Subtlety Rogue DPS Spell List and Glossary — Dragonflight 10.0.7

Last updated on Mar 20, 2023 at 14:16 by Ashine 60 comments
General Information

On this page, we present you with all spells and procs that you need to understand as a Subtlety Rogue in World of Warcraft — Dragonflight 10.0.7.

If you were looking for WotLK Classic content, please refer to our WotLK Classic Subtlety Rogue spells.

1.

Subtlety Rogue Spell Summary

If you are new to Subtlety, it is recommended you read this before proceeding! In this section we will discuss what abilities you have, what they are used for within the specialization, and how they interact with important cooldowns. If you have played this spec before or have already achieved a level of comfort playing this spec in a practical environment, it is recommended you skip this section and move on to the rest of the guide.

2.

Main Resources for Subtlety Rogue

Energy is the main resource of Subtlety Rogues. Energy is generated passively, the rate of which can be increased by Haste, active abilities, talents, and procs.

Combo Points are another primary resource utilized by Subtlety Rogues. Some of your abilities generate Combo Points, while finishing moves spend them, dealing increased damage per Combo Point.

Cooldowns such as Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance and Vanish Icon Vanish also function as rotational "resources" for Subtlety, as they enable you to use unique abilities that can only be activated in Stealth Icon Stealth. Keeping careful track of these abilities, which will be discussed at greater length later in the guide, is just as important as managing your Energy and Combo Points.

3.

Unlocking Abilities

This page lists spells that are used in our rotation, if you are interested in finding out more detailed information such as when you unlock these spells, make sure to check out the Rogue leveling page.

4.

Baseline Subtlety Abilities

Ability Abbreviation Description/Effect
Backstab Icon Backstab - Your main filler and Combo Point generator. It generates a single Combo Point per cast and deals 20% extra damage if you are behind your target. Costs 35 Energy.
Eviscerate Icon Eviscerate - Finishing move that consumes your Combo Points and deals damage based on the number of Combo Points used. Costs 35 Energy.
Rupture Icon Rupture - Finishing move that applies a damage over time effect that deals Physical damage, and lasts longer per Combo Point consumed. Costs 25 Energy.
Slice and Dice Icon Slice and Dice SnD finishing move that spends Combo Points and increases your attack speed by 50%. Lasts longer per Combo Point spent. Costs 20 Energy.
Shuriken Storm Icon Shuriken Storm - Your main Combo Point generator in AoE situations.Deals damage to all targets within 10 yards, and generates 1 Combo Point per enemy hit. Costs 35 Energy.
Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death SoD/Symbols Generates 40 Energy and increases your damage done by 10% for 10 seconds. 30-second cooldown.
Stealth Icon Stealth - Turns you invisible until canceled or upon attacking.
Sprint Icon Sprint - Increases your movement speed by 70% for 8 seconds. Usable while Stealthed. 2-minute cooldown.
Cheap Shot Icon Cheap Shot Cheap Stuns your target for 4 seconds. Only usable from Stealth Icon Stealth or during Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.
Kidney Shot Icon Kidney Shot Kidney Finishing move that consumes your Combo Points and stuns the target for duration based on how many Combo Points was spent, up to maximum of 6 seconds. 20-second cooldown.
Crimson Vial Icon Crimson Vial Vial Heals you for 20% of your maximum health over 4 seconds. 30-second cooldown.
Kick Icon Kick - Interrupts targets spellcasting and prevents any spells from that school for 5 seconds. 15-second cooldown.
Distract Icon Distract - Throws a distraction, forcing enemies hit by it to face towards that direction for 10 seconds. Usable while stealthed.
Instant Poison Icon Instant Poison - Coats your weapons with a lethal poison that lasts for 1 hour. Each attack has 30% chance to inflict nature damage to the target.
Wound Poison Icon Wound Poison Wound Coats your weapons with a lethal poison that lasts for 1 hour. Each attack has 30% chance to inflict nature damage to the target and reducing their healing taken by 8% per stack, stacking up to 3 times.
Crippling Poison Icon Crippling Poison Crippling Coats your weapons with a non-lethal poison that lasts for 1 hour. Each attack has 30% chance to slow the enemy's movement speed by 50% for 12seconds.
Shroud of Concealment Icon Shroud of Concealment Shroud Provides Stealth for you and your party and raid members for 15 seconds. 6-minute cooldown.
Vanish Icon Vanish - Vanishes you from sight and enters you into Stealth. Breaks all movement impairing effects and usable while in combat. 2-minute cooldown.
>Shuriken Toss Icon Shuriken Toss - Throws a shuriken at your target from range, dealing low amount of damage and generating 1 Combo Point.
5.

