1. Ability Priority List
This assumes you are using the raid focused talent build in our Talents page.
Maintain Rupture Icon Rupture on primary and secondary targets (up to 3 targets).
Activate Vendetta Icon Vendetta on the primary target when it is off cooldown.
Activate Vanish Icon Vanish if it is off cooldown and you have 6 Combo Points, then use Rupture Icon Rupture (if you are talented into Nightstalker Icon Nightstalker, otherwise use Mutilate Icon Mutilate).
Maintain Hemorrhage Icon Hemorrhage on primary and secondary targets (up to 3 targets).
Maintain Garrote Icon Garrote on the primary target.
Cast Exsanguinate Icon Exsanguinate when it is off cooldown.
Cast Envenom Icon Envenom to spend extra Combo Points.
Cast Mutilate Icon Mutilate to generate Combo Points.
The interaction abilities such as Exsanguinate Icon Exsanguinate have with the rest of your rotation is difficult to get a handle on from a simple Ability Priority List, so it is highly recommended you read the sections below to get a better idea of how to properly perform in a raid environment.
For more information on your opening sequence, please refer to our dedicated section.
2. Poisons
Your Lethal Poison should always be Deadly Poison Icon Deadly Poison.
Crippling Poison Icon Crippling Poison is your only default Non-Lethal poison and you should use it, unless you choose Leeching Poison Icon Leeching Poison as a Tier 3 talent or unless the adds should not be slowed.
3. Important Notes
3.1. The Interaction Between Combo Points and Energy
As an Assassination Rogue, most of your abilities need Energy to be used. Your Energy bar has a capacity of 120 Energy (170 with Vigor Icon Vigor chosen as your Tier 3 talent) and refills at a rate of 10 Energy per second. Your Energy regeneration is increased by:
current Haste rating (Haste + haste-enhancing buffs);
your Venomous Wounds Icon Venomous Wounds passive;
Venom Rush Icon Venom Rush, if chosen as your Tier 7 talent.
The faster you regenerate Energy, the more Combo Points you generate, and the more max Combo Point finishers you can fit in your rotation.
You never let yourself Energy cap (i.e., never let your Energy reach its maximum). If you find yourself at your maximum Energy, then you are losing DPS, because any Energy you generate is wasted. Pooling high levels of Energy to unleash for high burst windows, however, can be extremely beneficial, and will be discussed later in this guide.
Combo Point generation is increased by Seal Fate Icon Seal Fate, which causes your critical hits with Mutilate Icon Mutilate and Hemorrhage Icon Hemorrhage to add an additional Combo Point on your target per critical.
In a similar fashion as with Energy, you should never waste Combo Points by forgetting to spend them when you are at the maximum. Anticipation Icon Anticipation gives you extra storage room for Combo Points, which makes Combo Point management much easier, however, this talent is not used much making getting comfortable with Combo Point management all the more important. You should pay close attention to your Hemorrhage Icon Hemorrhage timer, as you want to ensure that you do not let it fall off, or overcap Combo Points reapplying. Since Hemorrhage Icon Hemorrhage generates less Combo Points than Mutilate Icon Mutilate, you can also time your reapplications in order to more evenly generate Combo Points and avoid overcapping with Mutilate Icon Mutilate.
3.2. Pooling Energy and Combo Points
It can be very beneficial to "pool" your Energy and Combo Points, which involves auto-attacking while your Energy regenerates. The advantage this provides is variable, meaning that pooling is not necessarily always an advantage. Situations where pooling Energy and Combo Points is beneficial include:
before Vendetta Icon Vendetta comes off of cooldown, so you can fit as many abilities as possible into your cooldowns;
before an important add spawns, so you can apply as much instant pressure as possible;
when Exsanguinate Icon Exsanguinate is coming off cooldown, as you will have to immediately reapply fresh bleeds following the usage of this ability;
to assist with Envenom Icon Envenom uptime, by chaining two Envenom Icon Envenoms so that the buff does not drop;
an encounter specific buff or damage phase is imminent.
Pooling Energy is not a magical DPS gain by itself. It allows you to slightly adjust the timing of your abilities so that you fit more attacks during periods of increased damage (provided you can properly identify when such periods are going to come).
3.3. Rupture
Rupture is your highest priority as it deals strong damage when Hemorrhage Icon Hemorrhage is applied. The 50% damage buff from the Nightstalker Icon Nightstalker is applied to Rupture Icon Rupture, so it is best to use your Vanish Icon Vanish only when you have 6 Combo Points and can apply a fresh Rupture Icon Rupture. Ideally this also overlaps with Exsanguinate Icon Exsanguinate for maximum damage potential. Rupture Icon Rupture should always be applied to secondary targets for the increased energy generation from Venomous Wounds Icon Venomous Wounds and the extra damage from Exsanguinate Icon Exsanguinate. Hemorrhage Icon Hemorrhage should also be maintained on these targets.
3.3.1. Pandemic and Rupture Refresh
When you refresh Rupture Icon Rupture before it expires, the duration that was left is added to the new Rupture Icon Rupture DoT, up to a maximum of 30% of the original duration. You can safely refresh a 5 Combo Point Rupture Icon Rupture when it has 7.2 seconds or less remaining. Deeper Stratagem Icon Deeper Stratagem allows for 6 Combo Point Rupture Icon Ruptures which last 28 seconds. 6 Combo Point Rupture Icon Ruptures can be refreshed safely when they have 8.4 seconds or less remaining.
Safe Pandemic refresh timing is based off the current number of combo points you have and not the original length of the Rupture Icon Rupture.
You should refresh your bleed effects before and after Exsanguinate Icon Exsanguinate for maximum efficacy.
