If you are planning on joining the World of Warcraft Classic adventure make sure to check out our other related Guides below:

• World of Warcraft Classic Beginner's guide
• Best Gold Farming locations in WoW Classic
• Most Profitable Professions in Wow Classic guide

And Starter builds/Leveling Guides for all other character classes:

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1. Agility - Increases Rogue's total Attack Power, directly affecting his Damage output, and provides him with Critical Strike and Dodge chances, furtherly increasing his offensive and defensive capabilities. Agility is Rogue's primary Statistic and it should be looked for in all Item upgrades.

2. Stamina - Improves Rogue's survivability by increasing his total Health. Higher HP pool results in higher uptimes, as it lets the Rogue chain pull more before he has to eat. This is a very important statistic, but it shouldn't be prioritized over Agility.

3. Strength - Increases Rogue's Attack Power (1 point of Strenght = 1 Attack Power), but does not affect anything else. It is Rogue's tertiary statistic, but it still has some value and shouldn't be discarded as useless; just don't prioritize it over Agility (you can prioritize it over Stamina to some extent, though).

4. Spirit -  Increases your out-of-combat Health regeneration rate, allowing you to minimize your downtimes. Do not underestimate Spirit, as it can cut a large portion out of your Downtime. In fact, it is beneficial to swap into a Spirit Set between pulls for increased Health regeneration (Outfitter addon or similar might be necessary for that).

5. Intellect - This stat has close to zero value for a leveling Rogue, but... Intellect speeds up Weapon Skilling process, which means that Intellect Gear has some niche uses when a Weapon upgrade is of a different type than your current Weapon (you can put on Intellect Items when you are trying to raise your Weapon Skills quickly).

Leveling Statistic Priority:

Agility ⇒ Stamina ⇒ Strenght ⇒ Spirit ⇒ Intellect

Dwarf's Stoneform is one of the strongest PvP Racial abilities in the game and it can ensure a successful Vanish against Warriors and other Rogues. Human's Weapon Specializations provide some additional Damage and Perception gives him an advantage against enemy Stealth users but is not as powerful as Stoneform is. Gnome's Escape Artist is less situational than Human's Perception and it makes him harder to control, which is very important in PvP.

Recommended choice: Dwarf

Second choice: Gnome, but Human is as good

For PvE, Human comes out as a clear winner, thanks to his Sword Specialization Racial that boosts his DPS substantially. The second choice is tougher, but Dwarf's Stoneform is more useful as a defensive Cooldown than Gnome's Escape Artist, so Dwarf gets the slight edge.

Recommended choice: Human

Second choice: Dwarf

There are two real contestants here, Undead with his Will of the Forsaken that makes him great against Fear and Charm users and Cannibalize that is handy as a combat Heal and taunting tool, and an Orc with his 25% Stun Resistance that can ruin every Stun-capable Classe's day and Blood Fury that is very strong when used properly. While Undead's Will of the Forsaken makes him the best Warlock killer in the game and gives him an advantage against Priests and Warriors as well, Orc's ability to randomly resist Stuns cannot be overlooked. What really tips the scale is the usefulness of the second racial, and Blood Fury is better than Cannibalize in most situations.

Recommended choice: Orc

(Close) Second choice: Undead

Orc's Blood Fury is generally better than Troll's Berserking (the problem with Berserking on a DPS character is the fact that you shouldn't be taking damage, so it will give you only 10% Haste in most situations) and Undead does not get Racials that boost DPS directly, but Will of the Forsaken still comes in very handy during some encounters (Onyxia comes to mind first). Moreover, his Cannibalize is great during leveling. 

Recommended choice: Orc

Second choice: Troll, but argument can be made for Undead as well

Leveling Talent allocation (10-59)

