Outlaw Rogue DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — Shadowlands 9.0.5

Welcome to our Rotation page for Outlaw Rogues. Here you will find out more about your rotational priorities in both single-target and multi-target situations which you will apply in both Raiding and Mythic+ scenarios.

If you are just starting out you might want to get more comfortable with your Outlaw Rogue by using a more simplified yet still effective build and rotation. You can find out more about it in our Easy Mode section.

For information about Mythic+ as an Outlaw Rogue and the rotation you need to use in this game mode, please refer to our Mythic+ page.

The content on this page is purely PvE-related. If you are looking for PvP Rotation Tips, please visit our PvP page below.

We have provided rotation switches below that allow you to adjust the priority list based on your talent choices. Simply check the boxes to select the talents you intend on playing with.

• Playing with Quick Draw.
• Playing with Ghostly Strike.
• Playing with Deeper Stratagem.
• Playing with Marked for Death.
• Playing with Blade Rush.
• Playing with Killing Spree.

1. Use Roll the Bones on cooldown unless you have any of the desired buffs (see dedicated Roll the Bones section for details).
2. Activate Adrenaline Rush.
3. Cast Slice and Dice at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 4+ CP whenever you have Broadside active.
4. Cast Slice and Dice at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 4+ CP whenever you have Broadside active or an Opportunity proc.
5. Cast Slice and Dice at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 5+ CP whenever you have Broadside active.
6. Cast Slice and Dice at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 5+ CP whenever you have Broadside active or an Opportunity proc.
7. Cast Between the Eyes at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 4+ CP whenever you have Broadside active.
8. Cast Between the Eyes at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 4+ CP whenever you have Broadside active or an Opportunity proc.
9. Cast Between the Eyes at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 5+ CP whenever you have Broadside active.
10. Cast Between the Eyes at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 5+ CP whenever you have Broadside active or an Opportunity proc.
11. Cast Blade Rush on cooldown.
12. Cast Killing Spree on cooldown. If Adrenaline Rush is active, delay Killing Spree to prevent over-capping on energy.
13. Use your Covenant ability.
14. Cast Marked for Death if you have 0-1 Combo Points.
15. Cast Ghostly Strike on cooldown as if it was a regular builder.
16. Cast Dispatch at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 4+ CP whenever you have Broadside active.
17. Cast Dispatch at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 4+ CP whenever you have Broadside active or an Opportunity proc.
18. Cast Dispatch at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 5+ CP whenever you have Broadside active.
19. Cast Dispatch at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 5+ CP whenever you have Broadside active or an Opportunity proc.
20. Cast Vanish followed up by Ambush.
21. Cast Pistol Shot if you have an Opportunity proc and you have 5 or less Combo Points.
22. Cast Pistol Shot if you have an Opportunity proc and you have 4 or less Combo Points.
23. Cast Sinister Strike to generate Combo Points.

1. Cast Blade Flurry if there are 2+ targets.
2. Use Roll the Bones on cooldown unless you have any of the desired buffs (see dedicated Roll the Bones section for details).
3. Activate Adrenaline Rush.
4. Cast Slice and Dice at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 4+ CP whenever you have Broadside active.
5. Cast Slice and Dice at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 4+ CP whenever you have Broadside active or an Opportunity proc.
6. Cast Slice and Dice at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 5+ CP whenever you have Broadside active.
7. Cast Slice and Dice at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 5+ CP whenever you have Broadside active or an Opportunity proc.
8. Cast Between the Eyes at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 4+ CP whenever you have Broadside active.
9. Cast Between the Eyes at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 4+ CP whenever you have Broadside active or an Opportunity proc.
10. Cast Between the Eyes at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 5+ CP whenever you have Broadside active.
11. Cast Between the Eyes at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 5+ CP whenever you have Broadside active or an Opportunity proc.
12. Cast Blade Rush on cooldown.
13. Cast Killing Spree on cooldown. If Adrenaline Rush is active, delay Killing Spree to prevent over-capping on energy.
14. Use your Covenant ability.
15. Cast Marked for Death if you have 0-1 Combo Points.
16. Cast Dispatch at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 4+ CP whenever you have Broadside active.
17. Cast Dispatch at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 4+ CP whenever you have Broadside active or an Opportunity proc.
18. Cast Dispatch at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 5+ CP whenever you have Broadside active.
19. Cast Dispatch at maximum Combo Points. Use it with 5+ CP whenever you have Broadside active or an Opportunity proc.
20. Cast Vanish followed up by Ambush.
21. Cast Pistol Shot if you have an Opportunity proc and you have 5 or less Combo Points.
22. Cast Pistol Shot if you have an Opportunity proc and you have 4 or less Combo Points.
23. Cast Sinister Strike to generate Combo Points.

