chips and Relics of Ulduar, which can be turned in for extra rep.

After unlocking the Neutral Sons of Hodir daily quests, go to Icecrown to work on the quests you’ll need to open up the Knights of the Ebon Blade daily quests. Turn in Preparations for War at your faction’s flying ship (located over the eastern side of Icecrown), then get It's All Fun and Games. That quest will eventually lead to the The Shadow Vault, a new quest hub area that will become the central location for most of your Knights of the Ebon Blade rep. (Note: After reaching Friendly, you can wear Tabard of the Ebon Blade in level 80 dungeons & all Heroics to gain even more rep).

Complete all of the available Shadow Vault quests to open up three of your six daily quests. Then, continue on to Death’s Rise to the southwest to open up the remaining three daily quests. The quests in that particular area, Onslaught Harbor, can be especially challenging, but you’ll appreciate the daily rep. If you’re questing alone, then I highly recommend taking your time, keeping to the outer edges and picking your battles carefully. If you fly over the wrong area you can quickly become overwhelmed with attackers. Sap, Blind and Vanish are especially vital here.

Once you’ve opened up all of your Sons of Hodir and Knights of the Ebon Blade daily quests, feel free to continue completing quests in both zones (overall, Icecrown has better quest rewards). To further help you prepare for level 80, I recommend that you begin working on the Argent Tournament questline in northern Icecrown. Completing those quests will open up numerous daily quests that will provide you with a constant supply of gold and reputation rewards.

As far as 5-man instances go, The Storm Peaks has the Halls of Stone and Halls of Lightning. Of those two, only the Halls of Lightning has any decent quest rewards - - a nice chestpiece and minor upgrade shoulders. Icecrown has several 5-man instances, but Trial of the Champion is the only one you can enter before reaching level 80. Trial of the Champion is a tougher dungeon than other dungeons you’ll come across on your way to 80, but the loot is also much better. You should try to run this dungeon as much as you can (both Regular and Heroic once you reach 80, and hopefully with good groups) to help you get geared up for endgame content.

Significant upgrades from Icecrown, The Storm Peaks and non-Heroic dungeons in both zones can be found below.

The Storm Peaks: Wowwiki - Wowwiki Quests - Wowhead

Icecrown: Wowwiki - Wowwiki Quests - Wowhead

Halls of Stone: Wowwiki - Wowhead

Halls of Lightning: Wowwiki - Wowhead

Trial of the Champion: Wowwiki - Wowhead

The Sons of Hodir: Wowwiki - Wowhead

Knights of the Ebon Blade: Wowwiki - Wowhead

The Argent Tournament: Wowwiki - Wowhead

The Storm Peaks Upgrades

Main Hand Weapon

q Broken Stalactite (80) - The Sons of Hodir honored rep reward dagger

Offhand Weapon

q Jormungar Fang (77) - The Storm Peaks quest reward dagger

Shoulder

q Spaulders of Frozen Knives (78) - The Sons of Hodir honored rep reward

q Charred Leather Shoulderguards (77) - Halls of Lightning quest reward

q Yeti Hide Mantle (77) - The Storm Peaks quest reward

Chest

q Hardened Tongue Tunic (77) - Halls of Lightning quest reward

Hands

q Rough Climber's Grips (77) - The Storm Peaks quest reward

Finger

q Jagged Ice Band (77) - The Storm Peaks quest reward

Thrown

q Razor-sharp Ice Shards (77) - The Storm Peaks quest reward

Icecrown Upgrades

Main Hand Weapon

q Reaper of Dark Souls (80) - Knights of the Ebon Blade revered rep reward sword

Offhand Weapon

q Vengance Shiv (77) - Icecrown quest reward dagger

q Pilot's Knife (77) - Icecrown quest reward dagger

Neck

q The Severed Noose of Westwind (78) - Icecrown quest reward

Shoulder

q Shoulderpads of the Infamous Knave (80) - Trial of the Champion drop

q Shoulderpads of Fleshwerks (78) - Icecrown quest reward

Chest

q Darkheart Chestguard (80) - Knights of the Ebon Blade exalted rep reward

Waist

q Belt of Fierce Competition (80) - Trial of the Champion drop

q Belt of Njorndar (77) - Icecrown quest reward

Legs

q Leggings of Brazen Trespass (80) - Trial of the Champion drop

Feet

q The Darkspeaker's Treads (77) - Icecrown quest reward

Wrist

q Njorndar Furywraps (77) - Icecrown quest reward

Hands

q Gloves of the Argent Fanatic (80) - Trial of the Champion drop

Finger

q Uruka's Band of Zeal (80) - Trial of the Champion drop

q Signet of Bridenbrad (77) - Icecrown quest reward

q Frog-Toe Band (77) - Icecrown quest reward

Trinket

q Banner of Victory (80) - Trial of the Champion drop

q Crusader's Locket (77) - Icecrown quest reward

q Chuchu's Tiny Box of Horrors (77) - Icecrown quest reward

q Fezzik's Pocketwatch (77) - Icecrown quest reward

Back

q Bloodbane Cloak (77) - Icecrown quest reward

Level 80

Congratulations! You’ve finally reached Level 80. By now you should be close to completing both The Storm Peaks and Icecrown. As you can see, those zones offer a considerable number of upgrades over your earlier items, many of them scoring well on my Level 80 PVE & PVP Starter Gear charts. Now that you’ve reached 80, what next? Well, getting to 80 is only the beginning. There are many things you can still do to improve your Rogue. The remainder of this guide focuses on steps you can take to get your Rogue completely ready for endgame content after reaching 80.

At this point in the guide, you should be sufficiently geared to get into most Heroics and lower level Raids. However, unless you’re already in an established guild, then you may have a tough time convincing others that your gear really is up to par. The same holds true for PVP. You can certainly jump right in and start getting in some Arena, but you won’t be very successful until you start getting your gear up to speed. Whether your goal is to experience every endgame raid or to compete in Arena, you’ll inevitably have a long road of gearing up ahead of you.

Optimal Daily Quests

Getting endgame ready is going to be an expensive venture. Purchasing your epic flying mount along with any weapons, gear, gems, enchantments and consumables you’ll need at 80 will quickly drain your collection of gold. You can take shortcuts to save gold, like buying lesser versions of gems or enchantments, but in the end, if you really want to excel, then you’re going to want to pay that premium to get your gear maximized to the best of your ability.

