Assassination Rogue DPS Guide (Legion 7.3.5)

Welcome to our Assassination Rogue DPS guide for World of Warcraft Legion 7.3.5. Here, you will learn everything you need to know about playing an Assassination Rogue in a raid environment and in Mythic+ dungeons.

About Our Author and Reviewer

This guide has been written by Furty, who has an illustrious history in the World of Warcraft raiding scene and race for World First. He has been a member of guilds such as Serenity, Midwinter, and many more, and is currently raiding in Future. He plays most classes at the highest level. You can follow him on Twitter and watch him play on Twitch.

This guide has been reviewed and approved by Perfecto, an Outlaw/Assassination Rogue who raids in Method.

1. Class Overview

Assassination Rogues deal damage through the application and empowerment of poison and bleed effects. The damage toolkit of Assassination is somewhat limited, mainly focusing on dealing single target damage over a long period. As with the other Rogue specializations, Assassination sports phenomenal defensive abilities that allow them to soak and survive mechanics that most other classes cannot.

2. Patch 7.3 Changes for Assassination Rogue

None

3. Patch 7.2.5 Changes for Assassination Rogue

New legendary items have been added.
All damage done increased by 10%.
Agonizing Poison has been removed and replaced by Toxic Blade.
Exsanguinate bleed out speed increased to 150% (up from 100%). It now costs 25 Energy to cast.
Fan of Knives damage increased by 40%.
Vendetta now affects Poison Bomb damage.

4. Patch 7.2 Changes for Assassination Rogue

New Artifact traits added.
Bag of Tricks is now a 2.5% chance proc per Combo Point spent.
Urge to Kill now causes Vendetta to grant 60 Energy, plus an additional 60 Energy over 2 seconds.

5. Assassination Rogue Strengths

Strong and consistent single target damage
Exceptional defensive utility

6. Assassination Rogue Weaknesses

Weak AoE and cleave
Very cooldown reliant, and cooldowns only affect one target

7. Assassination Rogue Viability in the Current Patch

Assassination is arguably the best Rogue specialization, in terms of pure numbers, in Antorus, the Burning Throne. Due to their limited damage profile, focusing exclusively on single target damage, Assassination is not the ideal choice on every encounter. Overall, however, it is a strong specialization and a suitable choice for any Rogue looking to progress through Antorus.

8. Contents

To make it easy to navigate the guide, we have split it into 12 pages:

Easy Mode: TL;DR to own without reading much;
Spell Summary: see a summary of all your useful spells;
Builds and Talents: learn how to choose your talents;
Artifact Traits and Relics: discover how to level up your Artifact;
Netherlight Crucible Relic Paths: choose the right paths on your Netherlight Crucible;
Rotation, Cooldowns, and Abilities: master your rotation and your cooldowns;
Boss by Boss Strategies: find out how to defeat current content bosses;
Stat Priority: read up on the respective values of your statistics;
Gems, Enchants, and Consumables: choose the best gems, enchantments, etc.;
Macros and Addons: step up your game with useful macros and addons;
Gear, Legendaries, and Best in Slot: find the best gear you can wear;
Battle for Azeroth: learn how to play your class in Battle for Azeroth.