1. Levels 10-11 ⇒ 2/2 Improved Sinister Strike.
2. Levels 12-14 ⇒ 3/3 Improved Gouge - with this Talent, your Gouge will incapacitate Targets for 4,5 seconds, which is enough to regain 40 Energy and Bandage up for some Health gain (or run away) if needed.
3. Levels 15-19 ⇒ 5/5 Deflection - going for Deflection first, over Precision, allows you to get Riposte at level 20.
4. Level 20 ⇒ 1/1 Riposte - very strong (150% Weapon Damage + 6 second Disarm effect) and very cheap (just 10 Energy) melee ability that becomes available after you parry an attack. This should come online at least once every Combat (Some RNG is involved, of course, as you'll have ~10% Parry chance).
5. Levels 21-25 ⇒ 5/5 Precision - very strong Talent that provides you with ability Hit Cap against enemies with a level equal to yours.
6. Levels 26-29 ⇒ 4/5 Dual Wield Specialization.
7. Level 30 ⇒ 1/1 Blade Flurry - this ability enables you to cleave your attacks to an additional enemy which allows you to pull multiple (2 or 3) enemies at once every 2 minutes. You should use this as often as possible.
8. Level 31 ⇒ 5/5 Dual Wield Specialization.
9. Levels 32-34 ⇒ 3/5 Sword Specialization.
10. Levels 35-36 ⇒ 2/2 Weapon Expertise - this Talent directly increases your DPS, by increasing your chance to land a Hit and a Critical Strike and by reducing your Glancing Blow* Damage penalty.
11. Levels 37-38 ⇒ 5/5 Sword Specialization.
12. Level 39 ⇒ 1/5 Aggression.
13. Level 40 ⇒ 1/1 Adrenaline Rush - very powerful offensive Cooldown that doubles your Energy regeneration for 15 seconds. This, combined with Blade Flurry allows you to obliterate multiple enemies at a time or burst down a single Elite enemy once every 5 minutes. With this Talent, a Rogue feels like a true assassin (bursting down a Quest mob with Adrenaline Rush and then escaping from adds with Vanish feels great).

Now, it is time to switch into the Assassination Tree:

14. Levels 41-42 ⇒ 2/2 Remorseless Attacks - very strong tool that allows you to chain kill mobs more efficiently.
15. Levels 43-45 ⇒ 3/5 Malice.
16. Levels 46-47 ⇒ 2/2 Murder - flat 2% Damage increase against some of the most popular enemy types.
17. Level 48 ⇒ 1/3 Improved Slice and Dice - this Talent offers a slight increase in efficiency during fights against tougher opponents.
18. Levels 49-50 ⇒ 5/5 Malice.
19. Levels 51-55 ⇒ 5/5 Lethality.
20. Levels 56-59 ⇒ 4/5 Improved Poisons - this Talent provides the highest Damage boost among the Talents available at this point.

Some of the Talent choices might feel counterintuitive, so we rush with an explanation:

• Why no Improved Eviscerate? - Improved Eviscerate provides lower overall benefit than Improved Poisons do and some of Eviscerate's Damage gets wasted all the time during fights against non-Elite enemies, so boosting its Damage is not as beneficial as you might think.
• Why no Ruthlessness? - Optimal Rogue's Rotation is designed in a way that allows you to finish off non-Elite enemies with your first Combo move (usually 4 or 5-point Eviscerate) and it skips Slice and Dice completely, most of the time (unless you are fighting especially Tough or Elite opponents). This results in a Combo Point provided by Ruthlessness being wasted a lot of the time.
• Why no Relentless Strikes? - This Talent works best when you are fighting multiple enemies at a time, and you really shouldn't do that outside of Blade Flurry once every 2 minutes. Also, this effect is rear-loaded and it does not matter a lot of the time as the fight is often over when you get the Energy from it.
• Why Remorseless Attacks? - This Talent, while almost useless in the End-Game, is great for leveling as it provides high benefits on a mob to mob basis and allows you to chain-kill more efficiently.
• Why Sword Specialization? - Because Fist Weapons are rare, Daggers are inefficient for solo leveling, Mace Specialization does not provide DPS boost, and Maces do not benefit from the Weapon Expertise Talent.

Note: If you plan to do a lot of Group Content during your leveling Journey, you can skip Remorseless Attacks completely and drop some points in Lethality and/or Improved Poisons and pick up Relentless Strikes and Ruthlessness. Doing this should increase your DPS against Bosses and Tough Elite enemies.

*Glancing Blow - A combat event that can occur during fights against enemies of equal or higher level, that affects White Hits only (abilities are not affected). Player has about 20% chance of striking a Glancing Blow against Enemies above his level. Glancing Blows deal reduced Damage - the difference between Attacker's Weapon Skill and Target's Defense Skill is taken into account during Damage Decrease calculations. This means that Increasing Weapon Skill will decrease (or even eliminate) the Damage penalty.

• Factions:  
• Source: Sold by Weapon Vendors in starting zones and Capital Cities of both Factions. 
• Level Required: 4
• Weapon Stats: Speed 2.10, 5-11 Damage, 3.8 DPS
• Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword. 

• Factions:  
• Source: Sold by Weapon Vendors in Capital Cities of both Factions. 
• Level Required: 10
• Weapon Stats: Speed 2.20, 10-20 Damage, 6.8 DPS
• Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword. 

• Factions: 
• Source: "Red Silk Bandanas" Deadmines Dungeon Quest available from level 14 from NPC Scout Riell, Sentinel Hill, Westfall.
• Level Required: It is a level 17 Dungeon Quest reward, so a 5 man group will be required. The Quest objective is located outside the instance.
• Weapon Stats: Speed 2.50, 16-30 Damage, 9.2 DPS
• Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword. 

