TBC Classic Rogue DPS Pre-Raid Gear

Below are two lists that are very similar in DPS to each other - one is a Leatherworking option, which requires the user to be a Leatherworker to wear and create the Primalstrike set. The other is an option without Primalstrike. Simmed out gems for these items are suggested as well. All Fel Leather gear is BoE and does not require Leatherworking to be worn.

If your character is ready to jump into Phase 5 / Tier 6 content, then see our current best in slot list. If you wish to go through the content of Tiers 4 or 5 instead, then please see their respective lists below.

Please note that, while Vengeance Wrap sims the highest and is your pre-bis technically, it is only a couple DPS higher than the other options of Auchenai Death Shroud and the easily obtainable BoE Cloak of the Craft. While the 4-set Wastewalker armor may seem difficult to get, the 2-set will be BiS for your optimal Tier 4 BiS setups. You will most likely be changing around which pieces you wear with your 2-set constantly as well, which makes this set worth farming.

Slot	Item	Sockets	Source
Helm	Wastewalker Helm	Swift Skyfire Diamond Rigid Dawnstone	Epoch Hunter in Heroic Old Hillsbrad Foothills
Neck	Choker of Vile Intent	N/A	Badge of Justice Vendor
Shoulders	Wastewalker Shoulderpads	Rigid Dawnstone Rigid Dawnstone	Avatar of the Martyred in Heroic Auchenai Crypts
Back	Vengeance Wrap	Glinting Noble Topaz	Tailoring
Chest	Primalstrike Vest	N/A	Leatherworking
Wrists	Primalstrike Bracers	N/A	Leatherworking
Hands	Wastewalker Gloves	Glinting Noble Topaz Rigid Dawnstone	Warchief Kargath Bladefist in The Shattered Halls
Belt	Primalstrike Belt	N/A	Leatherworking
Legs	Wastewalker Leggings	Rigid Dawnstone Rigid Dawnstone Rigid Dawnstone	Nexus-Prince Shaffar in Heroic Mana Tombs
Boots	Fel Leather Boots	Glinting Noble Topaz Rigid Dawnstone	Leatherworking
Rings	Kaylaan's Signet Slayer's Mark of the Redemption Shapeshifter's Signet	N/A N/A N/A	Deathblow to the Legion (The Aldor) Dissension Amongst the Ranks... (A) or Dissension Amongst the Ranks... (H) Lower City — Exalted
Trinkets	Bloodlust Brooch Abacus of Violent Odds	N/A N/A	Badge of Justice Pathaleon the Calculator in The Mechanar
Main-Hand	Dragonmaw Blinkstrike Vindicator's Brand	N/A N/A N/A	Blacksmithing TBC World Drop The Aldor — Exalted
Off-hand	Latro's Shifting Sword	N/A	Aeonus in The Black Morass
Ranged	Veteran's Musket or Marksman's Bow	N/A	Honor Hold or Thrallmar — Exalted

Slot	Item	Sockets	Source
Helm	Wastewalker Helm	Swift Skyfire Diamond Rigid Dawnstone	Epoch Hunter in Heroic Old Hillsbrad Foothills
Neck	Choker of Vile Intent	N/A	Badge of Justice Vendor
Shoulders	Wastewalker Shoulderpads	Glinting Noble Topaz Delicate Living Ruby	Avatar of the Martyred in Heroic Auchenai Crypts
Back	Vengeance Wrap	Glinting Noble Topaz	Tailoring
Chest	Wastewalker Tunic	Rigid Dawnstone Rigid Dawnstone Rigid Dawnstone	Keli'dan the Breaker in The Blood Furnace
Wrists	Nightfall Wristguards	N/A	Epoch Hunter in Heroic Old Hillsbrad Foothills
Hands	Fel Leather Gloves	Glinting Noble Topaz Rigid Dawnstone	Leatherworking
Belt	Girdle of the Deathdealer	N/A	Aeonus in Heroic The Black Morass
Legs	Wastewalker Leggings	Rigid Dawnstone Rigid Dawnstone Rigid Dawnstone	Nexus-Prince Shaffar in Heroic Mana Tombs
Boots	Fel Leather Boots	Glinting Noble Topaz Rigid Dawnstone	Leatherworking
Rings	Kaylaan's Signet Slayer's Mark of the Redemption Shapeshifter's Signet	N/A N/A	Deathblow to the Legion (The Aldor) Dissension Amongst the Ranks... (A) or Dissension Amongst the Ranks... (H) Lower City — Exalted
Trinkets	Bloodlust Brooch Abacus of Violent Odds	N/A N/A	Badge of Justice Pathaleon the Calculator in The Mechanar
Main-Hand	Dragonmaw Blinkstrike Vindicator's Brand	N/A N/A N/A	Blacksmithing TBC World Drop The Aldor — Exalted
Off-hand	Latro's Shifting Sword	N/A	Aeonus in The Black Morass
Ranged	Veteran's Musket or Marksman's Bow	N/A	Honor Hold or Thrallmar — Exalted