Talented Abilities

As part of the Dragonflight overhaul to the talent system, every specialization has received numerous new passive effects and active abilities. To attempt to break the list of every possible effect down into manageable chunks, we have grouped these abilities into active and passive effects, organized by the rows you will come across them from top to bottom in each tree.

If you would like to know more about which of these talents to select for your own Subtlety Rogue, please see the builds and talents section of our guide.

5.1.

Talent Tree Rows 1-3

5.1.1.

Active Abilities

Ability Abbreviation Description/Effect
Shiv Icon Shiv - Attack with your off-hand, dealing Physical damage, dispelling all enrage effects and applying a stronger form of your active Non-Lethal Poison. Costs 20 Energy and has a 25-second cooldown.
Blind Icon Blind - Disorients your target for 1 minute. Damage will interrupt the effect. 2-minute cooldown.
Sap Icon Sap - Incapacitates the target for 1 minute. Requires target to not be in combat and only works on Humanoids, Beasts, Demons and Dragonkin. Any damage will revive the target. Only usable while in Stealth and costs 35 Energy.
Evasion Icon Evasion - Increases your Dodge chance by 100% for 10 seconds. 2-minute cooldown.
Cloak of Shadows Icon Cloak of Shadows Cloak Removes all harmful spell effects and causes you to resist all harmful spells for 5 seconds. 2-minute cooldown.
Numbing Poison Icon Numbing Poison - Non-Lethal Poison. Each attack has 30% chance to poison the enemy, reducing their attack and casting speed by 15% for 10 seconds. This is a choice node shared with Atrophic Poison Icon Atrophic Poison.
Atrophic Poison Icon Atrophic Poison - Non-Lethal Poison. Each attack has 30% chance to poison the enemy, reducing their damage by 3% for 10 seconds. This is a choice node shared with Numbing Poison Icon Numbing Poison.
Gouge Icon Gouge - Incapacitates the target for 4 seconds and generates 1 Combo Point. Any damage will revive the target. Requires you to be positioned in front of your target, costs 25 Energy and has a 20-second cooldown.
Tricks of the Trade Icon Tricks of the Trade Tricks/TotT Redirects all threat generated by you to the targeted party or raid member, beginning with your next damaging attack within the next 30 seconds and lasting 6 seconds. Has a 30-second cooldown.
Shadowstep Icon Shadowstep Step Teleports you behind your target and increases your movement speed by 70% for 2 seconds. 30-second Cooldown. If you already have Shadowstep talented, gain an additional charge.
Black Powder Icon Black Powder BP Finishing move that deals Physical damage to all enemies around you, doing damage based on how many Combo Points was spent. Deals additional 20% damage as Shadow to targets affected by Find Weakness Icon Find Weakness. Costs 35 Energy.
Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades SB Causes your Combo Point generators to generate an additional Combo Point and makes them deal additional 50% damage as Shadow. 3-minute cooldown.
5.1.2.

Passive Effects

Ability Abbreviation Description/Effect
Master Poisoner Icon Master Poisoner - Increases the non-damaging effects of your weapon poisons by 20%.
Nimble Fingers Icon Nimble Fingers - Reduces the Energy cost of your Feint Icon Feint and Crimson Vial Icon Crimson Vial by 10.
Blackjack Icon Blackjack - Causes enemies to deal 30% reduced damage and healing for 6 seconds after Blind Icon Blind or Sap Icon Sap ends on them.
Shadowrunner Icon Shadowrunner - Increases your movement speed by 20% while Stealth Icon Stealth or Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance is active.
Improved Backstab Icon Improved Backstab - Increases Backstab Icon Backstabs (and Gloomblade Icon Gloomblades) Critical Strike chance by 15% and causes it to apply Find Weakness Icon Find Weakness when it critically strikes from behind the target.
Improved Shuriken Storm Icon Improved Shuriken Storm - Increases Shuriken Storm Icon Shuriken Storms Critical Strike chance by 15% and causes its Critical Strikes to apply Find Weakness Icon Find Weakness.
Weaponmaster Icon Weaponmaster WM Causes your Backstab Icon Backstab and Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike to have a 15% chance to strike twice.
Shadow Focus Icon Shadow Focus SF Reduces Energy costs by 15% while Stealth Icon Stealth or Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance is active.
Quick Decisions Icon Quick Decisions - Reduces the cooldown of Shadowstep Icon Shadowstep by 20% and increases its maximum range by 20%.
Relentless Strikes Icon Relentless Strikes - Causes your finishing moves to generate 5 Energy per Combo Point spent.
Shot in the Dark Icon Shot in the Dark - Causes your next Cheap Shot Icon Cheap Shot to cost no Energy after entering Stealth Icon Stealth or Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.
Premeditation Icon Premeditation Premed When you enter Stealth Icon Stealth or Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance, causes your next Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike to grant you up to 10 seconds of Slice and Dice Icon Slice and Dice or generates 2 additional Combo Points if Slice and Dice is already active.
Silent Storm Icon Silent Storm - Increases the Critical Strike chance of your next Shuriken Storm Icon Shuriken Storm by 100% when you enter Stealth Icon Stealth, Vanish Icon Vanish or Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.
Night Terrors Icon Night Terrors - Causes your Shuriken Storm Icon Shuriken Storm to reduce enemies movement speed by 50%.
5.2.

