Assassination Rogue DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities (Legion 7.3.5)

Table of Contents

• +Introduction
  • 1. Class Overview
  • 2. Patch 7.3 Changes for Assassination Rogue
  • 3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes for Assassination Rogue
  • 4. Patch 7.2 Changes for Assassination Rogue
  • 5. Assassination Rogue Strengths
  • 6. Assassination Rogue Weaknesses
  • 7. Assassination Rogue Viability in the Current Patch
  • 8. Contents
  • 9. ChangeLog
• +Easy Mode
  • 1. The Basics for Assassination Rogue
  • 2. Talent Choice for Assassination Rogue
  • 3. Stat Choice for Assassination Rogue
  • 4. Basic Rotational Priority for Assassination Rogue
    • 4.1. Tips and Tricks
    • 4.2. Basic Opener
  • 5. ChangeLog
• +Spell Summary
  • 1. Assassination Rogue Spell Summary
  • 2. Main Resources for Assassination Rogue
  • 3. Basic Abilities for Assassination Rogue
  • 4. Important Procs for Assassination Rogue
  • 5. DPS Cooldowns for Assassination Rogue
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Builds and Talents
  • 1. Talent Choices
  • 2. Talent Cheat Sheets for Assassination Rogue
    • 2.1. Poison Build
    • 2.2. Bleed Build
  • 3. Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents for Assassination Rogue
  • 4. Tier 2 (Level 30) Talents for Assassination Rogue
  • 5. Tier 3 (Level 45) Talents for Assassination Rogue
  • 6. Tier 4 (Level 60) Talents for Assassination Rogue
  • 7. Tier 5 (Level 75) Talents for Assassination Rogue
  • 8. Tier 6 (Level 90) Talents for Assassination Rogue
  • 9. Tier 7 (Level 100) Talents for Assassination Rogue
  • 10. ChangeLog
• +Artifact Traits and Relics
  • 1. Artifact Progression for Assassination Rogue — First 35 Points
  • 2. Patch 7.2: 35+ Trait Path for Assassination Rogue
  • 3. Relic Priority for Assassination Rogue
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths
  • 1. General Optimization Advice for Assassination Rogue
  • 2. Crucible Priority for Assassination Rogue
  • 3. ChangeLog
• ×Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities
  • 1. Ability Priority List for Assassination Rogue
    • 1.1. Poison Build
      • 1.1.1. Important Notes
    • 1.2. Bleed Build
  • 2. Poisons
  • 3. Notable Mechanics for Assassination Rogue
    • 3.1. Surge of Toxins
    • 3.2. Kingsbane
    • 3.3. Nightstalker
    • 3.4. Pandemic and Rupture Refresh
  • 4. Academic Information for Assassination Rogue
    • 4.1. The Interaction Between Combo Points and Energy
    • 4.2. Pooling Energy and Combo Points
    • 4.3. Defensive Utility
  • 5. Opening Sequences for Assassination Rogue
    • 5.1. Poison Build
    • 5.2. Bleed Build
  • 6. ChangeLog
• +Boss by Boss Strategies
  • 1. Assassination Rogue Boss Advice: Antorus, the Burning Throne
    • 1.1. Garothi Worldbreaker
      • 1.1.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.2. Felhounds of Sargeras
      • 1.2.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.3. Antoran High Command
      • 1.3.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.4. Eonar the Life-Binder
      • 1.4.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.5. Portal Keeper Hasabel
      • 1.5.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.6. Imonar the Soulhunter
      • 1.6.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.7. Kin'garoth
      • 1.7.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.8. Varimathras
      • 1.8.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.9. The Coven of Shivarra
      • 1.9.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.10. Aggramar
      • 1.10.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 1.11. Argus the Unmaker
