Assassination Rogue PvP Guide (Season 4)
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to play Assassination Rogue in a PvP environment. The guide will cover everything from talent choices, PvP talents, gameplay and rotation, and useful racial bonuses. It is most applicable to Arena content, but most talents and racial bonuses will work in Rated Battlegrounds and skirmishes.
If you were looking for TBC Classic content, please refer to our TBC Rogue PvP guide.
Assassination Rogues in the Current Meta
Assassination Rogues have consistent sustained damage thanks to their Bleeds and Poisons, and are very good at cleaving down several enemies with their damage over time effects. Their healing reduction effect, Wound Poison, can be applied to multiple enemies, making it difficult for enemy healers to heal their entire team. Dragonflight also brought enhanced mobility and CC, making Assassination Rogues an offensive force to be reckoned with. Their access to a silence effect with Garrote has made them known to be great at killing healers. An Assassination Rogue left unchecked will quickly close a PvP match!
Noteworthy Season 4 changes
Veil of Midnight now only allows Cloak of Shadows to also remove harmful physical effects. It no longer increases dodge chance. This is a considerable nerf to survivability.
Noteworthy Patch 10.2 changes
Assassination has been reworked with Patch 10.2. Down below are the most important changes:
- Kingsbane is now more accessible, and can be made to deal really high damage. That gives Assassination a very powerful burst cooldown.
- Shadow Dance has become a much more desirable option thanks to the redesign of the class tree. This greatly enhances Assassination CC potential, something it was lacking compared to other Rogue specialization, while providing even more burst damage.
- Improved Shiv now increases Nature damage done by 30% (was 20%). Additionally Arterial Precision now increases Bleed damage done by 30% (was 20%). This makes Shiv a decent, low cooldown burst ability, leading to more lethal kill attempts.
- Vigor and Path of Blood make the specialization feel a lot more smooth energy-wise. With proper use of Thistle Tea, energy won't be as much of a limiting factor as it used to be.
Assassination Rogue Strengths and Weaknesses
- Excellent sustained damage.
- Decent burst.
- Great control.
- Excellent utility.
- Very prone to dying in stuns.
- Significant cooldown on defensive abilities.
- Often reliant on teammates to stay alive.
- Very predictable burst damage.
Changelog
- 22 Apr. 2024 (races): Updqted for Dragonflight Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (macros): Updqted for Dragonflight Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (playstyle): Updqted for Dragonflight Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (comps): Updqted for Dragonflight Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (gear): Updqted for Dragonflight Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (talents): Updqted for Dragonflight Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (this page): Updqted for Dragonflight Season 4.
- 22 Apr. 2024 (this page): Updqted for Dragonflight Season 4.
- 18 Mar. 2024 (races): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.6.
- 18 Mar. 2024 (macros): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.6.
- 18 Mar. 2024 (playstyle): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.6.
- 18 Mar. 2024 (comps): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.6.
- 18 Mar. 2024 (gear): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.6.
- 18 Mar. 2024 (talents): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.6.
- 18 Mar. 2024 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.6.
- 18 Mar. 2024 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.6.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (races): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (macros): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (playstyle): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (comps): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (gear): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (talents): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.5.
- 15 Jan. 2024 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.5.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (races): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (macros): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (playstyle): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (comps): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (gear): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (talents): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.
- 06 Nov. 2023 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.2.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (races): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.7.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (macros): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.7.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (playstyle): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.7.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (comps): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.7.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (gear): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.7.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (talents): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.7.
- 04 Sep. 2023 (this page): Updated for Patch 10.1.7
- 04 Sep. 2023 (this page): Updated for Patch 10.1.7
- 10 Jul. 2023 (races): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (macros): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (playstyle): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (comps): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (gear): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (talents): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.5.
- 10 Jul. 2023 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.5.
- 30 Apr. 2023 (races): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.
- 30 Apr. 2023 (macros): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.
- 30 Apr. 2023 (playstyle): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.
- 30 Apr. 2023 (comps): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.
- 30 Apr. 2023 (gear): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.
- 30 Apr. 2023 (talents): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.
