Assassination Rogue DPS Easy Mode — Shadowlands 9.0.5
On this page, we explain how to easily play Assassination Rogue in World of Warcraft — Shadowlands 9.0.5, using the simplest rotation, talent tree, stat priority, gear setup, etc., without sacrificing performance.
Foreword
If you are new to the class or spec, it is best advised to start slow by starting with a straightforward build to get a better handle on the core mechanics and interactions. This build is only marginally worse than the most optimal way to play the spec, so there is no need to worry at all about potentially lacking behind fellow Rogue players while you get to know the foundations of Assassination.
The Basics for Assassination Rogue
Assassination primarily focuses on maintaining damage over time effects for potent sustained damage and cleave. In this section, we will be focusing on a setup that minimizes the amount of buttons and reactivity necessary without unduly compromising overall damage output.
If you are completely new to Assassination and need more information on the abilities available to you, you can check out our Spell Summary page.
Talent Choice for Assassination Rogue
These choices are optimized for ease of use. While some talents can be better in certain situations, this build works very well in all types of content while being not nearly as punishing for unfamiliarity with the core principles of the spec.
- Level 15:
Elaborate Planning
- Level 25:
Subterfuge
- Level 30:
Vigor
- Level 35:
Cheat Death
- Level 40:
Iron Wire
- Level 45:
Alacrity
- Level 50:
Poison Bomb
For more in-depth analysis on each of the talent choices and the reasoning behind the aforementioned build as the go-to for ease of use, check out the Talent section below.
Best Covenant, Soulbind and Conduits for Assassination Rogue
All Covenants are viable choices for Assassination Rogue. We recommend selecting Night Fae as your Covenant and Niya as your Soulbind. Night Fae is a solid Covenant choice that works well in all types of content and is very easy to use. Venthyr and Necrolord have received some buffs in this patch, and can edge out the other options in single-target (Venthyr) and Mythic+ (Necrolord), respectively.
Choose these Conduits for your Assassination Rogue:
- Potency:
Well-Placed Steel and
Lethal Poisons.
- Finesse:
Quick Decisions and
Fade to Nothing.
- Endurance:
Recuperator and
Nimble Fingers.
You can find out more about all four Covenants, as well as all Soulbinds and Conduits in our comprehensive Covenant section:
Stat Choice for Assassination Rogue
Currently, you will want to prioritize secondary stats as follows:
- Haste;
- Critical Strike;
- Versatility;
- Mastery.
For Mythic+, you will want to prioritize stats as follows:
- Haste;
- Critical Strike;
- Versatility;
- Mastery.
You can learn more about what each stat does for you and which stats are the best for each situation by heading to our stats page.
Legendary Choices for Assassination Rogue
Here are some of the top legendary powers to go for:
Zoldyck Insignia does well in all types of content and is very good on fights that need high DPS during the last stage of the fight.
Doomblade performs better overall than
Zoldyck Insignia on pure single-target, but Zoldyck's damage benefit during an execute phase is almost always of a higher value. It also loses to Zoldyck in any kind of multi-target scenario.
Mark of the Master Assassin is a good alternative if you plan on playing multiple specs or simply want more burst damage.
For more information on other legendary powers and a more detailed explanation as to why these are the best legendary powers available to Assassination, check out our dedicated legendary page:
Basic Rotational Priority for Assassination Rogue
Always make sure to have Deadly Poison applied.
- Keep
Rupture and
Garrote applied to the main target at all times.
- Maintain
Slice and Dice at all times.
- Use
Vendetta on cooldown.
- Use your Covenant ability on cooldown.
- Activate
Vanish on cooldown and reapply
Garrote.
- Use
Shiv on cooldown.
- Cast
Envenom to dump Combo Points.
- Use
Mutilate to generate Combo Points on 1-3 targets. Use
Fan of Knives to generate Combo Points on 4+ targets.
By following the link you will be able to find a more detailed version of this priority list for both single-target and AoE, as well as deeper explanation into some of the core concepts of Assassination gameplay. If you'd like to know more about how to pool energy properly or how different talents require a different opener, check out the Rotation section of this guide.
Tips and Tricks
- Refresh
Rupture and
Slice and Dice before activating
Vendetta, so you do not have to cast these abilities while it is active.
- Always cast finishers at 4-5 Combo Points.
- Try to cast
Envenom with 4-5 Combo Points at least twice during each
Shiv.
Changelog
- 09 Mar. 2021: Updated Covenant recommendation, Mythic+ stat priority, and Legendary recommendations.
- 24 Dec. 2020: Added Poison recommendation.
- 23 Nov. 2020: Page updated for the Shadowlands release, added Covenant, Legendary and Conduit recommendations.
- 28 Oct. 2020: Updated stat priority.
- 12 Oct. 2020: Page updated for the Shadowlands pre-patch.
More Rogue Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written and reviewed by Seliathan, who has been playing Rogue since the first day of Classic. He currently raids in Familiar with Drama, and is one of the foremost Mythic+ Rogue players. You can often find him streaming on Twitch, or follow him on his personal Discord server.
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