[7.2.5] Assassination Rogue PvE Guide

[klender44]

[7.2.5] Assassination Rogue PvE Guide

Image Source*

Introduction
Hi, guys. For the sake of anonymity, I will not disclose my in-game character's name in this guide.
I have played WoW on and off since mid TBC, my first character being a warlock. I picked up rogues in wrath where I played assassination in PvE and PvP, on several private servers and retail. This was the expansion I played the most, seeing as I didn't enjoy the cataclysm expansion too much, and MoP was stale (though I levelled and played in both expansions). I should probably add that I played rogue on a TBC private server for quite some time as well. I have honestly been a multi-classer my entire WoW career, levelling and playing at least 4/5 different classes in every retail expansion, but rogue has always had a spot in my heart.

When it comes to legion, I've played rogue since a few weeks before patch 7.2.5 hit on WoW-Freakz. I have, however, read tons of guides and forum posts, seen many heroic/mythic/mythic+ videos of retail rogues, and have a rl friend who played all 3 rogue specs all through legion that can back up most of what I state in this guide, if not all. What I bring to this guide is my personal experience from patch 7.2.5 assassination gameplay, as well as a summary of retail guides, videos and statistics from warcraftlogs, to help you as a beginner improve your gameplay, or maybe give assassination a chance if you're already maining something else (like subtlety).

The Specialization
Assassination's name is an obvious description of the class fantasy, and what originally captivated me into playing the spec. You are a stealthy assassin, relying on poisons and bleeds to do damage. Your playstyle is engaging and is simple to learn, but can be hard to master.

Advantages:

• Strong, continuous flow of damage
  
• Short cooldown burst windows
  
• Reduced downtime due to moving/mechanics
  
• Above average mobility
  
• The best survivability of all melee specs, seeing as so many things have to go wrong for you to die (I realize this is a bold statement, but rogues are usually the designated melee soakers for a reason)

Disadvantages:

• Not the strongest AoE class, highly dependent on ramp up time and multi-dotting (and legendaries)
  
• Single target (ST) damage requires ramp up time, not the best spec at priority add killing
  
• Burst cooldowns require preparation and awareness
  
• Legendary dependent for top parses and smoother rotation/opener
  

Current Standing in 7.2.5



The image shows the 75th percentile of parses for all bosses combined in ToS in patch 7.2.5. Yup, it doesn't look good. A pure ST fight in ToS, let's say Goroth mythic, does not put the spec in a good position either:

Spoiler:

If you are a FotM player who rerolls each patch, I guess this guide isn't for you. On the other hand, if you are interested in learning more about the specialization and how fun and exciting it really is in 7.2.5 (with the addition of Toxic Blade, damn fun talent), then look no further!

Talents
Assassination talents are not set in stone, but there is one particular playstyle that is currently dominating any other, which is the poison build. Ladies and gents, behold the cookie-cutter build:



This one is used by all top parsers and in all fight situations, whether it is AoE, cleave or ST. Here's an explanation of tier choices:

• 15 Tier: Master Poisoner, that's it. This talent increases the damage of most of your nature damaging abilities, except Envenom. You don't take any of the other two especially when your mastery rating starts to become significantly high.
  
• 30 Tier: This is a tricky one. Once you get T20 (which should be on your priority list), Subterfuge competes with Nightstalker and is strictly better in cleave (2+ targets) situations. Nightstalker is still a solid choice for ST, and guides put the difference between the two talents as being a few thousand dps apart. Top parsers on warcraftlog seem to be a mix of the two talents, pick one you feel like playing, though Subterfuge rotation is easier to learn if you're a beginner.
  
• 45 Tier: Vigor is key, for both PvE and PvP. Your abilities cost a lot of energy, and you rely on this talent to have a successful opener and to not overcap your energy when you use vendetta.
  
• 60 Tier: This is the survivability tier. In 99% of the situations you encounter, Cheat Death will be your go-to talent. It's a free escape-death ticket!
  