• Factions: 
• Source: "Serena Bloodfeather" Quest available from level 12 from NPC Darsok Swiftdagger, Crossroads, The Barrens.
• Level Required: It is a level 20 Quest reward that can be acquired earlier easily, when in a group.
• Weapon Stats: Speed 2.00, 14-26 Damage, 10.0 DPS
• Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword. 

• Factions:  
• Source: Sold by Weapon Vendors in Capital Cities of both Factions. 
• Level Required: 21
• Weapon Stats: Speed 2.30, 19-37 Damage, 12.2 DPS
• Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword. 

• Factions: 
• Source: Dungeon Quest "What Comes Around...", Stormwind Stockade. NPC Guard Berton, Lakeshire, Redridge Mountains. 
• Level Required: This is a Level 25 Dungeon Quest Reward that can be acquired from level 22 onwards
• Weapon Stats: Speed 2.50, 22-42 Damage, 12.8 DPS
• Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword. 

• Factions: 
• Source: Dungeon Quest "Leaders of the Fang", Wailing Caverns. NPC Nara Wildmane, Thunder Bluff. 
• Level Required: This is a Level 22 Quest Reward that can be acquired quite easily around level 18
• Weapon Stats: Speed 2.20, 24-45 Damage, 15.7 DPS
• Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword. 

• Factions:  
• Source: Sold by Weapon Vendors in Capital Cities of both Factions. 
• Level Required: 31
• Weapon Stats: Speed 2.30, 28-53 Damage, 17.6 DPS
• Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword. 

• Factions:  
• Source: "Zapped Giants" Quest available from level 45 from NPC Zorbin Fandazzle, located near the Alliance Boat marina, Feralas.
• Level Required: It is a level 48 Quest reward that can be acquired at level 45 easily.
• Weapon Stats: Speed 2.30, 46-86 Damage, 28.7 DPS
• Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword. 

• Factions:  
• Source: Dungeon Quest "Bring the End", Razorfen Downs. NPC Andrew Brownell, Undercity (Horde) or Dungeon Quest "Bring the Light", Razorfen Downs. NPC Archbishop Benedictus, Stormwind (Alliance). 
• Level Required: These are Level 42 Dungeon Quests available at level 37 (Horde) and 39 (Alliance)
• Weapon Stats: Speed 2.20, 46-86 Damage, 30.0 DPS
• Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword. 

• Factions:  
• Source: "Mission Accomplished" Quest available from level 50 from NPC High Executor Derrington, located near the Western Plaguelands border, Tirisfal Glades (Horde) or from NPC Commander Ashlam Valorfist, located near the Tirisfal Glades border, south part of the Western Plaguelands (Alliance). 
• Level Required: This is a Level 58 Quest Reward that can be acquired quite easily around level 54 or earlier when in a group.
• Weapon Stats: Speed 2.10, 50-95 Damage, 34.5 DPS
• Weapon Type: One-Handed Sword. 

• Factions:  
• Source: General Angerforge Boss in the Blackrock Depths. Entrance: Beneath the Blackrock Mountain,  between Burning Steppes and Searing Gorge. Drop Chance: ~20%.
• Level Required: Weapon requires level 51 to wield and the Boss is a level 57 Elite.
• Weapon Stats: Speed 2.60, 67-125 Damage, 36.9 DPS
• Weapon Type: Main-Hand Sword. 

The basic PvE Rotation for a Rogue looks as follows:

(Sinister Strike)*n ⇒ Riposte* ⇒ Eviscerate

n - number of Sinister Strikes required to get mob low enough for the Eviscerate to finish it off.

You should implement your other tools when needed:

• Use Gouge in a combination with Bandage if you need some Healing mid-combat.
• Use Riposte when available.*
• Use 1-2 Combo Point Slice and Dice against tougher/higher level opponents (Slice and Dice becomes much better when you get Rank 2, you can use it more liberally from that point).
• Use Blind and Gouge on your off-Target if you pull more than one enemy by accident.

Important Note: You should use your Sinister Strike immediately after your Main Hand Weapon hits. This is because additional Attacks from the Sword Specialization Talent reset your Swing Timer, which means that you will lose DPS if you will just spam Sinister Strike (you will get fewer Weapon Swings). Get a Swing Timer addon as soon as possible.

As soon as you get Blade Flurry, you can start pulling multiple (2 or 3) enemies at once every 2 minutes. 

