WoW Forever Subtlety Rogue — Guide (Beta Test)
viewsAbout the Class
This guide is based on the World of Warcraft: Forever beta and covers gameplay up to level 20. The talents and combat tips are starting recommendations built on the abilities and talents available in the beta. They will be refined as testing continues. The guide is aimed at leveling and PvE; it will be useful for PvP, but it is not optimized for it.
Subtlety Rogue is a master of shadows who sneaks up unnoticed and finishes off a target in a few strikes. The abilities here are expensive, but they hit hard and have a high critical strike chance. In PvP this is a fearsome enemy, capable of killing within a single stun.
In Classic the spec had a hard time in PvE, but in Forever its talents received interesting changes, and now it is one of the most fun and bursty talent trees, even in dungeons. It is enjoyable to play, though demanding: you need to pool Energy, watch your procs, and hold the right position.
Strengths
Weaknesses
- At level 20 Subtlety falls behind the other talent trees: its strongest talents unlock later.
- Without
Vanish at low levels, it is hard to get out of a fight gone wrong. - Your damage depends heavily on your weapon.
- You can't transfer combo points to a new target yet.
Stat Priority
- 1Weapon Damage
- 2Hit
- 3Agility
- 4Critical Strike
- 5Strength
- 6Stamina
There is little information about Forever gear so far, so there is no full item list yet — follow the priority above.
Talents
Talent Notes
Camouflage 3/3 — a smaller speed penalty in Stealth and a shorter cooldown on it.
Opportunity 2/5 — makes 
Backstab and 
Ambush stronger.
Setup 2/3 — a chance to gain a combo point after a dodge.- Improved Ambush 3/3 — increases the critical strike chance of Ambush.
Ghostly Strike 1/1 — a strong strike, even stronger with a dagger in your main hand.
Ability Priority
At this level the rotation is extremely simple: open from Stealth with Ambush, then build combo points with Backstab if you can get behind the target, otherwise with 
Sinister Strike. At five combo points, spend them on 
Eviscerate, or on 
Slice and Dice against tougher targets. 
Rupture is rarely worth using at low levels: even if the target lives through the entire effect, Slice and Dice is the better choice.
- Before the fight, apply
Instant Poison to both weapons - Enter Stealth and open with Ambush
- Build combo points with Backstab from behind the target, otherwise with Sinister Strike
- At five combo points, if the target will live through the entire effect, use Slice and Dice
- If Slice and Dice is already active or the target will die sooner, at five combo points use Eviscerate
Use crowd control actively:
Sap before the fight,
Gouge during it.
Kick deal almost no damage, but they take the target out of the fight or interrupt a cast. This greatly reduces incoming damage and improves the group's chances.
Energy and Combo Points
Energy is your main resource, and it regenerates constantly. The main rule: never sit at full Energy, or you waste that regeneration.
Combo points are built by some abilities, such as Sinister Strike, and spent by others, such as Eviscerate. The more combo points you spend, the stronger the finishing move. In Forever, combo points stay on a target even if you switch to another one, but you can't transfer them to a new target yet.
How Stealth Works
Stealth shrinks the range at which enemies detect you, but not to zero. That range depends on the level difference: an enemy a couple of levels above you will spot you sooner than one of your own level. Subtlety has talents that shift this difference in your favor.
Against an enemy of equal or lower level, you can usually reach melee range unnoticed. From behind, the detection range is even shorter — use this to open with Backstab or Ambush, or to neutralize the target with crowd control.
Important Abilities
Best in Slot (BiS)
There is no BiS list for the beta yet: too little is known about Forever gear. Follow the stat priority and look for a high-damage weapon first.
Enchants, Gems, Consumables
ConsumablesBest Race
Most likely the default choice. Eureka! gives a powerful boost to the damage of your next three abilities. Escape Artist is especially strong at low levels, when you don't have Vanish yet: removing a slow and gaining brief immunity to slows makes a huge difference in both PvE and PvP.
Almost every Orc racial ability makes playing a Rogue more comfortable. Blood Fury gives attack power on demand. Axe Specialization adds critical strike chance if you do pick up an axe. Shatter Curse grants brief immunity to curses.
Best Professions
In Forever you can take two primary professions, and the best pair at this stage is Skinning and Leatherworking.
A simple profession: grab a knife and skin beasts and monsters for leather and other materials. These materials are the basis of many Leatherworking recipes, so having your own supply makes crafting much cheaper.
Lets you make leather armor for yourself. Forever added hundreds of new recipes, so the profession has become noticeably more useful.
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.
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