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Today I’m going to discuss the PVE Raiding Combat Build (20/51/0) I use, why most Combat rogues are using it and the rotation that I utilize to consistently top or be near the top of the damage meters.

Smashing 10man Toravon

BUILD

Combat has always been regarded as the mainstay rogue PVE talent tree
and continues to remain a strong option in WotLK. I choose a Combat PVE build over one of the viable Mutilate builds, mainly due to the playstyle of Combat builds. I like the builds flexibility in having both multi-target dps potential through abilities like Killing Spree (KS), Blade Flurry (BF) and Fan of Knives (FoK) and also great single target dps.

With the poison buffs Blizzard has implemented in patch 3.3 we have seen a move from the popular 15/51/5 Combat build to the more poison focused 20/51/0 Combat build. The buff to Deadly Poison in patch 3.3 ensures that Deadly Poison will now proc Instant Poison once it has reached 5 stacks on a target. This means that Combat rogues have returned to using Instant Poison instead of Wound Poison on their Main Hand weapon, and continue to place Deadly Poison on a fast Off Hand weapon to ensure fast stacking of Deadly Poison and triggering Instant Poison thereafter. 

The added benefit from poisons has shown to increase dps when putting points in [Vile Poisons] and [Improved Poisons] instead of the popular and reliable [Relentless Strikes]. Rogues that choose to stay with [Relentless Strikes] can continue to use Wound Poison as they will not have the appropriate Instant Poison buffs available in the Assassination Tree to take full advantage of the patch 3.3 changes. However with the lack of poison dependency 15/51/5 rogues will be unable to complete equally with 20/51/0 rogues on single target encounters. 

ROTATION 

Once you get the hang of your Combat build and the special abilities that come with it you will realize that there is really no set rotation that you must strictly follow. To be honest it is quite simple to use, but takes time and experience to master. 

What I do in a raid environment: 

• First thing I do is Tricks of the Trade (TotT) on the tank. I have a focus macro setup for this.
• I will then usually start with a Garrotte and then get Slice and Dice (SnD) up straight away (it is very important that you do not let SnD fall off as it increases your dps significantly).
• If I start out, out-of-stealth I will do a Sinister Strike (SS) and similarly get SnD up.
• Now depending on what type of scenario you are in I do either of the following:
• Single Trash target
  • I will SS until 5 combo points (cp) are accumulated and then use Eviscerate (if SnD is still up). However on trash mobs you will usually not get to 5 cps.
• Multiple Trash targets
  • If there are more than 2 targets I will hit FoK and then KS if it is up. I will then spam FoK. Usually trash mobs in Heroics die very fast so there is no need to blow all your cds on a single group. I usually alternate KS and BF between groups and spam FoK. If you notice only one target alive switch to SS. Always make sure SnD is up. I time my AR so that I always have it up for the Bosses. (I find that AR is not very effective on trash mobs in Heroics anyway because they go down way to fast to make full use of the ability)
  •  For harder-to-kill trash mobs such as those in ICC I pretty much follow the same strategy. I hit FoK and then KS if it is up. I then hit AR and BF and continue spamming FoK (make sure that you are targeting your tank’s target). I blow all my cds as fast as possible because ICC mobs have a lot of HP and it takes a while for them to go down so stacking your abilities on these guys ensures your dps goes through the roof! It usually takes about 30-40 seconds to down an ICC trash group so you will at least have KS available for every group you face (if you have the KS glyph) and BF for every second group.
• Boss
  • For tank-n-spank boss fights such as Saurfang or Festergut I hit SS a couple of times after SnD is up after initial contact then hit KS and blow my other cooldowns thereafter. I then spam SS until 5 cps and Eviscerate if SnD is still up. I TotT the tank when it is up and use my abilities as soon as they come off cooldown.

Summary  

As you can see there is no strict rotation Combat rogues follow and it does vary depending on your situation. Most important thing to note is to always keep your SnD up as this provides a signifcant boost to your dps. Vary the number of combo points you SnD depending on when it is about to fall off. Use your special abilities (KS, BF, AR) as often as possible and during the right situations. Eviscerate at 5 cps. Never use KS with AR. Use FoK when fighting more than two targets and lastly don’t forget to TotT your tank whenever it is up. 

If you liked this post please rate and leave any comments that you may have. I would love to hear from other rogues about the rotations they use and the success they have had with them. Thanks for reading.