Assassination Rogue Shadowlands

[positiv2 946]

This thread is for comments about our Assassination Rogue Shadowlands Guide.

[Guest Valkorn]

Hello,

Why don't you use Ambush instead of Mutilate after exitting from stealth in the 'SUBTERFUGE' opener case.

[Seliathan 2]

Hey Valkorn. It is due to the higher Combo Point generation of Mutilate (as it generates up to 4 CP if it crits) which offsets the slightly lower damage that Mutilate deals compared to Ambush, as well as the the chance to proc a free Ambush with Blindside.

[Guest Valkorn]

Thanks ! Seems logic 

[reddy 0]

With Sepsis proc, do we want to use Ambush or just Mutilate still? As you've said above, Mutilate has a chance to generate more CPs and Sepsis is unlike the Blindside proc and costs energy.

[Seliathan 2]

Hey reddy,

you are indeed correct that the same logic applies to Sepsis. You simply don't use the Ambush proc from Sepsis, and just Mutilate instead as long as you have Blindside talented.

[Guest Ninja Flibble]

I would recommend adding a note in that Subterfuge is the preferred talent in the level 25 row in all cases only if you have the Master Assassin legendary. The crit chance increase of the legendary and the talent do not stack and the legendary provides the stronger effect.

[Seliathan 2]

Hey Ninja Flibble,

we decided not to include a disclaimer of that kind, as it is hopefully somewhat self-explanatory that crit-chance is still capped at 100%, and getting any more than that is redundant. It is a bit weird that the talent is still in the game since the legendary returned and they even both carry the same name, but it just happens to be one of many reasons why Assassination as a spec feels somewhat neglected. As both benefits are reliant on your stealth, playing with either one of them significantly devalues the other. As Mark of the Master Assassin already is not recommended for any type of content, the talent recommendation of Master Assassin still holds some weight to it though.

[Guest Janzz]

Hey! I am wondering if Ambush should be used over Mutilate in the situations where it is available if I use Elaborate Planning talent instead of Blindside.

[Seliathan 2]

Hey Janzz.

Even without Blindside, Ambush is simply not worth using. Mutilate can generate more Combo Points and also hits twice, resulting in more poison applications. The only exception would be the stealth-ability cast you gain from using Sepsis, you will want to Ambush there. 

[Hemstrom 0]

So Mark of the Master Assassin isn't a recommended legendary for M+? Doesn't the critchance apply to Garrote? Im having a hard time choosing between Zoldyck, Dashing Scoundrel or the one mentioned above.

Zoldyck just feels lackluster imo, and Dashing Scoundrel seems like a minor gain considering i will be using Crimson Tempest or Rupture on packs in M+.

Happy for any suggestions, thanks

[Seliathan 2]

Hey Hemstrom,

Mark of the Master Assassin increases your global critical strike chance by 100%. That includes Garrote, as well as any other damage abilities. It also affects dungeon buffs like the ones in Necrotic Wake. The crit-chance is not being snapshot however, so your Garrotes will only have this increased crit-chance while the buff is active (4 seconds after leaving stealth).

The main issue with MA in m+, is that you spend your first three GCDs on Garrote. During that time, while all your dot-ticks are critical hits, you're only ramping up your AoE. It takes a while for Assassination to get its bleeds out and by that time, the crit buff has long disappeared.

Zoldyck is therefore the strongest option, as it provides a passive damage bonus to all your bleeds and poisons during execute. You usually have all your bleeds up on multiple targets when enemies hit that 30% Threshold, which is why this legendary is much more valuable. Bloodfang is another solid choice for AoE, but its sorely lacking on single-target whereas Zoldyck performs well on all types of fights.

Master Assassin is still fairly solid in Mythic+, but I personally recommend using Zoldyck instead. 

[Hemstrom 0]

Thanks for your answer, i went with the Master Assassin legendary. I think it smoothes out the rotation at the start because of the higher crit-chance. I also picked the ring slot to get some more haste which is very important as Assassination. I also play some Subtlety in PvP so its nice with a legendary i can use in both specs.

But thanks for the input, i will consider the other options in the future.

Edited January 29 by Hemstrom

[Seliathan 2]

MA is definitely nice for the consistent CP generation on FoK, which is why it's still one of the better choices especially in Mythic+. It just gets outperformed overall by Zoldyck, but gameplay comfortability is always an important thing, and getting consistent openers contributes to that quite a bit as Assassination. 

The point about it being a good legendary for other specs is certainly true as well, so I don't think theres a big need to switch to Zoldyck anytime soon :)

[Guest Solviante]

Hi (sorry for my english), just seen the future adjustments to assassination spec with 9.0.5, do you think both legendaries "Dashing Scoundrel" and "Doomblade" could become interesting (i'm playing principaly MM+), because of that with the SnD refreshing with Envenom, we will cast a few more Envenom ?

Thank you. :)