Hi guys, I have a few characters at the level 85ish range. Necro, Monk, & Rogue. I've been focusing on the rogue as I thought the DPS and abilities would be really great. Like, a wizard burn type playstyle but for melee. Instead, it looks as if my monk can do as much, (feels like more) DPS. The necro I can't compare as I play him differently. But the necro is easy to play and hard to kill. The rogue is easy to kill and hard to do constant killing of mobs. The monk is hard to kill and can kill faster even without a merc. All similarly equipped and played by the same player. Is there something I am missing here? My rogue has limited utility yet can't molo as well as a monk can solo. I'm hitting the back of a light blue mob, shouldn't I be good at this ONE thing? I should mention it is cool to assassinate 1 of 7 light blue cons but that really isn't as useful as one would think. Am I doing something wrong here? Should I turn auto attack off or face the front of the mob? Maybe I should equip slashing weapons?
Are you using poison? Rogue poison is a nice chunk of dps since the poison revamp a while back. Bite of the Shissar is your bread & butter. It's dirt cheap off vendors; even free through questing & clickies. You can also stack a utility poison with that; those are made by tradeskilling (as are the all/all poisons).
I have been using Bite of the Shissar and am amazed at how powerful it is. I believe that is more DPS than my backstabs. I was using utility poison but it is my understanding they only work once and then need to be reapplied for it to affect the next mob? Also, they do not seem to be stackable, so I can carry a limited supply when 1 should be used per kill. My poison making is 275 and I am using the sloth poison. Am I incorrect on any of this and is there a utility poison you recommend that does stack? I am willing to farm materials and level poison making to 300. Anything to make the rogue DPS better.
The unstackable single use poisons are the old kind; the new ones provide a proc buff, like Bite of the Shissar. I found this handy dandy chart super helpful for making the new poisons. (Note: "clumsy" = attack debuff.) Are you opening with the super duper sneak attack backstab line? That takes off a nice chunk of hp. Cycling through your dps discs?
Ok, I've never played a Rogue above 87 (levelled from 1-75, heroic boosted, got to 87, deleted to try other classes). Rogue is not a solo class. If you want to play rogue, I'd get a heroic on another acct and 2 box if for nothing else than 2 mercs. If you use your short-term uber Backstab buff before opening with Backstab, that'll probably take away 15-30% health on mobs (or 100% if you Assassinate). Don't rely on Assassinate tho. Doesn't proc often enough to be a crutch (dammit rangers).
I have a 91 Rogue and 101 Monk. You are correct. The monk has many other uses and plays solo/molo far better. In a DH HA setting, which you will likely want to do many times for a variety of reasons, the pulling ability of the monk will get you into groups more than the dps of the rogue. At least that has been my experience. YMMV. Monk has Mend, which when hastened, refreshes quickly. Rogue needs a healer to molo/solo after the tank merc gives out. With a healer, the monk plays well. If you have a second account, pair with a shaman. At around level 69 or so, you can get all of the level 105 buffs in the GL. While I can molo my rogue at 91 in grounds when pulling singles (and sometimes two), it is not ideal (backstab from front works, but at minimum level of damage). Valley ... nope. Chain class without the mitigation and avoidance of the monk.