Easy Mode⋙

9. ChangeLog

07 Jun. 2018 (Battle for Azeroth page): Page added.
05 Mar. 2018 (Netherlight Crucible page): Redesigned entire page; Tier 2 and Tier 3 sections removed.
05 Mar. 2018 (artifact page): Updated relic priority and added weapon item levels for context.
04 Feb. 2018 (bosses page): Added Antorus bosses.
04 Feb. 2018 (talents page): Added a note to Subterfuge about use on Coven of Shivarra.
03 Feb. 2018 (gear page): Updated Antorus recommendations to be in line with our new Boss by Boss section. Small update to Best-in-Slot list, added notation for Shadow-Singed Fang.
12 Jan. 2018 (easy mode page): Updated talents, restructured Rotation section, added Tips and Tricks, added Basic Opener.
12 Jan. 2018 (this page): Updated intro text, strengths/weaknesses, and viability section.
12 Jan. 2018 (talents page): Fully updated talents page.
12 Jan. 2018 (enchants page): Updated Exsanguinate neck enchant.
12 Jan. 2018 (artifact page): Cleaned up early point investment section.
12 Jan. 2018 (gear page): Restructured gear page. Added Antorus legendary recommendations and further expanded tier lists.
11 Jan. 2018 (rotation page): Restructured and fully updated the page. Split APL & openers into poison/bleed sections.
30 Nov. 2017 (talents page): Updated Tier 2 & 3 talents.
30 Nov. 2017 (artifact page): Updated Relic Priority.
30 Nov. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Updated Tier 2 & 3 hierarchy.
30 Nov. 2017 (gear page): Updated legendaries, best in slot, and added Tier 21 explanation.
13 Oct. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Swapped positions of Dark Sorrows and Light Speed on hierarchy.
17 Sep. 2017 (gear page): Updated 4-set bonus from 40% to 60%.
13 Sep. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Updated Tier 2 priority after recent rebalancing based on new SimCraft results.
12 Sep. 2017 (Netherlight Crucible page): Added Netherlight Crucible page for Assassination Rogue.
10 Sep. 2017 (gear page): Updated Best-in-Slot and trinket list with a new paragraph on recommended trinket combinations.
10 Sep. 2017 (rotation page): Updated opener.
10 Sep. 2017 (artifact page): Updated Relic Priority and added a note about the 3-Master Assassin relic setup.
10 Sep. 2017 (bosses page): Added boss by boss page for Tomb of Sargeras. Updated Nighthold talent choices.
29 Aug. 2017 (enchants page): Added a mention about Healthstones in Patch 7.3, removed a mention of Old War, and slightly redesigned "Consumables" section.
28 Aug. 2017 (this page): Updated strengths/weaknesses and viability section. Added 7.3 changes.
28 Aug. 2017 (enchants page): Added Lightforged Augment Rune and new 7.3 epic gems.
28 Aug. 2017 (rotation page): Added a more detailed explanation of Toxic Blade usage.
28 Aug. 2017 (talents page): Updated talents for Patch 7.3.
28 Aug. 2017 (stats page): No changes needed for Patch 7.3.
28 Jun. 2017 (rotation page): Updated opener.
28 Jun. 2017 (artifact page): Updated Relic Priority.
28 Jun. 2017 (gear page): Updated trinket list.
18 Jun. 2017 (gear page): Added Tomb of Sargeras Best-in-Slot and Tier 20 set bonus.
12 Jun. 2017 (gear page): Added The Empty Crown and Soul of the Shadowblade to the Legendary items section.
12 Jun. 2017 (enchants page): Updated consumables according to our new split stat priorities.
12 Jun. 2017 (stats page): Split stat priority into 3 sections for each T6 talent combination and removed stat weights.
12 Jun. 2017 (rotation page): A few improvements here and there. Split opener in 2 sections: with and without Mantle of the Master Assassin.
12 Jun. 2017 (artifact page): Updated Relic Priority.
12 Jun. 2017 (talents page): Updated for Patch 7.2.5 (Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 6).
12 Jun. 2017 (spells page): Page reviewed and deemed updated for 7.2.5.
12 Jun. 2017 (this page): Added Patch 7.2.5 changes.
12 Jun. 2017 (easy mode page): Updated talents for Patch 7.2.5.
17 May 2017 (artifact page): Updated Relic Priority and 7.2 pathing slightly.
29 Mar. 2017 (enchants page): Added Lavish Suramar Feast.
27 Mar. 2017 (gear page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
27 Mar. 2017 (rotation page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
27 Mar. 2017 (stats page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
27 Mar. 2017 (this page): Added Patch 7.2 changes.
27 Mar. 2017 (talents page): No changes needed for Patch 7.2.
27 Mar. 2017 (artifact page): Added path for new 7.2 traits.
07 Mar. 2017 (rotation page): Numerous updates, new sections added, reworked several existing sections.
05 Mar. 2017 (gear page): Updated trinket list slightly.
05 Mar. 2017 (artifact page): Added further exposition in the Duskwalker's section.
13 Feb. 2017 (stats page): Minor wording update.
13 Feb. 2017 (talents page): Minor update to talent descriptions.
