Raiding Rogue Information by Myrx

I would rather have this in my Blog.  Blizzard sucks when it comes to sticky requests.  This way I will always have access to this.  Myrx also has a blog here so if you want to check out his ideas do a search.



Disclaimer: This is merely a grouping of things every
PvE rogue should be aware of. I am by no means taking credit for
finding any of these numbers, but rather merely trying to collect
information in to one post.



HIT RATING


------------------


1% hit = 15.77 hit rating @ 70


25.5% = (25.5 * 15.77) = 402.135 = chance to miss on a boss


402.135 is the number you should start from whenever calculating your miss rate




Talents to increase hit:


Precision: 5% hit = (5 * 15.77) = 78.85 hit rating


Weapon Expertise: 1% hit = 15.77 hit rating




Weapon Skill also affects hit:


1 weapon skill = .1% hit


3.9 weapon skill rating = 1 weapon skill


therefore


1 weapon skill = 1.577 hit rating


1 weapon skill rating = .404 hit rating




Using these numbers you can create the following equation:


hit needed to never miss = ceiling[307.515 - (weapon_skill_rating*.404)]


Ceiling means to round the answer up.


Where your weapon_skill_rating is from items. Humans add 19.5 to this if using an applicable weapon.


Assuming your hit_rating is < 308.


If your hit_rating is >= 308 your chance to miss is 0%.




Using Latro's as an example:


307.515 - (14*.404) = 301.859


Therefore using Latro's with WEx and Precision you need 302 hit rating to never miss.




Using Fang of Vashj as an example:


307.515 - (21*.404) = 299.031


Therefore using Fang of Vashj with WEx and Precision you need 300 hit rating to never miss.




Due to numerous factors including hit rating being itemized cheaper
than crit rating, combat potency, and many other proc related things
hit rating is the best bang for your buck stat to itemize in the game
currently for a deep combat PvE rogue. However, you should never
sacrifice overall DPS for a gain in hit. One of the best way to stack
your hit rating is by socketing gear with Glinting Noble Topaz.



WEAPON SKILL


---------------------------


Note: 1 weapon skill = 3.9 weapon skill rating


The current iteration of weapon skill is postulated to give the following.




.1% hit = 1.577 hit rating


.04% crit = .884 crit rating


And on a boss grants an additional


.1% crit = 2.21 crit rating


For a total of:


.1% hit = 1.577 hit rating


.14% crit = 3.094 crit rating


On bosses.




What this means is that Weapon Expertise which grants 10 weapon skill equates to:




1% hit = 15.77 hit rating


.4% crit = 8.84 crit rating


And on a boss grants an additional


1% crit = 22.1 crit rating


For a total of:


1% hit = 15.77 hit rating


1.4% crit = 30.94 crit rating


On bosses.




This essentially means that Weapon Expertise is a core PvE raiding talent and should be picked up in any serious raiding spec.




This increase to crit on bosses has been assumed to make the item
excell in PvE but not vastly surpass a similar item in PvP. The
reasoning behind this is that 10 Weapon Skill gives 46.71 total rating
(combined hit and crit) on a boss and 24.61 total rating on even level
targets. 10 weapon skill is equal to 39 weapon skill rating. What this
means is that you are getting more than the itemized 39 rating value on
a boss, but you are very lacking on getting that value against another
player in PvP. In fact that rating is nearly twice as effective on a
boss.



HASTE (credited to Ippon)


------------




Haste is an increase in attack speed. However, it is *not* a
decrease in default attack delay by x%. That is to say: 20% Haste on a
1.0 speed weapon does NOT mean that you will attack at 0.7 speed. Haste
increases the amount of attacks you land in a given period by X%.

For a 1.0 Weapon:


60 seconds, 0% haste: 60 attacks.


60 / x = 60. x = 1.0 attack speed




60 seconds, 30% haste: 60 + (60 * 0.3) = 78 attacks.


