Assassination Rogue PvP Rotation and Playstyle (Shadowlands / 9.2)
PvP requires you to perform various actions in the course of a duel, match, or battleground: interrupting/silencing enemies, damaging them, bursting them down, defending yourself, keeping yourself alive, etc.. It is a game mode that fully utilizes your kit, especially spells that are rarely used in PvE. On this page, we go through all the spells you need to use in PvP as an Assassination Rogue, how you should use them, and we explain what your playstyle should be.
This page is part of our Assassination Rogue PvP Guide.
Playstyle for Assassination Rogues
Assassination Rogue have two roles in PvP: controlling the enemy team with
Sap,
Blind,
Cheap Shot,
Garrote,
Dismantle and
Poisoned Knife, and dealing extremely high
damage to the kill target while locking them down with
Kidney Shot.
Assassination Rogues may lack the extended control options other Rogue
specializations offer but they make up for it by being very disruptive to their
kill target with
Kidney Shot,
Crippling Poison, and high
sustained and burst damage alongside powerful healing reduction tools in the
form of
Wound Poison and
Hemotoxin. You should look to
partner with a class that has a lot of crowd control, such as Mages or
Priests.
Before Gates Open
Discuss with your team to have a game plan. Assassination Rogue is a specialization that is often played in setup comps and that means you and your team need to agree on who to control and who to kill before the game begins, and you need to know who will use their offensive cooldowns first. Wasting an entire go because you did not plan and broke each other's crowd control can make you lose the game.
Apply Deadly Poison (
Wound Poison is still a viable option
although you miss out on a lot of damage) and
Crippling Poison. Both
Deadly Poison and Wound Poison will be removed after every arena match, so do not
forget to reapply them every time you enter a new match.
Press Stealth and you are good to go!
Crowd Control
While Assassination Rogues lack control compared to other Rogue
specialization they still have access to powerful control abilities. In the
opener, since you have access to your Stealth-based abilities you will aim to
push in and initiate crowd control chains on the healer ( Sap if they
are not in combat,
Blind and
Cheap Shot). You will also
Cheap Shot or
Garrote the DPS you do not want to kill to allow
your team to follow-up on your crowd control, and then you will move onto
your kill target with a
Kidney Shot. During the game, unless you use
Vanish, you will not be able to help a lot with crowd control aside
from the
Kidney Shot on the kill target. However, you have the ability
Poisoned Knife. Be sure to abuse of this ability as you can use it to
slow an enemy from a distance to allow your team to close in on them and get
crowd control for you. You also have the ability
Dismantle which
counts as a form of crowd control, albeit a defensive one in most cases. Making
good use of it can negate an enemy kill attempt. It can also be use offensively
sometimes, for example against an Arms Warrior, as it prevents them from using
parry, or against a Death Knight, as it prevents them from using Death Strike
to heal.
Offensive Rotation
Generating and Spending Combo Points
Rogues have two resources to manage. The first, Energy, is quite
straightforward. Using a spell costs Energy, and it regenerates over time. The
second resource is Combo Points. Some abilities generate Combo Points, and
powerful abilities called Finishing Moves consume them. In order to maximize
your damage output as well as your Energy regeneration you need to use your
Combo Points efficiently. You have several ways to generate Combo Points. Be
aware that you have the passive Seal Fate that will award you an
additional Combo Points when you critically strike with a Combo Point
builder.
- From
Stealth or when
Subterfuge is active, there are 3 ways to generate Combo Points:
Cheap Shot stuns the target and generates 1 Combo Point.
Ambush can only be used in Stealth as well. It deals damage and generates 2 Combo Points.
Garrote silences the target and generates 1 Combo Point.
- When not in Stealth, you generate Combo Points with the following:
Mutilate deals moderate damage and generates 2 Combo Point. It can critically strike with only one hand or with both. That means this ability can generate up to 4 Combo Points with
Seal Fate, one additional Combo Point per hand that critically strikes.
Garrote generates 1 Combo Point.
Shiv generates 1 Combo Point. It will also increase your Nature damage done to the target. The new
Assassination Rogue 2-Piece bonus also causes Shiv to increase Bleed and Poison damage by 40% on all enemies within 15 yards.
