Outlaw Rogue DPS Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities — The War Within Pre-Patch
On this page, you will learn how to optimize the rotation of your Outlaw Rogue in both single-target and multiple-target situations. We also have advanced sections about cooldowns, procs, etc. in order to minmax your DPS. All our content is updated for World of Warcraft — The War Within Pre-Patch.
If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Combat Rogue rotation.
Outlaw Rogue Rotation
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.
Easy Mode
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.
Mythic+ Rotation
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.
PvP
The content on this page is purely PvE-related. If you are looking for PvP Rotation Tips, please visit our PvP page below.
Outlaw Rogue Rotations
Each of the sections below explain the rotation for different environments. Click the boxes to switch to the desired situation.
Outlaw Rogue Rotation
Simplified Outlaw Rotation
- Use
Blade Flurry before the pull. Refresh it, if it drops off.
- Use
Adrenaline Rush and
Slice and Dice before the pull.
- Use
Sinister Strike as your main builder. Use
Ambush when it is available to cast, and
Pistol Shot when you have an
Opportunity proc, at either 0-1 CP, or when you are in
Subterfuge.
- Use
Dispatch as your main finisher.
- Use
Between the Eyes on cooldown, if it is available. During
Vanish or
Subterfuge, only use BtE.
- Use
Roll the Bones on cooldown, if you only have 1 buff, or only 2 buffs AND
Loaded Dice is active.
- Use
Adrenaline Rush and
Ghostly Strike on cooldown.
- Use Vanish at maximum Combo Points, and with Between the Eyes ready.
- Maintain
Slice and Dice at all times.
- Use
Blade Rush when you are out of Energy.
You will want to use finishing moves at 6+ Combo Points or higher, or 5+ if you
are in Subterfuge. Do not use Between the Eyes unless
the cooldown on your Vanish is over 45 seconds.
Single-Target Ability Priority List for Outlaw Rogue
This is the general priority list on how to use your abilities. This is NOT a list that should be followed step by step, it simply serves as a good idea on which things to prioritize in your moment-to-moment gameplay, as you will often be faced with multiple choices on which buttons to press. The priority list simply highlights which buttons are more important than others. You can find a sample opener sequence further below on this page.
- Use
Roll the Bones on cooldown unless you have any of the desired buffs (see dedicated Roll the Bones section for details).
- Maintain
Blade Flurry.
Underhanded Upper Hand will maintain this for you for large parts of the fight.
- Maintain
Slice and Dice.
Underhanded Upper Hand will maintain this for you for large parts of the fight.
- Use
Adrenaline Rush on cooldown, at low Combo Points.
- Cast
Between the Eyes on cooldown. Do not use it if the cooldown of
Vanish is below 45 seconds. This is due to
Crackshot, to ensure BtE will be ready to cast.
- Cast
Blade Rush on cooldown. In order to not overcap, you should use it when you are below 70 Energy.
- Cast
Ghostly Strike on cooldown as if it was a regular builder.
- Cast
Dispatch as your main finisher.
- Cast
Vanish at max Combo Points, followed up by
Between the Eyes.
- During
Subterfuge, use
Ambush if you do not have Opportunity procs, or are at 2 CP after finishing.
- During
Subterfuge, use
Pistol Shot if you do have Opportunity procs, have
Broadside, and are at 0 or 1 CP after finishing.
- Use
Ambush instead of
Sinister Strike whenever it is available to cast from any of the procs or cooldowns.
- Cast
Pistol Shot if you have an
Opportunity proc.
- Cast
Sinister Strike to generate Combo Points.
Multi-Target Ability Priority List for Outlaw Rogue
- Use
Roll the Bones on cooldown unless you have any of the desired buffs (see dedicated Roll the Bones section for details).
- Maintain
Blade Flurry.
Underhanded Upper Hand will maintain this for you for large parts of the fight.
- Maintain
Slice and Dice.
Underhanded Upper Hand will maintain this for you for large parts of the fight.
- Use
Keep It Rolling when you have 4+ buffs already.
- Use
Adrenaline Rush on cooldown, at low Combo Points.
- Cast
Between the Eyes on cooldown. Do not use it if the cooldown of
Vanish is below 45 seconds. This is due to
Crackshot, to ensure BtE will be ready to cast.
- Cast
Blade Rush on cooldown. In order to not overcap, you should use it when you are below 70 Energy.
- Cast
Ghostly Strike on cooldown as if it was a regular builder.
- Use
Blade Flurry on cooldown if there are more than 5 targets and you have talented
Deft Maneuvers.
- Cast
Dispatch as your main finisher.
- Cast
Vanish at max Combo Points, followed up by
Between the Eyes.
- During
Subterfuge, use
Ambush if you do not have Opportunity procs, or are at 2 CP after finishing.
- During
Subterfuge, use
Pistol Shot if you do have Opportunity procs, have
Broadside, and are at 0 or 1 CP after finishing.
- Use
Ambush instead of
Sinister Strike whenever it is available to cast from any of the procs or cooldowns.
- Cast
Pistol Shot if you have an
Opportunity proc.
- Cast
Sinister Strike to generate Combo Points.
