The new expansion World of Warcraft: Shadowlands adjusts many classes. And although MeinMMO author Benedict Grothaus already knew what would happen to his favorite class, one change has thoroughly ruined his fun.
What kind of class is that? I have been playing the rogue since just before WoW: Legion – mainly because I liked the new “Outlaw” spec so much. Sabers, pistols, and flintlocks, proper pirate flair!
Back then, I already thought the Nightblade skill was great (and fortunately, it’s even returning with Shadowlands), although I think it could have focused a bit more on pistols and range. That would have been innovative.
However, I have almost completely lost interest in Outlaw now. The culprit is a single change that will probably even please many players.
What is the change? A special skill that came with Legion was the Fate Dice. They provide the rogue with various buffs that make them stronger in combat.
Originally, it was an ability that consumed combo points to apply these buffs with various durations. You could re-roll as often as you wanted.
Since the Pre-Patch 9.0 for World of Warcraft was deployed, the Shadowlands change to the ability is already in the game. It removes the combo point cost of the dice and instead adds a cooldown. By Davy Jones’ stinky beard, why?!
Less gambling, less fun
That’s why the change is bad: The idea behind the change is to remove a bit of the gambling aspect of Outlaw by making the buffs have a fixed duration. And the cooldown can be reset by the passive ability “Restless Blades” anyway. Still, it bothers me massively because:
- if I don’t have a buff I need, I have to painstakingly spend combo points to reset the cooldown
- the cooldown causes the whole specialization to play a bit less smoothly. Somehow the “flow” is missing
- the gambling was part of the fantasy of the Outlaw class. Restricting it doesn’t really fit
I can understand that Outlaw players were annoyed by dealing inconsistent damage and being so dependent on luck. But that is still the case now, and if you get bad rolls, you can’t even re-roll briefly.
Additionally, “Between the Eyes” no longer stuns but only increases the critical damage taken by the target. I see that the stun at range was particularly strong in PvP, but with this change, it’s even more important that the right buffs are present from the dice. If they are missing, the entire rotation has to be unnecessarily prolonged if you want to play efficiently.
Is there no alternative? For Outlaws? Not really. “Chop Up” is now a base skill and must be maintained permanently. Another specialization has become quite attractive: Subtlety.
After the “Sub-Rogues” became completely useless for PvE in Battle for Azeroth after Uldir, they are currently among the strongest DPS classes in Shadowlands. This has several reasons:
- “Find Weakness” is now easier to apply and maintain on targets. That results in more damage
- the cooldowns can be better synchronized, which makes the specialization slightly easier to play and forgives mistakes
- the new spell “Black Powder” makes the Subtlety Rogue even attractive in fights against multiple targets
- if you are behind the opponent, you are even stronger than before. A perfect bonus for PvE with a good tank
So, anyone wanting to hang up their sabers and is ready to switch to daggers should take a look at the Subtlety Rogue in Shadowlands. For me, however, the rogue is dead for now – I’m switching to the undead!
From Blade Swirler to Bone Crusher
After the change of my Outlaw, I will switch to Death Knight in Shadowlands. The returning abilities and changes especially for Frost Death Knights appeal to me immensely. In the Beta, the Frost DK plays really well with a two-handed weapon. And when they pull out their “Obliteration” with a big two-handed sword, it really looks impressive.
Traditionally, I play a different class as my “main” in each expansion anyway. BfA was the exception with the rogue, which I already played in Legion. So maybe it was time for a change. Besides, my raid group still needs a Death Knight, and since I wanted to switch anyway, it fits well.
As of now, Shadowlands is almost finished. If the gameplay remains the same and maybe some numbers are tweaked, the Death Knight will hopefully become my new favorite. For now, however, the rogue will stay on the sidelines – even if still my main alt.
