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The Rogue in PVE Combat
The Rogue has probably one of the simplest responsibilities in World of Warcraft PVE encounters: To do damage. However, it is easier said than done to maintain high damage while staying alive, as the Rogue has the tendency to pull agro if he/she isn’t too careful.

There are two major divisions in Rogue play styles that have different effects on PVE play styles.

The key to high damage output as a dagger Rogue is being able to stay in range long enough that your energy is never completely full, IE no energy ticks are wasted. Considering that the majority of a dagger Rogue’s damage comes from backstab criticals the Rogue has a 4 second window between 60 energy (the requirement for backstab) and 100 energy (full for most Rogues) to use their move without wasting extra energy ticks. Considering that the Rogue also needs to be behind the monster for backstab it can be somewhat tricky to be an efficient Rogue in some encounters.

However, a dagger Rogue is preferable in a fight where proximity is not guaranteed at all times. The reason is better explained by a quick look at combat spec Rogue damage in PVE.

The combat Rogue is a Rogue characterized by a stream of semi consistent damage with small bursts, as well as an emphasis on the addition of “white” damage, or damage arising from auto attack, both main hand and offhand. With talents the offhand damage of a Rogue can be increased by 50%. This is much better than the Warrior’s dual wield bonus of 25%. The benefit of a combat Rogue in certain encounters is to be able to keep their DPS relatively consistent. To put it plainly, a combat Rogue will seldom be caught with their pants down. The main distinction is in the instant attacks they use. While a dagger Rogue primarily uses backstab, a 60 energy cost move, a combat Rogue will generally use sinister strike, a 40 energy move. What this means is that while instant damage output is lower, you are more likely to have enough energy at any given time to do a sinister strike than a backstab, as well as the fact that for every 2 backstabs you could do 3 sinister strikes. While it’s true that a dagger Rogue may often utilize sinister strike in normal combat, a combat Rogue with a higher damaging sword, mace, or fist weapon will do a lot more damage through the ability.

The main difference between the styles is really just how they deal their damage. In timable spikes (Dagger Rogue) with damage downtime, so to speak, or a steady flow (combat Rogue) with no significantly large bursts. So obviously there’s a bit of crossover where both burst damage and high damage potential (IE ability is almost always ready to use) are needed. This is why Rogue play style variety is important in a PVE setup.