3.4. Vendetta Usage
Vendetta Icon Vendetta is your main DPS cooldown. It has a 2-minute cooldown, and is a debuff applied to a single target, rather than a buff that increases all your damage to all targets. Vendetta is best applied to your primary target, and during this period you should focus all of your damage into single target onto that marked enemy. If secondary targets are present, refresh your bleed effects (especially Rupture Icon Rupture for Energy regeneration) before activating your Vendetta. You should always overlap Vendetta with your Exsanguinate Icon Exsanguinate for maximum damage, so ensure that Exsanguinate will be available during Vendetta's duration. You should aim to go into Vendetta with all your bleed effects fully refreshed when possible, along with high Energy and Combo Points.
3.5. Defensive Utility
All Rogues come ready made with a dizzying phalanx of defensive cooldowns, which make them the best candidate for soaking required mechanics and dealing with heavy incoming damage.
Feint Icon Feint reduces AoE damage taken by 50% for 5 seconds for only 20 Energy. When talented into Elusiveness Icon Elusiveness it also reduces all other damage by 30%. This is one of the most overpowered abilities in the game and a huge asset on fights with heavy raid damage. Do not forget about this button!
Cloak of Shadows Icon Cloak of Shadows provides magic immunity for a second, followed by 5 seconds where all spells will miss. This spell is mostly used for clearing debuffs that might otherwise force you out of melee range, like Fel Surge on Xhul'horac. Cloak of Shadows is also a fantastic tool for soaking abilities that do not pierce immunities.
Evasion Icon Evasion increases your Dodge chance by 100% for 10 seconds. This can be useful if you have to tank some adds or the boss for a few seconds.
Cheat Death Icon Cheat Death is a talent that allows you to escape lethal damage once every 2 minutes. The damage cannot exceed more than twice your maximum health. Cheat Death Icon Cheat Death is great for soaking mechanics that pierce immunities and damage reductions as it guarantees your survival. It is also great for encounters with bursty damage that might take you by surprise, as you get a free get out of jail free card once every 2 minutes.
Crimson Vial Icon Crimson Vial provides a respectable amount of healing on a very short cooldown. Use this often in boss encounters.
Do not forget about this defensive toolkit, as it can be a huge asset for your mortality and your raid!
4. Core Concepts
Assassination Rogue has received a number of changes in Legion, particularly with the introduction of Exsanguinate Icon Exsanguinate. Much of the optimization comes from the interaction between your current debuff timers and your cooldowns, and understanding how and when to properly burst. Like most Rogue specializations, this specialization requires fast fingers during cooldown periods as there are a significant number of keybinds to hit in a short period of time (compared to most specializations). Learning to focus on what is important and master the core concepts of a specialization is what leads to strong overall performances on the damage charts. Assassination features 3 major concepts that form the central trinity of optimizing for success:
ability uptimes;
cooldown usage;
resource management.
4.1. Ability Uptimes
Paying close attention to the uptime of your bleeds is key. In particular, ensure that your bleeds are always fully refreshed for Exsanguinate Icon Exsanguinate. During cleave scenarios, keep close track of your bleeds on multiple targets. Use the additional energy from Rupture Icon Rupture ticks to dump extra damage into the primary target. Aura tracking is recommended to help you keep track of your bleeds. Remember that Rupture can be refreshed in accordance with Pandemic (30% of maximum duration remaining) and it will be added to the new Rupture duration.
4.2. Cooldown Usage
As mentioned above, it is imperative you keep a careful watch on your cooldowns and understand how they interact with each other. On the opener, all your cooldowns overlap, so check the opening sequence for an idea of how to execute in that situation. For future cooldown uses, try to plan your cooldowns so that Exsanguinate Icon Exsanguinate always overlaps, as it forms the backbone of your damage potential. In particular, Vanish Icon Vanish has good synergy with Exsanguinate due to Nightstalker Icon Nightstalker, allowing you to get a 50% stronger Rupture Icon Rupture applied which can be exploited with Exsanguinate. Be sure to pay close attention to your boss timers as well, to avoid interruption by mechanics. Per usual, it is best to save your cooldowns for periods of increased damage, such as the Feast of Souls on Gorefiend.
4.3. Resource Management
Remember the importance of pooling Energy for burst and pay close attention to your Combo Points, as it can be easy to overcap with Seal Fate Icon Seal Fate, particularly with the T18 4-piece bonus. Plan your damage in accordance with the boss timers to maximize output.
4.4. Opening Sequence
Always start the pull from Stealth Icon Stealth.
Use Draenic Agility Potion Icon Draenic Agility Potion.
Apply Garrote Icon Garrote.
Activate Vendetta Icon Vendetta on the primary target.
Cast Mutilate Icon Mutilate twice.
If you have 6 Combo Points, activate Vanish Icon Vanish then cast Rupture Icon Rupture. Finally, apply Hemorrhage Icon Hemorrhage.
If you do not have 6 Combo Points, apply Hemorrhage Icon Hemorrhage, then Vanish Icon Vanish and apply Rupture Icon Rupture.
Cast Exsanguinate Icon Exsanguinate.
Generate Combo Points with Mutilate Icon Mutilate and dump with Envenom Icon Envenom at 6 Combo Points.
Reapply Rupture Icon Rupture, Hemorrhage Icon Hemorrhage, and Garrote Icon Garrote as necessary.
4.5. Tier 18 Bonuses
T18 2-piece bonus grants Rupture Icon Rupture an additional 30% Critical Strike chance on targets below 35% health.
T18 4-piece bonus causes Mutilate Icon Mutilate to generate an additional Combo Point on targets below 35% health.
These bonuses have no direct impact on the rotation other than quality of life.
