Proven Assailant for Rogues: Strategy and Gear

By perculia Updated: 2017/03/10

Proving Yourself: Endless Damage (Wave 30) (Level 90)Why Proving Grounds?

I was looking for a fun challenge, as my goal to complete Khan was derailed by boosted 90s sabotaging battlegrounds. With a break from the rapid-fire PTRs like 5.0-5.4, I've been trying to get back into small group and solo challenges in WoW since I have more energy to focus now.

I found myself learning Brawler's Guild in front of others stressful, so learning this with nobody looking was great.

While I dislike stepping into a raid and feeling that I'm underperforming due to a huge item level gap, the scaling in Proving Grounds places more of an emphasis on skill.

While I was disappointed that sticking with Combat, a spec I enjoy playing, would make things needlessly difficult for learning Endless, I viewed learning Mutilate as a fun experiment. If Proving Grounds are meant to make you better at your class, learning them with a spec I haven't touched since Firelands seems like a good way to put this to the test.

While there were some gimmicky things for rogues that wouldn't translate to a raid situation like using Marked for Death every 10 seconds, I did learn a bit about the spec's nuances as well as practicing situational awareness with the Amber Globule and improving keybinds.

Talents

Shadow Focus -- Abilities cost 75% less when in stealth, useful since you're starved for energy. Start in stealth each wave, and use Vanish when necessary to help generate combo points and some burst.

Shadowstep -- While I started off learning the waves with Burst of Speed, I found that Shadowstep was more efficient plus it had no Energy cost. I did find that Shadowstep could cause the Amber Globules to path weirdly and make a sharp turn into the wrong mob at some points though.

Dirty Tricks -- At first I didn't think too much of this tier and experimented with Paralytic at first. However, Dirty Tricks felt key to making Waves 26 and 28 more efficient. Blind no longer has an Energy cost, which makes the AoE start of Wave 26 better. More importantly, Blind doesn't break damage from Poisons and Bleeds, meaning I can Blind the Mystic in 28 early to go Rupture a Saurok and kill the Banshee as dots finish it off with no risk of a potential heal.

Marked for Death -- This one is huge. Five free combo points on every single mob. Even if a mob is at low health and using a 5 point Envenom feels excessive, put Marked for Death up so you can redirect the points over to the next target.

The Level 30 and Level 45 talents were not particularly helpful as they mostly cover defensive abilities.

Glyphs

Charred Glyph -- You'll be putting Marked for Death up on everything, but sometimes you'll be in a situation where it's more efficient to let dots kill a mob while you move onto dpsing the next. Charred Glyph shines here because you can move combo points frequently onto mobs that could use the burst dps more.

Charred Glyph -- I never had to worry about refreshing Slice and Dice with this glyph up.

Charred Glyph -- Not game-changing, but it's nice to get more distance between you and an Amber Globule every now and then.

Cooldowns

Wave 24: Berserking

Wave 25: Vendetta

Wave 26: Vanish

Wave 27: Shadow Blades

Wave 28: Vendetta/Vanish

Wave 29: Berserking

Wave 30: Vendetta/Shadow Blades/Vanish//Berserking

Xinc's Endless 45 videoBerserkingBerserkingBerserkingBerserking

Pick up the 1st Berserking by Rotun (left side when facing door) seconds before Wave 24 starts. When Wave 24 starts, a new Berserking will appear in the same spot.

Get the 2nd Berserking (right side when facing door) at the end of Wave 5. It will last for the 20 exposed seconds of the Small Illusionary Sha and then for the initial 10 seconds of AoE/Mystic DPS of Wave 26.

When Wave 26 spawns, a new Berserking will appear on the right side.

You now have two additional Berserkings to use between Waves 27 - 30 as necessary.

BerserkingBerserkingVanishShadow FocusBlindsideVanishVanishWave 21-30 StrategiesProving Grounds GuideLarge Illusionary Amber-WeaverFan of KnivesSmall Illusionary Varmint

Start at north on the Small Illusionary Mystic. When it's at low HP with 5 combo points, Shadowstep/ onto a Large Illusionary Guardian and blow it up.