To help replenish your gold supply, I highly recommend that you get in the habit of running Daily Quests as a reliable way to earn gold each day. As noted earlier, Icecrown is an especially good zone for daily quests, with several concentrated groups of quests for maximum efficiency. With so many quests from which to choose, it helps to know which ones are best and which ones you can safely skip. As a general rule of thumb, any daily quest that takes longer than 5 minutes to complete is usually not worth your time. However, an exception can be made for daily quests that provide you with valuable reputation in addition to gold. Argent Tournament quests are especially good because they provide you with gold, rep and Champion’s Seals, which can be used to purchase useful gear and items like the Argent Pony Bridle, an item that gives you the convenience of a remote Bank, Vendor or Mailbox once every four hours. However, you’ll need to first achieve the Crusader title to purchase it, which is no easy task (see further below).

Here’s an effective daily quest route that maximizes gold & rep and can be completed in about 90 minutes (some quests have prerequisites, like the Champion quests that you can only get after completing your initial Valiant quests):

Starting at the Argent Tournament (set it as your hearth), pick up the daily quests from both tents (Valiant/Champion).

The Grand Melee: Use your lance and your current Valiant racial mount to collect 3 Mark of the Valiant.

Among the Champions: Use your lance and your Champion racial mount to collect 4 Mark of the Champion.

Grab a flight to Shadow Vault, while checking General Chat for Threat From Above (TFA) groups.

Pick up the 3 Daily Quests at the Shadow Vault then fly west over the ridge to the Savage Ledge.

Leave Our Mark: Round up Mjordin Combatants (38,25) Whirling Dervish style w/ Fan of Knives (see page 5).

Shoot 'Em Up: Get on a Jotunheim Rapid-Fire Harpoon (33,24) and shoot down 15 Jotunheim Proto-Drakes.

Vile Like Fire!: Grab a Njorndar Proto-Drake (28,38) and burn 8 Vrykul buildings (35 sec respawns as of 3.2).

A Valiant’s Field Training: Head to 41,47 for more Whirling Dervish fun on the Converted Heroes (new for 3.2).

By now, you should have a TFA group formed, so turn in the three Ebon Blade quests and meet your group at 43,32.

Threat From Above: DPS Chillmaw then go Whirling Dervish when the Cultist Bombardiers arrive.

Take your Chillmaw group with you to Corp’rethar (49,71) and complete the next two quests together.

At the Enemy’s Gates: Mount up and kill 15 Boneguard Footmen, 10 Scouts and 3 Lieutenants.

Battle Before The Citadel: Kill 3 Boneguard Commanders (this quest was changed in 3.2).

King of the Mountain: Drop group and go to 57,64 for this easy quest. Get in the Jumpbot and hop to the top!

Now, visit your faction’s flying ship, pick up Blood of the Chosen and Slaves to Saronite, then go down to the ground floor and pick up Assault by Ground from your respective faction’s Squad Leader (Horde 58,46 - Alliance 62,51).

Assault by Ground: Escort troops up the path. Be sure you tag each Ymirheim Defender before they die.

Blood of the Chosen: Kill 20 Ymirheim Vrykul while escorting the troops and finish up at the top of the path.

Slaves to Saronite: Head farther up to the top of the hill and free slaves inside the cave at 57,57.

Turn in those three quests and then head southeast to knock out your Argent Tournament sword quest of the day.

14a. A Blade Fit For A Champion: Go to 61,50 (Grizzly Hills) and /kiss Lake Frogs until the Maiden appears.

14b. The Edge Of Winter: Kill Lord Everblaze at 55,75 (Crystalsong Forest), loot & finish at 42,20 (Howling Fjord).

14c. A Worthy Weapon: Pick 4 Winter Hyacinths at 71,74 (Icecrown) then fly to 93,26 (Dragonblight) to use them.

At this point you’ve completed over half of your daily quests in about an hour, including all of your Valiant/Champion quests. Depending upon what reputation you’re working on at the time, you can go several different ways from here.

q If you need Argent Crusade rep, then do the Pa’troll quests in Zul’Drak

q If you’re working on Wyrmrest Accord rep, then head over to Dragonblight for Defending Wyrmrest Temple followed by Drake Hunt and Aces High! in Coldarra.

However, if you don’t need rep for either of those factions, then skip those quests and go spend 30 minutes in The Storm Peaks completing your 6 Sons of Hodir daily quests. That should put you right at about 20-25 quests. Feel free to drop quests 10-13 if you need to free up slots for any other more important daily quests you may have.

Achieving a Crusader title

Getting a Crusader title has its privileges (Argent Pony Bridle, teleporting tabard and extra Crusader-only Heirloom gear and daily quests for more Champion’s Seals) but also requires a lot of work. To become a Crusader, you must complete all of the requirements for the Exalted Argent Champion achievement. This means that you must be an Argent Tournament Champion for each of the 5 faction cities as well as being exalted with those 5 cities (Ambassador) and with the Argent Crusade. If you diligently work on your Argent Tournament daily quests, then you’ll get plenty of rep for the Argent Crusade and each of the 5 cities. But getting a Crusader title will still require some additional work.

The first thing you should consider is going back to the starting zones for all 5 races and blasting through any quests you may have skipped (levels 1-20). I’ve found that Jame’s TourGuide Addon works perfectly for this. Once you do that, you should be well into Revered with each faction. If you don’t feel like questing in those lowbie areas, you have another option. Instead of turning in the 25 Valiant’s Seals to complete the Valiant’s Charge for a particular race, keep doing the Valiant’s daily quests for that race, earning 1,000 rep per day with that faction as well as 25% “splash rep” for the other cities. In either case, I strongly advise that you save the toughest faction for last (usually Gnomeregan Exiles for Alliance and Silvermoon City for Horde) so you can keep gaining full rep for that city until you’re ready to get your Crusader title. Cloth donations and Champion’s Writs are other ways that you can get needed rep for those factions.