While the lists above contains the absolute best gear setups, you are unlikely to quickly gather all of it and there are some extremely close alternatives at a fraction of the cost or time. Many of these items below are highly recommended.

Slot	Item	Source
Helm	Helm of the Claw	The Warlord's Hideout
Neck	Bone Chain Necklace Earthen Mark of Razing	The Black Stalker in The Underbog Gurok the Usurper
Shoulders	Expedition Scout's Epaulets (Alliance Only) Blackened Leather Spaulders (Alliance) or Talbuk Hide Spaulders (Horde) Mantle of Perenolde	Fel Embers in The Shattered Halls Kurenai (Alliance) or The Mag'har (Horde) — Revered Epoch Hunter in Old Hillsbrad Foothills
Back	Auchenai Death Shroud Cloak of the Craft	Avatar of the Martyred in Heroic Auchenai Crypts World Drop BoE
Chest	Vest of Vengeance	Keli'dan the Breaker in Heroic The Blood Furnace
Wrists	Spymistress's Wristguards	The Soul Devices in Shadow Labyrinth
Hands	Handgrips of Assassination	Aeonus in The Black Morass
Belt	Socrethar's Girdle Epoch's Whispering Cinch Naaru Belt of Precision	Turning Point (The Scryers-only) Epoch Hunter in Heroic Old Hillsbrad Foothills How to Break Into the Arcatraz
Legs	Fel Leather Leggings Midnight Legguards Clefthoof Hide Leggings	Leatherworking Quagmirran in Heroic The Slave Pens Showdown (A) or Showdown (H)
Boots	The Master's Treads Felboar Hide Shoes	BoE World Drop The Cipher of Damnation - The Third Fragment Recovered
Rings	Band of Anguish Ravenclaw Band	News of Victory (A) or News of Victory (H) Talon King Ikiss in Sethekk Halls
Trinkets	Hourglass of the Unraveller Icon of Unyielding Courage Core of Ar'kelos	Temporus in The Black Morass Keli'dan the Breaker in Heroic The Blood Furnace Ar'kelos the Guardian
Main-Hand	The Bladefist Edge of the Cosmos Reflex Blades	Warchief Kargath Bladefist in Heroic The Shattered Halls Pathaleon the Calculator in The Mechanar Dalliah the Doomsayer in The Arcatraz
Off-hand	Revenger	Commander Sarannis in The Botanica
Ranged	Mama's Insurance	Declawing Doomclaw

When gearing for pre-raid BiS and Tier 4 BiS, many players will be attracted to Dragonmaw for being the strongest possible choice of weapon. Please note that, while Dragonmaw is a fantastic weapon, it is less than 3 DPS higher than Gladiator's Slicer and is only about 4-6 DPS higher than Blinkstrike and Spiteblade respectively. Also note that Dragonmaw only outperforms those items if you can make full use of the Haste proc every single time it procs, otherwise the top sword options will outperform it. In later tiers, Talon of Azshara outweighs Dragonmaw's upgraded version ( Dragonstrike) by a fair margin, so keep that in mind for the future.

If you want a decent Main-hand weapon, but you are unable to put in the gold commitment, then Vindicator's Brand would be recommended for pre-raid, as you will likely need the shoulder enchant anyway.

Note: Latro's Shifting Sword is by far one of the easiest to acquire weapons and your strongest off-hand weapon for pre-raid BiS and can be used well into later tiers. It is highly recommended you farm it instead of any alternative.

If you have further questions about gemming and enchanting these items, our Combat Rogue Enchants and Gems page below provides more information.