- 30 Apr. 2023 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.
- 30 Apr. 2023 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.1.
- 21 Mar. 2023 (races): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.7.
- 21 Mar. 2023 (macros): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.7.
- 21 Mar. 2023 (playstyle): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.7.
- 21 Mar. 2023 (comps): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.7.
- 21 Mar. 2023 (gear): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.7.
- 21 Mar. 2023 (talents): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.7.
- 21 Mar. 2023 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.7.
- 21 Mar. 2023 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.7.
- 25 Jan. 2023 (races): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.5.
- 25 Jan. 2023 (macros): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.5.
- 25 Jan. 2023 (playstyle): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.5.
- 25 Jan. 2023 (comps): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.5.
- 25 Jan. 2023 (gear): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.5.
- 25 Jan. 2023 (talents): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.5.
- 25 Jan. 2023 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.5.
- 25 Jan. 2023 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Patch 10.0.5.
- 12 Dec. 2022 (talents): Updated with the Hemotoxin nerf.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (races): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (macros): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (playstyle): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (comps): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (gear): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (talents): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 11 Dec. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 22 Nov. 2022 (races): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 22 Nov. 2022 (macros): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 22 Nov. 2022 (playstyle): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 22 Nov. 2022 (comps): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 22 Nov. 2022 (gear): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 22 Nov. 2022 (talents): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 22 Nov. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 22 Nov. 2022 (this page): Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
- 28 Jul. 2022 (races): Reviewed for Shadowlands Season 4.
- 28 Jul. 2022 (macros): Reviewed for Shadowlands Season 4.
- 28 Jul. 2022 (playstyle): Reviewed for Shadowlands Season 4.
- 28 Jul. 2022 (comps): Reviewed for Shadowlands Season 4.
- 28 Jul. 2022 (gear): Updated for Shadowlands Season 4.
- 28 Jul. 2022 (talents): Reviewed for Shadowlands Season 4.
- 28 Jul. 2022 (this page): Reviewed for Shadowlands Season 4.
- 28 Jul. 2022 (this page): Reviewed for Shadowlands Season 4.
- 01 Jul. 2022 (talents): Updated Tier 7 Talents.
- 01 Jul. 2022 (this page): Added small changes.
- 01 Jul. 2022 (this page): Added small changes.
- 31 May 2022 (races): Reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
- 31 May 2022 (macros): Reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
- 31 May 2022 (playstyle): Reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
- 31 May 2022 (comps): Reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
- 31 May 2022 (gear): Reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
- 31 May 2022 (talents): Reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
- 31 May 2022 (this page): Reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
- 31 May 2022 (this page): Reviewed for Patch 9.2.5.
- 10 Apr. 2022 (gear): Updated BiS gear list.
- 05 Apr. 2022 (playstyle): Updated he burst rotation for Patch 9.2.
- 21 Feb. 2022 (races): Already up to date with Patch 9.2.
- 21 Feb. 2022 (macros): Already up to date with Patch 9.2.
- 21 Feb. 2022 (playstyle): Updated for Patch 9.2.
- 21 Feb. 2022 (comps): Already up to date with Patch 9.2.
- 21 Feb. 2022 (gear): Updated for Patch 9.2.
- 21 Feb. 2022 (talents): Updated for Patch 9.2.
- 21 Feb. 2022 (this page): Updated for Patch 9.2.
- 21 Feb. 2022 (this page): Updated for Patch 9.2.
- 04 Jan. 2022 (gear): Updated Enchants.
- 10 Nov. 2021 (races): Already up to date with Patch 9.1.5.
- 10 Nov. 2021 (macros): Already up to date with Patch 9.1.5.
- 10 Nov. 2021 (playstyle): Already up to date with Patch 9.1.5.
- 10 Nov. 2021 (comps): Updated for Patch 9.1.5.
- 10 Nov. 2021 (gear): Already up to date with Patch 9.1.5.
- 10 Nov. 2021 (talents): Updated for Patch 9.1.5.
- 10 Nov. 2021 (this page): Updated for Patch 9.1.5.
