Rogue, Mage, Dpriest [Very Difficult]


This is by far the hardest comp you could attempt to play to get 2200. It takes a lot of time and dedication to master this comp. The communication and synergy between yourself, your priest, and your mage must be at a high level for this comp to be successful. I’d try to avoid playing this if this is going to be your first attempt a your T2 Weapons.





Rogue, Warlock, Rshaman [Fairly Difficult]


In my opinion, this is probably the STRONGEST comp you could play in this season. Affliction Lock damage is insane and purges from shaman give this comp very good offensive power. However, it may take some time to get adjusted to the switches in this comp. Just remember, full row of dots + haunt = kill. Only downside to this comp is the lack of a spammable dispel.





Rogue, Warlock, Rdruid [Fairly Difficult]


This comp is very similar to the RLS I just described. The only difference is you trade tremor totem and offensive ability (Bloodlust / Purges) for raw healing power and spammable crowd control (Lifeblooms / Cyclones). Also, you have a bit more lasting power as an RLD compared to an RLS. This is another very strong comp to be running this season.





Rogue, Spriest, Rdruid [Fairly Difficult]


This is one of those comps that have survived the test of time and continues to be very viable even today. Since BC it’s overall strategies have changed, but the front load damage from yourself alongside a shadow priest with druid CC proves this comp to be very strong. This is fairly easy to play but I rated it fairly difficult due to the fact that this version of the Rogue / Spriest comp is a bit less zergy and more reliant on solid CC chains and cyclone swaps that may take some time to get down.





Rogue, Spriest, Rshaman [Moderate]


This is it folks. In my opinion the best comp for a brave rogue attempting to hit 2200 for the first time. Rogues really haven’t had it this easy since S6’s Ret / Rogue / Priest Comp. Basically pop bloodlust, spam purge, and zerg healers. This comp has insane burst damage and great control. I highly recommend this comp for a first time push for T2 weapons.


- Honorable Mentions -


Ret Pally / Rogue / Dpriest
Feral Druid / Rogue / Dpriest


Unlocking your Rogue’s 2200 Spirit – Yes arena is a team game, but what are some things that you could work on? Here’s a few things that will most definitely improve your game play and help get the most out of your team mates:





Communication is key if you want to make it to the next level. Hop on ventrilo or skype with your team mates and make sure you tell them everything you are doing. Keyword: EVERYTHING. Here is a short conversation from the rogue’s PoV that will serve as an example of great communication:


“I’m gonna sap the Mage and open on this Priest”

“Ack! Mage knocked me out, I’m going to gouge him and still go on the priest!”

“Priest is in a fully kidney shot!”

I’m blinding the rogue here…..HE TRINKETED!!”

“I’m swapping to him right now, can you dot him up full?”

“Alright, opening on the rogue. He’s Cheap shot!”

“My kidney is still on cooldown, death coil him out of the cheap shot!”

“Alright full kidney on rogue! Full kidney!”

I’m cloaking offensively for the kill!

- Opposing Rogue Dies -


Everything the rogue told his team mates in that fake arena match was very important. This level of communication will help anyone play with better coordination with his team. Imagine if you never told your warlock that you kidney was on cd for a couple more seconds? It’s very possible that the rogue could have cloaked and vanished, or cloaked and evasioned; ultimately having your kidney shot get dodged and ruin your chances of killing the opposing rogue right then and there. Also, what would happen if you get popped out and don’t tell your team? Maybe the opposing rogue would have opened on you and your healer and warlock would have been significantly slower in healing you and stopping dps onto you. General rule of thumb: It’s better to say everything, than it is to say nothing.





Using a Focus Frame allows you to effectively watch 2 players at once. My question is why WOULDN’T you want to use this? I’d recommend using this frame at all times. Constantly switching focuses to look for certain buffs, debuffs, incoming casts, and hp / mana values can really make a large difference in your ability to lock down a target for an extended period of time. All of you should be comfortable enough to know that a full cheap shot lasts 4 seconds, and a full kidney shot lasts 6 seconds. This essentially gives you a 10 second window to take a look at yourself, your team mates, as well as a quick glimpse at your opponent’s positioning and spell casts.


Spend less time looking at your own cool downs and your target’s HP, and spend more time looking at the match as a whole. Once you start gaining a better vision of the field, that is when you can truly take advantage of your focus frame by having a: Focus Gouge, Focus Dismantle, Focus Kick, and Focus Blind Macros. I make full use of all these focus macros in a single arena match.





Not only is having ALL your abilities bound important. Having them setup in a way that allows for smooth finger transitions between, for example, a vanish and a cheap shot is very important. Having your keybinds flow is important for all classes but it is by far the most important for a rogue when a split second can really make the difference. Refer back to my 1st article if you need help setting up your keybinds and UI: An Indepth Look at Keybinds, Macros, and UI


Become so comfortable with your keybinds that you almost never have to look down at them during a match. Every ability you have demands to be used at split second intervals to survive a burst, or kill a player. Fun Fact: I even have “Cannibalize” keybound to Shift+A.





Strangely enough, I’d have to say that out of all the tips that I’ve given in this article. Having fun, staying cool, and remaining constructive would have to be the most important. Don’t be afraid to joke around with your team mates. Stay upbeat and as optimistic as you can, even if you are losing games. Don’t insult your partners and always ask yourself if there was anything YOU could’ve done to turn that loss, into a win.


- Have Fun
- Stay Relaxed
- Criticize Constructively
- Get to Know your Partners
- Look at your own game play: Could it have been better?


With a positive attitude you can inspire yourself, as well as your team mates to play on a level that may be a bit higher than you are normally used to playing. Whether you believe me or not is one thing. But I’ve found that playing with friends / people you get along with provide better results than playing with that angry guy who has a gladiator title. True Story. Anyways that’s all for this week. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope it helps you out.


