Outlaw Rogue DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — Dragonflight 10.1

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 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.

• Use Sinister Strike as your main builder. Use Ambush when it is available to cast, and Pistol Shot when you have an Opportunity proc.
• Use Dispatch as your main finisher. Use Between the Eyes on cooldown instead, if it is available.
• Activate Blade Flurry if more than one target is present and within striking distance.
• Maintain Slice and Dice at all times.
• Use Roll the Bones on cooldown, UNLESS you have either Skull and Crossbones already, or any 2-buff that does not contain Grand Melee (with the exception of Skull and Crossbones+Grand Melee, of course).
• Use Adrenaline Rush, Killing Spree, Dreadblades, Blade Rush, Shadow Dance and Cold Blood on cooldown, depending on whether you talented into some of these abilities.
• Use Thistle Tea if you are missing at least 100 Energy.

Use all finishers with maximum Combo Points, unless you have Broadside, Audacity or Opportunity active.

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 Ghostly Strike.
• Playing with Marked for Death.
• Playing with Blade Rush.
• Playing with Killing Spree.
• Playing with Dreadblades.
• Playing with Roll the Bones.
• Playing with Keep It Rolling.
• Playing with Sepsis.
• Playing with Thistle Tea.
• Playing with Cold Blood.
• Playing with Adrenaline Rush.

1. Use Roll the Bones on cooldown unless you have any of the desired buffs (see dedicated Roll the Bones section for details).
2. Use Keep It Rolling to extend your RtB buffs if you have 3 or more of them.
3. Activate Adrenaline Rush.
4. Use Cold Blood before Between the Eyes.
5. Cast Between the Eyes at maximum Combo Points.
6. Cast Slice and Dice at maximum Combo Points.
7. Cast Blade Rush on cooldown, in order to not overcap you should use when you are below 80 Energy.
8. Cast Killing Spree on cooldown. If Adrenaline Rush is active, delay Killing Spree to prevent over-capping on energy (below 50 Energy).
9. Cast Marked for Death if you have 0-1 Combo Points.
10. Cast Ghostly Strike on cooldown as if it was a regular builder. If it is already active, use it at 4sec duration left.
11. Use Sepsis.
12. Activate Dreadblades.
13. Use Thistle Tea if you are low on Energy.
14. Cast Dispatch at maximum Combo Points.
15. Cast Vanish or Shadow Dance followed up by Ambush whenever you do not have any Audacity proc and are not at maximum Opportunity procs.
16. Use Ambush instead of Sinister Strike whenever it is available to cast from any of the procs or cooldowns.
17. Cast Pistol Shot if you have an Opportunity proc and you have 6 or fewer Combo Points.
18. 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. Use Keep It Rolling to extend your RtB buffs if you have 3 or more of them.
4. Activate Adrenaline Rush.
5. Use Cold Blood before Between the Eyes.
6. Cast Slice and Dice at maximum Combo Points.
7. Cast Between the Eyes at maximum Combo Points.
8. Cast Blade Rush on cooldown, in order to not overcap you should use when you are below 80 Energy. Use it on cooldown if there are 9 or more targets, regardless of Energy.
9. Cast Killing Spree on cooldown. If Adrenaline Rush is active, delay Killing Spree to prevent over-capping on energy (below 50 Energy).
10. Cast Marked for Death if you have 0-1 Combo Points.
11. Use Sepsis.
12. Activate Dreadblades.
13. Use Thistle Tea if you are low on Energy.
14. Cast Dispatch at maximum Combo Points.
15. Cast Vanish or Shadow Dance followed up by Ambush whenever you do not have any Audacity proc and are not at maximum Opportunity procs.
16. Use Ambush instead of Sinister Strike whenever it is available to cast from any of the procs or cooldowns.
17. Cast Pistol Shot if you have an Opportunity proc and you have 6 or fewer Combo Points.
18. Cast Sinister Strike to generate Combo Points.

There are a few changes that require the aforementioned priority list to be adjusted.

Opportunity and the Broadside Roll the Bones buff affect the way you use your finisher abilities. If either of them are active and you are at 6 Combo Points, you do not want to finish at maximum Combo Points, but finish at 6 CP instead.

