Assassination Rogue Guide

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Welcome to the guide for Assassination Rogue in 8.3. If you’re looking for a good introduction to playing Assassination in Battle for Azeroth PvE, you’ve come to the right place.

8.3 brings some nerfs to old essences and a few brand new ones.

Introduction

Assassination is still my go to spec for progression due to its damage profile and ease of use. Can still be played in more casual 5 mans without pulling your group down.

Talents

We’ll still rock toxic blade.

Single Target

  • Level 15: Elaborate Planning
  • Level 30: Master Assassin or Subterfuge
  • Level 45: Vigor
  • Level 60: Optional
  • Level 75: Optional
  • Level 90: Toxic Blade
  • Level 100: Poison Bomb

Multi Target(f.ex 5 man instances)

  • Level 15: Elaborate Planning
  • Level 30: Subterfuge
  • Level 45: Vigor
  • Level 60: Optional
  • Level 75: Optional
  • Level 90: Toxic Blade
  • Level 100: Poison Bomb or Crimson Tempest

You should always run a simulation of your character to check which talents are best for you. Multi target setups might vary based on the keystone.

Gearing & Stats

8.3 introduces a new version of warforging. Your items will no longer be able to roll higher item level, but will instead have a chance to have additional powers attached to them. These items should always be simulated to find out the optimal combinations.

“Stat Weights,” is a term you might have heard many times. What is actually being discussed, is scale factors, because they usually change the moment you change a piece of equipment. This is why we recommend that you sim your character to compare items rather than relying on weights.

For stats you should be aiming for the following:

Single Target

  • Agility
  • Haste
  • Critical Strike
  • Mastery
  • Versatility

Multi Target

  • Agility
  • Critical Strike
  • Mastery
  • Versatility
  • Haste

For your food buff while raiding you should be eating the food for the secondary stat that your scale factors says is highest.

For potions you have to choose depending on the situation. Potion of Unbridled Fury is the pick for 1-3 targets. For more targets you want to use a Potion of Empowered Proximity.

For your flask you should always use Greater Flask of the Currents.

For your ring enchants you should use the secondary stat that your scale factors says is highest.

For your weapon enchants you might want to use one Force Multiplier and one secondary stat enchant that your scale factors says is highest. You should simulation to see if Force Multiplier is better than two different navigation enchants.

Azerite Powers and Essences

This is the current staple setup going into the patch for Assassination essences.
Single Target

Major Essences

  • Worldvein Resonance: WV can have its place in your major lineup given you do not have to move too much and your other raid members have it aswell.
  • Blood of the Enemy: For when you want to always have your essence for bursting every two minutes.
  • Condensed Life-Force: When you do not require a maximum burst every two minutes and want to have a slightly higher overall.

Minor Essences

  • Memory of Lucid Dreams: The essence that you will have equipped 99% of the time.
  • Breath of the Dying: When you are in need of corruption resistance
  • Conflict and Strife: A passive chunk of versatility
  • Essence of the Focusing Iris: All-around good essence thats likely your other minor pick due to the nice supply of passive haste.

Outer Ring Azerite Powers

  • Double Dose: Bread and butter for Assassination.
  • Nothing Personal: Must have at least one, but more does not hurt.
  • Blightborne Infusion: Very good if you can get your hands on one of these from the vendor.
  • Shrouded Suffocation: Not ideal, but can work on cleave situations.

Inner Ring Azerite Powers

  • Gutripper: Offers a tad bit of execute.
  • Overwhelming Power: Strongest pick on single target but not as useful on aoe.

Multi Target

Major Essences

  • Blood of the Enemy: Put up your bleeds, use essence and go wild with Fan of Knives.
  • Essence of the Focusing Iris: For simple firing of your laser and continuing normal play.

Minor Essences

  • Memory of Lucid Dreams: Equipped 99% of the time once again.
  • Conflict and Strife: Offers a flat amount of versatility over the encounter.
  • Breath of the Dying: When you are in need of corruption resistance
  • Vision of Perfection: Can be used to lower the cooldown of Vendetta to better suit pulls.

Outer Ring Azerite Powers

  • Blightborne Infusion: Again a great pick if you can get your hands on.
  • Echoing Blades: Pairs really well with Blood of the Enemy.
  • Shrouded Suffocation: Makes your garrotes really good so make sure you can restealth between pulls.
  • Twisted Knife: A solid trait to pair with either of the two above.

Inner Ring Azerite Powers

  • Heed My Call: Good on single target and aoe.
  • Overwhelming Power: Still a very strong trait for when you are hitting bosses in between packs.
  • Unstable Flames: More crit means more combo points more echo procs.

