MoP Classic Assassination Rogue — Guide (Phase 5)
viewsAbout the Class
Assassination Rogue is a dagger-and-poison specialization and one of the strongest sources of single-target damage in Pandaria.
The main resource is energy, with combo points on the target as a secondary one. The entire playstyle is built around keeping 
Slice and Dice and 
Rupture up at all times, spending combo points into 
Envenom, and turning 
Blindside procs into 
Dispatch. In a raid it is a pure melee fighter that also brings 
Master Poisoner and Swiftblade's Cunning, as well as 
Tricks of the Trade, 
Smoke Bomb and 
Shroud of Concealment.
Strengths
- Very high, both sustained and burst, single-target damage, especially during the execute phase below 35% health.
- Excellent raid utility and control:
Blind, Smoke Bomb, Shroud of Concealment, Tricks of the Trade. - Strong personal defensive cooldowns:
Cloak of Shadows, 
Evasion, 
Feint, 
Combat Readiness. - Brings two raid buffs at once: Master Poisoner and Swiftblade's Cunning.
- Very high mobility:
Sprint, 
Shadowstep, 
Burst of Speed. - Scales beautifully with gear, especially with mastery.
Weaknesses
- Heavily gear-dependent and feels weak at the start of a phase.
- Weaker AoE than Combat:
Fan of Knives is essentially the only tool. - At very high gear levels it falls behind Combat on most fights.
- Needs time to ramp up: first Slice and Dice, Rupture and poisons, only then peak damage.
- Punishes downtime and target swapping harshly — Rupture and Slice and Dice have to be rebuilt from scratch.
Stat Priority
- 1Agility
- 2Hit up to the 7.5% cap for special attacks
- 3Expertise up to the 7.5% cap
- 4Mastery
- 5Haste
- 6Critical Strike rating
Hit and expertise are capped first. Both have a soft 7.5% cap: past it, special attacks can no longer miss or be dodged. Auto-attacks keep missing up to 27% hit, but pushing that cap is less valuable than stacking mastery or haste.
Talents
Rotation (Ability Priority)
The opener is a set sequence of abilities you use as you engage an enemy. Memorising it helps initiate your rotation in the most optimal way possible.
- 1
Deadly Poison - 2
Stealth - 3
Virmen's Bite - 4
Mutilate - 5Mutilate
- 6Slice and Dice
- 7Mutilate
- 8Mutilate
- 9Rupture
- 10
Vendetta - 11
Shadow Blades - 12Envenom
- Deadly Poison — keep the poison on the target at all times
- Slice and Dice — never let the attack-speed buff drop; it is refreshed by Envenom
- Rupture — keep it up at 5 combo points; it feeds energy through
Venomous Wounds - Vendetta — on cooldown, ideally together with a potion and trinkets
- Shadow Blades — on cooldown for extra combo points
Vanish — on cooldown for a cheap Mutilate under 
Shadow Focus- Envenom — spend at 5 combo points; it also refreshes Slice and Dice
- Dispatch — on Blindside procs and always below 35% health
- Mutilate — the baseline combo-point generator above 35% health
Important Abilities
Slice and Dice through 
Cut to the ChaseVenomous WoundsRupture
Best in Slot (BiS)
Best in Slot (BiS)Tier 16 Set — Battlegear of the Barbed Assassin
Tier 16 Set — Battlegear of the Barbed AssassinIn the recommended Phase 5 build,
Riou's Vigilant Leggings go in the legs slot, and the 4-piece bonus is completed with the other four set pieces.
Enchants, Gems, Consumables
Enchants
Gems
ConsumablesRaces
Vendetta and Shadow Blades.
The Human Spirit is always there.
Best Professions
Synapse Springs is the strongest profession damage bonus and stacks with Vendetta and Shadow Blades. Nitro Boosts add mobility.
Swordguard Embroidery on the cloak provides a large stacking attack-power proc.
Socket Bracer and 
Socket Gloves — two extra agility gems.
Up to three 
Delicate Serpent's Eye give more agility than regular cuts.
Author
Fouren
Fouren has been playing World of Warcraft for over 15 years. He is an active player with 12 Cutting Edge achievements under his belt, and has reached the top 1% and 0.1% multiple times on various classes. His main classes are healers, particularly Holy Paladin.
Comments
0No comments yet. Be the first to comment!