Fan of Knives is an AoE ability and will generate 1 Combo Point plus 1 Combo Point per critical hit. It can be used when multipe enemies, including pets, are around you if you want to generate multiple Combo Points, although it will usually be better to simply
Mutilate your main target if they are in range. Be careful not to break crown control, such as Polymorph when using this ability.
Poisoned Knife does very little damage, but generates 1 Combo Point and applies all your active poisons to the target. This should be used if you are slowed/rooted and cannot reach your target but are about to overcap Energy, or if an enemy at range needs to be slowed.
Marked for Death instantly generates 5 Combo Points. This can be used for
Kidney Shot to setup crowd control, or for an additional
Envenom during a kill attempt. It should never be used to deal damage in between two setups.
Now that you know how to generate Combo Points, knowing how to spend them is
even more important. As an Assassination Rogue you do not have a passive that
makes it better to use your finishers with 5 Combo Points, but you should try
to do it regardless as they deal more damage that way. That being said if you
are on 4 Combo Points you will want to use Rupture or
Envenom
instead of
Mutilate as over-capping Combo Points is a damage loss. Here
are the abilities you will be spending Combo Points on and what situations you
will use them in:
Kidney Shot is your stun to setup a kill on your target.
Rupture is a bleed that lasts longer based on how many Combo Points you use. Use this ability whenever it's not active or when it is about to fade, unless using
Envenom would kill the target.
Slice and Dice increases your attack speed. Slice and Dice should almost have a 100% uptime during an arena match. You shouldn't be using this ability too much as
Cut to the Chase will refresh it for you when you use
Envenom.
Envenom is your primary damaging ability. This will deal more damage based on the amount of Combo Points used for it.
The Opener
The opener refers to your team's opening CC chain and damage done as soon as you get out of the gates. The main goal in the opener is to force your enemies to use their cooldowns. If the enemy healer or your kill target uses their trinket in the opener, they are in trouble.
The opener is a key part of the game as Rogue. Stealth gives you
the advantage as you get to choose how the fight begins. Because people will
not be in combat right after the gates open you will be able to
Sap a
target, already providing your team with numerical superiority. If you manage
to get stuns or silences on the other enemies you can create a situation where
your kill target is stunned for you and your team to deal damage, without any
external help. You will also benefit from
Mark of the Master Assassin if
you play it, even though it does not matter that much if you need to apply your
bleeds to your target while it lasts.
If you forced a trinket in the opener you are on the right track to win the
game. If the enemy healer used their trinket then you will be able to do a go
with a Blind on them, followed by a
Sap while you kill the
enemy DPS. If the enemy DPS uses their trinket you will be able to do a go on
them with a
Kidney Shot followed by a
Smoke Bomb to prevent the
healer from helping, and hopefully kill the DPS in that stun.
There are a few different openers as Assassination Rogue depending
on whether the enemy can use spells while silenced or not. Below is an
example of the opener on a target that can use abilties while silenced
and thus needs to be stunned with your first GCD. The burst is included
in this example, but if you wish to open without using your burst cooldown
you can perform the exact same opener without using Vendetta and
either
Sepsis,
Flagellation or
Echoing Reprimand
depending on your Covenant.
Sap the enemy healer.
- Use
Marked for Death.
- Use
Kidney Shot on your kill target.
- Use
Vendetta.
- Use
Garrote.
- Use
Shiv.
- Use
Sepsis,
Flagellation or
Echoing Reprimand if you have these abilities.
- Use
Rupture.
- Use
Mutilate until 4 Combo Points or more. You may use
Serrated Bone Spike as well if you have this ability, as it is cheaper than Mutilate, applies a bleed, and deals more damage.
- Use
Envenom.
- Repeat the last two steps.
Below is an example of the opener on a target that cannot use any ability
while silenced, such as a Mage. Again, the burst is included but if you wish to
open without using your burst cooldown you can perform the exact same opener
without using Vendetta and either
Sepsis,
Flagellation or
Echoing Reprimand depending on your
Covenant.
Sap the enemy healer.
- Use
Garrote.
- Use
Ambush if you do not play
Mark of the Master Assassin. Use
Mutilate if you do to get 4 Combo Points.