60 / x = 78. x = 0.769 attack speed




The easiest way to calculate your new attack speed for a given haste percentage is:


Attack_Speed / ( 1 + Haste )




So for SnD with a 1.8 Mainhand:


1.8 / ( 1 + 0.3 ) = 1.385




Haste Rating:




10.5 Haste Rating = 1% Haste




Haste Ratings are additive.




If you have 3 items that all increase Haste Rating, one with 100,
one with 135, and one with 300, your total Haste Rating will all 3
would be:

535 / 10.5 = 50.95% Haste




Total Haste:


To determine your final attack speed with multiple haste effects
active, you must know your weapon speed, your haste modifiers, and
where they came from. As we already discussed, haste from Haste Rating
is additive. Take all the "increases Haste Rating by x"
procs/items/abilities you have, and add them together to get a final
value. For the example, let's say we have 250 Haste Rating from
procs/etc.



Now, we need to look at other haste effects, like Slice n Dice,
Blade Flurry, etc. These all convey a flat percentage increase, 30% for
SnD, 20% for Flurry, etc. The difference between these and Haste
Rating, is that "pure" haste effects stack multiplicatively and not
addatively. They also stack multiplicatively with your total additive
Haste Rating. It's easier to see with some examples:

Let's assume we're using SnD, Blade Flurry, and 250 Haste Rating with a 2.6 weapon.




Pure Additive (this is incorrect):


(250 / 10.5) + 30 + 20 = 73.8% Total Haste




2.6 / ( 1 + 0.738 ) = 1.796 attack speed.




Multiplicative: (this is what you would see in-game)


250 / 10.5 = 23.8% Haste.


SnD = 30% Haste.


Flurry = 20% Haste.




2.6 / ( [ 1 + 0.238 ] * [ 1 + 0.3 ] * [ 1 + 0.2 ] ) = 1.346 attack speed




This is actually ~ 93.1% Total Haste, and much nicer than the 73.8% from the additive method.




(MYRX) Haste is a direct percent increase to your white damage
output, which means that the better your gear is the more you gain from
haste. This is one of the primary reasons why Abacus of Violent Intent
and Dragonspine Trophy are so good.



-----------------------




Hot Topics To Touch On In The Future:


Armor Penetration


Glancing Blows (PTR version)




If you would like to write something to that regard, or perhaps on
a topic I overlooked, post it on this thread and I will do my best to
find it, look it over, and add it to the original post. I will do my
own research on these topics as well.



If any of this information you find to be incorrect, please post, and I will review it.




Thanks for reading.





"YOU CAN'T CRIT WHAT YOU CAN'T HIT" (READ FOR UNDERSTANDING)


-------------------------------------------------------------


****THIS IS FOR WHITE DAMAGE ONLY****


This image explains it all: http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/6395/hittablepc6.jpg




Basically the one roll system works as follows:


You have 100% to work with.


Mob's Dodge/Block/Parry is subtracted (only Dodge if attacking from behind)


Miss is subtracted.


Glancing is subtracted.




What you have left is the pie slice of the original 100% that can be a crit or a hit. Your crit gets subtracted next.




If you have more crit than the % of the pie left, your crit will only be as big as that pie slice.


If you have less crit than the % of the pie left, then the remainder of the pie is hits.




The reasoning for this is that hit does not give you hits persay, it actually subtracts misses. Hits are just whatever is left.




Example:


Max hit, 35% crit


5.6% dodge


40% glance


35% crit


19.4% hit




Therefore under the current system, with max hit your crit cap is
54.40% on white attacks. If the data that shows glances as 24% on PTR
is correct the effective crit cap on white attacks would be 70.40% with
max hit.



So, the statement that you can not crit what you can not hit is not
true, but under special circumstances like heavy heavy crit stacking
and 0% hit you will actually not be at your theoretic crit rate. This
is because you do not have the hit to negate enough misses to make your
stacked crit fully valuable.



However, with hit gear these days reaching the crit cap is
virtually impossible unless you stack your gear specifically for that
purpose in which case your damage is going to suck anyways.





