World of Warcraft™

31/2/8 (2/3 Precision, 3/3 Opportunity):
http://www.wowhead.com/talent#fcIfzsMdoGo0bZbhc

31/3/7 (3/3 Precision, 2/3 Opportunity):
http://www.wowhead.com/talent#fcIfzsMdoGo0hZbhM
These specs are extremely similar in DPS, making deciding between them rather arbitrary. The 31/2/8 spec is usually preferred if you are having no trouble reaching the spell hit cap with reforging (which is covered in post III, below: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/1658707015?page=1#4 ).

The only filler point we have in either talent build is the point in deadly brew, which can also be put into deadened nerves to reduce damage taken by 3%. This also depends if you're working on an encounter where a 70% slow would be useful or harmful based on the encounter mechanics.

Prime Glyph of Backstab.
Glyph of Mutilate.
Glyph of Rupture.

Major Glyph of Fan of Knives.
Glyph of Feint (Strongly recommended).
Glyph of Sap.
Glyph of Gouge (Required for Sinestra, only).
Glyph of Sprint.
Glyph of Tricks of the Trade (Strongly recommended).

Minor Glyph of Blurred Speed.
Glyph of Poisons.
Glyph of Safe Fall (Important for Conclave/Ascendant Council).
Theorycrafting shows Glyph of Vendetta behind the other listed prime glyphs, all three of which you should be using. You should always have the Glyph of Feint and Glyph of Tricks of the Trade major glyphs, while the third is situational. The only important minor glyph is Glyph of Safe Fall.

Alchemy Improved effects from elixirs/flasks.
Blacksmithing Two additional gem sockets.
Enchanting Unique ring enchants.
Engineering On-use agility tinker.
Inscription Improved shoulder enchant.
Jewelcrafting Unique epic gems.
Leatherworking Improved bracer enchant.
Tailoring On-use attack power embroidery.
Herbalism, mining, and skinning are decidedly subpar professions in terms of PvE utility. All other professions are perfectly acceptable raiding professions even from a highly critical, min/max'ing perspective. Know what your profession perks are and use them appropriately.

Equivalence Points (EPs) converts each stat into a raw attack power value. For example, if agility is 2.6 EPs, then it's equivalent to approximately 2.6 points of attack power. This way we can compare the relative worth of different stats directly, using a common currency (AP).

The table below lists approximate EP values based on BiS for specific gear levels. EP values are dynamic, and highly dependent on your gear and raid composition. If you want a more precise idea of what your personal EP values are, use ShadowCraft ( http://shadowcraft.mmo-mumble.com/ ).

Generic EP Values:
Item Level: 346 359 372 +2pc +4pc 397

Agility: 2.55 2.60 2.65 2.65 2.65 2.70
Spell Hit: 1.30 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.50 1.65
Mastery: 1.15 1.20 1.30 1.25 1.35 1.50
Haste: 1.05 1.10 1.20 1.20 1.30 1.35
Expertise: 0.95 1.05 1.13 1.13 1.13 1.35
Crit: 0.85 0.85 1.00 1.05 1.13 1.15
White Hit: 0.65 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.75 0.80

Mainhand DPS: 3.20 3.20 3.10 3.15 3.15 2.90
Offhand DPS: 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 0.90
Be aware that the EP value of expertise doubles up to the dodge cap when you are attacking a boss from the front, due to parries being added to dodges. From the dodge cap to the parry cap, it falls back then to its usual value. More information on expertise and hit rating can be found directly below.

Assassination rogues are not significantly concerned about expertise, and it is recommended that you avoid it in favor of more valuable stats. 80% of the energy from a dodged attack is refunded, and bosses cannot dodge while casting, so interrupts are also not a point of concern.

The exception is when you are attacking a boss from the front, where you when you are also incurring parries. To my knowledge, hardmode Al'akir remains the only intensive encounter where this is significant. Note that expertise caps vary between heroic dungeons and raids.


