Assassination Rogue DPS Guide — Midnight Pre-Patch (12.0)

The Midnight Pre-Patch has arrived, and there are a large amount of changes to Assassination Rogue, both for the Spec itself as well as changes to the Rogue class in general. The main goal behind these changes is to strengthen the identity of the two Hero Talent trees, Deathstalker and Fatebound, changing rotational gameplay flow by making Energy a more impactful resource again, and changing the AoE rotation to more closely resemble our single-target rotation.

As a result of these changes, a lot of skills have been pruned or re-designed, and we have outlined the most impactful changes below, highlighting how they affect your regular gameplay compared to the version of Assassination that you might already be used to. Fret not, however, as the rotational gameplay loop is still very similar to the one that Assassination has relied on for years, so even if you are returning to the game with Midnight after a longer break, you won't feel lost!

Important Note

Keep in mind that this is not the entire re-design of the spec, as more changes are forthcoming with the launch of the Midnight expansion on March 2nd, 2026. Once Midnight launches, we will be gaining access to 3 more Hero Talent Points, as well as our new Apex Talent: Implacable. These will further support and deepen the new gameplay design for Assassination.

Deathstalker's Mark will be easier to apply as it is no longer tied to Ambush, removing the requirement of having to be in Stealth. However, it is harder to switch marks, as you can no longer Vanish and Ambush to apply it to a target of your choosing. The only way to swap marks is by waiting for a Darkest Night proc and swapping the mark to a different target. You will also be able to trigger Darkest Night at 5+ Combo Points, instead of needing to use a maximum Combo Point Envenom, which will make the rotation a bit more forgiving to play.

Fatebound is finally able to compete in AoE, thanks to Fate Intertwined drastically boosting Caustic Spatter. Rolling Fatebound Coins is also more consistent now, and no longer requires Vanish or the now-removed Cold Blood to consistently hit the capstone buff. This improves the usability of Fatebound in all cases, giving it a more reliable benefit to our damage profile, while still retaining its core identity of flipping coins.

By far the biggest change to our rotation is a renewed heavy emphasis on chaining Envenom. There are numerous talents that received large buffs to encourage creating long chains of casting Envenom right before it expires, and our Apex Talent, which will be accessible with the Midnight expansion launch, further emphasizes this identity as well. SOme of the most impactful talents supporting this playstyle are:

• Inspiring Strike
  A new choice-node talent at the bottom of the tree, that boosts all of our class-damage when chaining Envenoms.
• Poisoner's Drive
  The alternative talent to Inspiring Strike, which grants 1 Combo Point instead when chaining properly.
• Rapid Injection
  This talent was massively buffed to grant 30% increased Envenom damage when chaining.

Our Energy generation has been changed quite dramatically as well. Unlike the previous The War Within iteration of the spec, you will receive much less Energy from Venomous Wounds, and instead generate more Energy passively. This change also heavily lowers our Energy generation in AoE, leading to less overcapping, and highlighting the importance of the moment-to-moment decision-making when it comes to the abilties you spend your resources on.

Shiv no longer grants any bonus damage, and all talents that boosted either its direct damage, or made it apply bonus damage effects to enemies, have been removed. It now serves as a utility ability for its Soothe, while no longer being part of our DPS rotation whatsoever.

Deathmark no longer duplicates bleeds, instead making them deal more damage, and the Energy loss from that is off-set by it generating Energy by itself.

Kingsbane is more accessible and will likely be a required pick for any build as our 1-minute cooldown.

Our rotational gameplay in AoE has been simplified a lot, with both our single-target and AoE rotation now being very similar to one another. The main reason for this is the new design of Crimson Tempest, which combines the effects of Fan of Knives and Indiscriminate Carnage by being a CP builder that also spreads bleeds. It costs more Energy than FoK and deals less damage, so you will have to decide which of these abilities you will be using in AoE as your main builders at any given time.

Caustic Spatter has also been changed to no longer require active bleeds or poisons to be applied, and triggers off of casting Envenom and Kingsbane. No more having to use Mutilate or Ambush in AoE!

We hope this summary helped you prepare for the Midnight launch on March 2nd, or February 27th with Early Access. If you want to prepare for your leveling journey in Midnight, make sure to check out our recommended consumables and items that can help you reach max-level in Midnight faster!