• 75 Tier: Ah, the magic of options. Internal Bleeding is a solid passive damage increase, but only for yourself. If you are in need of stunning a priority add, Prey of the Weak will generally allow your party to nuke it down faster. Though, rogues are rarely invited to groups for their stuns nowadays, especially considering how many classes have AoE stuns. Go with Thuggee if you're never wasting combo points stunning adds. It's a sweet passive, though it doesn't synergize well with T20.
  
• 90 Tier: Again, really only 1 viable option: Toxic Blade. We don't need the haste from Alacrity, and Exsanguinate is only useful for bleed builds.
  
• 100 Tier: And finally, again there is only 1 option: Venom Rush. It provides you with a lot of extra energy, something you really need from time to time. Especially juicy on multiple targets if you have bleeds on them! Marked for Death is really only used in PvP situations, and Death from Above is the worst for assassination on this list.

Stats
The general stat priority list for assassination with the build above is:
Mastery > Crit ≥ Versatility > Agility >> Haste
Note that this is a generally agreed upon basic priority list. For optimal results you should always sim your character when obtaining new pieces of gear (download SimBuilder and 725-01 Version SimulationCraft)!

Gearing your Rogue

As a rule of thumb, when you're starting off with a fresh 110 rogue, your best legendaries, relics and gear will be those that increase your damage. More often than not, you pick the higher ilvl piece just because it has a lot of agility, but this section and the next discuss how to optimize your gear.

Legendaries for ST and <= 3 target cleave

The top legendary combination for single target in patch 7.2.5 is:
Mantle of the Master Assassin + Zoldyck Family Training Shackles

Second best combination is:
Mantle of the Master Assassin + Duskwalker's Footpads

Optional legendaries when you lack those above, ranked from best to worst:

• The Empty Crown (an alright passive and on-use effect, really good stats)
  
• Insignia of Ravenholdt (good passive dmg increase, average/not optimal stats)
  
• Soul of the Shadowblade (vigor is always picked, the other talents aren't as useful for ST dmg; ok statstick)
  

Legendaries for 3+ target AoE

Best combination for AoE situations (like trash packs in mythic+) is:
Mantle of the Master Assassin + The Dreadlord's Deceit

The two second best, also quite strong combinations:
Mantle of the Master Assassin + Kil'jaeden's Burning Wish/Zoldyck Family Training Shackles


Disclaimer note: I have not included legendaries with passive/on-use defensive effects. Rogues in general are very tanky with abilities and passives such as feint, cheat death, evasion, cloak of shadows etc. We aren't shammies and don't need extra defensive tools!

Trinkets

Assassination trinket simulations for patch 7.2.5 with T20 and legendary shoulders + wrist combination:

Spoiler:

Gems, Enchants and Consumables
Enchants:

• Neck: Mark of the Trained Soldier
  
• Cloak: Binding of Agility
  
• Rings: Binding of Mastery

Gems:

• Just one: Masterful Shadowruby

Consumables:

• Food: Nightborne Delicacy Platter (or Barracuda Mrglgagh)
  
• Flask: Flask of the Seventh Demon
  
• Potion: Potion of Prolonged Power
  

Artifact Relics

Before this section starts, I just want to say that the path you follow in your artifact tree isn't really that important. If you're a fresh 110, you'll get most traits after a day's play. 7.2.5 sure made it easier for alts.

Assassination relic choices are quite unique. There are two (!!) BiS combinations of relics you could have:

• 3x Master Assassin OR
  
• 1x Master Assassin and 2x Master Alchemist

It's an either/or situation for BiS relic combinations. Assassination is one of the few specs in the game that can have different combinations of BiS relics (most classes just have 1 or 2 BiS ones and number of them does not matter). The reason for the two combination options listed above was done extensively by sims and forum discussions. It's just not optimal having 2x Master Assassin relics! (beats me why, I just go with the flow)
Other relic options include those that increase your dps. The priority list goes as follows (for pure ST damage):

• Balanced Blades
  
• Toxic Blades
  
• Strangler (sims higher than Gushing Wound with T20 4-piece)
  
• Gushing Wound
  
• Serrated Edge

It is worth mentioning that, for AoE situations, Poison Knives relics sim the best, with Master Alchemist being second best. Though in general, you never want to aim for AoE relic choices. Stick to the ST priority list.