      • 1.11.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
  • 2. Tomb of Sargeras
    • 2.1. Goroth
      • 2.1.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.2. The Demonic Inquisition
      • 2.2.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.3. Harjatan
      • 2.3.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.4. Sisters of the Moon
      • 2.4.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.5. Mistress Sassz'ine
      • 2.5.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.6. The Desolate Host
      • 2.6.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.7. Maiden of Vigilance
      • 2.7.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.8. Fallen Avatar
      • 2.8.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 2.9. Kil'jaeden
      • 2.9.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
  • 3. The Nighthold
    • 3.1. Skorpyron
      • 3.1.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 3.2. Chronomatic Anomaly
      • 3.2.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 3.3. Trilliax
      • 3.3.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 3.4. Spellblade Aluriel
      • 3.4.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 3.5. Tichondrius
      • 3.5.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 3.6. Star Augur Etraeus
      • 3.6.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 3.7. Krosus
      • 3.7.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 3.8. High Botanist Tel'arn
      • 3.8.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 3.9. Grand Magistrix Elisande
      • 3.9.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
    • 3.10. Gul'dan
      • 3.10.1. Talents, Trinkets, and Legendaries
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Stat Priority
  • 1. Stat Priority for Assassination Rogue
    • 1.1. Master Poisoner/Toxic Blade
    • 1.2. Elaborate Planning/Alacrity
    • 1.3. Elaborate Planning/Exsanguinate
  • 2. Assassination Rogue: Getting a Better Understanding
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gems, Enchants, and Consumables
  • 1. Gems for Assassination Rogue
    • 1.1. Master Poisoner/Toxic Blade or Elaborate Planning/Alacrity
    • 1.2. Elaborate Planning/Exsanguinate
  • 2. Enchants for Assassination Rogue
    • 2.1. Master Poisoner/Toxic Blade or Elaborate Planning/Alacrity
    • 2.2. Elaborate Planning/Exsanguinate
  • 3. Consumables for Assassination Rogue
  • 4. ChangeLog
• +Macros and Addons
  • 1. AddOns for Assassination Rogue
    • 1.1. ElvUI
    • 1.2. Weak Auras
    • 1.3. Boss Mods
      • 1.3.1. BigWigs Bossmods
      • 1.3.2. Deadly Boss Mods
    • 1.4. Name Plates
      • 1.4.1. KUI Nameplates
      • 1.4.2. TidyPlates
    • 1.5. Damage Meters
      • 1.5.1. Skada
      • 1.5.2. Details
    • 1.6. Extra AddOns
      • 1.6.1. Mik's Scrolling Battle Text
      • 1.6.2. Death Note
      • 1.6.3. Doom CooldownPulse
      • 1.6.4. Angry Assignments
  • 2. Macros for Assassination Rogue
    • 2.1. Startattack Macros
    • 2.2. Tricks of the Trade
  • 3. ChangeLog
• +Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot
  • 1. Tier 21 Set Bonuses for Assassination Rogue
  • 2. Tier 20 Set Bonuses for Assassination Rogue
  • 3. Best in Slot List for Assassination Rogue
  • 4. Trinket List for Assassination Rogue
    • 4.1. Poison Build
    • 4.2. Bleed Build
  • 5. Legendaries for Assassination Rogue
    • 5.1. Antorus Recommendations
  • 6. Legendary Tier List for Assassination Rogue
    • 6.1. Top Tier
    • 6.2. Mid Tier
    • 6.3. Bottom Tier
    • 6.4. Extra Information
  • 7. Loot Competition
  • 8. ChangeLog