A second exception now in T13 is if you are wielding the completed Fangs of the Father legendaries ( Golad, Twilight of Aspects and Tiriosh, Nightmare of Ages ). If so, you should cap expertise even as assassination in order to maximize the legendary proc.

Expertise Caps:
Dodge: w/ Racial:
Heroic Dungeons: 721 (24/24) 631 (21/21) Gnomes get a racial
Raid Bosses: 781 (26/26) 691 (23/23) bonus with daggers.
Assassination rogues are primarily concerned with the special and spell hit caps; the first uses your melee hit chance and stops your special attacks from missing, while the second uses your spell hit chance and does the same for poisons. Caps differ between heroic dungeons and raids.

After reaching the spell hit cap, the value of hit rating drops dramatically. It is highly recommended that you do not exceed the spell hit cap. The amount of hit rating required is also dependent on how many talent points you have in Precision (first tier of the combat tree).

Heroic Dungeons:
Specials: Poisons: White Hit:
Base Hit Caps: 721 (6%) 615 (6%) 2884 (24%)

2/3 Precision: 241 (6%) 205 (6%) 2403 (24%)
3/3 Precision: 0 (6%) 0 (6%) 2163 (24%)
Raid Bosses:
Specials: Poisons: White Hit:
Base Hit Caps: 962 (8%) 1742 (17%) 3244 (27%)

2/3 Precision: 481 (8%) 1332 (17%) 2763 (27%)
3/3 Precision: 241 (8%) 1127 (17%) 2523 (27%)

Correct for level 85 rogues, taken to the second decimal. Despite arbitrary rounding on the character profile, neither mastery or expertise rating is truncated, so every point is an improvement on the one before it (until a cap is reached, in the case of expertise).

Also note that the hit rating required for 1% melee hit (which governs special attacks and white hits) differs slightly from the hit rating required for 1% spell hit (which governs poisons). Your melee hit chance is on the melee tab of your character profile, while spell hit is on the spell tab.

1% Melee Hit: 120.11 rating.
1% Spell Hit: 102.45 rating.

1% Crit: 179.34 rating, or 324.72 agility.
1% Haste: 128.13 rating.

Per 1 Mastery: 179.28 rating.
Per 1 Expertise: 30.04 rating.

Mainhand: Offhand: Ranged:
Weapon: Dagger Dagger Throwing Weapon
Speed: 1.8 1.4 N/A
Poison: Instant Deadly Deadly*
You should rarely, if ever, deviate from the above matrix. Instant poison is a PPM mechanic, increasing its chance to proc off a slower weapon. Deadly poison is a PPH mechanic, which makes a faster weapon ideal. The slower weapon goes in your mainhand for higher damage from abilities.


For more information on how poison mechanics work, go here:
http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/1104340952

There aren't many throwing weapons to chose from, but if you have a choice, a faster one would be ideal for an increased chance to proc deadly poison. You can use instant poison on your throwing weapon in AoE situations where your targets are likely to die in under 10-15 seconds.

2pc-t11: Increases the crit chance of backstab, mutilate, and sinister strike by 5%.
4pc-t11: Auto-attacks can proc deadly scheme, making your next envenom or eviscerate a crit.

2pc-t12: Auto-attack crits cause 6% additional damage over 4 seconds (overlaps with itself).
4pc-t12: Casting tricks of the trade increases your crit, haste, or mastery by 25% for 30 seconds.

2pc-t13: After triggering Tricks of the Trade, your abilities cost 20% less energy for 6 seconds.
4pc-t13: Increases Shadow Dance by 2 sec, Adrenaline Rush by 3 sec, and Vendetta by 9 seconds.

Fundamentally, rogues use two kinds of trinkets: on-use or proc trinkets, that then have a cooldown, such as Darkmoon Card: Hurricane, and trinkets which stack a constant buff with no cooldown, such as Fluid Death. The graph linked below (from EJ) illustrates how they vary in DPS.

http://i.imgur.com/YxCHv.jpg

Trinkets with an on-use or proc effect have significant DPS at the start, and then fall gradually as the encounter unfolds. Stacking trinkets start lower, and build up to their full potential. While optimizing these mechanics is irrelevant to most gameplay, it's worth understanding, at least.