Blow up the second Large Illusionary Guardian. Sometimes weird pathing can happen with the Amber Globule where it traps the Small Illusionary Amber-Weaver instead of the second Large Illusionary Guardian, but the dps for this wave can handle the loss.

Run into the Small Illusionary Banshee and cloak the Amber Globule so it's trapped. Finish up the Small Illusionary Amber-Weaver.

Marked for Death a Large Illusionary Banana-Tosser in center and then Rupture it. Sprint around the bananas using Fan of Knives on all the virmen.

Depending on pathing, the Large Illusionary Banana-Tosser will either be in your AoE, in Shadowstep range, or far away in which case use Sprint. Kill first Large Illusionary Banana-Tosser, use a speed boost to get to 2nd. If you need to travel far to the 2nd Large Illusionary Banana-Tosser, Fan of Knives the virmen along the way.

For remaining Large Illusionary Varmint, Marked for Death/Rupture one with high HP and then Fan of Knives the rest.

This wave tends to die very quickly, make sure you do not kill things too quickly and lose your Slice and Dice buff.

Grab the Berserking buff by Rotun right as the wave ends.

Start blowing up one of the Large Illusionary Guardian with the Berserking you got seconds before.

Try not to path the first Amber Globule in such a way that it traps the Large Illusionary Amber-Weaver instead of the Large Illusionary Guardian.

Know when to stop dpsing a mob and move onto the next one with Shadowstep and Sprint, bouncing points around with .

Kill three Large Illusionary Guardian, and then move to center seconds before the Small Illusionary Banshee spawns.

Put Rupture up on the Large Illusionary Amber-Weaver, and then blow up Small Illusionary Banshee. Use Cloak of Shadows so both mobs end up trapped by amber in center.

Let dots finish off Banshee, then kill final Large Illusionary Guardian.

Start at north, blow up Small Illusionary Mystic, dance around bananas if need be.

Sprint to Small Illusionary Banana-Tosser, blow it up

Shadowstep to center, start DPS on Small Illusionary Sha.

Blow up the Small Illusionary Banshee, but save combo points at the end so they can be redirected back onto the Small Illusionary Sha.

Vendetta when the debuff drops, also use Vanish if you need it. You can even use Prep as it will be up at the end of Wave 30.

Start in center, Blind one of the Large Illusionary Mystic.

Target one of the Large Illusionary Varmint. Fan of Knives it 3-4 times, then Shadowstep and Kick the other Large Illusionary Mystic who will be starting to heal. Redirect the points from Fan of Knives onto the Large Illusionary Mystic.

I preferred to use remaining combo points from the 1st Large Illusionary Mystic onto a Crimson TempestAoE before dpsing the second Large Illusionary Mystic, but redirecting the points onto the second Large Illusionary Mystic could work as well. With my strat, most if not all Large Illusionary Varmint were dead by the time the 2nd Large Illusionary Mystic died.

Vanish felt useful here especially if I was having a dry spell on Blindside procs.

If you do have bad luck on procs, the first Large Illusionary Mystic may cast a second heal right before it dies. You need to be prepared to interrupt the 2nd Large Illusionary Mystic with your Kick on cooldown, who will start casting a heal as soon as Blind is broken.

Blow up the Large Illusionary Banana-Tosser that's in the center-south, then the nearby Large Illusionary Amber-Weaver to the south so you don't have to deal with dancing around two sets of Amber Globules. Avoid running into the Berserking buff since the Large Illusionary Banana-Tosser likes to run on top of it.

90% of the time an Amber Globule will be heading straight towards you at this point. Cloak it to avoid dancing around the Berserking buff even more.

DPS the center Large Illusionary Guardian, which will be hit by the other Large Illusionary Amber-Weaver's Amber Globule. This wave in general is knowing when to stop dpsing your existing target, redirect points onto a new target, and feeling confident that dots can finish the old target off quickly so Marked for Death is continually up. Use Shadow Blades at the beginning/middle of the wave--whenever needs the most control.

Once the center Large Illusionary Guardian is dead, kill the left, then Shadowstep to right, then Sprint to the last Large Illusionary Amber-Weaver (movement boost optional).

Vendetta onto the Large Illusionary Mystic, use Vanish to help out generating combo points.

When the Large Illusionary Mysticis at low HP with Rupture ticking and 5 combo points, Blind it and redirect the points into a Rupture on the Large Illusionary Slayer. Shadowstep back to kill the first Large Illusionary Banshee.

Around the time the Large Illusionary Banshee dies, dots should finish up the Large Illusionary Mystic as well, freeing up Marked for Death.

any points from the Large Illusionary Banshee onto the second Large Illusionary Slayer, you can get it pretty low or kill it before the 2nd banshee spawns.

Blow up the two Large Illusionary Banshee, go back to the 1st Large Illusionary Slayer (usually less than 50% HP). Shadowstep to 2nd Large Illusionary Slayer if not dead.

Get Berserking right before the wave starts and head towards the center, so the Large Illusionary Banana-Tosser doesn't run even farther away from you as you waste seconds of the buff not dpsing.

Kill Large Illusionary Banana-Tosser, then the nearby Large Illusionary Slayer.

Shadowstep, redirect points to Large Illusionary Guardian, which an Amber Globule will usually hit.

points to second Large Illusionary Banana-Tosser, get dots up.

The Large Illusionary Banshee will spawn at this point, run into the Amber Globule and Cloak of Shadows it.

Kill the Large Illusionary Amber-Weaver, then finish up the Large Illusionary Banana-Tosser.

Keep Slice and Dice refreshed with Envenom. Maximum Slice and Dice is 37 seconds.

It's better to continually DPS and waste a proc than not DPSing at all and missing out on taking 10%+ health off the Large Illusionary Sha.

Sprint to the Berserking buff with 10 seconds left on Protection Shield. Your dps for these interim 10 seconds will not actually be super-weak, as the 50% damage reduction is balanced out by the 30% damage buff.

Figure out how you're going to time all the following for the last 20 seconds without getting flustered and forgetting one: Vendetta, Shadow Blades, refreshing Rupture, Marked for Death, Vanish//Vanish, any On Use Trinkets.

All enemies can dodge and parry, so stay behind the Large Illusionary Sha.

Gearing UpProving GroundsProving GroundsAgile Primal DiamondRelic of XuenGear/Socket Basics

Any item above ilvl 463 is scaled down to ilvl 463; items that are 463 or below are not affected or scaled up. ilvl 458 items are viable as they can be upgraded to ilvl 466 with Justice Points.

Any trinket of ilvl 458 or higher is a valid choice because of the wide selection of unique procs, so you have a wide array of trinkets to consider compared to armor.

If you were hit/expertise capped normally, you will remain hit/expertise capped in a Proving Grounds.

Tier set bonuses are not active, and neither are Sha-Touched Gems, legendary meta gems, or legendary cape procs.

Stats from flasks, enchants, other gems, and profession bonuses are not reduced.

Whiterock's Gear Guide

When an item has a socket, Proving Grounds scaling deducts 80 primary and 80 secondary stats from an item. This is balanced out by the socket gem giving +160 of a primary stat, which more than makes up for losing some of a secondary stat. Eye of the Black Prince is special because the stat deductions aren't taken into account--it's just free additional stats.

The more important benefit is going from an item that has 0 sockets to an item that has 1 with a socket bonus. The socket bonuses are not scaled down in any way, so you can get additional free stats, usually 60-120 agility.

Throne of ThunderProving GroundsThrone of ThunderThrone of ThunderSiege of OrgrimmarThrone of Thunder

Weapons not only have sockets and strong socket bonuses, but they benefit from the additional Eye of the Black Prince socket which Siege of Orgrimmar weapons do not benefit from. However, Siege of Orgrimmar weapons are preferable to PvP weapons because they at least have a socket and good socket bonus.

Throne of Thunder has the only illvl 463+ socketed bracers and necks in the game, as well as two of the few socketed rings.

Several tier pieces are itemized well, with multiple sockets, good socket colors, and good socket bonuses.

Ra-den has many viable pieces--ring, chest, pants, boots, belt.