Your Multi-Target rotation is very similar to Single-Target one and it looks like this:

Blade Flurry ⇒ Sinister Strike ⇒ Slice and Dice ⇒ Riposte* ⇒ (Sinister Strike)*n ⇒ Eviscerate

• This is where Slice and Dice really shines, as it combos well with Blade Flurry's effect.
• When fighting multiple Targets, your Riposte should come online more often than you can actually use it, take advantage of this and prioritize it over Sinister Strike.*
• Use Evasion if needed.
• If you combine Adrenaline Rush, Blade Flurry, and Evasion, you will be able to kill 4 (or even 5) equal level enemies at once quite easily.
• You can use Grenades as a part of your AoE rotation if you are an Engineer. 

Engineering provides various useful (and sometimes quite dangerous) gadgets from its earliest levels, but the best Engi items come into play in the End-Game. During leveling, Engineering will provide you with some much-needed utility in a form of Grenades that will be pretty much your only source of AoE Damage, and will be irreplaceable in Open World PvP (well-aimed Grenade can stop a Hunter that is kiting you dead in his tracks and quickly swing encounter in your favor). If you like World PvP and/or want to Develop your End-Game Raiding profession as you level up, pick this combination.

Mining is necessary here as it will provide you with materials for Engineering (you can also sell Bars on the Auction House if you need some additional Gold).

This combination will enable you to craft yourself some Gear as you progress through Levels. The main problem with Leatherworking is the fact that it does not provide as much profit as other Crafting professions do (except Engineering). However, if you level up quickly and get an opportunity to farm some Devilsaur Leathers, this combination might turn out to be the most profitable out there (Devilsaur Set, crafted by Tribal Leatherworkers, is the pre-Raid Bis for a few Classes and the demand for it will be very high during the Server's first few months)*.

*Just keep in mind that Devilsaurs will be highly contested and Skinning even one of them might be very difficult.

Skinning is the best gathering profession for quick levelers as it does not require you to go out of your way and provides some steady influx of money.

If you want to know more about all professions available in WoW Classic, please check out our WoW Classic Professions Guide.

1. Avoid using Deadly Poison. Deadly Poison, while powerful, takes long to stack up which means that a large portion of its potential gets wasted. It might also cause you some serious problems in many PvE and PvP situation, by canceling your Blind and Gouge effects. For PvE, you should use Instant Poison on both your Weapons. For PvE, you should swap to Crippling Poison.

2. Preserve your Gold. Ideally, you should be able to progress through levels without any Auction House purchases (if you spot a great Weapon upgrade, do not hesitate if it is cheap, however). When it comes to Skills - you should learn just the essentials from Class Trainers.

3. Preserve your Resources. We all know that using the 5 Combo Points Eviscerate on a mob and seeing a massive yellow number appear is very satisfying, but it is also, most of the time, very wasteful. Don't do that. Remember how much Damage your Eviscerate deals with different CP amounts (its Damage is not affected by your Statistics) and use it immediately when mob's Health goes low enough for an Eviscerate to kill it (usually around ~20-25% of mob's Health), even if it means using 3 or 4-point Eviscerate. Doing this will increase your efficiency by decreasing Energy spent per mob kill and allow you to start next fight with more Energy without any downtime.

4. Keep your Weapon up to Date. Try to follow the Weapon Progression route and remember that a lot of your Damage comes directly from your Weapon (better Weapon = faster kill times = faster leveling).

5. Take advantage of your Pickpocket ability. Humanoid enemies carry surprisingly high amounts of money in their pockets. You might even want to prioritize spots with Humanoid enemies while grinding experience because of that.

6. Remember that Sap breaks you out of Stealth unless Talented. It is easy to forget about this if you come from the Retail version of the game, or have played any expansion after Vanilla.

7. Opening fights with Sinister Strike is more efficient than sneaking around and using an opener ability at lower levels. Cheap Shot is not worth it, Gouge deals too low Damage, and Stealth slows you down by a lot. All of this results in higher downtimes and longer kill-times.

8. Vanish can be used to avoid incoming spells. This is possible thanks to the Spell Batching system and requires good reflexes and situational awareness.

Odealo is one of the most secure World of Warcraft Classic marketplaces. It allows regular players to buy, sell, and trade WoW Gold and Items with the use of real cash. 

END NOTE

Leveling process in the Classic World of Warcraft is different from leveling in the current game versions. This Guide should help you to prepare yourself for that legendary Vanilla Experience and allow you to progress through levels efficiently and with a good amount of fun.

We hope that you have found this Guide useful and informative.  If we have missed a piece of information that is important to you, please let us know! 

Please do note that this is an early version of our guide, and we will be happy to receive constructive criticism, that will help us improve it, so leave your suggestions in the comments section below.