For more information you can check out Herodamage for more traits or run a simulation for your character and the item(s) in question.

Rotation

Pre-Pull

  • 18 seconds on the pull timer, Marked for Death when talented
  • Potion

Pull

No Shrouded Suffocation powers for Toxic Blade

  • Garrote
  • Mutilate till 4+ combo points
  • Rupture
  • Vendetta
  • Mutilate
  • Toxic Blade
  • Mutilate if less than 4 combo points
  • Envenom
  • Mutilate till 4+ combo points
  • Envenom
  • Vanish when Garrote hits 5.4 seconds or less when talented into subterfuge

No Shrouded Suffocation powers for Exsanguinate

  • Garrote
  • Mutilate
  • Rupture
  • Vendetta
  • Mutilate until maximum combo points
  • Rupture
  • Vanish
  • Garrote
  • Exsanguinate
  • Mutilate till 4+ combo points
  • Envenom

One or more Shrouded Suffocation powers for Exsanguinate

  • Garrote
  • Rupture
  • Garrote
  • Vendetta
  • Mutilate
  • Rupture
  • Exsanguinate when talented
  • Mutilate till 4+ combo points
  • Envenom
  • Mutilate till 4+ combo points
  • Envenom
  • Vanish when Garrote runs out
  • Garrote twice

Master Assassin talented

  • Mutilate till 4+ combo points
  • Rupture
  • Mutilate if still in master assassin window
  • Garrote
  • Mutilate till 4+ combo points
  • Vendetta
  • Toxic Blade
  • Vanish
  • Envenom
  • Mutilate till 4+ combo points
  • Envenom

One or more Shrouded Suffocation powers for Toxic Blade

  • Garrote
  • Rupture
  • Garrote
  • Vendetta
  • Toxic Blade
  • Envenom
  • Mutilate till 4+ combo points
  • Envenom
  • Vanish when Garrote runs out
  • Garrote twice

Cool Downs

  • Marked for Death on cool down at low combo points unless you can quickly reset it via a dying mob.
  • Toxic Blade on cool down
  • Vendetta on cool down
  • Vanish paired up with vendetta

At 4-5 Combo Points or 5-6 Combo Points with Deeper Stratagem

  • Rupture, refresh with 7.2 seconds remaining at 5 combo points, or 6 seconds remaining at 4 combo points
  • Envenom

Note: You do not want to overwrite a Nightstalker empowered Rupture or Garrote until it has expired.

Building combo points

  • Garrote when your current Garrote is below 5.4 or there is an additional target.
  • Blindside when you have a proc or enemy is below 35% when talented
  • Fan of Knives, if there are 3 or more targets and you want to refresh or apply poisons to targets that are not poisoned
  • Fan of Knives, if there are 4 or more targets
  • Mutilate

Cleave

  • Crimson Tempest, if the dot has less than 2 seconds remaining
  • Garrote, if the target will live long enough
  • Rupture, if the target will live long enough
  • Envenom, the priority target

AddOns & Macros

There aren’t really any hard requirements for AddOns you should use. Look into using Weak Auras and/or an energy bar AddOn.

Weak Auras

You can find a number of Weak Auras available on wago.io.

Macros

There aren’t really any significant macros for Assassination.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I Toxic Blade?

  • You aim to use Toxic Blade on cool down as it is already a very short cool down. You want to avoid applying bleeds during Toxic Blade and instead cast as many high combo point envenoms as possible. It is also fine to cast Toxic Blade while you are already at maximum combo points. Lastly, you might want to hold on to some combo points and energy prior to Toxic Blade cooling off to increase the amount of Mutilates and Envenoms you are able to cast.

How do I use my trinkets?

  • If you only have Font, you want to channel it prior to casting Vendetta.
    If you only have Coral or some generic on use like a pvp trinket, you want to pair it with Vendetta.
    If you have both Font and Coral, you want to channel Font around 10 seconds prior to casting Vendetta and then activate Coral at the end of Vendetta. This early channel also applies to pull.

Why are my simulations showing I need x and not y?

  • Every character is different. Typically Assassination wants a good amount of haste and critical strike to get started, but this does not mean other stats are useless.

Changelog

I’ll make a note of any changes to the guide and the date it was updated here if you want to come back in the future to check for changes.

Last updated: Friday, 6th February 2020 – Corruption nerfs are almost here

Author

This guide has been written and is maintained by wEak. wEak has played rogue for over 10 years and raids with Memento.

If you have questions, please visit Ravenholdt Discord.