Subtlety Rogue PvP Guide (Shadowlands 9.2.5)

Subtlety Rogues have one of the best control toolkits in the game with Blind and Kidney Shot, but most importantly with Shadow Dance, enabling them to access Sap and Cheap Shot at will. They also have the well-knwown Smoke Bomb, recently buffed, as well as the unique ability Shadowy Duel, making them true crowd control lord amongst the melee specializations. They also have strong on-demand burst damage, allowing them to score kills when the entire enemy team is in CC.

• Eviscerate damage reduced by 10% in PvP combat.
• The Legendary Invigorating Shadowdust now reduced the cooldown of your other abilities by 10s in PvP combat (was 20s).

• The PvP trinket set bonus has been changed and now increases Agility by 175 and Stamina by 300 (was 40% increase to the Versatility bonus damage and healing).
• Five new PvP trinkets have been added:
  • Cosmic Gladiator's Devouring Malediction;
  • Cosmic Gladiator's Eternal Aegis;
  • Cosmic Gladiator's Resonator;
  • Cosmic Gladiator's Echoing Resolve;
  • Cosmic Gladiator's Fastidious Resolve.
• The Subtlety Rogue set bonus has been added. The Subtlety Rogue 2-Piece bonus has a low chance to slightly increase your burst damage. The Subtlety Rogue 4-Piece bonus also a low chance to slightly increase your burst damage. Overall the Subtlety Rogue set bonus is very weak and useless when it comes to PvP. It does not work with how the spec is played.
• Two Legendaries can be equipped. One has to be a Covenant one and be equipped through Unity.

• The Honor Talent Smoke Bomb has been buffed and now as a 2min CD (was 3min).
• The Honor Talent Thief's Bargain has been added.
• The Honor Talent Dismantle has been added.
• The Honor Talent Thick as Thieves has been added.
• The Honor Talent Maneuverability has been slightly buffed and now removes roots upon use.
• The Honor Talent Shadowy Duel has been slightly nerfed and now as a 5s duration (was 6s).
• The Honor Talent Cold Blood has been removed.
• The Conduit Cloaked in Shadows has been nerfed and now lasts up to 4s (was permanent).
• The Legendary Mark of the Master Assassin has been nerfed and now lasts 2.4s in PvP combat (was 4s).

• Great control
• Strong burst
• Decent mobility
• Excellent utility

• No defensive abilities when stunned
• Long cooldown on defensive abilities
• Reliant on teammates to stay alive
• Weaker when facing Orc/Human+Relentless enemies
• Non-existant sustained damage

This guide ended up being very long, so we decided to split it in different pages.

• On the Subtlety Rogue PvP Talents page, you will find an analysis of each PvE talent row to help you decide which talent to pick on each row, as well as an overview of the PvP talents, which advice on which ones to take and under which conditions.
• On the Subtlety Rogue PvP Rotation and Playstyle page, you will learn how to use your spells, depending on the situation (dealing damage, surviving, controlling enemy players, etc.), and what is generally expected of your class and spec in PvP.
• On the Subtlety Rogue PvP Covenants and Legendary Powers page, you will find advice on choosing the best Covenant, Soulbind, and Conduits as well as the best PvP Legendary Powers.
• On the Subtlety Rogue PvP Stat Priority and Gear page, you will find the stat priority to follow in PvP, as well as advice for choosing your gear, particularly trinkets.
• On the Subtlety Rogue PvP Best Races page, you will find lists of the Alliance and Horde races, ranked by how good they are for Subtlety Rogues in PvP, as well as explanations regarding why and how their racials benefit you.
• On the Subtlety Rogue PvP Useful Macros page, you will find a collection of useful macros for PvP for Subtlety Rogues.
• On the Subtlety Rogue Arena Composition page, you will find the list of the most powerful Arena compositions featuring Subtlety Rogues, in both 2v2 and 3v3 modes.