Depending on your talents, there are a handful of abilities you will want to use before the pull actually happens. Roll the Bones should be used right before engaging the enemy. When talented into Marked for Death, you will want to use it ~14 seconds before pulling and then use the Combo Points for Slice and Dice as the fight begins.

1. Use Marked for Death ~10seconds before pull if talented.
2. Cast Stealth.
3. Use Roll the Bones 2 seconds before pull.
4. Cast Slice and Dice 1 second before pull.
5. Cast Ambush as well as Adrenaline Rush.
6. Cast Vanish followed by Ambush.
7. Use Blade Rush.
8. Use your Covenant ability.
9. Use Between the Eyes with 5+ Combo Points, or Slice and Dice if you are playing without Marked for Death.

After using Between the Eyes/Slice and Dice you follow the aforementioned single-target priority list.

Roll the Bones is a cooldown that grants one or more random buffs. The duration of the Roll the Bones (and the buffs it gives you) is affected by Pandemic (meaning you can safely refresh when Roll the Bones has less than 30% of its duration remaining). There are 6 different buffs you can potentially receive, and it is possible to receive multiple buffs from a single cast, although the chance to receive extra buffs is lessened per extra buff. The buffs are as follows:

• True Bearing causes finishing moves to reduce the remaining cooldown of some of your abilities (including Adrenaline Rush) by 1 second per Combo Point;
• Ruthless Precision increases your Critical Strike chance by 20% and the Critical Strike chance of Between the Eyes by 60%;
• Skull and Crossbones boosts Sinister Strike's chance to strike an additional time by 30%;
• Grand Melee now causes your finishers to extend the duration of your Slice and Dice by 2 seconds per CP spent as well as providing 15% leech;
• Broadside causes your Combo Point-generating abilities to generate 1 additional Combo Point and increases their damage by 20%;
• Buried Treasure increases your Energy regeneration by 4 per second.

The chance of receiving multiple buffs is as follows:

• 1 Roll the Bones buff: 100.0% chance;
• 2 Roll the Bones buffs: 19% chance;
• 5 Roll the Bones buffs: 1% chance.

Order of buff value for an extended encounter (raid boss):

1. Broadside;
2. True Bearing.
3. Ruthless Precision;
4. Skull and Crossbones;
5. Buried Treasure;
6. Grand Melee.

The value of each buff fluctuates somewhat depending on the combination with other buffs and whether or not cooldowns are available, but this can be used as a rough reference.

The basic rule to satisfy regarding Roll the Bones is to keep your buffs if any of the following conditions are met:

• you have a single buff and it is either Broadside or True Bearing OR
• you have 2 buffs, unless it is Grand Melee and Buried Treasure OR
• you have 3 or more buffs.

If none of these conditions are met, you will want to re-roll Roll the Bones for a different buff or group of buffs as it comes off cooldown.

This priority changes slightly when you are using Sleight of Hand as your Potency Conduit. You will always re-roll for 2+ buffs in this case, and re-roll your 2-buff if it is Grand Melee and Buried Treasure.

Vanish is a useful DPS cooldown thanks to the Potency Conduit Count the Odds. You should use it on cooldown for an Ambush.

A key part of maximizing AoE DPS, will come from lining up Killing Spree / Blade Rush with time periods when they are able to hit the maximum number of targets, and making sure that you have Blade Flurry for those times. Since Blade Flurry does not have 100% uptime, it will need to be managed a lot more carefully, and sometimes you will need to miss out on some AoE/cleave, if it means you get better uptime on it, when there are more enemies.

As a Rogue, most of your abilities need Energy to be used. Your Energy bar has a capacity of 100 Energy (150 with Vigor chosen as your Tier 3 talent and 200 during Adrenaline Rush) and refills at a rate of 10 Energy per second. Your Energy regeneration is increased by:

• Melee haste (Haste + Haste-enhancing buffs);
• the Combat Potency passive, which causes your off-hand attacks to have a chance to generate 10 Energy;
• your Adrenaline Rush cooldown, which temporarily increases your Energy regeneration by 60%;
• Vigor, if chosen as your Tier 3 talent.