General Information

On this page, we list your Assassination Rogue core abilities and how they should be used together (rotation) in World of Warcraft Legion 7.3.5. We also explain when to use your various cooldowns. Then, we go deeper and present all the subtleties that you will need to know if you want to excel at playing an Assassination Rogue.

The other pages of our Assassination Rogue guide can be accessed from the table of contents on the right.

About Our Author and Reviewer

This guide has been written by Furty, who has an illustrious history in the World of Warcraft raiding scene and race for World First. He has been a member of guilds such as Serenity, Midwinter, and many more, and is currently raiding in Future. He plays most classes at the highest level. You can follow him on Twitter and watch him play on Twitch.

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Perfecto, an Outlaw/Assassination Rogue who raids in Method.

1. Ability Priority List for Assassination Rogue

1.1. Poison Build

1. Maintain Rupture on up to 3 targets.
2. Activate Vendetta when available.
3. Activate Vanish with 5 Combo Points in order to facilitate Nightstalker empowered Ruptures or Envenoms (see Important Notes below).
4. Maintain Garrote on the primary target.
5. Cast Kingsbane when available.
6. Cast Toxic Blade when available.
7. Cast Envenom with 4-5 Combo Points.
8. Cast Fan of Knives when 2+ targets are within range to generate Combo Points.
9. Cast Mutilate to generate Combo Points.

1.1.1. Important Notes

• Optimal usage of finishers is 4-5 Combo Points with Vigor, or 5-6 Combo Points with Deeper Stratagem.
• If Rupture is about to fall off, it can be reapplied with any number of Combo Points to maintain uptime. It is best to apply it with 5 Combo Points, however, for maximum Energy efficiency and rotational fluidity.
• Use Vanish to apply full duration Nightstalker buffed Ruptures. You should always let Nightstalker empowered Ruptures to tick their full duration and fall off before reapplying. If you are playing with Mantle of the Master Assassin you should instead use your Nightstalker empowerment on Envenom.
• It is best to use Envenom immediately before activating your Kingsbane.
• Try to maintain the Envenom buff for the entire duration of Kingsbane. Ensure Surge of Toxins is always active for the final 5 seconds of your Kingsbane.
• It is ideal to synchronize Toxic Blade usage with the last 9 seconds of Kingsbane, as it ticks the strongest during that time, however, do not delay your Toxic Blade by more than 5 seconds waiting for Kingsbane cooldown. If Vendetta is coming off cooldown within 5 seconds it is also worth delaying Toxic Blade.
• You should never have more than 80 Energy when activating your Vendetta on a target. Try to activate Vendetta on a target that will live for the entire duration of the debuff.

For more information on your opening sequence, please refer to our dedicated section.

1.2. Bleed Build

1. Maintain Rupture on up to 3 targets.
2. Activate Vendetta when available.
3. Activate Vanish if Exsanguinate is available and you have 6 Combo Points. Apply Rupture.
4. Maintain Garrote on the primary target.
5. Cast Exsanguinate whenever available and Rupture and Garrote have been refreshed to their maximum durations.
6. Cast Kingsbane when available.
7. Cast Envenom with 4-5 Combo Points.
8. Cast Fan of Knives when 2+ targets are within range to generate Combo Points.
9. Cast Mutilate to generate Combo Points.

2. Poisons

Your Lethal Poison should always be Deadly Poison.

Crippling Poison is your only default Non-Lethal poison and you should only use it if something should be slowed. Otherwise, avoid using this as it can be spread by Fan of Knives, and unnecessarily slowing things that should not be is always a bad thing.

3. Notable Mechanics for Assassination Rogue

3.1. Surge of Toxins

Surge of Toxins is an Artifact trait that increases the Poison damage the target takes by 10%. Every time you cast a Finishing Move, Surge of Toxins is applied to the recipient of that finisher for 5 seconds. It is not affected by Pandemic and will always have the same duration and buff regardless of the number of Combo Points consumed.

Playing around Surge of Toxins uptimes is very important. You should always be sure to maintain 100% uptime on this debuff while Vendetta is active. You should also pool Energy outside of Vendetta so you can chain several finishers in a row without losing the Surge of Toxins debuff. During Vendetta, it is acceptable to cast a 3 Combo Point Envenom if it allows you to maintain the Surge of Toxins debuff.

