Every Wednesday, Chase Christian of Encrypted Text invites you to enter the world of shadows, as we explore the secrets and mechanics of the Rogue class. This week, we discuss some of the tips and tricks to remember when raiding Icecrown Citadel.

With patch 3.3's release last week, we saw a brand new tier of raid content released. Our mission to assassinate Arthas while he sits upon his throne has reached its conclusion. After dealing with the immediate threat of Yogg-saron's corruption and proving ourselves in the Argent Tournament, we've been selected as the agents of the Lich King's demise. We haven't come this far to fail now!

Before we can walk in and show Frostmourne and company what's up, we have to cut our teeth on Arthas' doorkeepers first. The first four bosses of Icecrown Citadel are now available to tackle, and provide some of the most interesting and innovative mechanics that we've seen in a boss fight yet. Considering that you'll be facing these same 4 bosses for the new few weeks, it provides a great opportunity to really learn the fights and capitalize on any tricks that will keep you alive. Read on for my analysis of the first wing of ICC from a rogue's perspective, with specific tips and tricks for assassins only!

Trash

Immediately when you step into ICC, you'll find the new T10 gear vendors. Feel free to drool over the new set, and then move on to taking out the trash between yourself and the first boss. Most of it is pretty standard stuff, although there is one specific rogue-only tip I can provide. There are a pair of traps in each of the starting rooms, that are visible while you are stealthed and can be disarmed. These traps will trigger a frost/slowing aura on your raid and will summon a giant skeleton add to come attack your group if they are triggered.

While you can safely disarm them from 20y away while in Stealth, remember that by skipping the mobs, you will lose out on 75 reputation with the Ashen Verdict for each one you skip. For this reason, I suggest you simply mark the trap with a flare or other notification, so that you can trigger it on your own. This will net you some extra reputation, which can be key as you work your way up the food chain towards the very awesome Ashen Verdict exalted rings. Once exalted, and on farm runs later, your raid leader will probably ask for these traps to be disarmed instead of activated.

First Encounter: Lord Marrowgar

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