Classic TBC Phase 2 Best-in-slot List for Rogue
Here is what we consider as the best setup for your rogue in Phase 2 of The Burning Crusade Classic raids, but keep in mind that even if there is always one list that is BIS some items might be hard to get. Don’t worry there is some option in phase 2.
This is why we will provide you with a deeper analysis of different kinds of build as well as what pieces you should focus on, and what pieces are not a good investment due to either high competition or poor performance.
All the gear comparisons in this sheet are done with Simonize’s spreadsheet version 2.1.12, and we can tell you that this is his amazing work that allows us to make such detailed research. You should definitely use his spreadsheet if you want to go deeper into rogue optimizations.
The Lists
We are giving you two different lists:
– The actual BIS list which is using Bloodsea Brigand’s vest
– And also the second-best which is really close (-2,72 DPS = -0,12% overall) with Shoulderpads of the Stranger.
Bloodsea Brigand’s vest setup
🔗 Link to seventyupgrades
Shoulderpads of the Stranger setup
🔗 Link to seventyupgrades
T5 gearing tips
We will see in this part a few important points to help you choose your gear setup during T5.
You absolutely need your 4 part T5 ⚡ ASAP
Some of your T5 parts are not even as good as T4. Most of them are okayish but your 4-parts is amazing and if you compare T4 versus T5 set slots, T5 comes ahead by 80+ DPS thanks to the bonus set!
NB: This is assuming 1 ppm (proc per minute) but even if it is a third it will still be BIS!
NB2: The tricky part here is, in most situations, you don’t want to break your Wastewalker and T4 2-part until you can wear 4-part T5.
Hit situation in T5
Another important thing is the fact that there is a very small amount of hit rating on your T5 and you may want to play with expertise items that also don’t have any hit rating.
So when you transition from T4 to T5 (and breaking your 2-part Wastewalker) you might end up with a very low hit at some points.
For this reason, we advise you to keep around some extra pieces like Spymistress’s Wristguards, Veteran’s Musket/Marksman’s Bow or even Romulo’s poison vial to help in that regard.
Gemming
The first thing to note here is that the hit rating gets even more value relative to agility in T5 as you can see with those updated AEP values:
| Agi | AP | Crit | Hit | Exp | DPS / AEP |
| 2,17 | 1 | 1,70 | 2,88 | 3,17 | 0,411 |
This is even more important for gemming, and this can seem counterintuitive but you rather have less hit on your gear to be able to put more hit gems to get to your desired cap, instead of getting more hit on your gear and gemming with agility.
This is obviously true for equivalent value items, you’ll still want heavy hit pieces of gear like Bloodsea Brigand’s that have way more value than the competition.
NB: We aim for a 269 hit rating cap, if you want to know more you should check our guide about rogue gemming.
Alternative gear setup
Now that we saw the BIS lists and a few tips to help you, we are going deeper to see what are your alternative setups with all calculations done to save you some headaches !
Hard-to-get items
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: Belt of One-hundred Death which is BIS until Sunwell for basically every melee DPS and tank. Let’s just say most of us rogues will never get it and it will be tank prio for a lot of guilds.
The good thing is we have a very solid alternative with the Belt of deep shadow which gives us an average of -13 DPS across all gear setup we will see after.
The second one is the season 2 arena off-hand, some will get it, some will not but the average difference comes down to -3,86 DPS if you are still using Latro’s shifting Sword, so better but not game-breaking.
Primary Gear slot: Alternative setup
As we saw, 4-part T5 is mandatory and so (as for T4) the game is to look for the best piece to go alongside your set!
There are actually 7 pieces that are in competition for the last slot and we combined those with the two choices of offhand and belt and made simulations for each possible setup:
note: as a human with the two setups in red you will be over expertise cap.
– Seeing the result we will advise against going for Gloves of the Searing Grip and Leggings of Murderous Intent since those two pieces have a lot of competition and do not give you the best result, same story for full T5 as this token is wanted for a lot of classes.
– On the opposite side Deathblow X11 Goggles and Skulker’s Greaves don’t cost you any loot prio/DKP and are especially good with Latro’s/Belt of One-Hundred Death as this setup is quite low on hit.
