Rogue Finisher Abilities

Finishers

Abilities that use combo points.

Eviscerate
Finishing move that causes damage per combo point.

This is a Rogue’s most potentially damaging ability, in most cases. Unless the Rogue is extremely well geared from raiding instances, it is the only ability that can break 2,000 damage dealt on a critical. A Rogue with cold blood will often wait until an enemy is low, and then use it to guarantee a critical eviscerate, which is necessary in most cases to prevent many healing classes and casters a chance to react and save themselves. What makes it great for people who can’t obtain epic quality gear is that the damage dealt is completely constant. That is, no weapon or stats will change the damage range done by eviscerate. Obviously this is good for the Rogue that just hit 60, as his eviscerate will do as much damage as the Rogue who has been raiding for a year.

Slice and Dice
Finishing move that increases melee attack speed by 30%. Lasts longer per combo point.

This ability is very similar to the warrior and shaman Flurry ability, which simply increases attack speed. However, the thing about slice and dice that makes it so much better than both of theirs is that it can be activated on demand, and in many situations kept up constantly. This ability is more suited to combat Rogues, however, as they get the most benefit to having increased white damage dps, considering that a combat Rogue’s offhand will deal 50% more damage.

Rupture
Finishing move that causes damage over time. Lasts Longer per combo point.

Rupture is ideal for keeping Rogues out of stealth, as well as keeping the pressure on the opponent. The damage dealt by rupture is considerable when one has improved rupture and uses it with 5 points. Combined with deadly poison this can be a very effective offense against warriors, as bleed effects ignore armor and tick for their regular amounts. However, keep in mind that certain stuns such as gouge will not stay when damage is being done to the target.

Kidney Shot
Finishing move that stuns the target. Lasts longer per combo point.

One of the Rogue’s most important abilities in PVP. Kidney shot makes knowing the cost of your abilities and timing your energy ticks a necessity, as against certain classes you want to be able to minimize the time the enemy has to attack you while still being able to maintain some burst damage. It is important to keep in mind that this ability is subject to diminishing returns.

Expose Armor
Finishing move that exposes the target for 30 sec, reducing armor per combo point.

This ability is most useful as a seal fate Rogue, since you’ll usually have a lot of extra combo points to work with. The armor reduction has a pretty noticeable effect against anything wearing plate, since warrior and paladin defense can mitigate a lot of the Rogue’s damage from backstab and eviscerate. The problem with this move is deciding whether the combo points are more valuable as armor reduction or flat out damage with rupture or eviscerate, or maybe even mitigation through kidney shot. Ultimately it’s very situational and depends on the fight.