PvE Assassination Rogue DPS

Assassination Rogues in Mists of Pandaria are a glass-cannon-like specialization, focusing on dealing very high Physical and Nature damage through their poisons and lethal strikes! Their gameplay revolves around launching a seemingly endless barrage of venomous attacks, each triggering their Deadly Poison and causing their foes to choke on Venomous Wounds.

In this guide, we’ll cover every aspect of an Assassination Rogue, ranging from playstyle to gearing to quick tips & tricks so you can tackle the end game and top of the Damage Meters!

Compared to the massive changes that occurred to other specializations, Assassination Rogues kept most of their class & specialization identity in Mists of Pandaria. Their rotation is fairly similar to the one from Cataclysm Classic, yet considerable new additions sprinkle some new flavor into the specialization. The overhauled talent system introduces several notable enhancements, with Anticipation emerging as the most significant gameplay overhaul, enabling Assassination Rogues to store up to 10 Combo Points on a target. Additionally, Dispatch acts as both a new Execution Tool and a powerful proc-based ability that drives them away from the tedium of spamming Mutilate, Rupture, and Envenom. Furthermore, Venomous Wounds receives some considerable changes, no longer being triggered by both Garrote and Rupture simultaneously, but instead only being applied by one of the two. As such, the proc chance was significantly buffed to 75% as opposed to the previous 60% proc chance to offset the change.

The general gist of Assassination Rogue’s gameplay remains the same, with familiar effects such as Master Poisoner and Mastery: Potent Poisons still being at large. Their overall Damage Output is still based mainly on their Poison Damage, meaning that veterans will find the specialization very similar to its previous iteration.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Strengths

• Strong Damage Output
  Assassination Rogues in Mists of Pandaria have a very strong Damage Output, being considered among the top of the DPS specializations. Thanks to the overhauls to their kit, and specifically considering the addition of Dispatch and the overall improvement of poisons and Venomous Wounds, they can be expected to dominate the Damage Meters once properly geared.

• Great Crowd Control & Decent Utility
  Rogues are known as masters of Crowd Control, and this is no exception in Mists of Pandaria. In addition to their impressive kit of CC, Assassination Rogues also provide their group with a few strong Utility tools, such as Master Poisoner, Tricks of the Trade, and Swiftblade’s Cunning.

• Easy & Dynamic Gameplay
  Mists of Pandaria simplifies and enhances Assassination Rogue’s gameplay, making it overall far smoother. The addition of Dispatch and the Blindside proc also adds an RNG element to their rotation, making them far more engaging than the usual Mutilate & Envenom spam.

• Great Mobility Tools
  Assassination Rogues benefit from two strong mobility tools, Shadowstep and Sprint, allowing them to reposition very easily during most encounters.

Weaknesses

• Very Stat Dependent
  Sadly, Assassination Rogues are very stat-dependent, requiring a considerable amount of Mastery, Haste, and Critical Strike Chance to make their entire kit functional. Without each component, their gameplay feels sluggish and considerably weaker than it is in its true potential. The most notable aspect is how much Haste influences their Energy Regeneration, messing their rotation significantly when the stat is too low.

Best Races

While racial effects were significant in previous versions of WoW, their importance has been overall reduced in MoP Classic. The effects now act as slight bonuses instead of actual game-changing mechanics. Pandaren, Trolls, and Orcs are the only exceptions to this due to the Epicurean, Berserking, and Blood Fury effects, which are very strong for DPS specializations.

Horde

The best races for Assassination Rogue in the Horde are Orc and Troll due to their Blood Fury and Berserking racial effects, followed by Pandaren with Epicurean, and Goblin with Time is Money. Undead and Blood Elves are typically better for PvP environments.

• Orc: Blood Fury, Axe Specialization, Hardiness, Command.
• Troll: Berserking, Da Voodoo Shuffle, Regeneration, Beast Slaying, Dead Eye.
• Pandaren: Bouncy, Epicurean, Gourmand, Inner Peace, Quaking Palm.
• Goblin: Time is Money, Rocket Barrage, Rocket Jump, Best Deals Anywhere, Better Living Through Chemistry, Pack Hobgoblin.
• Blood Elf: Arcane Torrent, Arcane Resistance, Arcane Affinity.
• Undead: Will of the Forsaken, Cannibalize, Shadow Resistance, Touch of the Grave.

Alliance

The best races for Assassination Rogue in the Alliance are Pandaren and Gnome, due to the Epicurean and Shortblade Specialization. Night Elf is next up with Shadowmeld, which allows them to cast Ambush or Garrote after activating in-combat Shadowmeld, followed by Worgen with Viciousness. Humans and Dwarves are typically better for PvP rather than PvE encounters.

• Pandaren: Bouncy, Epicurean, Gourmand, Inner Peace, Quaking Palm.
• Gnome: Shortblade Specialization, Engineering Specialization, Escape Artist, Expansive Mind, Arcane Resistance.
• Night Elf: Elusiveness, Quickness, Shadowmeld, Wisp Spirit, Nature Resistance.
• Worgen: Darkflight, Flayer, Viciousness, Aberration.
• Dwarf: Stoneform, Explorer, Mace Specialization, Crack Shot, Frost Resistance.
• Human: Sword Specialization, Mace Specialization, Will to Survive, The Human Spirit, Diplomacy.