Opening: Begin with garrote, or mutilate if garrote isn't possible (feel free to sprint into position). Get rupture and slice and dice up as immediately as possible, then build up into 4-5 combo-point envenoms. Always attempt to begin a fight from stealth, because of the overkill buff. Example:

Garrote > Rupture > Mutilate > Slice and Dice > Etc.

The underlined mutilate can be skipped if you get a combo-point from rupture from a ruthlessness proc to start slice and dice. This is the most efficient opening for assassination rogues, both in terms of energy, damage, and GCDs. After this, the rotation becomes a simple priority system.


Pre-Potting: This refers to the practice of using a potion ( Potion of the Tol'vir ) immediately before a boss pull so you can effectively use two potions during the course of a boss encounter. This simple macro can streamline this practice considerably.

/use Potion of the Tol'vir
/cast stealth

Mutilate Phase: From 100-35% health, mutilate is your combo-point builder. Use envenom at 4-5 combo-points, and rupture at 1-5. Higher combo-point ruptures are better, per se, but even a second of downtime negates that value, so use whatever you have to keep it up.

Backstab Phase: At 35% health, backstab replaces mutilate as your combo-point builder. You will also aim for perfect 5 combo-point envenoms when using backstab, although you can switch back to mutilate if you're having energy capping issues (like during bloodlust/heroism).


Clipping Envenom: Try to avoid clipping (or overlapping) the buff from two envenoms. You CAN do this if you're in danger of capping energy, but envenom timing is important to maximizing your DPS. This is something to keep in mind all the time.

In review, get rupture and slice and dice up as quickly as possible, and keep them up constantly. Slice and dice is easy since it's automatically refreshed by envenom, but rupture requires your attention. You can also overwrite rupture at equal or greater strength with 1-2 seconds remaining.

Lastly, be VERY aware of your energy bar – NEVER let it get all the way full ("energy capping"). If you're at 4-5 combo-points and you're just too far away from refreshing rupture to get it off before you cap energy, cast envenom. Then rupture as quickly as you can with whatever you have available.

Your goals here are simple: get as much energy return as you can while getting off as many fan of knives as you can. If you're in stealth, garrote and rupture into fan of knives spam. During long AoE phases you can sometimes keep rupture rolling with ruthlessness procs if you're lucky.

If you're not in stealth, the cost of using mutilate to start rupture is counterintuitive to the energy you'd stand to gain, so simply spamming fan of knives would most likely yield better results (personal opinion). Also, do not AoE unless you're dealing with at least 4 targets, if not more.

Since most AoE damage for assassination rogues is from our poisons, we bypass most the AoE damage limitations. For most AoE situations, use Deadly Poison on your throwing weapon. If it's unlikely that your targets will live longer than 10-15 seconds, use Instant Poison instead.

Cold Blood: "Generates 25 Energy and increases the critical strike chance of your next non-periodic offensive ability by 100%." Use quickly, and often, ideally on 5 combo-point envenoms. You can also simply macro it to envenom if you don't want to keep track of it.

Tricks of the Trade: "Increases your target's damage by 10% for 6 seconds." This ability is a DPS cooldown. Cast it on the tank when required for threat, but otherwise give it to a party or raid member who can handle being a threat dump. Use it quickly, and often.

Vanish: "Allows the rogue to enter stealth while in combat." This does two things; it refreshes overkill (30% increased energy regeneration for 20 seconds) and allows you to garrote for additional venomous wound procs. Night elves can also use stealth abilities out of Shadowmeld.

Vendetta: "Increases your damage on the marked target by 20% for 30 seconds." Timing is everything with this cooldown. You want to use it when you'll have uninterrupted time on your target, but you also don't want to delay it too long and risk not using it as often.

Be aware that matching the color of a socket with a gem is not a guaranteed DPS increase; if the socket bonus is not worth the effort, don't bother. You can use ShadowCraft to know definitively what sockets are worth matching and which are not ( http://shadowcraft.mmo-mumble.com/ ).