Talent Tree Rows 4-7

5.2.1.

Active Abilities

Ability Abbreviation Description/Effect
Shadowstep Icon Shadowstep Step Teleports you behind your target and increases your movement speed by 70% for 2 seconds. 30-second Cooldown. If you already have Shadowstep talented, gain an additional charge.
Gloomblade Icon Gloomblade - Replaces Backstab Icon Backstab. Damage type changes to Shadow and removes the positional requirement of Backstab.
Secret Technique Icon Secret Technique ST finishing move that deals Physical damage to to your main target and reduced damage to other targets. Cooldown is reduced by 1 second for every Combo Point spent. 1-minute cooldown. Costs 30 Energy.
Shuriken Tornado Icon Shuriken Tornado Tornado Causes you to release a Shuriken Tornado Icon Shuriken Tornado every second for 4 seconds. Costs 60 Energy and has 1-minute cooldown.
5.2.2.

Passive Effects

Ability Abbreviation Description/Effect
Improved Wound Poison Icon Improved Wound Poison - Increases the maximum stacks of your Wound Poison Icon Wound Poison by 2.
Fleet Footed Icon Fleet Footed - Increases your movement speed by 15%.
Iron Stomach Icon Iron Stomach - Increases the healing you receive from Crimson Vial Icon Crimson Vial, Healthstones and Healing Potions by 25%.
Improved Sprint Icon Improved Sprint - Reduces the cooldown of Sprint Icon Sprint by 1-minute.
Prey on the Weak Icon Prey on the Weak - Causes enemies disabled by your Cheap Shot Icon Cheap Shot or Kidney Shot Icon Kidney Shot to take 10% increased damage from all sources for 6 seconds.
Subterfuge Icon Subterfuge - Allows you to use abilities that require Stealth Icon Stealth for 3 seconds after Stealth breaks./td>
Virulent Poisons Icon Virulent Poisons - Increases the damage of your weapon poisons by 10%.
Deadened Nerves Icon Deadened Nerves - Causes you to take 3% reduced Physical damage.
Elusiveness Icon Elusiveness - Changes your Evasion Icon Evasion to also reduce all damage you take by 10% and also makes your Feint Icon Feint to reduce all damage you take by 20%. This is a choice node shared with Cheat Death Icon Cheat Death.
Cheat Death Icon Cheat Death - Any attack that would kill you instead reduces you to 7% of your maximum Health. For 3 seconds afterwards, you take 85% reduced damage. Can only trigger once per 6 minutes. This is a choice node shared with Elusiveness Icon Elusiveness.
Rushed Setup Icon Rushed Setup - Reduces the energy costs of Kidney Shot Icon Kidney Shot, Cheap Shot Icon Cheap Shot, Sap Icon Sap and Distract Icon Distract by 20%.
Tight Spender Icon Tight Spender - Reduces the Energy cost of finishing moves by 10%.
Deadly Precision Icon Deadly Precision - Increases the Critical Strike chance of your Combo Point generators by 5/10%.
Thief's Versatility Icon Thief's Versatility - Increases your Versatility by 2/4%.
Nightstalker Icon Nightstalker - Increases your damage dealt by 4/8% while Stealth Icon Stealth or Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance are active.
Vigor Icon Vigor - Increases your maximum Energy by 50 and your Energy regeneration by 10%.
Acrobatic Strikes Icon Acrobatic Strikes - Increases the range of your melee attacks by 3 yards.
>Improved Ambush Icon Improved Ambush - Causes your Ambush Icon Ambush and Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike to generate 1 additional Combo Point.
Improved Shadow Techniques Icon Improved Shadow Techniques - Causes Shadow Techniques Icon Shadow Techniques to generate additional 3 Energy.
Stiletto Staccato Icon Stiletto Staccato - Causes Shadow Techniques to reduce the remaining cooldown of Shadow Blades Icon Shadow Blades by 1 second.
Veiltouched Icon Veiltouched - Causes your abilities to deal 5% increased magic damage.
Swift Death Icon Swift Death - Reduces the cooldown of Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death by 5 seconds.
The First Dance Icon The First Dance - Causes you to gain 4 Combo Points when you cast Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance. This is a choice node shared with Master of Shadows Icon Master of Shadows.
