This is a short guide for dagger build rogues.... it should help you be more efficient with your DPS and help you crit much much higher.
Before we begin... some key talents are Malice, Lethality, Imp Backstab, Cold blood (100%+ chance to crit on your next attack)
They key to doing the most damage with a dagger rogue, is to find the SLOWEST, HIGHEST DAMAGE RANGE dagger you can find. Sometimes a dagger with less DPS is much better because it may be alot slower but with a much higher damage range. This is important because your most important attacks are based on this...
Take ambush. 250% Damage + Some damage based on rank.
Say you're using Death's Sting, the best dagger in the game...
http://www.thottbot.com/?i=53392
Alright. So you ambush someone... that's 144+Extra damage based on your attack rating... about 200 or so. So 200x250% = 500. 500+the highest rank ambush is +290. 790 Damage... supposing it's not even a crit. The crit % bonus is buffed by your talents, making it about 1600-2000. Most level 60's have only around 3000HP. If it was a tank, youd probably have to take off about 400 damage from armor resistance. In this case, you would probably SS then gouge for a backstab... which would result in another 1000+ damage (if it crits... with improved backstab and remorseless attacks, its a very likely event. You'd probably use cold blood to ensure that your ambush crits though.) From then on they probably have very little health, low enough for you to eviscerate them to death. Or you could vanish, cheapshot, and they're doomed.
If it wasn't a tank that you just ambushed, they're pretty much dead... except they have spells to immunize or trap you as they run or cast from afar. In this case, cheapshot is the best choice. With casters, you need to keep them stunned most of the time and do as much DPS as possible while they're incapacitated. Gouge is key, because it lets you follow up with a backstab... very important if you didn't ambush. Use cold blood on the most important attacks.
Well thats my incredibly short guide/discussion...
Comment please?
