Subtlety Rogue Guide for Midnight Season 2 (Patch 12.1)

by Fouren

Updated 1 week ago

6 minutes readmin

2,195 views

About the Spec

Subtlety Rogue is a melee fighter whose primary stat is Agility. The rogue wields two daggers and strikes with surprise attacks out of invisibility.

The defining feature of the spec is managing two resources: Energy and combo points. The gameplay revolves around maintaining key effects, precise cooldown timing, and spending combo points on finishing moves.

Strengths

Strong single-target damage.
Great mobility and the ability to open fights from stealth.
Strong burst windows thanks to cooldown synchronization.
Useful control and survivability tools.

Weaknesses

Requires precise rotation and cooldown planning.
Mistakes in spending energy and combo points noticeably reduce damage.
Relies on properly maintaining buffs and debuffs on the target.

Stat Priority

Rogue Subtlety Stats Priority

Agility

Haste

Mastery

Critical Strike

Versatility

Talents

Rogue Subtlety Mythic+ Build

No talent data

Rotation (Ability Priority)

Rogue Subtlety Opener

Rogue Subtlety Abilities Priority

Single Target

Stealth
Shadowstrike
Eviscerate
Vanish
Shadowstrike
Goremaw’s Bite
Eviscerate
Shadow Blades
Ula’tek’s Insatiable Heart — Any on-use stat trinket, Potion of Unwavering Focus and any on-use racial stat ability if you have one (e.g.: Blood Fury / Ancestral Call / Berserking)
Shadow Dance — + Shuriken Storm
Secret Technique

AoE

Goremaw’s Bite — When available, use it right before the rest of your cooldowns
Secret Technique — When you have at most 2 charges and Shadow Blades is available or active, use Shadow Dance
Shadow Blades — during Shadow Dance
Shadow Dance — During it, use Secret Technique with at least 6 charges
Deepening Shadows — When active and you have at least 6 charges, use Eviscerate
Black Powder — Use with at least 6 charges
Shuriken Storm — to build charges

Best in Slot (BiS)

Don't forget to explore our class pages, where not only the best items in the slot are available, but also other alternatives for any class, spec or situation:

Rogue: Gear

Main Hand

Zata’thek, Breath of Corruption

Off Hand

Wanderer’s Mercy

Head

Spectral Cowl of the Chosen Slayer

Neck

Reliquary of the Akir’s Doom

Shoulders

Voodoo Pauldrons of the Chosen Slayer

Back

Silken Voodoo Shawl

Chest

Fringed Poncho of the Chosen Slayer

Wrists

Moonlight Agent’s Deflectors

Hands

Barbed Grips of the Chosen Slayer

Waist

Sash of the Forsaken Vessel

Legs

Reinforced Leggings of the Chosen Slayer

Feet

Polar Explorer’s Breeches

Ring

Band of the Light’s Guardian

Ring

Atrocious Signet of Atrox

Trinket

Ula’tek’s Insatiable Heart

Trinket

Zul’jin’s Guillotine Strike

Enchants, Gems, Consumables

Enchants

Weapon (main hand)

Enchant Weapon – Stormrider’s Fury

Weapon (off hand)

Enchant Weapon – Arcane Artistry

Head

Enchant Helm – Reinforced Rune of Avoidance

Shoulders

Enchant Shoulder – Whisper of Amirdrassil

Chest

Enchant Chest – Crystalline Radiance

Legs

Forest Rider’s Armor Kit

Boots

Enchant Boots – Scout’s March

Ring

Enchant Ring – Cursed Critical Strike

Consumables

Flask

Flask of Alchemical Chaos

Flask (alternative)

Flask of Tempered Aggression

Combat Potion

Potion of Unwavering Focus

Healing Potion

Moonlight Healing Potion

Weapon (main hand)

Thalassian Phoenix Oil

Weapon (off hand)

Thalassian Phoenix Oil

Augment Rune

Algari Weapon Augment Rune

Food (feast)

Feast of the Midnight Masquerade

Food

Beledar’s Bounty

Gems

Meta Gem

Insightful Fractillus Diamond

Primary

Quick Amethyst

Alternative

Deadly Peridot

Alternative

Masterful Ruby

Leveling

Use stealth to start fights, open with strong hits ( Eviscerate and Backstab) and quickly build combo points. The priority is to not sit at full energy, maintain key effects, and finish combos on time. Between fights, save time with instant movement and easy entry into combat from stealth.

Mythic+ Tips

Thanks to Shroud of Concealment you can hide allies from enemies and slip past dangerous packs.

If a mob or boss targets you with a dangerous spell you are not ready to take, use Vanish. It drops you from the target and cancels the cast.

Cloak of Shadows can remove many negative effects. Try to use the ability as often as possible.

Macros

Tricks of the Trade macro on a specific player

#showtooltip
/cast [@NAME][] Tricks of the Trade

Burst Cooldowns

#showtooltip 
/cast Shadow Dance
/cast Shadowmeld
/cast Secret Technique
/use Potion of Unwavering Focus
/use 13

Shadowstrike and Backstab on one button

#showtooltip Shadowstrike
/cast [bonusbar:1] Shadowstrike; Backstab

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.