Level 80 Starter Sets

Now that we’ve gotten all of the gold making, daily quest stuff out of the way, it’s time to discuss gear. Every player has a different way of gearing up at level 80, depending upon their own playstyle and preferences. Some players are content to just rely on chance, hoping to pick up items here or there as they progress. Personally, I feel the most efficient way to gear up is to plan out your gear progression using a mixture of quest gear, rep rewards, honor pieces, smart AH purchases and profession craftables. Listed below are several “Starter Gear” profiles that describe the various ways you can upgrade your gear with corresponding charts that list the best starter items for each slot. Pick the profile (or profiles) that best fit your playstyle and then refer to the charts below when planning out your gear.

“Gold Farmer” You prefer to purchase all of your upgrades, sparing no expense to get geared up fast.

“Quest-a-holic” You prefer to quest for upgrades and farm dailies for rep rewards to build your starter gear set.

“Dungeon Master” You prefer to run countless 5-man dungeons and farm heroics for badges to upgrade your gear.

“Honor Farmer” You prefer to spend your time farming BGs and Wintergrasp for your starter gear (mainly for PVP).

Gold Farmer Starter Gear

HEAD

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Weakness Spectralizers

363

295

Eng

440

Eng Recipe

200

148

Meta Socket

Eviscerator's Facemask

250

158

420

LW Recipe

187

NECK

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Wodin's Lucky Necklace

303

263

IC25

Trash Mobs

264

105

Nymph Heart Charm

204

183

Uld25

Freya

226

SHOULDER

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Spaulders of Egotism

249

214

Nax25

Razuvious

213

150

Trollwoven Spaulders

215

163

440

LW Recipe

200

114

CHEST

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Ikfirus's Sack of Wonder

565

502

IC25

17%

Gunship

264

146

162

100

200

Shadow Seeker's Tunic

569

502

Dal

Ven

95 EoF

264

162

184

WAIST

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Death-warmed Belt

297

253

450

LW Recipe

226

112

Nimble Climber's Belt

249

229

Uld10

20%

Auriaya

219

114

LEGS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Bladeborn Leggings

557

466

450

LW Recipe

264

162

100

168

Proto-hide Leggings

376

345

Uld25

17%

Razorscale

226

105

156

FEET

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Footpads of Impending Death

417

369

450

LW Recipe

264

120

129

Footpads of Silence

297

261

450

LW Recipe

226

114

WRIST

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Bracers of Swift Death

258

221

450

LW Recipe

245

101

Wristwraps of the Cutthroat

186

160

Dal

Ven

60 EoV

213

112

HANDS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Gloves of Fast Reactions

254

224

Nax25

14%

Sapphiron

213

110

Gloves of Immortal Dusk

198

163

365

LW Recipe

159

FINGER

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Runed Band of the Kirin

258

233

Dal

Ven

11,500 Gold

251

107

Ring of Rotting Sinew

212

171

IC25

Trash Mobs

264

103

Surge Needle Ring

184

165

EoE10

Malygos

213

112

Signet of Edward the Odd

153

140

World Drop

200

125 Has proc

TRINKET

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Darkmoon Card: Greatness

190

DMF

Ven

Nobles Deck

200

300 Agi 15s proc

Tears of Bitter Anguish

157

TSP

<1%

Nascent Val'kyr

200

410 Haste proc

Darkmoon Card: Death

166

134

DMF

Ven

Undeath Deck

200

1750-2250 proc

BACK

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Cloak of the Untamed Pred.

244

221

TCr25

10%

Northrend Bea.

245

101

Drape of the Untamed Pred.

244

221

TCr25

Northrend Bea.

245

101

RANGED/THROWN

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Nesingwary 4000

Eng

450

Eng Recipe

200

Spineslicer

Junkbox

200

Quest-a-holic Starter Gear

HEAD

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Headguard of Retaliation

232

176

Quest Reward

187

138

Helm of the Claw

200

172

Quest Reward

115

Meta

NECK

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Sussurating Shell Necklace (A)

143

117

Ven

10 Champ Seals

200

Choker of Feral Fury (H)

143

117

Ven

10 Champ Seals

200

The Severed Noose of Westwind

125

104

Quest Reward

174

SHOULDER

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Spaulders of Frozen Knives

161

136

TSP

Ven

Sons of Hodir Hon

187

100

Charred Leather Shoulderguards

140

122

HoL

Quest Reward

174

CHEST

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Darkheart Chestguard

288

233

Ven

KEB Exalted

200

180

Hardened Tongue Tunic

217

178

HoL

Quest Reward

187

136

WAIST

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Glitterscale Wrap

171

123

Ven

Oracles Revered

187

102

Belt of Njorndar

115

114

Quest Reward

174

LEGS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Mind-Expanding Leggings

259

228

Dal

Ven

Kirin Tor Revered

200

110

Azure Strappy Pants

223

186

Ven

Frenzyheart Rev

174

138

FEET

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Boots of the Neverending Path

199

173

Ven

Argent Crus. Exa

200

122

Treads of Nimble Evasion (A)

200

157

Ven

10 Champ Seals

200

116

Treads of the Earnest Squire (H)

200

157

Ven

10 Champ Seals

200

116

WRIST

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Dragonfriend Bracers

162

134

Ven

Wyrmrest Exa

200

100

Shackles of Dark Whispers

110

DTK

Quest Reward

171

HANDS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Handwraps of Preserved History

164

129

StrP

Quest Reward

187

Rough Climber's Grips

151

121

TSP

Quest Reward

174

FINGER

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Signet of Bridenbrad

127

Quest Reward

174

Frog-Toe Band

108

Quest Reward

174

Jagged Ice Band

109

TSP

Quest Reward

174

TRINKET

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Fury of the Encroaching Storm

Quest Reward

138

280 AP 20s

Crusader's Locket

Quest Reward

174

106

258 Exp 10s proc

Fezzik's Pocketwatch

Quest Reward

174

432 AP 15s

Chuchu's Tiny Box of Horrors

Quest Reward

174

258 Crit 10s proc

BACK

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Cloak of Holy Extermination

122

Ven

Argent Crus. Hon

187

Bloodbane Cloak

101

Quest Reward

174

RANGED/THROWN

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Blunderbuss of Khaz Modan (A)

Ven

25 Champ Seals

200

Beakblade Longrifle (H)

