After maintaining the same level of average gameplay throughout the entirety of Legion, the Rogue class is finally taking steps towards becoming a relevant and even prosperous option in the World of Warcraft raiding scene. And now, with the official Battle for Azeroth launch approaching on the near horizon, it’s only a matter of time until the massive buffs to Rogue that we’re experiencing now make their way into the next chapter of WoW.

Over the course of the past 7 days, Rogues all over Azeroth have been rejoicing as their class has finally been blessed with something it hasn’t had in quite some time: options.

Through the first week of the Battle for Azeroth pre-patch, all three Rogue specs are within the top six ranks for DPS options on “Warcraft Logs”, with Assassination holding down the top spot among all Mythic raiders, followed by Outlaw and Subtlety in the third and sixth ranks, respectively.

And now, with no major class changes scheduled between now and August 13, we could see Rogues dominate the initial stages of PvE content in Battle for Azeroth, as the class’ stranglehold of the DPS meters is simply unprecedented. Many times in WoW’s history have we seen a certain spec dominate the DPS charts, but never an entire class. This is what makes the Rogue’s resurgence in BFA so special. The entire class is in a good spot, and no matter what spec of Rogue you may play, chances are you’re going to be dealing an absurd amount of damage no matter what.

The one spec that should peak most Rogue players’ interest is Outlaw, as its rework in Legion didn’t quite produce the effective results that Combat Rogues of old were expecting. However, in Battle for Azeroth, the spec has risen to the top of the charts, surpassing nearly every class in the process.

After meandering in the basement for the full length of Legion, Outlaw has become a truly viable contender, and while it still has work to do if it’s going to dethrone Assassination as the #1 spec in the game, a top 5 position on the leaderboards to kick off WoW’s latest expansion is a good place to start.

And while we’re still three weeks out from the global launch of Battle for Azeroth, Rogues can at least finish up the final days of Legion on top, and when the time to strike at the newest expansion’s latest content is upon us, perhaps the assassins across Azeroth can lead the charge.

Photo Credit: Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft