Subtlety Rogue DPS Spell Summary — Shadowlands Pre-Patch 9.0.1

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.

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 and Vanish also function as rotational "resources" for Subtlety, as they enable you to use unique abilities that can only be activated in 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.

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.

These abilities are available no matter what talents you chose, and form the bread and butter of this specialization.

Backstab is 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.

Eviscerate is your main finisher, and deals increased damage per Combo Point consumed.

Rupture is a finishing move that applies a damage over time effect that deals Physical damage, and lasts longer per Combo Point consumed. This should be maintained on your primary target at all times.

Shuriken Storm deals damage to all targets within 10 yards, and generates 1 Combo Point per enemy hit. Shuriken Storm critical strikes apply Find Weakness. You should use this as your primary Combo Point generator on 2 or more targets, and only on 3 or more targets in Shadow Dance.

Slice and Dice is a finishing move that grants you 50% increased attack speed and lasts longer per Combo Point spent. Maintain Slice and Dice at all times.

Some of your abilities can only be used in Stealth, or while your Shadow Dance is active.

Shadowstrike is your main filler when Shadow Dance is active. Shadowstrike generates 2 Combo Points.

You should still spend Combo Points if you cap while Shadow Dance is active. Eviscerate is usable at all times.

To find out how these abilities interact with each other in our rotation, visit the rotation page below.

Deepening Shadows causes your finishers to reduce the cooldown of Shadow Dance by 1 seconds per Combo Point spent.

Shadow Techniques grants your successful auto attacks to have a 50% chance on your fourth and 100% of the fifth to proc Shadow Techniques. After it procs, the cycle starts over from 0.

Relentless Strikes guarantees an Energy refund of 6 Energy per Combo Point spent on finishers.

Instant Poison should be applied at all times along with one of the non-lethal Numbing Poison or Crippling Poison depending on which one is the most useful for you.

Shadow Dance is your main DPS cooldown. It allows you to shift into a state of Stealth, accessing unique abilities. It has 1 charge (or 2 when talented into Enveloping Shadows) with a 60-second recharge time which is reduced by the amount of Combo Points you spend. This ability is used strategically with Symbols of Death to maximize damage output. You should keep careful track of your Energy and Combo Points before entering Shadow Dance so you can maximize the short time available to you.

Symbols of Death generates 40 Energy and increases damage done by 15% for 10 seconds, on a 30-second cooldown. This is one of our primary cooldowns, and we like to pair it with a Shadow Dance when possible.

Shadow Blades is a powerful cooldown that causes your Combo Point-generating abilities to generate 1 additional Combo Point and deal 50 % additional damage as Shadow. This lasts for 20 seconds, and has a lengthy 3-minute cooldown. This ability does not need to be thought about too much and can safely be used on cooldown.

Vanish instantly puts you in Stealth. This is essentially a poor man's Shadow Dance and can be used to get an extra Shadowstrike.

Gloomblade replaces Backstab. It does shadow damage which means it bypasses armor, resulting in more DPS.

Marked for Death marks your current target, generating 5 Combo Points. If the target dies while it has the debuff, the cooldown is reset. 30-second cooldown.

Secret Technique is a Combo Point finisher that deals AoE damage. It has 45-second cooldown and gets reduced by 1 second for every Combo Point you spend.

Shuriken Tornado causes you to automatically cast Shuriken Storm every second for the next 4 seconds. 1-minute cooldown.