3.2. Kingsbane

Kingsbane damage increases by 15% each time Deadly Poison is applied. You should Envenom immediately before each use of Kingsbane to ensure the damage starts stacking as soon as possible. As a result, Kingsbane is doing maximum damage in the last few seconds before it expires. For that reason, we always want to ensure that Surge of Toxins is active during the final 5 seconds of this debuff.

If your Toxic Blade lines up with your Kingsbane cooldown, you should use it when Kingsbane has 9 seconds remaining for the same reason.

3.3. Nightstalker

The 50% damage buff from the Nightstalker is applied to Rupture's full duration. It is best to use Nightstalker on Envenom when using Mantle of the Master Assassin. With other legendaries, Rupture will always net more damage.

It is best to use your Vanish during Vendetta to maximize your Nightstalker proc.

3.4. Pandemic and Rupture Refresh

When you refresh Rupture before it expires, the duration that was left is added to the new Rupture DoT, up to a maximum of 30% of the original duration. You can safely refresh a 5 Combo Point Rupture when it has 7.2 seconds or less remaining. Deeper Stratagem allows for 6 Combo Point Ruptures which last 28 seconds. 6 Combo Point Ruptures can be refreshed safely when they have 8.4 seconds or less remaining.

Safe Pandemic refresh timing is based off the current number of combo points you have and not the original length of the Rupture. Therefore, a 1 Combo Point Rupture can benefit from full Pandemic if it is refreshed by a 4-5 Combo Point Rupture. This is taken advantage of in the opening sequence later in the guide.

If you are talented into Exsanguinate, you should refresh your bleed effects before Exsanguinate casts for maximum efficacy.

4. Academic Information for Assassination Rogue

4.1. The Interaction Between Combo Points and Energy

As an Assassination Rogue many of your abilities require Energy to be utilized. Your Energy bar has a maximum capacity of 120 Energy (170 Energy when you have Vigor talented). Your baseline rate of Energy regeneration is 10 Energy per second, however, it is increased by:

• current Haste rating (Haste and Haste-enhancing buffs);
• the Venomous Wounds passive;
• the Urge to Kill Artifact trait;
• the Venom Rush talent.

Higher Energy regeneration allows for higher uptimes on Surge of Toxins and Envenom, which awards much higher DPS on an extended encounter.

It is very important to avoid resource overflow. Capping Energy and overcapping Combo Points is an egregious error and special care should be taken to avoid wasting precious resources. "Pooling" higher levels of Energy, however, can be very beneficial (providing you do not cap) as it allows you to store resources in anticipation of a window of high burst. This can help reduce the patchiness of your debuff/buff uptimes (such as Surge of Toxins) which will result in more consistent and smooth damage output.

Combo Point generation is increased by Seal Fate, which causes your critical hits with melee Combo Generators to add an additional Combo Point on your target per critical. This means Mutilate can generate up to 4 Combo Points if main hand and offhand both critically strike. You should never cast a Combo Point generator at or above 4 Combo Points unless it is Garrote or Poisoned Knife (as neither of these benefits from Seal Fate). Do not use Poisoned Knife to reach 5 Combo Points unless you are out of range of the boss and in danger of hitting Energy cap.

4.2. Pooling Energy and Combo Points

It can be very beneficial to "pool" your Energy and Combo Points, which involves auto-attacking while your Energy regenerates. The advantage this provides is variable, meaning that pooling does not always result in damage gained. Situations where pooling Energy and Combo Points is beneficial include:

• before an important add spawns, so you can apply as much instant pressure as possible;
• when you have maximum Combo Points but low Energy, so when you dump with Envenom you can quickly regain Combo Points and Envenom again before Surge of Toxins drops off;
• to assist with Envenom uptime, by chaining two Envenoms so that the buff does not drop;
• an encounter specific buff or damage phase is imminent;

Pooling Energy is not a magical DPS gain by itself. It allows you to slightly adjust the timing of your abilities so that you fit more attacks during periods of increased damage (provided you can properly identify when such periods are going to come).

