Assassination Rogue PvP Stat Priority, Gear, and Trinkets (Shadowlands / 9.1)

The stat priority for Assassination Rogues in PvP is as follows:

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

Agility is the best stat in all situations. Versatility is the strong secondary stat at all times, due to it increasing your damage and reducing the damage you take. Haste is the next strongest secondary stat as it increases the tick rate of your bleeds, giving you more damage but also more energy through the passive Venomous Wounds. Mastery is a flat damage increase to bleeds and Poisons.

The most important thing regarding gear is to have the highest item level possible while having Versatility on all of your items. That means you want to use PvP items exclusively, as the item level scales up in PvP combat. Ideally, you want Haste on every item too. Luckily for us Assassination Rogues, in Shadowlands Season 2 the PvP vendor sells items with both Haste and Versatility in almost all slots. This is what your gear should look like.

• Head: Unchained Gladiator's Leather Mask
• Neck: Unchained Gladiator's Necklace
• Shoulders: Unchained Gladiator's Leather Spaulders
• Cloak: Unchained Gladiator's Drape
• Chest: Unchained Gladiator's Leather Vest
• Wrists: Unchained Gladiator's Leather Wristwraps
• Hands: Unchained Gladiator's Leather Gloves
• Waist: Unchained Gladiator's Leather Strap
• Legs: Unchained Gladiator's Leather Breeches
• Feet: Unchained Gladiator's Leather Treads
• Ring 1: Unchained Gladiator's Ring
• Ring 2: Unchained Gladiator's Signet
• Weapon 1: Unchained Gladiator's Knife
• Weapon 2: Unchained Gladiator's Knife

Note: it is important to be wearing 2 PvP trinkets. This will increase the damage increase provided by Versatility, making you more deadly.

Unchained Gladiator's Medallion is a mandatory trinket to have equipped at all times. This allows you to remove any crowd control on yourself. You will use this trinket if you are stunned and will die in this stun, or on any form of CC if one of your teammates will die and you can save them. Note, if you play a Human, Unchained Gladiator's Relentless Brooch is often a better option as your Human racial, Will to Survive, allows you to break free of stuns already.

Unchained Gladiator's Badge of Ferocity is a powerful burst trinket. It gives you Agility and has a fairly short cooldown, allowing you to use it in your burst often.

Unchained Gladiator's Emblem increases your maximum health when used. This gives you an additional defensive when you are the target. This trinket has been nerfed compared to its Season 1 power level but it remains powerful, and underrated by most. The health increase is significant and will very often save your live if you use it when the enemy team is using cooldowns on you and your healer is in crowd control.

Unchained Gladiator's Shackles, the new PvP trinket added with Patch 9.1, is a very solid choice, especially as a DoT class. Upon use you will channel over 4s on your target, dealing damage every second and stacking a healing absorption effect. Using this on an enemy DPS that is low on health during or after a Kidney Shot can deny any incoming healing from their healer and secure a kill. It works the same way on the healer after a Kidney Shot when they need to heal your burst damage. You can also coordinate with your teammates to use several of these trinkets back to back, as this is extremely hard to deal with, and will often result in a kill unless the enemy team can stop your channeling. There are a few things that are important to know about this trinket:

• The healing absorption effect stacks up over 4s during which the user of the trinket has to channel it. Both the healing absorption effect and the debuff caused by the channel are magical effects. Any dispel will remove the healing absorption effect and break the channel if it is still going.
• The trinket goes on cooldown when pressed, even if the caster got CC'ed before the channel part started. If you see an enemy casting it and can stop it before the channel begins, then do so. Be sure that when you use it yourself, the enemy cannot CC you.
• Outranging the effect breaks the channel immediately. Be sure that you only use the trinket when the enemy cannot line you with a pillar.
• If the target uses Shadowmeld, the channel breaks. If your target is a Night Elf try to use it when they are in CC and cannot use Shadowmeld, or wait until they have already used it.

Here are the best enchants and gems for an Assassination Rogue:

• Boots: Enchant Boots - Eternal Agility
• Cloak: Enchant Cloak - Fortified Speed
• Chest: Enchant Chest - Eternal Stats
• Rings: Enchant Ring - Tenet of Versatility
• Main Hand Weapon: Enchant Weapon - Celestial Guidance
• Off Hand Weapon: Enchant Weapon - Sinful Revelation

Four of your gems should be Versatile Jewel Cluster, one of your gems should be Straddling Sage Agate, and the last one should be Straddling Jewel Doublet. With these two speed gems and the cloak enchant, plus the passive Fleet Footed, you will move a lot faster, making it easier to kite or to reach a target. If you play a Night Elf you can reach 131% movement speed at all times.