Master of Shadows Icon Master of Shadows - Causes you to gain 25 Energy over 3 seconds when entering Stealth Icon Stealth or casting Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.
Deepening Shadows Icon Deepening Shadows - Increases the cooldown reduction on Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance by 0.7 seconds per Combo Point spent.
Replicating Shadows Icon Replicating Shadows - Causes your Rupture Icon Rupture to deal an additional 20% damage as Shadow and applies to 1 additional enemy within 8 yards.
Shrouded in Darkness Icon Shrouded in Darkness - Causes your Shroud of Concealment Icon Shroud of Concealment to increase movement speed of affected party and raid members by 100%.
Planned Execution Icon Planned Execution - Causes your Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death to increase your Critical Strike chance by 5/10%.
Improved Shadow Dance Icon Improved Shadow Dance - Increases the duration of Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance by 1/2 seconds.
Shadowed Finishers Icon Shadowed Finishers - Causes Eviscerate Icon Eviscerate and Black Powder Icon Black Powder to deal an additional 40% damage as Shadow to targets affected by Find Weakness Icon Find Weakness.
Inevitability Icon Inevitability - Causes your Backstab Icon Backstab and Gloomblade Icon Gloomblade to extend the duration of your Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death by 0.5 seconds per cast.
Without a Trace Icon Without a Trace - Gives you an additional charge of Vanish Icon Vanish.
Cloaked in Shadows Icon Cloaked in Shadows - Causes your Vanish Icon Vanish to grant you a shield absorbing 30% of your maximum Health for 6 seconds. This is a choice node shared with Fade to Nothing Icon Fade to Nothing.
Fade to Nothing Icon Fade to Nothing - Increases your movement speed by 20% and reduces damage taken by 10% for 8 seconds when casting Stealth Icon Stealth, Vanish Icon Vanish or Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance. This is a choice node shared with Cloaked in Shadows Icon Cloaked in Shadows.
Secret Stratagem Icon Secret Stratagem - Increases your maximum Combo Points by 1 and causes your finishers to deal 5% increased damage.
5.3.

Talent Tree Rows 8-10

5.3.1.

Active Abilities

Ability Abbreviation Description/Effect
Cold Blood Icon Cold Blood CB increases the Critical Strike chance of your next damaging ability by 100%. 45-second cooldown.
Echoing Reprimand Icon Echoing Reprimand ER Deals moderate amount of Arcane damage and charges one Combo Point with Animacharge. Damaging finishing moves that consume the same amount of Combo Points as the Animacharge function as if they consumed 7 Combo Points. Costs 10 Energy and has a 45-second cooldown.
Marked for Death Icon Marked for Death MFD Marks your target and generates 5 Combo Points. If your target dies within 1 minute of being marked, the cooldown is reset. 30-second cooldown. This is a choice node shared with Deeper Stratagem Icon Deeper Stratagem.
Thistle Tea Icon Thistle Tea - Restores 100 Energy and increases Mastery by 19.6% for 6 seconds. Has 3 charges and 1-minute cooldown on recharging.
Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance SD/Dance Allows you to use abilities that would normally require Stealth Icon Stealth for 6 seconds. If you are Subtlety, you have one charge baseline. Talenting into this gives you an extra charge. Maximum 2 charges and has a 1-minute cooldown on recharging.
Sepsis Icon Sepsis - Deals Nature damage to your target over 10 seconds. If the target survives its full duration, they take additional damage and allows you to use one Stealth ability. Cooldown reduced by 30 seconds if Sepsis does not last its full duration. Costs 25 Energy and has 1.5-minute cooldown.
Flagellation Icon Flagellation Flag Causes each of your finishing moves used within next 12 seconds to deal additional Shadow damage to the target and increasing your mastery by 2.5% per Combo Point spent. The Mastery bonus remains for additional 12 seconds after Flagellation ends. 1.5-minute cooldown.
5.3.2.