Ven

25 Champ Seals

200

Dungeon Master Starter Gear

HEAD

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Shadowblade Helmet

534

464

ICC

Ven

95 EoF

251

152

144

143

Meta

Hood of Lethal Intent

508

442

Ven

75 EoT

245

128

136

165

Meta

NECK

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Barbed Ymirheim Choker

214

199

PoS-H

14%

Garfrost

232

Broach of the Wailing Night

206

173

Dal

Ven

19 EoC

226

SHOULDER

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Shadowblade Pauldrons

361

315

ICC

Ven

60 EoF

251

111

107

126

Duskstalker Pauldrons

344

290

Ven

45 EoT

245

101

143

CHEST

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Shadow Seeker's Tunic

569

502

Dal

Ven

95 EoF

264

162

108

184

Shadowblade Breastplate

493

417

ICC

Ven

95 EoF

251

150

144

159

WAIST

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Vengeful Noose

411

353

Dal

Ven

60 EoF

264

124

120

129

Belt of the Twilight Assassin

277

255

Dal

Ven

28 EoC

226

124

LEGS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Shadowblade Legplates

497

446

ICC

Ven

95 EoF

251

150

144

159

Fleshwerk Leggings

387

362

PoS-H

11%

Tyrannus

232

120

183

FEET

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Blighted Leather Footpads

286

254

HoR-H

10%

Halls Chest

232

136

Treads of Dismal Fortune

271

254

TCh-H

14%

Grand Cha.

219

113

WRIST

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Chewed Leather Wristguards

213

191

PoS-H

13%

Ick

232

102

Armbands of the Wary Lookout

189

170

TCh-H

12%

Argent Cha.

219

HANDS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Cat Burglar's Grips

414

351

Dal

Ven

60 EoF

264

126

120

129

Shadowblade Gauntlets

361

320

ICC

Ven

60 EoF

251

111

107

126

FINGER

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Dexterous Brightstone Ring

242

214

Ven

35 EoT

245

101

Band of Stained Souls

215

184

PoS-H

11%

Tyrannus

232

Ring of Carnelian and Bone

190

177

PoS

11%

Garfrost

219

TRINKET

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Herkuml War Token

255

323

Dal

Ven

60 EoF

264

153

17APx20 Stack

Mark of Supremacy

183

201

Ven

50 EoT

245

128

1024 AP 20s

Needle-Encrusted Scorpion

129

200

FoS-H

13%

Devourer

232

114

678 ArP Proc

Shard of the Crystal Heart

107

194

Ven

50 EoT

245

128

512 Haste 20s

BACK

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Recovered Scarlet Onslaught Cape

304

257

Dal

Ven

50 EoF

264

105

Accursed Crawling Cape

189

167

FoS

10%

Devourer

219

RANGED/THROWN

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Shrapnel Star

170

154

Dal

Ven

30 EoF

264

Crimson Star

143

129

Ven

25 EoT

245

Honor Farmer Starter Gear

HEAD

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Relentless Gladiator's Leather Helm

571

382

PVP

13KHP+770AP

251

128

164

145

Meta

Furious Gladiator's Leather Helm

489

332

PVP

54,500 HP

232

105

138

120

Meta

NECK

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Wrathful Gladiator's Pendant of Victory

304

148

PVP

52,200 HP

264

136

181

Wrathful Gladiator's Pendant of Triumph

307

148

PVP

52,200 HP

264

136

181

SHOULDER

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Relentless Gladiator's Leather Spaulders

387

235

PVP

11KHP+600AP

251

122

108

Furious Gladiator's Leather Spaulders

327

198

PVP

34,700 HP

232

102

CHEST

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Relentless Gladiator's Leather Tunic

536

315

PVP

13KHP+770AP

251

128

164

145

Furious Gladiator's Leather Tunic

454

265

PVP

54,500 HP

232

105

138

120

WAIST

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Wrathful Gladiator's Belt of Triumph

434

260

PVP

68,200 HP

264

112

137

122

Relentless Gladiator's Belt of Triumph

367

219

PVP

34,100 HP

245

115

102

LEGS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Relentless Gladiator's Leather Legguards

533

316

PVP

13KHP+770AP

251

128

164

145

Furious Gladiator's Leather Legguards

450

266

PVP

34,700 HP

232

105

138

120

FEET

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Wrathful Gladiator's Boots of Triumph

436

260

PVP

68,200 HP

264

112

137

122

Relentless Gladiator's Boots of Triumph

368

219

PVP

34,100 HP

245

115

102

WRIST

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Wrathful Gladiator's Armwraps of Triumph

315

191

PVP

43,400 HP

264

103

Relentless Gladiator's Armwraps of Triumph

264

160

PVP

21,700 HP

245

HANDS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Relentless Gladiator's Leather Gloves

398

233

PVP

8KHP+440AP

251

122

108

Furious Gladiator's Leather Gloves

317

185

PVP

43,300 HP

232

102

FINGER

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Wrathful Gladiator's Band of Triumph

304

148

PVP

52,200 HP

264

136

181

Relentless Gladiator's Band of Victory

254

124

PVP

26,100 HP

245

114

151

TRINKET

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Medallion of the Alliance

418

PVP

68,200 HP

264

153

Rem Eff

Battlemaster's Rage

386

134

PVP

34,100 HP

245

256

+4608 Hl

Anvil of Titans

197

Ven

25 WG MoH

200

1000 AP

Platinum Disks of Battle

192

Ven

25 WG MoH

213

752 AP

BACK

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Wrathful Gladiator's Cloak of Victory

304

148

PVP

52,200 HP

264

136

181

Wrathful Gladiator's Cloak of Triumph

307

148

PVP

52,200 HP

264

136

181

RANGED/THROWN

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

ilvl

Str

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Upgraded Dwarven Hand Cannon