The faster you regenerate Energy, the more finishers you can cast, which (via True Bearing and Restless Blades) will result in higher Adrenaline Rush uptimes.

Letting your Energy reach its maximum is something you want to avoid. You should always try to spend your Energy by (literally) spamming your buttons. Unlike Subtlety and Assassination Rogues, Outlaw Rogues generally do not benefit from Energy pooling. There are many situations when you will generate more Energy than you can spend (Haste trinket procs, Bloodlust / Heroism / Time Warp, etc.) and you should spam your buttons even harder than usual during such times.

Combo Point generation is increased by a variety of factors, such as:

• Tier 1 talents;
• Opportunity procs when talented into Quick Draw;
• Sinister Strike striking twice;
• Roll the Bones buffs such as Broadside;
• your Ruthlessness passive ability, which grants your finishers a 20% chance per Combo Point consumed to grant a Combo Point;
• Energy regeneration, allowing you to cast more generators.

You should never waste Combo Points. Never cast a Combo Point-generating ability when you are at maximum Combo Points. Be aware of situations where you are guaranteed to generate 2 Combo Points with your generators, for example during Broadside or when using Pistol Shot with an Opportunity proc when talented into Quick Draw.

Adrenaline Rush increases your Energy regeneration by 60%, maximum Energy by 50 and your attack speed by 20% for 20 seconds. It should be used on cooldown. Do not hesitate to stack it with Bloodlust, Heroism, or Time Warp as you will still benefit from the increased attack speed, though you will likely Energy cap (this is not a problem). Adrenaline Rush has a 3-minute cooldown, but this can be reduced by the True Bearing buff and Restless Blades.

While Ghostly Strike is the best choice for single-target, it bears mention that it slightly changes the rotational priorities. In order to maximize its benefits, you will want to consume your Opportunity procs only when you are below 70 energy.

True Bearing reduces the cooldowns of the following abilities by 2 seconds per Combo Point consumed by a finisher:

• Roll the Bones
• Adrenaline Rush
• Sprint
• Between the Eyes
• Vanish
• Grappling Hook
• Killing Spree
• Marked for Death
• Blade Rush
• Ghostly Strike
• Blade Flurry

It is worth reiterating that the source of Blade Flurry cleave is you, not the target. Therefore, you can stand with one mob directly in front with another directly behind you, and your Blade Flurry will still cleave both, as the player is the source of the cleave.

All Rogues come ready made with a dizzying phalanx of defensive cooldowns, which make them the best candidate for soaking required mechanics and dealing with heavy incoming damage.

• Feint reduces AoE damage taken by 40% for 5 seconds for only 35 Energy. When talented into Elusiveness it also reduces all other damage by 30%. This is one of the most overpowered abilities in the game and a huge asset on fights with heavy raid damage. Do not forget about this button!
• Cloak of Shadows provides magic immunity for a second, followed by 4 seconds where all spells will miss. This spell is mostly used for clearing debuffs that might otherwise force you out of melee range. Cloak of Shadows is also a fantastic tool for soaking abilities that do not pierce immunities.
• Cheat Death is a talent that allows you to escape lethal damage once every 6 minutes. The damage cannot exceed more than twice your maximum health. Cheat Death is great for soaking mechanics that pierce immunities and damage reductions, as it guarantees your survival. It is also great for encounters with bursty damage that might take you by surprise, as you get a get out of jail free card once every 6 minutes.
• Crimson Vial provides a respectable amount of healing on a very short cooldown. Use this often in boss encounters.
• Evasion provides a 100% increased chance to dodge enemy attacks as long as you are facing them. This can sometimes be used to avoid physical spells as well.

Your Lethal Poison should always be Instant Poison.

You have two choices for your non-lethal poison, Crippling Poison and Numbing Poison. For raiding you will generally use Numbing Poison unless your raid wants you to slow a specific group of targets. For Mythic+ you will want to use the poison that best suits your tank's needs. Crippling Poison allows your tank to more easily kite enemies, whereas Numbing Poison slows their attack speed instead. You will also need to have Numbing Poison applied if you want to soothe Enrage effects when you use Shiv as the enrage dispel does not happen when you have Crippling Poison active.

This specialization involves a lot of fast finger work, particularly during cooldown periods. Learning to focus on what is important and master the core concepts of a specialization is what leads to strong overall performances on the damage charts. Outlaw features 2 major concepts that form the central tenets of optimizing for success:

1. practical usage of Roll the Bones;
2. resource management.

