Rogues get a new ability, Shank, before launch

Rogues learn a new spell, Shank, at level 24: a 5-Energy, 10-second-cooldown melee strike with the off-hand weapon that deals 50% weapon damage, generates 15 Energy and cannot miss. A second rank at level 44 raises the Energy it generates to 25. Rogues also gain Poised at level 18, a passive that reduces the Energy cost of their next Energy ability by 10 whenever they’re out of combat at maximum Energy.

Several talents across all three trees now interact with Shank. Combat’s new Flash of Steel adds Energy generation and cooldown reduction to it, and Subtlety’s new Boot Knife gives it a chance to add combo points. Assassination’s Venom was reworked into a passive that boosts the Rogue’s own Poison damage and application chance for 6 seconds after using Shank.

Elsewhere, Mutilate moves to row 7 (was row 9) and deals 90% weapon damage (was 75%) plus a larger added amount. Subtlety’s new row-7 talent, Death Mark, is a finishing move that stores a portion of the Rogue’s damage per combo point and detonates it after 6 seconds, with Garrote and Rupture feeding it at double the rate.

Why it matters: from level 24 every Rogue has a new Energy-generating strike, and a talent in each tree builds on it.