Assassination Rogue PvP Talents and Builds (Shadowlands / 9.0.2)
Choosing the right PvP and PvE talents is a prerequisite to proper performance in PvP. This guide goes through the various talent choices available to you as an Assassination Rogue and gives you the best combinations you can take.
This page is part of our Assassination Rogue PvP Guide.
Regular Talents for Assassination Rogues
Level | Choices | ||
---|---|---|---|
15 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
25 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
30 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
35 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
40 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
45 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
50 |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
While the above table provides a generally accurate overview of the viability of talents, some finer points are discussed in the sections that follow, and we recommend you read those for a deeper understanding.
Tier 1 (Level 15) Talents
Master Poisoner is the best choice in this tier. As most of your
damage comes from your poisons, this talent greatly increases your overall
damage output.
Tier 2 (Level 25) Talents
Subterfuge is the best choice in this tier. This talent gives you
more control when you leave
Stealth. You can use multiple
Cheap Shots or
Garrotes on enemy teams.
Garrote will
not have a cooldown and an 80% increase in damage.
Tier 3 (Level 30) Talents
Marked for Death is the best choice in this tier. This is a very
versatile talent and crucial for your utility. This talent can be used in
multiple situations. For example, you can use Marked for Death for an instant
Kidney Shot on an enemy. If you want to be even more aggressive with it,
you can use it on an
Envenom.
Tier 4 (Level 35) Talents
Elusiveness is an all-around solid choice, and the best talent in
this tier. Just make sure to use
Feint before you think you are about
to get stunned or when the enemy team uses their burst cooldowns.
Tier 5 (Level 40) Talents
Internal Bleeding is the best choice in this tier. This gives you
an additional Bleed and makes
Kidney Shot a very crucial stun to use on
your main target.
Tier 6 (Level 45) Talents
Venom Rush is the best choice in this tier. This will make it so you
will rarely run out of Energy, as you should always be hitting an enemy that has
poisons on them. This will result in more sustained damage output.
Tier 7 (Level 50) Talents
Poison Bomb is the best choice in this tier. Although you cannot
control the proc from this talent, you will be using
Envenom and
Rupture often and will see it often. This is a solid talent to increase
your sustained and burst damage.
PvP Talents for Assassination Rogues
You can choose 3 of the following PvP talents. Each of them has their uses, but some are better for certain strategies than others. The top three choices are the most useful, but can be replaced with other PvP talents, depending on your team's goal.
Mandatory PvP Talents
Smoke Bomb creates a cloud around you. Enemy players who are outside
the cloud will not be able to target anyone inside of it. This talent is
mandatory for multiple reasons. The first is to land a kill while your target
is stunned without a trinket. The enemy healer will not be able to heal and you
will easily secure a kill while Smoke Bomb is active. The second is to stop
incoming spells. This is not done often, but you can use Smoke Bomb on your
healer to prevent enemies from crowd controlling them. It all depends on the
situation, which is why this PvP talent is so good.
System Shock reduces the enemy's movement speed by 45% when you use
an
Envenom with 5 Combo Points on a target with
Garrote,
Rupture, or any lethal poisons. This is great for keeping a mobile
target from kiting your damage or to peel for teammates that are in
trouble. This is also a good choice to play when your main target is the enemy
healer.
Situational PvP Talents
Maneuverability makes
Sprint suppress all
movement-impairing effects for 4 seconds when used. This is a great talent
versus teams with multiple slows. You should take this versus classes like
Mages and Death Knights.
Mind-Numbing Poison causes your
Deadly Poison and
Wound Poison to also apply Mind Numbing Poison. This will cause the
enemy to take damage every time they cast a spell. This should be taken when
your primary target is a caster. You should replace
Maneuverability
with this PvP talent.
Death from Above is an interesting PvP talent choice. Although the
damage might not be the greatest, it makes you immune to crowd control when you
use it. Versus teams with multiple stuns when they are trying to kill you, this is
a talent that should be considered.
Changelog
- 14 Oct. 2020: Updated for Shadowlands pre-patch.
This guide has been written by Mysticall, a seasoned PvP player who has repeatedly achieved Arena Master and 2500 rating. You can watch his stream on Twitch, and you can also check out his YouTube channel.
- Shattered Helm of Domination Arrives to Collector
- Rogue Update in Patch 9.0.5
- Will Patch 9.0.5 Release on March 16?
- Undocumented Windwalker Monk Changes in Patch 9.0.5
- Castle Nathria Alliance Hall of Fame Complete, Cross-Realm Mythic Enabled Soon
- Night Fae Blood DK Finishes Keystone Master on Controller in PUGs
- World Boss for the Week of March 2nd - Mortanis
- EU Server Issues: No Servers Currently Available (March 2nd)