Season 4 Tier Set - Amirrassil, the Dream's Hope Tier Set (T31)
Rogue Outlaw 10.2 Class Set 2pc has no bearing on your rotational gameplay.
Rogue Outlaw 10.2 Class Set 4pc changes your
Roll the Bones usage slightly. You will
want to cast
Roll the Bones prior to the pull before
Adrenaline Rush,
to immediately get a guaranteed 3-buff (1 from the 4piece bonus, 1 from RtB, and
1 from
Loaded Dice).
Opener Sequence for Outlaw Rogue
Like mentioned above, you will want to change your opener slightly, depending on whether you already have the new 4pc bonus.
This is your prestealth opener:
- Cast
Blade Flurry 4 seconds before the pull.
- Cast Stealth.
- Cast
Roll the Bones 3 seconds before the pull, if you have the new set bonus already.
- Cast
Adrenaline Rush 2 seconds before the pull.
- If you do not have the new set bonus yet, switch RtB and AR.
- Cast
Slice and Dice 1 seconds before the pull.
This is your actual in-combat opener.
- Use
Ghostly Strike from Stealth.
- Cast
Ambush.
- Build up to cast
Between the Eyes with 5+ CP.
- Repeat until Subterfuge drops.
- Build CP with
Sinister Strike,
Ambush or
Pistol Shot as per the priority rules.
- Use Vanish.
- Build up to cast
Between the Eyes with 5+ CP.
- Repeat until Subterfuge drops.
- Build CP with
Sinister Strike,
Ambush or
Pistol Shot as per the priority rules.
- Build up to cast
Between the Eyes with 5+ CP.
- Repeat until Subterfuge drops.
- Once you have expanded your Stealth cooldowns, follow the regular priority rules.
You will want to ensure that Between the Eyes is off cooldown whenever
you get your
Vanish back up again. Do not
use BtE if Vanish still has ~45 seconds CD left.
Important Notes for Outlaw Rogue
How to Roll the Bones
The basic rule to satisfy regarding Roll the Bones is to reroll your
buffs if you have only one buff without
Loaded Dice, or
if you only have 2 buffs while
Loaded Dice is active.
You will also want to reroll RtB if you are about to use Vanish and
your buffs would run out during their duration.
Do not let your RtB drop off entirely, as you will lose out on the benefits
of the Rogue Outlaw 10.2 Class Set 4pc
Roll the Bones Academic Information
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 Blade Flurry to deal 10% additional damage to nearby enemies, and 5% more damage for all your skills.
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):
True Bearing.
Skull and Crossbones;
Broadside;
Ruthless Precision;
Buried Treasure;
Grand Melee.
Keep It Rolling
Keep It Rolling is used in AoE scenarios and under the hood it works a
bit differently than it used to. The actual gameplay priority for it is fairly
simple, thankfully. You simply use
Roll the Bones after acquiring 4 or
more buffs through either RtB or
Count the Odds.
You will also want to use Roll the Bones after KIR if you don't already
have all six buffs, or your buff duration is below 39 seconds, as this will
extend the duration of any buffs it rolls to their full pandemic value again.
If you do not have all six buffs yet, and your RtB duration after pressing KIR
is above 39 seconds, RtB will only roll among buffs you do not yet have, making
it fairly reliable to get all six buffs!
Combo Points and Energy
As a Rogue, most of your abilities need Energy to be used. Your Energy
bar has a capacity of 100 Energy (200 with Vigor chosen as a talent,
and 250 during
Adrenaline Rush) and refills at a base 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
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.
Outlaw Cooldown Reduction
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):
Adrenaline Rush
Between the Eyes
Blade Flurry
Blade Rush
Ghostly Strike
Grappling Hook
Keep It Rolling
Killing Spree
Roll the Bones
Sprint
Vanish
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 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.
Defensive Utility
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.
Poisons
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.
Changelog
- 23 Jul. 2024: Updated for The War Within Pre-Patch.
- 07 May 2024: Reviewed for 10.2.7.
- 22 Apr. 2024: Page has been reviewed and updated for Dragonflight Season 4.
- 21 Mar. 2024: Page has been reviewed for Patch 10.2.6, no changes were necessary.
- 15 Jan. 2024: Page has been reviewed and updated for Patch 10.2.5.
- 06 Nov. 2023: Page updated for the Patch 10.2 Rogue rework.
- 04 Sep. 2023: Page was reviewed for Patch 10.1.7 and no changes were necessary.
- 16 Jul. 2023: Updated RtB priorities.
- 10 Jul. 2023: Added BF conditional while GM is active.
- 01 May 2023: No rotational changes are required for Patch 10.1. Added Rotation Quick Guide.
- 20 Mar. 2023: Updated for Patch 10.0.7.
- 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
- 18 Jan. 2023: Updated rotational priorities for HO build and RtB priority.
- 11 Dec. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight Season 1.
- 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
- 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
More Rogue Guides
Guides from Other Classes
This guide has been written and reviewed by Seliathan, who has been playing Rogue since the first day of Classic. He currently raids in Familiar with Drama, and is one of the foremost Mythic+ Rogue players. You can often find him streaming on Twitch, or follow him on his personal Discord server.
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