- 10 Nov. 2021 (this page): Updated for Patch 9.1.5.
- 30 Jul. 2021 (gear): Updated the Shackle trinket due to a recent hotfix.
- 21 Jul. 2021 (playstyle): Updated the Poison of choice.
- 21 Jul. 2021 (talents): Updated Tier 1 Talents.
- 21 Jul. 2021 (this page): Added small changes.
- 21 Jul. 2021 (this page): Added small changes.
- 14 Jul. 2021 (gear): Updated the trinket section.
- 14 Jul. 2021 (talents): Updated Honor Talents.
- 03 Jul. 2021 (races): Reviewed for Patch 9.1.
- 03 Jul. 2021 (macros): Added Dismantle Focus macro.
- 03 Jul. 2021 (playstyle): Updated the rotation slightly for Patch 9.1.
- 03 Jul. 2021 (comps): Updated for Patch 9.1.
- 03 Jul. 2021 (gear): Updated for Patch 9.1.
- 03 Jul. 2021 (talents): Updated for Patch 9.1.
- 03 Jul. 2021 (this page): Updated for Patch 9.1.
- 03 Jul. 2021 (this page): Updated for Patch 9.1.
- 28 Apr. 2021 (playstyle): Added Serrated Bone Spike to the rotation.
- 06 Apr. 2021 (races): Rewritten by Shadenox and further updated for Patch 9.0.5.
- 06 Apr. 2021 (macros): Rewritten by Shadenox and further updated for Patch 9.0.5.
- 06 Apr. 2021 (playstyle): Rewritten by Shadenox and further updated for Patch 9.0.5.
- 06 Apr. 2021 (comps): Rewritten by Shadenox and further updated for Patch 9.0.5.
- 06 Apr. 2021 (gear): Rewritten by Shadenox and further updated for Patch 9.0.5.
- 06 Apr. 2021 (talents): Rewritten by Shadenox and further updated for Patch 9.0.5.
- 06 Apr. 2021 (this page): Rewritten by Shadenox and further updated for Patch 9.0.5.
- 06 Apr. 2021 (this page): Rewritten by Shadenox and further updated for Patch 9.0.5.
- 12 Mar. 2021 (races): No Updates needed for Patch 9.0.5.
- 12 Mar. 2021 (macros): No Updates needed for Patch 9.0.5.
- 12 Mar. 2021 (comps): No Updates needed for Patch 9.0.5.
- 12 Mar. 2021 (gear): Updated Gearing section.
- Updated Best Trinkets.
- 10 Mar. 2021 (talents): Updated Tier 6 Regular Talents.
- 10 Mar. 2021 (this page): Updated for Patch 9.0.5.
- 10 Mar. 2021 (this page): Updated for Patch 9.0.5.
- 08 Mar. 2021 (playstyle): No Updates needed for Patch 9.0.5.
- 17 Dec. 2020 (playstyle): Updated Opening and Burst damage rotations.
- 05 Dec. 2020 (playstyle): Updated Rotations to include Covenant Ability.
- 29 Nov. 2020 (playstyle): Removed outdated Traits and Essences.
- 29 Nov. 2020 (gear): Removed outdated Traits and Essences.
- Removed outdated gear.
- Added gems section.
- 29 Nov. 2020 (this page): Removed old Azerite mentions and updated gear page.
- 29 Nov. 2020 (this page): Removed old Azerite mentions and updated gear page.
- 27 Nov. 2020 (this page): Added Covenant page.
- 27 Nov. 2020 (this page): Added Covenant page.
- 14 Oct. 2020 (races): Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 14 Oct. 2020 (macros): Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 14 Oct. 2020 (playstyle): Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 14 Oct. 2020 (comps): Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 14 Oct. 2020 (gear): Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 14 Oct. 2020 (talents): Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 14 Oct. 2020 (this page): Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
- 14 Oct. 2020 (this page): Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
Other PvP Guides
This guide has been written by Shadenox, an experienced Gladiator player who has achieved over 3,000 rating on Rogue. You can find him on his YouTube channel, where he creates guides and other informational content regarding Arenas.
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