13 Feb. 2017 (gear page): Updated trinket list & legendary priority.
13 Feb. 2017 (artifact page): Updated Relic priority, added additional explanation for Master Assassin Relics.
10 Feb. 2017 (bosses page): Added boss by boss page for Nighthold.
26 Jan. 2017 (gear page): Updated trinket list following stealth hotfixes.
26 Jan. 2017 (artifact page): Updated Relic priority; Toxic Blades roughly on par with Gushing Wound with Tier 19 4-piece bonus.
24 Jan. 2017 (gear page): Full update including Nighthold Best-in-Slot list, trinket update, and set bonus explanation.
18 Jan. 2017 (this page): Updated viability section.
14 Jan. 2017 (gear page): Added new legendary items and updated ranking.
14 Jan. 2017 (artifact page): Added a new Relic priority for players with Duskwalker's Footpads.
14 Jan. 2017 (rotation page): Trimmed some mentions of Deeper Strategem and updated opener.
14 Jan. 2017 (talents page): Minor update to talents; Alacrity for multitarget.
09 Jan. 2017 (this page): Added a Patch 7.1.5 changes section and updated strengths/weaknesses.
09 Jan. 2017 (enchants page): Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
09 Jan. 2017 (artifact page): Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
09 Jan. 2017 (talents page): Updated for Patch 7.1.5.
09 Jan. 2017 (easy mode page): Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
09 Jan. 2017 (stats page): Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
09 Jan. 2017 (rotation page): Checked and confirmed for Patch 7.1.5.
21 Dec. 2016 (easy mode page): Added easy mode for Assassination Rogues.
11 Dec. 2016 (this page): Further clarified wording in weaknesses to make sure no ambiguity was possible.
09 Dec. 2016 (artifact page): Updated Relic priorities (Master Assassin/Master Alchemist).
09 Dec. 2016 (this page): Revised weaknesses a little.
09 Dec. 2016 (talents page): Updated talent tiers (T1/T2/T3/T6) to include further details and references to legendaries and Mythic+.
09 Dec. 2016 (gear page): Updated trinkets and legendary lists.
09 Dec. 2016 (stats page): Minor update to AP stat priority (Crit=Vers).
09 Dec. 2016 (rotation page): Updated Kingsbane section, Opening Sequence, and Action Priority List.
02 Nov. 2016 (rotation page): Updated pooling section to make note of Urge to Kill.
02 Nov. 2016 (talents page): Updated Raid Encounters build to include a reference to Exsanguinate for players with lower item levels/Mastery levels.
02 Nov. 2016 (stats page): Added Exsanguinate priority for players with lower item levels/Mastery levels.
25 Oct. 2016 (this page): No changes in patch 7.1.
25 Oct. 2016 (rotation page): Updated Kingsbane section to note that it generates a Combo Point in Patch 7.1.
22 Oct. 2016 (this page): Updated viability.
07 Oct. 2016 (rotation page): Adjusted page to be further in line with the Agonizing Poison build.
07 Oct. 2016 (artifact page): Updated Relic choice.
06 Oct. 2016 (gear page): Updated best in slot & legendary list.
05 Oct. 2016 (this page): Updated strengths/weaknesses and viability section.
05 Oct. 2016 (enchants page): Updated enchants and food to be in line with current stat priority.
05 Oct. 2016 (rotation page): Updated opener.
05 Oct. 2016 (talents page): Updated talent build.
05 Oct. 2016 (stats page): Updated stat priority and weights.
29 Aug. 2016 (enchants page): Updated for Legion's launch.
29 Aug. 2016 (talents page): Updated for Legion's launch.
29 Aug. 2016 (rotation page): Updated for Legion's launch.
29 Aug. 2016 (spells page): Updated for Legion's launch.
29 Aug. 2016 (gear page): Updated for Legion's launch.
29 Aug. 2016 (this page): Updated for Legion's launch.
29 Aug. 2016 (artifact page): Added.
29 Aug. 2016 (stats page): Updated for Legion's launch.
29 Jul. 2016 (rotation page): Updated Opening Sequence & added note about 5-6 CP vs. 6 CP finisher usage.
29 Jul. 2016 (enchants page): Updated Weapon Enchants with a note on Shadowmoon ICD.
19 Jul. 2016 (talents page): Made Thuggee an alternative to Prey on the Weak in Tier 5.
19 Jul. 2016 (rotation page): Added a mention about safe Pandemic refresh for Rupture.
19 Jul. 2016 (gear page): Removed trinket sims and added BiS recommendations.
18 Jul. 2016 (talents page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
18 Jul. 2016 (this page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
18 Jul. 2016 (addons page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
18 Jul. 2016 (stats page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
18 Jul. 2016 (gear page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
18 Jul. 2016 (spells page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
18 Jul. 2016 (rotation page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.
18 Jul. 2016 (enchants page): Updated for the Legion pre-patch.