Outlaw Rogue PvP Best Covenants, Soulbinds, Conduits, and Legendary Powers (Shadowlands / 9.2)

For more information about what Covenants bring you, please refer to our page about Covenant abilities for Rogues.

There are four Covenants available: Night Fae, Kyrian, Venthyr, and Necrolord. Each Covenant will provide you with a class ability and a Covenant ability. If you have at least one character with Renown 80 and a complete campaign you can freely swap Covenant in Oribos. With Patch 9.2 we also gained the Unity power, allowing us to access our Covenant Legendary on top of another Legendary. Outlaw Rogue players have several good options. Venthyr is the best option in Patch 9.2, thanks to the interaction between Flagellation and Dreadblades. Necrolord is a solid choice if you are trying to be more tanky and play longer games. Night Fae has become better thanks to its good Covenant Legendary, and Kyrian is simply viable but does not bring anything unique to the spec..

1. Venthyr is the Covenant that will give you the most burst damage. The class ability, Flagellation, deals large amounts of damage for every Combo Point spent, even more so with the Lashing Scars Conduit. It also gives a bit of Haste, which is great as Outlaw. This ability works particularly well alongside Dreadblades as they share the same cooldown and have effects that work well together. Dreadblades was buffed back in Patch 9.1.5 which further empowers this combination. During your Dreadblades window you will consume 6 Combo Points every second GCD, causing massive Flagellation damage. The Covenant ability, Door of Shadows, is decent as it allows you to escape a dangerous situation and may even allow you to re-Stealth, but it can be interrupted, making it unreliable when enemies have their interrupts ready. The Venthyr Legendary, Obedience, allows to you lower the CD of Flagellation and to gain a bit of Versatility once it has lashed the target. While you will not benefit from the cooldown reduction effect too much if you want to use Flagellation alongside Dreadblades, the added Versatility will make your burst window more powerful.
2. Necrolord is the Covenant that will give you the most survivability as well as the most sustained damage. The class ability, Serrated Bone Spike, deals decent damage, is very cheap, and allows you not only to generate Combo Points from a distance but also to keep dealing damage to an enemy who managed to get away from you. It is a great spell overall. The Covenant ability, Fleshcraft, is a channeled ability that grants you a large shield and reduces all damage you take by 20% while channeling the shield. This is a very powerful defensive ability, especially with the Ultimate Form passive that comes with one of the Soulbinds, as you will get a crowd control immunity and healing on top of the shield. Outlaw is already a durable specialization, even more so against melee DPS. By playing Necrolord you will make it extra hard for the enemy team to take you down. The Necrolord Legendary, Deathspike, grants you two additional charges of Serrated Bone Spike and allows it to also deal damage to nearby enemies. It is not the best but can be good in cleave situations. It would fit if you are playing RPS, or if you are playing with another melee.
3. Night Fae is the Covenant that will give you the most mobility. The class ability, Sepsis, is a DoT that deals moderate damage by itself. It also allows you one use of a Stealth-based ability without being Stealthed. The Covenant ability, Soulshape, is also a great too for Rogues to have. It allows you to teleport 15 yards away every 4 seconds for 12 seconds. It can be used to escape lethal situations and go for re-Stealths. Of course it can also be used to reach a target that has been kiting you. As an Outlaw Rogue DoT damage is not really what you need, and getting the use of a Stealth ability is not great either, as Outlaw has very few benefits from stealth attacks as opposed to other Rogue specializations. Outlaw Rogues also have good mobility already so Soulshape is not extremely useful in most cases. The Night Fae Legendary, Toxic Onslaught, allows you to gain Shadow Blades and Vendetta once Sepsis expires. This leads to a very potent burst window, first with the damage from Sepsis and then by the combination of Vendetta and Shadow Blades, to which you can add your own Adrenaline Rush.
4. Kyrian is viable, but does not offer anything new. The Rogue Covenant ability, Echoing Reprimand, deals moderate damage in PvP combat due to being heavily nerfed in PvP, so the only benefit you would get from it is the possibility of landing a 7 Combo Point Dispatch. This is decent damage, but it is also random due to the fact that you cannot know which of your Combo Points will be anima-charged, and you will have a hard time controlling your Combo Point generation because of Sinister Strike being able to hit an additional time. The Covenant ability is a spell that will summon a steward, and the steward will give you Phial of Serenity. The cooldown on this heal is excessively long, and it does not start until you leave combat. It is not worth the healing from the Necrolord ability, or the ability to simply avoid damage by escaping provided by both Venthyr and NightFae. However it could be decent if Assassination Rogues and Feral Druids were very represented in the meta as it removes all of their DoTs. The Kyrian Legendary, Resounding Clarity, is good and is what makes this Covenant viable. With the Legendary equipped Echoing Reprimand allows you to overcharge your second, third, fourth and fifth Combo Points instead of a random one. Any offensive finisher used with an overcharged Combo Point will count as if used with 7 Combo Points. Being able to land several 7CP Dispatch every second Kidney Shot is powerful and will let you reset your cooldowns with the passive Restless Blades.

Soulbinds are unlocked as you progress your character within a Covenant. Each Covenant features 3 Soulbinds, and every Soulbind has its own set of passive effects. In every Soulbind you will have to choose a path, and that path is important as it determines what passives you get, and what kind of Conduits you can use.

Here is the Soulbind and path you should take if you chose Venthyr.