Meta: Agile Shadowspirit Diamond.

Red: Delicate Queen's Garnet / Delicate Inferno Ruby.

Yellow: Adept Lava Coral / Adept Ember Topaz.

Blue: Glinting Shadow Spinel / Glinting Demonseye.

I've listed two alternatives for each slot where possible, the first being the most ideal and the second being a cheaper alternative for gear you expect to replace quickly. Some professions, such as inscription and leatherworking, offer better alternatives to the enchants listed below.

Helm: Arcanum of the Ramkahen.

Shoulder: Greater Inscription of Shattered Crystal.
Lesser Inscription of Shattered Crystal.

Cloak: Enchant Cloak - Greater Critical Strike.
Enchant Cloak - Major Agility.

Chest: Enchant Chest - Peerless Stats.
Enchant Chest - Mighty Stats.

Bracers: Enchant Bracer - Agility.
Enchant Bracer - Speed.

Gauntlets: Enchant Gloves - Greater Mastery.
Enchant Gloves - Mastery.

Belt: Ebonsteel Belt Buckle.

Legs: Dragonscale Leg Armor.
Scorched Leg Armor.

Boots: Enchant Boots - Major Agility.
Enchant Boots - Mastery.

Weapons: Enchant Weapon - Landslide.
Enchant Weapon - Hurricane.

A huge part about being a successful raider is being prepared. There are alternatives to most consumables, like Seafood Magnifique Feast and Big Cauldron of Battle, but never assume these resources will be available to you all the time. Your preperation is your responsibility.

Food: Fortune Cookie.
Skewered Eel.

Flasks: Flask of the Winds.

Potions: Potion of the Tol'vir.

Reforging is a service offered by Ethereals in Stormwind and Orgrimmar which allows you to convert 40% of a secondary stat on a piece of gear into another secondary stat not already present on the item. You can only reforge items at or above an item level of 300.

Before raiding, reforging is a simple optimization process. You are practically guaranteed to have the 6% melee hit required for heroic dungeon bosses, so your only goal is to maximize mastery and haste while downplaying other stats. Raiding adds some complications, however.

http://shadowcraft.mmo-mumble.com/
While this is far from its only use, ShadowCraft is a very handy reforging calculator when you are ready to aim for the 17% spell hit cap for raids. Simply upload your character from the armory, hit the Auto-Reforge button on the left, and carry out the instructions that follow.

http://elitistjerks.com/f78/t115053-complete_rogue_reforger_tool/
While technically out-of-date, this application still works perfectly fine. ShadowCraft works off a series of preset optimization guidelines, so if you want near-perfect optimization under more unique circumstances, you should download this program from Elitist Jerks.

Gear listed is between item levels 346 to 378 and is obtainable without raiding. The values listed are approximations based on a constructed pre-raiding BiS gear set using ShadowCraft, with no gear being used that was over item level 359. Let me reiterate that these values are APPROXIMATIONS.

For customized accuracy, please refer to ShadowCraft ( http://shadowcraft.mmo-mumble.com/ ).

1721.11 Agile Bio-Optic Killshades (Engineering).
1718.73 Tsanga's Helm (BoE) (Bastion of Twilight).
1591.42 The Savager's Mask (Zul'Aman).
1554.36 Mask of Vines (2200 Justice Points).
1539.80 Helm of Numberless Shadows (The Stonecore).

774.07 Don Rodrigo's Fabulous Necklace (BoE) (World Drop).
721.32 Amulet of the Watcher (Zul'Gurub).
718.26 Brazen Elementium Medallion (BoE) (Crafted).
701.81 Entwined Elementium Choker (BoE) (Crafted).
696.03 Acorn of the Daughter Tree (Reputation).
683.76 Mouth of the Earth (Halls of Origination).
678.16 Amulet of Dull Dreaming (1250 Justice Points).
678.16 Pendant of the Lightless Grotto (The Stonecore).