Passive Effects

Ability Abbreviation Description/Effect
Leeching Poison Icon Leeching Poison - Adds a Leeching effect to your Lethal poisons, granting you 12% leech.
Lethality Icon Lethality - Increases your Critical Strike chance by 1/2%. Critical strike damage bonus of your Combo Point generators is increased by 10/20%.
Recuperator Icon Recuperator - Causes your Slice and Dice Icon Slice and Dice to heal you for up to 1% of your maximum Health every 2 seconds.
Alacrity Icon Alacrity - Grants your finishing moves a 5/10% chance per Combo Point spent to increase your haste by 1% for 15 seconds, stacking up to 5 times.
Soothing Darkness Icon Soothing Darkness - Heals you for 30% of your maximum Health over 6 seconds after gaining Vanish Icon Vanish or Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance.
Seal Fate Icon Seal Fate - Causes your Combo Point generators have a 50/100% chance to generate an additional Combo Point on Critical Strike.
Deeper Stratagem Icon Deeper Stratagem DS Increases your maximum Combo Points by 1 and causes your finishers to deal 5% increased damage.
Find Weakness Icon Find Weakness FW Causes your Shadow Strike Icon Shadow Strike and Cheap Shot Icon Cheap Shot to apply a debuff to your target that allows your abilities to bypass 30% of the targets armor.
Resounding Clarity Icon Resounding Clarity - Causes your Echoing Reprimand Icon Echoing Reprimand to Animacharge 3 additional Combo Points. This is a choice node shared with Reverberation Icon Reverberation.
Reverberation Icon Reverberation - Increases damage done of Echoing Reprimand Icon Echoing Reprimand by 75%. This is a choice node shared with Resounding Clarity Icon Resounding Clarity.
Perforated Veins Icon Perforated Veins PV Causes your Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike to increase the damage of your next Backstab Icon Backstab or Gloomblade Icon Gloomblade by 20/40%, stacking up to 5 times.
Dark Shadow Icon Dark Shadow - Causes your Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance to increase your damage by an additional 15/30%.
Deeper Daggers Icon Deeper Daggers - Causes your Eviscerate Icon Eviscerate and Black Powder Icon Black Powder to increase your Shadow damage dealt by 8/16% for next 8 seconds.
Invigorating Shadowdust Icon Invigorating Shadowdust - Causes your Vanish Icon Vanish to reduce remaining cooldown of your other abilities by 10 seconds.
Lingering Shadow Icon Lingering Shadow - After Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance ends, causes your Backstab Icon Backstab and Gloomblade Icon Gloomblade to deal additional 50/100% damage as Shadow, fading by 2.8/5.6% per second.
Finality Icon Finality - Causes your Eviscerate Icon Eviscerate, Rupture Icon Rupture and Black Powder Icon Black Powder to increase damage of the next same finishing move by 15/30%.
The Rotten Icon The Rotten - After activating Symbols of Death Icon Symbols of Death causes your next Shadowstrike Icon Shadowstrike, Backstab Icon Backstab or Gloomblade Icon Gloomblade to generate 4 additional Combo Points and is guaranteed to Critically Strike.
Danse Macabre Icon Danse Macabre DM Causes your Shadow Dance Icon Shadow Dance to increase the damage of your attacks that generate or spend Combo Points by 10%, increased by an additional 10% for each different attack used. Bonus resets when an attack is repeated.
Dark Brew Icon Dark Brew DB Increases your Shadow damage by 10% and causes all of your abilities that deal either Nature or Bleed damage to deal Shadow damage instead.
6.

Further Reading

Since nearly every single major ability for Subtlety Rogue interacts with each other, it can be difficult to figure out how they are meant to be prioritized. But, now that you know what they do, our rotation page can help you see how to manage all of your different resources.

7.

Changelog

  • 20 Mar. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.7.
  • 24 Jan. 2023: Reviewed for Patch 10.0.5.
  • 11 Dec. 2022: Reviewed for Dragonflight Season 1.
  • 28 Nov. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight launch.
  • 25 Oct. 2022: Updated for Dragonflight pre-patch.
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