Poisons are created using the Poison profession which is gained through a simple quest around level 20 from the rogue class trainer. It’s a rogue only profession that works similar to alchemy. You’ll need various vials and reagents purchased from a shady vendor, poison supplier, or reagent vendor to brew up the various lethal poisons a rogue has available to them.

Poisons work differently than other professions though. Not only is it rogue only but it has only one level (the first one) so you don’t have to train at the 75, 125, etc. mark to increase your skill. Instead the skill point cap is five times your current level (at level 60 it’d be 300, level 70 it’d be 350, and at level 80 it’d be 400). New poisons are learned from the rogue trainer whenever both the level and poisons skill requirement is met.

A rogue can get started once he or she has learned how to create a poison and has the necessary ingredients to brew it up. Simply open up the poisons profession window (accessible through your skillbook) and navigate to the poison you wish to create. Listed will be what’s required to make it (again these items are available from vendors) and how many you can make if you already have the ingredients. Use the create button below to create the poison.

Once crafted the poison will appear in your inventory (multiple poisons do stack for convenience). Open up your character information screen (where your equipped items are) along with the bag that the poison is in. Right click the poison to make your cursor have a white highlight around it. Then left click the weapon in which you want to apply it to. Both the main hand and off-hand weapons can have poisons applied to them. Mixing and matching the best poisons for the situation is a requirement to good rogue play! Speaking of which…

The Poisons

Anesthetic Poison: At level 65 rogues gain this unique poison that works exactly like an instant poison with less damage but causes no threat. Entirely useless except in PvE content (that’s against computer controlled enemies). Even then you need to have more gear than the tank and constantly have aggro problems (where the enemy no longer chooses to attack the tank and instead goes after you) for it to be useful. It’s best in long raid scenarios where threat is a major concern. Otherwise just use instant poison.

Crippling Poison: Gained at level 20 (with an upgrade at level 50), crippling poison has a 30% chance to snare an enemy by 70% for 12 seconds.

Deadly Poison: Gained at level 30 (with upgrades at 38,46,54,60,62, and 70), deadly poison has a 30% chance to apply a DoT (damage over time) poison to the enemy that deals (at max level) 180 damage over 12 seconds and can stack up to 5 times. This is the highest single DPS (damage per second, or think damaging) poison available. It’s great in PvP (it’s nearly impossible to cleanse without wasting a ton of mana) and in PvE it’s excellent. However, be warned that it will break crowd control abilities like gouge and polymorph. In instances where enemies may need to be trapped or polymorphed at random it would be a good idea to use instant poison instead. Each poison “refreshes” whenever they’re reapplied meaning you can have up to five poisons on someone for as long as you can continue to apply the poison.

Instant Poison: Gained at level 20 (with upgrades at 28, 36,44,52,60, and 68), instant poison is just as it name applies. It has a 20% chance to instantly deal 146-194 (at max level) damage to an enemy. This is excellent since it’s not a debuff, can’t be removed, isn’t absorbed by armor (nature damage), and won’t break crowd control if you stop attacking an enemy. However, assuming that you apply 5 deadly poisons and 5 instant poisons on one target the deadly poison will deal more damage continuously than the instant poison will do. Faster weapons though will make instant poison do a good deal of damage due to the flat proc rate.

Mind-numbing Poison: Available at level 24 (with upgrades at 38 and 52), Mind-numbing Poison increases casting time by 40/50/60% based on rank. Great while fighting casting mobs and a few bosses (Pathaleon the Calculator in the Mechanar and Reliquary of Souls in Black Temple). It’s nearly useless in PvP since crippling is always more preferred although when fighting a caster one on one it can be a life saver. Keep that in mind for duels!

Wound Poison: Available at level 32, Wound Poison reduces healing on a target by 10% per application (which stacks up to 5 times equaling 50%) and does a negligible amount of damage. Aimed Shot and Mortal Strike are the preferred ways of decreasing healing on a target so this poison is not that useful in a group setting. Not to remove it as a useful poison, it’s just that crippling would be more helpful in keeping the enemy within range than decreasing the healing (which takes over 5 applications and not to be dispelled for it to be useful). When soloing (for instance on the Isle of Quel’danas fighting Blood Knights) or fighting any kind of PvE content with heavy healing enemies it can find its uses if you’d prefer to decrease the healing instead of expand your damage.

Main Hand and Off-Hands – What Poisons to Use?

Let’s talk PvP vs. PvE. In PvP you’re going to want some crippling poison for one reason and one reason only: it’s awesome. It snares the enemy, reapplies itself often, can cover up another poison, and well snares the enemy! It’s best to apply it to your main-hand or your slowest weapon. It’ll apply often enough and it’s always best to save your off-hand for your best poison. Now let’s talk off-hand poisons. Deadly poison is pretty much going to be your best choice unless you want that instant hit. If deadly poison is cleansed off of the target then you can just reapply it over and over. It’s great for wasting mana and its damage is really good to.

In PvE we’re going to have to separate this debate into two sections. Grouping and not-grouping. In grouping you’re going to want instant poison on your slowest (main-hand) weapon and deadly poison on your fastest (off-hand) weapon. This way you maximize your DPS by reapplying deadly poison as much as possible and dealing extra damage with instant poison when you can. If you’re in a group that doesn’t have a Warlock DoTing things and a target you could be hitting could become the future recipient of a frost trap, wyvern sting, polymorph, or anything else then you may want to just double up on the instant. You’re going to take a DPS hit but you won’t be breaking any crowd control spells. That’s a rarity in grouping though.

For when you’re out solo then it’s all about what works for you. Fighting healing mobs? Think about wound poison. Fighting mobs that flee? Throw in some crippling on your weapon. Casters? Well you know what to do! Mind-numbing poison so you can chew right through them. None of these satisfy you? Then go ahead and do double instant, or instant on your main and deadly on your off.

Well that pretty much wraps up the rogue poisons. Knowing and utilizing your poisons can help make anyone a better rogue. With the proper poisons for the proper situation and a good understanding of your specialization and how it works with poisons (things like shiv, envenom, etc. which work side by side with poisons) you too can deal massive damage and be the shady hero in everyone’s eyes.

Rogue’s in World of Warcraft get a profession all to themselves known simply as poisons. The poisons profession allows rogues to brew up various lethal toxins that can cripple, damage, numb, or even wound the rogue’s enemy. Applied directly to the weapon these dangerous lethal concoctions are the bane to anyone who meets a rogue’s blade. Understanding how to use poisons (or how they are used) can be helpful in fighting others (or fighting a rogue). So find out all about poisons today in our updated Rogue Poisons Guide!

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