Since WoW launch, which expansion(s) did Rogue play the best in your opinion? Which specialization and why?
I played Rogue Vanilla → Cata. Not at a very high level, so my opinion on performance is probably null. Just wanted to hear from some others about the past and the current standing!
Thanks 
i think most rogues would say legion because it was the easiest.
i think vanilla was the most balanced the game ever was.
mop was the most fun for my rogue.
cata was the WORST.
Legion was really great. I had fun with all 3 specs. Slice and Dice was gone (except as an Outlaw talent choice that was rarely picked). Blade Flurry could still be turned on permanently. Good times.
MoP was also quite good. I still miss Burst of Speed and Recuperator!
(dang it, during server downtime it’s not letting me change my forum character away from this alt I didn’t even know I had lol)
I stopped playing right when it was about to come out. Sounds interesting!
Honestly vanilla rogue was so much fun. The only thing I really don’t miss from vanilla is combo points being tied to individual targets. But it wasn’t a huge deal back then.
Other than that, WoD assassination and Legion Outlaw have been my favorite.
I do remember the combo point specific thing. Haha.
Sounds like I missed Outlaw’s glory days. I enjoy it for the most part right now, but I know no better.
Hunter - Feign Death, whoops, your CP are gone. Don’t miss that at all.
Personally I enjoyed Cata, but I also got the legendary being the only rogue raider in our guild at the time. I enjoyed it up until…eh, BFA I guess? I’m not super fond of our current state though at all.
Cata, got my legendary daggers
For me, it was Cata and MoP. I went rogue full time in Cata and MoP was just a joy in general. Plus I also adored Recuperator lol
Vanilla
My rogue had a Fel Striker, loved AV field of strife stun locking people until dead.
I also miss when Mut was position based.
MoP for sure as all three specs were at their peak. This is because you still had old design of Rogue from vanilla, BC, WoTLK and Cata with the new stuff in MoP.
I think the most fun I ever had on my rogue was MoP combat.
Legion. Dropping a mile out of the sky onto an unsuspected victim, taking zero fall damage was great.
To get a more specific flavor of how Rogue used to work in the past, visit the “Category:Removed rogue abilities” page of Wowpedia:
https://wowpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Removed_rogue_abilities
Here are some of the more popular ones folks have mentioned missing:
Burst of Speed - Level 60 Rogue talent - 30 Energy - 3 sec cooldown - Instant
Increases your movement speed by 70% for 4 sec and removes movement slowing effects. Usable while stealthed.
Recuperate - Level 16 rogue ability - 30 Energy - Instant
Finishing move that consumes combo points on any nearby target to restore 3% of maximum health every 3 sec. Lasts longer per combo point:
1 point : 6 seconds
2 points: 12 seconds
3 points: 18 seconds
4 points: 24 seconds
5 points: 30 seconds
Here are some other noteworthy abilities that we no longer have access to in any form:
Bribe - 30 yd range - 3 min cooldown - Instant
Bribes a non-player humanoid target up to level (player level + 1) with fool’s gold, convincing it to fight for you for 5 min.
Cannonball Barrage - 35 yd range - 1 min cooldown - Instant
Command a ghost ship crew to barrage the target area with cannonballs doing (720% of attack power) Physical damage over 1.8 sec and slowing enemies by 50% for 1.5 sec.
Cloak and Dagger - Passive
Your Ambush, Garrote, and Cheap Shot abilities can now be used from 40 yards away, and will cause you to appear behind your target.
Create: Crimson Vial - 1 min recharge - 1.5 sec cast
Create a Crimson Vial to share with allies. Maximum of 3 can be carried at once.
Deadly Throw - 30 yd range - 35 Energy - Instant
Finishing move that reduces the movement of the target by 50% for 6 sec and causes increased thrown weapon damage:
1 point : [164 + Ranged weapon min base damage] - [180 + Ranged weapon max base damage] damage
2 points: [269 + Ranged weapon min base damage] - [285 + Ranged weapon max base damage] damage
3 points: [374 + Ranged weapon min base damage] - [390 + Ranged weapon max base damage] damage
4 points: [479 + Ranged weapon min base damage] - [495 + Ranged weapon max base damage] damage
5 points: [584 + Ranged weapon min base damage] - [600 + Ranged weapon max base damage] damage
Neurotoxin - Melee range - 25 Energy - 45 sec cooldown - Instant
Stabs the target with your off-hand weapon, causing (8.2212% of Attack power) Nature damage, and applies a deadly neurotoxin for 3 sec. The neurotoxin causes any ability used to incur a 1 sec cooldown.
Paralytic Poison - 3 sec cast
Coats your weapons with a Non-Lethal Poison that lasts for 60 min. Each strike has a 20% chance of poisoning the enemy for 15 sec. Stacks up to 4 times on a single target, and upon a fourth application, the enemy will be stunned for 4 seconds.Shiv effect:
Cause instant paralysis of an enemy’s lower body, rooting them in place for 4 sec.
Riposte - Melee range - 10 Energy - 6 sec cooldown - Instant
A strike that becomes active after parrying an opponent’s attack. This attack deals 150% weapon damage and disarms the target for 6 sec.
Shadow Reflection - 20 yd range - 2 min cooldown - Instant
Summon a shadow of yourself on the target that will watch you and memorize your offensive ability usage for the next 8 sec. After this time, it will mimic the memorized abilities on its target over the next 8 sec.
Swiftblade’s Cunning - Passive
Increases the haste and multistrike chance of all party and raid members within 100 yards by 5%.
Enhanced Blade Flurry - Passive
Blade flurry no longer has a target cap.
Improved Dual Wield - Passive
You no longer have a penalty to hitting with your autoattacks due to dual-wielding.
Improved Slice and Dice - Passive
Slice and Dice is now always passively active.
Catlike Reflexes - (3 ranks) - Rogue artifact trait
Increases dodge chance by 5/10/15% and makes you immune to falling damage.
Deception - (1 rank) - Rogue artifact trait
Activating Sprint causes Feint to activate for no Energy cost.
Greed - (1 rank) - Rogue artifact trait
Run Through occasionally awakens The Dreadblades, unleashing a sweeping attack against all nearby enemies for (350% + 350% of weapon damage) Physical damage, and healing you for (5% of total HP) per target hit.
Hidden Blade - (1 rank) - Rogue artifact trait
Successfully using Ambush guarantees your next Saber Slash will strike an additional time.
Shadow Swiftness - (1 rank) - Rogue artifact trait
Activating Shadowstep grants you Evasion for 2 sec.
Cataclysm was my favorite mostly due to the legendary daggers and the storyline.
Sub rogue from cataclysm up to legion was one of my favorite PvE specs. I didn’t hate combat either, but sub just felt more roguelike to me. Focus on positioning, big crits with daggers and big dance burst.
I liked assassination on and off since legion, it was usually my favorite rogue spec (even though I didn’t vibe with most of rogues specs post legion for several expansions).
Wait, Vanilla? The time when Rogues could fight naked with 2 vendor greys and still kill people in PvP by stunlocking?
I don’t think that was the most balanced time.
Cata, MoP were my favorite time to be a Rogue.
So many legit abilities just gone. Oh did you see Rogues are getting NOTHING changed in the upcoming class tuning patch?
This is sensible. We are obviously right where we need to be.
Favorite was probably vanilla, I do have to agree rogues had it pretty easy in pvp. But to be more specific vanilla with the pre-patch updates/talents to TBC. It was extremely fun.