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Best Race for Rogues in WoW Forever

Tue, Oct 27, 202611:10 AM4 min readBy Forever Upgrades
GuideBest race for Rogues in WoW Forever: Night Elf, Skyborne, Troll

What is the best race for Rogues in WoW Forever? Rogues can be eight races, and the October 26 racial changes trimmed four of them: Human crit is halved, Orc loses its 1% crit, Skyborne haste drops from 3% to 2%, and Dwarfs trade critical damage for 1% hit. We re-ran Assassination, Combat and Subtlety in every race. The result is simple: Night Elf is the best race for every Rogue spec, and the changes widen its lead.

Best race for Rogues in WoW Forever after the October 26 racial changes: 1 Night Elf for all three specs, 2 Skyborne, 3 Troll
The best Rogue races in WoW Forever after the October 26 racial changes.

Best race for Rogues in WoW Forever: the short answer

  • Assassination: Night Elf (422.6 DPS in raid gear), then Troll (419.7) and Skyborne (419.5).
  • Combat: Night Elf (412.9), then Skyborne (408.0) and Orc (407.3).
  • Subtlety: Night Elf (365.3), with Skyborne, Orc and Troll tied behind it.
  • Night Elf is also best in dungeon gear and at level 30 for all three specs.
  • Rogue races in WoW Forever: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome, Skyborne, Orc, Undead and Troll.

The October 26 racial changes for Rogues

From Blizzard's October 26 development notes:

  • Human: Ruthless 1% crit (was 2%). The Human Spirit doubles to 10% Spirit, which does nothing for a Rogue's damage.
  • Orc: Savage (1% crit) removed. Blood Fury stays; Command only helps Hunter and Warlock pets.
  • Skyborne: Wind-Blessed haste 2% (was 3%).
  • Dwarf: Earth Fury (2% critical damage) removed; Artisan's Precision adds 1% hit.

Night Elf, Gnome, Undead and Troll don't change.

How we tested every Rogue race

Every number comes from our own sim engine - the same one behind our rotation simulator and spec rankings - with the October 26 racial changes put in. Each spec wears its own BiS List gear (Raid List or Dungeon List) at level 60, or our standard level 30 gear, uses our default talents and fights a boss three levels higher for 60 seconds, 1,000 times per race. We also ran every spec with no racials at all, so each race's bonus can be measured on its own. Numbers are DPS.

Bar chart of DPS gained from racials for Assassination, Combat and Subtlety Rogue in each WoW Forever race: Night Elf, Skyborne, Orc, Troll, Human, Dwarf, Gnome, Undead
How much each race adds to each Rogue spec, over the same Rogue with no racials.

Why Night Elf is the best Rogue race

Elune's Light gives 10% more crit for 15 seconds, and a Rogue uses it on the pull with every cooldown it has. Night Elf adds +1.8% to Assassination, +2.6% to Combat and +2.3% to Subtlety in raid gear - and nothing about Night Elf changed on October 26, while its closest rivals all lost a little. Human Combat Rogues, for example, drop from 409.1 to 405.7 DPS, and Orcs from 410.7 to 407.3.

Best race for Assassination Rogue

  • Level 60, Raid List gear: Night Elf 422.6, Troll 419.7, Skyborne 419.5, Orc 418.8, Human 418.2, Dwarf 417.2, Gnome 415.3, Undead 415.3
  • Level 60, Dungeon List gear: Night Elf 302.5, Skyborne 299.9, Human 299.8, Orc 299.7, Troll 299.4, Dwarf 299.3, Gnome 297.6, Undead 297.6
  • Level 30: Night Elf 73.7, Dwarf 72.8, Skyborne 72.7, Human 72.6, Troll 72.6, Orc 72.5, Gnome 71.9, Undead 71.9

Best race for Combat Rogue

  • Level 60, Raid List gear: Night Elf 412.9, Skyborne 408.0, Orc 407.3, Troll 406.4, Human 405.7, Dwarf 404.8, Gnome 402.4, Undead 402.4
  • Level 60, Dungeon List gear: Night Elf 282.6, Skyborne 279.6, Orc 278.8, Human 278.2, Troll 278.2, Dwarf 277.5, Gnome 275.7, Undead 275.7
  • Level 30: Night Elf 64.2, Dwarf 63.3, Human 63.1, Orc 63.1, Skyborne 62.8, Troll 62.8, Gnome 62.4, Undead 62.4

Best race for Subtlety Rogue

  • Level 60, Raid List gear: Night Elf 365.3, Skyborne 361.4, Orc 361.3, Troll 361.2, Human 360.2, Dwarf 359.3, Gnome 357.2, Undead 357.2
  • Level 60, Dungeon List gear: Night Elf 199.3, Skyborne 197.6, Troll 197.2, Orc 197.1, Human 196.7, Dwarf 196.7, Gnome 194.9, Undead 194.9
  • Level 30: Night Elf 67.6, Dwarf 66.8, Human 66.6, Orc 66.6, Skyborne 66.5, Troll 66.4, Gnome 65.9, Undead 65.9

Dwarf Rogues after the change

Dwarf's 1% hit is worth less than its old critical damage at level 60: Assassination goes from 419.8 to 417.2 DPS in raid gear. At level 30, where gear has almost no hit, it's a different story - Dwarf is the second-best race for every Rogue spec there (+1.4% for Combat).

What our sims don't show

  • Not simulated: Gnome's Eureka! (8 seconds of +10% damage and -10% cost every 2 minutes) and Undead's Touch of the Dead, whose damage Blizzard hasn't published. Gnome and Undead may be a little better than these numbers show. Gnome's Expansive Mind isn't simulated for Rogues either.
  • Cooldowns are used on the pull. In a 60-second fight, a 3-minute racial like Berserking, Blood Fury or Elune's Light is used once and covers a large share of the fight. In longer boss fights, cooldowns count for less and passives for more.
  • Utility and PvP: stealth, escape and other utility racials don't count in a boss sim, and they can matter a lot in PvP.
Our take: Night Elf is the best race for Rogues in WoW Forever, and after October 26 it's not close. Behind it, Troll (Assassination) and Skyborne or Orc (Combat, Subtlety) are all within half a percent of each other - pick the one you like. Dwarf is a solid levelling choice thanks to the extra hit.
Sim your own Rogue: paste your armory link or addon export into the rotation simulator and compare races under Options. More race guides: Mages, Warlocks and Hunters.

Sources

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