On October 1, 2026, WoW: Forever lead designer Kris Zierhut said in the second podcast episode that rogues will deal the highest single-target damage in the game — but only on "standing" bosses without mechanics.

The second episode of the WoW: Forever podcast aired on October 1, 2026, and the project's lead designer Kris Zierhut made a notable statement about class balance. Rogues, he said, will deal the highest single-target damage in the game.

This statement is directly tied to the eternal question for PvE rogues: why bring one to a raid if the class has almost no group utility. Kris Zierhut on the WoW: Forever Episode 2 podcast: "If rogues don't deliver the best single-target damage, why do they even exist?" — Blizzard is openly carving out a pure boss-fight DPS niche for the rogue.

The developers' reasoning rests on three sources of rogue damage: auto attacks, Slice and Dice, and poisons. According to the designer, those three streams are easy to overtune. Zierhut assured that PvE rogues have been promised first place on single target, provided the mechanics and fight type line up. On "standing" bosses in the Patchwerk mold, where the goal is simply to squeeze out maximum damage, the rogue will be on top.

Important caveat: this doesn't mean the rogue will top every boss. We're talking specifically about Patchwerk-style encounters, with no mechanics or movement factored in — on other types of fights, the rogue's first place isn't guaranteed. In the podcast, Zierhut drew a clear line between PvE and the promise: this is primarily about PvE rogues, not PvP.

In practice

• On raids with "standing" bosses (Patchwerk-style), the rogue is in line for the best single-target DPS spot.
• On fights with mechanics, adds, and priority targets, the rogue has no edge — classes with AoE damage are expected to shine there.
• The numbers aren't final yet: the project has been in beta since September 17, 2026, and the balance may shift.