After messing around with it a bit on the PTR the spec actually surprised me a bit when it finally went live. There are some basic points about it that you have to understand if you want to play it in BfA.- Haste is now our best stat again with Vers trailing just slightly behind. This makes Vigor, Alacrity, and Take Your Cut (PvP) some of our most valuable talents.- SnD simply isn't viable anymore now that Grand Melee + Alacrity is superior to it in every way.- Feint/Elusiveness has been nerfed which was actually a big hit to our survivability. It makes Iron Stomach and Drink Up Me Hearties (Rogue's version of healthstones) much more appealing since you can use it with Crimson Vial for a 84% heal over time.- Blade Rush is new in our toolkit and totally viable if for nothing else than the now-valuable energy regen it offers. Killing Spree is in the same talent row and viable again for that sweet burst damage.The RNG is still undoubtedly annoying to some people but it's just something we have to deal with. Weaponmaster still isn't that great compared to Quick Draw either so SS procs are a part of that. The spec will still probably trail behind Assas/Sub but IMO it's a lot more fun than either. They both focus on applying DoTs or going into stealth over and over while Outlaw is focused on maneuverability and quick, unpredictable gameplay. I would've switched to Assas expansions ago if I cared what spec did the most damage (which is a constantly shifting meta anyway). It'll be interesting to see how the spec is with the Azerite traits, especially the one that rewards you for getting unlucky when rolling the bones.
Mechanical changes seem alright. Outlaw will probably be just as boring and slow to play as it was in Legion.Thematic changes are garbage. They've stripped out all the pirate themed goodness that was the whole point of the spec. Now it's just "Combat: with an even stupider name!". Removing the range on run-through, nerfing RtB so hard you only ever get 1 buff (so you always take SnD), removing Bribe entirely instead of trying to make it useful (it was always garbage and effectively a f*** you to rogues, but it could have been decent as a pseudo-mind control, especially since mind control and control undead are still things), it seems like they are backpeddling hard on the spec, while whistling innocently and denying they've ever made a mistake.
It's not really much different to me. I just wish Blade Flurry was still a toggle. It helps clearing low level content (for mogs, rep, ect) much faster.
after some serious testing on the live I can say these guys are very much glass cannons you hit like a demolisher but die to simple wink its actually a lot of fun to play and feels more viable than it did near the end of legion and I am so happy about this cause the sound of the pistols is so satisfying to hear again.