Glancing Blows


----------------------




Key Things to remember :




- Glancing blows ONLY occur on White damage




- Glancing Blows CANNOT Crit




- Glancing Blows only occur on a mob that is above the level of X
player, and are calculated by the formula (10% + (Boss Defense - Player
Weapon skill x2%))



- A Bosses defense is calculated by the formula (Boss level *5)




- Thus, given the formulas, you can easily plug in the numbers for
a level 73 Mob ( Your typical boss ) (10% + (365 - 350 x2%)) = 10% +
(15*2%) = 40%



- Glancing Blows only do 70% of your normal damage




- The Formula for Glancing Blow Damage Reduction is as follows (Boss Level - Player Level x 10%)




Thus, on a level 70 mob the formula would be ( (73-70) x10% ) = 30%




- Glancing Blows reduce damage based on the proportion to the
difference between the attackers weapon skill, and target defense skill
(capped at attacker level *5 ) meaning Weapon Expertise or any
additional weapon skill does not affect Glancing Blows) in easier
terms, there is no way around glancing blows.



- Next Patch (2.1), the chance to land a glancing blow has been
significantly reduced, the % has not yet been discovered to my
knowledge.



IMPORTANT - Glancing blow % is fixed at 40%, as of 2.0.1 there is
NO way to reduce the chance of a glancing blow, thus.. You must be
careful when deciding how much Crit you have. Glancing blows take
Precedence over Critical Strikes on the Attack table, thus, too much
crit can push crit off the table, resulting in a crit cap where adding
more crit would be pointless, adding hit % Reduces the miss %, thus
giving miss less rolls and opening up space for more Crit.



(MYRX) It is important to know that there is no longer anything you
can do about glancing blows, but it is very beneficial to understand
them and how they are prioritized on the attack table. Also note that
glancing blows have been changed on the Public Test Realm and when that
data is available and reliable we can update this segment.





HIT RATING VS. CRIT RATING (by Taughror)


-----------------------------------------




It is often asked which stat is superior, hit rating vs. crit
rating? The common misconception is that hit rating becomes less
valuable than crit rating once you have a 0% chance to miss with your
special attacks. This however is not the case. Hit rating is infact
more valuable than crit rating until you reach 0% chance to miss with
white attacks. There are several reasons for this:







15.77 hit rating = 1% hit while 22.1 crit rating = 1% crit.
Therefor 1 hit rating = 1/15.77 = 0.063% chance to hit and 1 crit
rating = 1/22.1 = 0.045% chance to crit. 0.063/0.045 = 1.4 meaning hit
rating increases your chance to hit 40% faster than crit rating
increases your chance to crit.



Increasing your chance to hit increases your chance to proc weapon buffs such as poisons and windfury.




Increasing your chance to hit increases your chance to proc weapon
enchants such as mongoose, crusader, fiery weapon, or lifestealing.



Increasing your chance to hit increases your chance to proc weapon
abilities such as the armor piercing buff on The Night Blade.



Increasing your chance to hit increases your chance to proc effects
from other items such as Dragonspine Trophy or Romeo's Poison Vial.



If you are combat spec, increasing your chance to hit also increases your chance to proc combat potency.








The combination of being 40% more efficient and increasing various
procs from a large number of possible sources is why hit rating will in
almost all cases provide a greater increase in DPS than crit rating.
The only advantage of crit rating is that it affects both special
attacks and white attacks. This however is not a sufficient advantage
to overcome the benefits provided by hit rating.



(MYRX) In my opinion take in to account the various different
options for gear in a particular slot. Don't sacrifice i-lvl much to
stack hit. however, I personally am gearing my hit out first (293 on
PTR) then I will work on increasing my AP. Hit rating is cheap so
having a lot of it isn't an issue. However, the easiest way to stack
hit without sacrificing stats is by socketing Glinting Noble Topaz in
to your red and yellow slots. I have 7 in my gear I believe which is 28
hit rating (7*4). That's almost 2% hit from gems only!