- Use
Rupture.
- Use
Marked for Death.
- Use
Kidney Shot.
- Use
Vendetta.
- Use
Shiv.
- Use
Sepsis,
Flagellation or
Echoing Reprimand if you have these abilities.
- Use
Mutilate, or
Serrated Bone Spike if you have it, until 4 Combo Points or more.
- Use
Envenom.
- Repeat the last two steps.
Sometimes you will want to get crowd control on the enemy DPS to prevent
them from preemptively using a defensive ability when you land crowd control on
their healer. And sometimes, the enemy team will enter combat before you can use
Sap. For both of these scenarios an alternate opener exists. The burst
is not included in this one so that you have an example of opener without burst
cooldowns.
Sap the enemy DPS, or do not Sap if the enemy team is in combat.
- Use
Cheap Shot on the enemy healer so that your team can land more crowd control.
- Use
Marked for Death.
- Use
Kidney Shot on your kill target.
- Use
Vendetta.
- Use
Garrote.
- Use
Shiv.
- Use
Mutilate, or
Serrated Bone Spike if you have it.
- Use
Rupture
- Use
Mutilate, or
Serrated Bone Spike if you have it, until 4 Combo Points or more.
- Use
Envenom.
- Repeat the last two steps.
If the kill target is a caster that cannot do anything while in a silence
you can use Garrote and
Rupture before using
Marked for Death and
Kidney Shot.
Burst Damage
When you have the enemy healer in crowd control and you are trying to kill
an enemy, you use your burst damage. Of course, unless you are in the opener,
you will need to have both Garrote and
Rupture on your target
before using your burst rotation. It is assumed in the following burst rotation
that you did apply your bleeds before pulling the trigger. Ideally you want to
have 18s ore more remaining on Rupture before you use Vendetta and Shiv so that
you can spend your Combo Points on Envenom during the Shiv window, instead of
having to reapply Rupture.
- Use
Kidney Shot on your kill target.
- Use
Vendetta.
- Use
Shiv.
- Use
Sepsis,
Flagellation or
Echoing Reprimand if you have these abilities.
- Use
Mutilate, or
Serrated Bone Spike if you have it, until 4 Combo Points or more.
- Use
Envenom.
- Use
Marked for Death.
- Use
Envenom.
- Use
Mutilate, or
Serrated Bone Spike if you have it, until 4 Combo Points or more, use
Envenom and repeat.
If you are using the Legendary Mark of the Master Assassin you will
include
Vanish in your rotation in order to gain the 100% Critical
Strike chance buff. The burst rotation will then be as follows.
- Use
Kidney Shot on your kill target.
- Use
Vendetta.
- Use
Mutilate.
- Use
Shiv.
- Use
Sepsis,
Flagellation or
Echoing Reprimand if you have these abilities.
- Use
Vanish.
- Use
Envenom.
- Use
Marked for Death.
- Use
Envenom.
- Use
Mutilate to gain 4 Combo Points since you still have 100% Critical Strike chance.
- Use
Envenom.
Players often react to Vendetta with powerful defensive cooldowns.
Something you can do if the target you use Vendetta on still has trinket, or if
their healer has trinket, is hold onto Vendetta up until the first
Envenom is ready. That way the target will not react to your
Kidney Shot and will let you apply your Covenant ability and
Shiv without reacting. Then, when you have enough Combo Points, you
can press Vendetta, Vanish if you play Mark of the Master Assassin, and Envenom
at the same time to guarantee that this first Envenom hits your target before
any defensive ability is used. If the target is slow you will also get your
Marked for Death Envenom before they use anything, and this is very often a
kill.
As Assassination Rogue you can have some measure of burst every
Kidney Shot, even if you do not have your major burst cooldowns. Since
Shiv and
Marked for Death have a cooldown similar to the stun
diminishing returns that you have to wait for to use Kidney Shot again, you
will have them ready every Kidney Shot. Therefore you can still burst your
target down without
Vendetta and your Covenant ability with the
following spell sequence.
- Use
Kidney Shot on your kill target.
- Use
Shiv.
- Use
Mutilate, or
Serrated Bone Spike if you have it, until 4 Combo Points or more.