996.14 Tusked Shoulderpads (Zul'Aman).
963.05 Caridean Epaulettes (Throne of the Tides).
935.31 Thieving Spaulders (Shadowfang Keep).
917.65 Embrace of the Night (1650 Justice Points).

Gear listed is between item levels 346 to 378 and is obtainable without raiding. The values listed are approximations based on a constructed pre-raiding BiS gear set using ShadowCraft, with no gear being used that was over item level 359. Let me reiterate that these values are APPROXIMATIONS.

For customized accuracy, please refer to ShadowCraft ( http://shadowcraft.mmo-mumble.com/ ).

894.24 Sleek Flamewrath Cloak (Reputation).
834.15 Mantle of Doubt (Quest).
753.72 Dory's Finery (BoE) (World Drop).
753.72 Viewless Wings (1250 Justice Points).
745.83 Recovered Cloak of Frostheim (Zul'Aman).
720.60 Cape of the Brotherhood (The Deadmines).
697.20 Softwind Cape (Reputation).
684.33 Kaleki Cloak (City of the Tol'vir).
678.16 Cloak of Thredd (The Deadmines).
678.16 Twitching Shadows (Blackrock Caverns).
665.67 Razor-Edged Cloak (BoE) (Crafted).

1690.33 Dark Phoenix Tunic (2200 Valor Points).
1483.35 Wind Dancer's Tunic (2200 Justice Points).
1440.19 Shadowtooth Trollskin Breastplate (Zul'Aman).
1379.57 Assassin's Chestplate (BoE) (Crafted).
1311.66 Defias Brotherhood Vest (The Deadmines).
1284.22 Vest of Misshapen Hides (Grim Batol).
1280.86 Hieroglyphic Vest (Halls of Origination).
1255.10 Tunic of Sinking Envy (2200 Justice Points).

897.87 Flamebinder Bracers (BoE) (1250 Valor Points).
738.36 Amani'shi Bracers (Zul'Aman).
697.20 Poison Fang Bracers (Halls of Origination).
678.16 Double Dealing Bracers (Shadowfang Keep).

Gear listed is between item levels 346 to 378 and is obtainable without raiding. The values listed are approximations based on a constructed pre-raiding BiS gear set using ShadowCraft, with no gear being used that was over item level 359. Let me reiterate that these values are APPROXIMATIONS.

For customized accuracy, please refer to ShadowCraft ( http://shadowcraft.mmo-mumble.com/ ).

1309.16 Clutches of Evil (BoE) (Crafted).
1247.99 Dark Phoenix Gloves (1650 Valor Points).
1120.32 Aviana's Grips (Molten Front Vendor).
1090.83 Wind Dancer's Gloves (1650 Justice Points).
1053.93 Stormbolt Gloves (Alliance) (Reputation).
1053.93 Liar's Handwraps (Horde) (Reputation).
967.35 Knotted Handwraps (BoE) (Zul'Aman).
962.15 Sticky Fingers (1650 Justice Points).
936.95 Gloves of Haze (The Vortex Pinnacle).

1215.15 Riplimb's Lost Collar (BoE) (Firelands).
1093.33 Belt of Nefarious Whispers (BoE) (Crafted).
1022.17 Belt of a Thousand Gaping Mouths (BoE) (Rarespawn Boss).
1020.89 Belt of Slithering Serpents (Zul'Gurub).
964.49 Sash of Musing (1650 Justice Points).
940.31 Red Beam Cord (Halls of Origination).
925.75 Quicksand Belt (Reputation).

1705.34 Dark Phoenix Legguards (2200 Valor Points).
1441.87 Wind Dancer's Legguards (2200 Justice Points).
1330.65 Leggings of Dancing Blades (Zul'Aman).
1311.66 Beauty's Chew Toy (The Stonecore).
1323.30 Leggings of the Burrowing Mole (2200 Justice Points).

Gear listed is between item levels 346 to 378 and is obtainable without raiding. The values listed are approximations based on a constructed pre-raiding BiS gear set using ShadowCraft, with no gear being used that was over item level 359. Let me reiterate that these values are APPROXIMATIONS.

