Outlaw Rogue DPS Guide — The War Within (11.1.5)

Ahoy! Outlaw Rogue is a specialization that centers around managing resources while sustaining high damage to stacked targets. As in previous expansions, Outlaw is a fantastic jack of all trades that can comfortably handle any situation or fight type. Between the three Rogue specializations, Outlaw is the most effective in situations involving cleave-DPS.

Strengths

• Good sustained DPS in both Single-Target and Mythic+.
• Very versatile in both raiding and Mythic+ content with multiple viable builds.
• Exceptional survivability thanks to Feint, Cloak of Shadows, Evasion and Crimson Vial.
• Very good group utility for Mythic+ in the form of Shroud of Concealment, Sap, Blind, Gouge or Airborne Irritant.

Weaknesses

• Variance in damage output depending on Sinister Strike procs.
• High cooldown uptime leads to no powerful burst phases in our DPS curve, even with Bloodlust.
• Highly reactive gameplay, which requires quick reflexes and thinking, making the spec hard to execute flawlessly.
• Relies heavily on extending Adrenaline Rush. Losing uptime by dying or during boss transitions can severely hurt DPS output.
• Awkward gameplay-feel if you do not get any Roll the Bones 5-rolls.

If you want to level a new Rogue in The War Within, you should check out our leveling guide to help you on your journey. Outlaw is a very fast-paced spec to level that boasts high damage and can easily deal with multiple enemies simultaneously. You will learn most of your rotational gameplay as you level already, so you are ready to jump into end-game content once you finished your journey to Level 80!

Outlaw Rogue is a spec that is heavily centered around the maintenance of its buffs and cooldowns, for example, the decision to either re-roll Roll the Bones whenever it comes off cooldown or sticking with the current buff(s) you have, as well as the management of many different cooldowns, with some taking priority over others.

Playing around Roll the Bones will quickly become second nature as you watch out for not wasting any of your resources or sitting on cooldowns for too long. Most of your cooldowns do not have a static cooldown-timer, since Restless Blades will constantly lower all your cooldowns whenever you spend Combo Points. Utilizing this cooldown reduction is key to playing Outlaw Rogue efficiently.

For more information on the basics of the Spec, you can check out the Spell Summary to get a good idea of the abilities you will be using while playing Outlaw. If you are completely new to playing Outlaw Rogue, we suggest taking a look at our Beginner page below to get a general idea of how to set up your new character.

If you already have some experience playing a Rogue or have familiarized yourself with the basics of the Spec, you can also read up more information on how to optimize your Rotation and the individual strengths of the different Talents.

With all the different gearing options that are available to you, you might ask yourself what gear is worth chasing after. Since a lot of the decisions and variables depend on the gear that you are already wearing right now, we strongly recommend "simming" yourself. You can find more information on how to do that, as well as a list of the current Best-in-Slot gear for newly leveled characters, on our dedicated gearing page.

After gearing up your character, the next step is to apply the appropriate enchants and gems, as well as prepare the best potions, phials, and buff food. Which consumables are the best for you depends on your stat priority, which might change depending on your gear, talents, and the type of content you are about to tackle. The following two sections of the guide address all questions about consumables as well as the shifting stat priorities for Outlaw Rogues.