Breaking the 3x master assassin relic combo requires a relic at least a +40 ilvl higher relic (the number is from multiple forum posts and sims)! If you do break the 3x combo, replacing another master assassin relic will not cost you much. It will actually increase your dps to get another damage relic! Check the Relic Spreadsheet for more info (it is designed for patch 7.3.5, but not much changed since 7.2.5).
One last thing to note is that if you have the Convergence of Fates trinket, 3x master assassin relics will be better than 1x master assassin and 2x master alchemist relics.

Openers and General Rotation
Following the poison build, I'll briefly discuss 2 ST openers (one with the legendary shoulders, or mantle, and one without), and an AoE opener. I will also post the priority uptimes which need to be held. For ST fights I am assuming you run the Subterfuge talent and have T20 set bonuses, and will thus base my openers on these facts. For all situations I assume you have poisons applied to your weapons (Deadly Poison and Crippling Poison). For ST you should prepot (use potion of prolonged power) roughly a second before the fight starts. If there is a significant pack of adds, don't be afraid to preport here as well, seeing as the cooldown is only 1 min.

ST Opener with Mantle

• Garrote
  
• Mutilate
  
• Rupture
  
• Mutilate
  
• Toxic Blade
  
• Envenom
  
• Kingsbane (at about this point, the mantle crit buff fades -> use vanish to refresh it instantly)
  
• Vanish + Vendetta + Mutilate (seems excessive, but you can make a macro if you want)
  
• Envenom
  
• Mutilate
  
• Envenom
  
• Refresh Garrote when Subterfuge is just about to expire
  

ST Opener without Mantle

• Garrote
  
• Mutilate until 4/5 combo points
  
• Rupture
  
• Mutilate
  
• Vendetta + Toxic Blade
  
• If at 3 combo points, Mutilate. If at 4/5, Envenom
  
• Kingsbane
  
• Vanish to refresh Garrote through Subterfuge
  

Cleave Opener, 3 or Less Targets

• Garrote the targets while Subterfuge holds
  
• Fan of Knives (generates combo points and applies poisons to targets)
  
• Rupture a target
  
• Fan of Knives until 4/5 combo points
  
• Rupture a second target (with vigor you're not so much interested in energy regeneration of rupture, but rather it's damage)
  

Note: if your targets are going to be nuked super fast, then Envenom is probably more worth using than Rupture. If a priority add lives for more than 10 sec, feel free to use Vendetta on that target (if there is more than a minute until you encounter a boss).

AoE Opener, 3 or More Targets

• Fan of Knives
  
• Rupture a target
  
• Repeat
  

Rotation Priority List and Playstyle Tips

• Priority number 1: Keep Garrote and Rupture on target(s)
  
• Priority number 2: Use Toxic Blade and Kingsbane on cooldown. This might be misleading, since Kingsbane's last ticks benefit the most from Toxic Blade, but never save the cooldowns more than a couple of seconds to match each other.
  
• Priority number 3: Use Vendetta on cooldown, but be sure to have at least -80 energy before you press it so as to not overcap on energy.
  
• Priority number 4: If you have the mantle legendary, try to keep vanish on cooldown as much as possible. Remember that the crit buff makes your mutilate generate 4 combo points.
  
  
  
• During Kingsbane, be sure to have the Envenom buff (6sec duration after a 5 combo point Envenom finisher) on you as much as you can, ideally 100% uptime for the whole 14sec duration. Also, if possible, try to have the buff on you before you proc Kingsbane, as the Kingsbane damage might proc an extra deadly poison on hit.
  
• Before using Kingsbane, try to have Rupture and Garrote remaining durations of 9/10 seconds or more. You don't want to refresh either of these in the burst window when you ideally want to save combo points for Envenom.
  
• Try to fit in as many Envenoms and/or Kingsbane into your Toxic Blade windows. Optimally, at least 3 Envenoms should be used in this window (or 2 Envenoms and Kingsbane). Less than that is not optimal and can always be fixed. This leads us to the next step:
  
• Pool your energy. As an assassination rogue, you don't always need to press the buttons even if they are shiny. Plan ahead, refresh debuffs when necessary before burst windows, save combo points for Envenom before Kingsbane etc. You get the general idea.
  