Ven

325 Stonekpr

Sharpened Throwing Gizmo

Ven

30 Vent. Coin

150

Level 80 Starter Weapons

Gold Farmer Starter Weapons

MH WEAPONS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

Lvl

ilvl

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Res

DPS

Avg

Tankard O' Terror

696

641

BRD

Direbrew

226

2.6

171.5

446

Krol Cleaver

589

526

Junk Box

200

2.6

143.5

373

MH DAGGERS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

Lvl

ilvl

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Res

DPS

Avg

Namlak's Supernumerary Sticker

253

385

77-81

World Drop

200

1.5

143.3

215

Titansteel Shanker

325

352

440

BS Recipe

200

1.6

106

143.4

230

OH WEAPONS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

Lvl

ilvl

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Res

DPS

Avg

Librarian's Paper Cutter

250

366

HoL-H

HoL-H Trash

200

1.3

130.0

169

Namlak's Supernumerary Sticker

266

302

77-81

World Drop

200

1.5

143.3

215

OH DAGGERS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

Lvl

ilvl

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Res

DPS

Avg

Librarian's Paper Cutter

250

286

HoL-H

HoL-H Trash

200

1.3

130.0

169

Namlak's Supernumerary Sticker

266

241

77-81

World Drop

200

1.5

143.3

215

Quest-a-holic Starter Weapons

MH WEAPONS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

Lvl

ilvl

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Res

DPS

Avg

Quel'Delar

896

805

FH-H

FH-H Quest

251

2.7

205.6

555

Ironforge Smasher (A)

560

517

Ven

25 Champ Seal

200

2.6

143.5

373

Grimhorn Crusher (H)

560

517

Ven

25 Champ Seal

200

2.6

143.5

373

MH DAGGERS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

Lvl

ilvl

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Res

DPS

Avg

Dagger of the Rising Moon (A)

346

364

Ven

25 Champ Seal

200

1.7

143.5

244

Spinal Destroyer (H)

346

364

Ven

25 Champ Seal

200

1.7

143.5

244

Broken Stalactite

325

344

TSP

Ven

SoH Revered

200

1.8

130.0

234

OH WEAPONS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

Lvl

ilvl

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Res

DPS

Avg

Lightblade Rivener

261

308

Dal

Ven

Kirin Tor Hon

187

1.4

120.0

168

Fang of Truth

268

242

Ven

Wyrm Ac Hon

187

1.5

120.0

180

OH DAGGERS

AEP

MAEP

Loc

Info

Source

Lvl

ilvl

Agi

Sta

Hit

Cri

Exp

Has

ArP

Res

DPS

Avg

Lightblade Rivener

261

245

Dal

Ven

Kirin Tor Hon

187

1.4

120.0

168

Dungeon Master Starter Weapons
MH WEAPONS	AEP	MAEP	Loc	Info	Source	H	T	Lvl	ilvl	Bi	Sp	Agi	Sta	Hit	Cri	AP	Exp	Has	ArP	Res	DPS	Avg
Quel'Delar	896	805	FH-H	Q	FH-H Quest	O	S	80	251	P	2.7	62	54		42	88			39		205.6	555
Nighttime	738	684	FoS-H	28%	Bronjahm	O	A	80	232	P	2.6	52	39			78		34	34		178.8	465

MH DAGGERS	AEP	MAEP	Loc	Info	Source	H	T	Lvl	ilvl	Bi	Sp	Agi	Sta	Hit	Cri	AP	Exp	Has	ArP	Res	DPS	Avg
Blood Weeper	487	486	FoS-H	32%	Devourer	O	D	80	232	P	1.8	52	39		30	78		37			178.9	322
Unsharpened Ice Razor	380	499	FH-H	1%	Trash Mobs	O	D	80	232	P	1.4	52	45			74	30		37		178.9	251

OH WEAPONS	AEP	MAEP	Loc	Info	Source	H	T	Lvl	ilvl	Bi	Sp	Agi	Sta	Hit	Cri	AP	Exp	Has	ArP	Res	DPS	Avg
Unsharpened Ice Razor	424	452	FH-H	1%	Trash Mobs	O	D	80	232	P	1.4	52	45			74	30		37		178.9	251
Liar's Tongue	418	390	HoR-H	23%	Halls Chest	O	S	80	232	P	1.5	52	42		34	77	34				178.7	268

OH DAGGERS	AEP	MAEP	Loc	Info	Source	H	T	Lvl	ilvl	Bi	Sp	Agi	Sta	Hit	Cri	AP	Exp	Has	ArP	Res	DPS	Avg
Unsharpened Ice Razor	424	381	FH-H	1%	Trash Mobs	O	D	80	232	P	1.4	52	45			74	30		37		178.9	251
Krick's Beetle Stabber	374	292	PoS	28%	Ick	O	D	80	219	P	1.5	46	37			68		32	28		163.0	245

Honor Farmer Starter Weapons

Unfortunately, there are no starter weapons available through BGs or Wintergrasp. Blizzard, in their infinite wisdom, has decided to make PVP weapons exclusively available through Arena, and only then if you’ve reached an Arena Rating of 1,800 or higher. If you want to pick up any decent starter weapons, then refer to the other charts above.

Going the Extra Mile

Getting together your Starter Gear is just the beginning. If you want to join endgame raids or compete in Arena, then you need to work on upgrading your gear so that you’ll stand a chance against players who’ve had months to gear up. What this means is constantly running heroics, joining raids, farming badges, completing daily quests, etc. Don’t settle for mediocre gear when you can put forth the extra effort to improve your Rogue. Use the Starter Gear charts above as well as my main PVE & PVP armor charts to plan out your future gear progression, concentrating on areas where you’ll get the biggest upgrades in the shortest time possible. Don’t be the player who has to scramble to find out if an item that just dropped is good or not. Research upgrades before you go!

Weapons

Upon reaching 80, the first thing you want to get in order are your weapons. A Rogue's main hand weapon should usually be slow and hard hitting with high DPS. Don’t worry about “top end” or “bottom end” damage as long as the weapon has a high average damage for maximum special attack damage. I make that distinction, because some Rogues get carried away with top end damage for those screenshot moments, when it's the weapon's average damage that matters most. To determine your weapon’s average damage, take the (Top End + Bottom End) and divide by two. The higher the average damage, the harder your special attacks will hit. Also, the slower your main hand weapon is, the more often it will proc Instant and Wound poisons, since those poisons are now calculated on a proc per minute (PPM) basis as of patch 3.1. PVE Mutilate builds are the only cases where you may actually want two fast weapons, depending upon your gear level and the weapons available to you.