4.3. Defensive Utility

All Rogues have a solid number of defensive cooldowns, making them the best candidate for soaking required mechanics and dealing with heavy incoming damage.

• Feint reduces AoE damage taken by 50% for 5 seconds for only 20 Energy. When talented into Elusiveness it also reduces all other damage by 30%. Feint is fantastic for dealing with predictable raid damage.
• Cloak of Shadows provides magic immunity for a second, followed by 5 seconds where all spells will miss. Cloak has a variety of uses, bother pre-emptive and reactive, such as solo soaking mechanics or clearing debuffs that would force you out of melee range.
• Evasion increases your Dodge chance by 100% for 10 seconds. This can be useful if you have to tank some adds or the boss for a few seconds.
• Cheat Death is a talent that allows you to escape lethal damage once every 6 minutes. The damage cannot exceed more than twice your maximum health. Cheat Death is great for soaking mechanics that pierce immunities and damage reductions as it guarantees your survival. It is also great for encounters with bursty damage that might take you by surprise, as you get a free get out of jail free card at least once in the encounter.
• Crimson Vial provides a respectable amount of healing on a very short cooldown. Once the Artifact trait Dense Concoction is acquire this also adds additional damage reduction to your kit.

Do not forget about this defensive toolkit, as it can be a huge asset for your mortality and your raid!

5. Opening Sequences for Assassination Rogue

Always start the pull from Stealth.

5.1. Poison Build

This opening sequence is optimized for players using the Mantle of the Master Assassin.

1. Use Potion of Prolonged Power at 1 second on the pull countdown.
2. Apply Garrote.
3. Cast Mutilate.
4. Apply Rupture.
5. Activate Vendetta.
6. Cast Toxic Blade.
7. Cast Kingsbane.
8. Activate Vanish.
9. Cast Envenom.
10. Cast Mutilate.
11. Cast Envenom.
12. Continue with normal priority.

5.2. Bleed Build

1. Use Potion of Prolonged Power at 1 second on the pull countdown.
2. Apply Garrote.
3. Cast Mutilate.
4. Apply Rupture.
5. Cast Mutilate.
6. Activate Vendetta.
7. Cast Mutilate.
8. Cast Mutilate if you have 5 or less Combo Points.
9. Activate Vanish.
10. Apply Rupture.
11. Apply Garrote.
12. Activate Exsanguinate.
13. Cast Mutilate.
14. Cast Mutilate.
15. Cast Envenom.
16. Cast Kingsbane.

6. ChangeLog

• 11 Jan. 2018: Restructured and fully updated the page. Split APL & openers into poison/bleed sections.
• 10 Sep. 2017: Updated opener.
• 28 Aug. 2017: Added a more detailed explanation of Toxic Blade usage.
• 28 Jun. 2017: Updated opener.
• 12 Jun. 2017: A few improvements here and there. Split opener in 2 sections: with and without Mantle of the Master Assassin.
• 27 Mar. 2017: No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
• 07 Mar. 2017: Numerous updates, new sections added, reworked several existing sections.
• 14 Jan. 2017: Trimmed some mentions of Deeper Strategem and updated opener.
• 09 Jan. 2017: Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
• 09 Dec. 2016: Updated Kingsbane section, Opening Sequence, and Action Priority List.
• 02 Nov. 2016: Updated pooling section to make note of Urge to Kill.
• 25 Oct. 2016: Updated Kingsbane section to note that it generates a Combo Point in Patch 7.1.
• 07 Oct. 2016: Adjusted page to be further in line with the Agonizing Poison build.
• 05 Oct. 2016: Updated opener.
• 29 Aug. 2016: Updated for Legion's launch.
• 29 Jul. 2016: Updated Opening Sequence & added note about 5-6 CP vs. 6 CP finisher usage.
• 19 Jul. 2016: Added a mention about safe Pandemic refresh for Rupture.
• 18 Jul. 2016: Updated for the Legion pre-patch.

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