Assassination Rogue DPS Easy Mode — Shadowlands 9.1

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.

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.

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.

All Covenants are viable choices for Assassination Rogue. We recommend selecting Venthyr as your Covenant and Nadjia the Mistblade as your Soulbind for the best overall performance. The Venthyr Covenant offers the highest single-target damage out of all the covenant choices, and deals only slightly less damage than Necrolord on AoE.

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.

Lashing Scars, Reverberation and Sudden Fractures are better options as the second Potency Conduit for Venthyr, Kyrian and Necrolord Rogues.

You can find out more about all four Covenants, as well as all Soulbinds and Conduits in our comprehensive Covenant section:

All three Domination Shard sets are very close to each other in performance. The Unholy Set bonus will perform best at all but the highest gear levels and is strong in both single-target and AoE scenarios. You will want to run Shard of Bek and Shard of Cor as additional Shards, but you should focus on getting all 3 Unholy shards and a Helmet for the set bonus first.

At very high gear levels, the Frost Set starts outperforming Unholy.

For more information on this new system and possible alternative setups, especially at higher gear levels, check out our in-depth Shard of Domination section in our Gearing Guide.

Currently, you will want to prioritize secondary stats as follows:

1. Haste;
2. Critical Strike;
3. Versatility;
4. Mastery.

For Mythic+, you will want to prioritize stats as follows:

1. Critical Strike;
2. Mastery;
3. Haste;
4. Versatility.

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.

Here are some of the top legendary powers to go for:

1. When playing Venthyr you will want to play Obedience at all times, as it is stronger than any other Legendary choice for Assassination.
2. 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.
3. Doomblade performs better overall than Zoldyck Insignia on pure single-target, but Zoldyck's damage benefit during an execute phase can be of higher value. It also loses to Zoldyck in any kind of multi-target scenario.
4. 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:

Always make sure to have Deadly Poison applied.

1. Keep Rupture and Garrote applied to the main target at all times.
2. Maintain Slice and Dice at all times.
3. Use Vendetta on cooldown.
4. Use your Covenant ability on cooldown.
5. Activate Vanish on cooldown and reapply Garrote.
6. Use Shiv on cooldown.
7. Cast Envenom to dump Combo Points and extend Slice and Dice.
8. 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.

• Refresh Rupture and Garrote before activating Vendetta, so you do not have to cast these abilities while it is active.
• Always cast finishers at 4-5 Combo Points.
• Maintain Slice and Dice by using Envenom. Cut to the Chase will automatically extend your Slice and Dice duration.
• Try to cast Envenom with 4-5 Combo Points at least twice during each Shiv.