PvE Assassination Rogue Rotation & Cooldowns

PvE Assassination Rogue

Gems, Enchants & Consumables

Stat Priority & Reforging

Best Professions

Pre-Raid Gear

Rotation & Cooldowns

Talents, Builds & Glyphs

Best in Slot (BiS)

Addons & Macros

Assassination Rogues received overall quality-of-life upgrades in Cataclysm and this is showcased in their simplified yet extremely rewarding gameplay. In this section of the guide, we will go over the rotation and abilities of Assassination Rogue, in both Single-Target and AoE/Cleave encounters.

Single-Target Rotation

1. Activate Slice and Dice & Maintain it.
2. Cast Rupture & Upkeep it.
3. Cast Vendetta during key moments.
4. Cast Vanish to reset Overkill before activating the first
5. Cast Envenom at 5 Combo Points (Main Finishing Move) to empower poisons and refresh Slice and Dice.
6. Cast Cold Blood to empower Envenom.
7. Cast Mutilate (Main Ability).
8. Cast Backstab when the target is below 35% HP (Execution Tool)
9. Cast Expose Armor (If any other similar effects are not present).
10. Cast Garrote if possible as an opener.

The Single-Target rotation of Assassination Rogue remains mostly the same in Cataclysm compared to its WotLK version. While some key abilities have changed, with Vendetta being the new main offensive cooldown instead of Hunger for Blood. The key abilities remain the same, with Mutilate being the main Combo Points generator while Envenom still acts as the main Finishing Move. Slice and Dice will be maintained after the first initial cast, being refreshed by every Envenom cast while Rupture gains a new important function. Rupture should be proactively refreshed on the target to trigger the Venomous Wounds effects continuously. Cold Blood is sadly still inconsequential, acting as a mediocre damage amplifier while Vanish should be used before activating Vendetta right before the most important moment of the encounter.

AoE/Cleave Rotation

1. Spam Fan of Knives (In AoE Encounters).
2. Perform your Single-Target Rotation (Cleave encounters).
   • Cast Fan of Knives after each Envenom.

In terms of Cleave encounters, Assassination Rogue doesn’t have any viable tools that compare to the Blade Flurry available to Combat Rogues. However, in AoE encounters, Assassination Rogue is vastly superior thanks to the Vile Poisons and Deadly Brew talents. While all Rogues can apply poisons with Fan of Knives, thanks to the Vile Poisons, Assassination Rogues can apply 3 different types of poisons at the same time since Fan of Knives will also apply the poisons from both your Main-Hand and Off-Hand weapons. Additionally, because of Deadly Brew‘s effect, you will also consistently apply one additional poison, Crippling Poison, debuffing all mobs with a potent slow effect.