- Zenasty

In the screen-shot below, you’ll see a general picture of what my setup looks like. (Obviously those numbers aren’t there when I’m playing. They are only there to help identify parts of my UI.)

1. Character Frame.
2. Target Frame.
3. Gladius Frame.
4. Focus Frame.

As you can see, I don’t use many addons at all. As a matter of fact, Gladius is the only addon that I use in Arena. I use a 100% pure UI with a couple scripts that allow me to move my Character and Target frames to where I want them to be. If scripting is not your cup of tea, an addon called “MoveAnything” will do the job for you.

In this section, I will be listing my key-bindings. Please refer to the original screen-shot to see where I place these abilities. They have been placed in certain spots of my bars for good reason. Also, the Tricks of the Trade macro hotkey below you is: “Mousewheel Up”

Below is what that bar would look like while I am stealthed:

Alongside the hotkeys on my main bars. I have a few more hotkeys and macros that I utilize:





The poisons that you see to the right of my 2nd displayed bar are actually macros that allow me to instantly reapply poisons without having to confirm the warning message that pops up every time. I will be going over those later on in this article.


Finally, these macros/keybindings as you can see have been placed all the way to the right of UI where they are somewhat hidden from view. The reason for this is because these are all very low-cooldown finishers or abilities that need little to no monitoring. If you’ve been playing your rogue you should not be having to look at your bars to remind yourself of your key-bindings.


Top to Bottom

Q – Slice and Dice

Shift+Q – Fan of Knives

Mousewheel Down – Feint

Shift+G – Expose Armor

Shift+S – Deadly Throw / Throw

Shift+T – Distract

Shift+C – Focus Gouge

Shift+V – Focus Dismantle
Click – Ground Mount
Click – Flying Mount

Shift+Spacebar – Self Bandage

Shift+5 – Eat Mage Food

Healthstone Display
Alt+E – Arena Frame 3 Blind

Shift+E – Arena Frame 2 Blind

Click – Move Party Frame Script

Click – Move Player Frame Script
Click – Move Target Frame Script


Now we will move onto all the essential macros that I use on a day-to-day basis with explanations on why these macros may prove useful to you.


Imp Vanish Macro
#Showtooltip Vanish
/stopattack
/cast Vanish
/cast [@focus, exists] Sap; Sap

Pressing this will instantly turn your auto-attacks off, as well as put you into Vanish / Stealth state. The last line ensures you don’t pull yourself out of stealth by trying to use another ability too quickly by trying to sap a target.


Shiv + Removes Hand of Protection Macro (Useful when playing with Paladins)
#Showtooltip Shiv
/cancelaura Hand of Protection
/startattack
/cast [nostealth] Shiv


This is a pretty self-explanatory macro. If a paladin on your team uses Hand of Protection to save you, you can press this macro to remove it once you are ready to come back into the fight.


Imp Mutilate Macro
#Showtooltip Mutilate
/startattack
/cast Mutilate


This macro allows you to at least auto-attack your current target if you do not have sufficient energy to land a mutilate. This is useful for switching targets and just for dps’ing random targets in general.


Tricks of the Trade Macro
#Showtooltip Tricks of the Trade
/cast [@Name, exists] Tricks of the Trade; Tricks of the Trade


Another simple macro that casts tricks of the trade onto 1 person consistently throughout the course of your arena match or random battleground. Substitute “Name” with the person you wish to cast Tricks of the Trade upon.


Sap Rogue Macro
#Showtooltip Sap
/cleartarget
/targetenemyplayer
/cast sap


This is the macro to spam when you are trying to find another rogue in the general area. When you do find a rogue that is in stealth while mashing this macro, you will sap them instantly.


Arena Frame 1-3 Blinds Macro
#Showtooltip Blind
/cast [@Arena1, exists] Blind; Blind

#Showtooltip Blind
/cast [@Arena2] Blind

#Showtooltip Blind
/cast [@Arena3] Blind


Most rogues use a focus or mouseover Blind. I however, find that blinding depending on the arena frame positioning is most effective and leaves the least room for error. If you look at the Gladius Frame that is show in my UI screen-shot, you see that the top listed player would be Arena1. The player in the middle would be Arena2. And the player listed at the bottom of the list would be Arena3 respectively. Also, if you are trying to blind someone in a BG. Use the first of the 3 macro I just listed in order to blind your target.


Offhand Weapon-Swap Macro
#Showtooltip [mod] 0 16; 17
/equipslot 17 0 16





Pressing this macro will instantly swap out your offhand, for the offhand that is in the furthest bottom-right equipment slot in your default Backpack. This is useful for PvE as well as PvP scenarios where you need to instantly change poisons on your offhand.


One Click Deadly Poison
#Showtooltip Deadly Poison IX
/use Deadly Poison IX
/use 16
/click StaticPopup1Button1


Pressing this macro will instantly renew or replace your mainhand poison with Deadly Poison IX. There is no warning, no double-clicking.


One Click Wound Poison
#Showtooltip Wound Poison VII
/use Wound Poison VII
/use 17
/click StaticPopup1Button1


Pressing this macro will instantly renew or replace your offhand poison with Wound Poison VII. There is no warning, no double-clicking.


There are a few more “Focus” Macros that I had left out but I felt as though these macros are very to-the-point and do not need to be elaborated upon any further. Anyway, that is all for this article, thank you for taking the time to read and keep your eyes peeled for my upcoming overview of Shadow Dance keybinds and macros. If you have any further questions on any of these mentioned subjects or any questions about rogues in general, feel free to contact me through an in-game tell, e-mail, or forum message.


- Zenasty