For customized accuracy, please refer to ShadowCraft ( http://shadowcraft.mmo-mumble.com/ ).

1309.16 Treads of the Craft (BoE) (Crafted).
1053.93 Treads of Fleeting Joy (BoE) (1650 Justice Points).
1012.54 Fasc's Preserved Boots (Zul'Gurub).
962.15 Crafty's Gaiters (City of the Tol'vir).
962.15 VanCleef's Boots (The Deadmines).
920.15 Boots of the Predator (Shadowfang Keep).

913.07 Splintered Brimstone Seal (1250 Valor Points).
810.86 Band of Glittering Lights (Molten Front Vendor).
789.28 Signet of the Elder Council (Reputation).
788.54 Matoclaw's Band (Molten Front Vendor).
786.94 Hornet-Sting Band (1250 Justice Points).
779.92 Gilnean Ring of Ruination (BoE) (World Drop).
727.29 Quickfinger Ring (BoE) (Zul'Aman).
725.11 Arlokk's Signet (Zul'Gurub).
721.01 Elementium Destroyer's Ring (BoE) (Crafted).
697.20 Ring of Blinding Stars (Halls of Origination).
697.20 Terrath's Signet of Balance (Reputation).
678.16 Nautilus Ring (Throne of the Tides).
678.16 Skullcracker Ring (Blackrock Depths).
677.75 Band of Blades (BoE) (Crafted).

1428.60 Fluid Death (1650 Justice Points).
1286.40 Darkmoon Card: Hurricane (BoE) (Crafted).
1248.30 Tia's Grace (City of the Tol'vir).
1244.50 Key to the Endless Chamber (The Stonecore).
1160.60 Unheeded Warning (BoE) (Bastion of Twilight).
1157.90 Left Eye of Rajh (Halls of Origination).
1116.20 Quicksilver Alchemist Stone (Alchemy).
1102.60 Unsolvable Riddle (Alliance) (Reputation).
1102.60 Unsolvable Riddle (Horde) (Reputation).
1101.40 Tia's Grace (333) (City of the Tol'vir).
1023.20 Left Eye of Rajh (Halls of Origination).
1018.70 Skardyn's Grace (Grim Batol).
1015.90 Figurine - Demon Panther (Jewelcrafting).
1009.60 Grace of the Herald (333) (Blackrock Caverns).
900.70 Skardyn's Grace (333) (Grim Batol).

Gear listed is between item levels 346 to 378 and is obtainable without raiding. The values listed are approximations based on a constructed pre-raiding BiS gear set using ShadowCraft, with no gear being used that was over item level 359. Let me reiterate that these values are APPROXIMATIONS.

For customized accuracy, please refer to ShadowCraft ( http://shadowcraft.mmo-mumble.com/ ).

2304.73 Brainsplinter (BoE) (Crafted).
2043.50 Twinblade of the Hakkari (Zul'Gurub).
1924.48 Steelbender's Masterpiece (Blackrock Caverns).
1927.99 Elementium Shank (BoE) (Crafted).
1913.43 Dagger of Restless Nights (Alliance) (Reputation).
1913.43 Dagger of Restless Nights (Horde) (Reputation).
1903.11 Windwalker Blade (Grim Batol).
1726.75+ Meteor Shard (Shadowfang Keep).

1074.27 Scaleslicer (BoE) (Blackwing Descent).
1016.35 Twinblade of the Hakkari (Zul'Gurub).
961.33 Quicksilver Blade (The Stonecore).
946.77 Throat Slasher (950 Justice Points).
946.77 Barim's Main Gauche (City of the Tol'vir).
946.77 Buzzer Blade (The Deadmines).

519.53 Morningstar Shard (700 Valor Points).
445.61 Dragonwreck Throwing Axe (BoE) (Bastion of Twilight).
425.45 Spinerender (BoE) (Junkboxes).
413.33 Zulian Throwing Axe (Zul'Aman Quest).
375.83 Slashing Thorns (Halls of Origination).

12/23/2010 11:54 PMPosted by Orlÿ

C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER