Classes & races
Assassination Rogue — Build, Talents and Rotation
The Assassination rogue is a dagger burst spec focused on poisons and opening strikes. Deep Assassination boosts poisons, crit damage and grants Cold Blood, while the Ambush → Backstab → Eviscerate chain delivers powerful bursts. For steady boss DPS many take the Combat rogue with swords, but Assassination is unmatched in PvP and burst.
Your damage is built on combo points and poisons: keep Instant Poison on your main-hand and always open from stealth with Ambush for a strong start and fast combo generation.
Contents
What this build is for
Assassination is burst and utility:
- PvP and dueling — powerful stealth opener, control and Cold Blood.
- Raid burst phases — high peak damage and valuable poisons.
- Fresh 60 — daggers are easier to get than top-tier swords.
Its weak point is reliance on positioning behind the target and on dagger consistency; over a long fight Combat is smoother.
Talent layout
Deep Assassination with a dip into Combat for damage and accuracy:
| Tree | Points | Key talents |
|---|---|---|
| Assassination | ~30 | Improved Poisons, Cold Blood, Malice, Lethality, Deft Deeds |
| Combat | ~21 | Dagger Specialization, Precision, Improved Eviscerate |
| Subtlety | 0 | — |
Cold Blood provides a burst, and Dagger Specialization raises Backstab and Ambush crit.
Rotation and play
Open from stealth with Ambush or Cheap Shot, build combo points with Backstab and Sinister Strike, and spend them on Eviscerate. Keep Instant Poison on your weapon and Cold Blood ready for burst.
For a full priority breakdown see the rogue rotation and the DPS guide; button templates are in the rogue macros.
Stats and gear
Priority: hit (to the cap) → weapon skill → agility → crit → dagger speed. Misses and parries hurt a dagger build hard, so hit comes first.
The base tree is in rogue talent builds, the sword alternative is the Combat rogue, the stealth variant is the Subtlety rogue, and the starter set is in pre-raid BiS rogue.
◆Pros, cons and starting on WowX5 x5
Pros: strong burst, excellent PvP, valuable poisons and Cold Blood. Cons: reliance on behind-the-target positioning and daggers, slightly lower steady DPS than Combat. On WowX5 x5 the fast rates speed up the path to daggers and poisons. Create an account, download the game and connect to play.wowx5.ru.
FAQ
?Assassination or Combat for raiding
On raid bosses Combat with swords is usually higher due to steady weapon damage. Assassination on daggers is strong in burst, PvP and early on, and valuable for poisons and Cold Blood.
?What is the Assassination rogue rotation
Open from stealth with Ambush or Cheap Shot, build combo points with Backstab or Sinister Strike, and spend them on Eviscerate while keeping Instant Poison on your weapon.
?What matters more for a rogue, hit or agility
Hit and weapon skill first so you do not miss the boss, then agility and crit. Misses and parries from the front hurt a dagger build especially hard.
Related
Now jump into WoW Classic X5
Theory alone gives no XP. Join WoW Classic X5 — Vanilla 1.12.1, x5 rates, blizzlike mechanics — and try this guide in game.
- Create an account on wowx5.ru
- Download the WoW Classic 1.12.1 client
- Put into realmlist.wtf:
set realmlist play.wowx5.ru
Experience ×5
Loot ×5
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