This week's 5v5 PvP endeavors began like any other week. Every week is the same situation for me. I'm forced to ride the bench for the most part until an opportunity arises where the Rogue class (which I am) can swap out with the Hunter class (Reznap) to defeat the current group(s) queuing. I understand why we do it, and, to be honest, I'm in favor for it. Rogues just aren't meant to be played competitively in the arena 5v5 level. If I were to describe the 5v5 arena class roles to someone who has never played the game, I can guarantee that person would never consider playing a rogue... EVER. Why is that, you ask? Because rogues have no almost no definitive 5v5 role. They offer no group buffs and very few group de-buffs. With subpar burst damage compared to a mage, and subpar sustained damage compared to a warrior, there's really nothing else they bring to the table that would be more useful than that of another class. Some may say stuns, poisons, and disorients are more useful that what other classes have to offer, but I'm here refute those claims.

Take stuns for example: the rogue class’ defining ability. Once upon a time, stuns were powerful. At level 60 "stunlocks" were enough to devastate most opponents, leaving them low on health and options. Stunlocks forced opponents into acting defensively. At 70, stunlocks aren't nearly as powerful, because it doesn't force your opponents into a defensive mode. Rogues at 70 are forced into survival gear sets, because they're so easily forced down. In survival gear sets a rogue's attacks aren't hitting for nearly as hard as they could be.

Eviscerate, which used to save rogues at 60, is an ability that did not receive a bonus from attack power or weapon scaling. Prior to the recent expansion, I believe Eviscerate was scaled correctly for rogues. Don't get me wrong, Eviscerate wasn't balanced at first. With most players at 3,000 or less health upon hitting 60, eviscerate was causing way too much damage, but by the time more PvP-oriented gear sets were acquired by the average player, it leveled out the playing field. The problem with Eviscerate now is that it currently scales with attack power. A PvP rogue is forced to sacrifice attack power in exchange for survivability. Eviscerate, in conjunction with stuns, isn't enough anymore to put a player in a defensive mode. Therefore, rogues lose their defining role in stuns. Rogues geared to compete in 5v5s will lose a lot of damage, and they have little to make up for it utility-wise.

An important point I should touch on is the increased chance to resist stun in the game. There are games where every single opponent has a chance to resist my stuns. For example, let’s examine this setup: Combat Rogue, Feral Druid, Warrior, Priest, and Paladin. Each member of the team has a chance to resist stuns based on talents alone. If you take that one step further, a lot of players will opt to choose the 5% stun resist meta gem to place in their helm. If stuns were meant to be the rogue class’ defining ability, it is no longer so.

So what about poisons? With the addition of wound poison and the new Shiv ability, rogues are looking pretty fresh! Wrong again. From what I am told, at level 70, the developers of the game intended for rogues to be a viable replacement for warriors in group PvP. Let me be the first to say that this is possibly the most laughable attempt at balance in this game since I began playing two Novembers ago. Comparing a warrior's damage, healing de-buff capabilities, and survivability to a rogue’s is no contest. No sane player would bring a rogue to a group in exchange for a warrior. Now, prior to this change, a rogue's wound poison was stackable with mortal strike. To be fair, it was overpowered, but it was a reason to bring a rogue. However, this is no longer the case, either.

Moving along to disorients. A rogue and mage can combine both their Sap (rogue) and Sheep (mage) to put heavy pressure on the other team. Right? Wrong. If a member of your team is sapped in a 5v5 arena setting, you are a part of a bad team. Every class in the game, bar rogues (who are Stealthed to begin with), have area of effect abilities that cost them little to nothing to use to break the rogue from Stealth, preventing the Sap maneuver. Not to mention that Sap costs 60 energy and requires both the rogue and his target to be out of combat. Did I forget to mention Paranoia and Perception making it even more difficult to approach a target while Stealthed? Gouge is cruising in the same boat. Although it doesn't require a specific combat flag, or as much energy as Sap, it rarely accomplishes much and is easily broken in the midst of a 5v5 battle. Blind is probably the only savior to the disorient family. It costs little energy and is affected by vile poisons. It's the closest thing rogues have to a consistent crowd control maneuver, but comparing it to abilities like Polymorph or Counterspell makes it look ridiculously inferior.

Do I have the solution to the rogue class? Hardly. All I know is if it remains the same, you'll no longer see me under my rogue's name on our roster.

Ending on a positive note: our team has achieved the world’s first +2600 rating, and is still number one ranked in the world!