Throne of ThunderIron Qon's Boot KnifeNine-Tailed SpauldersBracers of the Midnight CometMegaera's Poisoned FangQuadra-Head BroochNine-Tailed LegguardsJi-KunSample Gear SetsLeather SpecializationDelicate Primordial RubyGlinting Imperial AmethystAdept Vermilion Onyx

Unoptimized gear when starting Endless (worked for Gold): 13155 agility, 16 sockets

Gear used to beat Wave 30: 13919 agility, 21 sockets

Gear from Siege of Orgrimmar with only optimized trinkets: 14259 agility, 23 sockets

Set that is close to BiS with good SoO and ToT pieces: 14859 raw agility, 25 sockets

Gear OptimizationsSiege of OrgrimmarRelic of XuenDiscipline of XuenDeadeye Badge of the ShieldwallDiscipline of XuenTimeless CoinGrievous Gladiator's ShankerBerserkingBerserking

Heroic Throne of Thunder for the chance at five Ra-den pieces.

Obtaining crafted ilvl 553 gear (Snow Lily Belt, Snow Lily Britches), which have good itemization due to their red sockets and agility socket bonuses.

Replacing my Timeless Isle pieces with doubled-up secondary stats.

Running Siege of Orgrimmar to get solid gear for most slots. Also ran Throne of Thunder LFR only once.

Ensuring I had the best possible socket bonuses available. I used Tier 15 legs to get a decent socket bonus over Prideful Gladiator's Leather Legguards PvP ones I won from the Celestials, but I didn't bother minmaxing the socket colors/bonuses from there.

Relic of XuenConsumablesFlask of Spring BlossomsSea Mist Rice Noodles

If you use a flask before one is up, it takes your remaining duration into account and adds an hour on top of that.

If you use food before one is up, it just refreshes the duration to 60 minutes, so you can start burning food through quickly with 30 minute attempts. If you notice your food buff is low, there is a 15 second buffer after 10 and 20 to eat, plus you usually end 1-3 with a lot of spare time.

If you attempt to swap in a lesser food for learning attempts, the 250 or 275 food will not override your 300 food buff.

Focus/PacingLarge Illusionary MysticLarge Illusionary SlayerLarge Illusionary MysticBerserkingXuen Presence

Comments

Comment by stym

This is awesome, congratulations!

I have a question, though:
Did you pick the glyph of deadly momentum because there was really no other valuable choice? Since finishing moves refresh Slice and Dice in Assassination spec, it does not sound as helpful as it is for a Combat rogue.

Does this mean the glyph of Vendetta is a dps loss because most enemies die too fast for it to be effective?

Comment by Duzevert

Thx for your guide!
Done it yesterday in Sub-spec :)

Comment by Kilvanas

Thanks for the guide, never really used assassination outside of pvp, so help with the spec was needed.

Comment by Cnith

I want to thank you as well for your very helpful advice! I don't think I had the optimal gear for this, but finally got the waves down today after many a 20+ wipe. Never again! (unless they make new proving grounds where you can speed up time at the lower waves).

Again: Thank you!

Comment by RazorsEdges

great and usefull guide...

got this today as assa rogue with 15600 agi set

Comment by Alfakyn

Absolutely great guide! It helped me out a lot :D thanks!

Comment by shams94

Thank you! I wanted to get the title on my rogue but I didn't know much about Proving Grounds and this guide had everything I needed! I got my title today and on the run where I reached wave 30 for the first time I even managed to make it to wave 46! :D

Comment by Templarian

Perculia, I want to thank you so much for this guide! I just made it to wave 38 after a lot of practice, only days before patch 6.0 drops and the title goes away. You rock.

Comment by TristaMeioh167

Thank you for this guide! It was the starting point for my attempts at this title (which I finally got with 1 hour to go before the server shut down for 6.0.2). When I got it I ended up using a different 'rotation' of cooldowns for waves 24-30 due to an accidental pick up of a berserker buff earlier. Instead of what you recommended I had to judge whether I needed a CD (depending on proc luck) and if so see what I had available and go with that. I hope this strategy might still be useful for the WoD equivalent of this achievement. Thanks again!

Proven Assailant for Rogues: Strategy and Gear

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