When selecting weapons for a Rogue, the choice comes down to daggers vs. non-daggers. Daggers have a few specialized attacks (Mutilate, Backstab, Ambush) that can only be used when wielding daggers. Backstab and Ambush are positional attacks that aren’t very effective in endgame PVE and should only be used in PVP builds. Mutilate, on the other hand, is a very effective attack for both PVE & PVP, especially now that the positional requirement has been removed. However, if you prefer Sinister Strike builds, then you’ll want to use a non-dagger weapon in your main hand. Hemorrhage, on the other hand, can be used effectively with daggers or non-daggers as of the 3.3.3 patch. Usually, you’ll just want to spec for the best weapons available to you.

Once you've secured a hard hitting main hand weapon, you need to get yourself a quality offhand weapon. Generally, Rogues always want an offhand weapon with fast speed (1.5 speed or faster) for increased proc effects, like Deadly Poison (which isn’t PPM and was buffed in 3.3). Speed is especially important for Combat Rogues due to the Combat Potency talent. Other factors to look for in a good offhand are nice stats and high DPS. Generally, your offhand weapon type should match the weapon type of your main hand weapon, but there are exceptions where faster, non-matching, higher ilvl, offhand weapons can provide more overall DPS. You can find a complete list of weapons ranked for PVP/PVE here: https://shadowpanther.net/weapons-pve.htm and here: https://shadowpanther.net/weapons-pvp.htm

Armor

Now that you've built yourself a solid foundation around your weapons, it's time to get your armor in order. A Rogue’s armor should always have plenty of offensive stats like Agility, Hit Rating, Attack Power, Expertise, Armor Penetration, Haste and Crit. So then, the question becomes, which stats are best? Which stats will provide the most DPS? That’s not always an easy question to answer. All of your stats work in synergy to comprise your overall DPS. Increasing one stat can make another stat more valuable. Also, some stats have soft caps or hard caps that you shouldn’t exceed. If you want to read more about the relative value of PVE stats, stat caps, attack rotations and other detailed raiding information, then I recommend that you read this very informative article and FAQ.

So then how do you determine which items are the best for your purposes? You can use the AEP (PVP) & MAEP (PVE) ratings in my charts to get a general idea of the relative effectiveness when comparing individual pieces of gear to each other, but the results will never be perfect. Since my charts are mostly static (aside from the customizable XLS versions I provide), they don't factor in talent specs, attack rotations, buffs, relative increases in gear, etc. A general rule of thumb when using my charts is that any item that scores within 5 AEP/MAEP of another item can be considered a virtual sidegrade. However, that decision won’t always be so cut and dry.

What if an item would make or break a set bonus? You can find estimated AEP/MAEP values I've assigned for set bonuses (including the buffed 80 PVP set bonuses added in patch 3.3) in my Armor Sets chart, but I leave it up to you to factor in those bonuses when evaluating gear for upgrades. Stat caps are another area that my static charts cannot easily address. If you're approaching a Hit Cap (Special/Poison/White), Crit Cap or Expertise Cap, then you'll need to manually adjust for those caps when deciding which items are superior. For precise PVE DPS calculations, you’ll probably want to consult a spreadsheet, several of which can be found here: https://shadowpanther.net/links.htm#PVE

Selecting the best gear for PVP has it’s own unique set of parameters. Your spec, team composition and team strategies all play a part in your gear choices. PVP gear benefits from many of the same offensive stats as PVE gear, but you’ll also want to have a healthy amount of defense in the form of Stamina and Resilience. Unlike raiding, where a Rogue’s primary responsibility is putting out DPS, in PVP you’ll need to provide both DPS and disruption while maintaining a certain level of survivability. Just how much you should focus on defense vs. offense depends upon a variety of factors.

One important factor to consider with PVP gear is your choice of trinkets. Unless your Rogue is Human, you’ll want to reserve one of your trinket slots for a defensive PVP trinket which gives you the ability to break movement impairing effects and any effects that cause you to lose control of your character. That ability is worth it’s weight in gold and the proper use of your trinket will often mean the difference between success and failure in a close battle. Your other trinket slot (or both trinket slots for Humans) should be dedicated to a health increasing Battlemaster trinket (or the recently buffed Corroded Skeleton Key) or a burst trinket like Herkuml War Token, Anvil of Titans, Platinum Disks of Battle, Darkmoon Card: Death or Gnomish Lightning Generator (Engineers only).

As far as PVP armor stats are concerned, Hit Rating, while being useful for PVE, is less important for PVP. Try to keep your Hit Rating around 5% (5/5 Precision or 164 Hit Rating) to avoid missing special attacks. Anything more than that can be useful in limited circumstances, but usually won’t be necessary. Crit Rating is also less valuable in PVP due to the abundance of Resilience on PVP gear, so don’t place much emphasis on Crit Rating. And since the value of AP is inversely proportional to Crit rating, then AP is going to be a primary stat for your PVP gear.

Due to the recent buffs to Resilience, you’ll want most of your armor slots to be PVP gear, with only a few choice PVE items to fill out your set. To get an idea how high level PVP Rogues gear up for Arena, check out SK Gamings Rogue Rankings as well as my PVP Rogue Armories chart: https://shadowpanther.net/pvprogues.htm. For more information, you can research advanced PVP strategies, tactics and theory here: https://shadowpanther.net/links.htm#PVP

Enchantments

Once you get all of your weapons and armor in order, you’ll want to make sure that you get everything properly enchanted. Inexperienced Rogues often underestimate the value of quality enchantments. If you don't enchant your gear, it's like walking around with broken pieces of armor. For PVE, you’ll want to maximize your DPS with AP and/or Agility enchantments on your armor and Berserking for your endgame weapons. For PVP, you’ll want to follow the same advice, although you should put the defensively oriented Titanium Weapon Chain on your offhand weapon and enchant Shadow Armor on your cloak. A complete list of Rogue enchantments ranked by MAEP/AEP can be found here: https://shadowpanther.net/enchantments-pve.htm and here: https://shadowpanther.net/enchantments-pvp.htm

Gems

Much like with enchantments, you should maximize your gems to improve your effectiveness. Relentless Earthsiege Diamond is the best metagem for both PVE and PVP, although some PVP players have recently been trying out Persistent Earthsiege Diamond for their helm’s metagem socket. When it comes to colored gems, PVE & PVP gems choices can vary. For PVE Mutilate, it’s often a good idea to socket Expertise gems until you reach the Expertise cap to eliminate dodges, then socket the rest of your gems according to your most valuable stat. For Combat, Expertise isn’t nearly as important, so you’ll probably want to socket Agility, AP, ArP, Hit Rating or Haste, depending on the current values of those stats. Determining exact stat values will require a spreadsheet, although you can use my MAEP values as rough estimates.

