Rogue Stealth Guide: Stealth, Vanish, Sap and Openers

◆How Stealth works

Stealth is available from level 1 and has 4 ranks. Each new rank raises your effective stealth level, so keep buying upgrades from your trainer. After leaving stealth there is a 10 second cooldown. While stealthed, your movement speed is reduced by 50%.

Stealth is broken by attacking, taking any damage (including damage over time and environmental damage), looting and most other actions. Applying poisons to your weapons no longer breaks stealth since patch 1.10. For the full list of class abilities see rogue abilities.

Detection mechanics

Stealth is not invisibility. The chance that someone spots you depends on three factors:

• Distance. The closer you are to an enemy, the higher the detection chance.
• Facing. Standing in front of a target almost guarantees detection; from behind it is much less likely.
• Level difference. Higher level targets see you from further away; lower level monsters see you worse.

Some racial and class effects improve stealth detection, for example the human racial Perception. See human racials for details.

◆Vanish

Vanish is learned at level 22 and has 2 ranks. It instantly puts the rogue into an improved stealth mode for 10 seconds and removes movement impairing effects. The cooldown is 5 minutes. In Vanilla 1.12.1 it requires the reagent Flash Powder, sold by poison vendors. While the effect is active your stealth level is higher than normal, which gives you a chance to drop combat with a monster or reset a duel. The Elusiveness talent reduces the Vanish cooldown.

Abilities usable only from stealth

• Sap — incapacitates an out of combat humanoid for up to 25 seconds at rank 1. Any damage breaks it, and only one target can be sapped at a time.
• Distract — from level 22, throws a distraction: nearby monsters turn for 10 seconds and your stealth stays intact. Great for turning a target around and slipping past.
• Pick Pocket — from level 4, lets you steal coins and lockboxes from humanoids.
• Ambush — from level 18, a heavy strike from stealth behind the target that requires a dagger in the main hand. Awards 1 combo point.
• Garrote — from level 14, a bleed applied from behind the target for 18 seconds, 1 combo point.
• Cheap Shot — from level 26, stuns the target for 4 seconds and awards 2 combo points. No positional requirement.

How an opener turns into a chain of builders and finishers is covered in rogue finishing moves and on the combo points mechanics page.

Stealth talents in 1.12.1

The Subtlety tree has several talents that strengthen your play from the shadows:

• Master of Deception — 5 ranks, lowers the chance enemies detect you.
• Camouflage — 5 ranks, reduces the stealth speed penalty and the Stealth cooldown.
• Initiative — 3 ranks, 25/50/75% chance to add an extra combo point with Ambush, Garrote or Cheap Shot.
• Improved Sap — 3 ranks, 30/60/90% chance to return to stealth after using Sap.
• Dirty Deeds — reduces the Energy cost of Cheap Shot and Garrote by 10/20.
• Improved Ambush — increases the critical strike chance of Ambush by 15/30/45%.

Note: Shadowstep, Cloak of Shadows and Shiv were introduced in The Burning Crusade and do not exist in Vanilla. Ready-made builds are in rogue talent builds and the Subtlety rogue build guide.

Practical tips

1. In PvP open with Cheap Shot or Garrote against casters, and with Ambush when you need instant burst.
2. In dungeons Sap a humanoid from the pack to remove it from the pull.
3. Vanish is not only an escape: in raids it also drops your threat.

For more on fighting players read the rogue PvP guide.

◆Related guides

• Rogue class guide
• Rogue abilities
• Rogue rotation
• Rogue PvP guide
• Rogue talent builds
• Rogue finishing moves

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