You will want to re-roll for new Roll the Bones buffs once your previous ones are about to run out. Any 2-buff or 5-buff should be kept until they have run their full duration, with the exception of Grand Melee in combination with Buried Treasure.

Unlike the other Rogue specialization, Energy management is incredibly easy for Outlaw Rogues as you have a very high rate of regeneration. It can be very easy, however, to overcap Combo Points if you are not careful. Pay close attention to your current Roll the Bones buffs along with your Combo Point tracker. Do not waste Opportunity procs when you are already capped on Combo Points.

The fully inclusive rotation, is a lot more extensive than the one listed above, but gives only marginal gains at best, as such, it is included here (in raw simc format), but it does not need to be memorized.

# Default consumables
potion=phantom_fire
flask=spectral_flask_of_power
food=feast_of_gluttonous_hedonism
augmentation=veiled
temporary_enchant=main_hand:shaded_sharpening_stone/off_hand:shaded_sharpening_stone

# This default action priority list is automatically created based on your character.
# It is a attempt to provide you with a action list that is both simple and practicable,
# while resulting in a meaningful and good simulation. It may not result in the absolutely highest possible dps.
# Feel free to edit, adapt and improve it to your own needs.
# SimulationCraft is always looking for updates and improvements to the default action lists.

# Executed before combat begins. Accepts non-harmful actions only.
actions.precombat=apply_poison
actions.precombat+=/flask
actions.precombat+=/augmentation
actions.precombat+=/food
# Snapshot raid buffed stats before combat begins and pre-potting is done.
actions.precombat+=/snapshot_stats
actions.precombat+=/marked_for_death,precombat_seconds=10,if=raid_event.adds.in>25
actions.precombat+=/roll_the_bones,precombat_seconds=2
actions.precombat+=/slice_and_dice,precombat_seconds=1
actions.precombat+=/stealth

# Executed every time the actor is available.
# Restealth if possible (no vulnerable enemies in combat)
actions=stealth
# Interrupt on cooldown to allow simming interactions with that
actions+=/kick
# Reroll single buffs early other than True Bearing and Broadside
actions+=/variable,name=rtb_reroll,value=rtb_buffs<2&(!buff.true_bearing.up&!buff.broadside.up)
# Ensure we get full Ambush CP gains and aren't rerolling Count the Odds buffs away
actions+=/variable,name=ambush_condition,value=combo_points.deficit>=2+buff.broadside.up&energy>=50&(!conduit.count_the_odds|buff.roll_the_bones.remains>=10)
# Finish at maximum CP but avoid wasting Broadside and Quick Draw bonus combo points
actions+=/variable,name=finish_condition,value=combo_points>=cp_max_spend-buff.broadside.up-(buff.opportunity.up*talent.quick_draw.enabled)|combo_points=animacharged_cp
# With multiple targets, this variable is checked to decide whether some CDs should be synced with Blade Flurry
actions+=/variable,name=blade_flurry_sync,value=spell_targets.blade_flurry<2&raid_event.adds.in>20|buff.blade_flurry.remains>1+talent.killing_spree.enabled
actions+=/run_action_list,name=stealth,if=stealthed.all
actions+=/call_action_list,name=cds
actions+=/run_action_list,name=finish,if=variable.finish_condition
actions+=/call_action_list,name=build
actions+=/arcane_torrent,if=energy.deficit>=15+energy.regen
actions+=/arcane_pulse
actions+=/lights_judgment
actions+=/bag_of_tricks

actions.build=sepsis
actions.build+=/ghostly_strike
actions.build+=/shiv,if=runeforge.tiny_toxic_blade
actions.build+=/echoing_reprimand
actions.build+=/serrated_bone_spike,cycle_targets=1,if=buff.slice_and_dice.up&!dot.serrated_bone_spike_dot.ticking|fight_remains<=5|cooldown.serrated_bone_spike.charges_fractional>=2.75
# Use Pistol Shot with Opportunity if Combat Potency won't overcap energy, when it will exactly cap CP, or when using Quick Draw
actions.build+=/pistol_shot,if=buff.opportunity.up&(energy.deficit>(energy.regen+10)|combo_points.deficit<=1+buff.broadside.up|talent.quick_draw.enabled)
actions.build+=/pistol_shot,if=buff.opportunity.up&(buff.greenskins_wickers.up|buff.concealed_blunderbuss.up)
actions.build+=/sinister_strike
actions.build+=/gouge,if=talent.dirty_tricks.enabled&combo_points.deficit>=1+buff.broadside.up