Blue Sockets are the weakest for PVE, so once you’ve socketed one blue gem (Enchanted Tear / Nightmare Tear) to meet your metagem’s bonus (in the socket that gives you the best bonus), you'll usually want to socket superior red, orange or yellow gems in the rest of your blue sockets. For PVP, you’ll want to use AP gems in pretty much all of your sockets. For your yellow sockets, AP/Resilience gems can be effective, and as far as blue sockets are concerned, AP/Stamina gems rate highly using my PVP-oriented AEP values. However, many top PVP Rogues prefer to just socket pure AP gems throughout their gear, ignoring socket bonuses. A complete list of Rogue gems can be found here: https://shadowpanther.net/gems-pve.htm and here: https://shadowpanther.net/gems-pvp.htm

Poisons

Your optimal poison configuration for PVE will depend upon your particular choice of spec and talents, however with recent buffs to both Deadly Poison and Improved Poisons, we’ve now returned to the once standard IP/DP setup for most PVE builds. If you have Improved Poisons (even Combat), then you’ll use Instant Poison on your main hand weapon with Deadly Poison on your offhand weapon. For any Combat specs that don’t have Improved Poisons, stick with Wound Poison main hand and Deadly Poison offhand. With Deadly Poison on your fast offhand weapon, you’ll have constant poison uptime and frequent procs of your main hand poison (new in patch 3.3). You can always use Shiv to save a stack if it’s about to drop.

For PVP, your optimal poison configuration will also be dictated by your talents. If you’re playing a Mutilate build, then you have access to the excellent Deadly Brew talent, which gives you automatic Crippling Poison procs. With the newer Envenom-based Mutilate PVP builds, use Wound Poison on your main hand and Deadly Poison on your offhand. If however you’re playing a Combat or Subtlety spec, then your best poison configuration will usually be main hand Wound Poison and offhand Crippling Poison. You’ll want Wound Poison on your main hand so that you can severely reduce the opposing team’s healing effectiveness (while getting a little extra poison DPS), and you want Crippling Poison on your offhand so that you can Shiv on applications to guarantee a snare on your target. In PVP, if your enemy is able to get away and stay outside your melee range then you’re as good as dead.

Consumables

When raiding, you should always have Battle Elixirs on hand. Flasks are most effective when glass chewing new encounters, whereas Elixirs help you increase your DPS in battles that you've already mastered and don't expect to be particularly troublesome. In addition to Battle Elixirs, you should have plenty of offensive stat food, based on your most valuable stat. For maximum burst damage potential, you'll want to get yourself plenty of Potions of Speed. To make yourself even more useful, try to keep some of the new Party Buff consumables (Drums of the Wild, Drums of the Forgotten Kings and Runescrolls of Fortitude) on hand to provide some utility if your group is missing those buffs. A complete list of Rogue consumables ranked by MAEP can be found here: https://shadowpanther.net/consumables.htm

Talent Specs

The best gear in the game won't do you any good if you choose a bad talent spec. With the 3.0.2 patch, Mutilate saw a major boost, making it one of the top specs for PVE and the most dominant spec for PVP. Recent buffs in the 3.3 patch just make it that much stronger. Combat (non-dagger) builds have always been effective for PVE, but less so for PVP. Subtlety builds, on the other hand, are stronger for PVP (since the recent buffs in 3.3.3) but are generally less useful for PVE, especially since the HAT (Honor Among Thieves) talent was nerfed back in patch 3.2.2.

For PVE, Mutilate and Combat specs seem to take turns each patch when it comes to determining which is more powerful overall, with Mutilate currently holding that title. Generally, Mutilate excels in single target encounters whereas Combat shines in 5-man dungeons and battles where AoE (Area of Effect) damage is needed. Both Combat and Mutilate specs come in standard Rupture rotation and Ruptureless rotation varieties. As your gear gets better and better, the power of Eviscerate and Envenom usually begins to surpass the damage potential from Rupture, so many Rogues will eventually drop Rupture from their rotation. Expected group buffs also play a factor in that decision.

When it comes to PVP specs, the once standard 41/5/25 Mutilate PVP spec has been replaced by an Envenom-based PVP build. This 44+/X/23+ variant uses offhand Deadly Poison (buffed in patches 3.2.2 & 3.3) and Envenom (buffed in 3.2.2) along with the Master Poisoner talent (also buffed in 3.2.2) as a potent combination to bypass armor for some nice poison-based damage, specifically against plate wearing classes. Other PVP specs to consider include 11/X/53+ Shadow Dance and 15+/0/52+ Shadow Dance specs, both being dagger-based specs. A complete list of PVE/PVP specs can be found here: https://shadowpanther.net/pvespecs.htm and here: https://shadowpanther.net/pvpspecs.htm

Glyphs

The 3.0.2 patch introduced Glyphs which are used to enhance your talents and abilities. In my Talent Specs charts (PVE/PVP), I’ve included the optimal Glyphs next to each spec. While the best Glyphs for PVE are pretty straightforward, PVP Glyphs vary in power and usefulness depending upon your build, team composition and personal playstyle. A complete list of Glyphs can be found here: https://shadowpanther.net/glyphs.htm

Dungeons and Heroics

Now that you’ve gotten yourself mentally prepared for endgame content, it’s time to start adventuring. Whether your focus is going to be PVE or PVP, you’re going to want to run 5-man dungeons and specifically Heroics to help get yourself fully geared up for raids and/or Arena. But the question is, which ones? Which Heroics are going to provide you the best chance for useful gear upgrades? With so many to choose from, it can be difficult to pick.