• Do NOT use mutilate at 4 or 5 combo points. Best case scenario, you waste 1 combo point. Worst case scenario, you lose 4. If you're a perfectionist that needs his/her ruptures to be 5 combo points every single time, then just use Fan of Knives or Poisoned Knife instead.
  
• Remember that you will have a second potion use after preport 1 min into the fight. Use by discretion, don't use before mechanics are about to hit. Optimally, listen to the raid/party leader when he wants the raid to use potions again.
  

Useful Macros, Addons, Tips and Tricks

Macros

You in general never want to mouseover the tank to cast tricks, so just change the "TANKNAME" with the tank's actual name before a m+ run or raid.

Code:

#showtooltip /cast [@target=TANKNAME] Tricks of the Trade

The stealth out of combat, sap in stealth macro. Not really a game-breaker, but saves a keybind.

Code:

#showtooltip /cast [nocombat, nostealth] Stealth /cast [nocombat, stealth] Sap

Otherwise, I mostly use a mouseover focus macro if I need to keep an eye on someone in particular. Too long to explain what it does, just experiment a little with it.

Code:

/clearfocus /focus [target=mouseover, exists, nodead]; target

With the macro above, the standard format focus macros are useful. Replace "SPELLNAME" with the actual name of the spell. You can add modifiers like "exist" or "nodead" if you wish, I just don't. I use this macro format for binds like Sap, Blind, Kidney Shot, Cheap Shot, Shadowstep etc.

Code:

#showtooltip /cast [@focus] SPELLNAME

Finally, this last one isn't PvE related at all (I think...). It's just a Sap macro when you want to search for someone in stealth. Seeing as I got no plans of making a rogue PvP guide, I figured I'd just post it here. Just spam it and make it do all the work.

Code:

#showtooltip /console targetNearestDistance 10.000000 /targetenemy [noharm][dead] /console targetNearestDistance 20.000000 /cast [harm, nodead] Sap /cleartarget

Addons
Here I'll just recommend a couple of useful addons for the class and the PvE environment. SimBuilder has already been suggested above.

• WeakAuras 2
  • Super useful addon for tracking your buffs, debuffs, cds, you name it. Personally, I use it to track my energy bar, and the remaining duration on garrote, rupture, envenom buff, kingsbane and toxic blade.
  
  
• BigDebuffs
  • This addon puts the CC's on your target portrait (like a big kidney shot on the target portrait), and stuff like Feint on your own portrait.
  
  
• flyPlateBuffs
  • Shows debuffs above nameplates. Useful for knowing which targets are dotted and which you should dot.
  
  
• Deadly Boss Mods
  • A must have in the PvE environment, whether it dungeons or raids. It tells you when mechanics are about to hit and what you should do. Some people, like me, prefer this one, others use BigWigs/LittleWigs. It's all up to personal preference.
  
  
• Skada Damage Meter
  • Tracks your damage, damage taken, deaths etc. Recount is an alternative to this one. Useful to analyze your rotation, and can often help you improve it.

For tips and tricks in the current raid (ToS), check out Ravenholdt's guide. It's super useful when you want to, e.g., use cloak of shadows to cheese mechanics!



Edit: Added addons list.

[AlbertsR133]

its just sad to play assa spec after 7.1.5, but havent rerolled to different, too difficult

[ryangg]

Dont worry assa comes back strong in 7.3.5 ,for now assasination is a fun spec for some boss fights ..but for heavy damage subtley is the spec u want.

[Vynrin]

guys
i hav assasin char ilvl 940
but i barely do 1,1 mill ST
is it because i dont hav shoulder-wrist lego ?
or some bug that makes assa dps so pathetic ? (mutilate-ded poison bug)
rotation cant be wrong coz its ez to play

[ryangg]

Rogue without bis legendaries is kinda trash. For assasination u need shoulders and wrist/feet.