This Soulbind gives you the Thrill Seeker passive. This will grant you 20% Haste at times, and Haste is a great stat for Outlaw Rogues. You also gain Agent of Chaos, allowing you to disorient enemies with Door of Shadows. Beware, this will put the target on diminishing return for Blind. Last but not least, the final passive, Fatal Flaw, is extremely powerful as it will give you 20% Versatility once Euphoria ends.

Here is the Soulbind and path you should take if you chose Necrolord.

This Soulbind gives you the Ooz's Frictionless Coating passive, which will amount to quite a bit of healing overall despite its nerf in PvP combat. You also gain the passive Ultimate Form that allows Fleshcraft to heal you and provide you with crowd control immunity for a short period of time. This can be useful in many situations if you know the enemy team is about to crowd control you. The Conduit Sudden Fractures can be replaced with Triple Threat.

Here is the Soulbind and path you should take if you chose Night Fae.

This Soulbind gives you the Grove Invigoration passive. This will allow you to gain 300 Mastery when using Sepsis, which can be a small damage boost on your kill attempts as you will inevitably proc Mastery: Main Gauche. This buff will become 450 Mastery for the first 5 seconds thanks to Bonded Hearts, the last passive, if the condition is met for even more burst damage. You also get Run Without Tiring, which is a bit of healing when kiting away with Soulshape. Bonded Hearts also provides a bit of passive healing, but most importantly allows Sepsis to heal you and your allies upon use, which can help your healer a little bit.

Here is the Soulbind and path you should take if you chose Kyrian.

This Soulbind gives you the Combat Meditation passive. This will allow you to gain Mastery when using Echoing Reprimand, which is a small damage increase. You also get the passive Let Go of the Past, which is a small defensive bonus. The last two passives are the strongest of the Soulbind. Path of the Devoted will reduce all incoming damage by 20% after recovering from a crowd control effect once every 30 seconds. While this may be triggered by crowd control abilities that will not hurt you it could also trigger on very dangerous abilities such as Kidney Shot or Storm Bolt. If you are the target it is likely that you will indeed get value out of it as many crowd control attacks on you will be meant to kill you. The last passive, Newfound Resolve is a powerful damage increase when you manage to get it, although it may not always be very practical to do so while in PvP combat.

Conduits are passive buffs that you can use to fill empty slots in your Soulbind Trees. There are three types of Conduits: Potency, Endurance, and Finesse. Here are the best Conduits for each of those different types:

1. The Covenant Conduit is a good pick regardless of your Covenant since you want to play with three Potency conduits as Outlaw.
2. Sleight of Hand increases the chance that Roll the Bones gives you two buffs instead of one. Roll the Bones buffs can be very powerful, making this Conduit really good.
3. Count the Odds gives a chance for your Dispatch to grant you a buff from Roll the Bones for 5s. Gaining these buffs will make you a lot more powerful. There is also a great synergy with Dreadblades as every second GCD will be a Dispatch during your Dreadblades window so you will usually get several buffs on top of the ones you already have, greatly empowering you.

1. Recuperator makes Slice and Dice heal you over time. This is good to help your healer with sustained healing as you will have Slice and Dice up most of the time.
2. Nimble Fingers reduces the Energy cost of your low-cooldown defensive options, which will let you keep the Energy for offensive purposes. It works particularly well with the new Honor talent Float Like a Butterfly as you will be able to use Feint more often.

1. Prepared for All reduces the cooldown of Cloak of Shadows when you successfully interrupt a cast, and of Evasion when you dodge an attack. It is not mandatory, but can be a good pick when you know you will get a lot of value out of it. The fact that you can have your defensives back off cooldown when the enemy thinks they are still unavailable can cause them to make mistakes. It is a great pick when playing with the Float Like a Butterfly Honor Talent for even more cooldown reduction on Evasion, making you extra durable against melee enemies.
2. Quick Decisions reduces the cooldown of Grappling Hook and increases its range. This is great for both running down enemies or kiting away from them if you need to. This Conduit makes Grappling Hook the spell with the best reach in the entire game, a great tool to have.

Legendaries have many different effects and some can alter how you should use some of your abilities. For more information on Legendaries, check out our general guide on them.

Here are the best Legendaries for an Outlaw Rogues.

1. Greenskin's Wickers is an excellent Legendary power, and the current best pick. It significantly buffs the damage of your next Pistol Shot after using Between the Eyes. By using that Pistol Shot with an Opportunity proc when playing the Quick Draw talent it will deal high damage. As Outlaw is a specialization that lacks burst damage this is a great help to kill people in your stuns as they will all of a sudden receive an unexpected big hit.
2. Invigorating Shadowdust is a great pick. Outlaw Rogues have a lot of ways to reduce the cooldown of key spells with Blinding Powder, Float Like a Butterfly and Restless Blades. By using this Legendary you will be able to reduce important cooldowns even more, catching your opponents off guard and making a lot of value with your cooldowns, both offensive and defensive. You will use them a lot more than you should have been able to, and the enemy will not be able to answer them every time. Also, since Restless Blades reduces the cooldown of Vanish you will benefit from the Legendary effect a lot more than any other Rogue specialization.
3. Concealed Blunderbuss has recently become a very viable option thanks to the addition of the Honor Talent Enduring Brawler. Since Outlaw Rogues are a lot more likely to get Sinister Strike to hit an additional time, this Legendary gains a lot of value and will be an noticeable increase to both burst damage and sustained damage.