Mutilate, Raiding, and You


--------------------------------------




Let me start off with a brief disclaimer. I have raided extensively
as both Mutilate and Combat so my knowledge base is relevant and not
based off heresay.



http://www.wowhead.com/?talent=fhebRE0oizVo0eVb0V




This is a somewhat standard Mutilate raiding spec. Variations can
include dropping Murder and EA for Imp Poisons if you're a fan of
Envenom. Also picking up Imp SS over Endurance is an option.



But let's talk about why I didn't. I won't be using envenom, so the
base poison proc rate is sufficient for keeping five stacks of Deadly
Poison on the target. The EA provides utility for feral tanks, and the
Murder is a better filler than the other options. Imp SS will be used
as a farming tool if you're lazy.



Opportunity vs. Dual Wield Spec




For raiding dual wield spec wins hands down. First, the VAST
majority of your damage output is going to come from white attacks.
Dual Wield spec increases this damage substantially. Second, you aren't
sacrificing the full benefit Opportunity gives Mutilate. Dual Wield
spec also increases Mutilate damage, but only on the offhand. So you're
only sacrificing part of your Mutilate damage for great gains in your
white damage.



Cycling




It is my preferred method, and many others as well, to pop finishers at four or five combo points. A standard cycle would be:




SnD -> Rupture/Evis -> Rupture/Evis




The / indicates you will have to make a conscious decision as to
what finisher is better at the time. Here's a hint, if Rupture is down,
put it back up. Evis is your SECONDARY damage dealing finisher. Also
consider that of the three finishers, only SnD does not need to be
executed underneath the benefit of Find Weakness. What this means is
that you should wait as long as possible to pop SnD. Ideally you will
be one tick away from full energy, no find weakness, and 0 seconds left
on SnD. This is not always the case and you must make a judgement call.
Your other finishers you will want to execute with 0 seconds left on
Find Weakness. This allows maximum usage of your next Find Weakness
stage as your energy will be at the highest point. The dream situation
is to proc a combo point off your finisher, and then crit the following
Mutilate. This puts you at 4 cp and lets you tick high energy before a
damage finisher which in turn makes your SnD cycle turn much smoother.



The Cold Hard Truth




While on 90% of raid encounters Mutilate matches or outperforms a
combat spec the drawbacks on the other 10% of the raid encounters makes
it a much less than ideal raiding spec, and a hindrance to your guild.
Here's a quick few examples.



Hydross the Unstable (SSC): An enrage timed fight where dps is key.
A mutilate rogue will not be able to Blade Flurry adds down every other
phase. This stacked BF from 2-3 rogues kills the adds at the same time
as Hydross is being dps'd. This means the adds die faster and the
ranged dps get more face time on Hydross. The second drawback on this
fight is that he is poison immune. Your mutilate damage will be roughly
66% of its potential.



Void Reaver (Eye): Another enrage timed fight. He suffers from the
same poison immunity as Hydross, and as a fight where you back out
every 10 seconds the time when you dps him needs to count.



Leotheras the Blind (SSC): Yet another dps sensative enrage fight.
Due to Leotheras' ability to draw out your demon having blade flurry is
almost a must. If you do not have Blade Flurry you will be forced to
toe to toe your demon. A rogue with BF will be able to pop it and go
all out on Leotheras all the while dpsing his demon with the BF swings.





Conclusion




While Mutilate is by far and away the most fun spec in the game for
rogues (in my opinion) its drawbacks make it a liability far too often
for a progression serious guild. There are many solutions to make it
just as competitive on every fight, but in my opinion that would
REQUIRE all raid bosses to be succeptable to poisons, and Blade Flurry
to be a trainable ability. The 1 point talent in combat could be
replaced by some passive armor penetration talent. If you are a serious
raiding rogue, speccing Mutilate is no longer a viable option. Unless
you have the option to sit out every fight where it is weak I highly
suggest picking a weapon type you like and speccing combat with it.



ANOTHER GOOD REFERENCE: http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=105771636


Which is about: http://shadowpanther.net/




Good source if you have gear questions.