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Subtlety Rogue DPS Beginner's Guide - Battle for Azeroth 8.3.0
By Mystler
Last updated
2020/01/10 at 9:24 AM
View Changelog
Table of Contents
Quick Facts
Table of Contents
Guide Navigation
Looking to start playing a Subtlety Rogue in World of Warcraft and just want simple advice? Look no further! In this guide, we will cover everything you need to start easily playing a Subtlety Rogue in , without all the fuss of detailed guides Whether you're new to the spec, a casual achievement hunter, or a returning player looking to refamiliarize yourself with Subtlety in Battle for Azeroth, these easy guidelines, covering simple and effective talents, rotation, and gear setup, will get you into the action as easily as possible.
Please keep in mind that this page is meant to get beginner players started quickly, and does not contain much in the way of detailed explanations, mechanics, competitive options, gearing, simulation comparisons, or nuance. For more in-depth information, including all those optimizations and more, check out the complete Subtlety Rogue Guide pages linked in the navigation on the left-hand side of the page.
If you need help leveling to 120 in Battle for Azeroth, check out our
leveling tips
.
Overview
Beginners
Azerite
Essences
NEW Corruptio̵̦͚̽̿n-̴̤̤̗͓̘̖̖̖̜̊̎̈́͗̀͗̅͂̌͑̚͠
Talent Builds
Rotation, Priority, and Abilities
Advanced Concepts
Stats
Gear
Consumables
Simulations
Correcting Mistakes
Mythic+
NEW Ny'alotha Tips
Macros & Addons
WeakAuras
Common Terms
About the Author
This guide is written and maintained by Mystler, an active Rogue theorycrafter who is also a developer on
SimulationCraft
,
HeroDamage
, and
HeroRotation
. You can find him on the
Ravenholdt
Discord Server,
Twitter
, and sometimes streaming on
Twitch
.
Talents
This Subtlety Rogue build is a good general setup that will get you started in dungeons and raids without further optimization. For a deeper look at each talent and more specialized builds for specific activities, see the
Subtlety Rogue Talent Guide
.
Rotation
This is a typical Subtlety Rogue DPS rotation, using the talents recommended above. More optimized rotations and notes on on cooldown use can be found in the
Subtlety Rogue Rotation Guide
.
Use your Potion with 1 second left on the timer.
Engage the boss with
Shadowstrike
.
Apply
Nightblade
.
Use your active Azerite Essence.
Use
Shadow Blades
.
Use your active Azerite Essence on cooldown.
Use
Symbols of Death
on cooldown.
Use
Shadow Blades
outside of
Shadow Dance
if your next ability will be a combo-point generator.
Use
Shadow Dance
if you are at maximum charges or about to cap due to cooldown reduction from
Deepening Shadows
.
Use
Vanish
if
Find Weakness
is about to expire.
Use
Shadow Dance
with
Symbols of Death
up.
Use all finishers at 5 or more Combo Points.
Refresh
Nightblade
if it's about to run out or going to expire during your next
Symbols of Death
. Apply to other targets if they are going to live for the full duration.
Use
Eviscerate
.
Use
Shuriken Storm
at 3 or more targets.
Use
Shadowstrike
if available due to
Stealth
or
Shadow Dance
.
Use
Shuriken Storm
at 2 targets.
Use
Backstab
.
Stat Priority
Subtlety Rogues get Agility through Item Level. It's often best to equip your highest item level piece in all slots, with the exception of rings, which do not contain primary stats. Socket procs can make up for 10 item levels or more. After that, focus on secondary stats. Keep in mind that Mastery is the best AoE stat, while Haste can rise in value when you have little of it, and Critical Strike and Versatility are the best general benefit in all situations. Find out more about how stats work, including sample stat weights and scaling plots in the
Stats Guide
, or get an overview of gear to look for from dungeons and raids in the
Subtlety Rogue Gear Guide
.
Critical Strike
Versatility
Mastery
Haste
Enhancements
Only two gear slots can be enchanted by all players in Battle for Azeroth: weapons and rings. There are also glove enchants which can assist with professions, Enchanter-only bracer enchants which modify hearthstone use, and Tailor-only cloak enchants which reduce threat slightly.
Recommendations below are based on generally good secondary stats. Please sim your character to see if other options can be better for you.
Weapons:
Enchant Weapon - Deadly Navigation
and
Enchant Weapon - Versatile Navigation
(make sure to take two different enchants)
Rings:
Enchant Ring - Accord of Critical Strike
Gems:
Deadly Lava Lazuli
Food:
Mech-Dowel's "Big Mech"
Potion:
Potion of Unbridled Fury
,
Potion of Empowered Proximity
(4+ Targets)
Flask:
Greater Flask of the Currents
Azerite Armor
This is a list of dungeon items you may want to get while gearing up or buy from
Thaumaturge Vashreen
for
Titan Residuum
. For a full list of powers and best uses in different situations consult the Azerite page of the guide
here
.
Name
Powes
Source
Irontide Captain's Hat
The First Dance
Night's Vengeance
Overwhelming Power
Freehold
Gorak Tul's Mantle
Inevitability
Night's Vengeance
Overwhelming Power
Waycrest Manor
Gore-Splattered Vest
Blade In The Shadows
Night's Vengeance
Overwhelming Power
The Underrot
Azerite Essences
Here is a very strong high-end essence build. However, there is much room for variation. For a full list of essences and best combinations in different situations / with different unlock progression consult the Essence page of the guide
here
.
(Use the new
Breath of the Dying
in the fourth essence slot.)
Corruption
Corruptions are a new mechanic that replaces Titanforging in Patch 8.3. These give you potent bonuses at the cost of negatives from their corresponding corruption stat. You will want to make sure you take the best bonuses you have available, while still at a level of corruption that you are comfortable with and not risking to fail mechanics, die, or give your healers a heart attack. If you are not sure and still looking for that level, try to stay below 40 effective Corruption (Corruption minus Corruption Resistance from the legendary cloak and Essences).
For more information on how corruption works and how the bonuses compare, check out the Corruption page of this guide
here
.
Back to Top
Our Subtlety Rogue guides are always updated with the latest information from in-game experience, simulations, and logs; make sure to check our changelog to this page, by clicking on
View Changelog
at the top of the page. If you are interested in more in-depth Subtlety Rogue guides for Visions of N'zoth, Battle for Azeroth's third and final content patch, make sure to browse the
Navigation Bar
below, and our list of
Related Guides
just beneath the
Table of Contents
.
Would you like to quickly find this guide using Discord? You can do it easily using
Jeeves Bot
! Click
here to add Jeeves
to your Discord server.
Previous Page:
Overview
Next Page:
Azerite
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and finding them there!
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