If you have chosen Seal Fate as a talent instead, the same rule applies for the Ruthless Precision RtB buff.

Acquiring the new tier-set bonuses has no bearing on your rotational gameplay. They are simply passive bonuses that improve your DPS.

Depending on your talents, there are a handful of abilities you will want to use before the pull happens. Roll the Bones should be used right before engaging the enemy.

Disclaimer: Due to the proc-based nature of Outlaw, it is impossible to generate a catch-all sample opener. As not using procs typically leads to a significant DPS loss, with RtB buffs affecting your CP generation and our go-to talent build further accentuating this with Hidden Opportunity, your opener might look different from pull to pull. The gist of it looks like this:

1. Cast Stealth.
2. Use Roll the Bones 1 seconds before the pull.
3. Cast Ambush as well as Adrenaline Rush on pull.
4. Build up to cast Between the Eyes, and then do the same for Slice and Dice .
5. Use Ghostly Strike outside of Subterfuge.
6. Use Cold Blood on your first Dispatch.
7. Use Vanish followed by Ambush if you do not have any other proc-casts available (Pistol Shot or Ambush procs).

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

If talented into Loaded Dice and Improved Adrenaline Rush, you can use Adrenaline Rush in Stealth, cast Roll the Bones after, and then cast Slice and Dice with the Combo Points from Adrenaline Rush. This allows you to get at least 2 RtB buffs and SnD up and running before engaging the boss.

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 0.5 second per Combo Point;
• Ruthless Precision increases your Critical Strike chance by 15% 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 25%;
• 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 15%;
• Buried Treasure increases your Energy regeneration by 5 per second.

The chance of receiving multiple buffs is as follows:

• 1 Roll the Bones buff: 100.0% chance;
• 2 Roll the Bones buffs: 20% chance;
• 5 Roll the Bones buffs: 1% chance.

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

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

The basic rule to satisfy regarding Roll the Bones is to keep your buffs if:

• you have Skull and Crossbones
• you have 2 buffs and none of them are Grand Melee (unless it is GM and SnC) OR
• you have 3 or more buffs.

Essentially, if you have Skull and Crossbones you always keep it, if you have a 2-buff with Grand Melee, reroll it (with that one caveat).

Vanish is a useful DPS cooldown and should be used on cooldown for Ambush.

A key part of maximizing AoE DPS, will come from lining up Killing Spree / Blade Rush with periods when they can 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.

Using the Greenskin's Wickers talent does not change your rotation much. The only difference is that you will always want to spend 5 or more Combo Points on Between the Eyes to ensure you receive the damage buff. You do not need to hold onto your Opportunity procs, however, as this will lead to lower DPS compared to using them immediately whenever you get them.

You do not cast Between the Eyes if the buff from Greenskin's Wickers is already active.

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 a 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 increases your Energy regen by 25%;
• your Adrenaline Rush cooldown, which temporarily increases your Energy regeneration by 60%;
• Vigor, if talented.

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:

• Opportunity procs when talented into Quick Draw;
• Improved Ambush or Fan the Hammer, if talented.
• 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.

Restless Blades reduces the cooldowns of the following abilities by 1 second per Combo Point consumed by a finisher ( True Bearing adds an additional 0.5 seconds):

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

It is worth reiterating that the source of Blade Flurry cleave is you, not the target. Therefore, you can stand with one mob in front and another one behind you, and your Blade Flurry will still hit behind you, even if the mobs are further than 8y apart, as you are 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 6 seconds for only 35 Energy. When talented into Elusiveness it also reduces all other damage by 20% and grants Evasion a 10% damage mitigation. This is one of the most overpowered abilities in the game and a huge asset in fights with heavy raid damage.
• 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 or Atrophic Poison. For raiding, you will generally use Atrophic 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 or groups needs. Crippling Poison allows your tank to more easily kite enemies, whereas Numbing Poison slows their attack speed instead. Atrophic Poison reduces damage to the group, not just the tank, albeit at significantly lower values.

This specialization involves a lot of fast finger work, particularly during cooldown periods. Learning to focus on what is important and mastering the core concepts of 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, except 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.