# Blade Flurry on 2+ enemies
actions.cds=blade_flurry,if=spell_targets>=2&!buff.blade_flurry.up
# Using Ambush is a 2% increase, so Vanish can be sometimes be used as a utility spell unless using Master Assassin or Deathly Shadows
actions.cds+=/vanish,if=!runeforge.mark_of_the_master_assassin&!stealthed.all&variable.ambush_condition&(!runeforge.deathly_shadows|buff.deathly_shadows.down&combo_points<=2)
# With Master Asssassin, sync Vanish with a finisher or Ambush depending on BtE cooldown, or always a finisher with MfD
actions.cds+=/variable,name=vanish_ma_condition,if=runeforge.mark_of_the_master_assassin&!talent.marked_for_death.enabled,value=(!cooldown.between_the_eyes.ready&variable.finish_condition)|(cooldown.between_the_eyes.ready&variable.ambush_condition)
actions.cds+=/variable,name=vanish_ma_condition,if=runeforge.mark_of_the_master_assassin&talent.marked_for_death.enabled,value=variable.finish_condition
actions.cds+=/vanish,if=variable.vanish_ma_condition&master_assassin_remains=0&variable.blade_flurry_sync
actions.cds+=/flagellation
actions.cds+=/flagellation_cleanse,if=debuff.flagellation.remains<2
actions.cds+=/adrenaline_rush,if=!buff.adrenaline_rush.up
actions.cds+=/roll_the_bones,if=master_assassin_remains=0&(buff.roll_the_bones.remains<=3|variable.rtb_reroll)
# If adds are up, snipe the one with lowest TTD. Use when dying faster than CP deficit or without any CP.
actions.cds+=/marked_for_death,target_if=min:target.time_to_die,if=raid_event.adds.up&(target.time_to_die<combo_points.deficit|!stealthed.rogue&combo_points.deficit>=cp_max_spend-1)
# If no adds will die within the next 30s, use MfD on boss without any CP.
actions.cds+=/marked_for_death,if=raid_event.adds.in>30-raid_event.adds.duration&!stealthed.rogue&combo_points.deficit>=cp_max_spend-1
# Attempt to sync Killing Spree with Vanish for Master Assassin
actions.cds+=/variable,name=killing_spree_vanish_sync,value=!runeforge.mark_of_the_master_assassin|cooldown.vanish.remains>10|master_assassin_remains>2
# Use in 1-2T if BtE is up and won't cap Energy, or at 3T+ (2T+ with Deathly Shadows) or when Master Assassin is up.
actions.cds+=/killing_spree,if=variable.blade_flurry_sync&variable.killing_spree_vanish_sync&!stealthed.rogue&(debuff.between_the_eyes.up&energy.deficit>(energy.regen*2+15)|spell_targets.blade_flurry>(2-buff.deathly_shadows.up)|master_assassin_remains>0)
actions.cds+=/blade_rush,if=variable.blade_flurry_sync&(energy.time_to_max>2|spell_targets>2)
actions.cds+=/dreadblades,if=!stealthed.all&combo_points<=1
actions.cds+=/shadowmeld,if=!stealthed.all&variable.ambush_condition
actions.cds+=/potion,if=buff.bloodlust.react|fight_remains<30|buff.adrenaline_rush.up
actions.cds+=/blood_fury
actions.cds+=/berserking
actions.cds+=/fireblood
actions.cds+=/ancestral_call
# Default conditions for usable items.
actions.cds+=/use_items,slots=trinket1,if=!runeforge.mark_of_the_master_assassin&debuff.between_the_eyes.up&(!talent.ghostly_strike.enabled|debuff.ghostly_strike.up)|master_assassin_remains>0|trinket.1.has_stat.any_dps|fight_remains<=20
actions.cds+=/use_items,slots=trinket2,if=!runeforge.mark_of_the_master_assassin&debuff.between_the_eyes.up&(!talent.ghostly_strike.enabled|debuff.ghostly_strike.up)|master_assassin_remains>0|trinket.2.has_stat.any_dps|fight_remains<=20

actions.finish=slice_and_dice,if=buff.slice_and_dice.remains<fight_remains&refreshable
# BtE on cooldown to keep the Crit debuff up, unless the target is about to die
actions.finish+=/between_the_eyes,if=target.time_to_die>3
actions.finish+=/dispatch

actions.stealth=dispatch,if=variable.finish_condition
actions.stealth+=/ambush