– Shoulderpads of the Stranger and Blood Sea Brigand’s Vest are always the two best choices, and we will focus on those two for the rest of the guide.
Check our own spreadsheet with all those setups including the best gemming possible.
What are the items to prioritize in Phase 2?
BloodSea Brigand’s Vest setup
This is the piece for your best setup but also the easiest one to transition to as it got a ton of hit rating and on top of that the only competition you should get over it will be DPS warrior. Since it comes down to a +15 DPS increase from T4 chest you may even prioritize it after smaller DPS increase pieces with way more competition (rings and bracers).
Below is the DPS increase for each item:
| Spiteblade vs Talon of Azshara | 51,94 | |||||||||
| Girdle of the Deathdealer vs One Hundred Death | 36,21 | |||||||||
| Bloodlust Brooch vs Warp Spring Coil | 22,03 | |||||||||
| Girdle of the Deathdealer vs Belt of Deep Shadow | 19,37 | |||||||||
| Latro’s vs merciless Gladiator’s Quickblade | 11,45 | |||||||||
| Nightfall Wristguards vs Vambrace of Endings | 9,6 | |||||||||
| Garona’s Signet ring vs Ring of Lethality | 8,85 | |||||||||
| Ring of a Thousand Marks vs Band of the Ranger General | 7,23 | |||||||||
| Sunfury Bow of the Phoenix vs Arcanite Steam-pistol | 3,7 | |||||||||
Don’t forget your first priority will be your 4-part T5 followed by Talon of Azshara, one of the two belts. Warp Spring Coil is obviously amazing but it is only for a rogue so no worries on that particular one.
The rest are minor upgrades and should depend on what you have on those slots.
note: setup with high-hit items like Deathblow X11 Goggles and Skulker’s Greaves should have a similar prioritization as well as using season 1 sword offhand.
Shoulderpads of the Stranger setup
This one will be harder to transition to and will give more value to items with a lot of hit. It is harder to make a direct calculation of the DPS increase as you will break your 2-part Wastewalker to equip it, but compared to T4 shoulder it is also a +15 DPS increase. The difference is there is way more competition on this item, and you should prioritize it just after the Belt of One-Hundred Death if you go for it.
| Spiteblade vs Talon of Azshara | 57,48 | |||||||||
| Girdle of the Deathdealer vs One Hundred Death | 34,67 | |||||||||
| Bloodlust Brooch vs Warp Spring Coil | 28,26 | |||||||||
| Girdle of the Deathdealer vs Belt of Deep Shadow | 20,56 | |||||||||
| Nightfall Wristguards vs Vambrace of Endings | 11,97 | |||||||||
| Sunfury Bow of the Phoenix vs Arcanite Steam-pistol | 9,85 | |||||||||
| Garona’s Signet ring vs Ring of Lethality | 8,82 | |||||||||
| Latro’s vs merciless Gladiator’s Quickblade | 8,52 | |||||||||
| Ring of a Thousand Marks vs Band of the Ranger General | 7,2 | |||||||||
Mostly the same except that your Arcanite Steam-pistol is way more important here, but don’t take it over your hunter! (note that this gun will be BIS until Sunwell!)
note: setup with no hit item like Leggings of Murderous Intent, Gloves of the Searing Grip, and full T5 should have a similar prioritization.
Last Thoughts
And now it is time to talk again about Belt of One-hundred Death, yes it is beautiful but our mindset about it is:
– The DPS increase compared to T4 belts is massive, not so much compared to the crafting belt.
– If we are looking at T5 upgrade only, there are definitely other things to spend your loot priority/DKPkp on.
– If we are looking back you should prioritize DST if you haven’t got it yet, and forwards, well you all know what is coming in the next phase!
The last big item to talk about is Rod of the Sun King and we don’t know yet, if the proc rate is good, this will be amazing and BIS for both rogues and warriors, if it is not it will end up as offhand for Enhancement Shaman.
note: every other item in T5 is basically worse than T4 items, except Tsunami Talisman which is a very small upgrade from Bloodlust Brooch, if no one wants it why not but that’s all.