WoW.com has covered patch 3.2 extensively. Everything from the surprising changes to flying mounts, to the latest and greatest loot, and all the changes in between. In our patch 3.2 class, raiding, and PvP guides we take a look at exactly what changes and how the changes will affect your playing.

As I've been saying for quite some time, Rogues are in a pretty good place in WoW right now. We're competitive in the arena and battleground scene, and our PvE DPS is definitely at the level we should expect as a pure DPS class. With the upcoming nerfs to some of our biggest rivals (Feral Druids in particular), Patch 3.2 will simply be more of the same for the Rogue class.

We've got 3 viable specs for PvE progression (though HaT is underused), and Combat has seen a rebirth in the 3v3 and 5v5 brackets via the potency of Fan of Knives, Blade Flurry, and Killing Spree for AoE pressure and massive application of poisons to all targets. The only real change coming in 3.2 will be our new capacity for wielding Axes. I don't know about you, but I've already got two Axes enchanted and ready to go!

New Talent Builds

Because we're not seeing any real changes in talents between live and Patch 3.2, our specs will remain mostly the same. Subtlety and Mutilate should see not a single talent point or glyph changed, while Combat can now plan around the new Hack and Slash talent that includes Axes. There's already several well-itemized Axes available in the Crusader's Coliseum, so don't forget to roll on them when they drop. As a side note, I'm taking bets that the new instance's name will be referred to as 'CC', which means that "LFM CC for CC" will be a bit confusing to read in trade chat.

I've been playing with something I call the Utility Belt Spec (a throwback to Batman, the ultimate Rogue). It includes both Close Quarters Combat and Hack and Slash, meaning that you can play it with nearly any weapon drop that comes your way (save for Maces). You can quickly and easily swap weapons in and out for varying situations. An example would be swapping in a slow Off Hand sword for when you want to use FoK, or even running dual swords for when you're going for a burst kill in PvP. In addition, you pick up Throwing Specialization, which is one of the most amazing talents in the game. We had our Rogue pick this up for Yogg-Saron last night, and it made interrupting the Watcher's Dark Volley attack trivial, and seriously saved us a lot of incoming damage.

In exchange for all of this utility and the flexibility of this spec, you do sacrifice a few critical strike chance percent. This does mean that the spec is inferior from a pure DPS standpoint than another, more specialized build. However, I feel that (in my raid) the utility from Throwing Spec and the ability to swap out weapons on the fly make up for this loss. It's up to you and your playstyle and your raid leader to determine if this build should be an option for you.

Bug Fixes

The patch also brings a few fixes to some common Rogue complaints. Honor Among Thieves can now proc off of "periodic critical strikes", which includes our 4pcT8 Rupture bonus and several other classes' talents. Killing Spree received some error text updates, and a few of our short duration buffs will no longer act wonky when we're Cycloned while the buff is expiring. While I am saddened that there still hasn't been a buff to Vanish, perhaps that will always be our white whale. I'm past asking for a fix for it, I'd just like it buffed to make it always work via any of the suggested methods for achieving this, like immunity.

New Gear

We've got some great new gear coming our way, from the new T9 sets to the Emblem of Triumph gear. Remember that Heroics and all pre-Coliseum raids will be dropping Emblems of Conquest, meaning you can grab any Heroic, Valorous, or Conquest Emblem gear that you're currently missing in no time. There's the added incentive of a new Daily Heroic quest yielding 2 Emblems of Triumph that will have the Heroic Dungeons incredibly active in 3.2. I just hope Blizzard resolves the current "Additional Instances cannot be launched" problem before then.

Crusaders' Coliseum

If you're planning to take advantage of all of the perks of the new Argent Tournament content, I'd recommend leveling up your AT rank as soon as possible. I found these to be fairly easy to do as a Rogue: we're great at killing mobs and we can sneak around if there is someone camping one of the quest areas. Be sure to read one of our great guides on the tournament.

Epic Gems

With the new Epic versions of all of the gems you've come to love, make sure to save up your Titanium Ore, honor points, or Emblems (of Heroism). You'll want to resocket all of your gear with these new Epic gems, as they provide significant improvements over the blue versions. One thing to note for you Jewelcrafters is that there are no more Prismatic Epic Gems for you to use, the new JC-only gems now have a specific color, which will mean you'll lose out on a few of your socket bonuses in Patch 3.2. Make sure to put the new gems into a spreadsheet to make sure that your choice of cuts are optimal for your spec.

Conclusion

There's not much happening for Rogues in Patch 3.2, and so it will hardly be groundbreaking for many of us. I'm personally stoked about the addition of Axes, but other than that, it will be more of the same. Luckily, considering how potent we are currently, more of the same is definitely a blessing, not a curse.

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WoW's Patch 3.2 ushers in the Crusaders' Coliseum, the Isle of Conquest, flying mounts at 60, and much more. WoW.com has all the patch information your Worgen obsessed mind can handle in WoW.com's Guide to Patch 3.2!

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Filed under: Rogue, Patches, Classes, (Rogue) Encrypted Text