The most important factor to consider is your weapon spec. If you prefer Combat, then you’re really going to want to get started on the new Quel'Delar quest chain introduced in patch 3.3, which starts with a quest item drop in one of the three wings of the 5-man Heroic Frozen Halls dungeon located in Icecrown Citadel. Completing that long quest chain will allow you to receive a very nice sword quest reward (Rogues do not get to choose the mace, however the sword is the better reward anyway due to being a slower, harder hitting weapon). Also, as you’re working your way through the Frozen Halls, you’ll get numerous chances to pick up some other decent weapon upgrades along the way.

Unfortunately, those Heroic dungeons may initially prove to be too tough for new level 80s. Not only that, but the new Dungeon Finder tool (Wowhead/Wowwiki) introduced in patch 3.3 may actually prevent you from even entering some of those harder dungeons if you don’t meet a minimum gear requirement! So, if Heroic Frozen Halls proves to be a bit too challenging or beyond your gear level, then drop down to the regular 5-man version and/or switch to other Heroics.

Brand new 80s will probably want to start getting geared up in some of the easier dungeons and Heroics first. Try running Heroic Trial of the Champion for Aledar's Battlestar or Heroic Stratholme Past in the Caverns of Time for the Greed fist weapon for your main hand. If you plan on being Mutilate or Subtlety, then Black Knight's Rondel from Heroic Trial of the Champion or The Fleshshaper from Heroic Halls of Stone in The Storm Peaks should be your goal. The Tankard O' Terror is also a very nice starter Mace for level 80 Rogues that can be purchased from the AH (while supplies last!)

As far as armor upgrades are concerned, the new Frozen Halls dungeons are going to be your best bet for starter gear. However, as mentioned before, if you aren’t ready for those harder dungeons yet, then work your way through the easier dungeons first. Trial of the Champion (both Normal and Heroic) is a strong choice, with a total of 11 high quality pieces of armor dropping from that instance. Heroic Utgarde Pinnacle is also good, with three nice drops (Ravenous Leggings of the Furbolg, Gilt-Edged Leather Gauntlets & Meteorite Whetstone). Other good Heroic choices include Heroic Gundrak (Gored Hide Legguards & Hemorrhaging Circle) and Heroic Halls of Lightning (Advanced Tooled-Leather Bands & Shroud of Reverberation).

Regardless of which Heroics you choose, your primary goal should be farming those dungeons for Emblems of Triumph (as of patch 3.3) and completing Daily Random Heroic Quests (updated to being a “random” daily quest for patch 3.3) for the new Emblems of Frost to purchase additional gear that’s even better than what drops in most of those dungeons.

One last factor to consider when running Heroics (and level 80 dungeons) is that you can gain additional reputation for your chosen faction through “Championing”. What this means is wearing the tabard for a specific faction in order to gain reputation for that faction while adventuring in 5-man level 80 dungeons and all Heroics.

If you still need rep with The Ebon Blade, then you should wear their tabard, with Reaper of Dark Souls and Darkheart Chestguard being the two rep rewards worth checking out. Otherwise, I recommend switching to The Wyrmrest Accord for Fang of Truth / Dragonfriend Bracers or The Argent Crusade for Boots of the Neverending Path (and the aforementioned Crusader title requirements). The Kirin Tor faction doesn’t really offer much for Rogues, so save that one for last or just skip it if you’re not interested. As each patch is released, newer, better gear makes these rep rewards less desirable, however with the recent 3.3 patch, reputation gains for those factions have been sped up by 30% to help you earn that starter gear even quicker. At a minimum, you should definitely Champion The Ebon Blade for your helm enchant, which is now Bind on Account (BoA) as of patch 3.3.

Frozen Halls (1st Wing) The Forge of Souls: Wowwiki - Wowhead

Frozen Halls (2nd Wing) Pit of Saron: Wowwiki - Wowhead

Frozen Halls (3rd Wing) Halls of Reflection: Wowwiki - Wowhead

Putting It All Together

By now, you should have a pretty good understanding of how to properly gear up your Rogue and get prepared for endgame content. If you’re serious about your Rogue, then you should put forth the extra effort to get yourself geared up as soon as you reach 80, making smart gear choices combined with superior enchantments and gems. Once you get your Starter Gear together, you should focus on getting into as many Heroics and Raids as you can to upgrade all of your gear with epics. Getting geared up for endgame is a tiered process, going from Northrend greens/blues to lower level epics and then into higher level epics.

If endgame raiding is your goal, then the sooner you get geared up, the faster you’ll be able to get into endgame raids. One hurdle you’re probably going to face along the way is the dreaded “GearScore”. This addon is used by many raid leaders to gauge your gear level to see if you’re ready for endgame raids. While the addon itself cannot determine how much DPS you can put out, it will often be used to judge your raid worthiness by those who don’t know any better, so you’d better get used to it.

I recommend using the addon yourself, mainly to keep track of your own score and see how you compare to others. Don’t rely on the addon for any real gear upgrade decisions, just keep it in mind because you’re going to see “GS” scores mentioned often in relation to raid and even Heroic invites. Many raid leaders will expect you to have a GS of 5,000 or higher to get into their raids. The fastest way to achieve that (aside from participating in the very endgame raids you’re trying to get into) is going to be through constantly farming Heroics and raids for high level badge gear.

If competitive Arena is your goal, then you’ll want to spend plenty of time farming Battlegrounds and Wintergrasp to build up your PVP set. Gearing up for endgame PVP is pretty straightforward. Keep grinding away for Honor and Arena points, buying better and better PVP items to improve your gear. Get onto an Arena team as soon as you reach 80 (it doesn’t even have to be a good team) just so you can start farming those Arena points early and work on building up your rating. And now, with patch 3.3.3, you can earn extra Honor Points and Arena Points by using the Random Battleground system as well as during the “Call to Arms” BG holiday events held each weekend.

If you use all of the resources I’ve mentioned in this guide then your efforts should really begin to pay off. Experienced players can easily tell the difference between a sloppy player who rides the coattails of others and a quality player who has taken steps to research his class and maximize his character. If you want to join a successful endgame raiding guild or get on a competitive Arena team, then getting your Rogue geared up the right way will make a huge difference, showing everyone that you play to win. Good luck!