Puncturing Wounds, a WoW Forever Rogue talent, in words
Talents in words › Rogue › Combat › Puncturing Wounds
Puncturing WoundsA Combat Rogue talent in WoW Forever: row 2 of the Combat tree (level 15), 3 ranks, passive. Changed from Classic (renamed from Improved Backstab). Read from the WoW Forever beta client.
What it does Combat row 2
- Puncturing Wounds3 ranks · passiveRequires 5 points in Combat Talents (level 15).Rank 1: Increases the critical strike chance of your Backstab by 10% and your Mutilate by 5%, and gives Backstab a 15% chance to add an additional Combo Point.Rank 2: Increases the critical strike chance of your Backstab by 20% and your Mutilate by 10%, and gives Backstab a 30% chance to add an additional Combo Point.Rank 3: Increases the critical strike chance of your Backstab by 30% and your Mutilate by 15%, and gives Backstab a 45% chance to add an additional Combo Point.Changed from Classic (renamed from Improved Backstab). Classic rank 1: Increases the critical strike chance of your Backstab ability by 10%.
What changed from Classic
- Classic rank 1Increases the critical strike chance of your Backstab ability by 10%.
- WoW Forever rank 1Increases the critical strike chance of your Backstab by 10% and your Mutilate by 5%, and gives Backstab a 15% chance to add an additional Combo Point.
- Alsorenamed from Improved Backstab.
Who takes it pick rates from this site's builds
- 58% of Rogue buildsTaken in 58% of the 25,156 complete Rogue builds planned here, Sep 13 to 30, 2026.
- 72% of Assassination buildsTaken in 72% of the 7,388 builds that lead in Assassination.
- 41% of Combat buildsTaken in 41% of the 6,280 builds that lead in Combat, its own tree.
- 59% of Subtlety buildsTaken in 59% of the 11,488 builds that lead in Subtlety.
- How it is countedEach build counts by what people did with it (opened, shared, saved), the way the calculator's pick-rate badges count. Updated daily, last on 2026-09-30.
Around it in the Combat tree
- Same row (5 points in Combat, level 15)Deflection, Precision.
- Row above (level 10)Improved Eviscerate, Improved Sinister Strike, Lightning Reflexes.
- Row below (level 20)Endurance, Riposte, Improved Sprint.
- Gone from Classic CombatDagger Specialization, Mace Specialization, Sword Specialization, Fist Weapon Specialization.
Every Combat talent 17
- Improved Evisceraterow 1
- Improved Sinister Strikerow 1
- Lightning Reflexesrow 1
- Puncturing Woundsrow 2
- Deflectionrow 2
- Precisionrow 2
- Endurancerow 3
- Riposterow 3
- Improved Sprintrow 3
- Improved Kickrow 4
- Flawless Executionrow 4
- Dual Wield Specializationrow 4
- Blade Flurryrow 5
- Hack and Slashrow 5
- Weapon Expertiserow 6
- Aggressionrow 6
- Adrenaline Rushrow 7
Every Assassination talent 17
- Improved Gougerow 1
- Remorseless Attacksrow 1
- Malicerow 1
- Ruthlessnessrow 2
- Murderrow 2
- Improved Slice and Dicerow 2
- Relentless Strikesrow 3
- Improved Expose Armorrow 3
- Lethalityrow 3
- Vile Poisonsrow 4
- Cold Bloodrow 4
- Improved Poisonsrow 4
- Vigorrow 5
- Mutilaterow 5
- Improved Kidney Shotrow 5
- Seal Faterow 6
- Venomrow 7
Every Subtlety talent 19
- Camouflagerow 1
- Master of Deceptionrow 1
- Opportunityrow 1
- Setuprow 2
- Elusivenessrow 2
- Dirty Tricksrow 2
- Improved Ambushrow 2
- Initiativerow 3
- Ghostly Strikerow 3
- Improved Distractrow 3
- Heightened Sensesrow 4
- Premeditationrow 4
- Serrated Bladesrow 4
- Dirty Deedsrow 5
- Preparationrow 5
- Hemorrhagerow 5
- Quietusrow 6
- Cutthroatrow 6
- Thousand Cutsrow 7
From the WoW Forever beta client, checked in game with reader reports. Put points in Puncturing Wounds in the Rogue calculator, read every Rogue talent in words (Assassination and Subtlety too), or see the racials, changed class abilities and Legacy perks.