- Use
Envenom.
- Use
Marked for Death.
- Use
Envenom.
- Use
Mutilate, or
Serrated Bone Spike if you have it, until 4 Combo Points or more, use
Envenom and repeat.
Sustained damage
Sustained damage is damage you do when your burst cooldowns are not
available, and when your enemies cannot be crowd controlled because of
diminishing returns. Assassination Rogues have powerful sustained damage
so unless you need to retreat because you are under pressure or because
you know the enemy is about to setup a kill of their own you will want to
keep doing damage to make sure the kill target is low on health before your
next Kidney Shot. The spells you will use during your sustained
damage window need to follow the priority list set below.
- Use
Rupture if you have 4 Combo Points or more and it is about to fade.
- Use
Garrote if it is about to fade.
- Use
Slice and Dice with 2 or 3 Combo Points. You do not want to spend too many Combo Points on this ability as your next Envenom will extend it with
Cut to the Chase.
- Use
Envenom with 4 Combo Points or more.
- Use
Mutilate to generate Combo Points, or
Serrated Bone Spike if you have it.
Never use Shiv or
Marked for Death outside of a
Kidney Shot window. If you are playing some 2v2 match-ups, or if you are
playing a rot comp in 3v3 then you will want to apply your bleeds to secondary
targets before using Envenom. Regarding
Serrated Bone Spike, it is best
to use it only if you need to reapply the bleed, or if you are going to get
your third charge back. Otherwise you may want to keep it for your Kidney Shot
windows, as it deals more damage than your other Combo Point builders.
Defensive Techniques
Vanish is one of your main defensive cooldowns. Use Vanish when you
want to avoid damage and get away from the enemy team. With the Legendary
Mark of the Master Assassin it can also be used offensively. It can also
be used to land crowd control with
Sap,
Cheap Shot and
Garrote.
Cloak of Shadows is a strong defensive cooldown when playing against
casters. Use this when in trouble against caster teams and run to safety. You
can also use it to mitigate incoming magic crowd control abilities, such as
Mortal Coil or
Hammer of Justice.
Evasion is a strong defensive cooldown when playing against melees
and Hunters. Use this when the enemy team is using offensive cooldowns on you.
You can also use it to dodge incoming physical crowd control abilities, such as
Kidney Shot or
Mighty Bash.
Feint (with the
Elusiveness talent) is the trickiest, but
most useful defensive ability a Rogue has. It grants you a flat 30% damage
reduction from everything for 6 seconds on a 15-second cooldown. This is a very
powerful tool to mitigate incoming damage. A Rogue is very weak against stuns,
so preemptively using Feint when a stun is coming your way greatly increases
your chance of surviving heavy damage from the enemy team. Of course it can be
used when the enemy team is using cooldowns on you, even if there is no
stun.
Crimson Vial is a small healing over time effect. It can be used the
same way as Feint, either when you are about to get stunned, or when the enemy
is using cooldowns on you and your healer needs to extra help.
Macros
It is advised to use Macros to use abilities on enemies or allies without having to target them. For this reason, we have a page dedicated to them.
Changelog
- 05 Apr. 2022: Updated he burst rotation for Patch 9.2.
- 21 Feb. 2022: Updated for Patch 9.2.
- 10 Nov. 2021: Already up to date with Patch 9.1.5.
- 21 Jul. 2021: Updated the Poison of choice.
- 03 Jul. 2021: Updated the rotation slightly for Patch 9.1.
- 28 Apr. 2021: Added Serrated Bone Spike to the rotation.
- 06 Apr. 2021: Rewritten by Shadenox and further updated for Patch 9.0.5.
- 08 Mar. 2021: No Updates needed for Patch 9.0.5.
- 17 Dec. 2020: Updated Opening and Burst damage rotations.
- 05 Dec. 2020: Updated Rotations to include Covenant Ability.
- 29 Nov. 2020: Removed outdated Traits and Essences.
- 14 Oct. 2020: Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
This guide has been written by Shadenox, an experienced Gladiator Rogue player who has achieved over 2850 rating. You can find him on his YouTube channel, where he creates guides and other informational content regarding Arenas.
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